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23
May 2023
Harrogate Station Gateway: new report reveals financial risks
The £11.2 million Harrogate Station Gateway is set to move another step closer next week — but a new report lays bare the financial risks of the scheme.
North Yorkshire Council will meet on Tuesday to discuss whether to submit a full business case to West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
Karl Battersby, corporate director of environment at North Yorkshire Council, has recommended councillors agree to do so.
If they back his recommendation, a 300-metre stretch of Station Parade will be reduced to single lane traffic and James Street partly pedestrianised to encourage cycling and walking.
Station Square would undergo a major overhaul, with the 'little temple' outside Victoria Shopping Centre destroyed.
Station Square
Mr Battersby's report to the council's executive says the gateway would arrest town centre decline by increasing footfall, even though many businesses remain opposed.
There are also concerns about other aspects of the scheme, including congestion and parking, and some 2,000 people have signed an online petition opposing it.
Mr Battersby, however, suggests the gateway could be the start of a wider town centre redevelopment. His report says the project will "provide a central active travel ‘hub’ from which ‘spokes’ of further improvements can radiate".
It adds:
The key changes
Mr Battersby's report to councillors outlines the main changes. They are:
Work is due to start in winter and the report acknowledges the scheme "could impact congestion in the short term before people switch to active and sustainable forms of transport".Businesses fear it could affect Christmas trade but the council is under pressure to spend most funding in the current financial year to comply with the terms of the scheme, which is one of three funded by West Yorkshire Combined Authority using Department for Transport funds.
Funding deadline 'a significant risk'
Mr Battersby's report warns that if the final cost exceeds budget, savings would be made by either reviewing the materials or "descoping" the project. It says:
Cllr Keane Duncan in Harrogate
Cllr Keane Duncan, the council’s executive member for highways and transport, said in a statement:
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