Ryedale Cycle Forum seek to develop cycling in Malton and Norton, and routes in and out of each town. We are not the first people to consider this, in 2005 NYCC published The Malton and Norton Transportation Strategy, prepared by Mouchel Parkman Ltd. It included The Malton and Norton Cycling Plan, which you will find, starting on page 141 of the full strategy.
The 2005 plan includes lots of useful details as follows:- Introduction; Problems and Opportunities; Topography; Communications and Highways Integration with Public Transport; The Disused Railway Driffield; Cycle way Links to Broughton and Pickering; The Proposed Route from Rillington to Kirkham Priory; The National Byway; Safe Cycle Routes to School; Cycle Parking; Cycle Use: Traffic Speed and Flow; Cycling Accidents; The Need for a Clearly Defined and Safe Cycling Network; The Use of Other Traffic Management Measures Which Facilitate Cycling; The Proposed Cycling Network for Malton and Norton and Norton; Primary Cycle Routes; Secondary Cycle Routes; The Creation of Shared Footpath Cycle Routes; A Cycle Route Using the Disused Gilling to Malton Railway Line; A Footpath /Cycleway Link from the Railway Station to Development Land to the south; Cycle Promotion and Education; Local Cycling Targets
Though Ryedale has seen a big growth in leisure cycling, there has been very little cycle infrastructure added as a result of the 2005 plan. So the infrastructure problems and opportunities remain much the same and the motor traffic is even heavier.
North Yorkshire County Council, working with Ryedale District Council, appointed consultants again in 2019 to develop a Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) phase 1 study for Malton and Norton. Consultation has been undertaken and work on the study is nearing completion.
LCWIPs are a way of identifying opportunities for transformational, long-term cycling and walking networks in order to meet the government’s target of doubling the numbers of cycling and walking journeys by 2025.
The Phase 1 work will identify the scope for improvements to the cycling and walking network within Malton and Norton. However the feedback from this process is not at all encouraging! It is “Given the constrained nature of the existing highways network in the towns, however, it is expected that the focus will mainly be on opportunities to improve provision for pedestrians. Significant improvements to the cycling network are likely to be dependent on major infrastructure improvements that remove significant amounts of traffic from the town centres.”
When actual detail emerges of any improvements that are proposed through the 2019 LCWIP, and their timescales and funding, we will add them to this page.
In the meantime, please send in any suggestions about any possible improvements for cyclists or for shared use paths, anywhere in Malton and Norton to Helen Gundry. Please also get in touch if you are interested in getting involved to make schemes happen.
All ideas and involvement, whether great or small, are important because they help to meet many already identified needs of both towns; for physical and mental health, for reducing carbon footprint, traffic congestion and pollution, for tourism and other businesses, for routes to work, for leisure, for travel safety and for quality of life.
Here is our wish list so far for Malton and Norton:-
- All the suggestions from the 2005 Cycle Plan (see document link above), including necessary updates
- The proposed pedestrian cycle/bridge at the railway station
With a doubling of train services due from 2020, a new bridge could have direct links to the existing and possible new platform. This would benefit pedestrians and cyclists who arrive or depart Malton/Norton by train, and they wouldn’t need to use the level crossing.
The roads are very busy, especially between the two towns. The proposed expansion to the rail services is set to at least triple the capacity for train users, and TPE have predicted higher use with forecast housebuilding. The level crossing is a dangerous bottleneck with no safe option for non-car users. Sustrans routes and all other non-motor movement between the towns is via the level crossing.
The new bridge would give access by foot and by bicycle from Ryedale and East Yorkshire to rail and bus services. It would give a safer and more pleasant route than via the level crossing, by foot and by bicycle, to employment, shops and services for Malton/Norton residents. It would require a lift or a ramp for disability access, suitable for bicycles, and would need to be independent of ticket barriers.
Network Rail and train operators will probably require a 2nd platform because of increased frequency of services. It is hoped that they and the Government -funded York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership will pay for the bridge to mitigate for the increased delays at the level crossing resulting from more trains, and to enhance the whole travel network of both towns. Ryedale District Council are looking to enhance rail/bus interchange facilities and to add parking. The bridge fits well with these ideas too. Safe access on both sides of the bridge should link to onward routes for cyclists and pedestrians.
The bridge will encourage physical exercise, reduce vehicle emissions, avoid poisonous fumes, reduce carbon footprint, and reduce traffic volume in Malton and Norton so that other vehicles can keep moving better. It will make access to the railways station easier, so will encourage people to use the train instead of the car for longer journeys, so the benefits will not just be felt in Ryedale, but in other parts of North Yorkshire and beyond.
3. The proposed Malton to Pickering Cycle Route
The Station bridge crossing described above provides a safer route for crossing the railway and river for long distance cycle tourism between Hull, East Yorkshire, York, the North York Moors and the coast. The Malton to Pickering Cycle Route will be a main route onwards for cycling tourist. Work will start on this route in Summer 2020, funded by European Tourism Infrastructure Funding. The route will be created in stages and when all sections are up to Sustrans safety standards, it will become part of the National Cycle Network. It will be part of the National Cycle Network. En-route are Eden Camp, the new Eden Park industrial estate, Flamingo Land, Pickering Leisure Village, Pickering Pool and Gym, and two large garden centres, caravan and camping sites, and holiday chalets. Residents employed at these places will have the option of cycling to work, which employers can support.
4. Other potential routes in and out of Malton and Norton
As described in 2005, signed cycle routes in the town centres need to be carefully planned and will use existing highways to some extent. Ryedale Cycle Forum are keen that any new housing and road developments should include designated cycle-ways as a matter of course, and we are lobbying transport planners about this. Sustrans are also engaging with this issue on a regional level. To make cycling an attractive mode of transport, it needs to be quick, so shared use paths with pedestrians are only suitable on very quiet routes.
Other useful documents
Yorkshire Cycling Strategy – Yorkshire and Humber Local Authorities and key partners
Making Space for Cycling – published by Cyclenation
Sustainable Travel and the National Policy Planning Framework
Contact details:- to suggest content for updating this page, please contact:-
Helen Gundry, 4 Tinley Garth, Kirkbymoorside, N Yorkshire. YO62 6AR
Email: helenspost@msn.com – 07960 160130
