Consultants’ fees for the £12.1 million Harrogate Station Gateway scheme have risen to £2.1 million, the Stray Ferret can reveal.

We have also discovered Conservative transport chief Cllr Keane Duncan wanted to share the latest gateway plans with the Stray Ferret to avoid “public discontent” but was advised against it by a council director.

The findings are contained in a North Yorkshire Council response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted to find out who made the decision to keep the latest plans secret.

Work on the watered down scheme is due to start in September.

Cllr Keane Duncan, the council’s executive member for highways, revealed some details in January, as reported here. But the full plans have not been released, despite considerable public interest in the scheme.

Our FOI request asked for details of correspondence relating to the decision not to release the plans — and for the latest spending on consultants.

The council gave the following breakdown of consultants’ costs to global consultancy firm WSP to November 2023.

It said since then it had spent a further £82,358.64, making a total of £2,088,567.27.

‘Public discontent’

Emails reveal Cllr Duncan was unaware the cost of the gateway had risen to £12.1 million when reported by the Stray Ferret.

He emailed Karl Battersby, the council’s corporate director of environment on March 8 asking for clarification and suggesting the council request a correction.

Mr Battersby pointed out the £12.1 million figure was contained in a report by West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which was overseeing the funding allocation from the Department for Transport, even though North Yorkshire Council is leading on the scheme.

Richard Binks, head of major projects and infrastructure at the council, then said the full business case now included £1,489,442 for risk/inflation/contingency. Details of the other costs of the scheme were redacted in the response to us.

Cllr Duncan then referred to requests to see the revised plans by the Stray Ferret, which is referred to as ‘SF’ in the correspondence:

“On another point, do we have plans we can share now or in the near future?

“I feel like we need to do some sort of explanation piece as the lack of information is just creating public discontent.”

In a further email he says “I am thinking I connect the SF and share these plans?”

Cllr Duncan then said:

“Just spoken to Carl [council leader Carl Les], and we were wondering if we could get any impressions together of what the revised scheme would look like?”

But Mr Battersby replies:

“The plans will shortly be available as part of the TRO [traffic regulation order] consultation. I wouldn’t provide the SF with anything over and above what the public will see.”

Cllr Duncan replies to say “OK, I agree”.

Two months on from the exchange, the plans remain secret.

New update

The council is progressing gateway schemes, which are mainly funded by the government’s Transforming Cities Fund, for Selby and Skipton as well as Harrogate.

In an update report to next week’s full council meeting, Cllr Duncan says it “continues to make progress on work on transformative gateway schemes to improve access to three of North Yorkshire’s rail stations”.

It adds:

“Full business cases have been submitted to West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Department for Transport for all schemes and all three have now been approved with conditions.

“Final works pricing is currently in progress by contract partners prior to a final approval stage, with work expected to commence in Skipton in the summer and Harrogate and Selby later in the year.”

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North Yorkshire Council has given an update on work to repair the A59 at Kex Gill.

The road, which is the main route between Harrogate and Skipton, closed suddenly on February 2 when a crack appeared on the verge.

Repair work costing £750,000 began on April 15.

Karl Battersby (pictured above), the council’s corporate director of environment, said in a 57-second video yesterday it was still hoped the road would re-open by the end of June.

He said:

“We know this has caused significant disruption and we acknowledge that in a different environment that we’d have got on site quicker to do these repairs.

“But we’ve had to do a number of survey works to make sure what we do doesn’t cause us a problem in terms of the current road but also doesn’t cause a problem in terms of the new road being constructed.”

Machinery on site

Mr Battersby said a piling rig was putting large metal poles into the side of the road to stabilise it. The road will then be resurfaced.

He added:

“We will be doing weekend working and extended day working to try to keep within that deadline.”

Irish construction firm Sisk, which is carrying out the nearby £68.8 million three-mile realignment, was appointed to oversee the repair work, with Ivor King carrying out the piling.

The crack was caused by a landslip which the council attributed to wet weather but some residents have claimed it is due to the impact of the realignment on the landscape.

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North Yorkshire Council confirmed today it will increase all car park charges from April 19.

