Ripon company awarded £106,000 contract for car park resurfacing

A company has been awarded a £106,000 contract to resurface Ripon’s biggest car park.

The Cathedral car park, on Victoria Grove, has 193 bays and sits in the view of the city’s cathedral.

A.E. Duffield & Sons Ltd, which is based in Ripon, will take on the work as part of a Harrogate Borough Council contract valued at £106,512.47.

The council said in its contract notice that the site has become worn and hazardous to members of the public.

It said:

“Over the years the current surface of the car park has become pot-holed, with large areas of loose tarmac resulting in trip hazards to members of the public, and claims for vehicle damage.”

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The contract is for a complete resurfacing of the car park, and to increase the number of parking spaces to 206, along with 10 disabled bays.

The council will also require the contractors to undertake trunking and ductwork in preparation for the installation of electric vehicle charging points.

A separate contract will be procured to install the charging points.

The work is due to start on January 17 and end on February 11, according to the company.

There have been calls by Ripon city councillors for the bays in the car park to be made wider.

Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning and welcome back to the traffic and travel blog, it’s Connor with you today to help make your journey as smooth as possible.

Keep checking our blog every 30 minutes for full updates on the roads and public transport. I’ll let you know about any delays, traffic hotspots or roadworks.

You can get in touch if you spot anything, and it’s safe, on 01423 276197.

The morning blogs are brought to you by The HACS Group.

9am – Full Update 

That is all from me this week but my colleague Leah will be back with you for the final day of the working week from 6.30am.

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Heavy congestion on Ripon Road at the gas line repairs close to the Co-op petrol station. Usual levels of traffic elsewhere in the district according to our system

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8.30am – Full Update 

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Heavy congestion on Wetherby Road between Forest Lane and Hookstone Chase. Also heavy congestion on Skipton Road between Dragon Road and the Empress roundabout.

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8am – Full Update 

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The roads are looking quiet so far this morning, with schools away for half term but there has been some disruption on the railway.

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7.30am – Full Update 

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The roads are looking quiet so far this morning, with schools away for half term but there has been some disruption on the railway.

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7am – Full Update 

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The roads are looking quiet so far this morning, with no hotspots just yet. Are you stuck in traffic or spotted something? Give me a call.

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6.30am – Full Update 

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The roads are looking quiet so far this morning, with no hotspots just yet. Are you stuck in traffic or spotted something? Give me a call.

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Harrogate car club used over 900 times in first year

Harrogate Borough Council‘s car hire club has been used 927 times over the past year, with 100 members clocking up 38,590 miles.

The council launched the initiative in August last year in partnership with car club operator Co-Wheels. It aims to improve air quality and reduce carbon emissions.

The fleet of nine hybrid cars in Harrogate town centre offers pay-as-you-go hire ranging from 30 minutes to a week.

Hybrid cars combine petrol or diesel engine with electric motors. Electric power can be activated in urban areas to reduce air pollution.

The council said in a statement the scheme has removed 2.9 tonnes of CO2 compared to driving personal cars.

Each car is based in a designated zone and comes with a parking permit that allows parking anywhere in Harrogate.

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Conservative councillor Phil Ireland, cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability, said:

“Despite a difficult 18 months for everyone, the figures from the past 12 months are encouraging to see and show people have a desire to help reduce carbon emission across the Harrogate district.

“I hope more people utilise this scheme moving forward and reduce the number of cars in their household as well as the dependency of owning a car.”

Richard Falconer, managing director of Co Wheels, added: 

“There’s a lot of great work going on to reduce carbon emissions in Harrogate and we are pleased to see membership increasing and usage of the vehicles start so strongly during the first 12 months.”

Cars drive over Stray to avoid Harrogate road closure

Harrogate motorists have been avoiding the closure of Beech Grove by driving over the Stray.

The road closed to through traffic yesterday but already some vehicles have taken the law into their own hands by mounting the kerb and cutting across the Stray, leaving behind mud and tyre tracks.

A chaotic first night saw most motorists, confronted by road blocks for the first time, performing u-turns. But the Stray Ferret has photographic evidence, as well as verbal reports by witnesses, that some engaged in illegal manoeuvres.

Besides driving on the Stray, motorists also drove through the car parks attached to the residential apartment blocks on Beech Grove. They also drove the wrong way along the one-way street that connects Beech Grove and Victoria Road to avoid a detour.

