Kingsley Road Archives - The Stray Ferret

Thieves steal 1,000 litres of diesel in HarrogateHarrogate residents react to road reopening

A week ago, traffic started flowing again on a road in Harrogate that had been blocked for 18 months.

Bogs Lane and Kingsley Road together form a horseshoe shape off the A59 Knaresborough Road. The bridge where they meet was closed to facilitate one of the many new housing developments in the area.

The route serves thousands of residents and is also used as a rat run or cut through to avoid the A59. Emergency vehicles travel along it when the barrier at Starbeck level crossing is down.

So are residents pleased to see the road fully back in use or did they prefer living in a quieter neighbourhood?

The Stray Ferret talked to residents this week and visited the site to speak to councillor Chris Aldred, a Liberal Democrat who represents High Harrogate and Kingsley on North Yorkshire Council.

The road closure has ended.

Cllr Aldred said most residents he’d spoken to — particularly those in the new developments — appeared happy to have the full use of the road back.

When we met, a woman who lives in Barratt Homes’ Kingsley Meadows passed by and said she often drove to Knaresborough and unblocking the road had saved a lengthy detour.

Claire Mortimer, whose salon The Nail Garden is attached to her home in Kingsley, supported the re-opening. She said:

“The closure has been hard for my business as I have clients that travel far so it’s been annoying they’ve had to go the long way for so long.”

Kevin Francis agreed, saying he moved to the area in 2019 because of its “great links to other areas”, adding:

“Bogs Lane being closed has had a real impact on our day-to-day lives.

“Working to the east of Starbeck we had been shunted onto the High Street and spent many an hour clogging up the A59.”

Daniel Jefferson said the road “provides an important additional link around Starbeck”.

He added:

“Since the temporary closure of Bogs Lane I’ve felt like we’ve seen a significant increase in traffic congestion both exiting Kingsley Road and through Starbeck which I also believe has contributed in additional road traffic accidents occurring along these routes, significant increase emissions and congestion.”

‘More speeding cars’

But Nicola Woods is among those who have the opposite view. She said the reopening encouraged speeding motorists with little respect for the many cyclists and horse riders that used the road, adding:

“At times it is tricky getting in and out of my driveway which is again caused by the speed of some vehicles coming round the bend near Hillbank Road, I have had some near misses.

“The past few months whilst the road has been shut I have seen an increase in people walking and cycling down Bogs Lane. It will be interesting to see what affect the re-opening of the road has on this.”

Tim Redshaw said Bogs Lane was an unclassified road that could not sustain the increased volume of traffic. He said:

“Having lived in Starbeck most of my life l’ve seen how the traffic flows have changed, and the negative effects it’s creating. To keep building on the green belt land we till recently held so dear is a very big mistake.”

New footpath

The new footpath

The road re-opening is not the only change. New traffic lights have been installed near the entrance to Redrow’s Kingsley Manor development and a footpath has been created alongside it towards Bogs Lane to make walking safer.

Darren Long, whose family lives on Kingsley Road, said he didn’t understand why traffic from the Redrow site is now forced to turn right onto Kingsley Road.

“It’s a very odd decision. On a daily basis, we see residents turning around in the Barratts junction to go back over Bogs Lane way. It totally baffles me.”

Mr Long also called for traffic calming measures on Kingsley Road “as the speed of the traffic on here from some rat runners and residents is absolutely frightening”. He added:

“We’re regularly overlooked in this area and it’ll unfortunately take a fatality for the council to act on this I suspect.”

The road closed to allow Redrow to work on its Kingsley Manor development.

Cllr Aldred said the new footpath and road surface looked good but the old crumbling footpath across the bridge needed upgrading. He added:

“I’m going to ask for that to be done, as the new footpath makes it look terrible. Highways also need to do something about the potholes on the approach from Kingsley Drive — they are awful.”

He added he suspected not everyone had realised yet the road had reopened, and the volume of traffic could increase in the weeks ahead.

18-month Harrogate road closure to end

A Harrogate road that has been closed to traffic for 18 months will reopen in less than two weeks.

Vehicles have been blocked from crossing the bridge where Kingsley Road meets Bogs Lane since November 2022.

By law, temporary road closures can only last for a maximum of 18 months, which means the route, off the busy A59 Knaresborough Road, will reopen on May 6.

North Yorkshire Council considered permanently closing the road — a move welcomed at the time by the local councillor who said it would end the “Kingsley rat run”.

But this option is no longer being pursued.

Barrie Mason, the council’s assistant director for highways and transport, said:

“The temporary closure of Kingsley Road and Bogs Lane will come to an end on Monday, May 6, once the resurfacing is completed and traffic signals go live.

