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Aug 2024
£12.1 million Harrogate Station Gateway: latest consultants’ fees revealed
The amount spent by North Yorkshire Council on consultants for the £12.1 million Harrogate Station Gateway has risen to almost £2.4 million.
The Stray Ferret asked the council for updated figures after it released two new visuals of the scheme at the end of last month.
The visuals, produced by the Canadian consultancy firm WSP, cost £3,800 and increase the total sum paid to WSP to £2,373,435.
It means the amount spent on consultants is almost a fifth of the value of the entire project.
The scaled-back scheme will include a short southbound cycle lane on Station Parade, a new bus lane and public realm improvements to the One Arch pedestrian tunnel and Station Square. The taxi rank on Station Parade will be retained.
Work is due to get underway in autumn, but the full plans remain secret and won’t be subject to public consultation.
The Stray Ferret revealed last week the tempietto on Station Square will be demolished to make more space available for public events.
We also asked the council how much seating would remain in Station Square as some people have expressed concern about the impact on the seating area opposite the train station.
A council spokesperson said there would be “37 metres at five different locations”.
Petition launched
The new visuals do not appear to include the current loading bays on Station Parade. A council spokesperson confirmed the loading bays would not be retained but added businesses affected would be able to load and unload on Beulah Street from 7.30am to 9.30am and 4pm to 6pm. The spokesperson added:
The disability spaces previously adjacent to the loading bays will be along the extent of Station Parade, including the surface level car park opposite.
Harrogate resident Rachael Inchboard has started an online petition opposing the gateway. It has so far received 228 signatures. If it achieves its target of 500 it will be debated by the council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee.
Ms Inchboard, who lives in the area affected by the scheme, said on change.org:
The Harrogate gateway project will encroach on many, many people’s lives and livelihoods.
This ugly construction will blight our town, carving a scar though its centre. The latest plans now include the removal of flower beds, grass and the little tempietto, adding to the concrete jungle effect.
North Yorkshire Council seem determined not to listen to the worries of Harrogate’s people, ignoring people’s concerns and opposition.
The Harrogate scheme, along with others in Skipton and Selby, are mainly funded by the government's Transforming Cities Fund at a combined cost of £44.6 million.
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