The Stray Ferret reported last week charges across the Harrogate district were in line to rise.

The council said in a statement today it would increase tariffs by 20% as “part of North Yorkshire’s commitment to maintain and improve its facilities”. It added the decision “was made after careful consideration of several factors impacting the service”.

Karl Battersby, the council’s corporate director of environment, said:

“We continuously strive to improve our parking services to provide a better customer experience. This includes investments in technology upgrades, such as automated payment systems and the installation of electric vehicle chargers to accommodate the growing market.

“We have refrained from increasing our car parking tariff for several years. However, to ensure we can continue to maintain the current provision and not divert funds away from vital frontline council services, we plan on introducing an increase across the car parking tariff that is in line with inflation.”

The statement said the cost of parking facilities, including infrastructure, repairs, lighting, and security had risen “and ensuring a safe and well-maintained environment is essential for the convenience and satisfaction of customers”.

The move affects all parking at council-owned car parks.

The hike in prices comes despite the council increasing council tax bills by 4.99% in 2024/25. It means the amount paid by an average Band D property for council services will increase by £87.80 to £1,847.62. The council faces a shortfall of more than £30 million for the next financial year.

Mr Battersby added:

“We also remain committed to improving public transport provision across North Yorkshire to ensure there are alternatives to car usage, as well as supporting efforts to become carbon neutral by 2030.”

The council plans to draft a strategy this year that will look at parking provision across North Yorkshire to see where future changes and improvements can be made.

Read more:

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Residents and businesses in Knaresborough have expressed exasperation at the length of time it is taking to resolve the collapsed wall on Briggate.

Traffic lights have been in place since a section of the wall came down more than two months ago.

The lights have caused frequent delays on a key route in and out of Knaresborough, with traders claiming it is deterring people from shopping in town.

North Yorkshire Council has said work will finally start on Monday — but lights are likely to remain for several months.

Local people do not understand why a pile of rubble is proving so difficult to deal with, and fear it will hamper Christmas trade.

Bob McRae, who has lived in Knaresborough for 40 years, wrote to the council about the issue.

He praised council leader Carl Les and corporate director for environment Karl Battersby for replying promptly but said he failed to understand why this had become such a big issue. He said:

“People are frustrated. It’s just a bunch of rocks that have been sitting there and it seems nobody can pick them up. There could have been a temporary fix to get the traffic moving.”

Mr McRae also questioned whether council officers in Northallerton understood the impact the situation was having on the town.

The wall collapsed in September.

Hairdresser Kelly Teggin agreed, adding:

“I don’t believe in this day and age nothing can be done to get both lanes back open as soon as possible.

“All other roadworks should have been suspended as soon as the wall fell in September.

“Town and trade is massively affected and it’s not going to change before the end of January, which is disastrous for our town.”

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‘We cannot avoid emergency works’

Mr Battersby said the work was more complicated than initially thought.

He said:

“We have been working hard to prepare plans to rebuild the collapsed wall on Briggate in Knaresborough, which is currently under two-way lights to protect road users and ensure traffic can move safely.

“Due to concerns of the residents with cellars – who were directly impacted by the collapsed wall – the works are now more complex than first anticipated.

“Work will start on Monday, November 27, under the existing two-way lights, and is due to be concluded in late-December. In the new year (date to be confirmed), further maintenance work along the rest of the wall will take place – again, under two-way lights – to ensure its future integrity is maintained.”

The traffic lights on Briggate.

He added:

“We also have an embargo on other road works in the local area during this time. However, it is worth stressing, we cannot avoid emergency works.

“We appreciate Knaresborough Christmas events are due to take place in the coming weeks, and this may cause some delays, but safety must come first. To help prevent any delays, we will be manually controlling the lights during the Knaresborough Christmas Market, to ensure the movement of traffic.”

A change in the council’s bin regime is seeing dog-waste pile up by the roadside, according to local residents. 

Over the last week, North Yorkshire Council has removed the familiar red dog-waste bins from Knox, which is on the north-west edge of Harrogate. In their place, they have put green wheelie bins, but not all in the same positions as the bins they replace. 

