Readers’ Letters is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. 

This letter follows news of the Otley Road cycleway in Harrogate being extended.

I use a mobility scooter to go up the pavements to the Co-op.

The pavements are a disgrace – as are the so-called dropped kerbs.

It improves a bit half-way up the road on the cycleway, but I have never actually seen a cyclist on the existing cycleway. Why? Because it’s dangerous and confusing!

The section I use has corrugated concrete which is a nightmare to cross. People with prams and elderly pedestrians also have issues.

I have contacted councillor Keane Duncan several times about the pavements, and the pedestrian crossing on Otley Road near the Prince of Wales roundabout.  He has replied at one stage about the crossing.  But he, and others from Highways, ignore my offer of going out with me on my scooter to let them see the state of pavements. They could use my scooter to see just how difficult it is.

Regarding his idea of buying The Grand Hotel, in Scarborough… I am speechless.

It is a beautiful historic building but does not warrant cllr Duncan spending tax payers’ money on it. Pavements and potholes should be a priority.

Ann Townson, Harrogate

Harrogate’s roads are deteriorating before our eyes…

On the topic of Harrogate roads, this letter bemoans the state of them. Few topics boil our readers’ blood more than potholes, gullies and poor road conditions.

Why, oh, why are our roads disintegrating before our eyes?

Surely the council should be thoroughly embarrassed, considering we live in a town that promotes cycling.

They waste money on harebrained schemes, such as the Gateway, but cannot plan road replacements.

And don’t even get me going about road gully maintenance.

Phil Brown, Harrogate

Ripon is becoming a ‘laughingstock’ with the number of construction projects

This letter responds to several potential and ongoing construction projects in Ripon, including the leisure centre, housing developments and the Cathedral annexe saga.

Ripon is becoming a laughing stock with the number of issues relating to construction projects.

Firstly, the farce of a leisure centre being built on totally unsuitable land.

Then there is the ridiculous state of the road around the Market Square and the housing development built on greenbelt land at the top of South Grange Road.

And now the absolute debacle of the Cathedral annexe.

It is an absolute joke, are the powers that be able to plan, or deliver, a construction project with any level of professionalism?

Tony Sidwell, Ripon

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

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When transport chief Cllr Keane Duncan announced last year phase two of the Otley Road cycleway had been scrapped, it appeared to signal the end of the project.

It therefore came as a surprise this week when Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents’ Association‘s spring meeting, attended by North Yorkshire Council officers, heard the scheme had been revived.

So what has changed and is the prospect of extending the shared route for cyclists and pedestrians a welcome step forward for active travel or a costly folly?

The cycleway was due to be built in three phases and form part of a safe, off-road cycling route from Harrogate Rail Station to Cardale Park, encouraging people to get out of cars in an area where 4,000 homes are being built.

Phase one, from Cold Bath Road to Harlow Moor Road, was completed late and over budget.

Phase two was supposed to extend east from Cold Bath Road to Beech Grove, eventually connecting to a yet-to-be-built cycleway on Victoria Avenue.

Phase three, extending west from Harlow Moor Drive to Cardale Park, was never officially abandoned but the political will to proceed appeared to have been sapped. So reviving it has attracted considerable debate in recent days, although the route will now only extend 1.1km up Otley Road to Harlow Carr.

The junction of Otley Road and Harlow Moor Road, showing where the cycleway would be extended.

Phase three will be funded by developers as mitigation for building homes in west Harrogate, whereas phase two was due to be funded by the council, which has struggled to secure funding for active travel schemes. This goes a long way to explaining why phase three is going ahead rather than phase two.

Also, unlike previous phases, there won’t be a specific consultation on phase three, limiting the prospect of dissent.

Hapara has distributed leaflets to residents about the plans and clearly isn’t a fan.

The leaflet says:

“The general view of this scheme is that it will not deliver any real benefits to mitigate against the high levels of traffic on Otley Road which is how it was sold when initially launched.

“If the intention is to get more people cycling, which is a perfectly sensible aim, this scheme appears to be an expensive way of delivering the objective. Perhaps a better option would be to publicise the existing network of cycle paths to a greater extent.”

Some residents at this week’s meeting agreed and said the money would be better spent on improving bus services.

