Members of the public may ask questions or make statements at this meeting if they have given notice and provided the text to Democratic Services (democraticservices.central@northyorks.gov.uk ) no later than midday on Tuesday, 21 October 2025, three working days before the date of the meeting. Each speaker should limit themselves to 3 minutes on any item.
If you are exercising your right to speak at this meeting, but do not wish to be recorded, please inform the Chair who will instruct those taking a recording to cease whilst you speak.
Minutes:
Three public statements were received before the deadline of midday on Tuesday, 21 October 2025.
Martin Wiles, Chair of Riccall Parish Council, made the following statement on behalf of Riccall Parish Council.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak at the Area Committee Meeting, and for the recent steps taken to introduce temporary 50mph speed restrictions on the A19 through Riccall.
For over twenty years, Riccall Parish Council and our residents have consistently raised concerns regarding the safety of this stretch of road. It is a matter of great concern to our community that this major highway continues to grow busier, noisier, and more hazardous with each passing year.
Riccall is in the unusual position of having five separate junctions linking our relatively small village to the A19 — all of which currently carry a 60mph speed limit. We firmly believe that permanent safety solutions for these junctions are long overdue.
Since 2000, highways and police records show approximately 50 traffic incidents at these junctions, resulting in 28 serious injuries and 7 fatalities. In other words, on average, one person has been seriously injured or killed every eight months. This is not a situation that can be allowed to continue.
The late John Duggan — a long-serving County, District, and Parish Councillor — was a tireless advocate for road safety improvements in Riccall. Tragically, the very dangers he campaigned so strongly to address ultimately claimed his life in August this year. We must ensure that this tragedy is not allowed to become another forgotten statistic.
Over recent years, the Parish Council has repeatedly raised this issue with limited progress to date. We therefore welcome and fully support the spirit and content of the recent letter you received from our MP, Keir Mather, and wish to add the following proposals for urgent consideration:
1. Installation of noise-reducing fencing
2. Vehicle Activated Signs (VAS) at village approaches
3. A permanent 40mph speed restriction through the junctions
4. Speed camera enforcement
5. A southbound slip road into the village
6. Signal-controlled junctions to the north and south of Riccall
7. Roundabouts at both main junctions
We recognise that financial constraints mean these cannot all be delivered at once. However, we are committed to working in partnership with North Yorkshire Council to develop a structured, costed, and deliverable plan that achieves as many of these improvements as possible.
As a starting point, we strongly believe that a permanent 40mph speed restriction, supported by enforcement through static cameras or VAS, would represent a meaningful step forward.
We look forward to engaging constructively with North Yorkshire Council to deliver improvements that will enhance the safety and well-being of all who live in, work in, and travel through Riccall.
Thank you.
Allan McVeigh, Head of Network Strategy, provided the following response.
Thank you for your statement regarding the collision history on the A19 and for setting out the Community’s concerns and suggested proposals.
I would like to start by saying NYC recognises a number of these concerns and is already in the process of identifying and seeking to introduce a series of permanent improvements to reduce risk and that I hope, will offer some community reassurance.
It is worth noting that personal injury collision data older than three or five years tends to be excluded for collision investigation purposes, given likely changes in land use, vehicle technology, traffic volume, driver behaviour and any legislative changes. Generally, a three-year window is considered sufficient to identify statistically significant trends while remaining relevant to current conditions. Nevertheless, a total of 30 collisions have occurred at the five separate junctions since 01 January 2000, four of which resulted in a fatality, nine in serious injuries, with 17 collisions resulting in slight personal injury. For completeness, the junctions are:
1. Road to Hollicarrs
2. York Road into Riccall
3. King Rudding Lane
4. Main Street into Riccall
5. Selby Road
That means, on average, one killed or seriously injured collision has occurred every two years on the extent of the A19 from the northern most of the five junctions to the southern most junction. A study of the collision dates and frequencies though shows that collision numbers have been falling, across all five junctions over the 25-year period.
Our engineers compile a list of collision cluster sites and routes of concern for possible action each year. A cluster site is a location where there have been four or more personal injury collisions within a fixed radius over the previous three-year period. These sites are the subject of further investigation and where appropriate, improvement measures are introduced to reduce the risk of future collisions occurring. None of the five junctions on the A19 have been a collision cluster site list since 2002 or highlighted as a route of concern.