Knox resident Maxie Schiffmann-Rowinski said: 

“They’ve put a wheelie bin right outside our house, and now it’s filling up with dog poo and it really stinks in this warm weather. 

“All of us living down here are pretty angry about this. This lane is very popular with dog-walkers, and some who don’t know about the green bin are just leaving their dog-poo bags on the ground where the dog-waste bin used to be.  

“I’ve complained to the council via their online form, but had no reply.” 

Asked about the move, Karl Battersby, North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director of environment, told the Stray Ferret the bins had been removed following a service review, and that the council was being guided by good practice outlined by the Waste and Recycling Action Partnership in its Right Bin, Right Place study. 

He said:  

“The newer bins have a larger capacity and house a wheeled bin. This means they are efficiently emptied by our larger wagons, reducing the risk from manual handling individual bags. With the greater capacity, fewer bins are required which helps to reduce street furniture, particularly in locations where two bins may have been placed close together. 

“This and other new bins will be emptied less frequently due to the increase in capacity, but they will be emptied as often as required, taking seasonal variances into account. 

“The replacement bin at the end of Knox Lane was planned to be further down the lane, in close proximity to existing street furniture. We will check it’s correctly positioned.” 

The council has installed a large new bin at the end of Knox Lane… but some dog-walkers have yet to get the message.

Paul Haslam, the North Yorkshire councillor serving Bilton and Nidd Gorge, said he was party to the decision-making process that led to the policy change, but that it had not been implemented as he had imagined it would be. He said: 

“This looks like a well-intentioned project that’s gone wrong. I agreed with the principle behind the plans: to make it easier by using more machinery, which in some cases would result in changes of locations and frequency of emptying. 

“But it’s quite obvious that the way it’s turned out is not ideal – there are not enough bins and some of them are in the wrong place.” 

North Yorkshire Council’s Mr Battersby said that the bin replacements in Bilton and Knox would be followed by others in Harrogate.  

He said: 

“Surrounding parishes have already had the work completed, and Bilton is the first of the urban areas to start and receive the new bins.” 

But Cllr Haslam said the policy needed to be reviewed and that’s what the council would do. He said: 

“I’ll be meeting with street-cleansing officers on Monday and we’ll be going over the whole of the Bilton and Knox area and seeing how it can be improved. 

“The council is not going to roll any more bins out until we’ve got Bilton and Knox right.”

Read more:

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More than £2 million has already been spent on outside consultants to work on Harrogate’s controversial Station Gateway scheme, figures reveal.

The £11.2 million active travel project will transform the area outside Harrogate Station to make it more friendly for cyclists and pedestrians.

It’s being led by North Yorkshire Council, which replaced North Yorkshire County Council, which previously led on the project, in April due to local government reorganisation.

To develop the project the council hired global consultancy firm WSP to draw up its business case and preliminary and detailed designs.

Following a freedom of information request submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, North Yorkshire Council has revealed just over £2 million has been paid to WSP so far with the majority going towards design costs.

In a statement, the council argued that its use of consultants for the scheme is commonplace and typical of large-scale active projects across the country.

It also said consultants can help when there is not the required expertise within the council.

But the public sector’s increasing reliance on consultants, often to plug gaps created during austerity, has troubled some with a Guardian editorial published in March stating consultants are a “symptom of shrinking faith in the public sector”.

‘A money pit’

Liberal Democrat councillor for Knaresborough West, Matt Walker, who is a critic of the Station Gateway scheme, told the LDRS that the amount spent on consultants is a signal that the project “is shaping up to be a money pit“ for taxpayers.

Mr Walker, who will be standing for the Lib Dems in next month’s Selby and Ainsty by-election, said:

“That is a huge amount of public money to spend on consultants, more than 15% of the cost of the scheme. It’s a money pit that is not part of a wider strategic plan for active travel and one which does not have the full backing of the local community, or businesses.

“The cost of building materials has already sky rocketed since the original costing for the scheme was done. Are we going to cut back on what is delivered or pour money tax payers money into this scheme?

“What Harrogate needs is real investment, as part of a strategic plan to deal with congestion. Innovative and exciting options for active travel not costly consultants.”

