There has been mirth and exasperation in Harrogate after a sign for the Otley Road cycle path was built pointing to the town centre in the wrong direction.

The long-awaited cycle path has been called a step forward for cycling in the town by Harrogate District Cycle Action but even its supporters would admit it’s had a bumpy ride so far.

After years of delays, there have been complaints from local business owners about disruption from building works and confusion from cyclists over what some believe to be a convoluted course that weaves on and off a shared route with pedestrians.

Phase one from Harlow Moor Road to Arthurs Avenue is now ready to be used and North Yorkshire County Council contractors erected signs two weeks ago, including this one close to the Harlow Moor Road junction.

But instead of directing cyclists towards the town centre and Valley Gardens, it sends them up Harlow Hill and out towards West Yorkshire.

Read more:

• Long-awaited Otley Road cycle lane opens to safety concerns
• Scrapping Pannal cycle lane ‘ludicrous’, says cycling group

The Stray Ferret asked members of a Harrogate Facebook group what they thought about the error.

Mary Reevey called the sign “shambolic” whilst Christine Hemming said it was “totally useless, just like the cycle lane”.

Others joked that cyclists would now be able to take “the scenic route” into town.

However, Richard Squire defended the erroneous sign and called for some perspective:

“I think things go wrong sometimes. It’s no big deal, is it?”

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

“This is a genuine mistake by our contractor. The signage will be amended this week at no cost to the council.”

Plans to expand a controversial animal testing company in Harrogate have been given the go-ahead.

Labcorp Drug Development, which was previously called Covance and is based on Otley Road, conducts tests on various animals, including dogs and mice.

It lodged plans to refurbish and expand its site after purchasing six vacant buildings.

The company bought the former Nidec SR Drives offices, known as East Park House, in December 2020 for £2.45 million, according to HM Land Registry documents.

Now, Harrogate Borough Council has approved the proposal for the expansion.

Under plans submitted to the council, the firm will refurbish and extend the former Nidec offices.

A new entrance will be created, and the ground and first floors will be reconfigured. A one-way system to access the car park will also be built to reduce “traffic complications” on nearby Otley Road.

The proposed visual of East Park House, as submitted by Labcorp.

Labcorp also intends to refurbish five other buildings on the site to create office space, extensions for “new plant requirements” and further car parking and cycle space.

Rebecca Micallef, the authority’s economic and transport officer, said in response to a consultation on the plans that the economic development team were supportive of the expansion.

She said:

“This proposal will enable expansion of the business within its current location and promote the adaptation, refurbishment and reuse of a currently vacant commercial property. The proposed capital investment from a foreign company is particularly welcomed during this time of economic uncertainty caused by covid and Brexit.

“The proposed expansion and development will support Labcorp’s future within the Harrogate district and secure additional high level, high paid skilled jobs, directly supporting the aims of our economic growth strategy.”

Labcorp said in documents submitted to the council that the plans will help to “ensure the continued life” of property on the site.

Read more:

• Call to ban animal testing in Harrogate district rejected
• Explainer: Animal testing in Harrogate

Animal testing in Harrogate has proved controversial and protests frequently take place outside Labcrop.

In October, Cllr Victoria Oldham, Conservative councillor for Washburn on the borough council, called for a moratorium on animal testing in the district.

However, this was turned down. Cllr Graham Swift, cabinet member for economic development, said in response:

“I don’t like and I don’t want medicines tested on animals. But the law insists medicines are tested on animals prior to being tested on humans and prior to being used as medicines.”

Cllr Swift added that about a third of Labcorp’s 4,000 UK staff were based in Harrogate, which was “great for the economy”.

Meanwhile, Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has lobbied government to help the company expand.

A Scandinavian-inspired coffee shop opened today on Harlow Hill.

Nord Coffee House has moved to a unit at 135 Otley Road that was previously home to cafe, The Kitchen, for five years before it closed last year.

