Harrogate Station Gateway Stripped of Most Worthwhile Elements

Harrogate Station Gateway, originally a hugely positive active travel and public transport project, is to be stripped of most of the worthwhile elements.

If it goes ahead at all, it will involve different paving of the pedestrian areas, and synchronizing the traffic lights to prioritise cars.

There is a possibility that one or two cycling elements could be salvaged from the wreckage, but it is by no means certain.

Report to North Yorkshire Council Executive

A report by the North Yorkshire Council (NYC) Corporate Director will be considered by the NYC Executive on 28th November 2023.

It says that cost estimates have increased considerably since Outline Business Cases were submitted for North Yorkshire’s Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) projects in 2020.

There has been significant inflation, but it is also true that NYC has been chronically unable to proceed with any of its active travel projects in a timely fashion. Delay almost always means cost increases.

Possible Descoped Harrogate Station Gateway

The map above shows the ‘descoped’ project – i.e. what has been stripped out, and what might still be salvaged from the wreckage.

The active travel elements which have been lost include:

• two-way cycle track on Lower Station Parade
• two-way cycle track on Station Parade (possibly replaced by one-way cycle track, according to para. 4.15 of the report)
• Dutch-style roundabout at the Odeon/top of East Parade
• pedestrianisation of the top of James Street

The active travel elements which might be salvaged from the wreckage include:

• a one-way (southbound) cycle track on Station Parade and
• new cycle parking at Harrogate Station

The project would also include different paving on the pedestrian areas (‘prettifying the status quo’) and tidying up One Arch.

Risks

There are risks to developing a revised scheme. These relate to timing and Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR).

It will take 5 months to revise the scheme, including a new public engagement, before being ready to submit a Full Business Case (FBC) and ask for the money. This means a FBC submitted in May 2024 – after the end of March 2024, which means it could be rejected by the DfT. This will depend on the department’s funding settlement from the Treasury for the financial year 2024/25.

The deadline for construction has already been extended from March 2024 to March 2025, but it is unlikely that NYC can finish building by March 2025, and that may not be acceptable to the funders, West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) and DfT.

As for BCR, including cycle infrastructure in the project is key to keeping it sufficiently high so that the scheme represents value for money. The report says:

‘A revised scope scheme would have a negative impact on the BCR, dependent upon the amount of retained cycle infrastructure possible. It is not known if this would be acceptable to DfT in terms of value for money’.

para. 4.19 of the corporate director’s report

The point is made again in para. 5.1 of the report, which says that funders WYCA and DfT have stressed that projects need to represent value for money and be deliverable within the programme’s timescales.

Cost

Because of cost increases, the descoped Harrogate Station Gateway project would still use up all the money available (£10.6 million Transforming Cities Fund money and £550,000 match funding from NYC).

Next Steps

The report recommends that NYC should proceed with three descoped TCF projects (Selby, Skipton and Harrogate).

If the Executive approves the recommendations at the meeting on 28th November 2023, the next steps will be:

• continue to develop the schemes
• make a Change Request to WYCA and the DfT
• hold a public engagement on the revised scheme, and a public consultation on Traffic Regulation Orders
• submit a FBC (May 2024 for Harrogate Station Gateway, but earlier for Selby and Skipton)

Alternative Options

The report sets out alternatives to the central recommendations.

It might be possible to seek funding from another source, for example the Levelling Up Fund or money that comes with the creation of a York & North Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority. It is conceivable that a proper Harrogate Station Gateway could then be funded, not a quarter-arsed one.

Another option would be to deliver only two out of NYC’s three TCF projects. Major regeneration depends on the Selby and Skipton schemes (para. 13.2 of the report) so they are unlikely to be dumped. Since Harrogate Station Gateway has been delayed by litigation and is the least advanced, it is probable that Harrogate would be the one to miss out.

Selby is the costliest of the schemes, at £20 million TCF funding and £8.9 million from NYC. Skipton is £7.6 million from TCF and £200,000 from NYC.