Masham Bridge repairs to begin next month

Delayed works to repair Masham Bridge look set to begin in June.

The Grade II listed bridge was damaged after a car ploughed through a wall and almost ended up in the River Ure in December.

After the incident, a police spokesman said a man in his 30s was very lucky to escape without any injuries.

Since December, temporary traffic lights have caused disruption to motorists crossing the bridge.

North Yorkshire County Council said it has been unable to retrieve stones from the collapsed wall that sunk in the river due to high water levels.

Melisa Burnham, highways area manager at NYCC, said the authority hopes work to repair the bridge will begin in June in time for the summer tourist season.

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Ms Burnham said:

“We appreciate the disruption that the temporary traffic lights on Masham Bridge are causing and are doing all we can to repair the bridge and have both lanes reopen ahead of the busy summer season.

“Unfortunately starting the repairs have taken longer than expected. High river levels during the winter months and the need to access third party land delayed retrieving the stone. This has now been completed and we are working with contractors to decide on the best method of repairs with minimum disruption to the public.

“We will liaise with the town council before a start date is scheduled. However, we look to carry out the repairs in June. We hope to keep the road open under traffic management and will keep the public updated in due course.”

 

Spate of deer killed by motorists in Harrogate

North Yorkshire Police has issued a warning to motorists after four deer were killed by motorists in the Harrogate district over the last month.

Collisions involving deer usually increase in spring, when young buck roe deer move to new areas.

A police spokesperson said motorists should look out for deer on roads close to wooded areas.

They added if you hit a deer, you should park in a safe place with the hazard lights on and call the police on 101 and not approach the animal.

A spokesperson added:

“So please look out for deer warning road signs and take particular care in forested areas and at ‘peak’ times (from sunset to midnight, and the hours shortly before and after sunrise).”

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Council shares £15,000 anti-terrorism bill for Harrogate Christmas Fayre

Anti-terrorism measures for Harrogate Christmas Fayre cost £15,000, with Harrogate Borough Council paying half.

The inaugural event was run by the council in the town centre in partnership with Market Place, a specialist market company from Greater Manchester.

It saw stalls and stands selling food, drink and gifts around Cambridge Street, Market Place, Station Square and Cambridge Crescent.

The fayre was organised after the original Harrogate Christmas Market, on Montpellier Hill, was cancelled after the council refused to sign off the organisers’ event management plan.

The council had raised concerns with co-organiser Brian Dunsby that the plan didn’t adequately address the threat from terrorists.

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In 2016, terrorists drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin, leaving 12 people dead.

Since then, Christmas markets across the UK have beefed up security to thwart any similar attempts.

The Harrogate Christmas Fayre saw temporary bollards on both ends of Cambridge Street and in other locations in the town centre to stop vehicles from entering.

The council’s publicly available list of payments over £250 includes a payment of £7,453.83 to Market Place, which a council spokesperson said was to pay for the bollards. The final bill was split 50/50 with the company.

The spokesperson said:

“As part of the event delivery plan for Harrogate Christmas Fayre, and following guidance and advice from North Yorkshire Police, we wanted to ensure a safe and enjoyable market was delivered, especially following incidents in other cities previously.

“Therefore, to ensure the safety of residents, traders and visitors of the fayre, we agreed to split the costs of anti-terrorism measures with Market Place Europe to mitigate any potential risks.

“As this was organised via Market Place Europe, our share was paid to them rather than the supplier.”

Calls to reduce ‘plethora’ of Otley Road cycle path signs

The Otley Road cycle path has seen drastic alterations to the road and pavement but the sheer number of signs erected has been called confusing and damaging to Harrogate’s visual appearance.

North Yorkshire County Council, which is behind the £2m scheme, has erected 37 new signs to let cyclists, pedestrians and motorists know where the path starts and ends.

It means blue and white signs dominate the eyeline on a stretch of road in Harrogate that is less than half a mile long.

Critics of the scheme suggest if the cycle path had a better or more streamlined design, it wouldn’t need so many signs.

