Exclusive: Firms seeking rates rebate over town’s road repairs standstill

The Selby Swing Bridge is finally to re-open to vehicles tomorrow after it was shut by North Yorkshire County Council for 14 weeks for major refurbishment.

At the same time, the county council embarked on 10 weeks of large-scale repairs in Doncaster Road – one of the main thoroughfares through Selby – causing major gridlocks around the town.

The chairman of Selby Chamber of Trade and Commerce, David Fieldsend, said the roadworks, while necessary, had been disastrous for businesses in the town.

Now following a meeting earlier this week, the Yorkshire Post has learned up to 40 businesses have already lodged an appeal with the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) asking for a temporary reduction in their business rates because of the bridge works – and more are expected to follow.

Mr Fieldsend said even major companies including WH Smiths and Sainsbury’s were among those appealing, and said others were looking at seeking recompense from the county council, the compensation figure possibly stretching to tens of thousands of pounds.

“This has had a major impact”, he said.

“I know of quite a few small companies along Ousegate and around that area that have seen a serious impact on their turnover during the works.

“It was a major project that has not just caused issues with businesses, it has been a pain for everybody who wanted to go into Selby.

“The work was necessary, the bridge was dropping to bits and it needed fixing.

“But if anything, this should have been done years ago.

“Hopefully now they won’t start digging up the road again for a while.”

The £650,000 repair work, which started on February 14, is the second time that a major repairs project has brought Selby to a standstill in recent years, after a large-scale renaissance scheme was finished less than two years ago.

The bridge was closed to all vehicles from the start of the works and was completely closed to pedestrians for eight of the 14-weeks, longer than initially expected.

During the majority of the work, the bridge was kept in the open position as Government guidelines say passage of river traffic needs to have precedence over highway road traffic. The county council provided a free bus service between Barlby and Selby during the works, while buses were also supplied for children at nearby Barlby Bridge primary school.

The repairs include a new timber deck, improved steelwork and the mechanics and electrics of the bridge were also serviced.  

County councillor Gareth Dadd, executive member for highways, said: “This has been a major undertaking and we cannot thank the people of Selby enough for their patience and understanding. But we believe their reward is a landmark bridge which will be fit for purpose for many years to come, causing less disruption in the long term.

“I would also like to thank all the highways staff and the contractor involved in this flagship project for their hard work, close attention to detail and perseverance, so keeping the disruption to a minimum, and for the entire organisation involved in keeping the people of Selby on the move.”

A Valuation Office spokeswoman said: “We are currently reviewing around 40 appeals from business operators in Selby asking for a temporary reduction in their rateable value due to ongoing bridgeworks in the area. A VOA representative recently attended one of the regular Selby Chamber of Commerce meetings to discuss the ongoing work and business rates in general.”