‘Increased consultation pushed up costs’

The council said the sum paid to WSP has increased due to the additional public consultation which led to designs being changed.

Karl Battersby, the council’s corporate director of environment, said:

“Consultants have only been used where there is not sufficient in-house resource or very specific expertise within the council. This is a common occurrence with consultants used for almost, if not all, Transforming Cities Fund projects across the country.

“The cost includes survey work as well as individual disciplines – landscaping, highways, traffic modelling, signals, drainage, lighting – consultation support, planning and Traffic Regulation Orders, and project management, including business case development, risk reviews, programming and attendance at meetings.

“The design cost has increased where additional works have been identified, such as revisions to landscaping or additional consultation engagement.”

Background to the scheme

Among the proposals include redeveloping the area outside Harrogate Station, making Station Parade single-lane to add cycle and bus lanes and part-pedestrianising James Street.

But it’s divided the town with the results of the third and final round of public consultation, published in January, suggesting the Harrogate public are narrowly against it.

It’s still to receive final approval but won the backing of senior councillors in Northallerton at a meeting last month.

The predicted cost of the scheme is now £11.2m — a sum that has risen considerably from the £7.9m initially suggested by council.

The £11.2 million Harrogate Station Gateway is set to move another step closer next week — but a new report lays bare the financial risks of the scheme.

North Yorkshire Council will meet on Tuesday to discuss whether to submit a full business case to West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Karl Battersby, corporate director of environment at North Yorkshire Council, has recommended councillors agree to do so.

If they back his recommendation, a 300-metre stretch of Station Parade will be reduced to single lane traffic and James Street partly pedestrianised to encourage cycling and walking.

Station Square would undergo a major overhaul, with the ‘little temple’ outside Victoria Shopping Centre destroyed.

Station Square

Mr Battersby’s report to the council’s executive says the gateway would arrest town centre decline by increasing footfall, even though many businesses remain opposed.

There are also concerns about other aspects of the scheme, including congestion and parking, and some 2,000 people have signed an online petition opposing it.

Mr Battersby, however, suggests the gateway could be the start of a wider town centre redevelopment. His report says the project will “provide a central active travel ‘hub’ from which ‘spokes’ of further improvements can radiate”.

It adds:

“The project is anticipated to have an overall positive impact on the local economy and the attractiveness and accessibility of the town centre with no exceedances of the annual mean pollutant air quality objectives and a minimal increase in journey times and flows in the worst-case traffic modelling.

“The project therefore provides an overall good contribution to strategic objectives and good value for money.”

The key changes

Mr Battersby’s report to councillors outlines the main changes. They are:

Work is due to start in winter and the report acknowledges the scheme “could impact congestion in the short term before people switch to active and sustainable forms of transport”.

Businesses fear it could affect Christmas trade but the council is under pressure to spend most funding in the current financial year to comply with the terms of the scheme, which is one of three funded by West Yorkshire Combined Authority using Department for Transport funds.

Funding deadline ‘a significant risk’

Mr Battersby’s report warns that if the final cost exceeds budget, savings would be made by either reviewing the materials or “descoping” the project. It says:

“The current funding deadline of 31 March 2024 represents a significant risk to the council as the project is no longer deliverable within this timeframe.

“This risk will be reduced if agreement to extend the deadline is reached, however, the risk of delivery within the set deadline remains and any spend after the funding deadline would be at North Yorkshire Council risk.”

Cllr Keane Duncan in Harrogate

Cllr Keane Duncan, the council’s executive member for highways and transport, said in a statement:

“The Harrogate scheme represents a landmark investment, aiming to rejuvenate the town centre, support businesses and encourage people to travel more sustainably.

“We have responded to councillors’ feedback by pledging to review the Odeon roundabout design prior to final submission and to consider key junctions outside of the scope of the gateway project — Ripon Road/King’s Road/Cheltenham Parade — to further limit congestion.

“The full business case submission would represent a huge step forward for the scheme, enabling us to stay on track to start work in winter 2023.”

Read more:

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• Stray Views : negative views about Station Gateway are outdated and unrealistic