‘It’s confusing’

Harrogate Civic Society was formed in 1971 with an aim to preserve the appearance of the town.

Members of the group walked the cycle path route last week and were disappointed by the volume of signs.

Its chair, Stuart Holland, said the group would like to see some of them removed.

He added:

“We think there are too many signs. We’d welcome a reduction. We think there needs to be more clarity about where cyclists go as it is confusing. As a society, we encourage less signage in the town.”

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‘Street clutter’

Otley Road resident Chris Dicken has been an outspoken critic of the scheme since it was first proposed several years ago.

He said he warned North Yorkshire County Council about the number of signs but “they didn’t listen”.

He said:

“My argument is that it’s not much of a design if you need that many signs to alert people to the cycle path and then of course many cyclists either don’t understand it’s a one way system or choose to ignore it. That’s not even taking account of the impact on the environment in a town that is proud of its heritage and its green credentials.

“Most towns are looking to reduce street clutter. Here, North Yorkshire County Council are adding lots to it. This is all in a short distance too, with many more to come for the next phase.

“To me, as a main artery into the town, Otley Road should be of a high standard and make visitors welcome with a tree-lined boulevard. Instead we get grass and tree removal and a plethora of blue and white signs. It has certainly disturbed the ambience of my road.”

Mr Dicken will meet North Yorkshire County Council next month as a representative of Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents’ Association to discuss the next phase of the cycle path, which will connect Arthur’s Avenue to Beech Grove.

He is pessimistic that the number of signs will be reduced for phase 2 because the route has already been designed.

However, he is more hopeful for phase 3, which will connect the route up towards Cardale Park. Mr Dicken hopes to see a “better-designed” route and far fewer signs.

Council’s response

Melisa Burnham, North Yorkshire County Council’s highways area manager, said:

“All signs within the Otley Road cycle way scheme are as indicated in the designs presented at the public engagement event in 2019 and subsequently published on our website.

“Appropriate signage is important in mitigating the risk of conflict between cyclists and pedestrians using the space. The signs, all of which are within highway land, were identified as necessary to the improvement scheme.

“We will be inviting stakeholders, including representatives of the residents’ association and the civic society, to a workshop in May to discuss detailed designs for phase two of the scheme. The workshop will also present details of the wider Harrogate sustainable transport packages, recognising the key links to the Otley cycle route that will be made in the future.

“Mr Dicken has previously raised concerns about aspects of the scheme, including conflicts between road users, though not signage. We have corresponded about those concerns. After the engagement event in 2019, our designers met Mr Dicken on site to discuss the designs in detail.

“We have invited Mr Dicken to meet officers again after next month’s workshop, should he wish to discuss any of his concerns further.”

North Yorkshire fire service adds motorbike to vehicle fleet

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has acquired a new motorbike to reduce the number of accidents and injuries on the county’s roads.

Volunteers from the service will ride the vehicle, known as FireBike, to biker hotspots where they will speak to motorcyclists about road safety.

Statistics show motorbikes make up less than 7% of all traffic in the county but 26% of incidents where somebody is killed or seriously injured.

The new initiative will operate alongside the Biker Down courses run by the fire and rescue service. This free course delivers first aid advice, road, and rider safety for motorcyclists at numerous locations across North Yorkshire.

Andy Creasey, the Firebike project manager at North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, said:

“Sadly we deal with a number of road traffic collisions involving motorbikes each year. Many of these collisions involve serious injury or in the worst cases fatalities.

“My colleagues and I want to do everything we can to improve the safety on the the roads for everyone. Motorcyclists enjoy chatting with likeminded enthusiasts and FireBike will help us deliver positive messaging directly within community.”

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New bus service to link Harrogate and Knaresborough with Yorkshire Dales

Improved bus links from Harrogate and Knaresborough to the Yorkshire Dales will begin this weekend.

A new service, DalesBus 74, will run every Saturday from Knaresborough and Harrogate to Ilkley, Bolton Abbey and Grassington. 

