Victoria Avenue Archives - Page 4 of 5

Call for council to ‘get its act together’ over active travel in Harrogate

A senior highways officer at North Yorkshire County Council has been told to focus on delivering walking and cycling schemes in Harrogate following the scrapping of two high-profile projects in six months.

At a meeting of the Harrogate & Knaresborough area constituency committee in Harrogate today, North Yorkshire County Council highways officer Melisa Burnham gave a presentation to councillors that updated them on the current direction of active travel in the town.

Ms Burnham reaffirmed the reasons for scrapping the second phase of the Otley Road cycle path and said why it decided to not continue with the Beech Grove Low Traffic Neighbourhood after an 18-month pilot. She said both schemes had faced public opposition.

She said the council is expecting an answer from the government tomorrow on whether they have been successful in funding bids for segregated cycle routes on Victoria Avenue in Harrogate and the section of Knaresborough Road between Mother Shipton’s Cave and Harrogate Golf Club.

She also said the results of a long-awaited study into improvements in the Oatlands Drive area will be published next month. In 2021, the council scrapped plans to make the road one-way following fierce opposition from local residents.

In 2019, the council undertook a major public consultation regarding congestion in Harrogate where over 15,000 people responded.

It showed there was an appetite for active travel as 77% of respondents said they would like better walking and cycling routes.

But since the survey, only the much-criticised first phase of the Otley Road cycle path has been delivered and still remains.

This promoted Chris Aldred, Liberal Democrat councillor for High Harrogate & Kingsley, to suggest the people who said they wanted more active travel are being let down by the county council.

He said:

“We need to get our act together and to be faithful to the 15,000 respondents of that survey. It’s even more congested than in 2019 and we need to start doing things.

“Hopefully we’ll have some more money tomorrow. I’d like to see that Victoria Avenue scheme happen in the next 12 months as it sends out a message we’re actually serious about active travel.”

‘Thank you for seeing sense’

Sam Gibbs, Conserative councillor for Valley Gardens and Central Harrogate, thanked the county council for “seeing sense” on phase 2 of the Otley Road cycle path.

The unspent money that was earmarked for the cycle path will now be spent on an as-yet-unannounced scheme in the Otley Road area.

Cllr Gibbs said:

“Thank you for listening. It’s long been a criticism of the county council, perhaps unfairly, that they haven’t always listened.

“Thank you for seeing sense on the Otley Road cycle way. I’m not against the idea of cycle ways but Otley Road just wasn’t working. I’m sure we can spend that money on something far better.”

He added:

“I hope we’ve learned the lessons from Otley Road and other things and going forward we can get an active travel scheme that does what it says on the tin and does not hinder those that are using it.”

Ms Burnham also revealed the county council has undertaken feasibility studies into reducing traffic on Leeds Road. She said design options are being developed and will be issued in the coming weeks.

This was welcomed by John Mann, councillor for Oatlands & Pannal.

He said:

“Leeds Road is an exceedingly busy road with 27,000 vehicles a day. We get long queues at the Pannal and Marks and Spencer traffic lights and we get queues all the way back to Butterside Bar roundabout. Congestion is very severe along that road so any proposals to alleviate that would be much appreciated.”

Funding for Harrogate and Knaresborough cycling projects ‘not guaranteed’

A senior county council officer has said the authority is not guaranteed to receive any funding to improve cycling and walking in Harrogate.

Officials at North Yorkshire County Council have bid for £3 million to fund three schemes across the county.

Their priority scheme is Victoria Avenue in Harrogate, which would see parking spaces removed to create segregated cycleways.

But they also have plans to create cycle lanes on the A59 Forest Lane in Knaresborough from Maple Close to Knaresborough High Bridge.

The government told the council it had an “indicative allocation” of up to £1.08 million, which it could put projects forward for in order to be assessed. It then encouraged the authority to apply for more funding, which led the council to bid for an additional £2.16 million.

A decision on the funding is expected by the Department for Transport tomorrow.