With regards to the proposals listed:
1. The installation of noise-reducing fencing – From a local highway authority perspective, traffic noise is likely to be lower following the introduction of the proposed reduced speed limit and we will as a future consideration, look into the potential of noise absorbing road surface materials, as part of any future planned maintenance scheme.
2. The installation of vehicle activated signs – Although the A19 at this location does not meet the required threshold for the installation of permanent VAS, we recognise that their introduction would complement the other measures we are proposing to implement. To that extent, we would be happy to discuss this option further with the Parish Council.
3. The installation of a permanent 40mph speed restriction – In accordance with Government guidance for setting local speed limits, we would be unable to support this request on the A19 and importantly, neither would North Yorkshire Police.
Both NYC and NYP do though support the introduction of a lower, 50mph speed limit and work is ongoing to introduce a 50mph speed limit later this financial year, through the creation of an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO). The experimental nature of the Order simply allows us to introduce the change sooner, by consulting concurrently with the introduction of the lower speed limit.
The speed limit scheme will be reinforced with the installation of gateway type features, including large yellow backed speed limit signs, rumble strips and road marking speed limit roundels at regular intervals, to encourage compliance. We will also be improving direction and warning signs on the A19 along with signage on the Selby Road approach to reinforce the give way situation and we will look to see if there are any other local improvements we can make to the individual junctions as part of the scheme.
4. Speed camera enforcement – Speed enforcement is a matter for North Yorkshire Police. The Council is though involved in a project, which is currently investigating the feasibility of fixed and/or average speed cameras on the local road network in the county. Given the live status of the project, I am unable at this stage to confirm the outcome, but the matter is under active consideration and the results of the study will be published in due course.
5. A southbound slip road into the village – If the Parish Council is able to offer further information on this proposal, we would be happy to provide a more detailed response.
6. Signal-controlled junctions to the north and south of Riccall – Generally speaking, traffic signals are provided to manage flows and delays between main and side roads, to offer safe crossing places, or to reduce conflicts. Signal control at a road junction may be justified if a site has a poor collision history, with a demonstrable collision pattern and/or where there is a dominant flow of one road leading to congestion.
Traffic signal control generally decreases the severity of collisions, but there is likely to be an increase in the number of shunt type collisions that need to be factored into any assessment. Cost is also a key consideration, which could be circa £1M for each of the Riccall junctions in question, not including future maintenance costs, incorporating fault attendance, energy consumption and full asset replacement every fifteen years.
It is for this reason that traffic signals tend to be a last resort, when other interventions have failed to address the problem. Given NYC is proposing to introduce a series of improvements to further reduce collision risk, traffic signals would not be a consideration at this time.
7. Roundabouts at both main junctions - If a roundabout is considered necessary, key factors include land acquisition and funding. Without undertaking further study to arrive at a more detailed cost estimate but based on figures at other similar locations where we have considered a roundabout, the cost could be circa £5M.
A prior key consideration though, before looking at feasibility and cost is whether the circumstances first require a major intervention. To that extent, collision history is an important factor in that decision making process and there should be one preferably in which there is an underlying pattern or dominant collision causation, which would benefit from a major junction upgrade being introduced.
The principal objective of a roundabout is to minimise delay for vehicles whilst maintaining the safe passage of all road users through the junction. With safety being a key consideration at the A19 Riccall junctions, caution needs to be exercised in relation identifying the most appropriate solution.
Given the approach speeds and high traffic volumes on the A19, it is likely that a normal roundabout with a large central island would be required. Normal roundabouts are generally effective in reducing collision severity, but we would need to ensure that the junctions at Riccall would not see an increase in personal injury collision frequency. A concern with normal roundabouts with a large central island, for example is the potential for shunt-type collisions on the approaches, entry/circulatory conflicts, lane changing collisions and high-speed entries by single vehicles resulting in loss of control and colliding with some part of the junction. Two-wheeled road users also tend to find roundabouts less safe.
It is worth noting that in the five years prior to the recent fatal collision, there had been no personal injury collisions at the northern junction onto the A19 and in relation to southern junction, there has been one serious collision involving a vehicle pulling out on to the A19, in September 2024.
In summary, NYC recognises local concerns and we are committed to implementing a coherent package of meaningful improvements quickly. To that extent, I note with gratitude the Parish Council’s commitment to working in partnership with NYC to implement proposed improvements. I welcome this collaborative approach and look forward to our councils working constructively together to achieve the desired outcomes.
