Farmers and lorry drivers in North Yorkshire are being urged not to leave mud on the roads.

North Yorkshire Council said today people have been in touch reporting muddy roads following the recent wet spell.

It prompted the council to call on drivers of agricultural and construction vehicles to be responsible when using public routes.

Cllr Keane Duncan, the council’s executive member for highways and transportation, said:

“We understand that this is a busy time in the farming calendar, and that this year the prolonged period of rain is likely to have made conditions worse than usual.

“However, that makes it more important than ever that if farmers or construction vehicle drivers do need to use public roads, they take their responsibilities seriously.”

Cllr Duncan added drivers leaving mud risked legal action:

“If mud on the road results in injury, damage to property, loss or inconvenience, legal action can follow, with penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment.”

The council said farmers or construction vehicle operators must:

• Keep to their own farm roads whenever possible.
• Keep to low speeds and prevent mud from being deposited by removing any excess before driving on to roads.
• Be prepared to hire equipment to promptly remove deposits.
• Use authorised signs prominently positioned for road users to see.
• Clean the road as necessary during the working day and always at the end.
• Ensure that equipment and labour is available and is suitable for the soil and weather conditions.
• When using a contractor, ensure agreement is reached beforehand on who is responsible for mud on the road (signs, cleaning etc) and that suitable public liability insurance is in place.

You can report mud on the road here.

Read more:

• Council plans to bring North Yorkshire leisure services in-house
• Workmen steam ahead with Ripon city centre roadworks

Fed-up residents living in one of Harrogate’s busiest areas for new housing have called a ban on open-top construction lorries – but the council says it has no powers to take action.

After years of disruptions from the building of 700 new homes, Kingsley residents last night called on Harrogate Borough Council to only allow sealed wagons in and out of the area, which has rapidly expanded in size and will continue to do so for years to come.

John Hansard, a member of Kingsley Ward Action Group, told a full council meeting that the authority had an obligation to protect residents from harm and that this has “fallen very far short of acceptable levels”.

He said:

“We are simply requesting that we are no longer poisoned by harmful and dangerous construction waste.”

However, Cllr Tim Myatt, cabinet member for planning at the council, said the authority did not have evidence that the dust was toxic and that a ban on open-top lorries could not be enforced.

He said: 

“It is a highly unusual practice to require sealed containers to transport items to and from development sites.

“This can not be retrospectively imposed as a planning condition and neither residents or members of the planning committee asked for this to be conditioned at the time of the application.

“Further, the local highways authority has informed the borough council that they would not be able to mandate the use of sealed containers.

“They believe the use of such can only be required for certain processes such as the removal of radioactive material and asbestos.”

Cllr Myatt also said housing developers had repeated their offer to clean roads and pavements in the area, but this was “vociferously opposed” by residents.

Read more:

• Plea for ‘moratorium’ on controversial 181-home Kingsley development
• Starbeck residents pledge to fight 181-home Kingsley Drive plans ‘tooth and nail’

Construction work in Kingsley began in 2019 and residents have long complained that not enough has been done to minimise disruptions to their daily lives.

There have also been complaints that improvements to roads, public transport, health services and community facilities have not kept up with the level of new housing in the area.

Around 700 new homes are already built or under construction, with hundreds more in the pipeline.

Mr Hansard told yesterday’s meeting that without action from the council, residents would continue to be left to “suffer the consequences”.

He said: 

“These wagons have continually polluted Kingsley Road over a three year period, causing potential long-term serious illness for residents.

“We reluctantly understand that the road has to be used for access to the construction sites, but this must not be at the risk to the health of residents.”

Residents in Harrogate’s Kingsley ward say construction traffic has left them worrying about harmful dust and air pollution — but a “weak” Harrogate Borough Council has done little to clamp down on developers. 

Over 700 homes will eventually be built in the ward by five different developers but Kingsley Road and Kingsley Drive are accessed off the busy Knaresborough Road.

This has led to lorries and trucks driving through residential roads to get to the building sites.

Residents say the construction traffic has resulted in vast amounts of dust and dirt from lorries ending up on roads, cars and houses. They say it’s so bad they worry they’ll have to wear masks to protect themselves.

Gary Tremble, from Kingsley Ward Action Group (KWAG), said:

“We have complained for over three years yet to this day the wagons travel down our residential street spewing out dust in summer and dirt in winter, we now even have fully laden uncovered wagons taking dirt into the developments.”

Mr Tremble believes the dust is made up of PM10, an air pollutant typically seen on building sites. When breathed in, it can penetrate deep into the lungs.

Exposure to high concentrations of PM10 has been linked by scientists to asthma attacks, high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes.

‘We’ve been ignored’

When a development receives planning permission from HBC, conditions are attached that stipulate how housebuilders will minimise the impact of issues including dirt and dust.

This sometimes involves making sure there are onsite wheel cleaners and covering wagons that are carrying materials or waste.

Mr Tremble added:

“We’ve made hundreds of complaints to Harrogate Borough Council but enforcement but are weak. They don’t do anything and we’ve been ignored.”

Read more:

• Calls to tackle construction vehicles who cause ‘misery’ in Harrogate

• Residents criticise key Harrogate planning document as ‘incoherent’

The issue of how effective the council’s planning enforcement team was raised at a council meeting this week.

Conservative councillor for Old Bilton, Paul Haslam, said he and other councillors had received complaints from KWAG accusing the council’s planning enforcement team of not ensuring that conditions were being upheld.

Conservative councillor for the Washburn ward, Victoria Oldham, asked Cllr Haslam if he thought HBC’s planning enforcement team was acting on complaints from residents “in a timeous manner”.

Cllr Haslam said he was concerned that enforcement officers “don’t have enough support”. He said:

“Quite clearly, guidelines are being flaunted [sic] by the developers. We need to make sure we are seen to protect our residents.”

‘Addressing the concerns’

In response to KWAG, a Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson said:

“We are aware of concerns relating to dust from HGVs entering and exiting the development(s) on Kingsley Road and have allocated a case officer to address these concerns.

“We have discussed the matter with the county council and the developer and have reminded them of actions they must maintain as per the conditions of the planning permission.

“These actions have been actioned – as well as some further recommendation, including road sweeping – by the developer and we will continue to closely assess this situation to ensure they continue to do so.”