However, at a meeting of the council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee this morning, Cllr Michael Harrison, a Conservative who represents Killinghall, Hampsthwaite and Saltergate, asked senior officers whether the indicative allocation was guaranteed.

Melissa Burnham, highways area manager for the council, said:

“We have put the bid in for the three schemes, but we are not necessarily guaranteed to get any of them.

“We are hopeful. But until tomorrow, we just don’t know.”

Cllr Harrison said that councillors should measure their expectations ahead of the decision on funding.

He said:

“We need to bear that in mind when we keep promoting things.

“We have to be realistic about what we can deliver and that’s assuming that we get the money.”

Stray Views: Rossett Nature Reserve ‘has been slashed back’

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.

I recently walked through the above with my friend (a local resident) and her two small dogs to discover this delightful nature reserve had been cut back in a most unsympathetic manner, in fact for the most part it had been “slashed/hacked”.

I understand that the fellow residents are disgusted with the way in which the reserve has been treated. We realise the newts need to be protected but certainly not by using a bulldozer and other mechanical methods to cut back the foliage.

Patricia Perry, Harrogate

Victoria Avenue plan ‘solves problem that doesn’t exist’

I have read your article about Victoria Avenue. This is a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist from a cyclist perspective.

There isn’t much traffic down this road, it’s slow moving and there is enough space for cars to pass. Why are they spending all this money to solve a problem that doesn’t exist?

Let me tell you. Victoria Avenue’s road surface is shocking. It has pot holes galore and probably needs ripping up and relaying. So, the council have decided we can access money for cycling improvements and use it to relay the road surface and put in a couple of lanes on each side to justify the spend.

Again, people will be left wondering where £1.5m has been spent. Some of us will know – on road improvements that will benefit cars (and cyclists).

Please don’t make the same mistake and report this as an improvement for cyclists, like you have with the Otley Road cycleway.

We all know it’s the council using cycling money to improvement road infrastructure. Not to improve the safety of cyclists.

Scott Mordue, Harrogate

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

Harrogate’s Victoria Avenue could lose parking spaces under cycle plans

Harrogate’s Victoria Avenue could lose a number of parking spaces and its central refuges as part of plans to create a cycleway.

North Yorkshire County Council this week identified Victoria Avenue as its priority cycling scheme of three in the pipeline. The others are on the A59 Harrogate Road at Knaresborough, and in Richmond.

Victoria Avenue would see segregated cycle lanes 1.5 metres wide and buffer zones created on both sides of the avenue.

The West Park junction and kerb line would be remodelled to improve the crossing and new traffic lights installed. The pedestrian crossing would also be upgraded and pay and display meters would be removed or relocated.

A report to councillors says “some existing parking and central refuges” would be removed but doesn’t specify how many. When the Stray Ferret has asked the council for the number, a spokesperson said:

“The designs of the Victoria Avenue scheme are still to be finalised, so the reduction in parking spaces is yet to be confirmed.”

Victoria Avenue

The Victoria Avenue scheme, which is part of the council’s plans to encourage active travel, is budgeted to cost £1.57m and is likely to go ahead because funding is already secured.

The council has £492,000 from tranche two of the Department for Transport’s active travel fund remaining. This, along with £1.08 million the DfT has awarded in tranche four, will cover the cost.

The council has also been invited to bid for an additional £2.16 million and whether the schemes in Knaresborough and Richmond proceed will largely depend on this.

Harrogate cycling group: ‘We need delivery, not just bids’

A Harrogate cycling group has said North Yorkshire County Council needs to “deliver” cycling schemes after years of promises.

The council revealed yesterday it planned to bid for £3.19 million to help fund projects in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Both schemes — on Victoria Avenue in Harrogate and Harrogate Road in Knaresborough — were previously announced in 2020.

Now the council needs to await the outcome of its bid to tranche four of the Department for Transport’s active travel fund before knowing if either initiative can go ahead.

It follows the council’s decision to abandon phase two of the Otley Road cycle route in Harrogate and the closure of nearby Beech Grove to through traffic, as well as ongoing uncertainty over whether the £11.2 million Harrogate Station Gateway will go ahead.

