We were pleased to be invited to meet York & North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith while he was in Harrogate on 7th May 2025.
We wanted to discuss the lack of progress on cycling infrastructure by North Yorkshire Council over the last decade, and find out what positive plans the Mayor has for the future.
This is the two-page briefing note we gave him.
Combined Authority Transport Team
The Mayor’s Combined Authority is the Transport Authority for the region, while the two councils (City of York, and North Yorkshire) are the Highways Authorities.
The Mayor is building his own transport team, but it is very small at the moment.
The Mayor’s team is based in York, in the same offices as Active Travel England.
The Positives
It is clear from the meeting, and from the Mayor’s Strategic Transport Framework, that he is a genuine supporter of active travel.
In this financial year he has money from the Local Transport Fund which he wants to use for quick wins, focusing on creating more School Streets and 20mph areas.
He also spoke about ‘messaging’, meaning trying to reduce perceived conflict between drivers and cyclists. I doubt that the streets of Harrogate and Knaresborough can be made safer for cycling through messaging. It needs infrastructure.
Operation Snap, which enables reporting of road traffic offences via video submissions to North Yorkshire Police, has improved greatly under the Mayor and his Deputy. They have allocated more resources to it, with the result that police responses are quicker and more reliable.
The Mayor has taken inspiration from West Yorkshire’s Op Snap. We mentioned that West Yorkshire say exactly what action results from the report, whereas in North Yorkshire ‘positive action’ could mean anything from a letter to prosecution.
The Disappointments and Difficulties
The Mayor didn’t mention dedicated cycling infrastructure, which was disappointing.
When pressed, he said that would come later once the Combined Authority has set up an Active Travel Fund.
We made the point that we support 20mph, but it is unlikely to make a transformative difference. For example, North Yorkshire Council is talking about making Oatlands Drive 20mph, but it carries 9,000 vehicles a day.
Will a lower speed limit on Oatlands Drive be enough to enable a significant shift towards cycling to school at St Aidans and St John Fisher? In other words, will parents be happy for their children to mix with significant volumes of through motor vehicle traffic on Oatlands Drive? It seems very unlikely to us.
The main difficulty for the Combined Authority is that it has to work with North Yorkshire Council as the Highways Authority.
We know from years of bruising experience that North Yorkshire’s primary focus is increasing capacity for motor vehicles. NYC has done nothing for cycling for over a decade.
It will be a challenge for the Combined Authority to deliver on-the-ground improvements if it has to rely on North Yorkshire to do the work.
Nidderdale Greenway Extension
We mentioned to the Mayor just how popular the 4 miles of Nidderdale Greenway between Harrogate and Ripley are, and the fact that many of us would like to see it extended.
If it could run for 20 or more miles to Pateley Bridge and beyond to Scarhouse Reservoir, it would be a real asset for local people and visitors to our region.
At present, with enthusiastic volunteers and an unenthusiastic council behind the project, there is little progress.
The Mayor said that he is due to meet Sustrans soon and will discuss it with them.