Harrogate’s Otley Road cycleway: next phase looks set to be shelved

The second phase of Harrogate’s Otley Road cycleway looks set to be scrapped in the face of continued hostility towards the scheme.

The results of a consultation on options for phase two of the project are due to be released within days.

But Cllr Keane Duncan, executive member for highways and transportation at North Yorkshire County Council,  said none of the three options put forward had been well received and he was asking “serious questions” about whether to proceed. He said:

“None of the options have found significant favour with members of the public, including pedestrians and cyclists – the exact people this infrastructure is supposed to benefit. That for me is quite striking.

“If we’ve got pedestrians and cyclists, who are supposed to be the intended users of this infrastructure, saying to us ‘please think again’ that does not fill me with reassurance that we are looking at this in the right way so I’m very reluctant for us to repeat some of the issues that have arisen in phase one again with phase two.”

Phase one of the scheme, between Harlow Moor Road and Cold Bath Road, finished a year ago. The value of the contract was £827,000.

Otley Road cycle path

Some of the cycle path is shared with pedestrians.

It was widely criticised for the way the cycle path zigzags between the highway and shared paths with pedestrians. Rene Dziabas, chairman of Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents’ Association, described it as like “crazy golf construction”.

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Cllr Duncan said phase two would face the same challenges: the road’s narrow width, protected trees and Stray land and therefore would not be fully segregated or compliant with current government recommendations for cycle infrastructure design.

However, there is still a chance the third phase, leading up to Cardale Park, could proceed.

He said:

“We get hit over the head all the time for schemes that are not compliant. This isn’t. So I want to look seriously at ‘have we looked at this in the round and is there any alternative option that we might need to look at?’. Is this going to achieve the benefits for active travel which it is intended to?

“I am more than prepared for us to deliver active travel schemes in the face of opposition. They are never going to be universally popular.

“But what I’m not prepared to do is to deliver an active travel scheme for the sake of delivering an active travel scheme, that the intended beneficiaries — walkers and cyclists — are saying to me, ‘please think again, this doesn’t make sense and we are not going to use it’.”

Was it a mistake to start?

Asked whether the scheme, which dates back well before Cllr Duncan took up his post last year, was a mistake, he replied:

“I don’t know all the various considerations that went into the proposals. Where things maybe went wrong is that we tried to get the mixture of segregated where we could and shared use where that wasn’t possible. That has led to quite a disjointed cycle route.

“I’m reflecting on that feedback and certainly where there have been problems – and it’s fair to say problems have been created with phase one – I would not want on my watch to repeat those same mistakes.”

Cllr Duncan said funding for the scheme was secured from the government’s National Productivity Investment Fund, which has to be spent on easing congestion in western Harrogate rather than specifically on cycle schemes and if the Otley Road project does not go ahead it would continue to be used for this purpose.

Tomorrow Keane Duncan gives an update on the Harrogate Station Gateway and on Saturday we will publish a full interview in which he talks about Harrogate district transport schemes.

 

Key Harrogate infrastructure document will not be scrapped, says council

Work on a key infrastructure document to support a wave of housebuilding in the west of Harrogate will not be scrapped, according to Harrogate Borough Council.

The West Harrogate Infrastructure Delivery Strategy is being drawn up by the council and North Yorkshire County Council to shape how infrastructure in west Harrogate will cope with up to 4,000 new homes.

It will supplement the West Harrogate Paramaters Plan, which was approved in February.

The borough council has paid £25,000 to consultancy Hyas to produce the document. It was expected in May but is still yet to be published.

The area features heavily in the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which outlines where development can take place. For example, the area from Otley Road towards Beckwithshaw is set to be transformed with over 1,000 new homes.

Other major development sites in the area include Persimmon Homes’ under-construction 600-home King Edwin Park scheme on Pennypot Lane.

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But with shovels yet to be put in the ground for many of the proposed sites, Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents’ Association, hopes the infrastructure strategy will ensure investment takes place into roads, schools and healthcare before homes are built.

As part of the delivery strategy, a review of existing infrastructure is being carried out ahead of the document being published in draft form during a public consultation.

