Decision details

North Yorkshire Council (NYC) proposes to enter into a land agreement with the landowners adjacent to Skelton South Bridge, Skelton, which will include provision for compensation. The agreement is required to enable NYC to temporarily use approximately 2.4 acres of land to construct a temporary bypass around the bridge, facilitating major bridge maintenance works, and to establish a site compound.

A scheme is proposed for the 2026/27 financial year to dismantle and rebuild all existing parapet and spandrel walls and strengthen Skelton South Bridge. During these works, the bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic.

To enable construction of the temporary bypass, North Yorkshire Council is required to enter into an agreement with the landowner to temporarily occupy approximately 2.4 acres of land.

As a result, it is proposed to construct a temporary bypass within the two fields located to the west of the bridge. The temporary bypass will comprise a single-lane road formed by an embankment incorporating a temporary culvert.

Alternative options considered included the use of existing or upgrading local farm tracks and phasing the construction to maintain vehicular access across the bridge. However, these options were assessed as unfeasible.

Using existing farm tracks was discounted as these routes are not suitable for regular vehicular traffic, any upgrades to bring them up to standard would require significant improvements and likely to exceed the cost of constructing the proposed temporary bypass.

Phasing the works was not considered viable as the bridge is too narrow to safely support construction activities alongside live traffic and doing so would pose unacceptable safety risks for both the contractor and road users.