There have been numerous schemes devised over the years to improve Harrogate. Some come to fruition, such as the 19th-century plan to develop a wedge of land called the Crookisnab between the villages of High and Low Harrogate, which resulted in our town centre. Others are not so successful, like the 1970 traffic management plan that included a flyover passing close to the Majestic Hotel. 

But one that keeps cropping up time and again is the dream of creating a grand water feature somewhere in the town centre. 

In 1946, the town council spent £100 on erecting a fountain to emphasise the importance of water to Harrogate, but it was soon turned off to save power and eventually scrapped. 

A few years later, the council re-introduced a water feature as part of its reconstruction of Station Square, but that was eventually filled in.

Photo taken circa 1950 of Station Square, showing the water feature that was later filled in. Photo: Vik Lokie/Walker-Neesam Archive.

Then in 1992, when the area outside the Victoria Quarter remodelled, developer Speyhawk incorporated pools and fountains, but these too were later removed. 

Just over a decade ago, developer Lateral unveiled a scheme to pedestrianise Parliament Street and reroute through-traffic via a hairpin bend round the Pump Room. That scheme – which failed to find much support – also included water features at various places around town. 

Most recently, the original Harrogate Station Gateway plans envisaged water jets shooting vertically out of a plaza on Station Parade, but that part of the plan was also dropped. 

The fountains that were part of the original Victoria Shopping Centre design in 1992 were removed a few years later. Photo: Walker-Neesam Archive.

But why the recurring interest in something so apparently inessential? A nice-to-have, rather than a need-to-have? 

Well, it all comes down to identity. Look around most towns and cities and the reason for their location is usually fairly obvious. Some are on a defensible hill or a navigable inlet, and go to the heart of almost any large settlement and you’ll see a river running through it.

But spa towns are different. Towns like Harrogate have no castle, harbour or river, and their origin or purpose is not immediately obvious. A water feature, it has been argued, could remedy that, acting as a focus for Harrogate’s identity and embodying its Latin motto – arx celebris fontibus – a citadel famous for its springs.

The late Malcolm Neesam, Harrogate’s historian par excellence, clearly gave the matter a lot of thought. When asked by the Stray Ferret in 2021 how he would improve Harrogate, he included prominent fountains on his wish-list. 

He said: 

“The time is well overdue to provide Harrogate with some magnificent water features to celebrate its Spa past.” 

He described his vision: 

“Given unlimited funding, I would add something so spectacular as to make visitors arriving at the town’s centre gasp with wonderment.”

Of the gardens on Prospect Place, in front of the Yorkshire Hotel and Hotel du Vin, he said: 

“I would introduce at least four multi-bowled cascade fountains to advertise Harrogate as the original Spadacrene Anglica – the English spa fountain – which would be illuminated at night, and of such a design as to ensure the minimum side-effects from wind. Along the low row of boundary stones, which separate the gardens from the footpath, I would add a long ornamental railing, which would be attractive to the eye and useful in emphasising that pedestrians should remain on the path.”

The intention would be to announce to people coming into the town from the south: “This is a spa town. Water is why it exists”. 

At the last attempt, the general idea gained a fair amount of public support. In the second round of public consultation on Harrogate Station Gateway Public in 2021, comments mentioning the water feature element of the proposals were largely positive. A typical comment read: 

“There should be a public fountain like in European cities. Water features are great for well-being.” 

Another said: 

“These are fantastic and interactive. They have been very successful in places like Kings Cross, Manchester and Bradford. Please include this in the final scheme.” 

The fountains in City Park, Bradford. Photo: Creative Commons/Phil Champion.

But some were less enthusiastic, for example: 

“Water features especially usually attract litter and anti-social behaviour (see Bradford and its lake, for example). Too many of schemes like this just produce what looks like clutter in reality, as opposed to pretty impressions.” 

Another gave it a firm “no”, adding: 

“It would be very difficult to prevent children getting wet and Harrogate is a windy town, so spray would blow all over.” 

Andrew Brown, interim chair of Harrogate Civic Society, is inclined to agree. Speaking to the Stray Ferret in a personal capacity, he said: 

“I was not a fan of that proposal. I quite like the idea of waterjets in public places, but Station Square was not the right location. It’s a relatively small space and fairly shadowed, even in the summer.” 

But he does like the broader idea. He said: 

“It would be very appropriate for Harrogate to have one or more water features, but it would very much depend on what form it would take. It could take many forms in different locations, and its form might also be influenced by its location.” 

Sites other than Station Square and Prospect Gardens could feasibly include the area around the Cenotaph, Montpellier Gardens, Crescent Gardens (in front of the old council offices) and the heart of the shopping district, where Cambridge Street opens up into Market Place. 

