Harrogate 20mph zone group raises concern over 'daily anxieties and near misses' near schools
Harrogate campaigners are pressing North Yorkshire Council to fully deliver a long-promised new 20mph zone to protect schoolchildren.
Oatlands & Pannal Ash Road Safety & Active Travel Campaign is not arguing North Yorkshire Council is making no progress on road safety in Harrogate.
It was only in September that North Yorkshire Council introduced Phase 1 of the scheme near schools and college in the southwest area of Harrogate with the backing of Harrogate headteachers and parents.
Welcoming the move at the time, Hazel, Ruth and Jenny from the Oatlands and Pannal Ash Road Safety and Active Travel Campaign, said: "We wholeheartedly thank all those involved - members of the community, schools, and local politicians who supported the campaign and the North Yorkshire Council team who have worked so hard to develop the scheme."
The county’s largest-ever 20mph scheme, the new speed limits in Phase 1 are meant to apply to 200 streets in Harrogate and are aimed at improving safety for nearly 4,000 school children and students attending Oatlands Infant School, Oatlands Junior School, St Aidan’s Church of England School, Harrogate College and St John Fisher’s Catholic High School.
But campaigners see this as a good job only partly done, so far.
What is worrying them is the speed of delivering in practice this major road safety initiative in Harrogate and its crucial next stage.
Their fear is the whole scheme may slip into becoming a “half-finished project”.
In particular, they are concerned by the timescale for the launch of Phase 2, which would see 20mph zones introduced in streets around Harrogate Grammar School, Rossett School, Rossett Acre Primary School, Ashville College and Western Primary School, as well as those using Rossett and Ashville Sports Centres.
A spokesperson for Oatlands & Pannal Ash Road Safety & Active Travel Campaign said: "Years of delay over road safety measures in Harrogate have left children and residents exposed to speeding traffic and preventable danger.
"Despite community support and a formal application submitted in November 2022, the project’s second phase has now been postponed to late 2026.
"That's two years behind the initial target. "
Campaigners point out that similar measures are already proven and widely adopted elsewhere in the UK, with nearby areas like Ilkley moving from consultation to installation in just four months, delivered by Bradford Council.
They highlight the case of Edinburgh which introduced 20mph limits in 2021 and has since seen a 40% reduction in road traffic casualties.
A spokesperson for Oatlands & Pannal Ash Road Safety & Active Travel Campaign said: "North Yorkshire Council is in danger of lagging behind.
"Roads with average speeds above 24mph remain unchanged, and local families report daily anxieties and near misses, with more than 6,000 students using these busy routes to reach schools including Ashville College, Rossett School, Harrogate Grammar School, St. Aidan’s High School and others.
"This important road safety project has strong support from the local community, leaders of 13 schools, local councillors and has been endorsed by the Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee of councillors, showing there is an urgent need and desire for change.
"We call on both North Yorkshire Council and the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority to act decisively and complete the scheme, rather than leaving the community at risk due to a half-finished project.”