“Bypass Campaigners seek meeting with police chief”

An article appeared in today’s Malton & Pickering Mercury, outlining the plans the newly formed Rillington Bypass Group (RBG) has for its campaign: headed by local resident Sally Roger, the group has began organising meetings with Ryedale police commander Inspector Tim Hutchinson, Ryedale MP John Greenway and the Conservative’s shadow transport minister Robert Goodwill, MP for Scarborough and Whitby. In the article, Mrs Roger states

“It has gone beyond a joke. You used to be able to tell the difference between the seasons because of the traffic, but there is no difference now whatever the time of year”.

Whilst the article discusses the RBG’s plans, it also presents a wider picture of the situation, stating that “latest figures show that the average number of vehicles passing through the village has jumped form 13,500 to 15,300 a day during the past few years”, figures which validate Mrs Roger observations. The article closes with a quote from Richard Marr, the council’s area manager for highways and transport who reflected on the wider value of the bypass in terms of the local economy and the increase in journey time:

“Wages in Ryedale are fairly low compared with other parts of the country. If we can get a better route then we can build the economy and businesses will want to come here. But if we cannot move the vehicles in and out then it becomes a nightmare”.

Letters to the Press: "A bypass is long overdue"

Alongside a letter from Sally Roger, Rillington resident Mr M R Denton has also had his letter calling for a bypass printed in today’s edition of the Malton & Pickering Mercury. In this letter Mr Denton highlights the long history of the bypass campaign:

“I moved to Rillington nearly 20 years ago. At that time plans had been drawn up for a bypass [but] the Government changed and the bypass plans were scrapped. Since then we have seen two more plans put forward. The last one was due to start in 2006. Each of these schemes have involved surveys, geological testing and public consultations at the cost of goodness knows how much. The Government itself says ‘the bypass will improve the environmental quality, especially with reference to noise and air quality within the village of Rillington, particularly during the busy summer holiday period. This bypass will also deliver significant benefits to road safety, with a reduced risk of accidents within the village’”.

Meeting

The Rillington Bypass Group will meet 21/10/09 at Rillington Village Hall.