The politician in charge of highways at North Yorkshire Council has welcomed the decision by councillors to back the £11.2m Harrogate Station Gateway proposals.

The perceived rights and wrongs of one of Harrogate’s most controversial transport schemes in decades were discussed at a special three-hour meeting of the Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee on Friday.

Three Liberal Democrat councillors issued strong objections to the project, including Knaresborough West councillor, Matt Walker, who called it an “£11-million-pound vanity project”.

Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone councillor, Pat Marsh, said it was the “wrong scheme” for Harrogate.

However, Conservative councillor for Bilton and Nidd Gorge, Paul Haslam, said the scheme will benefit businesses and encourage active travel and Conservative councillor for Oatlands and Pannal, John Mann, said the changes will rejuvenate the “run-down and dated” area around the train station.

Ultimately, 10 councillors — five Liberal Democrats and five Conservatives — agreed to support the scheme with conditions. Three voted against.

‘Transformative impact’

Cllr Keane Duncan, who has had responsibility for transport on the Conservative council’s executive since Don Mackenzie retired last year, said he was pleased that councillors from opposition parties came together to back the project.

Cllr Duncan said:

“I welcome the positive, cross-party support expressed for the gateway project. The majority of councillors recognised the importance of securing this £11m investment and the transformative impact the project could have for Harrogate.

“Their support gives the executive the ability to proceed to the next stage. Input and oversight provided by local councillors will be incredibly valuable, now and into the future.”

Friday’s successful motion to support the Station Gateway was put forward by Liberal Democrat councillor for Coppice Valley and Duchy, Peter Lacey, and it came with three conditions.

Read more:

• £11.2m Station Gateway set to go ahead after crucial Harrogate area vote
• Publican says cycle path crackdown in Harrogate is ‘unreasonable’

These were that the “genuine concerns” of residents and groups are listened to, local councillors have a “meaningful role” in the implementation of the scheme and that a “rigorous monitoring system” to examine its potential impact on traffic, environment and business is put in place.

The motion will be presented to the council’s executive at a meeting on May 30 when senior councillors will decide whether to submit a full business case for the project.

If approved, construction could begin by the end of this year.

Last Friday’s area constituency committee meeting was unusual in that it focused on just one topic.

And despite being an advisory body, there were more eyes on it than normal meetings because the council promised to abide by whatever decision councillors took.

North Yorkshire Council has pledged to give area constituency committees more of a say in decision-making going forward. It could mean more meetings take place place around hot-button issues in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Reflecting on Friday’s meeting, Cllr Duncan added:

“With localism at the heart of the new North Yorkshire Council, it was right for the executive to seek the views of local councillors, elected by and accountable to the people of Harrogate and Knaresborough.”

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

John Geddes makes interesting points in his recent letter to you about Yorbus. At first, I was an enthusiastic user of the service.

Although it was quite clearly uneconomic, it worked well for me: and apart from journeys during the lunch hour period which were next-to impossible to arrange, was usually responsive to my needs.

Since it became possible to book rides, the service has become clunky and sometimes worse than useless (it’s no use to me to be able to get somewhere if I can’t get back).

Even booked rides are no longer reliable. I understand the need to offer a 50 minute window in which the ride might come, but then to give 10 minutes notice of its leaving 10 minutes ahead of that offered window often makes the ride impossible to accept.

The drivers are unfailingly friendly and courteous. They, like many users, complain about the quality of the app.  But it feels as if suggestions for improvement are not listened to, let alone acted upon.

Perhaps John Geddes’ suggestion of having instead a YorTaxi service is a possible way forward?

Margaret Lawrenson, North Stainley

Victoria Avenue plan ‘utter madness’

First, we had the débâcle of phase 1 of the Otley Road cycleway which wasted time and money resulting in the loss of trees, damage to the environment and the eco systems. The cycling brigade refuse to use it because they consider it is dangerous and does not comply recommended standards.

Second, we had phase 2 of Otley Road cycleway along with Beech Grove Low Traffic Neighbourhood and all the other attempts to make it work. Fortunately for this area of the town these proposals have now been scrapped but again, what a waste of time and money.

Third, we have the meaningless Station Gateway project now leading nowhere.

Now we read NYCC has identified Victoria Avenue as its priority cycling scheme of three in the pipeline. This has raised a number of fundamental questions, including:

1. 1. What is this ongoing fetish with cycling schemes in Harrogate when the council has proved it does not understand the demographics of the town? Remember, there are people who cannot or do not wish to cycle.
   2. Why has Harrogate been specifically identified for plans to encourage active travel plans and not Northallerton, Skipton, Scarborough or other towns in North Yorkshire?
   3. How can you justify the loss of parking spaces along Victoria Avenue in Harrogate? This is yet another blow to town centre businesses, not just shops but particularly professional offices, dentists etc whose businesses are located along Victoria Avenue.
   4. How will it cut congestion?  The only way to deal with this issue in Harrogate is by building a proper bypass.

It is utter madness once again and will ruin Victoria Avenue. I hope public consultation will be far better than it has been on any of the various “elements” to date. Myself and a number of other local residents and business people consider it is utter madness once again.

We will strongly oppose this latest meaningless proposal. Why waste yet more money? There are more urgent requirements in Harrogate and also more cost effective ways of improving the appearance and feel of the town for everyone.