But the leaflet drew a stinging rebuke from the campaign group Harrogate District Cycle Action, which fired off a series of tweets that accused Hapara of “misleading” statements.

It is v disappointing to see @HaparaHgt putting out an anti-Otley Road Cycleway leaflet https://t.co/FYUk5bgtJv
If you are anti-cycle infrastructure, you are in effect anti-more people cycling more often @NeilHind @walkbikescoot @HKLibDems @HarrogateGreens 1/ pic.twitter.com/UHlHHa49Gc

— Harrogate Cycle Action (@cycle_harrogate) April 17, 2024

For example, the leaflet said construction would result in the loss of five trees around the junction of Otley Rd and Beckwith Road, which Harrogate District Cycle Action said “would only be lost if the council widens the road to create extra lanes for motor vehicles”.

The cycling group also said the leaflet was wrong to say there was a “strong negative public response” to phase two because 104 people told a second round of consultation they were in favour of going ahead while only 83 were against, despite the comments by Cllr Duncan, the council’s executive member for highways, saying the project was shelved due to its unpopularity.

It concluded:

“Overall, the individuals steering Hapara are not serving or representing the residents of the local area well by taking such a hostile stance to cycling. Hapara should be working with the council to create the best cycle facilities possible in Otley Road.”

Speaking after Wednesday’s meeting, Hapara chair Rene Dziabas said:

“I am not opposed to cycling but I do think the whole basis on which this scheme was conceived was wrong. It was never going to provide the mitigation required on Otley Road.”

Cyclists are frustrated about the council failing to deliver on schemes in Harrogate and Knaresborough. While pleased to see progress, many share concerns that such a disjointed scheme on Otley Road will make a significant difference, particularly as without phase two it won’t form the holy grail of an integrated route around town.

Public consultation concerns

Cllr Mike Schofield not only has a political interest in the matter but also a personal one. As the independent North Yorkshire councillor for Harlow and St George’s, the cycleway is on his patch. He is also landlord of the Shepherd’s Dog pub on Otley Road, which the extended cycleway will pass.

The Shepherd’s Dog

Cllr Schofield said he had two concerns:

“Whilst I accept that appropriate legal requirements may have been satisfied I am extremely disappointed that no public consultation is to take place for the residents of Harlow Hill, Beckwithshaw and those who use the Otley Road corridor.

“Yes, residents can make their viewpoints known via the planning portal and searching through the planning application documentation but that can be like wading through a minefield whereas a simple consultation would make it more accessible and easier for residents.”

He added:

“I also have concerns around the developer funding, my worry being that developers of sites that are not on the Otley Road corridor may seek ways of avoiding their financial commitment to the scheme and therefore leaving the residents of Harlow Hill and Beckwithshaw with a substandard and not fit-for-purpose scheme as we have in phase one.

“It seems to me so much is either still undecided, up in the air or being kept very secret.”

The Stray Ferret contacted the council requesting more details about the scheme, including why it had decided to revive it and the expected cost.

A council spokesperson said, as the highways authority, it was a statutory consultee in the planning application process and not the promoters of any of the off-site mitigation measures being offered.

Allan McVeigh, the council’s head of network strategy, added:

“The third phase of Otley Road cycle route has been progressed as part of developer-funded off-site works linked to the west of Harrogate planning applications, rather than a scheme promoted by the council.

“The planning application process will form the consultation, as is the case for all other off-site highway works put forward by developers. The timescale for construction will depend on how the applications progress and are determined.”

The cycle route is back on the agenda. But the route ahead remains unclear.

Read more:

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Police have appealed for witnesses after a 14-year-old girl was injured after a collision in Harrogate.

The incident happened on Otley Road near to Queens Road and West End Avenue at 4.45pm on Tuesday, December 12.

Officers said a black motor vehicle collided with a 14-year-old girl who was a pedestrian. Following the collision, the girl attended hospital for treatment.

The driver, who is described as aged between 60 and 70-years-old, bald and was wearing all black clothing did stop at the scene but didn’t leave any details.

A North Yorkshire Police statement added:

“Police are now requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.

“In particular, officers are appealing for information about anyone that witnessed the collision or anyone with dashcam or CCTV footage.

“Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should email paul.dixon@northyorkshire.police.uk   You can also call North Yorkshire Police on 101 and ask for Paul Dixon.

