Otley Road Archives - Page 10 of 13

Traffic disruption expected in Killinghall next week

Delays are expected in Killinghall next week when new electricity cables are laid for the village’s forthcoming Tesco Express.

Temporary traffic lights will be installed and buses and lorries will be prevented from turning in and out of Otley Road from Ripon Road.

The measures will allow Northern Powergrid to excavate a trench and install cables beneath the pavement outside the Tesco on Ripon Road.

Northern Powergrid has written to residents saying work is expected to last 10 days. The letter says:

“There will be a certain amount of disruption during the implementation of this work but every effort will be made to keep this to a minimum.”

The letter adds the traffic lights will “inevitably lengthen journey times” and buses will be affected.

A barrier and temporary walkway will operate outside the Tesco for pedestrians.

A spokesman for The Harrogate Bus Company, which is part of the French company Transdev, said:

“This will mean our service 24 will be diverted in the Killinghall area, while journeys on our 36 route may also experience some delays.

“Full details of alternative arrangements are being advertised to keep our customers informed, including on our Twitter feed ‘@harrogatebus’ and on the free to download Transdev Go mobile app.”

The Stray Ferret asked Tesco when the store was due to open. All it would say was “early 2022”.

Don’t judge Otley Road cycle path until its complete, says campaign group

Harrogate District Cycle Action has urged people to hold judgement on the new Otley Road cycle path until it is completed in full.

The first phase of the long-delayed Harrogate cycle path between Harlow Moor Road and Arthurs Avenue was due for completion last week but has now been pushed back again until 21 February 2022.

Kevin Douglas, chairman of Harrogate District Cycle Action, said while the campaign group had raised some concerns over the works completed so far, people would only see the full benefits when all three phases of the project are completed.

He said:

“This is only one phase and a very small part of the whole project.

“What we wanted to see was a scheme that was going to be an exemplar for other cycle routes and at the moment we haven’t got that because it is only part of the bigger picture.

“When the whole thing is done it should be better and encourage more people to cycle and walk.”

The cycle path is part of a wider package of sustainable transport measures for Harrogate, which will cost around £4.6 million once completed.

Funding was first secured by North Yorkshire County Council in 2017 and there have since been several delays involving utility and construction works.

There have also been drawn-out discussions with the Duchy of Lancaster – the owners of the Stray – over the use of grass verges protected by law.

Despite the long-awaited progress on the first phase, the county council has said it is still unable to say when the project could be completed in full.

It said phase two could start in April and that the final phase connecting Cardale Park relies on developer funding, which is currently being worked on and will lead to more detailed planning, including a feasibility study.

Junction concerns

The concerns raised by Harrogate District Cycle Action over the first phase involve changes to Otley Road’s junction with Harlow Moor Road, as well as priority for pedestrians.

Mr Douglas said the campaign group would soon meet with council officers to highlight the issues.

He said:

“We said right at the beginning that this is one of the most difficult parts of Otley Road to work on. There are constraints and we acknowledge that.

“But the Harlow Moor Road junction has been widened to allow traffic through which is frustrating and has narrowed the turning for pedestrians and cyclists.”

Mr Douglas added:

“With all the delays that are going on we will keep pressing the council which should have been doing one phase and then straight onto the next one.

“I couldn’t see them doing a new road scheme in this way – they just wouldn’t do it.”

Otley Road cycle path ‘disaster waiting to happen’, says pub landlord

The landlord of Charlie’s Place on Otley Road has described the new cycle path, which has sections shared with pedestrians, as a “disaster waiting to happen”.

Work has continued since November to build the first phase of the new cycle route between Harlow Moor Road and Cold Bath Road. It’s part of a package of sustainable transport measures in the west of Harrogate.

Over half of the route will be shared with pedestrians, with only a line of paint to separate them from cyclists, including the section directly outside Charlie’s Place, which has been owned and run by Charlie Tinker for 18 years.