Thank you.
Sue Golton made the following statement on behalf of Riccall Roads Action Group.
Good afternoon. My name is Sue Golton , and I’m here on behalf of the Riccall Roads Action Group which was formed after the tragic death of former Councillor John Duggan, a greatly valued member of our community and a tireless campaigner for safer roads at the Riccall junctions.
We’re speaking for everyone who uses the A19 junctions - all trying to join heavy, fast-moving traffic from a standstill. We have no reasonable alternative route. We just want to be able to get out at the junctions safely.
Our submission shows both the strength of feeling in our wider community, and the clear, evidence-based case for a 40-mile-an-hour speed limit and the roundabout that was promised — and funded — back in 2006.
When we met with senior officers last week, we were told the A19 is a safe road and that our day-to-day experiences carry no weight because there haven’t been enough serious crashes or deaths to justify significant change. We find that deeply troubling. We are calling on North Yorkshire Council to be proactive and prevent tragedy, not wait for more tragedy to happen before taking action.
Elsewhere on the A19, other communities have been listened to. In Deighton, for example. In 2013 City of York Council listened to the community following a pedestrian death and replaced a 60mph limit with 40mph, including 50mph buffer zones either side. This was in the face of strong opposition from the police who refused to support it and said it couldn’t be enforced – as they are doing in this case. Is safety really a postcode lottery? It is certainly beginning to feel like it.
The data from County officers details the speed of traffic along our stretch of road as being around 50mph. Given that it is already moving at this speed a 50mph limit will make no measurable difference to us. Make no mistake – we welcome the offer of a reduced speed limit and are grateful that this change is on the table. However, given that the funding has already been allocated to changing the limit to 50mph, why not go to 40mph? You have a mandate from the Transport Minister to do so – it is within your power and we have given you the evidence to support this request.
So today we’re asking you to examine the evidence we present, and to recognise the strength of local support. Officers have presented to you the raw data – we are bringing you the voices of the community who live and work here every day. Our local politicians, Keir Mather, Steph Duckett, and Martin Wiles, have listened to us, They recognise our concerns and support us. We’re calling for a 40-mile-an-hour limit past Riccall to be delivered within this financial year, and for the roundabout to be reinstated in the capital forward plan. We have demonstrated in our submission that with the will to do it, it can be done.
If our proposal is agreed, we will throw our efforts behind Council officers to support them to deliver the programme. This would demonstrate local democracy at its best – communities, politicians and officials working together for the common good.
If it is refused, we will continue our campaign for as long as it takes — because our community deserves roads that are truly as safe as you can make them.
Thank you.
Allan McVeigh, Head of Network Strategy, provided the following response.
Thank you for your statement seeking to make a case for a 40mph speed limit and the introduction of a roundabout.
We are aware of the devastating consequences that a road fatality has on the family, friends and wider community. It is in-part for this reason that available funding should only ever be targeted where it is needed most, ie where there is greatest scope to reduce collision risk and injury.
It remains the case that none of the five junctions at Riccall on the A19 are comparable to many other junctions and sites elsewhere in the county with a higher frequency of collisions and which suffer from greater risk. None of the Riccall junctions have been a collision cluster site for over 20 years and collision numbers here are decreasing.
At the same time, NYC recognises local concerns and the strength of feeling in the community, which we are listening to. As a result, we have agreed to implement a series of additional safety measures that are balanced against the national guidance and good practice and which we believe will further reduce the risk of potential future collisions.
Existing mean speeds help form the basis for speed limits and this, together with the concerns being expressed, are why we are happy to support a 50mph speed limit. We fully expect the measures we are proposing, to have a dampening effect on current mean speeds and so to further reduce collision risk and severity.
The example of Deighton is not considered comparable to Riccall. Given the multiple number of direct accesses that outlying properties have onto the A19 in Deighton, a 40mph speed limit looks and feels appropriate. These are visual and evident reasons for motorists to reduce their speed and potential hazards of this nature are important factors in ensuring good compliance.
In terms of the history surrounding the potential roundabout, we believe just over £90K was spent on road safety engineering improvements locally, which essentially addressed the existing collision problem at the time and which helps explain the long-term downward trend in collision numbers since. On that basis, there was a formal decision in 2007, to remove the proposals from the Council’s highways capital works programme, given the improving safety record at that location.