The Otley Road cycle route

The initiatives were part of a wider ambition to create a linked off-road cycle route from Cardale Park to Harrogate train station.

Plans to improve cycling on Oatlands Drive were also shelved.

Kevin Douglas, chair of Harrogate District Cycling Action, said:

“We welcome the fact that the council is continuing to bid. But what we would like to see is some delivery.

“Standalone cycle schemes are not going to work. We need a single, segregated, joined-up cycle route to make sure people are safe.”

Mr Douglas described as “slightly embarrassing” yesterday’s comments by Councillor Keane Duncan, the Conservative executive member for highways at the council, that the latest bid was “another significant milestone in our efforts to deliver a more balanced approach to travel in the county”.

Mr Douglas said the only new active travel scheme had been the first phase of the Otley Road cycle route, which he said remained incomplete and unsafe, adding:

“There have been no new schemes here. Now they are seeking additional funds for schemes they have already announced.

“I’m not sure how they can talk about their track record for delivery.”

Victoria Avenue, which is the council’s priority scheme, would see improvements to public spaces, pedestrian crossings and segregated cycleways. Parking spaces would be removed.

A decision on bids submitted for the active travel fund is expected from the government on March 17.

Construction must begin on successful projects before March 31, 2024.

Will Harrogate cycling schemes ever get out of first gear?

A cycling group has expressed frustration amid ongoing uncertainty over the timetable to increase active travel in the Harrogate district.

The council previously said designs to create better cycling routes on Victoria Avenue and the A59 were “likely” to be revealed this summer. It also said a consultation on Oatlands Drive cycling improvements was “likely to start soon after” Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee bank holiday weekend in June.

But a fortnight ago Councillor Keane Duncan, executive member for highways and transport at North Yorkshire County Council, said an Oatlands consultation was now likely to start in October and a consultation on Victoria Avenue and the A59 were due in the New Year.

The Stray Ferret asked the council why the consultations had been delayed.

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

“We want to ensure that all road users fully understand the strategic links between all the proposed projects in Harrogate to enable them to comment with a clear voice.

“To ensure this, we have taken the time necessary to draft detailed engagement papers. Details of the consultation will be announced soon. We have explained this situation to interested parties.”

Victoria Avenue is one of the routes designated for cycling improvements.

Councillors frequently talk about creating a joined-up, off-road cycle route from Harrogate train station to Cardale Park, which would require completion of the Station Gateway scheme and the Otley Road and Victoria Avenue cycle routes, as well as the prohibition of traffic on Beech Grove. None of these projects is making noticeable progress.

Kevin Douglas, chairman of Harrogate District Cycle Action, said the speed of change was particularly disappointing because funding for projects was in place. He said:

“We have been waiting so long for this. It’s frustrating that every time we seem to be making progress, the dates slip back.

“We need to see resources dedicated to carrying out the work as soon as possible.”

Still no word about the Beech Grove & Otley Road consultation promised in September 2022.
Countdown: 6 days late https://t.co/tvpBidDlsF

— Harrogate Cycle Action (@cycle_harrogate) October 7, 2022

Mr Douglas also highlighted how, in contrast to delays on cycling schemes, work was due to start on the £68m scheme to realign Kex Gill for motorists. He added:

“All we can do is keep pressing for change and hope things start to move more quickly.”

More delays for Harrogate cycling schemes

There are yet more delays for Harrogate’s active travel schemes, which have yet to produce final designs despite being awarded government cash almost two years ago.

North Yorkshire County Council won £1 million for cycling and walking improvements on Oatlands Drive, Victoria Avenue and the A59 near Knaresborough in November 2020, but final designs have yet to be revealed as part of more consultations.

The council previously said designs for the Victoria Avenue and A59 schemes – which include cycle lanes, improved crossings and reduced speed limits – were “likely” to be revealed this summer.

However, this has now been pushed back until at least the New Year.

Victoria Avenue is one of the routes earmarked for better cycling.