Nord sells artisan coffee, sandwiches, pastries and donuts. A pop-up Nord opened in Knaresborough in December.

Craig Buchan, who is involved with Nord, also co-founded FI:k, which is a Swedish-style cafe in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Read more:

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• Popular Harlow Hill fruit and veg shop to reopen in February

A local authority facing a huge demand to increase cycling infrastructure has revealed it is mapping all non-public right-of-way cycle routes for the first time to make it easier for people to swap their cars for bikes.

North Yorkshire County Council’s highways team is set to produce a cycling route map spanning England’s largest county while also examining moves such as segregating road users as sweeping Highway Code changes are introduced to make cycling easier and safer.

The announcements follow the authority being inundated with proposals for cycle route schemes from residents and community groups after the authority received £1m from Department for Transport Active Travel Fund last year to improve the infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians.

Despite numerous calls for action to enable active travel in rural areas, the council said it would focus the funding on large towns, such as Harrogate, as greater populations meant better value for money.

Harrogate currently has cycling routes planned for Otley Road and Victoria Avenue in Harrogate and Harrogate Road in Knaresborough.

A meeting of the county’s Local Access Forum this week heard safety concerns continued to be a major factor in determining whether people chose to cycle and that the government was trying to discourage segregating cyclists by using white lines, “given that white lines don’t do anything to protect cyclists”.

Instead, highway officers said, the authority was now moving towards physically segregating cyclists and motorists, but it was a more expensive than simply using white lines and would “not happen overnight”.

Read more:

• Killinghall roadwork misery set to continue for extra week
• Scrapping Pannal cycle lane ‘ludicrous’, says cycling group

The forum’s chairman, Paul Sherwood, said action was needed to improve roads for cyclists. He said:

“Is the highways section of the county council aware of the incredibly dangerous situation of the appallingly maintained roads in which cycling is extremely hazardous in the way the roads are at the moment?”

Funding from developers

Officers replied that the roads were subject to a scheduled programme of inspections and the council was looking to gain extra funding through property developers’ contributions for safety improvements. The meeting heard the availability of funding could increase when the forthcoming unitary authority controls most of the county’s planning matters.

The meeting was told it was hoped a county-wide map of non-public right of way routes would make it easier for cyclists to plan.

An officer said:

“We recognise it is not that easy to find out where those routes are. We are moving towards making that more accessible.”

The meeting heard the authority would be taking into account the HIghway Code changes, in which cyclists are encouraged to cycle in the middle of the road, but the changes were unlikely to impact on the design for cycling infrastructure.

Councillors were told the council would examine schemes such as one introduced in parts of York where bollards have been placed at the side of the road to segregate cyclists and motorists, which had increased safety for cyclists while the narrowing of the road had slowed traffic.

The first phase of the much-anticipated cycle lane on Otley Road in Harrogate was completed today amid safety fears by a cycling campaign group.

North Yorkshire County Council has now completed the initial stretch from Harlow Moor Road to Arthurs Avenue. It is the first of three phases on Otley Road.

However, the junction with Harlow Moor Road has given Harrogate District Cycle Action group cause for concern.

Kevin Douglas, chairman of HDCA, told the Stray Ferret the cycle route was a “step forward” overall but the junction failed to meet safety standards:

“We can see that they have widened the junction for cars. It is great news for drivers but that was not the point of the scheme.

“In its current form I do not think it meets the minimum safety standards.

“The council is planning to widen the path at the junction by using land owned by Yorkshire Water which would improve the situation but until then it is too narrow.

“Overall I see this as a step forward. The sooner we have cycle lanes that connect houses on the edges of town with the town centre the better.”

Read more:

• Otley Road business owner ‘fuming’ about cycle path works
• Killinghall roadwork misery set to continue for extra week

North Yorkshire County Council has been working closely with Mr Douglas and other local cycling groups as part of the consultation process.

