£82.5 million Kex Gill road realignment achieves ‘milestone moment’Road closed due to crashBoroughbridge Town Council ‘very concerned’ about state of road

Boroughbridge Town Council has called on North Yorkshire County Council to prioritise repair work on Roecliffe Lane.

The council has described the pot holed-road as an “eyesore” and a “hazard” and say it has been like this for several years.

The road is frequently used by motorists heading into the town centre. It is also part of Sustrans’ ‘Ways of the Roses’ long distance cycle route.

The town council has been lobbying senior members at the county council, which is the highways authority, for two years ago but is yet to receive a formal date when repairs can begin.

Today, the county council responded to the Stray Ferret to say it is looking to add it to a list of planned works for next year.

A spokesperson for the town council said:

“Boroughbridge Town Council remain deeply concerned about the condition of the surface of Roecliffe Lane in Boroughbridge. We are pushing hard at executive level at North Yorkshire County Council to get the required action taken and will continue to do so.

“We have formally requested the remedial action required to be prioritised ahead of a large list of other road improvement programmes North Yorkshire County Council are working their way through.

“We are very much aware of complaints from residents about the road which makes us fight even harder for the required corrective action.”

The town council added that the road does “not reflect Boroughbridge in a good light”.

Karl Battersby, corporate director for business and environmental services, said:

“North Yorkshire is England’s largest county with 5,753 miles of roads, and our teams work hard throughout the year to maintain a safe, efficient road network.

“We have listened to the concerns raised by Boroughbridge Town Council and agree that repair work will be needed and a scheme is to be included in our Forward Programme. Although it is not included in our planned works for the current financial year we are looking at our budget and the options we have to deliver a scheme as soon as possible after that.”

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Dates set for second Harrogate Christmas Fayre

Harrogate Borough Council has announced the second Harrogate Christmas Fayre will take place from December 2 to 11.

The inaugural event was run by the council in the town centre in partnership with Market Place, a specialist market company from Greater Manchester.

It saw stalls and stands selling food, drink and gifts around Cambridge Street, Market Place, Station Square and Cambridge Crescent.

The fayre was organised after the original Harrogate Christmas Market, on Montpellier Hill, was cancelled after the council refused to sign off the organisers’ event management plan.

A survey of local businesses undertaken by the council reported that 68% said having a Christmas market was beneficial to the town and 94% said last year’s event had a positive impact on footfall.

Candy Cane Express

Destination Harrogate, the council’s destination management organisation, has also started to plan for Christmas with its ‘Destination Christmas’ campaign.

The Candy Cane Express, a free road-train that travelled around the town, will return, as will traditional fairground rides to add to the yuletide ambience.

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Gemma Rio, head of Destination Harrogate, said:

“We are thrilled to be announcing the return of Destination Christmas. Which last year not only brought our community together at a special time of year after the challenges of the pandemic, but encouraged more visitors into our district for overnight stays at a crucial time of year for our businesses.

“Together with our partners we are looking forward with excitement and aspiration to building on the success of last year’s event. Through the market we provided a great platform to grow our offer of an engaging outdoor Christmas retail experience, and this together with the fantastic festive entertainment we are offering is set to showcase the Harrogate district as the perfect destination for Christmas.”

Original Christmas market gives up battle

Last month, the organisers of Harrogate Christmas Market on Montpellier Hill gave up their battle to bring the event back.

The market, which was staged from 2012 to 2019, attracted over 80,000 visitors, 187 coaches and nearly 200 traders.

But the event was scuppered late into its planning stages last year when Harrogate Borough Council refused its event management plan.

Whole of Harrogate’s Bogs Lane now to be resurfaced

North Yorkshire County Council has agreed to resurface the whole of Bogs Lane.

Previously, the council said it would only lay fresh tarmac on the stretch of road from the Forest Lane junction of Knaresborough Road to Henshaw’s College. Work began last week.

The road, just off the main A59 Knaresborough Road, is in a busy residential area that has been affected by numerous new housing schemes.

However, following requests from resident Malcolm Binks and Starbeck Liberal Democrat councillor Philip Broadbank, the county council has now agreed to resurface the whole stretch of road.

