Media Releases

Media Releases are listed here with full details provided below, most recent first.

• 25 February 2022:   Chairman's interview on the Parish Council's drive to improve road safety
• 23 February 2022:    Pedestrian safety to be improved on main route into Scarborough
• 25 March 2021:          £3,000 boost to improve safety on North Yorkshire’s only Quiet Lane
• 18th February 2020: Decisive action on speeding in Seamer & Crossgates

23 February 2022

Pedestrian safety to be improved on main route into Scarborough

NYCC is delivering on its pledge to improve pedestrian safety on Station Road, Crossgates and its link to local amenities

North Yorkshire County Council has listened to the concerns of local residents and Seamer Parish Council who have been calling for improved access to nearby facilities and the bus stop.

A new pedestrian crossing and pavement will be installed on Station Road to ensure pedestrians and those with mobility issues can easily access the north side.

Councillor Lynda Wallis, Chairman of Seamer Parish Council, said: “We are very pleased that the County Council has responded to our request to install a pedestrian crossing and pavement on Station Road.

“There has never been a footpath or a dropped kerb on this stretch of road so it was always very difficult for people – especially disabled people and parents with pushchairs – to cross safely.

“Pedestrians needing to get to or from the bus stops, shops or Community Centre have always had great difficulty crossing, and it was not a very safe place to cross from the housing estate to access them. It will also make it safer for pedestrians that use the railway.

“This has always been a dangerous road as traffic comes around the roundabout at fairly high speed so the crossing will help to make it safer.”

Work will start on Monday, February 28, lasting for two weeks between 7.30am and 5pm. It will be carried out under four-way traffic lights at the roundabout, but will be removed outside of working hours.

Councillor David Jeffels, who represents the Seamer and Derwent division, said: “We are pleased to deliver these vital safety improvements in this busy area of Crossgates which links residents with local amenities. It demonstrates our commitment to listening to the local community and doing everything we can to make our roads and pavements as safe as they can be.

“We apologise for the inconvenience the traffic management will have on all road users but ask for patience during the working hours. The scheme is weather dependent so we will keep the public updated if there are any changes to the schedule.”

For more information about the works please visit the County Council's roadworks map.

A pioneering project to end inconsiderate driving and promote the safe, shared use of the only designated Quiet Lane in North Yorkshire has received a cash boost.  

Quiet Lanes are designated minor rural roads intended to pay special attention to the needs of walkers, cyclists, horse riders and the mobility impaired. They aim to improve safety and encourage car drivers to respect more vulnerable road users.

Long Lane is a historic half mile route which links the village of Seamer and Seamer & Irton Community Primary School with Crossgates, a number of Public Rights of Way and Burton Riggs nature reserve. It became a designated Quiet Lane in 2009.

The single track carriageway is well used by pedestrians, cyclists, riders and drivers. However, shared use has led to conflict with inconsiderate drivers, particularly at peak times when drivers go to or from school and work whilst many children are walking and cycling.

In order to improve safety of the lane, signage ‘gateways’ have now been placed in the grass verges at each end of Long Lane in Seamer, giving a visual cue to support increased awareness for drivers and a safe, shared space for people to walk, cycle and ride.

The project has been mostly funded by £2,980 raised from the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner’s sale of the Chief Constable’s AJ1 number plate.

The AJ1 Fund is going towards projects focused on improving road safety for children and young people, cyclists, motorcyclists and older road users. 

County Councillor David Jeffels, member for Seamer, helped to fund the scheme from his locality budget. He said: “The local highways team have worked closely with the Parish Council and suggested the gateway features as a way of highlighting the special nature of Long Lane. This is a community asset and we hope that all drivers respect that and share the space safely with other road users.”

Seamer Parish Council has worked closely with the Headteacher and Governors of Seamer & Irton Community Primary School, County Councillor David Jeffels, North Yorkshire County Council’s highways teams and North Yorkshire Police, to raise awareness of the special nature and shared use of Long Lane.

