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We actively support and encourage meaningful, positive investment in Harrogate which creates growth and helps local businesses thrive. Sadly, North Yorkshire Council’s ill-considered Gateway scheme threatens to derail local trade, jeopardise livelihoods and hurt our town’s economy.
On paper, the cost of this scheme is £12 million – but the real price will be paid by local businesses and residents.
The council has decided NOT to subject the latest version of the Gateway scheme plans to public consultation, even after revising them in response to a legal challenge.
This decision raises serious concerns and strongly suggests that the council is rushing ahead with this damaging and controversial scheme without adequately considering the views of the local businesses and residents who will be most affected. It is particularly troubling given the overwhelmingly negative feedback the previous version of the scheme received.
Councillor Keane Duncan claims the council has ‘listened to feedback’ and insists the new plans will deliver ‘positive benefits for locals, visitors, and businesses’. If this is truly the case, then why is the council so reluctant to submit the revised scheme to public scrutiny?
How can the council be confident that this scheme is the right move for our town when residents and businesses are being excluded from the decision-making process?
As the UK economy continues to create uncertainty for the business community, with rising costs making even basic operations increasingly expensive, the two year disruption caused by this scheme could be the final straw for many Harrogate traders.
North Yorkshire Council should be actively supporting and nurturing our business community, not pursuing plans that risk undermining it. This project must be scrapped to provide local traders with the best possible operating environment during a time of immense economic hardship.
In September 2024, the council stated it would ‘work with businesses to identify ways to mitigate the impact of the project.’ However, this remains to be seen and we, as local businesses, feel increasingly ignored. Despite previously raising concerns with the scheme – including issues around parking and reduced footfall – the council’s transport lead said they are ‘keen’ to press ahead. Harrogate’s business community deserves better.
Despite its immense potential impact on local businesses and residents, the Gateway project is seemingly being overseen by people who have a limited understanding of Harrogate.
Survey data gathered by North Yorkshire Council revealed that the majority of the public oppose the Gateway scheme. When asked about the plans, 46% of respondents – including Harrogate residents and businesses – stated they felt ‘negative’ or 'very negative,' while an additional 10% were neutral or undecided.
Feedback provided by respondents was also critical. Hundreds of comments expressed concerns that the scheme is ‘not the best use of public money,’ that the proposals are ‘not needed,’ and that the project would negatively impact residents, businesses, and visitors. Many also raised serious questions about the consultation process and the council’s decision-making.
The council has since updated the plans but has not subjected the new version to public consultation. It is alarming that the council is pushing ahead with a scheme that has so far failed to win the majority of public favour and unacceptable that residents and businesses are being denied the opportunity to share their views on the revised plan, particularly given the widespread opposition to its previous iteration.
The council has failed to publish a comprehensive, updated economic impact assessment for the revised Gateway scheme. This glaring lack of transparency is deeply troubling, as it denies residents, businesses and stakeholders the opportunity to fully understand the financial implications of the project or determine whether it represents a responsible use of public funds.
By withholding this critical information, the council is effectively asking the public to accept a scheme that could have significant and far-reaching economic consequences without providing the necessary facts to justify it.
This not only adds to our mistrust in the council’s decision-making process but reinforces the need to scrap the unwelcome Gateway scheme, rather than rushing it through as it appears the council is attempting to do.