N Yorkshire’s ATF4 Bid
North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) is bidding for £1,081,443 from Active Travel Fund 4 (ATF4) for a cycle scheme on Victoria Avenue.
The details were revealed in a report accompanying today’s BES Executive Meeting.
Victoria Avenue Scheme (£1,573,277)
The Victoria Avenue scheme was originally the subject of a successful bid in ATF2. At that stage the scheme cost was £250,000.
Even allowing for increased specification and inflation, it looks as though NYCC’s ATF2 cost estimate was way off the mark. The latest budget is £1,573,277, which is six times the original amount allowed.
The scheme is to include segregated cycle infrastructure, a new pedestrian crossing at the junction with Belford Road, and remodelling of the Victoria Avenue/West Park junction.
Discussions with Active Travel England
The report says (para 2.8) that NYCC has been in discussion with Active Travel England (ATE), and ATE agreed that the ATF2 money should be used for design work on the Victoria Avenue scheme, ready for submission in ATF4.
That sounds promising – if ATE are on board with these plans, there is hope that the bid will be successful.
These discussions are evidenced by something called Active Travel Fund Pulse Survey 5, which according to the report was submitted to ATE in November 2022.
Construction to Start by 31st March 2024
The report notes that ‘construction’ projects are to be prioritised over ‘development’ projects.
ATE are to pay out funding in this financial year, i.e. by 31st March 2023. The initial deadline to start construction is 31st March 2024 – albeit we have heard it all before, and every time there has been a deadline NYCC have missed it by a mile.
A later paragraph of the NYCC report, 5.10, redefines starting construction as committing to start construction. Thus, agreeing a business case approving delivery of the scheme is all that is needed by the deadline, rather than actual shovels in the ground.
Overall, though, it does look as though ATE want to get things done. Their involvement in the Victoria Avenue scheme means we might get an injection of much-needed competence.
There is even a bit of self-awareness in the NYCC report:
‘By focusing on delivery, it is also likely that our self-assessment through ATE will improve (through evidence of scheme delivery) which can impact positively on indicative allocations in the future.’
para 4.4 of the NYCC report
Links to Beech Grove and Otley Road
The report mentions (para 5.2) the fact that Victoria Avenue would be a link between Harrogate Station Gateway and Beech Grove and Otley Road. It seems that the report’s author hasn’t caught up with the latest news – that NYCC has abandoned Beech Grove and Otley Road.
Two Other Schemes
Local authorities can bid for up to 300% of their indicative allocations. In NYCC’s case, this means up to £3,244,329.
The ‘extra’ schemes outside the indicative allocation are to be assessed competitively against all other local authority bids. Who scores best, wins.
Darlington Road, Richmond (£458,500)
A Richmond scheme has been put forward into the competitive process.
After the recent farce when Rishi Sunak’s constituency was the only place in North Yorkshire to receive levelling up funds, it is a relief to know that the ATF4 decision will not be taken by ministers, and will be based on a scoring system.
A59 Knaresborough Road (£1,653,827)
This is another of the ATF2 schemes that NYCC has failed to build.
In 2020 £250,000 was allocated to it, but now it is going to cost £1.6 million. Again, even if the specification has been increased and costs of materials have gone up, the original bid looks way off the mark.
Scoring System
The report says that the three schemes score well on:
- uplifts in walking, wheeling and cycling and
- value for money
Unsurprisingly, they score less well on the ‘deprivation’ metric.
Next Steps
If the bids are successful, the next step is further design work in conjunction with ATE. Again, the involvement of ATE gives confidence that the designs will be competent.
Other Schemes Considered but Rejected
The NYCC report contains a long list of other schemes that were considered but rejected.
In many cases, they were rejected because they were not ready to start construction by 31st March 2024.