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29
Jan
New legal challenge launched to stop £12.1 million Harrogate Station Gateway
A Harrogate business owner has instructed lawyers to challenge North Yorkshire Council in the High Court over the £12.1 million Harrogate Station Gateway scheme.
Property owner Steven Baines, who also leads the Get Away campaign group that opposes the current gateway plans, is behind the move.
The Get Away group has told the council its alleged failure to consider the wider impacts of the proposal and to consult fully with the public have rendered its Traffic Regulation Orders illegal.
The businesses, which include freeholders, tenants and high street retailers, are also starting a multi-media campaign to mobilise traders to speak up against the plans and are writing to the Department for Transport to escalate their concerns.
Get Away is also organising a survey to gather insight from the Harrogate and wider business community about their feelings towards the gateway scheme.
Mr Baines said:
North Yorkshire Council may have shied away from consulting with local businesses so we are facilitating our own consultation to give us a voice.
As the UK economy continues to worry the business community, the extra financial pressure from the disruption this scheme will cause could be the final straw for many Harrogate traders. North Yorkshire Council should scrap this project to allow our business community the best possible operating environment to provide much-needed goods and services to the people of Harrogate and further afield now and in the future.
Where is the over-arching business support for this scheme? Where is the economic impact assessment which shows the benefits this will bring for our businesses and where is the open dialogue with traders? The answer is nowhere.
Barry Adams, a business professional, said there was a growing feeling the council just wanted to push the scheme through without fully considering the best interests of businesses.
He said:
The engagement has been poor to say the least, Traffic Regulation Orders were inconsistently displayed and missing key information and the plans were not made available as they should have been in the local library and online.
We are all for investment in the town but it must be the right investment which makes a positive impact for Harrogate, creates growth and helps local businesses thrive. Clearly this proposal does the very opposite which is why we want nothing to do with it and call on the council to Get Away from gateway.
The gateway aims to improve access to Harrogate’s rail and bus stations and improve public spaces in the town centre.
The project has already been scaled back after tje council admitted its previous plans breached public law after local property firm Hornbeam Park Developments launched a challenge.
The council faces a deadline of March 2025 to allocate the funds.
Karl Battersby, the council’s corporate director of environment, said:
We have received a pre-action protocol letter in respect of the Harrogate Transforming Cities Fund Traffic Regulation Orders approval decision in December. We will provide the necessary information and respond to the claims made in the letter.
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