“If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Please quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12230236668 when passing information.”

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A £100,000 project to make a minor Harrogate road better for cycling has been scrapped after being criticised as a “waste of money”.

North Yorkshire Council revealed in September it planned to upgrade Nursery Lane, which is a minor road off Otley Road, into an off-road leisure route.

The scheme came as part of 10 proposals put forward to reduce congestion in west Harrogate.

However, a council report due before Cllr Keane Duncan, executive councillor for highways, next week shows the plan has now been dropped.

The project was criticised by cyclists at a meeting of Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee in September.

David Mitchell, of Harrogate District Cycle Action, told councillors that spending £100,000 on Nursery Lane was “not sensible because it would not make a meaningful difference to the cycle network”.

Meanwhile, Cllr Paul Haslam, a Conservative who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge, told the meeting the cycling community had told him the proposal was “a complete waste of money because that lane is already safe”.

Read more:

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The report, which will go before Cllr Duncan on December 18, says the scheme has been scrapped as feedback showed it “was not supported and the funding could be better utilised on other projects”.

It has been replaced with a £60,000 plan to resurface the footpath and cycleway between Green Lane and Blenheim Way, which is known as Rossett Cycle Path.

The report said the move would “enhance the off-road route and encourage its use as an alternative route to the Otley Road corridor for walkers and cyclists”.

The Stray Ferret reported the proposed congestion-reducing initiatives when they were published in September. You can read them here.

Funding for the overall project has increased to £854,000 after the authority received further section 106 contributions.

The cost for the improvements is now estimated at £715,000 – an increase from £585,000.

The council said any remaining money would be kept as a contingency to cover design work, which is expected to start in January 2024.

A further report on the proposals will be brought before Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee in the spring.

Harrogate District Cycle Action has criticised North Yorkshire Council for its track record in delivering active travel in Harrogate, which has seen various cycling and walking schemes abandoned and funding bids rejected.

In recent years the council has built a widely-criticised stretch of cycle route on Otley Road and abandoned the next phase, scrapped a Low Traffic Neighbourhood on Beech Grove and decided against creating a one-way system on Oatlands Drive.

Meanwhile, funding bids have been rejected by the government for new cycle paths on Knaresborough Road and Victoria Avenue.

Its flagship active travel scheme, the £11.2m Harrogate Station Gateway, is also set to scaled-back with no guarantees it will offer any benefits for cyclists if it’s eventually built.

The council’s predecessor North Yorkshire County Council undertook a much-publicised Harrogate Congestion Survey in 2019 which showed there was an appetite for improving walking and cycling infrastructure in the town so people are incentivised to leave their cars at home.

But campaigner Gia Margolis, speaking at a meeting of Harrogate and Knaresborough councillors this morning at the Civic Centre, said the council is “failing our children and grandchildren” due to its patchy record on delivering active travel schemes.

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Speaking on behalf of Harrogate District Cycle Action, Ms Margolis said:

“Consultants have written reports which have all come to the same conclusion — most short journeys [in Harrogate] are less than 1.6 miles and too many are made by car.

“We’re asking you to stop talking and giving us false hope that things will change and look at why the council has failed to deliver any significant active travel schemes over the last nine years.”

Ms Margolis also referred to the various housing estates on the edge of Harrogate that suffer with poor active travel infrastructure and bus routes.

She added:

“Harrogate could by now have had a first-class walking and cycling network which would have made a difference to all our lives but we’re bound by a focus on people in their cars.”

Ms Margolis’ statement was not debated by councillors but instead officer Mark Codman read out a pre-written response.

He referred to the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan, a document that was produced last year to improve infrastructure at the same time as thousands of new homes are built.

Mr Codman said:

“The group’s disappointment has been noted and acknowledged. The west of Harrogate promoters have given consideration towards active travel as part of the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan and a proposed bus route extension.

“In addition, walking and cycling schemes have been put forward including Otley Road phase 3, at Windmill Farm and Harlow Moor Road, plus an active travel scheme encompassing Whinney Lane and Pannal Ash Road.”

A police car was involved in a two-vehicle crash in Killinghall today in which both drivers were taken to hospital.

North Yorkshire Police said it was contacted at 3.45pm today about a collision between a white Hyundai car and a police car on Otley Road.

