Plans to spend £100,000 on making a minor Harrogate road better for cycling have been branded a waste of taxpayers’ money.

North Yorkshire Council revealed this month it wants to upgrade Nursery Lane into an off-road leisure route.

It was one of 10 proposals put forward costing £585,000 to reduce congestion in west Harrogate.

But the no through road off Otley Road is already tarmacked and gets very little traffic, prompting cyclists to question the merit of the scheme.

A meeting of the council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee heard a statement from David Mitchell, of Harrogate District Cycle Action, which said spending £100,000 on Nursery Lane was “not sensible because it would not make a meaningful difference to the cycle network”.

Paul Haslam, a Conservative who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge, told the meeting the cycling community had told him the proposal was “a complete waste of money because that lane is already safe”.

Read more:

• 10 schemes proposed to reduce congestion in Harrogate
• ‘Collective will’ at council to rescue £11.2m Harrogate Station Gateway

The Hedgehog Cycling website has also been highly critical of the scheme. A blog post, which does not identify the author, said:

“Nursery Lane is already fine as it is. There is very little traffic, no through traffic, and a sealed surface. There is absolutely no need for a cycle track. Spending £100,000 on it would be an outrageous waste of public money.

“Nursery Lane could be a useful cut-through from an Otley Road cycleway to Harlow Moor Road – but there would need to be an Otley Road cycleway. As it is, North Yorkshire Council is intent on building ‘ribs but no spine’ which is brainless.”

Cyclists’ frustration is compounded by the council’s failure to deliver on schemes such as the Station Gateway, Otley Road cycle path, Beech Grove and Victoria Avenue, which were supposed to form part of a connected route.

Mr Mitchell also criticised another of the 10 proposals, which is to spend £25,000 on a review of cycle route signs.

He said signs were improved in 2014 and cyclists “need safe cycle routes not more signposts”. He added spending £25,000 “presumably to consultants WSP would be a waste of public money”.

Discussing Nursery Lane at last week’s meeting, the council’s area highways manager Melisa Burnham said “there’s certainly been a historic desire from locals to see that widened and improved to improve the links that side of Harrogate”.

Ms Burnham said the transport measures had been compiled by an officer group that took part in community engagements, including one with Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association in May.

She said that meeting included representatives from the local cycling group.

Traffic lights at the junction of Cold Bath Road, Otley Road and Arthurs Avenue.

The council has also faced criticism about the biggest of its 10 proposed schemes, which is a £200,000 upgrade of the traffic lights at the junction of Otley Road, Cold Bath Road and Arthurs Avenue.

Arnold Warneken, the Green Party councillor for Ouseburn, told last week’s meeting the proposal was “sustainable for cars but not sustainable for active travel and the environment”.

Mr Burnham said the signal upgrade would relieve congestion, which was a “key objective” of the funding and the junction improvements “would create a safe space”.

Work on the first phase of the new Otley Road cycle lane in Harrogate is due to be completed this week.

North Yorkshire County Council blamed “severe weather” for delaying the completion of the initial section between Harlow Moor Road and Arthurs Avenue before Christmas.

Last week it said it would be completed by February 21 but in a further update this week it said it will be ready on Friday.

The Stray Ferret has been sent footage of a cyclist travelling downhill along the route towards Cold Bath Road last weekend.

Much of the route is shared with pedestrians, which was one of several points flagged up in a blog by Hedgehog Cycling, which says shared use is not appropriate on urban streets. Some businesses have expressed similar concerns.

The blog, which covers cycling in Yorkshire, also raises concerns about the width of the route in some sections, saying it measures 93cm in one area — below the 150cm minimum requirement.

But it hails the cycleway priority at side roads, such as Pannal Ash Drive and Hill Rise Close, as “the biggest improvement over previous North Yorkshire pavement cycling efforts”.

Another cycling group, Harrogate District Cycle Action, has urged people to hold judgement until the entire route is completed.

Read more:

• Don’t judge Otley Road cycle path until its complete, says campaign group
• ‘Severe weather’ delays Otley Road cycle path in Harrogate

What happens now?

Construction of the second phase, which will cover Harlow Moor Road to Beech Grove, is due to start in April. There is still no timescale for phase three.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire County Council said:

We are aiming to complete phase 1 by January 28, and we hope to start phase 2 in April 2022. Phase 3 relies on developer funding from the west of Harrogate urban extension.

“Plans are currently being worked on, which will then lead to more detailed planning, including a feasibility study.”

A cyclist sent in this video of the cycle lane to give others an idea of what to expect. What do you make of the layout?