“We will not be progressing the permanent road closure as part of the developer-funded works.”

The decision to reopen the road means it will once again be an alternative for emergency vehicles when the level crossing barriers are down at Starbeck on the A59.

A 12-month temporary prohibition of traffic order was issued from November 7, 2022, to enable developer Redrow to carry out work at its 133-home Kingsley Manor development.

North Yorkshire Council extended the order by six months in November last year to enable Barratt Homes, which built the nearby Kingsley Meadows development, to construct a footway along Bogs Lane to make the area safer for pedestrians.

Mr Mason said:

“The construction of a footway on Bogs Lane will conclude current developer obligations. This is due to be completed for the road reopening, subject to weather conditions.”

Harrogate road to be closed for another six months

A busy Harrogate road is to remain closed for another six months.

Vehicles have been blocked from crossing the bridge where Kingsley Road meets Bogs Lane since November last year.

Besides serving the Kingsley area, the road is also used as a cut-through to avoid congestion on the main A59 Knaresborough Road.

The road was due to re-open to through traffic on November 3 but North Yorkshire Council, the highways authority, has now said the traffic order will remain in place until May.

The order was issued to enable work on the 133-home Redrow homes site Kingsley Manor to take place.

But in an email seen by the Stray Ferret, the council said Barratt Homes —which built the nearby Kingsley Meadows development — had not fulfilled an obligation to build a footway along Bogs Lane to make the area safer for pedestrians.

The email said:

“Unfortunately following a meeting with Barratts last week, we have been informed that their internal commercial processes would not allow them to award a works contract to the contractor who is currently working in the area and forming the Redrow site access.”

The email adds the council had therefore extended the temporary road closure “to ensure the road does not open until a footway is constructed allowing safe pedestrian access”.

By May, the road closure will have lasted for 18 months — the maximum legal time.

There appears no guarantee, however, the footway will be finished by then.

A spokesperson for Barratt and David Wilson Homes Yorkshire East, said:

“In 2019, we agreed a plan with North Yorkshire County Council for new pathways on Kingsley Road. However, the council has now requested that a revised plan is put in place because another developer is also building homes in the area, creating the need for further road improvement works.

“While we are not legally required to do the more extensive road improvement works, we have agreed to go out to tender to get costs for doing this work and intend to make a contribution towards it.”

A local resident, who asked not to be named, said the situation typified the ‘act now, think later’ approach to development in the area over the last six years.

They said:

“Bogs Lane is an unclassified country lane yet it was deemed safe by highways for the development and entrances of five major construction sites.

“No thought was put into the safety of the current and thousands of future residents. Highways were warned over six years ago of the dangers on Bogs Lane and it took them nearly five years to act and then only due to repeated complaints of incidents and near serious accidents.”

A familiar site on Kingsley Road.

Cllr Chris Aldred, a Liberal Democrat who represents High Harrogate and Kingsley, said:

“While it’s disappointing that Barratts internal processes don’t enable them to work speedily with the Redrow contractors to provide the long awaited and much needed footpath, which myself and council officers have been pressing for, I agree with the officers that it better for the road to remain closed to cars – pedestrians and cyclists are still able to use it, as they have been doing for the last year of course – until the safe footpath is in situ.

“I am very conscious that when the road eventually does reopen to vehicles we do not want a return to the infamous Kingsley rat run, which has knock on effects for all the residential roads leading to Kingsley Drive from Knaresborough Road and need to make this link safe for all users of the road, particularly bearing in mind there is bound to be increased vehicle use by residents living in the new developments.

“It’s important the footpath is in place prior to the road reopening to vehicles.”

Harrogate ‘rat run’ to return as road set to reopen

A Harrogate road often used as a cut-through by vehicles is set to reopen to through traffic this autumn.

A 12-month traffic order has blocked traffic at the bridge where Kingsley Road meets Bogs Lane since November last year.

The route was previously used by some vehicles to avoid congestion on the main A59 Knaresborough Road, as well as by locals.

The traffic order was issued to enable developer Redrow to carry out work at its 133-home Kingsley Manor development.

The bridge that divides Bogs Lane and Kingsley Road is to re-open to vehicles.

North Yorkshire Council wanted to make the closure permanent but has been unable to do so and the roads will reopen to through traffic when the 12-month order lapses on November 3.

A council email sent to interested parties said it needed to construct a turning area on Bogs Lane “as a prerequisite to any road closure”.

