Liberal Democrats councillors have called on North Yorkshire Council’s Conservative transport leader Keane Duncan to resign after the council pressed pause on the £11.2m Harrogate Station Gateway project.
Last week, the council said it had “rescinded the decision to proceed” with the controversial active travel proposals, which have been years in the works, due to a legal challenge.
In a statement, the council said it would not be proceeding at the moment to avoid “further costs and delays” after a judicial review was launched by Hornbeam Park Developments over the way the council consulted residents and businesses about the scheme.
The company, owned by businessman Chris Bentley, is a major commercial landlord in Harrogate and owns properties on James Street, which would be part-pedestrianised under the proposals.
The future of the Station Gateway is now in doubt with Harrogate and Knaresborough’s Conservative MP Andrew Jones describing it as a “timed-out dead scheme”.
The traffic order for James Street to be part-pedestrianised.
In an email to Cllr Duncan that has been shared with the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the Lib Dems said he should now resign from the council’s Tory-run executive after “failing to deliver” for Harrogate.
Cllr Duncan has been selected by the Conservatives as its candidate for the York and North Yorkshire mayoral election next year.
The letter says:
“At an executive meeting in July, you reaffirmed the commitment of yourself and your colleagues to the gateway project. You confirmed your ‘focus was delivering this landmark £11million investment into Harrogate.’
“You have failed to do so. Harrogate deserves better from the lead member for highways and transportation. You had the opportunity to develop and deliver a bold and innovative comprehensive integrated transport plan for Harrogate but you have failed.
“There is a very real concern that as a result of your mismanagement the potential investment will be lost.
“Harrogate needs meaningful improvements that will boost travel opportunities for local residents, business and visitors. This cannot happen without well managed and significant investment. It seems you are not capable of delivering this.”
The Lib Dems initially backed the scheme at a meeting in May, before withdrawing their support just a month later.
Read more:
- £11.2m Harrogate Station Gateway halted after legal challenge
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‘Petty point scoring’
In response to their email, Cllr Duncan accused the party of playing political games.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:
Harrogate road to be closed until November“I have been consistent throughout that I would take the gateway project forward only if a majority of local councillors supported it.
“The Liberal Democrats’ decision to vote in support the gateway then withdraw their backing just weeks later can represent nothing other than blatant political game playing.
“Their failure to stick by their own decision undermines not only this much-needed £11m investment but future investment too. Such weak and inconsistent leadership lets down the people of Harrogate.
“As the Liberal Democrats play games with the gateway, I remain focussed on working towards solutions and securing investment for Harrogate. If the Liberal Democrats wish to join me in that then I will welcome them, but the evidence so far shows that they are more interested in petty point scoring.”
The closure of a busy road in Harrogate is to continue until November.
A section of road where Kingsley Road meets Bogs Lane has already been closed for five months to enable Redrow to carry out work at its 133-home Kingsley Manor development.
The closure, which prevents traffic using Kingsley Road and Bogs Lane as thoroughfares, has divided opinion.
It has also heightened fears about emergency vehicle response times as the route can be used as an alternative when Starbeck level crossing barriers are down.
North Yorkshire County Council issued a temporary prohibition of traffic order that came into effect on November 7 last year.
The order was for 12 months but at the time David Faraday, technical director for Redrow (Yorkshire), said “we don’t anticipate the works will take the full six months to complete”.
But signs have now appeared saying the closure will be active until November.
Kingsley Road, shortly before the road closure.
Mr Faraday said today:
“Unfortunately due to reasons beyond our control, essential works at the entrance to our Kingsley Manor development have been delayed. We informed the local authority of this and in January they granted permission for road closures to be extended until November 2023 in the interest of safety.
“We are pushing to complete the works, which include bringing new high voltage electricity cables to the site as quickly as possible so that the roads can be reopened. We would like to thank residents for their patience and understanding while the works are being undertaken.”
Knaresborough Road ‘saturated’
Local resident Clare Ayres said she was disappointed and wanted the road to re-open as soon as possible because it would ease “the saturation of traffic on Knaresborough Road” and surrounding routes.
Ms Ayres added:
“It won’t be long before they start building on the land on Kingsley Drive, which will mean more lorries and congestion. I’m also concerned about access for emergency vehicles.”
Cllr Chris Aldred, a Liberal Democrat who represents High Harrogate and Kingsley on North Yorkshire Council, said there was no obligation on Redrow to consult on the matter as the traffic order applied for 12 months.
He also said the developer had been obliging by maintaining a footway for pedestrians and cyclists, who would have otherwise faced a 1.4-mile diversion.
Cllr Aldred also said he supported moves to permanently close the road at the bridge where Kingsley Road and Bogs Lane meet. He said:
“It would stop the notorious Kingsley rat run, once and for all, so a further six months actually allows time to continue this experiment whilst the works continue.”
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