Mr Tinker fears a speeding cyclist coming down the hill will strike a pub patron, who might be standing outside smoking or waiting for a taxi.

He said:

“Cyclists will be coming down the hill at speed, it’s a disaster waiting to happen.

“It wont be long and by the time we get to summer there will be an accident.”

Contractors have been resurfacing the path again this week, which Mr Tinker said has been an “absolute bloody nightmare” with grit, gravel and cones left outside his pub.

Mr Tinker said the works, which were expected to have been finished before Christmas, have had a negative impact on trade and are putting customers off visiting.

He said he has complained to North Yorkshire County Council about the disruption but has been ignored.

Mr Tinker added:

“The council haven’t had the gall to come out and see us and to not reply absolutely stinks.”

Melisa Burnham, North Yorkshire County Council highways area manager, said:

“Phase 1 of the Otley Road cycleway is ongoing. While safety audits have been undertaken as part of the design process, the scheme will be subject to a final safety audit and review upon completion.

“The project team is working with the contractors on implementing appropriate signage and lining.

“We apologise for any inconvenience the recent resurfacing has caused. All businesses and residents should have been informed in advance by the contractors.”

No. 1: The cycling schemes that divided Harrogate

Nothing generated more debate on the Stray Ferret’s social media this year than schemes to promote cycling in and around Harrogate.

There was the Otley Road cycle path, Beech Grove Low Traffic Neighbourhood, plans to make Oatlands Drive one-way to vehicles and funding for cycle schemes on Victoria Avenue in Harrogate and Harrogate Road in Knaresborough.

But the £10.9 million Station Gateway scheme proved the most controversial of all.

Gateway: petitions and legal threats

The scheme aims to transform the gateway to the town near the bus and train stations by reducing traffic on part of Station Parade to single lane and part pedestrianising James Street while encouraging cycling and walking.

Latest Station Gateway visuals which show Harrogate's James Street pedestrianised.

How James Street would look.

With funding for the initiative secured from national government, North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council, which both support the scheme, ran two public consultations this year.

Both revealed a deeply divided town: some welcomed the opportunity to create a greener town by encouraging cycling and reducing car use; others felt the scheme would merely move traffic off the A61 Cheltenham Crescent and onto nearby residential streets, cause delays on Station Parade and damage town centre businesses.

Matters came to a head at a feisty Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce meeting in February when pro-gateway representatives, led by Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at the county council, gave a presentation to a sceptical audience.

Don Mackenzie speaking at the chamber meeting.

It ended with businesses threatening to mount a judicial review to halt the process.

The results of the second consultation, published this month, revealed that of 1,320 replies to an online survey, 55% felt negatively, 39% positively and five per cent neutral towards the scheme. One per cent said they didn’t know.

A consultation event in Victoria Shopping Centre.

The chamber has called for the scheme to be halted and two residents groups have filed petitions opposing the project in its current form.

The county council is expected to decide next month whether to proceed with the scheme but the early indications are it will press ahead with final designs in the hope that work will start in spring.

Beech Grove: barriers and cuts across the Stray

North Yorkshire County Council’s decision to ban through traffic on Beech Grove caught many people by surprise in February.

The move aimed to link Beech Grove with the forthcoming Otley Road cycle path and the proposed Victoria Avenue cycling improvements, creating a more connected cycling route around Harrogate.

Tyre tracks on the Stray next to the planters on Beech Grove.

Planters blocking traffic were initially introduced on a six-month trial basis in February but this was extended to 18 months, meaning a decision on whether to extend the scheme will be due after August 2022.

Some vehicles on Beech Grove initially flouted the law by driving on Stray land to bypass the planters.

Data obtained by the Stray Ferret this month following a freedom of information request to the council revealed the move has so far had little impact on cycling journeys on Beech Grove.

It has, however, had a considerable impact on traffic on nearby streets Victoria Road and Queens Road. But the council claims the data reveals there is “no evidence” to support claims that traffic has increased on Cold Bath Road.

