Highways boss: No ‘exact date’ for completion of Otley Road cycle path

The transport boss for Harrogate has said there is still no completion date for the Otley Road cycle path, despite construction finally starting after nearly three years of delays.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at North Yorkshire County Council, said he was unable to give any “exact dates” for the completion of the project, which started last month with work on a first phase between Harlow Moor Road and Arthur’s Avenue.

This phase will be completed in late November but covers only a small section of the entire route, which is designed to connect the town centre with Cardale Park.

Cllr Mackenzie said the uncertainties over the end date were due to negotiations with the government and the Duchy of Lancaster – the landowners of the Stray – over the use of grass verges protected by law.

There are also ongoing talks with housebuilders that have promised to contribute cash – and the outcomes will depend on the publication of the West Harrogate Parameters Plan, a major planning document that has also been long delayed.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive councillor for highways at North Yorkshire County Council.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at North Yorkshire County Council.

Cllr Mackenzie said: 

“The bylaws required to complete phase one and two have been submitted to the Secretary of State for confirmation, who has agreed the new bylaws in principle.

“Phase three – from Harlow Moor Road to Cardale Park – relies on developer funding from the west of Harrogate urban extension. Plans are currently being worked on which will then lead to more detailed planning, including a feasibility study.

“Since the timescale for the construction of the western end of the cycle path between Harlow Moor Road and Cardale Park depends on developer funding and further work on the parameters plan for the west of Harrogate, we cannot yet provide exact dates.”

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Frustration among cyclists

The cycle path is part of a package of sustainable transport measures for the west of Harrogate, which were first announced in 2018 and will cost £4.6m once completed.

But three years on – and after the delays caused by consultations and utility works – campaigners who have supported the project have now expressed frustration at still not knowing any kind of target completion date.

Kevin Douglas, chairman of Harrogate District Cycle Action, said it was “great news” that the works were finally underway, but added he was “disappointed” that the public could not be told when they will be finished.

He said: 

“The worry is that only a small part of the project will be completed and people will look at it and think it is not doing the job we wanted.

“The idea was that the cycle path will link Cardale Park with the town centre.

“That is the council’s ambition, but it needs to be done in one go to make it effective and so people can use it, rather than it looking like it is not going to be of any benefit.

“I am pleased it has started and hopefully it is going to run smoothly, but not being able to say when it is all going to be finished is disappointing.

“There is going to be a huge number of houses on Otley Road and having a complete cycle lane when these new residents move in would be a big plus.

“Whereas now, it may be that the cycle lane comes sometime later.”

County council claimed £3.9m in furlough during pandemic

North Yorkshire County Council has revealed it claimed £3.9million of government cash to furlough staff during the coronavirus pandemic.

The authority – which is the largest employer in the county – said a total of 1,288 jobs were supported by the scheme, which came to an end last Thursday after 18 months.

According to government guidance, public sector organisations were not expected to furlough their workforce and staff whose work was no longer possible had to be considered for redeployment.

However, where councils had arms-length organisations which rely on income and not public money, then furloughing staff was allowed.

A county council spokesperson said: 

“The county council has claimed furlough payments for staff within its traded services

“Traded services staff are those who work within commercial companies created by the county council, sometimes with partners.

“The furloughed posts would normally be funded by income to these companies, but this stopped, or was greatly reduced during the pandemic.

“These traded services areas include such things as elements of waste management, building design consultancy, commercial property development, and high-speed broadband provision.”

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Furlough payments were claimed for school catering staff during lockdown closures, as well as staff in the county council’s outdoor learning service which it said could not operate due to covid restrictions.

The spokesperson added: 

“We furloughed 1,288 posts since its introduction, affecting 1,132 individual employees. This figure includes many who rolled on and off furlough and others furloughed only for a short time.

“This has to be seen in the context of a package of government support to deal with the financial impacts of covid across the council.

“It has, therefore, helped in the council’s response to support business, communities, residents and staff.”

No furlough claims by Harrogate Borough Council

Meanwhile, Harrogate Borough Council did not claim any money from the furlough scheme.

Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the authority, this week made calls for the scheme to be extended in order to avoid what she fears will be a “tidal wave of job losses” at businesses.

She said: 

“Although many may find work in recovering sectors such as hospitality and travel, there is also likely to be a rise in unemployment due to new redundancies as businesses fail without the support of furlough.”

