The Liberal Democrat candidate to be York and North Yorkshire’s first directly elected mayor has pledged to support a station at Flaxby Park, if elected.
Felicity Cunliffe-Lister announced the policy as part of her manifesto launch.
The announcement also included pledges to campaign for better services on the Harrogate to York line, a single ticket integrated bus services and converting empty premises above shops into flats.
The Lib Dem candidate’s support for Flaxby Parkway has its roots in a long running saga over the need for a station in the area, which developers Flaxby Park Ltd promised in 2018.
The topic was at the centre of a debate for a new 3,000 home settlement in the Harrogate district, which was subject of a High Court appeal in 2020. The former Harrogate Borough Council later settled instead on an area in Hammerton and Cattal, which will be called Maltkiln.
In her manifesto pledge, Ms Cunliffe-Lister said:
“We need a faster and more reliable service across the north, this is key to delivering economic growth in the region, and I will lobby hard for this.
“Within the region, I will support Flaxby Parkway station and park and ride, the addition of a second platform at Malton, improvement of access at Thirsk and explore the viability of increasing the service on the York to Harrogate line.”
Meanwhile, Ms Cunliffe-Lister added she would invest in the green energy and bioeconomy sectors to generate growth and to create a catchment wide natural flood management scheme for the Nidd, Ure and Swale rivers.
She also pledged to create flats in empty premises above shops in market towns and to control second home and holiday let ownership with regulation and licensing schemes.
She said:
“Having lived and raised a family in North Yorkshire and run a successful business there for 24 years, many of my policies are based on my experience and legal background.
“I have also taken specialist advice on some of the more thorny issues, to help establish what the most effective solutions are to the issues we face, that will also deliver the best value for money.”
Voters across North Yorkshire will go to the polls on May 2 to elect the first ever mayor of York and North Yorkshire.
The deadline to register to vote is midnight on April 16.
Who is standing for mayor?
Pateley Bridge man and former police officer Keith Tordoff will stand as an independent.
The Green Party has chosen councillor and former soldier Kevin Foster as its candidate.
The Conservative Party has picked Malton councillor and ex-journalist Keane Duncan, who is currently in charge of transport at North Yorkshire Council.
Labour has chosen local business owner and chair of the York High Street Forum David Skaith.
Harrogate resident and North Yorkshire councillor, Paul Haslam, will stand as an independent candidate after resigning from the Conservative Party.
Read more:
- York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority launches
- What will the new combined authority mean for Harrogate?
- North Yorkshire mayor to be paid £81,300