Malcolm Margolis on Beech Grove

Harrogate cycling campaigner Malcolm Margolis conducted his own survey, which produced higher figures for cyclists. He claimed it proved the initiative was working well.

The issue looks set to rumble on throughout the year until a decision is made on whether to continue the experiment after August.

Otley Road: work finally begins

Work finally began on the much-delayed cycle path in winter when phase one of the project, from Harlow Moor Road to Arthur’s Avenue, got underway.

North Yorkshire County Council hopes the path will improve safety and alleviate congestion along the Otley Road corridor.

Phase one work gets underway.

Phase one was due to finish before Christmas but the council blamed ‘severe weather’ for another delay and said work should now finish in January.

Phase two, from Harlow Moor Road to Beech Grove, is due to start in March.

It is unclear when phase three, from Harlow Moor Road to Cardale Park, will start. That stretch of the cycle lane relies on developer funding from housing built in the west of Harrogate.

The county council is currently working on various plans, including a feasibility study, for phase three.

Oatlands Drive plans scrapped

North Yorkshire County Council announced in February it had received £1m from the Department for Transport’s Active Travel Fund for four schemes to improve the infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians.

Three of the schemes were for the Harrogate district. They were: the A59 Harrogate Road, Knaresborough, between Badger Mount and Maple Close; Oatlands Drive, Harrogate between Hookstone Road and Knaresborough Road and Victoria Avenue, between the A61 and Station Parade.

The projects for Knaresborough and Victoria Avenue are still due to proceed.

But plans to make Oatlands one-way to traffic and improve the narrow cycle lanes were shelved after 57% of consultation respondents opposed the proposal. They cited the impact on school buses and the creation of a ‘rat run’ on surrounding residential streets at peak times.

Oatlands Drive, Harrogate.

Subsequent traffic proposals for the saints area were also dropped after opposition.

The council said it would commission an Oatlands constituency feasibility study’ to “re-assess opportunities” for infrastructure improvements but so far nothing has been forthcoming.

Traffic continues to park in the cycle lanes on Oatlands Drive. Harrogate Borough Council introduced signs urging motorists not to do it but they appear to have had little impact.

One of the signs on the Stray alongside Oatlands Drive.

‘Severe weather’ delays Otley Road cycle path in Harrogate

North Yorkshire County Council said today that severe weather had delayed completion of the first phase of the Otley Road cycle path in Harrogate.

The first phase of the much delayed scheme was due to finish today. It has focused on creating the cycle path from Harlow Moor Road to Arthur’s Avenue.

The council, which is the highways authority, said today the majority of work on the footpath and carriageway will be completed by tomorrow.

It added the roads and footways around the construction works will reopen on Saturday for Christmas and New Year while the council pauses the scheme.

New permanent traffic signals are expected to be in operation from Monday and over the Christmas period.

The remaining phase one cycle path works will restart in the week commencing January 3 and are now due to finish by January 14.

A press release issued by the council today said “recent severe weather conditions have delayed completion of the cycle path”.

Highways area manager Melisa Burnham said:

“We have made every effort to complete the work, but the weather has been against us.

“We will lift the works over the holiday period for the convenience of residents and aim to complete the work quickly in January, though this again will be subject to weather conditions.”

Phases two and three

Work on the second phase, which will cover Harlow Moor Road to Beech Grove, is set to start in March.

It is unclear when phase three, from Harlow Moor Road to Cardale Park, will start. That stretch of the cycle lane relies on developer funding from housing built in the west of Harrogate.

The county council is currently working on various plans, including a feasibility study, for phase three.

The cycleway aims to improve safety and alleviate congestion along the Otley Road corridor.

It will complement other schemes, such as the Beech Grove low traffic neighbourhood and future projects in the town centre, ultimately providing a cycle facility from the west of Harrogate to the town centre.

Otley Road business owner ‘fuming’ about cycle path works

The owner of IXP Security on Otley Road in Harrogate has said he is “fuming” about prolonged works to build the new Otley Road cycle path, which he believes has put customers off visiting his store.

