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24
Aug 2023
Council concedes it should have held public inquiry into Harrogate Station Gateway
North Yorkshire Council has conceded it should have held a public inquiry into the £11.2 million Harrogate Station Gateway.
The council halted the scheme last week immediately after lawyers acting on behalf of local property firm Hornbeam Park Developments launched a judicial review.
Lawyers claimed there were six grounds for challenging the council's decision.
Among them was the council's failure to hold a public inquiry before issuing traffic regulation orders for measures such as partly pedestrianising James Street and reducing traffic on a 300-metre stretch of Station Parade to single lane.
A decision notice published on the council website this week confirmed it had "quashed" its May decision to proceed with the gateway. It said:
It added the decision would "avoid any further exposure to costs and time delays".
'Dead scheme'
A report setting out what happens next is due to go to the conservative-controlled council's ruling executive on September 19. However, Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has called the gateway a "dead scheme".
The legal challenge by planning lawyers Walton & Co also claims the council did not disclose a climate change appraisal that said said drivers would be forced to take longer alternative routes as a result of the road changes and overall “user emissions are anticipated to increase as a result of the scheme".
A spokesperson for Walton & Co said:
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