Ambitious plans to transform buses in North Yorkshire were dealt a stunning blow today when the county was completely overlooked for funding.

North Yorkshire County Council applied for £116million from a UK government scheme to improve buses outside London.

The county council warned last month it was unlikely to receive the full £116million after government funding for the Bus Back Better initiative was slashed from £3billion to £1.4billion.

But officials were left shocked today when North Yorkshire didn’t receive a penny, with the government suggesting their plans lacked ambition.

It means plans to create better and more affordable buses in the county will have to be reconsidered.

Harrogate a priority area

Congested Harrogate had been earmarked as a priority area in North Yorkshire to benefit from funding. New bus lanes and a park and ride were among the upgrades planned.

Michael Leah, assistant director of travel, environmental and countryside services at the council, said:

“We are extremely disappointed not to have received an allocation from this round of government funding.

“We believe we had a strong and ambitious bid in our Bus Service Improvement Plan, but we understood that the government’s fund was greatly over-subscribed and that there was no guarantee of funding.

“We are keen to speak to the Department for Transport to understand its decision and to discuss the possibility of any future opportunities to bid for funding.”

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‘No funding for areas lacking ambition’

The government awarded funding today to 31 councils, city regions and unitary authorities — and some will implement fare cuts of up to 45% from next week.

A Department for Transport statement said:

“The successful areas have been chosen because of their ambition to repeat the success achieved in London — which drove up bus usage and made the bus a natural choice for everyone, not just those without cars.”

“As the government stated in last year’s national bus strategy, Bus Back Better, areas not showing sufficient ambition, including for improvements to bus priority, would not be funded.”

The funding means passes for unlimited bus travel across Cornwall — one of the successful bidding areas — will be reduced from £9 a day to £5.

Despite today’s setback, Mr Leah said:

“We remain committed to enhancing North Yorkshire’s public transport and continuing to work with bus operators to improve services across the county.

“Our recently agreed enhanced partnership with operators is not entirely reliant on this funding, so we will be able to progress elements of that partnership.”

North Yorkshire County Council is facing criticism over a proposal to charge thousands of parents for their children’s school cycling proficiency training

Leading councillors will on Friday consider accepting the Department for Transport’s grant to run Bikeability, the government’s national cycle training programme, which teaches practical skills as well as how to cycle on roads.

A proposal to formally accept the grant has been made despite the sum being less than the £46.20 per pupil received last year. The shortfall in total is almost £90,000 and could lead to a £10 charge for parents to partially offset this.

An officers’ report states alongside an increased subsidy from the council, from September will be the first full year in which fees will be charged to the families of more than 4,000 primary school pupils for the course.

The officers’ report warns: 

“For the programme to continue, funding will be required to meet the shortfall, through either a full charging scheme or another source.

“This may impact on the number of schools booking courses.”

The report reveals that for the current academic year, the council accepted a grant of £168,165 to provide up to 3,637 places on the scheme, which employs seven fixed-term, part-time staff and approximately 40 casual relief cycle trainers.

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For the coming academic year the Department for Transport has offered grant funding of £186,165, to provide 4,137 places, equating to £45 per pupil.

The report adds: 

“For the programme to continue, funding will be required to meet the shortfall, through either a full charging scheme or another source.”

The council’s executive member for access, Don Mackenzie, said while the charge to parents was coming on top of many other cost of living increases, the benefits of undertaking cycling training were very significant.

Describing the £10 fee as “a very small amount”, Cllr Mackenzie said Bikeability had become more important with the switch to more sustainable modes of travel and in the drive to tackle obesity.

He said: 

“It gives people better skills on the road, improves their confidence, and once trained encourages more people to take up cycling. To me it is up there with life skills such as learning to swim.”

‘Dreadful idea’

However, the authority’s Liberal Democrat and Labour group leaders, councillors Bryn Griffiths and Eric Broadbent, have called for the ruling Conservative administration to rethink the levying charge, saying it would prove divisive in some schools and an unacceptable extra charge for many families.

Cllr Griffiths said putting an extra £10 charge on people already struggling to make ends meet due to mounting fuel and food costs was “a dreadful idea”.

He said: 

“An exemption for children on free school meals would be an excellent idea.”

Cllr Broadbent added he was concerned the charge could lead to some children from financially struggling families not taking the course and while £10 would seem a minimal sum to many people, it would represent another item those on low incomes would not have budgeted for.

Residents concerned about the number of hedgehogs being killed on a Harrogate street have applied for signs alerting motorists to the danger.

People on Forest Lane and Forest Moor Road petitioned Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones and North Yorkshire County Council. Hedgehogs are included in the list of animals vulnerable to extinction.

As a result, the county council has made its first application to the Department for Transport to install signs.

