Council bosses in North Yorkshire and Harrogate are set to press ahead with designs for James Street and Station Parade as part of the £7.9 million Station Gateway scheme.
The project, which is being led by North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority, was consulted on back in March over plans to pedestrianise James Street and reduce Station Parade to one lane.
A report will go before the county council’s executive next week which will recommend progressing to a detailed design stage with further consultation.
Of the 1,101 who responded to the survey, 45% supported the full pedestrianisation of James Street and 49% favoured the Station Parade one-lane proposal.
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However, 17% said they favoured a part-pedestrianisation of James Street and 27% backed two lanes for Station Parade.
Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive county councillor for access, said:
“We are grateful to everyone across each of the towns who took the time to share their views in the consultation. We have listened. The next steps we are considering take into account the feedback we have received.
“They take account of concerns raised while providing significant benefits to facilitate and encourage people to cycle and walk. There will, of course, be further consultation on detailed proposals before final decisions are taken.”
The main concerns raised during the consultation were the potential impact of increased congestion and the potential impact on businesses of reduced parking.
The county council said any pedestrianisation or part-pedestrianisation of James Street would result in loss of town centre parking.
How Station Parade might look under the new “station gateway” proposals.
It estimates that this would be no more than 45 out of 915 on-street pay and display spaces in the town centre. Currently, at peak occupancy, it is estimated there are 120 on-street spaces unused.
The pedestrianisation of James Street would also require a Traffic Regulation Order, meaning further consultation would be required.
Cllr Phil Ireland, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability, said:
“I’d like to thank those who have taken the time to complete the TCF consultation and shared their views on the Harrogate proposals.
“It’s positive to see that the proposals for sustainable alternatives to the car, and an improved and exciting public realm, have significant support from residents, businesses and visitors alike.
“The benefit of carrying out a consultation early on in the process is that we have everybody’s feedback and ideas to feed in to the next phase of detailed design work. We can now collectively work together, review the feedback, explore our options and design a 21st century travel network that supports economic growth for the region and something people can be proud.”
Further public consultation will take place in the autumn to inform proposals for implementation.
Following the development of detailed designs, a final business case will be prepared, including the outcome of further consultation, before approval is sought to implement the finalised designs.
Funding for the project comes as part of the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund and the schemes must be complete by March 2023.
