Update: National Rail staff have now cleared the tree but there are still some delays on all Harrogate lines this afternoon.

All trains in the Harrogate area are facing delays and cancellations this afternoon after a tree fell in the Starbeck area.

National Rail said it first received reports of an incident at around 2.15pm and expects the disruption to continue until at least 4pm.

Staff from National Rail are on their way to remove the tree but it is unclear how easy the process will be at this time.

Those travelling between Leeds and York will be able to find another route through Micklefield but others may need to wait for road replacement services.

Rail replacement buses are in operation between Harrogate and York:

• 15:10 Starbeck calling at all stations to York
• 15:11 York calling at all stations to Harrogate
• 15:25 Harrogate calling at all stations to York

This is a breaking news story. We will update this page when we get more information. Have you been affected? Send an email to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Motorists can expect lengthy delays on the Ripon bypass for the next two weeks from today.

Maintenance work on the Duchess of Kent Bridge is due to start at 6pm. The work is scheduled for completion by July 10.

North Yorkshire County Council has said the works will take place overnight and finish daily at 6am, to minimise disruption to road users.

During the work, four-way traffic lights will be in operation at the northern-most roundabout on the bypass, which has exits to Ripon, Masham, Leyburn, Sharow and Copt Hewick.

Four-way traffic lights will operate at the roundabout between 6pm and 6am.

Cllr Mike Chambers, the county council’s member for Ripon North, said:

“The maintenance to this well-used bridge will involve replacing the expansion joints and surfacing works to remove the depressions at each end of the bridge.

“The work will be carried out overnight to minimise disruption as much as possible. We apologise in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.”

The bridge crossing the River Ure was officially opened by the Yorkshire-born duchess in March 1996.

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Northern Gas Networks has pledged to finish its long-running Skipton Road roadworks next month after more misery for motorists over the weekend.

The company apologised today after temporary traffic lights failed on Friday night, causing delays.

Highways chief Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at North Yorkshire County Council, tweeted that Northern Gas Networks should respond “much more promptly” to traffic light failures.

Yes, these are @NGNgas works under @northyorkscc licence. The utility company and its contractor should respond much more promptly to failure of temp lights at this very busy location. https://t.co/wKE2M2qAAl pic.twitter.com/EFhUXmFmZJ

— Don Mackenzie (@Mac1Don) March 13, 2021

Scott Kitchingman, site manager for Northern Gas Networks, said:

“We apologise to road users in Harrogate for the problems with the temporary traffic lights on Skipton Road last Friday.

“The issue was reported to us and a team was sent out to the site as quickly as possible.

“While this has been a complicated project, it is now in its final stages, and we expect all works on Skipton Road to be completed in April.”

Skipton Road is one of the busiest roads in Harrogate.

Northern Gas Networks began work replacing metal pipes with plastic ones in July last year.

Four-way traffic lights caused tailbacks not only on Skipton Road but also on adjoining King’s Road and Woodfield Road.

Work was due to end in November but was eventually paused in October and recommenced in January.

Read more:

• Skipton Road misery continues with return of gas works
• Bilton club claims loss of earnings for roadworks

Bilton Working Men’s Club submitted a claim for loss of earnings last year because the roadworks made it more difficult for people to get to the building, and led some people to think it was shut.

Separate roadworks are likely to cause delays in Knaresborough this week.

Homebuyers in Harrogate fear missing the stamp duty holiday over the delays for land searches at Harrogate Borough Council.

The stamp duty holiday which ends on March 31 and could save them up to £15,000.

With thousands of pounds on the line some are turning to private firms, even after paying the council to do the land search.

Local authority searches, which check there are no hidden surprises for buyers, are an essential part of the home-buying process.

The council told the Stray Ferret:

“Current approximate timescales are around seven weeks. A figure we are striving to improve.”

“We are also increasing staff to approximately nine full time.”

Read more:

• Harrogate council increases search delays to seven weeks
• Harrogate council urges homebuyers to be patient about search delays

While the council acknowledges that the land search delays are high, some homebuyers claim they are see in much longer delays.

Mr Costar put a land search request into the council on December 4 and has been told to expect it back by April 28.

He says the buyer of his home put in a search request in early September and has not received it back yet:

“If we do not get this completed before the end of March we will have to pay £3,000 in stamp duty. It is not going to stop us but it is a lot of money.

“It’s nuts really. York and Leeds have nowhere near the same amount of waiting time as we do in Harrogate.”

The Stray Ferret first reported the delays in October when homebuyers first complained to us about the issue.

Back then Harrogate Borough Council said the average search time was just over three weeks.

Just over a month later the council had increased the expected search delays to seven weeks, the council says that figure remains today.