'Walkway collapse may worsen without urgent fix'

A damaged walkway at a North Yorkshire beauty spot may worsen if repair work is not sped up, councillors claim.

A landslip in February caused part of a walkway to collapse under Knaresborough Viaduct, which crosses the River Nidd.

Liberal Democrat councillors Matt Walker and Hannah Gostlow called for North Yorkshire Council to reclassify the incident as "urgent" to ensure repair work is carried out before winter weather risks further erosion.

The authority, a Conservative-led minority administration, said it was "monitoring the situation closely" and initial surveys would take place "soon" followed by detailed design work.

The viaduct carries passenger trains connecting Leeds, Harrogate and York and is one of Yorkshire's most recognisable landmarks.

Trains along the route were cancelled following the walkway collapse but restarted the next day.

Walker said the collapse had happened "out of the blue", but the deterioration of the ground "doesn't just happen overnight".

"You need to make sure you fix it as quickly as you can because it's just going to deteriorate a lot quicker," he added.

He said further damage would increase repair costs for the council, with delays affecting the town's visitor economy.

"Knaresborough's open for business, but it's not looking as it should be," he said, adding that his primary worry was safety.

"My concern is that at some stage a bit will fall off and there'll be somebody on the edge of that," he said.

A petition calling for the reclassification of the incident would be presented to Harrogate and Knaresborough's area committee on the county council as it had gained more than 500 signatures, Walker added.

Angela Mountain, who lives near the collapsed walkway on Waterside, said it would be "ridiculous" to leave repairs until the winter.

She said the river often became a "surging mass of water with trees coming down and rubbish" after heavy rain during the colder months.

"It will continue to wash under this structure and could wash away more of what's underneath," she said.

Mountain is part of a residents' association which had planted flowers and removed litter from the area before it was cordoned off.

She said the group's work had been "destroyed" because they could not access Viaduct Terrace.

"It's really upset everybody that this isn't being taken seriously by the council," she added.

North Yorkshire Council said any designs would need to be approved by Network Rail and the Environment Agency before repair work could begin.

"If we receive the approvals quickly, and ground conditions are favourable, the earliest we could start would be towards the end of the year," a spokesperson said.

"In the meantime, we continue to monitor the situation closely and have worked with the boat operator to put a cordon in place to keep boats away.

"Further updates will be provided once the survey and design stages have been completed."

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