Cafe owner 'very worried' over Kex Gill landslip

The owner of a cafe on a North Yorkshire road that has been repeatedly closed due to landslips has said she is "very worried" about the impact on her business.

Kate Bailey owns the Dalesway Cafe on the A59 in Skipton, a stretch of which has been shut since heavy rain caused a landslip on New Year's Day.

The cafe can still be accessed but Mrs Bailey said she relies on custom from HGVs which are now being diverted through Ilkley and Otley.

North Yorkshire Council said work to clear soil from the road and stabilise the bank could take weeks but the repairs were being carried out "as quickly and safely as possible".

Mrs Bailey had to close her cafe early last year after a landslip led to the closure of the A59 for several weeks.

She said that closure cost her about £2,000 a week, forcing her to reduce staffing and cut opening hours.

The road is currently closed again, between Hardisty Hill and the junction with Kex Gill Road, near Blubberhouses.

It is the 15th landslip at this location since 2000 according to the council.

"I came to the cafe to open it up and obviously all the road closed signs were at the bottom of the hill," Mrs Bailey said.

"It can't be helped, there was an awful lot of water over the past week.

"However, the part where the landslide is there is just a tiny amount, surely they could put some traffic lights up and people could get through?"

Mrs Bailey said the landslip was "a couple of wheelbarrows' worth".

She said: "I have horses and I muck out more than that in a day, so that could be done by a couple of volunteers I'm sure.

"There is a little bit of passing trade but not much."

A council spokesperson said: "If we can, we hope to have the road open sooner depending on weather.

"We understand the closure will cause delays to journeys and we would like to reiterate that we are doing all that we can to complete the repair as quickly and as safely as possible."

A diversion is in place via the A658, A660 and A65 or by this route reversed, the spokesperson said.

The council said the landslip was not related to the A59 realignment project, which is "progressing well and is designed to prevent further unplanned and disruptive closures such as this".

Keane Duncan, the North Yorkshire councillor responsible for highways, said work needed to be done to bolster the bank.

"We want this road open and we are working as hard as we can," he said.

"This closure only illustrates why it is so essential that we get the bypass open as soon as possible."

He said work on the bypass was on track for completion in spring 2026.

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