Much of the route is shared with pedestrians.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive member for access, told the Stray Ferret:

“There has been some criticism about the fact that it is shared access with pedestrians and cyclists, but that has always been part of the design.

“I have had many conversations with Mr Douglas. He is concerned about the pinch point at the Harlow Moor Road junction but we are going to resolve the issue. It’s a fair assessment.

“We have reached an agreement with Yorkshire Water so we can widen that path. I cannot give a date on when those works will start.”

Construction of the second phase, from Cold Bath Road to Beech Grove, is due to start in April. There is still no timescale for phase three, which will connect to Cardale Park.

Mr Mackenzie also raised the prospect of eventually extending the cycle lane to Beckwithshaw. He told the Stray Ferret it would likely receive funding due to the number of housing planned for the area. Developers, as part of planning consent, would be expected to fund the route.

Roadworks at the junction of Otley Road and Ripon Road in Killinghall are to continue for an extra week.

Long queues either side of the village have been a regular site since temporary traffic lights were installed on Monday.

Northern Powergrid wrote to nearby residents before the scheme began saying work would last 10 days until Friday 4 while it excavated a trench and laid cables beneath the pavement outside the Tesco being built on Ripon Road.

But residents have not been informed of further work due to take place from February 7 to 11.

According to the North Yorkshire County Council’s roadworks map, broadband and water works will begin once the current work has ended.

The work by Openreach and Yorkshire Water will again involve three-way traffic lights, which are likely to cause more delays to motorists.

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• Traffic disruption expected in Killinghall next week

A spokesperson for Openreach said:

“We have some minor works taking place between 7 and 9 February. This is to lay around 30 metres of underground ducting. To enable our engineers to work safely, we will require temporary traffic lights.

“We will work as quickly as we can do and make every attempt to co-ordinate the timing of our work with other companies to keep disruption to a minimum.”

Traffic in Killinghall this week has been described as “chaos”, with tailbacks of up to two miles reported during rush hours.

Work on the first phase of the new Otley Road cycle lane in Harrogate is due to be completed this week.

North Yorkshire County Council blamed “severe weather” for delaying the completion of the initial section between Harlow Moor Road and Arthurs Avenue before Christmas.

Last week it said it would be completed by February 21 but in a further update this week it said it will be ready on Friday.

The Stray Ferret has been sent footage of a cyclist travelling downhill along the route towards Cold Bath Road last weekend.

Much of the route is shared with pedestrians, which was one of several points flagged up in a blog by Hedgehog Cycling, which says shared use is not appropriate on urban streets. Some businesses have expressed similar concerns.

The blog, which covers cycling in Yorkshire, also raises concerns about the width of the route in some sections, saying it measures 93cm in one area — below the 150cm minimum requirement.

But it hails the cycleway priority at side roads, such as Pannal Ash Drive and Hill Rise Close, as “the biggest improvement over previous North Yorkshire pavement cycling efforts”.

Another cycling group, Harrogate District Cycle Action, has urged people to hold judgement until the entire route is completed.

Read more:

• Don’t judge Otley Road cycle path until its complete, says campaign group
• ‘Severe weather’ delays Otley Road cycle path in Harrogate

What happens now?

Construction of the second phase, which will cover Harlow Moor Road to Beech Grove, is due to start in April. There is still no timescale for phase three.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire County Council said:

We are aiming to complete phase 1 by January 28, and we hope to start phase 2 in April 2022. Phase 3 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.”

A cyclist sent in this video of the cycle lane to give others an idea of what to expect. What do you make of the layout?

Harrogate Borough Council has been forced on the defensive after revealing the draft version of a long-awaited master plan on how part of the town will cope with 4,000 new homes.

The West of Harrogate Parameters Plan was requested by government to identify infrastructure, transport and education needs in the area.

After months of delays, the 160-page plan was finally published last week but hopes it would provide a clear vision for the future were quickly dashed when residents reacted with disappointment.

Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association said the plan “totally avoids the heart of the problem” of thousands of new homes piling pressure on already congested roads.

The group also claimed the plan appeared to have been produced for the benefit of housing developers – not residents.

Harrogate Borough Council – which is working alongside North Yorkshire County Council – has now defended the plan which it insisted is still in draft form and will take account of residents’ concerns.

A council spokesperson said:

“The West of Harrogate Parameters Plan (WHPP) is a high-level master plan that seeks to deliver the policies set out in the adopted Local Plan, including those related to climate change, design and active travel.

“As we have explained previously, we do not have the powers to introduce new policy requirements through the WHPP.

“However, the WHPP will look ahead to planned changes to building regulations that are being introduced nationally and will continue to strongly encourage developers to meet high standards of design to help mitigate and adapt to climate change.”

Fears over schools and roads

Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council is another group which shares concerns over the impact of new housing developments on traffic congestion.

Its chairman, councillor Howard West, said the area’s infrastructure has suffered from years of “neglect” and that there is “no evidence whatsoever at this stage that any such provision has been made”.

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Rene Dziabas, chairman of Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association, also said the plan should give greater importance to the need for investment in areas including bus services, road junction improvements, the widening of footpaths and more cycling routes.

He also questioned how schools will cope with an expected shortfall of nearly 700 pupil places across Harrogate and Knaresborough by 2025/26. Mr Dziabas said:

“Many of the problems have existed for years, so we feel that it is about time that they were properly addressed.”

Final version coming

The WHPP includes provision for two new primary schools – one off Whinney Lane and another off Otley Road. It also identifies potential locations for sports pitches, employment areas, public transport routes, community centres, allotments and walking and cycling links.

Once approved, the plan will sit alongside the Harrogate District Local Plan as a guide for how future planning applications should be decided.

Several meetings have recently been held between council officials and residents to discuss the WHPP, and the council said feedback is now being taken onboard before a final version is prepared.

A council spokesperson said:

“Many of the community stakeholders – who have publicly stated that the plan should be published as soon as possible – have been involved since the preparation of the first draft of the WHPP over a year ago.

“And although there is no statutory requirement to consult, we are thankful for the ongoing constructive feedback we have received in response to the second working draft.

“Throughout the preparation of the plan, we have consistently aimed to deliver quality place-making that will provide a wide-range of private and affordable homes to meet the current housing demand, while also ensuring we have the necessary infrastructure to support these future communities.

“This feedback will be carefully considered as we prepare the final version for recommendation to the cabinet member.”

A long-awaited plan to solve how the west of Harrogate’s roads, schools, and health services will cope with 4,000 extra homes has been branded a “missed opportunity”.

The comments have come from The Western Arc Coordination Group and Zero Carbon Harrogate, which had a meeting with council officers on Thursday to discuss  a draft version of the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan.

The Western Arc Coordination Group includes Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association (Hapara), Duchy Residents’ Association, Hampsthwaite Action Group, North Rigton Parish Council and Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council.

Proposed housing schemes in the area include the 1,000-home Windmill Farm development on Otley Road and 560 homes at Blue Coat Wood. The plan was written with input from developers, including Homes England and Gladman Developments.

It includes proposals for two new primary schools and a possible new GP surgery — which have been previously announced. The plan has yet to be released to the general public.

‘Almost as if no problems exist’

Rene Dziabas, chair of Hapara, told the Stray Ferret the plan “totally avoids the heart of the problem”.

At over 100 pages long, he said it lacked a summary at the start clearly explaining its purpose to address the area’s current “weak infrastructure”, such as roads.

He said:

“The purpose of this document is not made clear and totally avoids the heart of the problem in that an urban expansion is being proposed in a part of Harrogate with a weak infrastructure.