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Mr Jones, a Conservative who was a minister in the department when the warning signs were introduced, said on his Community News website:

“Biodiversity is important. That is why I want to back campaigns like this. Residents in the Forest Moor area have told me that injured, and more often dead, hedgehogs are a regular sight.

“If these signs just encourage motorists to pay that bit more attention in the area we can help reduce the numbers and do our bit to increase the vulnerable hedgehog population.”

Mr Jones said he “will be encouraging a quick and positive response”.

Work on Harrogate’s Station Gateway project could continue into 2024 — considerably longer than first indicated.

The scheme was given the green light by North Yorkshire County Council’s executive yesterday, paving the way for its implementation.

The Department for Transport, which is funding the initiative, had set a deadline of March 2023 for completion. Councils supporting it had said in consultation documents “it is anticipated that construction of the scheme will begin in spring 2022 for approximately 12 months”.

But North Yorkshire County Council, which is the lead partner on the scheme, said after yesterday’s meeting the Department for Transport had now advised the deadline could be extended into 2024.

A county council spokesman said:

“Although the Department for Transport set an initial completion date of March 2023, the department has advised that completion could extend into 2024.”

This could lead to longer-term disruption for businesses already concerned about the impact on trade, although the councils have said “we will aim to ensure all roads remain open to traffic at all times, and noise and other disturbance from the works will be minimised”.

What happens now with the gateway?

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive councillor for access, has hailed the £10.9 million gateway initiative as the “greatest investment in decades” in Harrogate town centre.

Key proposals include reducing Station Parade to one lane and the part pedestrianisation of James Street to encourage more walking and cycling.

Yesterday, senior county councillors gave their backing for the scheme to move to detailed design stage and for a final business case to be drawn up.

The final case will be submitted to West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which administers the funding for the Harrogate, Skipton and Selby schemes, which together are worth £42 million.

Read more:

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Council bosses said the business case could be submitted by May 2022.

They added work could start on the Harrogate project “later this year”. They had previously indicated work would be underway by spring or summer but now appear to less specific.

Impact on businesses

The council backed the scheme despite considerable opposition from businesses and residents groups.

David Simister, chief executive of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, told councillors that businesses had been “ignored” and that an economic impact study did not take into account the disruption on businesses.

He said:

“Does the economic impact study take into account the disruption delivering this Project will have on businesses already on their knees through to the ongoing impact of covid?”

Barrie Mason, assistant director of highways at the county council, responded to say officers were “reluctant” to make a final economic case while “designs were evolving”.

However, he added that the “foundation” of the council’s economic case had been shared with businesses and the public at a meeting organised by Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce in November 2021.

Mr Mason added:

“We delayed publishing a final economic case until after the consultation had been completed and any amendments could be taken into account.”

He went onto to say that the county council would “work closely with contractors” to minimise any disruption to the town centre by construction of the scheme.

Concerns over infrastructure and rolling stock have delayed the introduction of improved direct train services between Harrogate and London.

A new timetable, with an earlier direct service to London King’s Cross, was due to be implemented in May 2022.

The shake-up was announced by LNER in June last year as part of wider changes to services on the east coast main line.

LNER said times between Harrogate and London would be about 10 minutes faster as part of the new timetable, which included:

• A service to leave Harrogate earlier, at 6.35am rather than 7.34am.
• A new seventh daily train would leave Harrogate at 6.35pm. On the current schedule, the last train departs at 5.36pm.

In the opposite direction, from London direct to Harrogate:

• Trains would start almost an hour earlier (6.40am rather than 7.33am).
• The final service back would also be earlier, at 4.39pm rather than 5.33pm.

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However, the improved services will now not be introduced after Network Rail recommended that the Department for Transport, which has the final decision on the timetable, delays the implementation.

The organisation said it had “concerns around infrastructure, rolling stock and performance and stakeholder feedback” with the changes.

Simon Leyshon, industry programme director for Network Rail’s east coast route, said it hoped to implement the changes as soon as possible.

He said:

“Postponing the new timetable change for the east coast main line allows us to dedicate more time to considering the views passengers and stakeholders shared with us during the consultation process last year.

“We’re now working closely with train operating companies and the wider rail industry to develop a timetable that meets passenger’s changing travel patterns and makes the most of the increased capacity on the East Coast main line following the £1.2 billion East Coast upgrade.”

Network Rail also pointed out that Harrogate had already seen an additional Northern service introduced on the Leeds to York line in December 2021.

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has supported the government’s decision to pause the rollout of smart motorways.

Mr Jones was a key advocate of smart motorways during his time as a minister at the Department for Transport between 2015 and 2019.

The government this week shelved any further implementations of the scheme “until five years worth of safety data becomes available” for motorways built before 2020.

There have been mounting concerns about the technology after multiple deaths and near misses have been reported.

