York Outer Ring Road dualling Web Adventure Park objections

As The Press reported earlier this month, the long-awaited dualling of the A1237 York Outer Ring Road has come a major step closer with the submission of a planning application by City of York Council.

The authority says the £65 million upgrade, which includes improvements to five roundabouts, is aimed at reducing congestion, moving car journeys out of the city centre and improving active travel facilities for pedestrians and cyclists.

But Janice Dunphy, who owns York’s Web Adventure Park and chairs the Association for Indoor Play, has written to the council to express her concerns about the impact on her business while the work is being carried out.

Janice Dunphy, who owns York’s Web Adventure Park and chairs the Association for Indoor Play

The improvements would involve a stretch of the ring road from the A19 Shipton Road to the A1036 Little Hopgrove, and the roundabouts would be improved at the Clifton Moor, Wigginton Road, Haxby Road, Strensall Road and Monks Cross junctions.

They would be enlarged to a similar size and standard as the recently completed A1237/B1224 Wetherby Road roundabout, which was completed in 2019, said a  council spokesperson.

Subject to planning consent, construction work is anticipated to commence in mid-2023 for two years, with completion in 2025.

In a letter to the council Janice says: "During the build we are extremely concerned about the impact on our business, we have seen how close the roadworks will be to our park, literally adjacent to our animal park, and I know this will only impact negatively our customers enjoyment and our animal's welfare.

"We cannot have nervous animals in close proximity to major land development. We have already been warned that the noise and dust may prove to be unsustainable as a visitor attraction, which I believe is something that must be addressed now.

"No matter what we can do internally - we will never be able to hide the impact of a major road development literally inches away from our children's play park. We are unable to survive months with this area closed to public, we have literally nowhere to move our animals to as the development is also taking our spare paddock under the Compulsory purchase, and York Riding School will not have enough space to house the Web's animals, many of whom require specialised care.

"We will lose our quarantine area, access to our animal management compound and access round the south side of the park which we use regularly for deliveries and services.

"We will also be unable to move large items off our park as this is the only entrance with will accommodate this. We will be landlocked.

"We use a part of the bottom field for an Easter, Halloween, and Father Christmas experiences, this generates us a major amount of money which helps us over the quieter periods of the year - how can we offer this under the noise and dust of roadworks? We have no other space to locate this so we will lose this revenue, which will make the rest of the year unsustainable."

Janice and Clifton Business Park owner, Lorna Marchi, say they are not against the plans, but more precisely the proximity of a planned drainage ditch and access road to businesses.

Lorna said: "We have accepted all along that the road needs to be widened, but it's the way it's being done. They are saying the land take has to allow for a drainage ditch on land used by the Web Adventure Park and York Riding School, instead of just putting in a linear drain, to cut costs.

"I have spent hours and hours talking to the designers, but it's about money. They need to go back and say they need more money.

"If they can't build it right then just don't do it yet, because the effect on us is going to be horrendous."

Find out more about the York Outer Ring Road scheme at:  https://www.york.gov.uk/YORR.