N Yorks Executive Remains Committed to Harrogate Station Gateway

North Yorkshire Council remains committed to Harrogate Station Gateway. This emerged at a full council meeting on 19th July 2023.

Executive Member for Transport Keane Duncan spoke at the meeting to add caveats to his written statement, which had been published in the reports pack.

He noted that 8 weeks after the Area Constituency Committee (ACC) had backed Station Gateway, the Liberal Democrats on that committee withdrew their support.

‘The position now from the Liberal Democrats in Harrogate is one that’s anti-cycling, anti-environment, and most gravely and most damaging, anti-goodwill…

This Executive will continue its support on the Gateway and will not be backing down. There’ll be no faltering and no political games, just a focus on delivery for our residents.’

cllr keane duncan at the full council meeting on 19th july 2023

The Good News and a Setback

The good news is that Harrogate Station Gateway is going ahead.

Other than the Lib Dem withdrawal of support, there has been another setback. Chris Bentley and Terry Bramall have given formal notice of their intention to seek a judicial review of North Yorkshire’s decision to proceed.

North Yorkshire already knew of the threat, and held a 3rd round of consultation specifically to counter it. It must be fair to assume, therefore, that they followed the correct process.

The next legal step would be for the applicants to seek leave from the court to bring a judicial review. That would have to be within 3 months of the letter before action. If the case is not arguable, the court will refuse permission.

The Squabbling

Lib Dem Councillor Chris Aldred spoke at the full council meeting.

He said that there was no need for Keane Duncan to make an oral statement about the Lib Dem’s withdrawal of support – he had plenty of time to amend his written statement.

Councillor Aldred clearly believed that Cllr Duncan was deliberately grandstanding and playing party politics – partly in support of Cllr Duncan’s bid to become Mayor of the York & North Yorkshire region.

The Lib Dems approved Station Gateway on the basis that North Yorkshire would:

• publish a consultation programme with residents who are unhappy and
• set up a Members’ working group

When this did not happen within 8 weeks, the Lib Dems withdrew their support.

Cllr Duncan said that all requests from the ACC had been complied with.

Analysis

Both the Conservatives and the Lib Dems are guilty of playing party politics:

• the Lib Dems were right to back Station Gateway, but naive to add conditions and expect the Conservative Executive to respect them
• the Conservative Executive took the ACC approval of the project and ignored the conditions
• the Lib Dems should have continued to back Station Gateway, not withdrawn their approval out of pique

Ultimately, it is hugely important that Station Gateway goes ahead. There are no other meaningful active travel projects that look likely to happen in Harrogate in the next few years.

It’s the right thing for Harrogate, and the Lib Dems should support it. Instead, they are prioritising their own self-importance, and disappointment at being excluded from the decision-making.

Councillor Pat Marsh

Councillor Pat Marsh asked for an apology, saying it was totally wrong of Cllr Duncan to accuse the Lib Dems of being anti-cycling and anti-walking.

‘We were against a scheme that will not really deliver for any of that. Not the fact that we don’t want to improve cycling, walking and buses. We want the right scheme and not the wrong scheme.’

cllr pat marsh

While Cllr Marsh is in favour of bus improvements, she is not an advocate for improvements to the cycle network. She says she wants a holistic plan, but is not interested in engaging with Harrogate Cycle Action in relation to their holistic plan.

The reality is that:

• Harrogate Station Gateway is an excellent scheme, designed to LTN 1/20 standards
• if fits into the cycle network, although the routes it links to need to be improved
• it is funded, to the tune of £11 million
• it has been through 3 rounds of consultation, and is ready to go

If opponents manage to knock it off course, the alternative is not something better and more comprehensive; the alternative is nothing at all for the forseeable future.

Some Councillors claim to be in favour of improvements to the cycle network in theory, but then oppose specific schemes and improvements when they are put forward. In that case, they should be judged not by their words but by their actions.

Other Transport Matters

North Yorkshire were ready to embark on the latest iteration of their Speed Strategy, but it has been delayed for around 4 months by a call-in by the Scrutiny Committee.

We have already had a new 20mph strategy fairly recently, and it didn’t amount to anything meaningful.

It is very likely that the call-in has simply delayed North Yorkshire’s plan to delay, dither and obfuscate, and to make it look as though they are doing something while in fact changing next to nothing.

North Yorkshire awarded a contract for the Kex Gill realignment to John Sisk & Sons on 16th June 2023.

The council already cut down around 300 trees this Spring, with tree-felling continuing until 23rd March 2023. The council has not made any assessment of the carbon impact of its project.