The furlough scheme saw the government pay towards the wages of employees who could not work, or whose employers could no longer afford to pay them, up to a monthly limit of £2,500.

At first it paid 80% of their usual wage, but in August and September it paid 60%, with employers paying 20%.

In total, the scheme cost around £70billion – and Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones said now was the right time for it to end.

He said: 

“The furlough scheme is estimated to have cost £70 billion and this will need repaying. But the human and financial cost of letting industries, businesses and jobs go to the wall during lockdown would have been catastrophic.

“It is going to be a bumpy road ahead even so but without the actions that were taken it is difficult to imagine what the situation would have been.”

Ripon care home set to close in December

A Ripon care home is to close at the end of the year.

Skell Lodge, which is owned by the Maria Mallaband Care Group, operates from a listed Victorian building on South Crescent.

The care provider told the Stray Ferret the building would “shortly no longer meet appropriate building regulations”.

North Yorkshire County Council and the Care Quality Commission are working with Maria Mallaband to find new homes for residents and staff.

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The company also owns a larger care home in Ripon called The Moors.

The nature of the building problems and when they were discovered is unclear at present.

A spokesperson for Maria Mallaband said

“It is with deep regret that we have taken the difficult decision to close Skell Lodge care home.

“We understand that residents and relatives will be concerned and worried by this decision. So we are working closely with the local authorities and commissioners.

“We would like to assure people that we will do our best to provide as much assistance as possible to help with finding alternative placements.”

Richard Webb, corporate director of health and adult services at North Yorkshire County Council, said:

“We are sorry to hear the decision about Skell Lodge. The future of the residents and the staff is our paramount concern.

“We are working with the care provider and the CQC and will be working with residents and their families to try to ensure the smoothest possible transition for people.”

Harrogate district school to close due to low pupil numbers

A Harrogate district primary school is set to close after too few children are attending the school.

Baldersby St James Church of England Primary School has announced it will close in August 2022.

It will be the second school in the district this year to announce its closure for similar reasons. Kell Bank Primary School, Masham, shut in August 2021 after it had only six children.

Hope Sentamu Learning Trust, which runs Baldersby school, announced it decision after it said low pupil numbers “show no prospect of improving for many years ahead”.

The trust said the school currently has 22 pupils in two classes, one for key stage one and the other for key stage two. Some year groups have just one student.

Baldersby St James has a maximum capacity of 60 children.

Helen Winn, chief executive of the academy trust, said:

“This has not been an easy decision, but after a great deal of consideration, we came to the conclusion that this is the best resolution for the children concerned and their education.

“As part of the process, we have carefully looked at potential options, including speaking to other local multi-academy trusts, looking at the possibility of sharing the delivery of the curriculum with schools within and outside Hope Sentamu, and changing the nature of provision at the school but ultimately none of the options were practically viable.”

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She added that the low numbers has “proved impossible to deliver the broad, balanced curriculum that the children deserve”.

Meanwhile, senior councillors at North Yorkshire County Council look set to offer no objection to the decision.

The county council, which is the local education authority, has been consulted on the closure.

In a report due before the council’s executive next week, authority officials will propose new catchment areas to be consulted on.

Carlton Miniott Primary Academy, Dishforth Church of England Primary School and Topcliffe Church of England Academy would take up the catchment areas left by the school closure.

The academy trust is now holding a “listening period” with the county council, pupils, parents and staff to give their views on the process until October 22.

New pink battery recycling bins for the Harrogate district

North Yorkshire County Council has installed new bright pink bins across the district for people to safely recycle batteries.

The council said punctured batteries are thought to have caused several fires at waste transfer stations and need to be disposed of correctly.

The fluorescent pink bins can be found at 3 household waste recycling centres across the Harrogate district.

The county council said the most important batteries to recycle are lithium-ion batteries found in mobile phones, laptops, and toys – as they are the main cause of battery fires when thrown away inappropriately.

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County Councillor Derek Bastiman, executive member for waste management, said:

“There are serious risks with batteries being disposed of in the general waste stream in wheeled bins and at the HWRCs.

“Although Yorwaste staff do a brilliant job in checking for batteries being disposed in the general waste there are inevitably some that slip through the net. This is why we have introduced these new bins located near the waste and recycling containers.

“Getting into the habit of collecting batteries can be very simple. Try setting up a small container such as an old ice cream tub or plastic bag, and when it’s full take the batteries to one of the sites. Collection points can also be found at supermarkets, schools, DIY centres and local shops.”