And for the Oatlands Drive plans, the council previously said a consultation was “likely to start soon after” Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee bank holiday weekend in June.

Three months on, the council says it now hopes to ask the public for their views from the start of October.

This comes after original plans for a one-way traffic system on Oatlands Drive were scrapped after a backlash from residents who warned the changes would be “disastrous”.

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

Councillor Keane Duncan, executive member for highways and transport at the council, said in a statement this week:

“We are still in the detailed design stage for active travel schemes on Victoria Avenue and the A59 near Knaresborough.

“Following discussions and guidance from Active Travel England we would like to amend the designs further for improved pedestrian and cycling use.

“A public consultation with final designs is likely to take place in the New Year.

“The study of Oatlands Drive will review the existing designs and prepare new ones, based on the data we collect, to give us some options for active travel and traffic calming improvements in the Oatlands area that could be trialled.

“We hope to launch the public consultation at the start of October.”

The latest delays come on top of several setbacks for Harrogate’s Otley Road cycle path project which was first awarded funding in 2017. A first phase of the project was completed earlier this year, but a start date for phase two remains unclear.

Otley Road cycle path

There have also been setbacks for the town’s £11.2 million Gateway project which has been hit by a legal threat from a leading property company.

Hornbeam Park Developments made a proposed claim for a judicial review against the council this year over claims that it “failed conscientiously” to take into account the feedback of a previous survey.

This sparked the launch of yet another consultation, which was held in summer and gathered over 2,000 responses ahead of a council decision over whether to submit a final business case for funding.

Elsewhere, plans for a 7km cycleway in Knaresborough and other active travel improvements in Ripon were shelved altogether in summer when a council bid for £1.5 million was rejected by government.

Consultation announced for two new cycle routes

Consultation is to begin this summer on two new cycle routes in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

North Yorkshire County Council received £1,011,750 last year from the Department for Transport’s active travel fund to improve cycling and walking infrastructure.

The funding is due to be spent on two schemes in the Harrogate district and one in Whitby.

The Harrogate district schemes are on the A59 Harrogate Road, Knaresborough, between Badger Mount and Maple Close and on Victoria Avenue, between the A61 (West Park) and Station Parade.

The Victoria Avenue cycle path could link with the Beech Grove low traffic neighbourhood.

A third Harrogate scheme for Oatlands Drive was scrapped after a negative response, but new proposals to cut congestion in the area are due to be revealed in autumn.

The funding was secured more than a year ago and little discernible progress has been made since then.

The Stray Ferret asked the county council for an update.

Melisa Burnham, highways area manager at the county council, said:

“The two proposed schemes in Harrogate — along the A59 and on Victoria Avenue — are currently in the detailed design stage to understand the cost and funding requirements.

“We are carrying out road safety audits on the routes this month before taking the final designs to a public consultation in the late summer.”

But it seems the Knaresborough scheme will not proceed any time soon.

Although North Yorkshire County Council is leading on the project, the issue was raised last week at a Harrogate Borough Council meeting.

Stray land

Harrogate Borough Council has ringfenced £500,000 towards the Knaresborough scheme from its investment reserve.

When asked about progress on the initiative, Councillor Phil Ireland, the cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability, told the meeting “there has been an acceptance that this will not happen prior to local government reorganisation” in April next year.

Cllr Ireland said:

“We definitely want a cycleway between Harrogate and Knaresborough. However, it won’t happen quickly as further funding will need to be identified, plus there’s always the perennial issue of Stray land on the verges of Knaresborough Road.”

He added that the borough council, which will be abolished in April, was considering allocating the funding to other “shovel-ready schemes” from North Yorkshire County Council, such as the Victoria Avenue initiative.

Cllr Ireland said the borough council was “waiting for some more information’ from the county council before making a decision.

The Victoria Avenue scheme could link with the Beech Grove low traffic neighbourhood, if the decision to close the road to through traffic is continued.

