Kingsley residents win a rare victory - almost - after five years of building disruption in Harrogate

Residents in Kingsley Ward Action Group in Harrogate were complaining about a lack of a new path on Bogs Lane near new housing developments even before the road was closed this week for up to six months. (Picture Gerard Binks)

With around 700 new homes already built or under construction, people living in the Kingsley Road/Bogs Lane area have been forced to live with an almost daily toll of heavy diggers and rumbling lorries in the narrow, congested streets off Knaresborough Road in Starbeck.

As a result of work beginning in earnest on a new 133-home housing scheme by Redrow – one of the largest housebuilders in the UK - residents are facing a new impediment.

To facilitate construction, Bogs Lane will now be closed for up to six months, with Kingsley Road blocked off beyond the junction with Kingsley Drive up to the bridge at Bogs Lane.

For drivers living on Kingsley Road, it means making an inconvenient 1.4-mile detour via the busy Knaresborough Road (A59) to access Bogs Lane.

The situation also seemed to apply to walkers and cyclists.

But complaints by Kingsley Ward Action Group and an intervention by a local councillor have resulted in a possible step forward.

After talking to the Redrow contracts manager recently, Harrogate Lib Dem borough and county councillor Chris Aldred said a "sensible workable solution" to the problem now appeared likely.

"Redrow have agreed to maintain a safe route at the side of the works specifically for pedestrians and cyclists, " said Coun Aldred who is chair of Harrogate Borough Council's Overview & Scrutiny Commission, as well as being a North Yorkshire County Councillor for High Harrogate & Kingsley.

"Although the road continues to be closed to vehicles and will be over the duration of the works, possibly up to six months, if those who wish to walk or cycle across the railway bridge follow the existing footpath on the side of the Barrett Estate, they will find that Redrow have engineered a wide enough passageway away from the works, continuing at the end of the existing pavement.

"Redrow have also made this easier to use by filling in a small muddy section between the pavement and road with gravel."

Kingsley Ward Action Group (KWAG) have been protesting about the amount of new housing developments, the impact on health and safety in the neighbourhood and the absence of new infrastructure since August 2019.

Earlier this year, it conducted its own survey of households on Kingsley Road, showing that 58% of residents had considered moving to another area under the strain.

News of the temporary passageway on Bogs Lane for cyclists and pedestrians has been cautiously welcomed by the KWAG’s Gary Tremble who said it was a “victory” – albeit a minor one.

But, as has always seems to happen in this long-running saga where all sides say they are following the guidelines – housing developers, highways authority North Yorkshire County Council, planners at Harrogate Borough Council – there is a downside.

After talking to Redrow, Coun Chris Aldred added: “Redrow have assured me they will try to preserve this walkway, whenever possible during the work.

"But, obviously there will be certain days when they will need to dig across the entire road and this walkway will then not be available for the public to use, for safety reasons.”