Road closures chaos and mayhem in Harrogate comes to an end to huge relief of drivers and villagers

Recent weeks have seen disruption and occasional mayhem on the roads round Pannal at rush-hour, in particular, as Northern Gas carried out essential upgrade work on gas supplies.

A rolling series of road closures which began on March 21 has enabled utility repairs and maintenance work on the A61 Leeds Road near to the traffic lights at the junction with Follifoot Road.

But lengthy delays have been created by temporary traffic lights in both directions on the A61 and on Station Road and Follifoot Road.

To make matters worse, there have also been two-way temporary traffic lights at the opposite end of the village at the junction of Leadhall Lane, Church Lane and Green Lane.

Northern Gas Networks said the disruption was essential to replace ageing metal pipework by new, more durable plastic pipes, to ensure a safe and reliable supply of gas to customers now while getting the network ready to transport alternative greener fuels in the future.

But motorists’ tempers have flared and safety concerns have been raised over the resulting traffic chaos with some motorists, reportedly, going through red lights in frustration at the log jams.

There have even been reports of verbal abuse by drivers aimed at Northern Gas staff busy working in the road.

But that is becoming a thing of the past as the roads round Pannal return to normal – for now.