Jonathan Wanless, Headteacher at Seamer & Irton Community Primary School, said: “Long Lane is a key access route for our pupils coming from the Crossgates estate to the school at Seamer.

“Most of our pupils live in Crossgates and we actively encourage them to walk, scoot and cycle to and from school each day. It is part of our School Travel Plan and we teach our pupils to cycle safely through the Bikeability scheme each year.

I am strongly in favour of anything that reduces the congestion around the school and makes the journey to school healthy and safe.”

Seamer Parish Council has invested in Vehicle Activated Signs in Seamer and Crossgates, and with North Yorkshire Police in Community Speed Watch along the B1261, which runs almost parallel to Long Lane. This means residents at pre-approved sites have radar equipment to record the speed, registration number, colour and make of offending vehicles. Police safety camera vehicle enforcement is also operational in Main Street, Seamer.

Councillor Lynda Wallis, Chairman of Seamer Parish Council, added: “For many years we have had parishioners complaining about the traffic along this lane because we have a lot of dog walkers, cyclists and children coming along here.

We have tried all sorts of things to rectify this however when the chance came up to do something it was backed by the highways department. We sincerely hope that the new signs will encourage respectful driving habits so that Long Lane can be safely enjoyed by all road users.”

Press contact: media@northyorks.gov.uk

18th February 2020

Decisive action on speeding in Seamer & Crossgates

Seamer Parish Council is taking decisive action on speeding, in partnership with North Yorkshire County Council and North Yorkshire Police.

The Parish Council has invested over £6000 to purchase and deploy two “30 / 40mph Slow Down” vehicle activated signs and fixings for their deployment between 4 sites on Main Street and Stoney Haggs Road, Seamer, and the B1261 at Crossgates between the junctions with Crab Lane and Rowan Fields, and on Cayton Low Road. County Councillor David Jeffels has committed to contribute £750 of this from his Locality Budget, in addition to more that £1,000 to finalise other traffic calming solutions on the B1261 at Crossgates. The signs are being installed today and tomorrow.

North Yorkshire Police has confirmed Main Street, Seamer as a suitable site for its safety camera vehicle enforcement.

Seamer Parish Council has also registered a team of volunteers with North Yorkshire Police to be trained and provided with equipment to monitor vehicles’ speed, and report this information back to North Yorkshire Police through a Community Speed Watch scheme.

Councillor Lynda Wallis, Chairman of Seamer Parish Council said, “As a Council we wanted to take action before a child was killed or injured by speeding drivers and we believe that these are the best combination of methods available to us”.

County Councillor David Jeffels, Seamer and Crossgates member at County Hall said, "These signs will play a significant part in helping to reduce a serious problem of speeding traffic in the Seamer and Crossgates parish. Such signs have had a considerable beneficial effect in many parishes throughout North Yorkshire where the speed of traffic is a worry to many parish councils and residents".

Note to Editors

Vehicle activated signs (VAS) light up to alert approaching drivers that they are exceeding the speed limit. For the greatest, lasting effect, signs displaying the speed limit combined with “SLOW DOWN” should be in place only for a limited period in any one location. During 2019 North Yorkshire County Council changed its protocol to allow town and parish councils to buy, install and maintain their own VAS, subject to conditions set by the County Council’s highways engineers, who advise on the right locations for signs from a safety and operational point of view.

Under Community Speed Watch (CSW), fully trained community residents visit pre-approved sites with a radar to record the speed and registration number of offending vehicles. They use approved equipment to capture speed, registration number and colour and make of vehicle. The presence of the team and the equipment acts as a deterrent and encourages road users to take more care in this area.

CSW can operate where lower numbers or infrequent times of speeding, or the layout of the road or other technical constraints make enforcement or engineering less effective. Anyone recorded to be speeding will receive a letter from North Yorkshire Police to inform them of their offence and the need to address their driving behaviour. North Yorkshire Police will also be keeping a close watch on the recorded data and may take enforcement measures if a persistent or extreme offender is identified.

Contact: Councillor Lynda Wallis, Chairman, Seamer Parish Council, 01723 863723 / 07718 318534