Roads

Temporary traffic lights were due to arrive last week on Harrogate’s Cold Bath Road, according to North Yorkshire County Council’s live roadworks map. The work, due to last for five weeks by Northern Gas Networks, did not begin, but it is likely to do so this week.

Traffic control in the form of stop / go boards is due to be active for two days at the junction of Skipton Road and Regent Parade.

Roadworks remain in place on Montpellier Road in Harrogate, as well as on Crescent Road. The latter works mean motorists are unable to turn left at the Parliament Street junction. Traffic coming the opposite way on Ripon Road is unable to turn right.

Resurfacing work at Abbey Road in Knaresborough are due to be in place until October 21 so resurfacing can take place. A road closure and signed diversion will be in place during the works.

The Fellbeck bridge closure, which involves a diversion, is scheduled to last until November 12.

Trains and buses

No reported problems on Northern trains in Harrogate and Knaresborough this morning after Saturday’s rail strikes.

Good news for rail passengers on Harrogate’s LNER services after major engineering works in the Newcastle area by Network Rail caused disruption to services for almost two weeks. However, the 7.44am York to London service has been cancelled.

The Harrogate Bus Company is not reporting any problems this morning after police closed the A61 between Ripley and Ripon last night.

You can check bus service updates here.

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Roads

Temporary traffic lights are due to arrive today on Harrogate’s busy Cold Bath Road for five weeks as Northern Gas Networks carries out maintenance work, according to North Yorkshire County Council’s live roadworks map. This is likely to cause considerable delays.

Roadworks are also taking place on nearby Victoria Road, where a diversion is in place.

Elsewhere in Harrogate, long-term work on Crescent Road means motorists are unable to turn left at the Parliament Street junction. Traffic coming the opposite way on Ripon Road is unable to turn right.

Montpellier Road remains closed until October 12 as Northern Gas Networks carries out maintenance work.

Roadworks are also due from 9am to 7pm today on Leadhill Crescent.

Drivers should expect the usual Friday morning rush hour delays on key routes, such as Wetherby Road, Knaresborough Road and Skipton Road but it is the first Walk to School day this term, which may reduce congestion slightly.

At Blossomgate in Ripon, work is due to take place to replace and reset the kerb and improve the road.

Further afield, anyone travelling eastbound on the M62 this morning should be aware of early morning problems.

2 lanes (of 3) remain closed on the #M62 eastbound in #WestYorkshire between J29 (for the #M1) and J30 (#Rothwell) whilst recovery is ongoing for a lorry involved in a collision.

There's just over 2 miles of congestion on approach so allow extra journey time this morning. pic.twitter.com/RKU3rvh5XP

— National Highways: Yorkshire (@HighwaysYORKS) October 7, 2022

Trains and buses

No rail strikes today, but another day of strikes is expected tomorrow.

Northern, which operates services through Harrogate and Knaresborough, has urged passengers not to travel on strike days.

As for today, Northern services between Harrogate and Knaresborough going to York and Leeds are scheduled to run as normal this morning.

But rail passengers on Harrogate’s LNER services have been warned to expect disruption until the end of the weekend..

Major engineering works in the Newcastle area by Network Rail will affect many services on the LNER route during this period.

Meanwhile, the Harrogate Bus Company is not reporting any problems this morning.

You can check service updates here.

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The current roadworks at the junction between Wetherby Road and York Road in Knaresborough are causing delays this morning.

The busy junction just past King James’ School and the cemetery has been undergoing resurfacing works for a few weeks and continues to cause delays during rush hour.

The works are expected to continue until August 15.

If you driving in that direction it may be worth leaving a few minutes earlier.

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• Harrogate Oak Beck Bridge project to cost £1m
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An inquest into the death of Dean Christopher Myers, who was struck by a digger on a Ripon construction site, has concluded it was an accident.

Mr Myers, 56, died on January 13 last year whilst working as a ground worker for the HACS group at a site on Whitcliffe Avenue.

The Scotton man’s cause of death was a severe head injury due to blunt force trauma. Today’s hearing at Pavilions of Harrogate examined the circumstances surrounding his death.

It heard that at the time of his death, Mr Myers was stationed in a manhole in a three metre-deep trench, which had been dug for sewage pipes.

Fellow construction workers Lee James and Andrew Temple said it was not unusual for workers to be positioned in the manhole.

Mr James was standing at the top of the trench, acting as a guide for machine operator Mr Temple. Both said the arm of the digger had got stuck, probably on some limestone in the ground, and this was when Mr James saw Mr Myers put his head out of the manhole to look at what was stopping the digger.

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Mr James said he shouted to Mr Myers twice but got no response so he urged Mr Temple to stop before getting into the trench to check on Mr Myers.

The court heard the digger had become unstuck and started to move again, which was when it struck Mr Myers.

‘No sign of negligence’

A statement read out by police officers at the scene said:

“This was an unfortunate accident caused by Mr Myers putting his head out of the hole at the wrong time. There was no sign of negligent or criminal activity.”

