Minister to decide over A59 Kex Gill road proposal
There are plans to re-route the road after numerous landslips.
Last updated 13th Jan 2021
A government minister will decide whether a plan re-route the A59 near Kex Gill should go ahead.
North Yorkshire County Council plans to build a new 3.9km stretch of the road - after numerous landslips hit the existing road.
Councillors unanimously agreed the scheme should be passed, subject to Local Government Minister Robert Jenrick's approval.
A meeting heard the route to the north of the existing A59 near Blubberhouses would potentially harm important local, national and international nature conservation sites through which the proposed road passes, as well as harming some heritage assets.
Alongside concerns for harm to species ranging from lamprey to golden plover, councillors were told heard claims that the road would threaten the future viability of the nationally important mineral deposit of silica sand within the Blubberhouse Moor Estate, which is owned by multinational Sibelco.
However, planning officers concluded the proposed development would not stop future mineral operations and councillors highlighted that the numerous nearby quarries could be mothballed indefinitely.
Nevertheless the meeting was told even with a range of mitigation measures, including the council providing almost £600,000 to be spent on environmental improvements in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, there would be “a certain degree of residual impact, particularly with regard to noise and traffic”.
Councillors said they did recognise the environmental harm, but the cost of keeping the existing road open with the high likelihood of further landslips could not be ignored.
The meeting heard councillors emphasise the lack of an alternative route that would avoid an adverse impact on the environment and members agreed the route was critically important to east-west connectivity as well as local residents.
Skipton councillor Robert Heseltine described the re-routing of the road as a “social and economic necessity”, while other members urged Mr Jenrick to make a swift decision over the proposal.