New road 'nightmare' for Harrogate residents swamped by lorries and trucks for six years

Frustrated residents in the Kingsley and Bogs Lane area of Harrogate have already endured a nightmare six years of housing developments in which grassy fields which were once home to deer, foxes and badgers have disappeared in a haze of dust, disruption, potholes and road closures.

But they are now complaining of a “new low” in the disruption to their daily lives caused by a tide of house building and a steady flow of heavy lorries and trucks.

As well as claims of rock fall on their residential streets from lorries, they also poor road conditions in some places because of all the work going on to accomodate the massive expansion of housing.

This varies from mud on the roads to exposed road layers and uneven surqfaces.

Members of Kingsley Ward Action Group, which was formed in 2020, say there has been no let up since building began in 2019 approximately 600 new homes have been added to Kingsley Road/Bogs Lane.

Although more houses are still being added, the traffic situation in the area has already been impacted.

KWAG is now calling on the local authorities to introduce additional measures.

These include:

Automated speed signs for Kingsley Road.

Alternative route for trucks.

Speeding traffic/20 mile limit.

Community speed watch camera.

No one is claiming that the rules are being broken, only that they are not working in the community’s interests.

There is also concern among residents that, once the current series of housing developments identified in the original Local Plan created by the recently abolished Harrogate Borough Council are completed, the Kingsley and Bogs Lane areas will be targeted for yet more waves of new housing.

North Yorkshire Council, the new unitary authority created in 2023, is currently working on a new Local Plan for the entire county.

It is expected to be finalised by 2028 and will set out where development will take place across the county over the next 15 to 20 years.