North Yorkshire County Council, the highways authority, is now considering ways to prevent motorists taking the law into their own hands.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive member for access, told the Stray Ferret:

“I am very sorry that motorists have decided to drive across the Stray to avoid the road closure on Beech Grove.

“That is extremely poor behaviour. They are also committing a driving offence.”

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Judy D’Arcy Thompson, chair of the Stray Defence Association, told the Stray Ferret:

“It is outrageous that cars are being driven onto the Stray. We understand drivers’ frustrations as they are probably unaware of the closure until they have actually entered Beech Grove.

“However, this does not excuse angry and potentially dangerous driving.

“The hideously ugly planters appear to have been placed well into the route to avoid the increased flooding which now occurs on West Park Stray, spreading as it does across the road.

“As always our concern is for the protection of the Stray and we are engaged in conversation with both North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council about this.”

Beech Grove will be closed to through traffic for six months before North Yorkshire County Council, which is consulting on the scheme, decides whether to make it permanent.

It is hoped the move will encourage pedestrians and cyclists. It will link to the new Otley Road cycle path, work on which is due to begin in spring.

Residents, refuse collections and emergency services will still have access to the area.

Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel updates

Good morning everyone and welcome back to our traffic and travel service for the Harrogate district.

Whether you travel by car, bus or train we will keep an eye out for any possible disruption to your journey.

It’s Connor again back on the travel desk from 6.30am. Spotted an accident or a road closure? Send your updates to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

If traffic is moving well or it’s at a standstill then we will let you know with our updates every 15 minutes.

Full update – 9am

Thanks to everyone who has been getting involved with this new traffic and travel service. Good to read that people are finding it helpful. I am moving over to the news desk now but will be back with renewed vigour tomorrow morning at 6.30am. Connor.

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Full update – 8.45am

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Full update – 8.30am

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Full update – 8.15am

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Full update – 8am

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Full update – 7.45am

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Full update – 7.30am

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Full update – 7.15am

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Full update – 7am

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Full update – 6.45am

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Full update – 6.30am

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Housing Investigation: 26,500 more cars on the district’s roads

If every home in Harrogate district’s Local Plan is built there could be an extra 26,500 cars on Harrogate’s already gridlocked roads, analysis from the Stray Ferret has found.  

Many feel congestion on the district’s roads has already reached crisis point:   

Phil I'anson Phil’s story  

Phil I’Anson owns HG Heat in Harrogate and services boilers across the district. He told the Stray Ferret that in ordinary times traffic is crippling his business and could force him to relocate from Harrogate, which has been his home all his life. 

Mr I’Anson said traffic has “gone crazy” in the four years since he set up his business, and it’s having a significant impact on his company’s bottom line. 

“I spend approximately two to three hours a day in traffic in Harrogate. It costs me one or two jobs a day. That’s £150 a day and 20% of my earning capability.” 

He said that it appears to him that neither HBC nor NYCC “has any control” over the congestion. “The builders seem to just do whatever they want,” he said. 

Mr I’Anson also said that the impact of facing Harrogate’s traffic day after day is affecting his mental health. 

“The most stressful thing I do isn’t running my company, it’s the traffic and driving around Harrogate. The work I can handle, but the traffic is what is stressful.” 

And Mr I’Anson is not alone in his concern.

No strategic approach 

Because Harrogate was unable to control where houses were built, it’s led to particular pressure points such as Skipton Road, where traffic regularly grinds to a standstill throughout the day. 

At the time of writing, there are 15 new housing developments at various stages of construction in Harrogate, with trucks buzzing in and out transporting building materials from outside the district. 

In October residents in the Whinney Lane area submitted their objections to a 270 house development to HBC- every resident cited traffic as a major concern:

“the road infrastructure in the area is already woefully inadequate to accommodate this and other existing new developments..”

“Whinney Lane and Lady Lane are country roads which are not capable of supporting additional traffic of at least 270 homes”

“traffic assessments cannot be viewed simply in terms of the increased traffic from a single proposal without looking at the cumulative impact of several developments in the area” 

And it’s this cumulative impact that is causing serious problems for businesses like Mr I’Anson’s. 

“I’ll move out of Harrogate. It’s just crazy. It’s spoiling the town for me.  