It is worth noting that the Government has set incredibly ambitious housing growth targets for North Yorkshire, so significant development is planned across the county in the coming years. As part of that process there will be a need to test the impacts of that housing growth, including traffic generation, against the existing background growth and an Infrastructure Delivery Plan will be produced that sets out the infrastructure required to cater for that extra demand.
Judy Mitchinson made the following statement.
Good afternoon, my name is Judy Mitchinson, and I’m here to represent my mother and our family after the devastating death of my father.
John Duggan, my father, died on 1st August 2025 as a result of a traffic collision at the north exit of Riccall onto the A19. He was attempting to turn right at this junction to travel towards Selby. It was a clear bright day with full visibility. John was a former HGV driver and knew the dangers of the road better than most. He dedicated years of his life to campaigning for safer roads for his community, knowing that people had lost their lives at the dangerous junctions.
The family find irony in the fact that he served, he warned, he cared but the very danger he campaigned so hard to prevent is what took his own life. His tragic death was shocking and has left our family and this community devastated. It must also serve as a warning that when safety measures are not implemented that lives are lost, namely five lives up to date. A roundabout installation is costly, and my father was firmly assured in 2006 that the then necessary funding of £850,000 was allocated to the project of building a roundabout at Riccall. However, that firm assurance turned out to be a false promise as the funds were devastatingly allocated elsewhere.
We know it is costly but what is the cost of a life? Every fatality carries not just emotional pain but an enormous social and economic cost. The cost to the wider society is vast. Thousands of people have had their lives impacted by the recent road traffic accident, costing families and businesses a huge loss of time and money on the day. In 2020 John was interviewed by the press and he stated that the biggest regret of his life was that he did not achieve the building of the roundabout he was promised as County Councillor.
After my father’s tragic accident, the safety of the road needs to be future proofed. The expansion of the nearby towns and villages regarding housing and industrial estates will cause increased traffic and this will have a severe impact on safety at the junctions of the A19. Making necessary safety improvements now will save lives in the future. All the users of the A19 between Selby and York are at risk of a collision.
I appeal to you now to learn from the mistakes made in the past and safeguard people’s lives by building a roundabout at Riccall.
Allan McVeigh, Head of Network Strategy, provided the following response.
Dear Ms Mitchinson
Council officers and Members alike were saddened by the recent passing of your father, please accept our deepest sympathies and condolences.
As a result of his untimely passing and the strength of feeling locally, we are committed to introducing a series of practical road safety improvements that we believe will reduce the risk and severity of future collisions.
In terms of the history surrounding the potential roundabout, we believe just over £90K was spent on road safety engineering improvements locally, which essentially addressed the existing collision problem at the time and which helps explain the long-term downward trend in collision numbers since. On that basis, whilst acknowledging your comments over what may have been discussed or agreed in the past, there was a formal decision in 2007, to remove the proposals from the Council’s highways capital works programme, given the improving safety record at the junction.
It is worth noting that the Government has set incredibly ambitious housing growth targets for North Yorkshire, so significant development is planned across the county in the coming years. As part of that process there will be a need to test the impacts of that housing growth, including traffic generation, against the existing background growth and an Infrastructure Delivery Plan will be produced that sets out the infrastructure required to cater for that extra demand.
In the meantime, we are looking forward to working with the community and its representatives on introducing the proposed road safety improvements, which I hope will go some way to addressing local concerns.
The speakers were provided the opportunity to make supplementary statements and the following points were raised.
· It was highlighted that a roundabout had previously been proposed and accepted by North Yorkshire Council, with funding allocated at that time. The importance of a roundabout was raised and clarification was sought as to why the proposal was accepted previously but not now. In response, Allan McVeigh advised that £850,000 was originally provided by the former Highways Agency. Approximately £100,000 of this was used for local safety scheme improvements in the area, which successfully reduced collisions at that location. Following the improved safety record, a formal council decision was made in 2007 to transfer the remaining funds into the wider capital works programme to support other local safety improvements elsewhere.
· Officers were invited to visit the area and meet with the Riccall Roads Action Group. Allan McVeigh reported that officers are happy to conduct a site visit and have further discussions with Riccall Parish Council, Riccall Roads Action Group and residents.
Members noted the issues that were raised by the public speakers.