The email, which is attributed to a ‘development management team’ rather than any named individual, added:

“We have been negotiating with this third party landowner for over 18 months and despite protracted correspondence, there has been no conclusion to the enquiry.

“The local highway authority is now at the stage where we must proceed with an alternative option to create a safe pedestrian environment on Bogs Lane as the temporary road closure expires in November and the occupation of dwellings on the Redrow site will begin shortly after.”

The council now wants to install a pedestrian route between the proposed Redrow site entrance on Bogs Lane and the garage to the east of the railway bridge.

The email added:

“The proposal would create a notional 1.5 metre wide footway on the northern side of the road, which would be slightly narrower over short sections in some places due to physical site constraints.

“This option would require the road to be realigned slightly to the south and reinforced in places in order to retain its current minimal width of 4.8m.

“Discussions are already underway with Network Rail with regards to the proposed footway crossing the bridge deck, as this bridge is a Network Rail asset for which permissions would be required to undertake works.”

The email added the council is talking to Redrow about amending 2017 documents that obliged the developer to construct a footway.

‘The infamous Kingsley rat run will reappear’

Some people welcomed the road closure for making the Kingsley area quieter; others said it added time to their journeys and the detours only increased pollution.

Chris Aldred, a Liberal Democrat who represents High Harrogate and Kingsley on the council, was among those who supported a permanent closure. He said:

“I do see the point, which I understand many of the consultees made, regarding keeping Bogs Lane open to emergency vehicles, which would benefit residents on both sides of the bridge.

“I’m really pleased that, at long last, Bogs Lane is going to get a decent footway, hopefully prior to November 4th, when the Redrow Road Closure expires.

“My main worry is that the infamous Kingsley rat run will reappear when the road re-opens, but I understand traffic lights and traffic calming measures on both sides of the bridge and around the new junction will not make the road any quicker for motorists than using Knaresborough Road.”

Harrogate road to be closed until November

The closure of a busy road in Harrogate is to continue until November.

A section of road where Kingsley Road meets Bogs Lane has already been closed for five months to enable Redrow to carry out work at its 133-home Kingsley Manor development.

The closure, which prevents traffic using Kingsley Road and Bogs Lane as thoroughfares, has divided opinion.

It has also heightened fears about emergency vehicle response times as the route can be used as an alternative when Starbeck level crossing barriers are down.

North Yorkshire County Council issued a temporary prohibition of traffic order that came into effect on November 7 last year.

The order was for 12 months but at the time David Faraday, technical director for Redrow (Yorkshire), said “we don’t anticipate the works will take the full six months to complete”.

But signs have now appeared saying the closure will be active until November.

Kingsley Road, shortly before the road closure.

Mr Faraday said today:

“Unfortunately due to reasons beyond our control, essential works at the entrance to our Kingsley Manor development have been delayed. We informed the local authority of this and in January they granted permission for road closures to be extended until November 2023 in the interest of safety.

“We are pushing to complete the works, which include bringing new high voltage electricity cables to the site as quickly as possible so that the roads can be reopened. We would like to thank residents for their patience and understanding while the works are being undertaken.”

Knaresborough Road ‘saturated’

Local resident Clare Ayres said she was disappointed and wanted the road to re-open as soon as possible because it would ease “the saturation of traffic on Knaresborough Road” and surrounding routes.

Ms Ayres added:

“It won’t be long before they start building on the land on Kingsley Drive, which will mean more lorries and congestion. I’m also concerned about access for emergency vehicles.”

Cllr Chris Aldred, a Liberal Democrat who represents High Harrogate and Kingsley on North Yorkshire Council, said there was no obligation on Redrow to consult on the matter as the traffic order applied for 12 months.

He also said the developer had been obliging by maintaining a footway for pedestrians and cyclists, who would have otherwise faced a 1.4-mile diversion.

Cllr Aldred also said he supported moves to permanently close the road at the bridge where Kingsley Road and Bogs Lane meet. He said:

“It would stop the notorious Kingsley rat run, once and for all, so a further six months actually allows time to continue this experiment whilst the works continue.”

Kingsley anger reaches ‘boiling point’ as another 162 homes set for approval

The beeping sound of lorries and diggers reversing fills the air. Mud covers the street. Planning application notices hang like baubles from lamp posts.

Welcome to Kingsley Road, a once quiet rural area on the edge of Harrogate that has become a permanent building site.

Some 600 homes are at various stages of construction in the nearby area. Work started years ago and shows no sign of ending.

On Tuesday, Harrogate Borough Council‘s planning committee is expected to approve a sixth development – Persimmon’s application for 162 homes in a field on Kingsley Drive. Some locals plan to demonstrate at the council offices in the hope of persuading the Conservative-controlled planning committee to reject the scheme.