The Reliance bus leaves from Knaresborough Bus Station (stand C) at 9.10am and Harrogate Bus Station (stand 2) at 9.25am. It returns from Grassington at 5pm and Bolton Abbey at 5.25pm.

There are also minor changes to DalesBus 59, running between Harrogate and Skipton on Saturdays, from this weekend.  All journeys will return from Skipton five minutes later, and the bus will no longer call at Millstones.

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From July 3, a service called Eastern DalesBus 825 will run on Sundays and Bank Holidays from Harrogate to Brimham Rocks, Fountains Abbey, Masham, Leyburn and Richmond.

These services are managed by Dales and Bowland Community Interest Company, which aims to improve sustainable access to the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. 

Dales Rover day tickets are £10 for adults and £18 for any group of up to two adults and three children.  Concessionary bus passes for the elderly and disabled are valid for free travel on DalesBus 59 and DalesBus 74.

Tickets are available from the driver.

MP Andrew Jones ‘disappointed’ at funding snub for £116m bid to boost bus services

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has added his voice to the widespread disappointment that the area has not been awarded any money from the government’s Bus Back Better scheme.

After the announcement on Monday, Mr Jones said he was particularly concerned about a government suggestion that North Yorkshire County Council’s £116 million bid had failed because it did not show “sufficient ambition”.

He said:

“I am disappointed that we weren’t successful in getting this funding.”

“We need to look at the bid that was submitted and the Department for Transport’s analysis of that bid to see why they felt that was the case.

“We might disagree with them or we might find there are things we can learn for next time.”

It had been hoped the £116 million would have funded new bus lanes, more affordable fares, real-time passenger information and a simpler ticketing system for services across North Yorkshire.

Despite the disappointment, Mr Jones said he was pleased that a separate bid to bring 39 new zero-emission buses to Harrogate was successful and that a park and ride pilot scheme for the town was still a possibility.

Speaking about the park and ride plans, Mr Jones said:

“If people use it, it has the potential to get more traffic off our roads and improve our environment.

“And we shouldn’t forget that we have been very successful in securing cash for public transport investment – particularly buses – in our area.

“We won £7.8 million from the government’s Zero Emissions Bus Regional Areas scheme to create an entirely electric bus fleet for our area last month.

“In 2016 we won over £200,000 to install clean bus technology in our local fleet.  We also won cash from the government to start the journey to being a zero emission bus town.

“So we must temper our disappointment with pride in how far we have come and re-double our efforts to bring back axed services on our rail line and getting even more cash into our local bus services.”

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The £7.8 million was awarded in March after a joint bid from North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Bus Company to make the firm’s fleet all-electric was successful.

This project will cost almost £20 million in total, with more than £12 million being invested by Transdev – the parent firm of Harrogate Bus Company.

A total of 20 single-decker and 19 double-decker buses will be bought over the next three years, as well as the supporting charging infrastructure.

Alex Hornby, chief executive of Transdev, said this project should be seen as a positive and that he believes passenger numbers will continue to grow in Harrogate – even without more government funding.”

“Obviously on behalf of our customers, we are disappointed to see that the proposed improvements for bus travel by North Yorkshire County Council were not approved by the central government.

“However, we remain confident that we will be able to grow demand for bus travel thanks to the funding support from the Department for Transport in a new electric bus fleet in Harrogate which will result in a fully zero-emission network in our town and convert our base in Starbeck to a 100% electric bus depot.”

Mr Hornby added:

“We will continue working closely with North Yorkshire County Council to see how else we can introduce any of the original Bus Back Better proposals, including a pilot park and ride site at Pannal on our class-leading 36 route.”

Northern to continue with Harrogate train cuts despite pressure from MP

Northern will press ahead with plans to cancel the 6.07am train service from Harrogate to Leeds, as well as some other services, despite lobbying from Harrogate and Knaresborough’s Conservative MP Andrew Jones.

The Stray Ferret reported this month that the 6.07am service — the first of the day — will be axed from May 15. Some evening services will also be cut.

The early service was popular with business travellers as a way to get to London King’s Cross before 9am.