Government figures show 38 deaths on smart motorways were recorded between 2014 and 2019, including John Mercer, who died on a stretch of the M1 without a hard shoulder in 2019.

Speaking at a Westminster Hall debate on the issue yesterday, Mr Jones said:

“The pause that has been announced gives us the chance to retrofit, implement and review the stopped vehicle detection technology and perhaps improve it.

“The pace of the development is so fast that I am sure that developments will come into play sooner rather than later.

“We should expect all modes of transport to become busier as we emerge from the pandemic, and that will include our roads. As that happens, road safety must never be compromised, but enhanced.”

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During his time as a transport minister in May 2016, Mr Jones insisted that the rollout of smart motorways was not being done “on the cheap”, as opponents of the scheme had claimed. They said it compromised safety.

At a Transport Select Committee debate at the time, the Conservative MP said:

“Are these things being developed on the cheap? No, no they’re not. This is part of a comprehensive injection of capacity into our national strategic road network.

“This is a key ingredient in our first road investment strategy, that is a £15 billion budget.”

At the same debate, he later added that the government was monitoring the safety of the schemes and that he did not think it was “a question of having a back-up plan or pausing”.

The government has said pausing the rollout builds on its action plan for smart motorways, which includes adding emergency areas and upgrading cameras to detect red X offences.

Councillors look set to give the green light to the £10.9 million Harrogate Station Gateway in just over a fortnight’s time.

Work on the scheme, which aims to make the town centre more attractive to cyclists and pedestrians, is then likely to begin in spring or summer.

The designs are not expected to be amended significantly despite considerable opposition from residents and businesses.

North Yorkshire County Council, which is the lead partner, is set to make a decision on the gateway at its executive meeting on January 25.

Don Mackenzie

Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at the county council, told the Stray Ferret it was “likely” the initiative will be recommended for approval. He said:

“I am indeed expecting that the executive will be asked to make a decision on the Harrogate Gateway scheme at its next-but-one meeting on January 25.

“It is likely that a report will be presented with recommendations to proceed with the project.

“I do not expect the design to differ to any great extent from that which has been consulted upon last year, although we may give authority for minor changes as progress is made, should they be required. That is not unusual in such cases.

“All of this is dependent upon a positive decision to proceed.”

Read more:

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Petition rejected

Last week the county council rejected a 714-signature petition by Harrogate Residents Association calling for the project to be halted.

The petition followed the publication of consultation responses, which revealed that of 1,320 people who replied to an online survey, 55% feel negatively, 39% positively and five per cent neutral towards the scheme. One per cent said they didn’t know.

Anna McIntee, co-founder of the group, accused the authority of “ploughing ahead” with the project without listening to concerns.

How James Street would look.

But Harrogate District Cycle Action said in a statement at the same meeting that the gateway would be a “big step forward” towards a greener future.

Key proposals include reducing traffic to one lane on some of Station Parade and part-pedestrianising James Street to encourage cycling and walking.

Legal threat

Last month Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, Harrogate Business Improvement District and Independent Harrogate, accused those behind the project of ignoring criticism and urged them to “put the brakes on”.

Businesses in Harrogate, concerned about the scheme’s impact on trade, are considering a legal challenge.

They had hoped a challenge could either stop the scheme or delay it long enough to jeopardise funding.

New cycle lanes would be built on Station Parade.

North Yorkshire County Council and partners Harrogate Borough Council, and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority have previously said that the Department for Transport, which is funding the Harrogate scheme and similar ones in Selby and Skipton through its Transforming Cities Fund, requires the projects be completed by March 2023.

But Cllr Mackenzie suggested this was not necessarily the case. He said:

“A contractor would need to be chosen before the start of construction. I am guessing that work would get underway in late spring or summer.

“Furthermore, I am confident that the initial deadline for completion of all the gateway schemes in North and West Yorkshire of March 2023 would be able to be extended.”

A Harrogate lorry driver has said the costs of obtaining a HGV licence need to be reviewed if more people are to take up the career.

The government said this week it was introducing temporary visas for 5,000 lorry drivers after a Road Haulage Association survey revealed a shortage of more than 100,000 qualified drivers in the UK.

This shortage has contributed to ongoing fuel supply problems.

Mark Garrod, from Harrogate, holds a category 1 HGV licence, which entitles him to drive lorries weighing more than 7.5 tonnes. He said the cost of obtaining a licence could deter some of those wanting to train as drivers to fill the vacancies.

The cost of the test alone is about £225 and learners must also pay to complete 35 hours of training. Mr Garrod believes the combined cost is too much for many people, particularly the unemployed.

He urged the Department for Transport to review the costs, or find ways to encourage employers to help staff who wish to learn.