It is believed the incident occurred at the junction with Grainbeck Lane.

The police statement said:

“Emergency services attended the scene. No serious injuries have been reported, but both drivers of the vehicles have attended hospital with minor injuries.

“Road closures were put in place between Lund Lane and Otley Road, to allow officers to determine the circumstances around the collision and to enable the vehicles to be recovered. These have now been lifted and the road is now open.”

It added:

“While the police car involved will have audio and video recordings of the collision, officers are still keen to hear from any other witnesses who saw the collision and/or recorded dashcam footage.”

Anyone with information can email Dan.Stoppard@northyorkshire.police.uk or dial 101 and ask to speak to traffic sergeant 880 Dan Stoppard quoting reference NYP-24102023-0320.

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The headteacher of Harrogate Grammar School has said a section of Otley Road should be reduced to 20mph to improve safety for schoolchildren.

North Yorkshire Council announced last week speed limits will be introduced outside seven schools in Harrogate under plans for a “landmark” 20mph zone across Pannal Ash and Oatlands.

The move followed repeated calls from headteachers and parents to introduce lower speed limits around schools following high-profile collisions involving vehicles and pedestrians. This included an incident this year that left two schoolchildren in hospital.

The seven schools Harrogate Grammar School (HGS), Rossett Acre Primary School, Rossett School, Ashville College, St Aidan’s Church of England High School, Oatlands Junior School and Oatlands Infants School.

The 20mph zone by HGS will be introduced on Arthurs Avenue and its surrounding side roads.

But the headteacher of Harrogate’s largest secondary school Neil Renton said the zone should be extended to include the busy B6162 Otley Road, which is a key route in-and-out of town and currently has a limit of 30mph.

A statement was read out on behalf of Mr Renton at a meeting of councillors on the council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee on Thursday.

He said:

“I absolutely support the landmark scheme put forward and hope this pioneering initiative will also include Otley Road. A large number of students leaving the site at start and end of school would make it entirely sensible to reduce the speed limit on Otley Road.

“Our staff see the need for this daily when supervising children. As a school we fully support reducing the speed limit for the safety of children in our community and hope you will also include Otley Road.”

Read more:

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Officers published a report ahead of the meeting that said due to national and council policy as well as “the volume of traffic” on Otley Road it would not be possible to introduce a 20mph speed limit.

Liberal Democrat councillor for Bilton Grange and New Park, Monika Slater, asked the council’s chief highways officer Melisa Burnham if she was aware of how other cities had “circumvented” national guidelines to introduce 20mph limits on A or B roads.

Ms Burnham said: 

“We do look at examples in best cases across the country, so yeah, the team certainly have the knowledge but whether it’s something we can look at for the specifics here I’m not sure. 

“We do have that policy in place for a reason and we do have to adhere to it. It’s about that consistency across not just Harrogate but across the county as well.”

A Hollywood actor who became a household name in the 1950s was honoured with a commemorative plaque at his family home in Harrogate on Saturday. 

Michael Rennie was born in 1909 in Idle, near Bradford, and went on to become the highest-paid filmstar in Britain in 1946, starring with many of the leading actors of the post-war period, including Orson Welles, Clarke Gable and Vivien Leigh. 

Arguably his most famous role was as Klaatu, the alien ambassador in the 1951 blockbuster The Day the Earth Stood Still. 

Less than three years after leaving Hollywood, he died at 1 Otley Road – his mother’s home – in Harrogate on June 10, 1971. His ashes were interred up the road in Harlow Hill Cemetery. 

The brown Harrogate Civic Society plaque was unveiled on the gatepost at 1 Otley Road by his son, David Rennie, who had instigated the process. 

The plaque includes the enigmatic words ‘Klaatu barada nikto’, uttered by Michael Rennie’s alien character in The Day The Earth Stood Still.

As well as the brief biographical details that tell passersby who Michael Rennie was, it also includes the words ‘Klaatu barada nikto, a phrase uttered by his character in The Day the Earth Stood Still.

The phrase, described by one journalist as “the most famous phrase ever spoken by an extraterrestrial”, has become iconic among science fiction fans, and its meaning has been the topic of much debate and speculation.

According to film historian Steven Jay Rubin, the film’s screenplay writer, Edmund H North, said it meant “There’s hope for Earth, if the scientists can be reached”. 

