Transport chiefs urged not to lose focus on improving Harrogate bus services

Transport chiefs have been urged not to lose focus on improving buses in Harrogate after warnings that services are facing a “potential cliff-edge” due to more funding cuts.

North Yorkshire County Council’s bid for £116 million from the high-profile Bus Back Better scheme was rejected in April when the government claimed the plans to upgrade buses and infrastructure across the county lacked “sufficient ambition”.

And now there are warnings that bus services could be at risk of being axed when other government funding comes to an end in October.

Conservative councillor Keane Duncan, executive member for transport at the county council, said in a report that services are already facing “significant pressures” ahead of the cuts which “presents a potential cliff-edge in terms of the future profitability of routes our residents rely upon”.

He added a review was underway to identify the risks and “keep as many of our vital services running as possible”.

At a full council meeting on Wednesday, Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Aldred said the loss of services was all too familiar following years of austerity cutbacks.

He said:

“We have got this deregulated system where as soon as a service isn’t making a profit in the eyes of the provider, it gets lost.

“In our urban communities of Harrogate and Knaresborough, we have suffered from this in recent years.”

Councillor Aldred – who represents High Harrogate and Kingsley – also made a political dig at the Bus Back Better scheme as he urged the council to keep pushing for improvements, particularly in urban areas.

He said:

“I would be worried – appalled even – if I was presenting a scheme for funding from a Conservative government to a Conservative council and the comeback was that the plan was unambitious.

“However, we are where we are and I note that we are assessing the support the council can provide at the moment.

“I would just plead that as well as looking at rural buses – which we all agree are a problem to provide regular and reliable services – we don’t forget urban services as well.”

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The council’s Bus Back Better bid included £23 million for new bus lanes, £74 million for other infrastructure changes and £14 million for support for services.

However, North Yorkshire was one of many areas across the country which did not receive any funding.

In total, just 34 of 79 areas which applied were successful.

The council previously said some of its plans could still go ahead without government support, including an expansion of its on-demand bus service, YorBus, which is being trialled in Ripon, Bedale and Masham.

The possibility of a Harrogate park and ride scheme is also still being assessed, although progress has been slow and questions remain about how this would be funded.

Meanwhile, there has been success in a separate council bid for £7.8 million to make Harrogate Bus Company’s fleet all-electric with the delivery of 39 zero-emission buses

The project will cost almost £20 million in total, with more than £12 million being invested by the company’s parent firm Transdev.

At Wednesday’s meeting, councillor Duncan repeated disappointment over the Bus Back Better bid, but added the council would not be deterred from applying for future funding.

He said:

“Unfortunately our bid wasn’t successful and we didn’t receive the funding.

“That was an immense disappointment to the team that worked on the bid and we are trying to ascertain from government how we can ensure bids in the future are successful.”

Councillor Duncan also said he was keen to see the YorBus scheme rolled out across other parts of North Yorkshire following the trial.

He said:

“The feedback we have received has been very popular… but we do need more time to consider how we can roll out what I believe is an innovative scheme across other parts of the county.”

Traffic and Travel Alert: Harrogate district traffic update

The extreme heat over the past two days is still effecting some Harrogate district train services this morning.

Here is your Stray Ferret traffic update

Roads

Drivers should expect the usual traffic on Wetherby Road and Skipton Road this morning during the rush hour.

Works are due to take place today at the junction with Leadhall Lane and Hookstone Road in Harrogate to replace junction markings, according to North Yorkshire County Council’s roadworks map.

The work is scheduled to finish tomorrow.

Meanwhile, long term roadworks are in place on Station Road in Goldsborough. The road will be closed until September 19, 2022, as Stonebridge Homes installs a foul water and surface water pipes to connect to the sewer system.

A diversion route is in place in the village.

Trains and buses

Following the heatwave, Northern services between Harrogate and Knaresborough going to York and Leeds are scheduled to run as normal this morning.

Meanwhile, LNER is urging passengers not to travel to London Kings Cross due to damage to the rail line near Peterborough which was caused during the hot weather.

This has led to the direct service from Harrogate to London Kings Cross at 9.36am being cancelled as repairs are carried out.

