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06
Feb
Major new backer to fight 'dictatorial' council over Harrogate Station Gateway scheme
One of Harrogate’s most prominent commercial property landlords has gone public in support of Get Away, the campaign group opposed to the proposed £12.1 million Harrogate Station Gateway scheme.
Chris Bentley, who owns Hornbeam Park and various buildings around the town centre, said he could no longer “observe from afar”, and accused North Yorkshire Council of being “dictatorial” and “dangerous to our town”.
Last month, property owner Steven Baines, who leads Get Away, instructed lawyers to challenge North Yorkshire Council in the High Court over the gateway scheme.
Mr Bentley, who was awarded an MBE in 2020 for services to business and culture, has said he will back the campaign with “resources and lobbying support”.
The gateway aims to improve access to Harrogate’s rail and bus stations and enhance public spaces in the town centre.
In its original incarnation, it entailed the pedestrianisation of James Street and reducing traffic on Station Parade to a single lane, but the council dropped these plans when they were challenged by Hornbeam Park. The local authority admitted it had breached public law.
The current plans include short bus and cycle lanes on Station Parade and public realm improvements to Station Square and the One Arch pedestrian tunnel near the bus station.
But Get Away, whose members include property owners, tenants and high-street retailers, says the scheme “threatens to derail local trade, jeopardise livelihoods and hurt our town’s economy”.
Mr Bentley said many traders were currently making so little money that he has had to reduce rents by up to 30% for some of his tenants so that their business could remain viable.
He wrote:
My commercial interests and my home are here, and I genuinely want to ensure that Harrogate builds upon its economic platform.
The more I have looked into the station gateway proposals which I have observed until recently from afar, the more concern I have.
The difficult trading conditions in Harrogate would be exacerbated if your proposals go ahead simultaneously over such challenging times.
Having scrutinised the limited information available, it is clear that this has not been well thought through, with little consideration for traders and equally important, blatant safety concerns.
He said traders’ concerns about the gateway development include:
- A reduction of car-parking spaces on lower Station Parade from 23 to three;
- Requiring the taxi company on Lower Station Parade to pick up and drop off on the north side of the road, which would see sliding taxi doors used by those in wheelchairs, opening into the middle of the road;
- Two years of disruption to the busiest A road in North Yorkshire, which runs directly through the middle of Harrogate;
- Question marks over whether North Yorkshire Council has the necessary skills to carry out this work in a conservation area;
- Whether a necessary competitive tender took place and whether rate-payers would pick up the costs of any overspending.
Mr Bentley was also highly critical of the consultation process and what he said was the failure to provide vital information, including clear designs of how the Gateway will look, how it is procured, and how it is of benefit to Harrogate and its businesses.
He added:
Such a dictatorial approach is dangerous to our town, and I'm sure that the Department of Transport and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority will be very concerned by the lack of transparency here.
We are also informed that 50% of local people are in favour of these proposals, hardly a decisive number, and even then, the figures have been massaged.
In view of the above, it is my intention to support Steve Baines and the Get Away group in fighting these proposals, which I understand are very advanced. A legal challenge has already been forwarded by way of a pre-action protocol letter.
Such support from me will mean that I will assist their actions with resource, lobbying support from the business community and help them in getting the right solution for our town.
Mr Bentley's intervention comes just days after one of the scheme's chief supporters, Keane Duncan, who is North Yorkshire Council's executive member for highways, branded Mr Baines' legal challenge as "weak" and said it contained claims that were "spurious at best".
Cllr Duncan has said the council has listened to gateway concerns and compromised, and the latest plans represent the biggest town centre investment for 30 years.
Mr Baines said he was delighted that Mr Bentley was lending his support to the Get Away campaign.
Mr Baines said:
Having Chris’ backing not only raises the profile of the campaign but highlights just how bad the gateway development is for the business community of Harrogate.
He fully understands the precarious financial position that many businesses face and the potential of this project to do enormous damage.
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