Work has continued throughout November and December to build the first phase of the new cycle route between Harlow Moor Road and Cold Bath Road, which is part of a package of sustainable transport measures in the west of Harrogate. It is due to end this week.

The security store has been on Otley Road for 50 years and sells safes, intruder alarms, locks and CCTV systems.

Owner Marcus Wayman said footfall has evaporated since work began and he has been unimpressed with the “etiquette” of contractors working on the scheme.

“We’ve been subjected to a significant period of time where we’ve been disadvantaged. I can’t get access to my front door all the time. Whilst I bow to the skill of road builders, their ability to follow etiquette is limited.

“They have travelled across our shop’s apron with great big heavy trucks. That concrete footpath has survived 50 years, it’s all smashed up now.

“I’m fuming about it. Stuff has been strewn all over my apron. I move safes in and out of the showroom, which I can no longer do.”

To accommodate the cycle path, a bus stop has been moved closer to Mr Wayman’s shop.

He believes this could be hazardous for pedestrians who might have to dodge out of the way of cyclists. He has complained to North Yorkshire County Council but said he has been ignored.

He added:

“NYCC are servants to the voters in this town who pay their wages, but they are absolutely incapable of being talked to. They seemingly refuse to get back to you quickly.

“There aren’t many businesses as old as us in the locality, is this the way to treat people? Where has the courtesy gone in life?

“From start to finish I have had a gripe against the whole scheme, there’s no democracy.”

Melisa Burnham, highways area manager at NYCC, said:

“Feedback from residents and businesses is very important to us and can help shape the delivery of this and future schemes. We will liaise with the business owner and identify how best we can support him whilst the works continue on Otley Road.

“We appreciate works of this nature have an impact on the local community and we would like to extend our thanks for their ongoing patience.”

In Depth: Where is the infrastructure plan for 4,000 homes in west Harrogate?

With as many as 4,000 homes planned for the Western side of Harrogate, a document is being drawn up by Harrogate Borough Council to nail down the infrastructure requirements of the area and who will pay for it.

HBC is working with developers and North Yorkshire County Council on the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan (WHPP). It will aim to allow for a more joined-up approach to infrastructure, including addressing roads and traffic, rather than assessment on a site-by-site basis.

But residents and councillors have grown frustrated with broken promises about when it will be published.

HBC initially said it would be published in October 2020, which was delayed until March 2021, then September 2021. It now says a draft version will be published in February 2022.

Harlow Hill, Rossett, and Pannal Ash are already some of the most popular residential areas in Harrogate and the stretch of Otley Road from Cardale Park to Beckwithshaw is set to be transformed with new housing developments.

However, the 200-home police training centre scheme in Yew Tree Lane was passed this week before the WHPP has seen the light of day.

Rene Dziabas, chair of Harlow & Pannal Ash Residents Association, told the Stray Ferret he is concerned that the decision not to wait until the plan is published before approving the police training centre scheme will set a precedent.

With a new local authority set to be created for North Yorkshire next year, he’s also worried the plan could be kicked down the road further. He believes staffing issues in the council’s planning department has contributed to the delays.

He said:

“If it’s delayed any further there will be the temptation to let the new unitary authority deal with it. That’s a concern.”

HAPARA is hoping the plan will go some way to tackling congestion and traffic on the west side of Harrogate, which could worsen considerably due to car-dependent housing developments.

“We’d like to see greater frequency of buses, junction improvements, the widening of pavements, cycle paths.

“Subject to appropriate investment, we can then start making improvements, otherwise why are you doing the plan?

He gave some examples of areas that he feels needs improvement:

“Leadhall Lane Marks and Spencers junction is known to be a pinch point, some work needs to be done there to help flow of traffic.

“The Prince of Wales roundabout is another pinch point as is other end of Otley Road and the tiny roundabout in Beckwithshaw.”