The Harrogate Bus Company is reporting cancellations on the 1C and the 7 this morning.

You can find out more information on the disruption here.

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Bus services ‘facing potential cliff-edge’

Bus services in a county that failed to secure any money to improve services in the government’s high-profile Bus Back Better scheme are now facing “a potential cliff-edge”, North Yorkshire’s transport boss has warned.

In a statement to a meeting of North Yorkshire County Council next Wednesday, Cllr Keane Duncan said the authority was aware several of the county’s commercial routes were facing “significant pressures”, due to the loss of government subsidies in three months.

The warning from the Conservative-led council’s executive member for highways and transportation comes ahead of bus services across the country having to introduce a £2 price cap on local and regional journeys from October.

It also comes just three months after it emerged the authority’s £116 million Bus Back Better bid had been rejected in its entirety by the government, which claimed the bid had lacked “sufficient ambition”.

As winning the grant had been crucial for elements of the county’s Bus Service Improvement Plan, the authority expressed dismay at the decision.

Even ahead of the decision in March, members of the authority’s executive had underlined the need for bus services for the county’s rural communities, which dwindled following significant austerity cutbacks.

Cllr Duncan said the council had launched a review of the passenger service network across the county to understand which could become threatened in the coming months.

He said:

“The end of the Commercial Bus Services Support Grant provided by central government in October presents a potential cliff-edge in terms of the future profitability of routes our residents rely upon.”

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He said the review would enable him to assess potential support the council could provide “to keep as many of our vital services running as possible”.

The authority’s opposition leader, Councillor Bryn Griffiths, said concerns had been mounting for the viability of some bus services as they appeared to have reached a tipping point.

Coun Griffiths said by giving one-off grants for specific projects limited to certain places the government was failing to provide the resources needed to improve access to public transport across England’s largest county.

He said:

“It’s an appalling situation. We lose out in the north of England in rural areas because the government doesn’t recognise the issues.

“Places like Bilsdale have no bus services on Sundays because the county council cannot afford to subsidise them, so people can’t get to hospitals to visit their loved ones. Cutting services even further is just ridiculous.

“It’s a vicious circle. You get fewer services, so it gets less and less attractive for people to use.”

 

Traffic and Travel Alert: Great Yorkshire Show traffic update

As the Great Yorkshire Show continues into its third day, traffic is expected to build up heading into Harrogate.

We have details on traffic arrangements are in place and where drivers can expect delays.

Here is your Stray Ferret traffic roundup.

Roads

Great Yorkshire Show traffic is expected to continue today, with a one-way system in place on Wetherby Road coming from Kestrel roundabout.

Yesterday, the Stray Ferret reported delays of up to 40 minutes with traffic backing up from Spofforth to the roundabout at 9am.

Motorists approaching the show from Knaresborough and Wetherby should also expect delays.

Meanwhile, drivers heading out of Harrogate are reminded that there is no through access on Wetherby Road to Kestrel roundabout.

All traffic has to turn left onto Forest Lane.

More details on the traffic management arrangements in place can be found here.

Trains and buses

Train services between Harrogate and Knaresborough going to York and Leeds are scheduled to run as normal this morning.

Meanwhile, the Harrogate Bus Company is reporting no cancellations on its services.

A free shuttle bus is running to the Great Yorkshire Show from Harrogate Bus Station.

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Horror crash in Harrogate sees pair lucky to escape alive

Two people were lucky to escape alive after a car hit a tree in Harrogate in the early hours of this morning.

The car was severely mangled by the crash, which took place on Harlow Moor Road, close to Harrogate Spring Water’s headquarters, at around midnight.

North Yorkshire Police traffic officer Sgt Paul Cording tweeted that the two people inside the Vauxhall managed to get out with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

He added:

“I am still gobsmacked that we were not doing the long walk to someone’s house last night for ‘that knock’.

“The intrusion is unbelievable and testament to the advancement in vehicle safety & another reason we bang on all the time about wearing seatbelts #Fatal5″

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Surge in demand for e-bikes as petrol prices continue to rise across the district

More people are ditching their cars in favour of electric bikes as petrol prices continue to soar, according to Harrogate district retailers.