Gary Tremble, pictured where more development is due to take place.

Gary Tremble, who lives on Kingsley Road, is at the forefront of local resistance. He is a member of Kingsley Ward Action Group, which was set up in 2019 because “we soon realised we needed to work together”.

By his own admission, Mr Tremble is a “pain in the arse campaigner” who bombards councillors of all political colours with emails complaining about uncovered lorries, the state of the roads, road safety and anything else that concerns people who live in the area. He says some Greens and Liberal Democrats “have been helpful” but the bulldozers keep coming. He says:

“There’s a lot of anger on this street and it will get worse if people keep ignoring us.

“I have to take time off otherwise I get angry all the time. But then you walk out the door and see another truck going past at 40mph.”

The proposed road closure leading to Bogs Lane

The homes are being built in a residential area off the already-congested Knaresborough Road. North Yorkshire County Council has now applied to block the through-route on to Bogs Lane, which some welcome on the grounds it will reduce local traffic. Others say it will just drive more vehicles on to Knaresborough Road.

All you can see in the Kingsley area is houses.

Mr Tremble says:

“The main issue is there is no infrastructure. You can’t build several hundred homes with no community centre, dentist or shop.”

He says if the Persimmon development is approved and more green land between Starbeck and Bilton is concreted over, many people will have had enough and look to move.

Other local people feel equally strongly. Darren Long says:

“It literally feels like we’re given more bad news on a daily basis. It’s now seven years since construction started on the first Barratt’s development and it shows no signs of stopping. It’s so sad that this has been allowed to happen.

“We were so excited to move here in 2017. It’s miserable living here now. Living with the constant construction traffic, proposed road closures, one way systems and the horrific traffic.”

Kingsley Park

Peter Nolan, who has lived in the Kingsley area for 49 years, says Harrogate Borough Council “should be ashamed of the state they have let this once quiet area get into”. He adds:

“I’ve never ever in all my years had to queue half way along Kingsley Road in a morning but now I quite often spend 20 minutes trying to get out onto Knaresborough Road.”

Resident Dee Downton added:

“I am more concerned about the effect of the normal day-to-day basics that impact the everyday person getting to their destinations or commute to work, the impact on air quality because it’s just one constant traffic jam, the impact when ambulances can’t get through, the danger to pedestrians crossing because a gap in the traffic is seen and a vehicle acts quickly but fails to see someone crossing the road.”

Developers have targeted Kingsley because the land is allocated for development on the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which outlines where development can take place,

They say the schemes bring much-needed housing to Harrogate.

Kingsley Road

But those living in the area are less enthusiastic. Anonymous posters appeared on the street recently urging locals to legally double park on the pavement to prevent developers’ lorries from passing.

Mr Tremble says such anger is understandable because feelings are reaching “boiling point”.

Andrew Hart, a postmaster in nearby Starbeck, sympathises and says the action group is “doing their best to right a massive wrong”, adding:

“I am appalled with the never ending chaos created by the developments and road closures along Kingsley. The whole infrastructure was never designed for this number of houses.

“We have ended up with serious health and safety issues, lack of local resources and a gridlocked Knaresborough Road and Starbeck.”

Tuesday’s planning committee can be watched live on Harrogate Borough Council’s YouTube page here.

Bid to permanently close Harrogate road to through traffic

North Yorkshire County Council has begun moves to permanently ban through traffic on Bogs Lane in Harrogate to make the area safer for pedestrians.

Bogs Lane, which becomes Kingsley Road shortly after Henshaws specialist college, is often used as a rat run for traffic trying to avoid the busy A59 Knaresborough Road.

The proposal — which is dependent on a landowner — has divided opinion.

Some say it will ease congestion and make walkers and cyclists safer in an area where more than 600 homes are being built; others say the knock-on effect would make traffic on Knaresborough Road “unbearable”.

North Yorkshire County Council’s area highways manager Melisa Burnham said:

“Kingsley Road has been closed recently to facilitate works on a housing development, and at various times over the last few years for roadworks and utility works. During the closures, the A59 Knaresborough Road has been the diversion for those wanting to use Bogs Lane.

“There is a long-term aspiration to close Bogs Lane to through traffic which would create a safe space for pedestrians. This is dependent on securing land from a third-party landowner. As part of this work, a Traffic Regulation Order has been published to seek feedback from the public about the proposal.”