Cllr Broadbank said that this will now include the section from Henshaw’s College to the low bridge that connects Bogs Lane to Kingsley Road.

He said:

“The road’s been in a very poor condition for a long time. It beggared belief the county council didn’t decide to do it until now.”

The councillor said the resurfacing work should be completed by the end of this week.

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Road closure warning as delayed A1 (M) junction 47 works come to end

A multi-million pound project to upgrade junction 47 on the A1(M) at Flaxby will be completed by the end of this month.

Work began at the start of September 2020 to widen slip roads and install traffic lights to prevent vehicles queueing.

The project, carried out by contractors Farrans Construction on behalf of North Yorkshire County Council, also involves upgrading the road network just off the junction.

Work was originally due to be completed in September 2021 but has encountered several delays. The council blamed ‘unforeseen ground conditions’ and the discovery of great crested newts for setting the project back.

Final repair works on the A168 bridge and verges along with resurfacing of the A59 will run from March 14 to 26 under overnight weekday closures.

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Once the traffic signals are installed there will be a period where the signal timings are adjusted by engineers to the optimum settings for traffic flow conditions. This may result in some extra delays during March and April.

Conservative councillor Andy Paraskos, member for the Ainsty division, added:

“The upcoming works will involve repairs, resurfacing as well as the installation of road markings and traffic loops. For the safety of our workforce this must be carried out under a full road closure and we apologise in advance for any inconvenience this essential work may cause.

Conservative county councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for access, said:

“The finish line is in sight for this important scheme which will support the future growth of the Harrogate and Knaresborough areas.

“The scheme promises to reduce congestion and improve road safety at this major junction. It is a great example of how we are delivering on our aim to improve east-west connections across North Yorkshire.”

Rising costs

The council initially earmarked £7.7m for the project, but it said last year it now expected it to cost over £10m.

The project is being funded by the council, with £2.47m from the government’s Local Growth Fund along with contributions from Highways England and developer Forward Investment LLP.

The Stray Ferret has asked the council for the current cost of the project but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning, it’s Al bringing you all the updates on the roads and rail this morning. There is heavy traffic on the A658 between Follifoot and Calcutt, following an accident earlier this morning, with the traffic building on nearby Wetherby Road.

Give me a call on 01423 276197 or get in touch on social media if you spot anything on the roads or your bus or train is delayed.

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

9am – Full Update 

Roads

The A658 is still very busy, with traffic also building past the showground on Wetherby Road.

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8:30am – Full Update 

Roads

There are a number of areas looking busy this morning, especially around the A658.

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8am – Full Update 

Roads

Things are starting to get busier on the roads this morning.

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7:30am – Full Update 

Roads

There is heavy traffic on Skipton Road on the approach to the roundabout with Knaresborough Road.

Traffic is also moving slowly near Follifoot, on the A658 up to the roundabout with Wetherby Road.

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7am – Full Update 

Roads

There’s heavy traffic on the A658 from Calcutt to Follifoot due to a minor accident. Traffic is moving slowly.

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6.30am – Full Update 

Roads

It’s still early so as you’d expect, the roads are pretty quiet. There are a few hotspots that have caused issues this week though, so do plan ahead.

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Beech Grove traffic closure trial could be extended to 18 months

The six-month experimental closure of Beech Grove in Harrogate to through traffic could be extended to 18 months.

North Yorkshire County Council said when the experimental order came into force last month it would be a trial for six months.

But the council’s highways boss confirmed today it has the power to extend the trial from six months to 18 months, meaning it would end in August 2022 rather than August 2021.

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

“The experimental traffic regulation order enables us to keep the closure in place for 18 months.

“We are assessing the impact all of the time. If it proves to be highly unpopular then it could still end after six months.

“However, just based on the communication I have received, there has been a big response but I would say that it is mainly positive.

“Those who have complained often say that it is just moving traffic elsewhere in the town.

“But those who are positive say they enjoying how it helps them to walk and cycle more.”

When the order began, some motorists avoided the newly-installed planters by driving on the Stray.

The tyre tracks on the Stray prompted the council to erect a road sign to act as a road block and warning to drivers.