Council is put on notice of potential High Court legal challenge; concerns are shared with the Department for Transport and anti-scheme campaign goes into overdrive
Steven Baines, a local business owner and spokesperson for the Get Away campaign, has instructed lawyers to challenge North Yorkshire Council in the High Court regarding their plans for the Harrogate Station Gateway scheme.
It comes as the campaign group moves into overdrive with its plans. The Get Away group has informed the council that its alleged failure to consider the wider impacts of the proposal and to consult fully with the public have rendered the TROs illegal.
The businesses – which include freeholders, tenants and high street retailers – are also launching a hard-hitting multi-media campaign to mobilise traders to speak up against the plans and are writing to the Department for Transport (DfT) to escalate their concerns.
Get Away is also organising its own survey to provide vital insight from the Harrogate and wider North/West Yorkshire business community – whether positive or negative – about their feelings towards the Gateway scheme.
Steven Baines said: “North Yorkshire Council may have shied away from consulting with local businesses so we are facilitating our own consultation to give us a voice.
“As the UK economy continues to worry the business community, the extra financial pressure from the disruption this scheme will cause could be the final straw for many Harrogate traders. North Yorkshire Council should scrap this project to allow our business community the best possible operating environment to provide much-needed goods and services to the people of Harrogate and further afield now and in the future.
“Where is the over-arching business support for this scheme? Where is the economic impact assessment which shows the benefits this will bring for our businesses and where is the open dialogue with traders? The answer is nowhere.”
Barry Adams, a business professional, said there was a growing feeling that the council just wanted to push the scheme through without fully considering the best interests of businesses.
He added: “The engagement has been poor to say the least, Traffic Regulation Orders were inconsistently displayed and missing key information and the plans were not made available as they should have been in the local library and online.
“We are all for investment in the town but it must be the right investment which makes a positive impact for Harrogate, creates growth and helps local businesses thrive. Clearly this proposal does the very opposite which is why we want nothing to do with it and call on the council to Get Away from Gateway.”
The Harrogate Civic Society says it is worried how rapidly the plans were approved, adding that the timescale was ‘unheard of’ by public applicants and objects to the amount of tree felling that it will require. The campaign group has set up a website and facebook group