As the average cost of diesel has almost hit the £2 per litre mark, people are increasingly looking at more wallet-friendly ways to get around.

Local e-bike suppliers say there has been a notable shift in the number of customers now moving to pedal and e-power, opting to save their fuel for longer journeys.

Kurt Davison, manager of the Electric Bike Shop, on Leeds Road, Harrogate, said:

“We have definitely noticed a rise in sales. This isn’t surprising given that you are looking at £2 a litre for fuel and you also have to factor in road tax and insurance.”

Mr Davison said 65 per cent of journeys made in the UK were less than five miles, so more people were choosing e-bikes for shorter commutes.

He said:

“We hear it a lot from people. The cost of fuel is too high. So they want to use an e-bike to get to work rather than running a car.

“We also recently sold a cargo bike to a family who are using it for the school run.”

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Andy Crawley, who has owned Harrogate Electric Bikes – CorCoach, on St John’s Terrace, Harrogate, for 10 years, said he had noticed a rise in the number of returning customers wanting to get back on their bikes.

Andy Crawley, owner of  Harrogate Electric Bikes – CorCoach.

He said:

“They are using their bikes more and I have seen an upturn in servicing existing bikes. They are coming back and saying they haven’t used it for a while and they want to use it more due to the cost of petrol. It hurts when you fill your tank up now!

“I do a lot of conversions where I convert bikes to electric bikes. I have definitely seen a surge in this, as then customers are not having to pay thousands of pounds for a brand new model. The cost of living crisis means many people can’t afford a brand new e-bike.”

He added that many people were still too nervous to cycle on the district’s roads and while improvements have been made, there needed to be a better infrastructure in place.

Tony Robertshaw has owned North Yorkshire Electric Bikes, in Bond End, Knaresborough, for a decade.

He said while his customer-base had always traditionally fallen into an older age bracket due to having more disposable income, he had noticed an increase in younger customers buying e-bikes.

He said:

“People are wanting bikes to commute on, rather than using their cars. Customers do say that petrol prices are too much.

“There are also a lot of benefits to investing in an e-bike. There are the health benefits and the cost benefits.

“Most of my bikes last a good 10 years, so if you work the cost out per year, it is relatively cheap. You would get through £300 of petrol in no time.

“You also don’t have to pay insurance or road tax. So it’s definitely cheaper than running a car.”

 

Traffic and Travel Alert: Roadworks and train cancellations in Harrogate district

Roadworks in Harrogate could cause disruption for motorists during rush hour this morning.

Here is your Stray Ferret traffic update.

Roads

Drivers should take care this morning as planned roadworks are in place in Harrogate.

Wetherby Road outside the Leon drive-thru has one lane partly reopen following resurfacing work.

The work caused major disruption yesterday as queues tailed back to the Empress roundabout and along Skipton Road.

Motorists should allow extra time for usual traffic during rush hour on both Wetherby Road and Skipton Road this morning.

Meanwhile, further works are due to start on Westmoreland Street and Dragon Parade which may cause disruption as CityFibre undertake maintenance work.

Trains and buses

LNER has cancelled its 7.33am service from London Kings Cross to Harrogate due to train repairs.

Passengers for Harrogate have been advised to use the 8.03am service to Leeds and change to the next available Northern service.

Northern services between Harrogate and Knaresborough going to York and Leeds are scheduled to run as normal this morning.

Meanwhile, the Harrogate Bus Company is reporting a cancellation on the 7 bus from Leeds to Harrogate,

You can find out more information on the service disruption here.

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Council shelves Knaresborough and Ripon travel plans

Plans for a 7km cycleway in Knaresborough and other active travel improvements in Ripon have been shelved after a bid for government funding failed.

North Yorkshire County Council applied for £1.5 million – but did not receive any money from round three of the government’s active travel fund.

The council said in a statement that “there will be no progress with either project at present” following an announcement of funding allocations to councils across England last month.

If successful, £50,000 would have funded feasibility work for a segregated cycleway and footpath between Knaresborough and Flaxby Green Park.

In Ripon, around £550,000 would have been spent on the development of “sustainable travel corridors” in the west of the city. This could have included widened footpaths, better pedestrian crossings and traffic calming measures.