For all battery recycling bin locations, click here.

Highways boss confident Kex Gill reroute will avoid inquiry

North Yorkshire’s highways boss has said he is confident that a major £60 million reroute of the A59 at Kex Gill will avoid a public inquiry.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive councillor for highways at North Yorkshire County Council, said he was not “aware of any risk” that the scheme could be delayed by objections.

The council is currently consulting on compulsory purchase orders to buy 90 acres of land for the project.

If an objection is lodged against any of the orders, it could lead to a public inquiry which would delay the scheme further.

However, Cllr Mackenzie said he felt the risk of the scheme going to an inquiry was low and he was confident it will pass this stage of the project.

He said:

“I’m not aware of any risk. It would be the Secretary of State who would take that decision.

“It would have to be a substantial objection. There is a risk [that it could be called in], but personally I do not see it as a severe risk.”

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In a statement given to a full council meeting in July, Cllr Mackenzie warned that if a public inquiry was required then work could be delayed by up to 15 months.

Council officials said they wanted to come to an agreement with landowners over the price of land, rather than acquire it by a compulsory purchase order.

The council needs to acquire the land before it can begin construction on the scheme.

The project will see a diversion built west of Blubberhouses on the A59 at Kex Gill, which has been blighted by a history of landslides.

Construction of the scheme is expected to take 18 months.

Is Harrogate’s Cold Bath Road getting busier?

The debate over whether walking and cycling schemes push traffic elsewhere in Harrogate has intensified over the last 12 months.

North Yorkshire County Council has implemented road closures, introduced a low traffic neighbourhood on Beech Grove and started work on a multi-million pound cycle route on Otley Road.

All of this is part of a push to get people out of their cars and on foot or to pick up a bike, the council says.

But some of the measures, such as Beech Grove, have proved contentious and led to petitions calling for them to be removed.

One of the most frequent criticisms of the county council is that these measures push traffic elsewhere.

This week, the Stray Ferret was told that the council’s cycling agenda has led to traffic building up on Cold Bath Road and made it unsafe for schoolchildren.

‘It’s no busier’

The closure of through traffic on Beech Grove is designed to link with the upcoming Otley Road cycle route, which started construction on its first phase this month.

According to the county council’s own figures, around three cyclists an hour use the LTN. However, campaigners argue that it is much more than that.

Some have gone as far as to sit on Beech Grove counting cyclists passing through themselves and reported 17 within an hour.

Valley Drive, which is closed to traffic from Cold Bath Road.

Valley Drive, which is closed to traffic from Cold Bath Road.

But critics say the by-product of the measure is the shifting of traffic elsewhere, namely onto Cold Bath Road.

The Stray Ferret went out to the road to check if it was busier.

Traffic built up at drop off and pick up times outside Western Primary School, nearby independent businesses and residential areas.

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Cars pulled into nearby streets as children waited patiently on the corner and other drivers tried to the negotiate the newly closed Valley Drive, which no longer allows entry from Cold Bath Road.

However, one business owner told the Stray Ferret that it was “not busier than usual” and it would have been noticeable had it been.

The sentiment, though, is not echoed by Western Primary School headteacher, Tim Broad.

Tim Broad is the headteacher of Western Primary School.

Mr Broad told the Stray Ferret that the road was busier due to Beech Grove and the Otley Road construction.

He said:

“I don’t feel that our children are as vulnerable now since the covid guidance has changed and we are no longer using our playground gate as an exit. 

“Drop off and collection are safer in that respect but obviously the busier the road, the bigger the threat to children.”

‘No increase’ in traffic, says highways boss

Much of the criticism for the introduction of these schemes comes back to the inbox of Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive county councillor for highways.

As is the case with politics, someone has to be accountable for proposals which affect peoples’ lives.

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Cllr Mackenzie has faced down emails and petitions from residents who no longer want the LTN because they say it makes Harrogate busier for traffic.

We put the concerns to Cllr Mackenzie over the increase in traffic on Cold Bath Road.

But, he said the authority had not seen any issues with traffic as a result of the measures brought in. Cllr Mackenzie said the highways department monitored traffic regularly.

Cllr Mackenzie said:

“Cold Bath Road is a very busy road and there is a lot going on there. We are mounting the traffic levels and we are seeing no increase.”

He added that a report on consultation responses into Beech Grove over the last six months is due to be published “in the coming weeks”.

