The saga over Harrogate’s Station Gateway took another turn this week when council officers revealed they were set to press ahead with the £10.9 million project.
North Yorkshire County Council, which is expected to vote to continue with the scheme on Tuesday, included an economic case for the scheme in documents sent to councillors ahead of Tuesday’s crunch vote.
The report says the initiative represents the “biggest investment in decades” in the town, will save shops from decline and make the town centre more attractive.
It was published without fanfare after the second round of consultation had finished, prompting business groups in Harrogate to criticise the county council for a lack of consultation. Business groups have long called for an economic impact assessment to be published.
The Stray Ferret has looked at the council’s economic case in detail to see why it is pressing ahead with the project.
Harrogate faces ‘economic challenges’
According to the county council’s economic case, the authority believes the gateway scheme will tackle “some of the economic challenges facing the Harrogate economy”.
The report cites a number of areas that need addressing, including job creation and access to education and skills.
Much of the 18-page paper centres around growing the Harrogate economy so it is “fit for the future”.
It argues that better access to the town centre will help to create jobs and increase the creation of businesses in Harrogate town centre.
The report cites an Office for National Statistics study which shows the number of new businesses set up in the town increased by 4% between 2014 and 2021 – below the Yorkshire and national average.
Graph of median annual earnings in Harrogate district compared with the national and regional average, as included in the report.
It goes on to say that residents in the district have higher than the average annual earnings, meaning there is a chance to “diversify” the town centre by encouraging more people into town.
Both of these areas could be tackled by improving access to the town centre and making it more attractive, council bosses say.
The report adds:
“Harrogate’s higher paid resident base suggests that there is potential to diversify the local economy, attracting high value, innovative businesses to invest in the town centre, opening up further employment opportunities in the town.”
The number of retail units in Harrogate town centre, as cited in the gateway report.
The report also warns that the town’s retail sector is at risk of decline.
It points to Harrogate Borough Council figures showing a reduction of 12% in retail units in the town centre in the last seven years.
It adds that the town needs to “diversify” in order to adapt to consumer behaviour – something which council bosses believe the gateway can address.
The report says:
“Evidence suggests that the town centre retail sector is at risk of decline in the medium term.
“Consumer behaviours and expectations are evolving and towns must diversify and advance to maintain health and vibrant visitor economies. the scheme is seeking to do just this.”
But, while the report addresses some of the town centre challenges, its critics say it offers nothing on how proposals in the gateway scheme will effect trade.
Businesses ‘not listened to’
While the county council has made efforts to push its economic case through an 18-page report and press releases to the media, it has not convinced local business groups.
In a joint letter to the county council leader, Cllr Carl Les, co-signed by Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, Harrogate BID and Independent Harrogate, the groups argue that the report fails to address any of the concerns of businesses.
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The letter says the study is not dated and fails to take into account the impacts of covid on businesses. It goes onto say that next week’s vote on the scheme should be delayed until traders have had chance to scrutinise and comment on the report.
It says:
“Because of this lack of opportunity to comment on the economic impact study, we are now asking that the vote on the Project is postponed until your next executive meeting, allowing us, and others, time to digest its contents.
“However, having had a cursory glance through it, it appears the authors have looked to cities for case studies and not towns comparable to Harrogate. Also, they give examples from as along ago as 2007. The world has moved on a lot since then.
“It fails to take into account the impact of covid, out-of-town shopping centres with acres of free parking, and online shopping. And again, we say what of those residents living in our surrounding villages whose only way of getting around is via their car, or the tens-of-thousands of visitors who live outside the district?”
How James Street will look.
It also questions whether any impact of delivering the scheme on local businesses has been taken into account.
“It also appears the work to deliver this project could now creep into 2024. We were told it would take a year.
“Judging by the delays to ‘phase one of the Otley Road cycling path’, we have no confidence in your timescale. Does the economic impact study take into account the disruption delivering this Project will have on businesses already on their knees through to the ongoing impact of covid?”
What happens now?
Senior councillors have been recommended to approve the gateway project to be taken to the detailed design stage.
Councillors will make a decision at a meeting on Tuesday. The move would mean that work on the project could start in spring or summer.
