Transport boss grilled by businesses over Harrogate Station Gateway scheme

Councillor Keane Duncan gave a wide-ranging presentation to members of the Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce at the Harrogate Convention Centre.

The Conservative member for Norton spoke about the challenges facing bus services in North Yorkshire, cycle lanes in Harrogate, car parking, a potential park-and-ride scheme and how the new council will work.

But it was the future of the £11.2m Station Gateway project that stirred the emotions of business owners in the room.

The project was first announced several years ago with an aim of improving the appearance of the town centre and making walking and cycling more accessible.

However, some business owners have voiced objections as they believe reducing Station Parade to one lane and part-pedestrianising James Street will damage footfall and hurt trade.

A third round of public consultation was published by the county council in January where opinion was almost split — 46 per cent against and 45% per cent for.

Francine Holroyd, who said she was a property landlord in Harrogate, received a round of applause after she accused Councillor Duncan of not listening to the concerns of businesses regarding the gateway.

She said: “It’s totally shocking that councillors like you are riding roughshod over businesses and residents.

"You’ve not taken any of our points on board and you’ve come up with a scheme that’s totally unfit for purpose.

"If the Harrogate gateway project was so fabulous, none of us would be here objecting to it today.

"Pedestrianising and removing traffic lanes is not the answer.”

Other people who spoke out included Ben Murray who told Councillor Duncan that the scheme was “bad for business and bad for everybody”.

Barry Adams asked what will happen if the project is unsuccessful and he compared it to the troubled Otley Road cycle path that has seen its second phase scrapped.

During his presentation, Councillor Duncan said the council had made changes to the scheme since the first round of public consultation, such as removing a proposed full pedestrianisation of James Street after concerns were raised.

He told Ms Holroyd: “I’m not dictating anything to anybody.

"The key message I’ve got to put out there is I inherited this project and it’s fallen to me after many years of work to bring this to a decision point.

“I believe the scheme is a positive for Harrogate on balance.

"In terms of supporting local businesses, making sure the town centre is acessible for all and making sure that people want to spend more time and money here.

"They are all positives of the Station Gateway.”

Councillor Duncan also suggested the scheme has more people in favour than what is sometimes perceived.

He added: “I think there is more support for this scheme than those who shout the loudest would have us believe.”

As Councillor Duncan spoke on Monday evening, there were four Liberal Democrat councillors and two Conservative councillors watching on.

They are all members of the Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee and Councillor Duncan said he will be guided by the views of the Lib Dem-led committee when it considers the plans on May 5.

A final decision on whether the Station Gateway scheme goes ahead will be made in the summer by North Yorkshire Council.

If it’s a yes, then a full business case will be submitted to West Yorkshire Combined Authority before construction starts at the end of this year.

Building work is set to take 12 months and Councillor Duncan warned that there will be disruption in Harrogate while this takes place.