Controversial £11.2m plan to rejuvenate North Yorkshire’s largest town centre pushed forward

North Yorkshire Council’s executive approved submitting a business case to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority for a share of the £317m of Government funding it had secured for the Harrogate Gateway scheme to reshape areas around James Street and Station Parade.

Councillor Keane Duncan, the authority’s highways and transport executive member, told the meeting the scheme represented a “landmark investment”.

The meeting heard the scheme had reached detailed design stage to reallocate road space on Station Parade, including the northern end made one-way southbound, to provide space for a two-way segregated cycle route and bus lane to facilitate quicker entry into the bus station.

It would also see pedestrianisation to the eastern section of James Street in line with Cambridge Street, roundabout alterations to Improve cycle connectivity to the east and East Parade and North Park Road, public realm transformation of Station Square and an improved public area near One Arch.

Coun Duncan said Harrogate Gateway also aimed to connect people to economic and education opportunities and increase access to affordable transport.

The meeting heard the scheme had been under consideration since 2015 and that misinformation, hyperbole and polarised, passionate views had been expressed for and against it.

Members were told last week had seen a 2,00-signature petition opposing the Harrogate Gateway proposals.

Coun Duncan said there was cross-party support for the scheme among the Harrogate elected members and, if approved, work was scheduled to start next winter.

However, the meeting heard Tory councillor Nick Brown claim the proposal would damage the town’s retail sector, a large majority of which had consistently opposed the scheme, saying pedestrianisation would curtail their turnover.

He said 12 months of works to implement the changes and fewer car parking spaces would drive away shoppers.

Councillor Pat Marsh urged the executive to abandon the proposed scheme, saying it “starts nowhere, goes nowhere, doesn’t deliver for cyclists and would have a massive impact on Harrogate town centre”, while restricting traffic to one lane would increase pollution.

She said the scheme would fail to encourage people to use alternative forms of travel to their cars and to consider a scheme based on East Parade, which would benefit cyclists, instead.

Coun Marsh told the executive: “Nobody’s going to use this route in the way you would like it to be used.”

Nevertheless, fellow Liberal Democrat Chris Aldred said Coun Marsh’s pollution claims did not bear up and there would be minimal impact on motorists – one extra minute in peak time.

He said concerns raised over the loss of car parking spaces in the scheme were also off target as only 40 out of 6,789 spaces in the town centre would be lost.

The meeting heard the council was working with national active travel officials to see how the gateway scheme could act as a catalyst for further investment and how it could be connected into the wider town centre.

Coun Duncan said the East Parade option had not been chosen due to the road’s restricted width, would not meet Government standards and impact on traffic flows.

He told Coun Marsh that her condemnation of the scheme as “a vanity project” was an insult to the project team, the executive and even her own Liberal Democrat Party colleagues who supported the proposed scheme.