Also included in the £1.5 million bid was proposals for other schemes in Selby, Ryedale and Craven, which have not received any funding.

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Separately, the council has announced final designs for cycling and walking improvements on Harrogate’s Victoria Avenue and the A59 near Knaresborough are “likely” to be revealed this summer as part of a consultation.

This comes after more than £1 million was awarded to the council, which had hoped to start construction works by now.

The proposals include cycle lanes, improved crossings and reducing the A59 speed limit from 50mph to 40mph.

The council said in a statement: 

“Designs are currently being finalised and costed. A public consultation will need to take place before any contract is awarded.

“This is likely to happen over the summer but dates have not yet been confirmed.”

Kevin Douglas, chair of Harrogate District Cycle Action, said he was disappointed that the Ripon and Knaresborough schemes failed to secure funding and that he believed the government’s decision partly came down to the council’s record on getting projects done.

Mr Douglas said:

“Their track record on delivering schemes that have got funding isn’t good,

“It is unusual not to get any funding, but you can see why when the council has schemes that are outstanding.

“The Knaresborough scheme hasn’t been delivered, Victoria Avenue hasn’t been delivered, the Otley Road cycle path hasn’t been delivered, as well as the plans for Oatlands Drive – they are all a way off.”

The Oatlands Drive plans originally included a one-way traffic system, but this was scrapped last year after a backlash from residents who warned the changes would be “disastrous”.

Oatlands Drive HarrogatePlans for Oatlands Drive were dropped following public opposition

It was then agreed that government funding would be used for a feasibility study looking into improvements for the wider area.

However, the council has yet to go out to consultation and the new proposals won’t be ready until at least autumn – more than a year-and-a-half after the original plans were abandoned.

A council statement last month said the consultation is “still being finalised” and was “likely to start soon after” the Queen’s platinum jubilee bank holiday weekend.

The statement also said the new proposals will be made public at the end of the study, “which will be in the autumn”.

Meanwhile, it was also revealed this week that a third round of consultations will be held on the £10.9 million Harrogate Gateway project after further traffic concerns were raised.

It means a final business case for the scheme has yet to be submitted and construction works could now be delayed until at least winter.

Traffic order to discourage cars on two Knaresborough streets begins today

A traffic order to reduce the number of cars and encourage other forms of transport has been brought in on two Knaresborough streets today.

North Yorkshire County Council has introduced the new traffic regulation order on Eastfield, a residential street off Chain Lane, and Cardinal Way, part of the new development near Aldi.

The stretch of roads affected is separated by Frogmire Dike and will now only be open to motorists who live in the area, emergency services vehicles, wedding or funeral party transport, or people carrying out building works.

In the statement of reasons released by the county council, it says the decision has been made to reduce danger and encourage the use of other means of travel, such as public transport and walking.

The order comes in today, under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. A map showing the road affected can be viewed at Harrogate Library until June 24 or online here.

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Fears for trees in next Otley Road cycle path phase

Fears have been raised that work to build the next phase of the Otley Road cycle path in Harrogate will cause permanent damage to mature trees.

A meeting about the cycle path was held last night at Harrogate Grammar School between North Yorkshire County Council officers and local groups, including Harlow & Pannal Ash Residents Association, Zero Carbon Harrogate, The Stray Defence Association and Harrogate District Cycle Action.

The first section between Harlow Moor Road and Arthur’s Avenue was completed in January.

Work on the next phase from Arthur’s Avenue to Beech Grove have been earmarked to begin in autumn.

Yesterday’s two-hour meeting was not open to the media but we spoke today to some of the people that attended.

‘Can’t afford to lose the trees’

Plans for phase one and phase two of the cycle path were first published in 2019.

Officers delivered a presentation on the plans for phase two last night, which remain largely the same as the 2019 proposals.

These show one tree will be felled below Victoria Road and some grass verges down both sides of Otley Road will be tarmacked over to make way for the cycle path, which will be shared with pedestrians and built close to two rows of large trees.

The trees and verges on Otley Road are technically part of Stray land. Last year Harrogate Borough Council agreed a land swap with a section of grass on Wetherby Road so the cycle path could proceed.

