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14
Feb 2024
Knaresborough wall repair completed five weeks early
North Yorkshire Council has confirmed work to fix a Knaresborough wall has been completed five weeks earlier than expected.
The £200,000 project began after a section of the wall on Briggate collapsed on to the road last September. Nobody was hurt, but rubble remained on the road for almost three months after.
Initial repair work began at the end of November and paused over Christmas, but resumed last month to fix another section of the wall.
Two-way traffic lights were put in place on January 8 by the council, which said the maintenance work was due to be completed by Friday, March 14.
However, traffic lights were removed last Friday (February 9) – just over a month after the work began.
The Stray Ferret contacted the council to ask if the work had paused or finished. We also asked if it had been carried out with effective long-term maintenance measures in place after a reader in Calcutt got in touch to say he didn't see any reconstruction of the wall take place and "most of the work was repointing".
A spokesperson responded:
The wall pictured at Christmas before the latest repairs.
A Freedom of Information request submitted by the Stray Ferret revealed the wall was assessed as safe three times in the weeks before it collapsed despite complaints that it was crumbling and damaged by weeds.
Cllr Hannah Gostlow, a Liberal Democrat who represents Knaresborough East, told the council in June 2022 that the wall “could potentially be a risk to life”.
‘Lessons must be learned’
Cllr Matt Walker, a Liberal Democrat who represents Knaresborough West, today told the Stray Ferret the “sorry saga would never have happened if the wall had been properly maintained”, adding:
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