The current Bogs Lane diversion

Chris Aldred, a Liberal Democrat who represents High Harrogate and Kingsley on North Yorkshire County Council, said he supported the move:

“It would do away with the rat run once and for all and make the area much safer for pedestrians and cyclists, particularly schoolchildren who are amongst the main users of the road as pedestrians and cyclists at peak times.

“The closure also allows a safe and accessible link with the Harrogate greenway route from Starbeck.

“Maintaining pedestrian and cycle access during the current Redrow works at the bottom of Bogs Lane has already proved popular, judging by my email inbox.”

‘Driving congestion on to Knaresborough Road”

But Cathy Grimshaw, who lives on Rowan Close, off Bogs Lane, said the closure would exacerbate congestion on Knaresborough Road that has been “unbearable” since the temporary road closure began.

Ms Grimshaw added:

“By closing this through road they’re affecting anyone that uses Knaresborough Road as they’re driving the congestion onto the main road.

“I thought the new estates were on the basis that a pedestrian path would be built over the bridge so is it to avoid this expense?”

She added:

“The safety of pedestrians is imperative and the solution to that would be to build the path, not to close the road and drive 600 houses worth of vehicles onto Knaresborough Road which is already heavily congested.

“They should have thought about the infrastructure before approving hundreds of houses in one area. The new houses in Knaresborough have redesigned roads and built roundabouts to accommodate.”

Another resident, Julie Mooney, also raised concerns:

“Having lived on Kingsley Road and then at the other side of this closure I personally feel it’s a bad solution.

“It’s a difficult situation but one wholly of the council’s making in granting permission for so many new homes in this corridor without planning access.

“So many residents live one side of the railway but go to work or school on the other. It defies common sense to force all this traffic including that from all the new developments onto Knaresborough Road. It’s already at a virtual standstill at rush hour.”

Resident Mark Leng said the move could have benefits by ending the rat run but added “to avoid more congestion they need to halt all future works”.

Wrapping paper causes Christmas Day chimney fire in Harrogate

Harrogate firefighters were called out this morning to a chimney fire cause by wrapping paper.

The crew was called to Kingsley Road where paper burnt on a log burner had caused excess draw up the chimney.

The firefighters used tools to remove the hearth and checked the chimney breasts belonging to the property and the house next door as they shared a flue.

After the cause was discovered and the fire extinguished the firefighters installed a smoke alarm.

Housing developer ‘doesn’t anticipate’ Kingsley road closure will last six months

A housing developer has said it “doesn’t anticipate” a controversial road closure in the Kingsley area of Harrogate will last six months.

The Stray Ferret reported yesterday that pedestrians, dog walkers and cyclists face a 1.4-mile detour when Kingsley Road is completely sealed off beyond the junction with Kingsley Drive up to the bridge leading to Bogs Lane.

The affected route is popular among people looking to access the shared cycle route and footpath to Bilton.

North Yorkshire County Council issued a temporary prohibition of traffic order, from November 7, lasting for up to 12 months, to enable Redrow to carry out work at its 133-home Kingsley Manor development.

David Faraday, technical director for Redrow (Yorkshire), said:

“The road closure will be in place while works to create a new junction, access road and associated services for the development are completed. This includes extensive excavation works to connect the sewers and installation of a new three-way traffic light system.

“We don’t anticipate the works will take the full six months to complete and the closure allows for a period of contingency.”

Hundreds of homes are being built in the Kingsley area.

Chris Aldred, a Liberal Democrat who represents High Harrogate and Kingsley on North Yorkshire County Council, said yesterday he planned to ask Redrow if access for walkers and cyclists could be maintained for some periods while work is carried out.

Asked if this was something Redrow would consider, Mr Faraday responded:

“The road will be closed to ensure the safety of local residents and we apologise in advance for any inconvenience they may experience over the coming months.

“If it is possible to create a safe through route for pedestrians temporarily while more minor works are underway we will endeavour to do so, but a full closure will be in place while all major works are undertaken, as advised by our contractor.”

Asked what consultation had been carried out, he said:

“We notified local residents of the works and road closure via letter on October 19. Formal notification of road closures is the statutory responsibility of the local authority.”

An artist’s impression of how the Redrow development will look.

Mr Faraday said the two, three and four-bedroom homes would “provide a huge boost to local housing supply for a wide market” and the development “will be characterised by areas of natural green space, mature trees and varied planting, and will also feature two play areas”.

He added:

“We are making significant contributions to the local community as part of the planning agreement, including more than £540,000 towards local education, £190,000 towards open space provision, £44,600 towards traffic signals and £5,000 for a local travel plan.”

‘More speeding cars’

New footpath

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