The death of a man who had just got off a bus near Harrogate this week has prompted calls for better visibility on the unlit stretch of road.

The unnamed man, who was in his 90s, died after being hit by a vehicle on the A61 Ripon Road between New Park roundabout and Killinghall at about 5.50pm on Monday, November 6.

The man had just alighted at the northbound bus stop on the bridge close to the junction with Knox Mill Lane.

Councillor Monika Slater, a Liberal Democrat who represents Bilton Grange and New Park on North Yorkshire Council, contacted council officers after the incident. She said:

“It is a very dark stretch of road with a speed limit of 40mph and no central reservation. I feel that work could be done to improve the visibility for both drivers and pedestrians in that area.

“North Yorkshire Council need to ensure that bus stops are located in safe places and I have asked them to have a look at what they can do to increase the safety of  bus passengers using that stop.”

The unlit stretch of road where the collision occurred.

Cllr Slater received a response saying the council’s road safety team was working with North Yorkshire Police “to fully assess the incident and identify the cause”.

The council officer replied:

“This includes an assessment of the road condition, signs, lines and lighting in the area. Once the report is completed it goes to the North Yorkshire Council executive to review and this would include, if appropriate, any recommendations to alter any of the signs, lines, lighting, etc.

“This is not a quick process as the investigation is very detailed, but we will keep you appraised as this is progressed.”

Read more:

• Speed limit could be reduced on A61 Harrogate to Ripon Road
• Man in 90s dies after Harrogate collision

A section of Ripon Road near Harrogate has been closed following a serious traffic collision this evening.

An air ambulance and numerous police cars were called to the bridge between New Park roundabout and Killinghall shortly before 6pm.

The incident occurred close to the junction with Knox Mill Lane.

No details have been released but the road is expected to be closed for some time.

The road closure in Killinghall.

Vehicles were forced to turn around and eventually the police closed a section of the A61 from New Park roundabout to the junction with Otley Road in the centre of Killinghall.

We will bring further details when they become available.

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A change in the council’s bin regime is seeing dog-waste pile up by the roadside, according to local residents. 

Over the last week, North Yorkshire Council has removed the familiar red dog-waste bins from Knox, which is on the north-west edge of Harrogate. In their place, they have put green wheelie bins, but not all in the same positions as the bins they replace. 

Knox resident Maxie Schiffmann-Rowinski said: 

“They’ve put a wheelie bin right outside our house, and now it’s filling up with dog poo and it really stinks in this warm weather. 

“All of us living down here are pretty angry about this. This lane is very popular with dog-walkers, and some who don’t know about the green bin are just leaving their dog-poo bags on the ground where the dog-waste bin used to be.  

“I’ve complained to the council via their online form, but had no reply.” 

Asked about the move, Karl Battersby, North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director of environment, told the Stray Ferret the bins had been removed following a service review, and that the council was being guided by good practice outlined by the Waste and Recycling Action Partnership in its Right Bin, Right Place study. 

He said:  

“The newer bins have a larger capacity and house a wheeled bin. This means they are efficiently emptied by our larger wagons, reducing the risk from manual handling individual bags. With the greater capacity, fewer bins are required which helps to reduce street furniture, particularly in locations where two bins may have been placed close together. 

“This and other new bins will be emptied less frequently due to the increase in capacity, but they will be emptied as often as required, taking seasonal variances into account. 

“The replacement bin at the end of Knox Lane was planned to be further down the lane, in close proximity to existing street furniture. We will check it’s correctly positioned.” 

The council has installed a large new bin at the end of Knox Lane… but some dog-walkers have yet to get the message.

Paul Haslam, the North Yorkshire councillor serving Bilton and Nidd Gorge, said he was party to the decision-making process that led to the policy change, but that it had not been implemented as he had imagined it would be. He said: 

“This looks like a well-intentioned project that’s gone wrong. I agreed with the principle behind the plans: to make it easier by using more machinery, which in some cases would result in changes of locations and frequency of emptying. 

“But it’s quite obvious that the way it’s turned out is not ideal – there are not enough bins and some of them are in the wrong place.” 

North Yorkshire Council’s Mr Battersby said that the bin replacements in Bilton and Knox would be followed by others in Harrogate.  

He said: 

“Surrounding parishes have already had the work completed, and Bilton is the first of the urban areas to start and receive the new bins.” 

But Cllr Haslam said the policy needed to be reviewed and that’s what the council would do. He said: 

“I’ll be meeting with street-cleansing officers on Monday and we’ll be going over the whole of the Bilton and Knox area and seeing how it can be improved. 

“The council is not going to roll any more bins out until we’ve got Bilton and Knox right.”

Read more:

• Concerns over ‘undemocratic’ planning meeting on Knox Lane houses
• Harrogate council defends new ‘oversized’ bins
• Discarded dog poo bags leaving Harrogate ‘disgusted’

The organisation that commissions local GP services has issued a strongly worded objection to a plan to build 53 homes in Bilton.

North East property developer Jomast wants to build the homes on a field off Knox Lane, in what has been a controversial and long-running planning application.

Many objections from residents in Knox and Bilton have focused on the impact of the potential new homes on roads and congestion.

Knox Lane

However, NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group says GP practices in Harrogate are already over-saturated and have “very limited capacity” to accept another 123 patients that the new homes could bring.

The letter says:

“Having consulted with the local GP practices and primary care networks directly impacted we wish to strongly object to this proposed residential development.

“As primary care providers, the GPs and primary care networks are extremely concerned regarding any proposals for further residential development within Harrogate. The existing health infrastructure in Harrogate already operates above optimum capacity and has very limited capacity to absorb additional pressures.

“Primary care and community services within the area are already running at, or far beyond their existing capacity. This is further compounded by the fact that primary care networks practices are operating in substandard buildings limiting their ability to cope with the existing high patient demand.”

Read more:

• Residents say 53 homes at Knox Lane will ‘decimate’ idyllic scene
• Siblings, 11 and 7, get creative to protest against new Knox Lane houses
• County council says Bilton housing scheme ‘should be refused’

The letter adds the application offers “no provision” for healthcare services for residents, but approved, Jomast should make a payment to the CCG through a section 106 agreement.

The CCG has used an NHS formula to calculate that the developer should pay £63,974, which will be spent by GP practices.

But it warns that this figure would only make up a small part of what is required by GPs.

A spokesperson for Jomast’s planning consultant Spawforths said it is currently considering the comments from the CCG and will issue a response in due course.

Latest blow

The objection from the CCG is another blow for the developer’s hopes of building the scheme in its current form.

Last month, North Yorkshire County Council said the layout of the development was ‘not acceptable’ and the plan should be refused unless the developer agrees to pay to widen the road.