Also present at the unveiling ceremony were: Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough; Michael Harrison, charter mayor of Harrogate; Stuart Holland, chair of Harrogate Civic Society; David Bown, chief executive of Harrogate Theatre; Paula Stott, chair of Harrogate Film Society; as well as neighbouring residents and members of the Rennie family. 

Mr Holland said:

“Of the 94 brown plaques Harrogate Civic Society have unveiled over the years, 71 relate to buildings and places, but only 23 to people.

“We’re very keen to recognise people who have contributed to or influenced the town, and we hadn’t commemorated an actor before, so we were very pleased to be able to have this one made for one of the town’s finest, Michael Rennie.” 

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North Yorkshire Council announced 10 proposals this week to reduce congestion and make streets safer in the west of Harrogate.

The schemes, which would cost a total of £585,000, revolve around the Otley Road area, where just one of three planned phases of a cycle path has been completed.

Work is unlikely to begin until the 2024/25 financial year.

The 10 proposals were overshadowed by the same day announcement of a 20mph zone covering seven schools in Pannal Ash and Oatlands.

But if adopted, the schemes would have a considerable impact on the streets in one of the most congested parts of Harrogate.

The council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee is due to discuss the proposals at a meeting on Thursday.

Here are the proposals.

1 Signal upgrade at Cold Bath Road / Otley Road / Arthurs Avenue junction

Cost: £200,000

Signal equipment will be upgraded to link with signals at Pannal Ash Road Junction. Some kerb lines could be amended to make the footpaths wider. The aims is to improve traffic movement and congestion between the two signalised junctions.

2 Bus stop improvements on Otley Road corridor

Cost: £50,000

Bus stops will be relocated “to reflect current services”. Kerbs and signs will be improved in a move the council says will “improve facilities and accessibility around bus stops along Otley Road to reflect latest changes to bus services in the area”.

3 Extending the 20mph limit on Cold Bath Road to the junction with Otley Road and on surrounding roads

Cost: £100,000

Traffic calming measures will also include “formalising parking arrangements and installation of double yellow lines” to “reduce speed and enhance the local environment to bring the area forward as a pleasant place to walk, wheel and cycle”.

4 Improve the pedestrian crossing outside Falcon Chiropractic on Cold Bath Road

The crossing due to be upgraded

Cost £5,000

The signals cabinet will be relocated to the opposite side of the road where the pavement is wider. A raised table will also be introduced to calm traffic. Cycle storage and refuse bin will also be relocated “to improve accessibility around the pedestrian crossing that is currently blocked by other infrastructure placed on the highway”.

5 Improve the crossing between the public right of way on Green Lane and Ashville College

Cost: £10,000

A build-out crossing will be installed to improve visibility emerging from the public right of way and to slow traffic at the uncontrolled crossing point. The scheme will “improve visibility for pedestrians and cyclists emerging from the bridleway”.

6 Install an uncontrolled crossing point near Western Primary School

Cost: £10,000

A ‘build-out’ uncontrolled crossing point will be installed outside the school. Some parking bays could be amended and the double yellow lines extended “to provide a safer place to cross near the school in addition to providing some minor traffic calming and preventing illegal parking at the junction”.

Read more:

• Landmark Harrogate road safety and transport package unveiled
• New bar opens on Harrogate’s Cold Bath Road today

7 Review cycle route signs

Cost: £25,000

Review and improve signing of the cycle routes across Harrogate “to improve awareness of cycle routes across the network in Harrogate”.

8 20mph zone outside Harrogate Grammar School on Arthurs Avenue.

Cost: £25,000

The zone will incorporate Cundall Way, Southway, Grasmere Crescent, Rossett Way, Arthurs Close, Arthurs Grove, Richmond Avenue, Richmond Road, Richmond Close and Richmond Holt to enhance the environment and make streets feel safer.

9 New cycle parking and improved public realm on Cold Bath Road

Cost: £10,000

Introduce a parklet by extending the pavements to provide more space for cycle parking or for people to rest.

10 Improvements to Nursery Lane to allow cyclists to use as an off-road leisure route

Cost: £100,000

The lane could become a cycle track to provide additional off-road infrastructure for cyclists. However, third party land would be required.