With less than four months until the borough council is abolished, HAPARA is questioning if the document will now ever see the light of day.

Last week, the county council announced the new North Yorkshire Council will develop its own Local Plan to replace the one drawn up by Harrogate.

A borough council spokesperson said the parameters plan, which was approved by the authority’s cabinet in February, would still be used as a material planning consideration until the sites covered in the plan are developed.

However, David Siddans, a spokesperson for HAPARA, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the infrastructure strategy has “practically receded from my memory” due to a paucity of meetings with the council.

Mr Siddans said:

“It is now so long since we had an engagement session with Harrogate Borough Council on the West Harrogate Infrastructure Delivery Strategy that it has practically receded from my memory.

“The last engagement session with Harrogate Borough Council was on July 19 following which we were promised a further session in October when it was expected that further analysis work by the consultants had been carried out.  It is now December and there has been no further contact.”

A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council said:

“Work on the West Harrogate Infrastructure Delivery Strategy continues.

“It is an important piece of work to ensure the effective delivery of infrastructure to support the West Harrogate sites. We will hold further stakeholder engagement in due course.”

Cycle path, housing and more on agenda for Harlow Hill residents

Residents of the Harlow Hill and Pannal Ash areas of Harrogate will gather tomorrow night to discuss the issues they face as a community.

From housing developments and cycle lanes to the upcoming reorganisation of local government in North Yorkshire, Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents’ Association (HAPARA) has a busy agenda for its AGM.

Chairman Rene Dziabas said the long-delayed West Harrogate Parameters Plan – setting out a plan for infrastructure to support thousands of new homes in the area – was likely to be among the topics generating the most interest.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“We still have over-riding concerns about the infrastructure for these successive developments – public transport, paths, cycle paths, hospitals, schools.

“We work with a number of parish councils and they hold similar views to us.”

This will be the first time HAPARA has held an in-person AGM since 2019, thanks to the covid pandemic. In the intervening three years, many new households have arrived in the area, and the group is keen to welcome them alongside long-standing residents.

Though it encourages people to sign up as members, anyone can go along to the AGM and, unlike a parish council, it has no defined geographical boundary, so is open to anyone who wants to join.

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As well as the changes that have taken place in the area in recent years, the group will look at what is ahead for local residents.

While phase one of the Otley Road cycle path has been largely completed, and phase two is scheduled to begin “shortly”, according to North Yorkshire County Council, phase three – from Harlow Moor Road to Cardale Park – remains contentious among residents, according to a survey of residents by HAPARA this year.

Mr Dziabas said he hoped the new North Yorkshire Council would keep to its word of engaging added:

“We are also trying to introduce some local issues. A couple of residents are doing a presentation on low traffic neighbourhoods.

“If we can get something like that, an idea from grass roots, and if we can make the beginnings of something, that would be nice.

“Money is going to be tight and there is going to be less money around over the next few years than there is now.

“If you engage with local organisations, the people you are engaging with are doing it for free and there’s a lot of knowledge and a lot of professional people in those organisations. If you keep an open mind, you can tap into it.’

The HAPARA AGM takes place at Harlow Community Centre (The Green Hut) on Harlow Avenue on Wednesday, October 12 from 7pm. The full agenda is available here.

Under-fire infrastructure plans for west Harrogate will cost taxpayers £25,000

Two key planning documents which have been hit by delays and dismay ahead of a huge urban expansion in west Harrogate will cost taxpayers £25,000, it has been revealed.

The West Harrogate Parameters Plan and a delivery strategy set out how the area’s infrastructure and services will cope with 4,000 new homes.

They have been produced by Harrogate Borough Council, which has worked with North Yorkshire County Council, housing developers and consultancy firm Hyas.

After being forced to defend the plan and announcing delays for the delivery strategy, the borough council has now confirmed Hyas will be paid £25,000.

The council also said the delivery strategy will be signed off in autumn – more than two-and-a half years after a government inspector ordered the creation of the plans.

