Ripon contractors are on target to complete the resurfacing of the city’s cathedral car park a week ahead of schedule.
The work by A E Duffield & Sons as part of a £106,000 contract is due for completion on February 11, but progress suggests it could be finished by this Friday.
In an additional boost to motorists, a city council request for bays to be increased in size, to make parking easier, has been taken on-board.
A contractor told the Stray Ferret:
“The bays are now a minimum of 2.4 metres wide, compared with the previous ones that were 2.2 metres.”
The parking bays have been widened to 2.4 metres
To accommodate the enlargement of the spaces, it is estimated that a dozen of the car park’s 193 bays will be lost.
Ripon City and Harrogate district independent councillor Pauline McHardy, who led the call for the bays to be increased in size, welcomed the progress made this week.
She said:
“I’m pleased with the positive response from Harrogate Borough Council to our request and thank them for that.
“I’m also delighted that the resurfacing work has gone smoothly and with it likely to be completed early, that will mean a week’s less disruption for people coming into the city who need somewhere to park.”
A E Duffield & Sons has recently been awarded another contract by Harrogate Borough Council to resurface the Fisher Street Car Park in Knaresborough, at a cost of £30,000.
Read more:
- Why are Sharow’s roads stopping motorists from going green?
- Kirkby Malzeard’s bells could soon be ringing again
The ‘shocking state’ of roads in Sharow is preventing motorists from going green, according to villager James Thornborough.
Mr Thornborough is so upset about the state of the roads that he has raised the matter with Skipton and Ripon Conservative MP Julian Smith and North Yorkshire County Council chief executive Richard Flinton.
He told the Stray Ferret:
“The road surfaces are in such a shocking state, that it is not safe to drive on them in smaller vehicles that use less fuel and produce fewer emissions.”
In email correspondence with Mr Smith and Mr Flinton, Mr Thornborough said:
“Given the national government wishes us at our expense to go green ASAP, how can that be achieved If you force village owners like myself to abandon my small commute car in favour of a mid-size SUV to traverse Sharow roads?
“Please note that I did not say navigate our roads because that is now impossible. Every journey stresses suspension parts, grazes tyre side walls, and forces one to meander from one side to another attempting to choose the path of least damage.”
Read more:
- Tree planting across the Harrogate district for The Queen’s jubilee
- Kirkby Malzeard’s bells could soon be ringing again
New Lane, in need of attention
Mr Thornborough’s email, which was copied to the Stray Ferret, added:
“The local Sharow roads consist of pot holes, fissures, and bald tarmac top interrupted by the occasional neat tarmac patch and useless NYCC highways tarmac toothpaste repairs. The tarmac toothpaste repairs started disintegrating the day after application.
“We still have large pot holes marked for repair but not filled.”
The uneven surface on Sharow Lane
In an emailed reply to Mr Thornborough, Mr Flinton, said:
“I have copied in Nigel Smith who is head of highway operations for the council, Mr Smith will look into the issues that you have raised and respond directly with you.”
At the time of publication, no response had been received from Julian Smith.