ON my way to work recently, I came across evidence of another car crash on the ‘new’ roundabout half-way along the A629 Skipton western bypass (now called Rotary Way).

It appeared a car travelling towards Keighley had gone straight over the central grass island, smashed through a wooden fence at the other side, climbed the steep earth embankment and finally come to rest on top of it.

I hope the driver and any passengers escaped serious injury, but if they did they were very lucky. Do I blame the driver? No. I blame the lack of any street lighting on this still relatively new roundabout on a major A-road with a 60mph limit. On a dark night, to an unsuspecting driver, this roundabout appears out of the gloom with alarming suddenness. Last night also saw very heavy rain, which would have worsened visibility.

The street lights are there - about 15 of them approaching and surrounding the roundabout - but they remain unlit. True, one of them was (ironically) destroyed in a previous crash and only its ‘stump’ remains. There have now been at least three crashes there that I know of. How long before someone is killed?

Having already recognised the glaringly obvious danger at this site, I had phoned North Yorkshire Council on September 27 to see if they were aware of the situation. I was unable to use their website procedure for reporting streetlight faults because it asks you to click on the relevant streetlights on a digital map. These lights are not on that map.

After some difficulty getting the call handler to understand where I was talking about, they left me on hold to investigate and then came back with an explanation; the lights were not on the map because they were installed by the developer of the homes served by the Wyvern Way access road off the roundabout. The lights have not yet been adopted by the council and remain the responsibility of the developer, they said, so I should complain to them.

What good would that do, I asked? One individual versus a big developer. Surely North Yorkshire Council, as the Highways Authority, should be pushing the developer to sort it out as a matter of urgency? Even if the council is not yet responsible for the lights, it is very much responsible for the road, and for any obvious hazards it presents to motorists, such as a dangerous unlit roundabout.

The phone call dragged on as the call handler repeatedly tried to direct my complaint to the developer. I accepted that while they had installed the lights, the council could not shirk responsibility for them remaining unlit. Surely installing a fit-for-purpose access roundabout on the A629 was a condition of planning permission for the housing development? And by fit-for-purpose I mean safely lit at night.

Eventually, after again leaving me on hold while they consulted others, the call handler told me the Highways team was fully aware of the issue and liaising with the developer to resolve it. In other words, the council is asking the developer to get the lights working.

I asked what would happen in the meantime if there was a serious or even fatal accident at this unlit roundabout? Since both the council and the developer are, by her admission, fully aware of the situation and the danger it poses, who would be held legally responsible for the damage caused or lives lost? I didn’t get an answer.

As a backup I also phoned Councillor Andy Solloway, whose Skipton West and West Craven division includes the A629 bypass. He shared my concern for road safety and I considered him to be genuine. He said he would continue pushing for this situation to be speedily resolved, in fact, at a meeting later that day. I have no reason to doubt him, but now another accident has happened and still no sign of the streetlights being fixed. How many more will it take?

Duncan Smith, Earby.

In response, a spokesperson for HBD (the development arm of the Henry Boot Group) said: "We are working closely with the managing agent for the A629 Rotary Way to ensure that lighting is operational. All of the lighting at the roundabout and its junctions is working as it should be, however our investigations have identified a supply issue to a small number of lampposts along the route.

"A contractor is attending and we will continue to work closely with the utility provider to ensure that the problem is rectified as quickly and efficiently as possible."

In addition, North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for highways and transport, Cllr Keane Duncan, added: “Our priority is the safety of road users and we take all concerns made to us seriously.

"We are aware of issues raised in relation to this section of road and the streetlights that have been unlit.

“As a result, we have been proactively liaising with the developer who currently has responsibility for the road and they have advised that the streetlights are due to be repaired as soon as possible."

“Anyone with concerns about road safety can get in touch with us by visiting https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/roads-parking-and-travel/road-safety.”