A motorist was clocked driving 84mph through a leafy street in Pannal, the parish council has revealed.

A machine operated by Pannal & Burn Bridge Parish Council records the speed of vehicles on Church Lane and it registered the car racing down the 30mph zone last year.

Since then it has regularly found cars and vans dangerously breaking the speed limit. In May 2022 alone, 277 vehicles were recorded travelling faster than 50mph.

Speeding problem

The parish council has three Speed Indicator Devices (SIDs) within the parish.

The machines flash the current speed to the motorist and run 24/7, with the data then relayed back to North Yorkshire Police.

The council’s chair, Cllr Howard West, said they have begun to publish the data because “many people had no idea” of the speeding problem in Pannal.

Mr West said:

“With more housing being built on the western arc, it will only become worse.

“More white vans for home deliveries under time pressure and more irresponsible drivers were some of the reasons we chose to employ Speed Indicator Devices (SIDs).”

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In March 2022, the top three speeds were 76mph, 71mph and 69mph.

Mr West wants to make people aware that Church Lane, Yew Tree Lane and Burn Bridge Road are 30mph zones and through Main Street in the village itself it is 20mph.

He added:

“We’ll keep highlighting those ridiculously high speeds, sometimes around school pick-up times, in the hope that common sense will prevail and people will travel at no more than 30mph or in some cases 20mph in our parish. “

North Yorkshire Police has denied changing its mobile speed vans in response to an image that has been circulating on social media.

The photograph (above) of the dark blue and yellow vehicle has caused a stir on local Facebook groups, with people complaining that the new vans are harder to recognise.

The image, which has been shared thousands of times, has also sparked a big debate about speeding and mobile cameras in the Harrogate district in general.

Many comments support them and say drivers should not to go too fast in the first place. However there are also a number of people opposing the vehicles, claiming they are just “money spinners”.

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The van is alleged to have been spotted in North Yorkshire, however the force has denied it being one of its fleet.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said:

“This isn’t our van, our vans don’t look like that.”

He added that it appeared to have no links to North Yorkshire Police and therefore was unable to comment further.

Former Leeds United midfielder Ronaldo Vieira has been fined by magistrates in Harrogate for speeding.

Vieira, 23, who was sold by Leeds to Sampdoria in 2018, was caught speeding on the A1237 near Rufforth on July 13 last year.

He was fined £250 by Harrogate Magistrates Court and ordered to pay a £34 surcharge and £90 court costs.

The case was dealt with in his absence.

Vieira currently plays for Sampdoria in the Italian Serie A league and has made 26 appearances for the club.

He was sold to the Italian side for £7.7 million in August 2018.

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Stray Views 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.

Boroughbridge Road Blues

I’d like to raise some issues about the impact of traffic on Boroughbridge Road, here in Knaresborough.

I am a resident and very concerned about the impact of heavy vehicles and speeding traffic. Vehicles regularly exceed the speed limit and the size of some vehicles using the road means walking on the pavement is not a great experience and our house regularly shakes as vehicles pass.

I’ve raised these concerns with the highways authority, the police commissioner and my local Harrogate councillors.

I’ve suggested among other things: bigger speed signs, vehicle activated signs, repeater signs, more road markings and a review of weight limits.

It’s fair to say I haven’t made much progress with the the bodies responsible for traffic and speeding. The county council and the police both mainly referred me to the other body. The county council didn’t respond to the weight limit issue.

I appreciate resources are limited but I think it’s high time something was done to address a blight on the lives of our community. My suggestions wouldn’t cost a great deal, especially when considered against the cost of the negative impact the current situation has on peoples’ well being.

I see also it’s recently been an issue in the election material we’re getting through the door, so maybe now is the time to apply pressure on prospective candidates in the forthcoming elections and demand some clear commitments on what they would do in the new council.

All that’s in the future though, what I’d really like to see is some action now!

Ian Brown, Knaresborough

Read more:

• ‘Do you need to wait until somebody is killed by a speeding car?’
• Next phase of Otley Road cycle path delayed and reviewed

Council got it wrong with Otley Road cycle path

It seems North Yorkshire County Council has got it wrong again with the Otley Road cycle path. Cycle paths and pedestrians should be kept separate! Also spending millions for a minority is ridiculous. I am sure if council tax payers had been asked, it would have been a resounding no.

This is the second time they have made a mess of Otley Road. Several years ago they decided to put bollards in the centre of the road. The result was that buses and lorries were unable to pass.

Another moronic idea was when they changed the road priority in Burn Bridge so that vehicles coming from the left had right of way.

Howard Angel, Harrogate

A parish council near Knaresborough has written to 32 North Yorkshire county councillors urging them to make 20mph the default speed limit in their area.

