Are HK Lib Dems Anti-Cycling?
Are Harrogate & Knaresborough Liberal Democrats anti-cycling?
The question arises because they oppose the one major public realm and active travel scheme in Harrogate – Harrogate Station Gateway. The cycle infrastructure is largely designed to the national standards in LTN 1/20.
At a meeting in July 2023, Cllr Chris Aldred said:
‘When the Harrogate & Knaresborough Area Committee passed a motion in support of the scheme earlier this year, it was conditional on the Conservative council agreeing to listen to local people’s concerns. It is clear they have no interest in doing this, therefore we can no longer support the scheme.’
cllr chris aldred
Cllr Aldred went on to say that he and his colleagues had asked for a working group so that local Councillors could be involved in the project, but it had not been set up.
The Wrong Reaction
Withdrawing support for the scheme is entirely the wrong reaction from the Lib Dems.
The Conservative Executive may well have ignored the conditions that the Lib Dems put on their initial support for the project. What did the Lib Dems expect?
Ultimately the decision should be a simple one. An excellent scheme is funded to the tune of £11 million and ready to go. It will improve Harrogate town centre and provide the core of a cycle network.
Anyone who wants Harrogate town centre to be improved, and who supports high-quality cycle infrastructure, will support Station Gateway.
No political party should be opposing it out of pique because they are not being involved in the delivery of the scheme.
Local People’s Concerns
The scheme has already been through three rounds of consultation. That provided ample opportunity for local people to raise their concerns – which some of them did.
There are individuals who are viscerally opposed to anything that benefits people on bikes and makes it easier and safer for us to get around.
Some of them were among the thirty-nine people in the public gallery at the Area Committee meeting on 5th May 2023. They created a really nasty atmosphere, with heckling and unpleasant comments.
There’s nothing to be gained from reasoning and compromising with them, because they are not concerned about the details of the scheme but against the principle of prioritising active travel.
Instead you have to go ahead and build Station Gateway, then most people will see that it’s good and support what you did.
Of course where the concerns are small practical issues and elements of the design, they should be addressed and I’m sure they will be.
Claimed Support for a Holistic Cycle Network
Cllr Pat Marsh claims to want a holistic plan for cycling, and that is one of the reasons she cites for opposing Station Gateway.
Unfortunately, when invited to engage with the local cycle campaign on a holistic plan that we have put together, she was not interested in doing so, and moved seamlessly on to talking about buses instead.
If you were truly concerned that Station Gateway doesn’t go far enough and is not a holistic plan for a cycle network, what would you do? I suggest you would:
- support Station Gateway but press for better cycle links to it and
- show commitment to developing the holistic plan
Otherwise it looks as though there is little substance to the claim that you support the development of a holistic cycle network.
Parliamentary Spokesman Tom Gordon
Tom Gordon, who will be the Lib Dems’ candidate at the next General Election, also opposes Station Gateway. He welcomed the Lib Dems’ decision to remove their support for the project.
‘Local residents have told me they feel in the dark about the current and projected costs of the project. The lack of transparency about what is actually deliverable and lack of meaningful engagement undermines public trust and confidence in the Harrogate Station Gateway project’.
lib dems’ parliamentary spokesman tom gordon
I’m sure local residents tell Mr Gordon a lot of things when he’s knocking on doors, but if it’s total nonsense it is best ignored not repeated to the local paper.
We have had three rounds of consultation on Station Gateway. Each one was based on detailed visuals and documents outlining the plans and designs. The third round of consultation produced over 2,000 responses.
There has not been a lack of meaningful engagement.
As for costs, the funding of £11 million comes from the Transforming Cities Fund – the purpose of which is to enable sustainable travel to the town centre including the rail and bus stations.
The money is not coming out of North Yorkshire Council’s own budget.
There are bound to be uncertainties as to exact costs and the scope of the project, especially at a time when construction costs are going up. The delays caused by opponents of the project, including threats of legal action, are unhelpful as far as the budget is concerned.
What is certain is that £11 million is enough money to build an excellent scheme. It should not be rejected and handed back to government.
Finally, I suggest it is unrealistic to expect local residents who are not actively involved in the project to have a detailed understanding of the current and projected costs.
‘Consensus’
Mr Gordon says he wants to find consensus on Station Gateway. That is never going to happen unless it is so watered-down as to be meaningless.
The most furious opposition to Station Gateway comes from people who, for reasons I don’t understand, are viscerally opposed to anything that involves cycling.
If you stripped out the cycle tracks, retained two lanes for cars, and just tarted up Station Square, they would probably be fine with it. That would also entirely defeat the object of the scheme.
Manuel Calvo, who was behind Seville’s lightning bike network, explains it best.
‘In mobility issues, my experience is that consensus is impossible, because there are so many interests. So you have to make an agreement with most of the people. But taking into account – being clear – that something is being done’.
manuel calvo
We are never going to get consensus on Station Gateway, or any other meaningful improvements to the cycle network in Harrogate. A certain proportion of residents are very car-centric and hostile to cycling.
But we know we need radical modal shift to cycling and walking, soon, in order to decarbonise transport, and for lots of other valid public policy reasons.
Therefore, politicians of all parties need to be committed to a high-quality cycle network to enable modal shift.
That doesn’t mean there should be no consultation on how to do it – there should be. But as Manuel Calvo says, it must be clear that doing nothing is not an option.
It also means that you don’t spend too much time and energy trying to appease the minority who are against a cycle network in principle, and will never support anything that involves cycling.
Integrated Transport Network and Plan
Mr Gordon says that the Lib Dems want an integrated transport network and plan, and apparently this is one of the reasons he opposes Station Gateway.
I started Hedgehog Cycling in 2013. In that time, I’ve seen endless plans, reports, money spent on consultants, consultations…endless going round in circles developing schemes that never ever result in on-the-ground improvements. When it comes to actually building something, everything grinds to a halt.
I am certain that North Yorkshire Council is more than capable of wasting five years and hundreds of thousands of pounds in consultants’ fees in developing a paper plan for an integrated transport network that will never translate into on-the-ground improvements.
On the other hand, we have Station Gateway funded and ready to go. It’s a top quality public realm and active travel scheme that promises to provide on-the-ground improvements perhaps as soon as next year.
And Mr Gordon and the Lib Dems are opposing it. It beggars belief.
Are the Lib Dems Anti-Cycling?
To return to the question in the headline, are the Lib Dems anti-cycling? It ought to be easy to dismiss the idea out of hand, but it isn’t.
Positives
On the positive side, two or three of the local Lib Dems Councillors get around by bike, and have been supportive of active travel in the past.
That’s why it is incomprehensible that they should have got themselves into this pickle over Station Gateway.
Negatives
On the negative side, they are not supporting the most significant active travel project in Harrogate. They make themselves look like people who want a cycle network in theory but not in practice.
They should be judged by their actions, not their words. It’s no use claiming to be in favour of active travel in theory if you don’t support specific schemes in practice.
If you don’t support active travel schemes in practice, you’re not a supporter of active travel, you’re an opponent.
Suggestions
This is what I’d like to see from the Lib Dems.
- Prioritise active travel in Harrogate & Knaresborough over political squabbling
- Support Harrogate Station Gateway
- Councillors to engage with Harrogate Cycle Action on plans for a cycle network
- The Parliamentary candidate to back an ambitious agenda for on-the-ground improvements based on the cycle campaign’s network plans – instead of talking about plans on paper that will never materialise