Speculation Harrogate council leader will not seek re-election in 2022

Sources have told the Stray Ferret that Harrogate Borough Council leader Richard Cooper will stand down as a councillor next year and leave local government.

Multiple senior political figures have reported to us that the Conservative, who has been council leader since 2014, will not seek re-election when the Harrogate district next goes to the polls in May 2022.

He is expected to continue in his role as office manager for the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, Andrew Jones.

With Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council set to be abolished and replaced by a new single authority for North Yorkshire, the number of councillors in the Harrogate district is likely to be halved from 40 to 20.

Cllr Cooper, who represents Harrogate Central, has been on Harrogate Borough Council since 1999.

In 2013, he was also elected to represent Harrogate Central on North Yorkshire County Council.

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Cllr Cooper has been at the helm during the borough council’s move from Crescent Gardens to the Civic Centre, the development of the Harrogate district Local Plan, which outlines where development can take place in the district, the staging of the 2019 UCI Road World Championships in Harrogate and proposals for a £47m redevelopment of Harrogate Convention Centre.

The Stray Ferret asked Cllr Cooper if he would like to comment on the speculation but he asked us to direct the inquiry to the Harrogate Borough Council press office.

However, the press office said it would not comment because it was a political matter for the Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative Party.

Active travel plans ‘should consider horse riders’ as well as cyclists and walkers

Equestrians have urged North Yorkshire County Council to consider horse riders as well as cyclists and pedestrians in active travel schemes.

The council, which is the highways authority, has secured funding for active travel schemes on the A59 between Harrogate and Knaresborough and on Victoria Avenue in Harrogate town centre.

The introduction of a low traffic neighbourhood on Beech Grove and Victoria Road in Harrogate also aims to promote active travel and reduce car usage.

A meeting of the council’s North Yorkshire Local Access Forum yesterday heard members raise concerns that such schemes focused specifically on walking and cycling rather than active travel generally.

Officers said it was recognised that horse riding had the same health and wellbeing benefits as cycling and walking.

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Forum member, horse rider and carriage driver Will Scarlett questioned how the authority had decided many urban routes would be unsuitable for horse riders, saying they were often left with no option but to ride on roads.

Discriminating against older people

Another forum member, Janet Cochrane, said she was concerned equestrians were being ignored by the council. 

She said many equestrians were older people and not providing for them highlighted “an element of discrimination” in the authority’s strategy.

She said: 

“I understand that you have to abide by national guidelines, but North Yorkshire is a predominantly rural county and there is a very high number of horses owned and used for leisure purposes. There has to be a way of incorporating them into the rights of way network.

“Although it is assumed that horses are mainly used for leisure purposes, in fact people do use them to go and visit their friends, they even use them for shopping, they use them to vote at polling stations.”

The council’s policy to focus active travel improvements on urban areas where schemes impact on the most people has been criticised by some rural residents, who say it leaves them with no option but to travel by motorised transport.

Caroline Bradley, of the British Horse Society, told the meeting the creation of new paths to increase active travel was to be welcomed provided that equestrians were included, as a minimum, to routes outside large town centres.

Ms Bradley said: 

“Many of the proposed routes will be in urban areas. However, many horses are kept on the urban fringe, so it is important that equestrians are not excluded from routes that exit the urban areas into the surrounding environment.

“Active travel and local walking and cycling initiatives should not in any way compromise the use of public rights of way by making them less amenable to existing lawful users.”

More double yellow lines for Harrogate

New double yellow lines are set to be painted on Harrogate’s roads to stop cars waiting on streets and causing a hazard.

A new order by North Yorkshire County Council will see new yellow lines appear on some roads across Harrogate, Pannal and Burn Bridge as well as others being lengthened and shortened.

The council has said the new measures are to encourage road safety and avoid obstructions in some busier areas.

Some of the roads included in the measures are:

The times parking is restricted and whether there will be double or single yellow lines can be found here.

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Melisa Burnham, highways area manager at the council, said:

“Traffic regulation orders of this type are commonplace. These orders relating to Harrogate, Knaresborough, Pannal and Burn Bridge are to prevent motor vehicles being left on yellow lines for various reasons, predominantly road safety, by preventing obstructions or regulating vehicle movement or parking.

“All these ordered were publicised and comment invited in April. This included responses from residents.

“The restrictions will come into force at the earliest opportunity, as soon as specialist road marking contractors can undertake the work.”