Councillors express frustration at being left out of key Harrogate Station Gateway meeting

Harrogate and Knaresborough councillors met last Thursday at the Civic Centre in Harrogate where North Yorkshire Council’s head of major projects and infrastructure, Richard Binks, responded to a 2000-strong petition from residents who oppose the scheme.

During his response, Mr Binks revealed that a group of ten officials from the Department for Transport and West Yorkshire Combined Authority had visited Harrogate the day prior to walk the affected roads in the town centre and discuss the project.

Mr Binks described the meeting as a “real deep dive” into the scheme and said it was the first time that officials from government had visited Harrogate since it was first mooted several years ago.

He said: “It was a very fruitful day and was the first time they’d visited the site in person.

"They were really taken with what they saw – they think the scheme is fantastic and showed a huge amount of support for the project.”

However, the news appeared to come as a surprise to councillors who queried why no elected member was invited or informed it was taking place.

Liberal Democrat councillor for High Harrogate and Kingsley Chris Aldred said: “I am disappointed to hear there was a meeting yet councillors here knew nothing about it when we passed a resolution on May 5 saying we wanted to be involved.

"I would have thought at the very least an email could have been sent to say that a meeting was taking place.”

Liberal Democrat councillor Pat Marsh, who previously called the Station Gateway “the wrong scheme” for Harrogate, said: “There was a site visit and not one local member was invited.

"Surely we, who represent the people of Harrogate and Knaresborough, should be more involved in this more than we have ever been.

"We’ve never been actually involved and we know our place much better [than councillors outside of the area].

“I feel very angry that we the elected representatives have missed out on this in a huge way.”

Conservative councillor for Valley Gardens and Central Harrogate, Sam Gibbs, told Councillor Marsh that she has been invited to a site visit on the Gateway later in June.

During the meeting, Councillor Aldred proposed a motion to ensure councillors receive a full schedule of consultation meetings and that members are also invited to these meetings.

He also asked for a politically proportionate working group to be set up to produce a report on the Gateway ahead of the next meeting of local councillors on September 14.

The motion passed by eight votes to four.