A petition calling for improvements to roads around schools in Harrogate will be delivered to the highways authority next week.

Set up by a group of parents concerned about safety for youngsters travelling to and from school, the petition has attracted almost 900 signatures.

It calls for a 20mph limit on roads across Oatlands, Pannal Ash, Rossett and the Saints area of Harrogate. The parents said thousands of pupils travel to four primary schools, five secondary schools, Harrogate College and several nurseries and pre-schools in the area each day.

In their petition, the parents said:

“Change is urgently needed. Without it the safety, health and well-being of the children, young people and the wider community remains at stake and road safety will continue as a barrier to walking and cycling in the area and across Harrogate.

“Maximum speed limits of 20mph have been delivered in other rural and urban areas of Yorkshire and the UK including Calderdale, Cornwall, Oxford, Edinburgh, the Scottish Borders, London and in Wales. We want these improvements for south and west and other communities within Harrogate.”

The petition references two serious collisions earlier this year – one on Beechwood Grove and one on Yew Tree Lane – which left three children hurt and requiring hospital treatment.

The incident on Yew Tree Lane left two 15-year-old Rossett School boys with serious, potentially life-changing, injuries.

Read more:

• ‘Comprehensive’ road safety improvements announced for Harrogate schools
• Children raise awareness of road safety issues affecting Ripon schools

After the collision, there were renewed calls for better safety measures around schools in the area. However, the campaign for changes dated much further back, with local parents having presented their requests to North Yorkshire County Council last year.

This year, meetings have been held between all headteachers in the area with representatives of North Yorkshire Council’s highways department. All the affected schools have put their names to the campaign for reduced speed limits.

Hazel Peacock, one of the parents who set up the petition, said:

“A big thank you to all of you who have signed the petition for a maximum speed of 20mph on roads in south and west Harrogate to improve road safety. There are a a total of 870 signatures to date!

“We will be submitting the petition to North Yorkshire County Council [next week]. If you have yet to sign it or would like to share with friends or family living or working in the Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency area, who may also be interested in supporting the campaign, please sign and share the petition by May 8, 2023.”

To see or sign the petition, click here.