David Siddans, secretary of Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association, said he has been frustrated by the “snail-like progress” of the plans and that he has “little confidence” they will address concerns over areas including traffic congestion which is already a major problem.

He said:

“We are concerned that reorganisation of local government, lack of money and pressure from developers will force developments through with inadequate infrastructure, leaving the community to pick up the pieces.

“At the very least the combination of the parameters plan and infrastructure delivery schedule should address the massive growth on the western edge and go some way to mitigating against existing problems.

“In other words things should be no worse.

“We remain unconvinced that this will be the case.”

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Howard West, chairman of Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council, said:

“It remains to be seen whether the £25.000 spent will prove cost-effective.

“As all matters have been handled without serious interim consultation with stakeholders, we won’t even know if Hyas’s recommendations have been followed.”

Once complete, both the delivery strategy and parameters plan will be used together to shape decisions on how west Harrogate will cope with 2,500 new homes – although as many as 4,000 properties are set to be built in the wider area by 2035.

There are proposals for two new primary schools and four playing pitches, as well as two new local centres for shops and health services.

Land has also been designated for other businesses, as well as new cycle lanes, footpaths and bus routes.

As part of the delivery strategy, a review of existing infrastructure is being carried out ahead of the document being published in draft form during a public consultation.

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson described Hyas as a “specialist town planning, master planning and place-making consultancy” firm which was commissioned “based on their experience of other complex development schemes”.

The council spokesperson said.

“The cost of this specialist consultancy is £25,000,

“The West Harrogate Infrastructure Delivery Strategy document is part of their commission and is a joint piece of work – in collaboration with the borough council, county council and promoters – to provide the long term co-ordination of infrastructure across the west Harrogate sites.

“The document will be signed-off in the autumn as it requires the input from a piece of work regarding transport mitigation which won’t be concluded until then.”

‘Serious concerns’ over 770 homes planned for Harrogate’s Otley Road

Plans for a huge housing development and new primary school on Harrogate’s Otley Road have been met with “serious concerns” over how the town’s struggling infrastructure and services will be able to cope.

There are also questions over the environmental impact of the proposals, which include 770 homes, a sports pitch, shop and community hub.

The Windmill Farm site is included in the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, meaning development will go ahead.

But Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association said it had concerns over several issues, including climate change measures, transport infrastructure, housing density and design standards, which all needed to be addressed before planning permission is granted.

David Siddans, group secretary, said:

“This is an enormous development.

“Although the application is for 770 dwellings, it omits a large area of the site which remains subject to further applications which could bring the total to nearer 1,000.

“Altogether, the west side of Harrogate is expected to cope with around 4,000 new houses.

“The pressure this places on infrastructure has always been one of our greatest concerns, especially given the poor nature of the current roads, public transport, school services, drainage systems and so on.”

Parameters Plan

Mr Siddans also said no decision should be taken on the proposals by Harrogate Borough Council until its West Harrogate Parameters Plan is completed in full.

This is the key document which sets out what infrastructure is required to support rapid population growth in the area.

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It was criticised as “inadequate” when it was approved by the council in February, and a delivery strategy and schedule are now being prepared.

Land promoters Anwyl Land and developers Redrow Homes are behind the Windmill Farm development.

They said the West Harrogate Parameters Plan has been used to inform the proposals, which will provide a “high quality development for Harrogate with a clear identity and will positively benefit the local area”.

They also said 40% of the homes would be classed as affordable, with a mix of one, two, three, four and five bed properties across the site.

Forty of the housing plots would be self-builds reserved for those who want to build their own homes.

Also included in the plans are bus stops, and walking and cycling routes.

‘Makes no sense’

Campaign group Zero Carbon Harrogate said it wanted to engage with the developers as it believes there is “much more” that could be done to futureproof the 770 homes – all of which would be fitted with gas boilers set to be banned in new homes in 2025.

Group chair Jemima Parker said: 

“Zero Carbon Harrogate has sought to engage productively with Anwyl Land to ensure that this large site, which will contribute to the carbon emissions of the town, is made as sustainable as possible, particularly with regard to transport and energy use.

