Anti-Harrogate Station Gateway scheme campaign group, Get Away, immediately instructs lawyers to appeal the High Court’s judgement; and calls out the council’s reaction to the ruling as an insult to the vast majority of the public and the business community that opposed it
Campaigners against the Harrogate Station Gateway scheme have instructed their lawyers to appeal the decision of the High Court in relation to a judicial review of North Yorkshire Council’s making of four Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) to implement the scheme.
The Get Away campaign had argued that the Council’s failure to consider the wider impact of their proposals, including expert evidence on the impacts; and to gauge public opinion prior to making the TROs was unlawful. Whilst the judge has dismissed these arguments, the Get Away campaign group is clear that the judge’s decision is wrong on a number of grounds.
Says Steven Baines, the spokesperson for the campaign: “This scheme has failed on every level – there is no public majority for it; the vast majority of local traders are against it; there was no consultation of the revised plans; and there has been no updated economic impact assessment. What does this decision say about local democracy?
“We are so sure of our position that we have already instructed lawyers to take forward an appeal.”
Baines also described comments made on the ruling by Cllr Malcolm Taylor, executive councillor for Highways at North Yorkshire Council, as a “joke and a smack in the teeth” for the vast majority of the general public and business community who have opposed the project. Cllr Taylor reacting to the judgement, reportedly said: “The decision vindicates the thorough and transparent process we followed.”
A survey conducted by the Get Away campaign amongst some 200 businesses revealed that 91% were opposed to the scheme, while similar numbers said they felt that the Station Gateway would not benefit the economy, visitors or local people. Major concerns raised by the business community included uncertainty about the impact it will have on local trade, lack of consultation and clarity over what the final scheme will look like, and disruption during the two-year construction works.
A recent report from the Corporate Director of Environment at North Yorkshire Council also highlighted that a further £2m had been allocated by the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority for the scheme from a Local Transport Grant that it is set to receive
from the Department for Transport. The same report flagged up that the scheme had been classed as a higher risk where further reassurance would be required ahead of approval, due most likely to the satisfactory conclusion of the legal challenge brought against it by the Get Away campaign group.
Baines added: “The multi-million pound scheme is a laughing stock and worst case example of local government financial governance. If they now get the extra £2m, as will most likely be the case, this will take the budget to some £14m, nearly double the £7.9m that was originally set aside, despite the downscaling of the project in between.
“It’s also been reported that the council has parted ways with construction business Galliford Try who were working on the scheme. Instead, the council has reportedly invited its own contractor NY Highways to submit a delivery plan and costings.”
Added Baines: “Serious questions now need to be asked around this latest judgement for a project that the majority of people living and trading in Harrogate don’t want. It’s time to draw a line under this project and move on. The money would be much better spent on free parking for shoppers to give a much-needed boost for local traders.”
