A petition calling for improvements to roads around schools in Harrogate will be delivered to the highways authority next week.

Set up by a group of parents concerned about safety for youngsters travelling to and from school, the petition has attracted almost 900 signatures.

It calls for a 20mph limit on roads across Oatlands, Pannal Ash, Rossett and the Saints area of Harrogate. The parents said thousands of pupils travel to four primary schools, five secondary schools, Harrogate College and several nurseries and pre-schools in the area each day.

In their petition, the parents said:

“Change is urgently needed. Without it the safety, health and well-being of the children, young people and the wider community remains at stake and road safety will continue as a barrier to walking and cycling in the area and across Harrogate.

“Maximum speed limits of 20mph have been delivered in other rural and urban areas of Yorkshire and the UK including Calderdale, Cornwall, Oxford, Edinburgh, the Scottish Borders, London and in Wales. We want these improvements for south and west and other communities within Harrogate.”

The petition references two serious collisions earlier this year – one on Beechwood Grove and one on Yew Tree Lane – which left three children hurt and requiring hospital treatment.

The incident on Yew Tree Lane left two 15-year-old Rossett School boys with serious, potentially life-changing, injuries.

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After the collision, there were renewed calls for better safety measures around schools in the area. However, the campaign for changes dated much further back, with local parents having presented their requests to North Yorkshire County Council last year.

This year, meetings have been held between all headteachers in the area with representatives of North Yorkshire Council’s highways department. All the affected schools have put their names to the campaign for reduced speed limits.

Hazel Peacock, one of the parents who set up the petition, said:

“A big thank you to all of you who have signed the petition for a maximum speed of 20mph on roads in south and west Harrogate to improve road safety. There are a a total of 870 signatures to date!

“We will be submitting the petition to North Yorkshire County Council [next week]. If you have yet to sign it or would like to share with friends or family living or working in the Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency area, who may also be interested in supporting the campaign, please sign and share the petition by May 8, 2023.”

To see or sign the petition, click here.

Residents in the Pannal Ash area are calling for a 20mph zone to be introduced around four Harrogate schools.

The petition calls for the speed limit, plus safe crossing points and signage, around Rossett Acre Primary School, Rossett School, Harrogate Grammar School and Ashville College.

Ruth Lily and Jenny Marks set up the petition amid concern that more houses in the Pannal Ash area would lead to increased traffic and safety issues for children attending the schools.

The area is earmarked for up to 4,000 new homes as part of housebuilding in the west of Harrogate.

The residents said in a statement:

“We have worked with schools and local people to develop a plan for our area designed to make our streets safe and useable for everyone. 

“Enabling more journeys without cars would also increase people’s health, improve air quality, reduce noise pollution and decrease carbon emissions.”

The petition also calls for North Yorkshire County Council to introduce speed bumps in the area, plus improved cycling provision.

The move comes as residents have called for 20mph zones elsewhere in Harrogate.

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Cllr Paul Haslam, who represents Old Bilton on Harrogate Borough Council, raised the issue with Zoe Metcalfe, the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner earlier this month.

Speaking at a meeting of Harrogate Borough Council’s overview and scrutiny committee, Cllr Haslam asked Ms Metcalfe:

“In my area, Bilton and Woodfield, I would say the majority of residents want the whole area to be 20mph. At what stage will police enforce this?”

Campaigners across the country are calling for a speed limit of 20mph to be normal on residential streets and in town and village centres as part of the 20’s Plenty initiative.

You can read more on the petition for a 20mph zone in the Pannal Ash area here.