In a witness statement, health and safety inspector Benjamin Cairns said it was a typical construction site set-up with no obvious safety concerns.

When asked by coroner Jonathan Leach whether it was appropriate for Mr Myers to be in the manhole, he said:

“If I witnessed that [a construction worker in the man hole] on site I would have asked the person to leave.”

Mr Myers’ work colleagues at the inquest described him as “more conscious than most” about safety and an experienced construction worker. They said they were unsure why he stuck his head out.

After hearing multiple statements, the nine-person jury concluded Mr Myers’ death was an accident.

Mark Smith, managing director of the HACS group, which employed Mr Myers for eight years, told the Stray Ferret afterwards:

“We would like to say how sorry we are at the loss of a valued colleague and our thoughts are with the family at this time.”

Works to remove trees at Fountains Abbey today is causing delays on the nearby B6265 heading into Ripon.

The National Trust site is felling trees on its woodland boundary due to their proximity to the road.

It has said traffic management is in place along the B6265 between its visitor centre and Ripon. It asked commuters to allow extra time for their journey.

1/2 Our work to manage trees on site affected by ash dieback continues this week. There will be traffic management in place on the B6265 between the visitor centre and Ripon on Mon 31 Jan and Tues 1 Feb. We’ll be working on trees on our woodland boundary which sadly need to be pic.twitter.com/zl4MNkLXnz

— Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal, National Trust (@fountainsabbey) January 30, 2022

The Stray Ferret has changed the way it offers Traffic and Travel alerts.

We will now notify you instantly through app notifications and flash tweets when there is an urgent alert. This could include heavy traffic, dangerous weather and long delays or cancellations of public transport.

The alerts are sponsored by The HACS Group.

Staff from a Harrogate construction company travelled to London yesterday to deliver this year’s Downing Street Christmas tree.

HACS Group employees took the tree, which was chosen at a competition in Harrogate, from York to the country’s most famous house.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the 20 ft tree was the “first step to bringing us some festive cheer”.

The tree was grown by York Christmas Trees, which won last month’s annual Champion Christmas Tree Grower of the Year competition at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

After the HACS Group erected the tree it was decorated by an Oxfordshire company.

Yorkshire shepherdess Amanda Owen, from Channel 5’s Our Yorkshire Farm, and Peter Wright from The Yorkshire Vet, were among the judges.

Heather Parry, managing agent of event organisers the British Christmas Tree Growers Association, which is based at the Great Yorkshire Showground, said:

“Today is a symbolic moment which shows the start of a Christmas which we have all been so focussed on.

“It was a significant boost that the government supported our members, recognising that Christmas trees are essential at this time of year and that the selling season is short; whilst understanding consumers are particularly keen to get their decorations up this year.”

HACS, which is based in Ripley, is an independent building and construction services contractor.

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A controversial council decision to bring in Lancashire based contractors to restore West Park Stray was made under “urgent circumstances” – seven months after the UCI World Cycling Championships.

Details seen by The Stray Ferret show the six-month contract handed to Glendale Services is worth an estimated £40,926.29 and was a direct appointment by the council in April, meaning it was not put out to competitive tender.

At the time, the decision to outsource to Glendale was met with fierce criticism from local contractors who said they were “absolutely disgusted” that they weren’t invited to tender for the work.

Harrogate Borough Council brought in the Chorley-based company to restore the Stray which was left with a £130,000 repair bill following the cycling championships.

Glendale have since started reseeding work, which council bosses say will be complete by September.

Read more:

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Liberal Democrat county councillor, Geoff Webber, who asked the borough council through a Freedom of Information request about the contract, said he was disappointed that there was no competition for the work.

He said: “It is particularly disappointing to see this contact go to an ‘out of area’ company when the county council has been running a campaign for individuals and businesses to ‘shop local’.  

“I understand that there were at least two reputable local companies who could have carried out this work, possibly cheaper, but were not even given the chance to tender.”

Aerial shot of The Stray taken recently yet to be seeded.

Mark Smith, Managing Director of local contractor HACS, described the urgent decision as “rubbish”.

He told The Stray Ferret:

“I’ve never heard of such rubbish in my life. How could an event that happened last Autumn be urgent?

“They had six months from when the damage was done to appoint a contractor. We’ve had the driest spring on record so if a contractor had been appointed earlier they could have hit the ground running and seeded it earlier. Now, they’ve missed the optimum Spring sowing date for grass seed.”

The council expects the overall works to the Stray to cost £129,971:

• £38,105 for repairs to grassed areas of West Park Stray
• £65,385 for pavement, footpaths, Heras fencing, bedding and verge repairs, reinstatement of bins and benches plus any additional council work
• £20,156 to fix longstanding drainage issues
• £6,325 project management and delivery costs

Yorkshire 2019, the organisers of the UCI, has agreed to pay £35,500 to help restore the Stray.

Harrogate Borough Council has been approached for comment on the urgent decision, but had not responded at the time of publication.