Skipton recreation ground to close for two weeks for anti-flood works

The joint project will also hope to sort out long standing drainage issues, and make the area less boggy.

A number of Yorkshire Housing properties on Shortbank Close have been at risk – most recently during the very heavy rains which took place on Boxing Day, 2015.

The work, part of a joint scheme between Yorkshire Housing and Skipton Town Council, has received some funding from North Yorkshire County Council’s Flood Resilience Grant Fund, and will be carried out by housing association contractors.

Simon Winch, environmental performance manager at Yorkshire Housing, said: “Residents of Shortbank Close have been flooded on a number of occasions, and we just can’t allow the current situation to continue. Unfortunately this means closing access to the rec on health and safety grounds while we undertake improvement works to stop future flooding.”

He added: “We will be working hard with our contractors to keep disruption to a minimum but, once the works are completed, the rec should be a lot less boggy in wet weather, which is a good result for everyone who uses it.”

The work will also address some drainage issues on the recreation ground itself – and in the well-used dog run area. During the course of the works, both entrances to the rec will be fenced off and those who normally take a short cut through the ground will need to find an alternative route.

Skipton Town Council chief officer, Dave Parker, said: “Once the main works are completed, the town council will need to re-seed some of the grassed areas so the recreation ground will need to remain closed for a little longer to allow the grass to establish itself properly. We will of course re-open the rec and the dog run just as soon as we can”.

He added: “This work has been outstanding for quite a while and we’re delighted to be able to work with Yorkshire Housing and North Yorkshire County Council to resolve the issues.”