A 90-minute business meeting on Tuesday this week provided the first significant update on the £12.1 million Harrogate Station Gateway scheme for months.

Five senior officers at North Yorkshire Council, which is leading on the project, and Cllr Keane Duncan, the Conservative politician with oversight of it, gave a 30-minute presentation then answered questions for about an hour.

Cllr Duncan described the scheme, which includes creating a cycle lane on Station Parade, a bus lane on Lower Station Parade, a major overhaul of Station Square and upgrades to the One Arch pedestrian tunnel, as “great and much needed”, adding it would be the first investment in Harrogate for 30 years.

The Stray Ferret attended the meeting and published a live blog, which you can catch up on here. Here is a more detailed look at some of the main talking points that emerged.

1 Work won’t start until April

The council previously indicated work would get underway this autumn, but the date has been pushed back to April next year. The Stray Ferret understands any further delay could jeopardise the funding secured from the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund. The plans still need finalising, a contractor selected and approval to proceed granted by the DfT and West Yorkshire Combined Authority. Work is expected to last at least a year but not completion date was given.

2 Lower Station Parade businesses could be worst affected

Business on Lower Station Parade, where a bus lane is being built, were particularly opposed to the scheme at Tuesday’s meeting. Matt Roberts, economic and regeneration project manager at the council, said 25 pay and display parking bays will be lost overall as part of the scheme, which represents 0.3% of parking spaces in the town centre, excluding Asda and Waitrose. But businesses said the changes will result in the loss of 26 spaces on Lower Station Parade, with just three remaining, which will deter customers and make loading difficult. Steven Baines, who owns properties on Lower Station Parade, said: "The whole scheme for Lower Station Parade is badly thought out and will be detrimental to a lot of businesses."

3 Station Square is set for a radical overhaul

Station Square, between the Victoria Shopping Centre and Station Parade, will look totally different. A council slide said: “We will be removing three and planting six new trees of varied species and introducing 500 plants that will embrace year-round colour in two large raised planters, two large planting beds and one very long rain garden that will border the square.” The trees will be felled to enable underground cables to be fitted. The tempietto will be destroyed, but the Victoria monument retained, and the area redesigned with underground cables and sockets to facilitate markets and even ice rinks. Mr Roberts said high quality materials, in keeping with Harrogate’s heritage, would be used. The square will have enough seating for 70 people.

4 There will be lots of new lighting

The extent of the new lighting took many people by surprise. One Arch pedestrian tunnel will be brightened and undergo drainage improvements. Gobo lighting, which enables images to be projected, will feature on Station Square. Mr Roberts said “a lot of the budget” is going on lighting.

5 Station Parade will remain open throughout.

Businesses are understandably nervous about the impact of roadworks lasting more than a year on town centre trade. Council officers pledged to close one lane of Station Parade at a time and to have “gangs working as quickly as possible”.

6 Cars will be able to unload on Beulah Street and on double yellow lines

Sophie Hartley, owner of Beulah Street boutique Sophie Likes, raised concerns about the loss of loading bays on Station Parade. Mr Roberts said businesses would still be able to load and unload on double yellow lines on Station Parade as well as on Beulah Street when the bollards are put down at the start and end of each day.

7 Information unit in town

The council said it was looking into commandeering a town centre unit and turning it into a gateway information hub throughout the construction phase. The unit would provide information on the project as well as updates, as council officers admitted they needed to do a better job communicating on the gateway.

8 Pocket planning

Many businesses at the meeting were keen to stress they accepted the need to improve the area near the train and bus stations, which was described as “tired and dated” — but they didn’t think the gateway was the answer. Harrogate Business Improvement District director and property owner Russell Davidson received applause when he asked why the gateway wasn’t part of a wider plan to improve Harrogate. He said Station Parade and Oxford Street "blight this beautiful town" and "we need a bit more imagination". Councillors, however, highlighted the government’s gateway funding was ringfenced for specific purposes and not delivering the scheme could affect future funding bids.

9 Nobody seems very keen on the cycle lane

Cyclists previously criticised the scheme by saying it has only marginal benefits and questioned the merits of creating a cycle lane that appears to start and end at random points and isn’t connected to a wider network. Chamber member Beryl Dunsby has also questioned whether having a cycle lane outside the entrance to the bus and train stations is dangerous. Nobody at Tuesday’s meeting spoke enthusiastically about the forthcoming one-way cycle lane.

10 The council could appoint its own contractors

The council is thinking of invoking a break clause on its contract with Galliford Try, a large national construction firm, and hiring its own roads maintenance firm NY Highways to undertake what would be its biggest project ever. Concerns about this were reported here by the Stray Ferret.

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