CNG building in Harrogate goes back on the market

Former CNG building goes on the market

The Harrogate headquarters of energy firm CNG, which ceased trading lat year, has gone on the market.

Montpellier Property Consultants is advertising the four-storey property on Victoria Avenue.

The air-conditioned building was built in the 1990s and refurbished in 2015. The advertisement says:

“It offers modern high specification office accommodation and benefits from the latest systems and technology.

“The quality of its specification and the very extensive office accommodation it provides makes it unique in the business district.”

Slingsby Gin signs sponsorship deal with Ascot Racecourse

Harrogate firm Slingsby Gin has become the official gin supplier to Ascot Racecourse.

Royal Ascot, which is held in June, is one of the premier events on the British horseracing calendar.

The partnership will generate considerable exposure for the local firm through exclusive branding and activations, branded bars for the season and inclusion in event coverage that is broadcast worldwide.

Slingsby Gin said in a statement:

“We are delighted to add this to our existing long-standing sponsorship with one of the golf world’s most exciting events, the BMW PGA Championship, and we hope that the new Ascot partnership will further strengthen our strong sporting connections.”

JB Gill to appear at Great Yorkshire Show

JB Gill

Pop star turned farmer JB Gill has agreed to appear on the new GYS stage at the Great Yorkshire Show.

He will appear twice on stage on Wednesday, July 13, as part of a chat show style section before meeting fans afterwards.

Former ITV Calendar presenter Christine Talbot will host the GYS Stage.

The Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate will take place from July 12 to 15.

JB rose to fame as a member of boy band JLS, who had five number one singles, before setting up a farm in the Kent countryside,

Send your business news to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk

Review into Oatlands Drive traffic measures delayed

A review into traffic measures on Harrogate’s Oatlands Drive has been delayed.

North Yorkshire County Council was due to publish a list of measures to improve walking and cycling in the area last year.

However, Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at the council, told the Stray Ferret that publication of the review has been delayed as the council is working with consultants on the matter.

The Oatlands Constituency Feasibility Study is being drawn up after the council ditched proposals to introduce a one-way system on the road following complaints from residents.

It is expected to look into issues such as parking, access to the Saints area and the blocking of the cycle way on Oatlands Drive by cars.

The study was earmarked to be finalised last autumn.

But Cllr Mackenzie said:

“It has been delayed. We are working with our consultants on that.

“It will look at parking and various issues in the Saints area. I am sorry that it has been delayed.”

Concerns over parking in the cycle lane on Oatlands Drive have been raised with the council over many years, Cllr Mackenzie added.

In September, Harrogate Borough Council erected no parking signs warning drivers they face a £100 fine or being towed away if they park on Stray land next to the cycle lane.

However, drivers were later pictured defying the “no parking” signs.

The parking signs which were erected on Oatlands Drive.

One side of Oatlands Drive has double yellow lines but the other side — where cars park — does not.

The county council is working with London-based consultancy firm WSP on the Oatlands study. The company also carried out work on the £60 million Kex Gill realignment project for the authority.

Victoria Avenue cycle scheme expected to hit delays

Another cycling project which is also expected to be delayed is the Victoria Avenue scheme in Harrogate.

The project is set to see cycle lanes implemented in order to connect with the nearby Beech Grove low traffic neighbourhood.

It comes as part of a £1.2 million government funded scheme to to get more people walking and cycling as the nation emerges from the pandemic.

The project which has been earmarked for Victoria Avenue in Harrogate.

However, Cllr Mackenzie told the Stray Ferret that the Victoria Avenue part of the project could require Stray land to be exchanged.

This could delay construction of the project as the county council would have to liaise with Harrogate Borough Council to identify land to be exchanged with the Duchy of Lancaster.

Cllr Mackenzie said he had hoped to start work on the Active Travel schemes, which also includes a project on the A59 Harrogate Road, this summer.

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Stray land

Former CNG building goes on the market

Slingsby Gin signs sponsorship deal with Ascot Racecourse

JB Gill to appear at Great Yorkshire Show

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Victoria Avenue cycle scheme expected to hit delays