'Urgent' moves to delay three-week closure of Scarborough's Valley Road until after the summer season

Contractors carrying out a £2 million repainting of Scarborough’s Valley Bridge need to close Valley Road in order to move on to the next stage of the job.

North Yorkshire County Council, which is responsible for the work, says it now hopes to reschedule work to avoid any impact on the tourist season which has already been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Signs went up over the weekend to say that Valley Road would be closed for three weeks from August 23.

Businesses and local councillors have raised concerns about fears over lost revenue and traffic chaos that could come from the closure, which would include the summer bank holiday on August 31.

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Richard Marr, North Yorkshire County Council Highways area manager, said a solution was now being sought to see if the closure be pushed back.

He said: “Repainting work on Valley Bridge is continuing at pace. Unfortunately, we will have to close Valley Road for three weeks for the next stage of repainting.

“This is scheduled to take place at the end of August in the hope of fine weather.

“However, we understand this is peak tourist season and are looking urgently into whether this date can be altered. We will keep the public updated of any changes.”

County councillor Janet Jefferson, who represents Scarborough’s Castle Division, said that traders were worried about losing business if the road was to close.

She said: “It would be terrible for the businesses, they are doing well and recouping some of their losses following the lockdown and they don’t want to lose that.

“The diversion for this closure would be down Queen Margaret’s Road and it will be chaos, we saw how bad it was when the seafront road was closed earlier in the summer and how the traffic backed up so hopefully they get it right and are able to move the date of the closure.”

Work to repaint the steel girders on the bridge, which carries the A165 over the town’s famous Valley Ravine, began in July last year.

The existing paint surfaces are being removed before contractors apply a new three-coat paint system in the bridge’s classic dark green to protect its structure.

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