For Matthew Chapman, manager of Harrogate BID (business improvement district), the idea could provide a welcome – and Continental – boost to Harrogate’s social and cultural life. He said: 

“We’d be fully in support of such a proposal that celebrates the heritage and traditions of Harrogate. 

“If we look at some of the highest-performing European cities, they all have an excellent public realm offer. Cities like Rome, Krakow and Paris all have main squares where people can congregate, and where different partners – policing, the council, street cleansing – all work together towards a shared vision. Harrogate needs that too.” 

Cllr Sam Gibbs, who represents the Valley Gardens & Central Harrogate Division on North Yorkshire Council, is more measured in his enthusiasm for the notion, but ultimately open to suggestions. He said: 

“It’s not a terrible idea, but it would really depend on where it was, how much it would cost, and who would be responsible for it.

“I supported the original plans for the Station Gateway, and a key part of that was improvements like these to the public realm.

“I’m all for things that smarten up the town centre. If we can attract more footfall and encourage people to stay here, that can only be a good thing.”

He added:

“If it’s part of a wider conversation about how we encourage people into the town, as far as I’m concerned, nothing’s off the table.”

Read more:

• Harrogate Station Gateway plans now not set to be released until summer
• Harrogate set for colourful fountains and WiFi-charging benches
• Malcolm Neesam: How I’d unlock the potential of Crescent Gardens

North Yorkshire Council has said it now does not expect to release plans for the £12.1 million Harrogate Station Gateway until summer.

Work is due to start on the town centre transport scheme in September — even though the full details have not been made public.

The council said previously the plans would be made available in spring.

This prompted Rachael Inchboard, a member of Granville Road Residents’ Association, to submit a freedom of information request to the local authority asking for the plans to be made available urgently so people could have their say. But the council has declined to do so.

Its response, seen by the Stray Ferret, acknowledged the council should be transparent, there was “local interest in the gateway project” and the public should be able to hold the council to account.

But it said the public interest would be met once the council published the information, adding:

“Publishing revisions to plans ahead of schedule would involve duplication of the effort necessary to prepare it for publication and create a significant separate workstream which would detract from the work currently being carried out in its preparation and completion. The information will be published as soon as it is practical to do so.

“There is a public interest in the information being ratified before publication so it can be ensured that the information is accurate. If inaccurate information is published it could cause unnecessary concern.”

The response also indicated the timeframe for releasing the plans had slipped from spring to summer. It said:

“The council intends to present the detailed design alongside the information made available for the Traffic Regulation Order that will be required. This is likely to be in the summer as the TRO requires detailed design to be complete.”

The scheme has been ‘descoped’ after the council admitted its previous plans, which included pedestrianising part of James Street and reducing a stretch of Station Parade to single lane traffic, were legally flawed.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority gave the green light for the revised scheme to proceed last month when it approved the full business case even though a report ahead of the meeting branded it “poor value for money” and said it would “mainly disbenefit highway users”.

Cllr Keane Duncan, the council’s executive member for highways and Conservative candidate to be North Yorkshire mayor, said preparatory work would begin soon after approval was granted.

Some details of the revised scheme have been revealed to the media: they include retaining two lanes of traffic and creating a southbound cycleway on Station Parade, creating a bus lane, junctional signal improvements and improvements to Station Square and the One Arch foot tunnel.

The council’s response to Ms Inchboard said the main elements “are unlikely to change” but “the detail may be subject to change”. It added the detailed design “is currently being progressed”.

Ms Inchboard was disappointed in the response. She said:

“Perhaps they are trying to delay any challenges by informing the public about the gateway plans very close to the deadline.”

Read more:

• Business case approved for £12.1m Harrogate Station Gateway
• ‘Stop this madness,’ says anti-Station Gateway campaigner
• Harrogate’s ex-Tourist Information Centre goes on the market

A cycleway looks set to be built on Harrogate’s Station Parade as part of the reduced £11.2 million Station Gateway scheme.

Cllr Keane Duncan, North Yorkshire Council‘s executive member for highways and transport, said today the full business case for the scheme had been submitted to West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

He said it included a southbound cycleway on the same side of the road as the bus station, and maintaining two lanes of traffic.

The details have not been released but the decision to keep two lanes of traffic and build a cycleway raises questions about the future of the taxi rank and loading bay on the other side of Station Parade.

The taxi rank

The loading bay

The council scrapped its previous proposals, which included reducing some of Station Parade to single lane and part-pedestrianising James Street, after admitting its plans were legally flawed.

The original scheme was hailed as a key active travel scheme that would be part of a cycle route to Cardale Park so its abandonment disappointed cyclists.

The revised scheme includes better coordinated traffic signals, footways and crossings, public realm improvements to areas including the One Arch tunnel, a bus lane and a southbound cycleway along Station Parade.

Cllr Duncan, who has been chosen to represent the Conservatives in the York and North Yorkshire mayoral election on May 2, said:

“This represents a significant cross-party effort and many hours of discussions.

