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11
Sept
New traffic orders raise fresh parking concerns about £14.6 million Harrogate Station Gateway
New plans for the £14.6 million Harrogate Station Gateway scheme would massively reduce parking on Station Parade and leave takeaway customers for five local restaurants with nowhere to park, campaigners have claimed.
North Yorkshire Council published a fresh batch of Traffic Regulation Orders for the controversial scheme at the end of August.
The anti-gateway group Get Away said today (September 11) the TROs would reduce parking on the north of Station Parade by 87% and potentially cost the town up to 2,000 visitors every week.
It also claimed the TROs would cut loading bays by 75%, leaving just one bay to serve more than 30 businesses along Station Parade, creating “a logistical nightmare”.
Harrogate businessman and Get Away spokesperson Steven Baines said:
Harrogate traders are outraged, and who can blame them. Between the drastic parking cuts and two years of disruptive construction, it’s clear that footfall will take a serious hit — and so too will businesses in the area.
What’s especially worrying is that we are yet to see an economic impact report, meaning the council, the community and those who stand to be hurt the most are still in the dark about the full extent of the damage this project could cause.
Local traders have made their position on this scheme abundantly clear, yet the council seems determined to press ahead. If this goes unchecked, it could hollow out the heart of Harrogate, putting livelihoods and the local economy at serious risk.
The latest TROs.
One of the notices advertising the TROs.
Get Away urged Harrogate residents and businesses to object to the TRO before the deadline on September 19.
It has also launched a new online survey to capture local traders’ views on the gateway.
Council victory
North Yorkshire Council has hailed the gateway, which would see major changes to Station Parade and Station Square, as the biggest investment in Harrogate town centre for 30 years.
It won a judicial review against Get Away’s attempt to halt the scheme. However, Get Away said this week it had instigated an appeal against the decision.
A final report on the gateway is due to go before the council’s ruling Conservative executive next month.
Cllr Malcolm Taylor, executive councillor for highways at the authority, hailed the High Court ruling at the time as a “clear and unequivocal ruling in favour of the council”.
He added:
This decision not only vindicates the thorough and transparent process we followed, but also allows us to move forward with confidence.
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