11:20am Saturday 6th February 2010
The question of whether heavy vehicles travelling through the centre of Settle actually do affect tourism could be answered once and for all by a new study.
Settle Town Council has backed a call from the Settle and District Chamber of Trade for an independent study to be arranged.
The chamber has been vocal in seeking ways to deal with the “high volume” of heavy goods vehicles travelling through the town and fear it could be keeping visitors away.
The chamber wants the study to look at whether HGVs travelling through Settle affects the town’s ability to regenerate and create a sustainable economic future based on tourism.
It would also like an independent engineering study of the existing route taken by the majority of heavy vehicles and the alternative route that would take them over Buckhaw Brow. It is hoped a working group can be established to oversee the proposed studies and make recommendations for action.
In a letter to the town council, Colin Clifford, representing the chamber of trade, said: “The principal objective of the chamber of trade is the economic regeneration of Settle and the surrounding district which, if achieved, will make Settle district a better place to live, work and visit for everyone. If not achieved, then Settle will continue on an inexorable path of decline.
“The chamber firmly believes, as do other interested agencies such as North Yorkshire County Council, the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and Craven District Council, that any regeneration must be based on tourism as the main driver.
“It should be clear that more visitors will be good for everyone, whether they are in business themselves or residents who rely on local businesses and tradesmen.”
He said the chamber’s main tourism objective was to make Settle an attractive “honey pot” Dales town to take advantage of its position as a gateway to both the Dales and the Forest of Bowland.
But he said: “We believe the greatest obstacle to the achievement of this objective is the high number of HGVs that travel daily through the centre of Settle to and from the quarries in Upper Ribblesdale – 425 lorry movements per day. We have over 70 members who we speak to on a regular basis to gain an understanding of their concerns. The quarry lorries are invariably raised as the number-one issue.”
Coun David Heather fully supported the study.
“We have to do this to see if there is some sort of impact and whether there is anything that can be done to sort it out,” he said.
Coun Ann Ambrose added: “This has rumbled on for years. An independent study might show that there is no impact on the town and we should accept the findings.”
Councillors said they represented a big group of people who made a living from HGVs, such as the quarries, and felt the fairest way forward was to have an independent review.
Members agreed to write to North Yorkshire County Council and the Freight Quality Partnership to ask that the matter be placed on the agenda of their meeting on Tuesday at 2pm in Settle’s Victoria Hall.
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