“In particular, we note that the energy statement was compiled prior to the current energy crisis.

“It makes no sense to be building houses over the coming years with gas central heating, and without the highest standards of insulation to minimise household fuel bills.

“Furthermore, every opportunity should be taken to install solar panels on the roofs of the new homes, and apply the best passive design principles in accordance with Local Plan policies.”

Harrogate council exceeds house-building targets by almost 1,700 homes

Harrogate Borough Council has exceeded its house-building target by almost 1,700 homes over the last three years, according to new government figures.

Statistics released in the government’s Housing Delivery Test reveal the district needed 987 new homes to meet demand between 2018 and 2021 – but 2,682 were delivered.

That is 1,641 homes – or 266% – above the target and has sparked fresh questions over whether this level of new housing is being matched with improvements in Harrogate’s struggling infrastructure, schools and health services.

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson argued the government figures are only a minimum target and that its own ambitions in its Harrogate district Local Plan take greater account of the desperate need for more affordable housing.

They also described the current level of house-building as a “positive step” to tackle this problem.

The spokesperson said: 

“Our adopted Local Plan, underpinned by local evidence of housing need, seeks to tackle a number of long standing local issues.

“In particular, families and young people are facing increasing difficulty in buying their own home due to a lack of houses and high house prices.

“Local businesses also tell us that they struggle to recruit locally due to the high cost of housing.

“The level of new housing included in the Local Plan will help to address these issues and support our economic ambitions.”

It was six years in the making but the Local Plan was finally adopted in 2020 when Harrogate set its own target of delivering 637 new homes each year until 2035.

And while there was some controversy over which sites were allocated for development, local politicians of all stripes agreed it was better to have a plan, than no plan at all.

Housing ‘free for all’

Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the council’s opposition Liberal Democrat group, described the six years prior to the Local Plan’s adoption as a “free for all” of uncontrolled house-building.

She also said while the Local Plan has handed Harrogate greater control over its housing future, it had yet to be matched with meaningful improvements for communities which will feel the long-term effects of dramatic population growth.

Cllr Marsh

“The Lib Dems are very concerned about our infrastructure; it is not fit for purpose.

“The council now has a Community Infrastructure Levy, but before that the council could only ask for monies from developers if their development had a negative impact on existing nearby residents.

“Schools have been able to get monies through the legal Section 106 agreement to help with any extensions required because of the development but until very, very recently secondary schools were not considered or included at all.

“Medical services have never been included which is again ridiculous with all these extra demands on our doctors and dental services, police and our hospital.

“The government wants houses, but does not give councils the real powers to achieve what is required for the local infrastructure needs for all these large developments.”

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Parameters plan approved

Defending its record, the council also pointed towards the West Harrogate Parameters Plan – which sets out the needs for an extra 4,000 homes – as a measure to ensure the area has the “necessary infrastructure to support future communities”.

The plan has been recommended for approval at a meeting today and while it has been praised by the council, those living in the area have complained it does not go far enough and is being approved too soon to balance the impacts of what will be Harrogate’s biggest urban expansion in decades.

David Siddans, secretary of Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association, said: 

“Since 2018 we have been arguing that Harrogate Borough Council are planning for far more houses than the district actually needs, amounting to many thousands.

“Now they are giving developers permission for hundreds more on top of that, nearly all of them on greenfield sites.

“Every new house over and above the numbers needed adds to carbon emissions and also increases the pressure on infrastructure.

“From what we have seen with the emerging West Harrogate Parameters Plan, the authority is suggesting that a bus every 30 minutes and a shared footway/cycleway will address the travel needs of the additional 6,000 or so population, with minimal other changes to the network.

“We have also expressed our concern at the additional demands that will be placed on education, and the lack of a coherent strategy for secondary schooling.”

Mr Siddans added: 

“We, along with other organisations in the area, say that the council should not be approving the parameters plan until full details of the infrastructure package is agreed.

“We understand that is not expected before May this year.

“We have no confidence that this will happen and it is likely that developers will again be given the green light with the wider infrastructure needs remaining unaddressed.”