The decision to cut the service was branded as “disgraceful” by Brian Dunsby, of Harrogate Line Supporters Group.

Urging a rethink

Last week, Andrew Jones MP wrote to the chairman of Northern, Robin Gisby, urging him to “rethink” reductions to the service between Harrogate and Leeds.

Mr Jones wrote that train services in Harrogate had got better over the past decade but cuts could risk losing these “hard-won improvements”.

However, a Northern spokesperson said today that the operator, which is now owned by the UK government, confirmed the cuts will still take place from May 15.

They said the cuts were primarily due to driver shortages and not a reduction in passengers since the pandemic.

However, the spokesperson added Northern will look to reinstate some services during the rest of 2022.

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The spokesperson said:

“We recognise that some of our customers are disappointed with the upcoming changes to their service. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused.”

“Along with the rest of the industry, some amendments to the timetable will be made from 15 May 2022.

“For the remainder of the year, services will be reinstated where possible with the intention of a larger uplift in December 22.

“These reinstatements will take us more in line with December 2021 service levels although any changes are dependent on several factors. We will share the final plans when we can.”

Brian Dunsby, of Harrogate Line Supporters Group said news that the 6.07am cut would remain was “not good enough”.

He added:

“I was expecting them to keep that one. I’m very disappointed.”

Harrogate disability charity explains why some crossings don’t beep

Harrogate-based charity Disability Action Yorkshire has explained why many pedestrian crossings in Harrogate town centre do not make a beeping sound to let blind or visually impaired people know it is safe to cross.

It follows a Stray Ferret article published on Saturday about Harrogate man John Raho, 80, who relies on the noise to help him cross the road safely when vehicles stop and the green man appears.

But from the top of Cheltenham Parade up Station Parade and to the Victoria Avenue junction, 9 out of 10 crossings did not make any noise at all, which Mr Raho said was ‘shameful’.

Mr Raho received some messages of support on social media from people who named other pedestrian crossings in the district where they would like to hear a beeping noise.

Could be confusing

Disability Action Yorkshire was founded 84 years ago and helps disabled people live the life of their choosing.

It has headquarters and a training centre on Hornbeam Park, a residential care home on Claro Road, and a holiday lodge in Lincolnshire.

Its chief executive Jackie Snape said she sympathised with Mr Raho’s plight but said having too many crossings making the noise could be confusing.

Ms Snape said:

“[Crossings that don’t beep] is something we hear quite a lot but I do fully understand the reasons.

“It’s where there are two or three crossings close to each other. People could get confused and walk into the roads.”

Jackie Snape, Disability Action Yorkshire chief executive.

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Ms Snape said there needed to be greater awareness that crossings that don’t beep have a small cone underneath that can be touched. The cone turns when the green man lights up to indicate it is safe to cross.

But she added that since covid, many people did not feel comfortable touching it.

Many crossings have a plastic cone underneath that turns when it is safe to cross

Victoria Avenue junction

Whilst Ms Snape said it would be confusing to have too many crossings on Station Parade making the beeping noise, the silent crossing at the Victoria Avenue junction “needs looking at” because it wasn’t in close proximity to other crossings.

She said crossings like this should be reported to North Yorkshire County Council through its website.

Ms Snape said:

“We’ve reported machines in the past when they have stopped working. Unless they are reported, the council does not know they are not working properly.”

Ms Snape added that if any blind or partially sighted person would like to report a crossing that does not make a beeping noise, the charity can do it on their behalf through its website or by calling 01423 855419.

Otley Road in Harrogate to face six weeks of roadworks

Two-way traffic lights will be installed on Otley Road, between Harrogate and Beckwithshaw, from Monday until Friday May 6.

North Yorkshire County Council will put the lights next to Persimmon Homes’ Harlow Hill Grange development whilst roadworks take place.

According to the council’s website, works include installing new street lights and signs, connecting gullies to a ditch and building a new footpath.

Motorists using the section of Otley Road closer to Harrogate have faced over a year of disruption due to the construction of the Otley Road cycle path. Phase two is set to start later this year.

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