Goldsborough and Flaxby Parish Council said in the email action should be taken now to reduce the current 30mph limit before somebody is killed.

The council wrote the letter in support of the 20s Plenty campaign, which is a national initiative to make a 20mph speed limit normal on residential streets and in town and village centres.

The email says drivers “put their foot down” in Goldsborough even though it has a primary school. It adds that only about 15% of all the roads have pavements on both sides, forcing them to walk on the highways,

The red arrow shows the playground entrance in Goldsborough.

It adds:

“There is a high proportion of elderly residents in Goldsborough, many of whom may have hearing issues and reduced sight, and are physically less able to move out of the way quickly.

“There are not many street lights in the village and, as such, at dusk or in the dark, it is not easy for drivers to see people walking in or crossing the roads.”

Flaxby speed signs ‘in wrong place’

The email says the current 30mph signs in Flaxby “are completely in the wrong place, and drivers have already entered the village before they see the speed signs and even think about slowing down”.

It adds a speed survey in 2018 revealed 17.5% of motorists travelled over the 30mph speed limit. The correspondence also raises concerns about the lack of street lighting and the number of HGVs driving through the village to visit the weigh-station at Gill’s Farm, just past Coneythorpe.

HGVs often go along Shortsill Lane in Flaxby, which has no pavements.

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The email says:

“Do you really need to wait until somebody is killed by a car speeding through a North Yorkshire village before you begin to tackle this important issue?”

North Yorkshire County Council is the highways authority for the county. The parish council wrote to 32 county councillors that sit on boards, panels and committees that could influence speeding decisions.

Caroline Greenhalgh, vice chairman of the parish council, told the Stray Ferret it had received just two responses from councillors so far, saying the matter was being considered.

A three-car crash on Harrogate’s Cold Bath Road was “always going to happen” because drivers use the street as a racetrack, according to a local resident.

A Volkswagen Golf heading towards Otley Road crashed into two parked cars at the junction with West Cliffe Road at 3.10am on Sunday morning, leaving one passenger unconscious. No other injuries were reported.

One local resident contacted the Stray Ferret to say the road “becomes a racetrack” after 10.30pm and called on the authorities to do more to tackle the issue.

He claimed those involved bragged they were doing more than 100mph and said it was time for speed cameras or traffic calming measures.

‘No one does anything about it’

The road includes a 20mph stretch, which was implemented outside Western Primary School in February last year.

But a resident in the Cold Bath Road area, who asked not to be named, said this was not observed despite the speed indicator being shown throughout the day.

They said they had written to North Yorkshire County Council to call for further measures as drivers “never slow down”. The crash on Sunday morning prompted them to write to the authority again.

“They do it all the time.

“After 10.30pm, it becomes a racetrack and no one does anything about it. It [the crash] was always going to happen.

“Just put speed cameras up. I’m a driver and when I see a speed camera, then I adjust my speed.”

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North Yorkshire Police continues to investigate the Cold Bath Road crash and has appealed for witnesses and CCTV footage.

No arrests have been made in connection with the incident.

A police statement added:

“It is only by sheer luck that the collision didn’t result in a fatality.

“As part of the investigation we would like to appeal to local residents and businesses to check their CCTV systems and ring doorbells around the time of the collision as it may have captured the vehicle, the collision, and anyone making off from the scene shortly afterwards.

“Additionally, if anyone has any other information about the incident which may assist our enquiries please contact us quoting reference 12220038835.”

Cars could be banned on streets directly outside many schools at drop-off and pick-up times to improve safety, encourage active travel and cut pollution.

North Yorkshire County Council looks set to examine the impacts of the Department Of Transport-backed School Streets initiative over 18 months, just weeks after ratifying a new 20mph zone policy, under which the authority has undertaken to scrutinise where it could lower speed limits outside schools.

While the move followed years of pressure from road safety campaigners calling for blanket 20mph zones across all built-up areas in the county, the authority has insisted such action would not be suitable everywhere.

The authority’s executive member for access, Cllr Don Mackenzie, said it hoped if a Safer Streets pilot outside Seamer and Irton Community Primary School was successful, that the initiative would complement the council’s 20mph zone policy.

The trial would involve the school placing a ‘Road Closed’ sign across the road by the school at the appropriate times.

However, an officer’s report on the proposal states while North Yorkshire Police would be responsible for enforcing road closures, the force had advised that “it is supportive of School Streets, but could not resource enforcement”.

The council officer’s report states:

“An appropriately applied scheme should minimise the risk of regular contravention and enforcement issues.”

It states the trial will be judged on whether it has led to an increase in active travel, cut traffic speeds and volumes in the area and the impact on the surrounding community and environment, but it was anticipated Schools Streets would not be appropriate for the majority of locations.