“We haven’t got the infrastructure to keep building the houses they are building. At some point, it will become just gridlock but I’ll be gone by then hopefully. Where does it end?”

Harrogate’s gridlocked future?

Our figure of 26,500 extra cars comes from a North Yorkshire County Council formula.  

The authority controls roads in the Harrogate district and asks each developer to include a set number of car parking spaces for every home they build.  

For a one– or two-bedroom home, the minimum requirement is one space, but for three bedrooms and over it’s two spaces. 

We analysed the number of bedrooms in different housing developments across the district to project a total figure of 26,500. 

The real figure could be higher- according to a 2018 report by North Yorkshire County Council.  33,000 people who currently live in Harrogate and Knaresborough fall into the top 10% wealthiest people in the UK, which is almost a third of all people living in the two towns. 

A government survey of household car ownership by income group found that 26% of people in this financial bracket own three or more cars, with more than 43% owning two. 

As developers aim to maximise profits and build large homes to target high earners, those new owners will inevitably arrive with more cars.  

Read more on our housing series: 

Public transport 

Public transport could hold the key to unlocking Harrogate’s congestion problems. However, according to NYCC’s congestion survey last year, just 6% of regular commuters in Harrogate will get the bus. 

While some areas of the district, such as Killinghall, parts of Knaresborough and Ripon, are well served by Transdev buses, there are other pockets where housing is planned that have inadequate, or non-existent, bus services. 

Kingsley Road is one of Harrogate’s main pressure points for new housing, with more than 600 homes mooted for development in the Local Plan, yet the nearest bus stop is half a mile away on Knaresborough Road. The furthest reaches of the planned development will be almost a mile away from the nearest bus stop. 

Then there is the 600-home Manse Farm development on York Road, Knaresborough, which is served by the number 21 bus into the town centre, but it only stops nearby every hour and 40 minutes – and doesn’t run at all on a Sunday or after 5.15pm. 

The 125-home Harlow Hill Grange development near Beckwithshaw, meanwhile, is not served by any bus routes. The number 6, into central Harrogate, has its closest stop more than half a mile away, up a steep section of Otley Road. 

The half-hourly service stops running at 7pm on weeknights and Saturdays. On Sundays, an hourly service runs until just after 6pm. 

For an elderly couple wanting to do a small shop in town, or a family going out for a meal, easy access to a frequent bus service at the right time could be the difference between using a car and not. 

Accepted congestion problems 

For Harrogate’s cycling community, the key to unlocking congestion is on two wheels. 

Recently the government awarded NYCC £1million pounds to create additional cycle routes and walkways.  But the construction of bespoke cycle routes (such as the one on Otley Road) has been painfully slow. Unless there is a rapid expansion of cycle routes in the next few years, many new home owners will be wedded to their cars. 

According to North Yorkshire County Council’s congestion survey, the average car journey in the town is less than 1.6 miles. 

But since NYCC scrapped plans for a controversial “relief road” through the Nidd Gorge, there has been little progress in tackling congestion around Harrogate.  It means any roadworks such as the recent ones on Skipton road can bring the system to a standstill. 

For many one of the very few joys of lockdown is how quiet the road network has been and the ease of moving around the district.

As normality returns next year Phil l’Anson and others like him will have to decide if the roads have become so congested he is forced to work elsewhere.

Tomorrow: in the final part of our housing series we’ll be looking at the environmental impact and sustainability of the new developments. 

If you want to get in touch with us about any aspect of this series please email us: contact@thestrayferret.co.uk

Teenage girl arrested after cars damaged in Harrogate

A 16-year-old girl from Harrogate has been arrested following reports of multiple damaged cars in two streets in Harrogate.

Four vehicles and some sunflowers were damaged on St Andrew’s Avenue and Fairfax Avenue, between 2.15am and 2.40am on Sunday morning.

The girl has been released under investigation as the police continue their enquiries.

Detective Sergeant Alex Jackson said:

“A 16-year-old girl was arrested following reports of cars and sunflowers being damaged in Harrogate and has been released under investigation whilst enquiries are ongoing.

“Anyone with any information, CCTV or dash cam footage that can help our investigation should please come forward and speak to us.

“If there are any further victims who have had their cars damaged in the area recently, please report it to us if haven’t already done so.”

Anyone with information is being asked to call North Yorkshire Police on 101 and quote the crime reference number 12200165553.

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