“While there has been inevitable compromise, there is encouraging agreement on key elements of the revised scheme which takes us closer to securing £11 million of investment for Harrogate.

“Station Parade will remain two lanes, with no pedestrianisation of James Street.”

Cllr Keane Duncan

He added the revised plan “delivers key benefits to all road users”, adding:

“We now standby for approval of the business case before construction can begin, hopefully later this year.

“There will be further public engagement and consultation on the detail of the plan in coming months.”

Read more:

• Cyclists brand scaled-back Harrogate gateway plans a’huge disappointment’
• Harrogate streets reopen after bomb scare
• Four Harrogate firefighters to be axed in April

The leader of the Liberal Democrats in Harrogate and Knaresborough has accused the Conservative transport chief of “pinching” their ideas for the £11.2 million Station Gateway.

North Yorkshire Council is hastily assembling new proposals for the scheme after admitting its previous plans failed to follow the correct procedure in the wake of legal action.

Councillor Keane Duncan, the Conservative executive member for highways, revealed last week that two of the most controversial aspects of the scheme — reducing Station Parade to one lane and pedestrianising James Street — would be scrapped.

A detailed new plan has yet to be published but it is expected to include improvements to Station Square and One Arch and upgrading traffic signals.

Lib Dem leader Pat Marsh said the Lib Dems suggested dropping the Station Parade and James Street proposals at an online meeting of the council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee working group on October 31 — shortly before Cllr Duncan’s announcement.

She said the 13 members of the area constituency committee are due to walk around the gateway site tomorrow (Thursday, November 8) with a senior officer at the council.

Cllr Marsh said the visit would enable the council to better understand the area and consider a “better connected” Lib Dem plan for the town centre.

She said previous gateway proposals “started nowhere and ended nowhere”.

Cllr Marsh said:

“There are simple solutions that would connect the town better. They would enable cyclists to feel safer and not upset motorists.”

She added she would reveal full details of the proposals after tomorrow’s meeting but said they included improvements to the public realm near the train and bus stations, keeping the Station Parade taxi rank where it is and “tidying up” the area around the train station car park.

Cllr Marsh said:

“What we feel we have come up with is a better connected scheme.

“We are not playing politics — that is why we put something forward and offered to do a walk round.”

The Stray Ferret has asked Cllr Duncan to respond to Cllr Marsh’s comments but has not had a response.

Read more:

• Harrogate BID says amended Station Gateway scheme ‘should proceed’
• Major elements of £11.2 million Harrogate Station Gateway scheme to be scrapped
• Council concedes it should have held public inquiry into Harrogate Station Gateway

Two major parts of Harrogate’s £11.2 million Station Gateway project look set to be scrapped.

Cllr Keane Duncan, executive councillor for highways at North Yorkshire Council, said reducing Station Parade to one lane and pedestrianising James Street would need be dropped from the scheme in order for it “to be successful”.

The move comes as council officials are currently drawing up alternative options for the project after the previous proposals were paused last month.

The original plans included reducing a 300-metre stretch of Station Parade to single lane to make space for cycle lanes and the part-pedestrianisation of James Street.

Cllr Keane Duncan.

However, Cllr Duncan, who is also the Conservative candidate for Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, said new proposals for the gateway project required major changes.

He said:

“We need to make fundamental changes to the gateway if we are to secure investment for Harrogate.

“The proposal to reduce Station Parade to a single lane has been the most divisive element. To be successful, we would need Station Parade to remain as two lanes.

“And plans for James Street would need to be removed from the scheme’s scope altogether.”

The council halted the scheme immediately after lawyers acting on behalf of local property firm Hornbeam Park Developments launched a judicial review.

As a result, the authority announced it would draw up alternative options which would focus on “a high quality pedestrian-focussed public realm scheme, with improved access into the bus station, and better traffic flow through co-ordinated signal timings”.

Read more:

• Council concedes it should have held public inquiry into Harrogate Station Gateway
• Harrogate Station Gateway ‘on life support but not dead yet’

Full proposals are expected to be put before senior North Yorkshire councillors at a later date.

Cllr Duncan added that the new scheme would still be able to deliver public realm improvements.

He said:

“A new gateway proposal would allow us to move forward with first-class public realm improvements to Station Square, give One Arch the attention it needs and tackle congestion by upgrading the myriad of uncoordinated traffic signals.

“We have a final window of opportunity to produce a deliverable and beneficial scheme. This will not be easy, but I am committed to a cross-party effort. Constructive conversations are already taking place between Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors.

“My hope is to achieve a revised project plan with clear support from the public.

“I hope that residents and businesses can be encouraged by the pragmatic effort under way and the prospect of key changes to the Gateway that would see more controversial elements removed.”