Mr Garrod, who is not currently working but is due to join a Harrogate lorry company in the coming weeks, said he’d spoken to numerous people looking for haulage work who had turned down roles because they couldn’t afford the fees. He added:

“People see this shortage as an opportunity to find work but then they see the cost of getting the licence and they can’t afford it.

“It may be that something as simple as reviewing the costs could help the shortage of drivers.”

Surge in inquiries at Harrogate law firm 

Harrogate law firm Truth Legal said today it had received a surge in enquiries from international drivers hoping to apply for short-term visas.

But it added there was still a lack of clarity over how the initiative will work.

Louis MacWilliam, head of immigration at Truth Legal, said:

“If an employer doesn’t have a sponsor licence already, the process of getting one can take weeks or even months.

“It’s not yet clear how this will mesh with the government’s plans to open the scheme in October, and close it on Christmas Eve”.

The Department for Transport announced various measures this week to increase the number of lorry drivers.

They include using Ministry of Defence examiners to increase immediate HGV testing capacity and introducing free, short courses to help drivers gain a category C or category C&E licence.

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A government spokesperson said:

“We’ve taken immediate action to increase the supply of HGV drivers, streamlining the testing process, enabling fuel companies to work together and introducing short term visas.

“This is a global problem and we have been working closely with industry for months to understand how we can boost recruitment.

“However we also want to see long-term solutions delivered by employers through improved testing and hiring, with better pay and working.”

A bus company has called for Harrogate to introduce a low emission zone as part of the debate about the proposed £7.9 million Station Gateway project.

If adopted, only low polluting hybrid and electric vehicles would have access to Lower Station Parade, which runs alongside the town’s bus station.

The Station Gateway project is a government-funded scheme to regenerate the town centre and promote sustainable travel.

Consultation is ongoing, and Alex Hornby, chief executive of the Harrogate Bus Company, a subsidiary of Transdev, said a low emission zone should be created covering the town’s bus station and Lower Station Parade alongside it.

Currently, Lower Station Parade is a one-way street with two lanes of traffic, both of which are open to all road users.

He said:

“While we see the Station Gateway proposals as a positive step towards our shared aim of a low emission town, we must go further for Harrogate’s future by making the most of this tremendous opportunity.

“The creation of a low emission zone, covering the current bus station, plus Lower Station Parade which currently divides the bus and rail stations from the main shopping area, is vital if we are serious about improving Harrogate’s air quality.”

Mr Hornby said the company’s electric buses had improved air quality but more needed to be done:

“The proposed bus priority measures at Lower Station Parade and Cheltenham Parade – the first such measures to be put forward in the town’s history – are a positive start, and are to be welcomed, but by themselves are unlikely to go far enough to achieve Harrogate Borough Council’s stated aim of creating a net-zero carbon economy by 2038.”

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Mr Hornby added previous consultations had shown a majority of the public supported non-car solutions to traffic problems and “now is the time for bold thinking”.

A partnership of North Yorkshire local authorities has secured £31 million from the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities fund for three separate projects in Harrogate, Skipton and Selby.

The aim is to finalise designs and start construction work by summer 2022, with completion in 2023.

An online consultation into the Station Gateway proposals runs until Wednesday 24 March 2021. You can take part here:

The government has awarded North Yorkshire more than £1 million as part of plans to encourage more walking and cycling.

The funding is part of a five-year, £2 billion programme by the Department for Transport.

It has awarded £19 million of that sum to councils in Yorkshire. North Yorkshire County Council will be given £1,011,750 as part of the deal.

In the Harrogate district, Oatlands Drive, Victoria Avenue and the A59 connecting Starbeck to Knaresborough by Maple Close could benefit from the funding.

The government said the funding was aimed at creating measures to support walking and cycling, such as segregated cycle lanes, closing off streets around schools and improvements for pedestrians.

Read more:

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• Could cars be banned outside primary schools in Harrogate?

Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Transport, said:

 “It has been great to see so many people build cycling and walking into their daily travel habits. To support them, we know it’s vital to have the right infrastructure in place so everyone – cyclists, pedestrians and motorists – can use our roads.”

The county council made a second bid for £1 million worth of funding in August amid criticism it was not ambitious enough in the first phase.

In the first wave of emergency funding, the authority received £133,000 from government – half the potential amount available.

As part of the second bid, the county council outlined five roads it intended to improve with walkways and segregated cycle lanes.

Three roads in Harrogate were put forward, including Oatlands Drive, Victoria Avenue and the A59 connecting Starbeck to Knaresborough by Maple Close.

‘Excellent news’

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive county councillor for access at the county council, welcomed the further funding.

He said:

“We are committed to improving active, sustainable modes of travel for people across the county wherever possible.

“Following public engagement in the summer, we submitted a strong bid to the government’s Active Travel Fund, so it’s excellent news that we have been successful in gaining this funding.

“We now await confirmation of the details of the funding from the Department for Transport.”