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05
Mar
MP and councillor reveal whether they support Harrogate Station Gateway
The MP and the local councillor for the area of Harrogate that could be transformed by the £12.1 million Station Gateway have given their views on the controversial project.
The council is expected to begin work within weeks on a major redevelopment of Station Parade.
It will see a bus lane and a cycle lane created, major refurbishment of Station Square and the One Arch pedestrian tunnel and traffic light improvements.
Councillor Keane Duncan, the executive member for highways and transport at Conservative-controlled North Yorkshire Council, has hailed the gateway as the biggest investment in Harrogate town centre for 30 years.
But the anti-gateway business group Get Away has said the initiative will harm the town centre and has launched a legal challenge in the High Court of Justice to halt work.
With work due to begin in spring, and the legal row unfolding, the Stray Ferret contacted the politicians whose boundaries cover Station Parade — Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough and Cllr Sam Gibbs, a member of the Conservative and Independents Group who represents Valley Gardens and Central Harrogate on the council.
Both men appeared to back to the scheme — but Mr Gordon was more guarded in his support.
He said:
Investing in our town is important, and it would be disappointing to lose out on this money. The suggestions for One Arch and traffic light flow will benefit pedestrians and cars respectively, and to lose that due to legal challenges would be very disappointing.
We need to see a proper integrated transport plan for our town, that looks at all of Harrogate, rather than simply coming up with ideas when pots of money come up. A plan for the whole town would allow us to bid for specific parts, and gradually improve transport in the town, to tackle congestion in the longer term.
'Fully supportive'
Cllr Gibbs asked fellow Conservative Cllr Duncan what impact the legal wrangling will have on the scheme at last week’s full council meeting in Northallerton.
Following the meeting, we asked Cllr Gibbs for his view on the scheme. He said:
I’m fully supportive of the revised scheme especially as it has removed the controversial aspects such as the pedestrianisation of James Street and reducing traffic from two lanes to one.
The scheme will help tidy up areas of the town centre and see much needed signal improvements to optimise traffic flow.
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