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The move comes weeks after a Transport for London study of 300 established School Streets found most people believed the vehicle bans had pushed congestion and parking issues elsewhere, while the lack of enforcement created safety concerns.

Coun Mackenzie said introducing restrictions in front of schools could displace parking problems elsewhere, but added:

“I would rather have the problem removed from in front of schools because that is an area that deserves more protection than any other.”

“We fully appreciate, and I personally understand, why the police have areas of greater concern to them to enforce than 20mph limits. In North Yorkshire we have very very few road traffic incidents involving injury in our built-up areas where there is a 30mph limit.

“We’re looking at other interventions to improve safety outside schools, to persuade people not to park in front of schools, or even worse, to drop their children off and leave the engine running.

“If this pilot is successful we will look to introduce it in many other locations in front of schools.”

North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoë Metcalfe said decisions on how North Yorkshire Police enforced any restrictions put in place were operational ones for the chief constable and her team.

She said:

“North Yorkshire Police will always prioritise those areas where there is greatest risk to road users and will deliver on road safety enforcement activity where appropriate with partners.

“Once decisions are made by the county council, I am sure all groups and organisations in the York and North Yorkshire Road Safety Partnership will come together to discuss how any School Streets projects can be implemented and supported as part of the wider delivery of the recently published Safer Roads Strategy.”

In the fourth of a series of articles on crime issues in the Harrogate district, candidates standing to be North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner are questioned on how to stop speeding. 

Commissioner candidates vying to become North Yorkshire’s next Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner say they would launch a hard-hitting educational campaign, pressure for more 20mph limits and even consider drafting in firefighters to help tackle residents’ number one concern – speeding.

Ahead of the residents of York and North Yorkshire going to the polls on Thursday to decide who gets the £74,00-a-year role, the five candidates wanting to succeed Philip Allott, who resigned last month amid controversy, have spoken of their determination to get to grips with road safety enforcement and education.

During his time in the role Mr Allott enlisted academics to help tackle speeding on more than 6,000 miles of roads and in 800 villages, saying demand for enforcement was outstripping police resources.

Most of the 72 county councillors agree speeding, and in particular through villages, is the most common issue that residents raise with them.

A Harrogate resident has called for police action against ‘boy racers’ who regularly descend on the town’s Asda car park.

The resident, who lives on Mayfield Grove within earshot of the car park, told the Stray Ferret he would organise a demonstration if nothing was done.

He said people on streets near the store were tired of the noise and had safety concerns about vehicles speeding.

According to the resident, who asked not to be named, about four to six cars belonging mainly to young men congregate nightly in the car park and rev their engines and pop their exhausts.

The resident said they had raised the matter with Philip Allott, the police commissioner for North Yorkshire, and a police community support officer had agreed to visit the supermarket this week to discuss the matter,

They said they would now wait to see what ensued before deciding whether to mobilise support for a demonstration.

“Every night for years these idiots gather in the rear part of Asda car park where they rev their engines then race out of the car park and round Harrogate.

“I have video and pics that I gave to Philip Allott of a Mercedes that is there most nights and which nearly wiped out a couple of customers.

“If the police don’t do anything about it, we are going to arrange a demo at Asda.”

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A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said:

“We are aware of anti-social-behaviour problems around the Mayfield Grove area of Harrogate, in particular issues with speeding vehicles.

“We will be actively deploying specialist resource to the area which will include roads policing officers who will be robustly dealing with any offences.

“Officers will also be linking in other local organisations and utilising local CCTV to help us build intelligence.”

The spokesman said these measures were in addition to North Yorkshire Police’s ongoing Operation Crome initiative to tackle anti-social and illegal driving.

An Asda spokesman said:

‘’We thank the vast majority who use our car parks responsibly and we will work with the authorities to ensure that the spaces around our stores remain safe for our customers.’’

Ripon City Council has announced two speeding signs will be purchased for the city.

The initiative is in partnership with North Yorkshire County Council and will see two vehicle activated speed signs for the city.

The signs show the speed of the car as it approaches.

The council has identified a number of roads with cars often spotted going too fast. The roads are heavily used, often with children and families walking on pavements at peak hours.

These include:

• Harrogate Road
• Dalamires Lane
• Quarry Moor Road
• Whitcliffe Lane
• Lead Lane
• South Grange Road
• Boroughbridge Road
• Mallorie Park Drive
• Palace Road
• Kirkby Road
• Studley Road

The signs will move around these roads from next week.

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Inspector Alex Langley of North Yorkshire Police welcomed the initiative, commenting that the implementation of this new technology should remind the road users of Ripon about excess speed and hopefully educate and encourage them to slow down.

He said:

“North Yorkshire Police fully supports this campaign and we will continue to take positive action against those road users that continue to speed and commit driving offence.”