Poor communications

HAPARA has been unhappy with the level of consultation offered to residents by HBC during the process.

Mr Dziabas said the council has “confused contact and communications” and people who will be affected by the massive expansion of new housing have not felt like active participants in how the area will change.

He said:

“Not once has the council come back to us and said, ‘This is what we’re thinking, how do you feel this would work?’

“We’ve had no opportunity, all we’ve had from council is process. Communication has been poor.”

Mr Dziabas added:

“Perhaps the council feel if they involve residents too much it will slow the process down, or we might put an idea forward that doesn’t align with what a developer is saying.

“In their mind it might be a lot of extra hard work dealing with the nitty gritty with residents, so they keep us at arm’s length.”

‘Very frustrating’

Liberal Democrat councillor Pat Marsh sits on the 12 person planning committee that decides whether to approve or refuse large housing schemes.

She told the Stray Ferret it has been “very, very frustrating” that councillors are now being asked by officers to approve planning applications in the western side of Harrogate before the WHPP has been published.

She believes the majority of councillors wanted to defer the police training centre scheme until the plan is published, but were “bullied” into approving it by Homes England who threatened legal action.

She said the plan should have been drawn up years ago, before sites were allocated for development in the Local Plan, and that she shoulders some of the blame for that.

“It should have been in place prior to the Local Plan. I’ll hold my hand up for not realising that. Infrastucture is not being dealt with now.”

Cllr Marsh is concerned that even with the WHPP in place, it will be the houses that get built first and the necessary infrastructure such as schools or healthcare facilities could take years to follow.

“It will be the houses that get built first to make the money.”

Council’s response

In a written statement sent to the Stray Ferret, Conservative councillor Tim Myatt, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for planning, said the WHPP will create a “clear vision” for infrastructure in west Harrogate.

He said “rather than rush” the council has been making sure the document is right for the town.

“By providing first-class community facilities, school provision, green infrastructure and sustainable travel opportunities, for example, we will be able to achieve the WHPPs goals and objectives.

“A significant amount of work – by qualified experts – has gone into what has been produced so far and we will continue to work hard until we’re comfortable we can achieve the best outcome in terms of quality of development and delivery of infrastructure.

“Rather than rush and produce a plan that fails to deliver this vision, we are taking a planned and strategic approach and anticipate concluding work on the WHPP in the New Year alongside an addendum to the Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) thereafter.”

In response to HAPARA’s claim that residents had not been consulted, Cllr Myatt said several suggestions from residents have helped to shape the document.

He added:

“Although there is no statutory requirement to consult on the preparation of the WHPP, we value residents’ views.

“And a number of suggestions have helped shaped the WHPP, so I’d like to thank those residents for their valuable feedback.

“We will also engage with local stakeholders, of which HAPARA is one, in January to help achieve a WHPP that sets a benchmark for future communities across the Harrogate district.”

Consultation launched for 480 homes on Harrogate’s Otley Road

Homes England has begun a public consultation on plans to build 480 homes at Bluecoat Wood, opposite Cardale Park and Harrogate police station.

The government housing agency bought the site this year after previous plans to develop it stalled. It plans to call the development Bluecoat Park.

The site covers 28 hectares of largely green fields and homes would wrap around Horticap.

The scheme would include a new pitch for Pannal Ash Cricket Club, a sports hub and a children’s play area. Homes England said 40% of the homes would be “affordable”.

A new community woodland would also be planted.

The consultation, which will end on January 10, will inform the submission of a full planning application to Harrogate Borough Council. A website has been created for people to submit their thoughts on the scheme.

Harrogate Borough Council‘s Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, the council’s plan for development in the district until 2035, says 450 homes can be built on the site.

Traffic concerns

Separate plans for 780 homes and a new primary school have been proposed by Taylor Wimpey and Redrow at nearby Bluecoat Wood on Otley Road.

Local residents group Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association has raised concerns about congestion on Otley Road as well as extra traffic through nearby villages such as Beckwithshaw, North Rigton and Burn Bridge.

