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Ilkley MP says lessons must be learned from A65 roadworks

Tuesday, 11 August 2026 at 14:24

Robbie Moore MP (centre) has blasted Yorkshire Water for poor planning and urgency.

Ilkley MP Robbie Moore has said lessons must be learned from recent roadworks on the A65 after the project was completed almost two weeks ahead of schedule.

Yorkshire Water confirmed that work on Skipton Road was completed over the weekend, allowing the road to fully reopen.

The project, which began on 27th July, involved connecting a new development on Skipton Road to the water and wastewater network and had originally been scheduled to continue until 21st August.

Yorkshire Water said it had responded to concerns over disruption by bringing a second team onto the site, extending working hours and accelerating elements of the project.

However, Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore said the disruption experienced by motorists highlighted problems with the way the works had initially been planned.

He said:

“At last, Yorkshire Water have completed their works on Skipton Road in Ilkley, two weeks ahead of their own scheduling.

“But this whole situation provides clear evidence of the complete lack of oversight, project programming, and urgency both Yorkshire Water and Bradford Councils Highways Department applied in the first place.

“It also demonstrated that no learning by these organisations had been gained from the previous huge levels of disruption Ilkley experienced at the start of the year, from the roadworks in the same place.

“These works have rightly caused huge amounts of anger amongst motorists, simply because no one ever seemed to be on site working, despite huge traffic delays. It should not have required the intervention from a MP to mandate works were accelerated to keep disruption to a minimum.”

Mr Moore had raised concerns with Yorkshire Water while the work was ongoing, with the company subsequently extending working hours and bringing a second team onto the site.

Yorkshire Water also accelerated the reinstatement of the road and brought forward testing and commissioning of the pipework.

Mr Moore has now called for future works to be carried out for longer hours to minimise disruption to residents, businesses and motorists.

He added:

“Yorkshire Water and Bradford Council’s Highways Department must think smarter. They must demand that all future works are undertaken around the clock to cause as little disruption as possible.

“These works might have been reduced from four weeks to two but imagine how short they could have been if undertaken around clock, or even just using all daylight hours.

“I will not let issues like this drop, until residents and local business owners see clear evidence of improvement in the delivery of future works.”

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