In this article, which is part of a series on the 12 stories in the Harrogate district that shaped 2023, we look at the ongoing wrangling over the Harrogate Station Gateway.

It’s been hailed as the biggest investment in Harrogate town centre since the 1990s. But will the £12.1 million Harrogate Station Gateway ever happen?

Almost two years since work was supposed to have started, Station Parade hasn’t been dug up, no cycling or bus lanes have been installed and the little temple still stands on Station Square.

But it has been a feverish year of wrangling behind the scenes involving legal challenges, redrawn plans and at times bitter recrimination.

North Yorkshire Council, which once insisted the government would withdraw funding from its Transforming Cities Fund if shovels didn’t hit the ground in 2023, now plans to start work in spring 2025.

But what was proposed in July this year was considerably different to the scheme that was originally conceived.

The latest plans

The council published revised plans in summer after admitting its initial plans, which included pedestrianising part of James Street and reducing Station Parade to single lane traffic, breached public law.

The new plans include short bus and cycle lanes on Station Parade and public realm improvements to Station Square and the One Arch pedestrian tunnel. Later in the year the council also acquired £500,000 from Labour mayor David Skaith to link traffic light upgrades on the A61 to the scheme.

The council's gateway language has evolved from 'active travel' to 'sustainable transport' as the emphasis of the scheme has moved away from cycling and walking to better flowing vehicles.

Councillor Keane Duncan, the council’s Conservative transport chief, says it has listened and compromised, and the latest plans represent the biggest town centre investment for 30 years.

Opponents remain steadfast in their bid to prevent it from happening, and claim plans to create a “daft” 36-metre long bus lane encapsulate the folly. 

Businesses form coalition

The council ploughed on, publishing Traffic Regulation Orders to pave the way for the scheme and granting itself planning permission to chop down three trees on Station Square in a timeframe most members of the public could only dream of.

Its decision not to hold a public consultation on its latest plans incensed opponents. It also chose not to hold a public inquiry on the Traffic Regulation Orders, even though it admitted its decision not to do so last time led to the legal challenge from Harrogate property firm Hornbeam Park Developments.

On that occasion, the council backed down, saying: “Due to the necessity of having a public inquiry before confirming the relevant traffic regulation order, it was considered prudent to accept this ground of challenge.”

This time, the council acknowledged in a report its proposals were hugely controversial, had attracted widespread opposition and would have a significant social and economic impact, but concluded it “would not be proportionate or appropriate” to hold a public Inquiry this time.

It also warned a public inquiry would mean extra costs and delays which “could impact on the council’s ability to progress the project”.

That decision appears unlikely to go uncontested. A business coalition called Get Away was formed this year to oppose the latest plans. Led by Steven Baines, who explained his concerns in this article, it is threatening to mount another legal challenge in 2025.

Speaking this month, Mr Baines said:

Contractor issues

It also emerged this year that the council is thinking of replacing British construction firm Galliford Try, which it employed to draw-up the gateway designs, with its in-house firm NY Highways for the construction phase.

This raised eyebrows, not least because Galliford Try has 3,300 staff and undertaken projects such as the £350 million Queensferry Crossing in Scotland while NY Highways employs 250 staff who are more used to filling in potholes.

The news that the council was thinking of giving itself the job, as it has done for a similar government-funded gateway scheme in Skipton, also raised concerns about the impact on council taxpayers if costs began to rise. 

Cllr Duncan insisted it was all a matter of achieving "best value for taxpayers", explaining: "If we can use NY Highways to do the works and give better value than using Galliford Try that’s why we would do that."

A contractor is due to be appointed early in 2025, before work begns in spring. But what are the odds on work finally getting underway in 2025?