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07
Aug 2024
No public consultation on final plans for £12.1 million Harrogate Station Gateway
Members of the public will not be formally consulted on the final plans for the £12.1 million Harrogate Station Gateway.
North Yorkshire Council scaled back the plans after admitting its previous ones breached public law.
It has released some images and information about the latest proposals, which the Stray Ferret reported previously here, but the full plans remain under wraps.
Although some further details are expected, no public consultation will be held beyond "engagement" with residents living close to the site.
We asked the council if it would hold a public consultation or public meeting on the final plans for the scheme, which is one of three in North Yorkshire funded mainly by the government’s Transforming Cities Fund to boost sustainable transport.
Cllr Keane Duncan, the council’s executive member for highways and transport, replied:
We have already held three rounds of public consultation on the Transforming Cities Fund proposals, with the latest attracting more than 2,000 survey responses and 5,000 individual comments.
This feedback has been used to develop a final scheme that provides benefits for all transport users. The two elements that attracted the most controversy have been removed, meaning two lanes would be retained on Station Parade and there will be no pedestrianisation of James Street.
We are now formally consulting on the traffic regulation orders required to deliver the final proposed scheme. We will also be holding an in-person meeting with local businesses in September and we will engage with residents situated within the proximity of the site area as a programme of works is developed to ensure that disruption is minimised.
The council will provide a gateway update at a members-only meeting of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce and Harrogate Business Improvement District on September 3. No other meetings have been announced.
A council spokesperson said the full detailed designs were “under review” but the “general arrangements will be uploaded to the website when this is complete and prior to September 24”.
They added that the traffic regulation orders, which can be viewed here, were currently subject to consultation and “concept drawings” were available here, here and here.
Information from previous gateway consultations is available here, the spokesperson added.
Use the comment section below to give your views on the gateway scheme.
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