Homes England said its Bluecoat Park development would help inform the West Harrogate Parameters Plan, a document that will assess transport and infrastructure needs associated with wider plans to build up to 4,000 homes on the western side of Harrogate.

The plan was expected last year but has been delayed until February 2022.

The site’s history

Housing has been mooted at Bluecoat Wood for many years.

In February 2016, HBC granted planning permission to a partnership of developers called HTH Harrogate LLP to build 450 homes.

It followed an earlier refusal of permission on the grounds of road safety and traffic flow problems.

However, Homes England bought the site in February after the developer pulled out.

In the summer, Homes England submitted an environmental impact assessment for 530 homes on the site. The number has now been reduced.

Harrogate police officer keeps job after running red light and crashing

A Harrogate police officer who was found guilty of dangerous driving after running a red light at 50 miles per hour and crashing has kept her job.

DC Quita Passmore was responding to reports of an officer in distress on May 5 in 2018 when she drove through red lights at the junction of Otley Road and Cold Bath Road.

Patricia Bulmer and Janet Roberton, who were travelling in the car she hit, sustained severe injuries, including broken bones as well as a punctured lung.

Passmore received a 10-month jail term, suspended for two years, and was disqualified from driving for two years at Bradford Crown Court in February.

North Yorkshire Police subsequently held a misconduct hearing, two years after the incident, in May this year.

During the trial, Passmore admitted that her conduct amounted to gross misconduct and the panel agreed. The panel, which had the power to dismiss her, opted instead to issue a final written warning.

Following the outcome, the Stray Ferret has written several times to both the Crown Prosecution Service and North Yorkshire Police to ask when CCTV from the night of the crash, which was shown in court, would be released.

The CPS did not respond numerous times before passing the enquiry onto North Yorkshire Police. North Yorkshire Police told us it was in fact the responsibility of the CPS.

We were then told by both organisations this week that the video was “no longer contemporaneous” and would therefore not be released.

Last week North Yorkshire Police released a compilation of video footage showing what it described as “some of the worst driving” in the county by members of the public as part of a new “fatal five” campaign focussing on the most common causes of fatalities.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said:

“The officer faced the allegation that she had breached the standards of professional behaviour Duties and Responsibilities and Discreditable Conduct.

“The officer admitted that their conduct amounted to gross misconduct and the panel concluded the same. The outcome was a final written warning.”

Harrogate’s Victoria Road scheme delayed due to bin wagon concerns

A scheme to stop vehicles in Harrogate turning from Victoria Road onto Otley Road has been delayed because bin wagons will find it difficult to turn.

North Yorkshire County Council was due to introduce the initiative before the end of September as an 18-month trial to improve safety for cyclists using the forthcoming Otley Road cycle route.

A barrier would have been placed at the junction, and one-way only and no entry signs installed.

However, the scheme has been delayed while the council draws up a new design that accommodates turning bin wagons. The council does not know when the project will now be introduced.

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

“The original design needs to be amended to accommodate the safe turning and manoeuvring of bin wagons and making sure the proposed one-way filter lane doesn’t have any other impacts on waste services.

“We anticipated this design stage to be concluded by the end of September.

“We are currently working with Harrogate Borough Council to agree a revised design before the introduction of the 18-month trial of a one-way filter lane on Victoria Road.

The council wants the Victoria Road scheme to join up with other active travel schemes in the town, including the nearby Beech Grove low traffic neighbourhood, the scheduled new cycle path on Victoria Avenue, and the Harrogate Station Gateway project.

Construction on the much-delayed Otley Road cycle route began last month.

There are still uncertainties over when the project will be completed 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.

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Junction concerns

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Gateway: petitions and legal threats

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Beech Grove: barriers and cuts across the Stray

Otley Road: work finally begins

Oatlands Drive plans scrapped

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Phases two and three

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Poor communications

‘Very frustrating’

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Council’s response

Traffic concerns

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The site’s history

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