Judy d’Arcy Thompson, chair of the Stray Defence Association, called the first section of cycle path on Otley Road, which has been widely criticised for its design, “a dog’s dinner”.

She said the 100-year-old trees on Otley Road were vital for absorbing water during heavy rainfall, adding:

“I’ve sought repeated assurances they will not create any damage to the trees. Those trees are on Stray land. They are protected by the law and they are a huge environmental asset to the town. We can’t afford to lose the trees.”

‘Pure scaremongering’

Malcolm Margolis, a Harrogate District Cycle Action member, said he needed more time to study the plans but any suggestion workers would damage trees on Otley Road was “pure scaremongering”.

He said:

“It is regrettable if a tree has to be lost, if this is unavoidable as part of a high quality cycle path. No doubt it will be replaced with new saplings nearby. We have previously asked North Yorkshire County Council to consider a 20mph speed limit and narrowing the carriageway, which might avoid tree loss.

“The suggestion that more may be lost if workers dig into the roots is pure scaremongering. Similar suggestions were made about phase 1 but the only trees that went were those in the plans, and almost all of those were for changes to Harlow Moor Road, which were purely to benefit drivers, not cyclists or pedestrians.”

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‘Preserve beauty of town’

Otley Road resident Chris Dicken has been an outspoken critic of the scheme since it was first proposed several years ago. He said “there’s no doubt Otley Road will be spoiled” by its next phase.

“It will change the ambience. It’s a very nice tree-lined boulevard.

“Trees have roots that go everywhere. How do you make sure they don’t damage those trees for the future? It won’t show up immediately but it could affect the trees. How do you get around that?”

Michael Schofield, the newly elected Liberal Democrat county councillor for Harlow & St Georges, said the council needed to ensure no trees are damaged:

“The last thing we want is for someone to be doing work and to accidentally dig into the roots. Those trees do take up a lot of water. They help that.

“The trees give Harrogate an identity. It’s one of the reasons people come to visit. We need to preserve the beauty of town.”

Government guidelines

New government guidance on cycle lanes in July 2020 said any new infrastructure should be “high quality, with a strong preference for segregated lanes”.

It warned against councils building routes that require a lot of stopping and starting from cyclists.

But the guidance was introduced after the designs for phase one and phase two were published, so it doe snot apply to these sections.

The Stray Ferret was offered an interview with Melisa Burnham, NYCC highways area manager. But today the offer was retracted.

Instead it issued the following statement from Ms Burnham

 “As part of our planning for Phase Two of the Otley Road cycle route we invited a range of stakeholder groups from across Harrogate to contribute their views and ideas on the project.

“They included the Ramblers Association, the Youth Parliament, Civic Society, residents associations, Stray Defence and the Cycle Action group. North Yorkshire councillors who represent the area also attended and the event resulted in positive and constructive discussions between group members and officers responsible for designing the scheme.

“County Council officers, alongside Harrogate Borough Council colleagues, explained the role Otley Road will play in creating a sustainable transport corridor, which will help provide residents with better choices for their travel needs.

“We also took the opportunity to update attendees of Phase One progress and the outstanding remedial work, including resurfacing, signage relocation and lining. This will be complete in June. Advanced notification will be sent to the residents indicating a confirmed start date.

“The design for Phase Two has not changed significantly since the first engagement in 2019 but we wanted to take this opportunity to discuss this again in person with the groups present.

“Key themes which emerged included the need to consider all sustainable transport users (cyclists, walkers and buses) of the routes and a recognition of the competing priorities of all users, the impact on the surrounding area, trees and Stray. We will ensure contractors are aware of the need to protect trees through the use of appropriate working methods.

“Some present raised concerns around communications for the Phase One delivery and they have been taken on board. Work on Phase One took place during the Covid-19 restrictions, which meant at times programmes moved at an unexpected pace.

“We also took the opportunity to share the Phase Three feasibility study, but this is not at a detailed design stage and further consultation will take place as that develops. Issues around the segregation of pedestrians and cyclists, set against the availability of land, have yet to be addressed.

“We hope that this meeting provided a positive start to addressing the communication concerns and a ‘meet the contractors’ event will follow in early autumn, before Phase Two works commence.”