Terry Avenue York to be Blocked Off

2nd March 2021

The Environment Agency and York City Council are set to close one of York's major cycling arteries for an extended period, without providing a decent bypass.

Terry Avenue, which runs alongside the Ouse between Skeldergate Bridge and Millennium Bridge, is to be shut from 15th March 2021. The closure is likely to last for 18 months.

Flood Alleviation

The Environment Agency is carrying out work in the Clementhorpe area as part of its York Flood Alleviation Scheme. It says the riverside flats between Skeldergate Bridge and Rowntree Park are at risk of flooding.

The work will include a new flood gate on Clementhorpe at its junction with Terry Avenue, a flood wall in front of Waterfront House and at Dukes Wharf, and an earth embankment along the edge of Rowntree Caravan Park and Rowntree Park. There's also to be an underground flood defence ('seepage mitigation').

On the Environment Agency's Flood Alleviation page, the link to diversion routes for people who would otherwise have walked or cycled along Terry Avenue is broken at the time of writing.

York Cycle Campaign

York Cycle Campaign say they are dismayed at the failure of the Environment Agency and York City Council to provide a safe diversion route.

New Walk, on the other side of the river (the East Bank diversion), has been suggested but is prone to flooding. The West Bank diversion involves crossing some very busy roads.

'Terry Avenue is York's premier cycle route. We fear that without a safe and direct alternative York may see a real long-term drop in cycling. All this at a time when the central government is promoting active travel and it seems that 'cycling city' York is going in the opposite direction.'
York Cycle Campaign

This is the Environment Agency's walking and cycling diversion route map.