“There is no attempt at clearly stating what the problems are, and no attempt at associated analysis. HAPARA, as well as Pannal and Burn Bridge, North Rigton and Beckwithshaw Parish councils have been arguing this case for many years and there is no recognition within this document of their concerns. It is almost as if no problems exist. There needs to be a far clearer `entire West of Harrogate` context for this report.”

Mr Dziabas said that the WACG was disappointed the plan does not address how key arteries into the town, such as Otley Road, as well as country lanes around Pannal, Beckwithshaw and North Rigton, will cope with the inevitable increase in traffic.

Over 1,000 homes are set to be built on both sides of this section of Otley Road.

Mr Dziabas added:

“[Over the last eight years] there has been no improvement to the road system, many of which are country lanes, no real betterment of public transport, and little has happened on the active travel front which will only ever be a very small part of any overall solution”.

He added there needed to be “far more” in the plan about improvements to bus services.

Read more:

• Talks today about 4,000 new homes in west Harrogate
• Explainer: What is the West Harrogate Parameters Plan?

Secondary school places

The Stray Ferret reported this month that nearly 700 secondary school places will be needed in Harrogate and Knaresborough by 2025/26 to keep up with demand caused by new housing.

Mr Dziabas said the new homes would put further pressure on Harrogate Grammar School and Rossett School in particular.

He said:

“Whilst primary schools are covered in this document, little mention is made of secondary school places. The west of Harrogate has two busy secondary schools, and both are at or above capacity.”

Car culture

Jemima Parker, chair of Zero Carbon Harrogate, told the Stray Ferret the plan contained a “major omission” around energy for new homes, with no mention of onsite renewable energy, solar panels, small wind turbines or ground source heat pumps.

With spiralling energy costs, Ms Parker said greener homes would make people more resilient to the volatile market.

She said:

“There are pages and pages about design, but not a single mention of building design for energy-efficient homes, like passive houses. This ignores the council’s own planning policy guidance as set out in the Local Plan. We want residents’ homes to be built to zero-carbon standards now, not needing to be retrofitted later, and for low-carbon construction materials to be used.”

A passive house on Bogs Lane in Harrogate

Ms Parker believes the plan focuses too heavily on car-friendly developments.

“We are saddened to see that the plan still has a car culture, reliant on private ownership rather than shared transport and active travel. Given the location on the West of Harrogate we would like to see an imaginative ‘work from home’ settlement, picking up on the 15-minute neighbourhoods seen in other UK towns with plenty of access to car clubs.

“Overall it is disappointing the west of Harrogate may miss out on the opportunity to be designed appropriately both to reduce its carbon footprint and to be resilient to our changing climate.”

Council’s response

The draft plan is still to be ratified by the council.

A council spokesperson said:

“The development of west Harrogate provides an exciting opportunity to deliver quality place-making, a wide-range of private and affordable homes to meet the current housing demand, while also ensuring we have the necessary infrastructure to support these future communities.

“Once approved, the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan will create clear goals and objectives by identifying what infrastructure is required. For example, first-class community facilities, school provision, green infrastructure and sustainable travel opportunities.

“A number of suggestions have already helped shaped the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan and I’d like to thank those local residents groups and parish councils for their valuable feedback.”

Harrogate Borough Council has urged residents to report dog fouling to its dog warden team.

It comes after an increase in reports of dog owners not picking up after their pets around Harlow Hill.

The council’s dog warden service said in a post on Facebook that the Otley Road area around Beckwith Road, Nursery Lane and the ginnel from the Shepherd’s Dog Pub to the allotments was “particularly bad”.

It urged people to report anyone seen using the same route regularly who does not pick up their dog’s mess, either by getting in touch on its website or by calling 01423 500600.

The statement said:

“Without this information it makes it harder to focus patrols and make a difference.”

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The council can issue fixed penalty notices of up to £80 for dog fouling. However, an FOI request submitted by the Stray Ferret last year revealed the council had issued no fines for dog fouling in the preceding 12 months.

It looks after more than 250 dog waste bins across the district.