£20m Transforming Cities contract advertised to push projects forward

A contract worth up to £20 million is being advertised to progress major transport schemes in Yorkshire, including the Harrogate Station Gateway.

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which works in partnership with local authorities to improve transport and stimulate economic development, wants to bring in a strategic development partner for its Transforming Cities projects.

The projects include the £10.9 million Station Gateway scheme in Harrogate, which could see the town’s James Street pedestrianised and Station Parade reduced to one lane.

The contract seeks to commission a company to provide technical details for all the schemes that are part of the Transforming Cities programme and move them to a full business case stage.

According to the government procurement site, the contract is worth between £5 million and £20 million and would last until October 2023.

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However, the Stray Ferret understands that, while North Yorkshire councils would have access to the service provided by the contractor, county council officials do not anticipate using it.

The Harrogate Station Gateway project is currently at the design stage and will be subject to further public consultation.

It is one of numerous schemes being funded by a £2.45 billion central government fund to boost cycling and walking in towns and cities.

The Stray Ferret reported in July that work could start on the Harrogate scheme in February 2022.

According to a county council report, construction would start when final approval is received from West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

£10.9m Harrogate Station Gateway scheme moves to design stage

Detailed plans to introduce one-way traffic on Station Parade and to pedestrianise part of James Street are to be drawn up.

These two proposed major changes to Harrogate town centre are the most contentious aspects of the £10.9 million Station Gateway project, which aims to increase cycling and walking and reduce traffic.

Some businesses fear the changes, which would slightly reduce the number of parking spaces, could hamper trade.

The decision to proceed to design stage follows the recent publication of a 160-page document analysing consultation responses to the scheme, which is a joint initiative between Harrogate Borough Council, North Yorkshire County Council and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Of 935 people who replied to a consultation question about Station Parade in an online survey, 49 per cent preferred the one-lane option, 27 per cent preferred the two-lane option and 24 per cent preferred neither.

Of the 934 who replied to a question about pedestrianising the northern section of James Street, between Princes Street and Station Parade, 54 per cent said they were either positive or very positive about it while 38 per cent were negative or very negative towards it.

Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at North Yorkshire County Council, acknowledged opinion was divided and questions remained.

But he added that just because designs were being drawn up did not mean the scheme was certain to proceed and there would be at least another two consultation stages.

He said:

“There are questions about whether one lane southbound will be sufficient to carry the volume of traffic that the A61 (Station Parade) takes. I myself still have questions about it.

“I will look at the designs to see how buses enter the one-lane system.

“I will want to know a bit more about the likely effect on other roads in the area, and additional transit times for southbound traffic heading from Ripon to Leeds.

“We have to make progress but there will be plenty more time to ask questions.”

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Cllr Mackenzie said Harrogate was the most congested place in North Yorkshire besides York and the 15,000 responses to the Harrogate and Knaresborough congestion survey in 2019 showed strong support for better cycling and pedestrian infrastructure.

The three councils have secured £34 million from the UK government’s Transforming Cities Fund, which aims to change the way people travel.

The funding will also be used to pay for walking and cycling schemes in Skipton and Selby but neither of those has proved as controversial as the one in Harrogate.

 

Another £3m allocated to controversial Harrogate Station Gateway scheme

Funding for Harrogate’s controversial Station Gateway scheme has been increased from £7.9m to over £10.9m.

The gateway project aims to create a more attractive entrance to the town around Station Parade and James Street and give greater priority for pedestrians and cyclists.

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which bid for the initial funding from the UK government, has now allocated an additional £2.6m to the scheme. It will come from the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund.

A West Yorkshire Combined Authority report said the overall delivery costs of the project have not increased but the extra money was needed for “risk and contingency”.

An additional £300,000 will be match-funded by local councils, taking the total cost of the project to £10.9m.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority has now agreed to proceed with the scheme towards drawing up a full business case.

The UK government has set a deadline of March 2023 for all schemes that received funds from the Transforming Cities Fund to be built.

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The Harrogate gateway scheme is being done in partnership with Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council.

Similar projects are planned in Selby and Skipton but the Harrogate scheme has proved the most contentious.

Some businesses are worried about the impact on trade but many Harrogate residents and environmental groups have welcomed it.

Councillor Phil Ireland, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability, has said the initiative “has the potential to create many more walking and cycling opportunities while transforming the look and feel of the station gateway area in Harrogate”.