Barry Adams, Harrogate

Read more:

• Stray Views: Rossett Nature Reserve ‘has been slashed back’
• Stray Views: Otley Road cycleway a “scandalous waste of public money”
• Stray Views: North Yorkshire rural transport ‘desperately inefficient’

‘No bus service preferable to an unreliable one’

I live in Knaresborough (Eastfield) and I have done so for quite some time.

On Saturday 11th March I arranged to meet a friend in Ripon which entailed my being at the mercy of Transdev.

To my relief, the 1B arrived in Nidderdale Drive on time, and the first stage of my journey was completed to Harrogate without problems. Similarly, the 36 was on time, and I arrived in Ripon at the appointed time. So far so good.

After a convivial afternoon, I gratefully caught the (on-time) 18.11pm no. 22 back to Knaresborough. I couldn’t believe how swimmingly the afternoon was going.

I arrived back at Knaresborough bus station in time for the scheduled 19.15pm no. 1B in order to complete a flawless afternoon.

Of course, Transdev as usual had lulled me into a false sense of security, and of course the 1B didn’t turn up.

A fellow (would-be) passenger consulted the Transdev app and announced at 17.25pm to the waiting many (there were quite a few of us), that the only Transdev vehicle on the road between Harrogate and Knaresborough was a 1A returning from Aspin on its way to Harrogate.

I, in common with everyone else, then set off walking. Having mobility issues, this involved a 30 minute trudge in the cold before I managed to get home. I was also carrying a small amount of shopping which served to compound the problem.

My point is this: that no bus service at all is preferable to a completely unreliable one. I have seen the advertising on Transdev for bus drivers, and I realise that not everyone wants to be one, but either sort it out properly, or else just scrap the whole idea of providing a regular and reliable connective service, and concentrate on the big ticket items like the no. 36.

You would be doing us all a favour, believe me.

James Harrison, Knaresborough

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

A senior county councillor has warned that funding designed to save under-threat bus services in North Yorkshire “cannot continue in perpetuity”.

The Department for Transport recently announced an extension of the £2 cap on bus fares plus £80 million worth of grants to routes at risk of being reduced or scrapped.

The move comes as the 24 services from Pateley Bridge to Harrogate was recently saved until April next year.

Cllr Keane Duncan, executive councillor for transport at North Yorkshire County Council, said that extra government funding was welcome and the council would look to target it at services in need of support.

However, he added that the funding would not continue in perpetuity.

He said:

“News of the £2 bus fare cap extension and additional £80million support package is very welcome. These measures will be vital to the council’s ongoing efforts to protect bus services through this difficult period.

“Exact details of how much funding we will receive is expected shortly and we will ensure this is targeted at services in need of support.

“While this extra funding will act as a critical lifeline to at-risk services at a time when passengers numbers are down and costs are up, we know funding cannot continue in perpetuity.

“Passengers remain key to the long-term viability of services, and we must use the coming months to work with operators to promote services and invest in the marketing, ticketing and infrastructure needed to encourage more people to choose the bus.

“It is only by doing this that we will have a sustainable network of services, responsive to passenger needs and free from the uncertainty that comes with long-term reliance on taxpayer funding.”

Read more:

• Bilton bus services to merge under new route changes
• Public control of North Yorkshire bus network ‘not realistic’, says transport chief
• 24 bus from Pateley Bridge to Harrogate saved

Cllr Duncan has previously warned that up to 79 services faced reduced frequency or ceasing altogether when central government funding comes to an end in March.

The comments come as the county council negotiated funding to secure the 24 bus route between Pateley Bridge and Harrogate until April next year.

Transdev, which operates the service, had initially planned to withdraw most services on the route.

A campaign to make travel to school safer in Harrogate has been reignited by a collision that left two teenagers in hospital.

The boys, both aged 15 and students at Rossett School, suffered serious injuries requiring multiple operations since the collision last Thursday morning.

A group of parents had already been asking for 20mph zones and safe crossing points around routes to school on Harlow Hill and now say the work is urgently needed before anyone else is hurt.

Dr Jenny Marks has spearheaded the campaign with fellow Harlow Hill resident Ruth Lily. They have spent more than two years putting together evidence and consulting with local people about potential changes to the roads around the area.

Their petition to create a ‘safe streets zone’ has more than 750 signatures.

Dr Marks said:

“We didn’t want to put an application in in isolation and it be unpleasant to the residents.

“So we went to the schools and sports centres and each of them had views on what should be outside their school.

“We created a map and presented that to the local residents’ association and made that the basis for the petition that’s running now. That’s what we have put into the application too.

“We’re doing as much as we can to get everybody’s ideas into one place.”

The pair have also joined forces with Oatlands residents Hazel Peacock and Vicki Evans, who have been working to get measures introduced around schools in their area too.

There are plans to set up schemes to reduce the volume of traffic around the infant and junior schools, including ‘park and stride’ using existing car parks in the area.

Oatlands Infant School. Photograph: Geograph, Derek Harper

All of the parents pointed out that, while primary school pupils often walk a short distance to school, they can be travelling much further when it comes to secondary education.

It is more common for secondary age children to walk to school alone, they said, so it was important for them to have acquired road safety skills from a younger age.

For that reason, they are pushing for a strategic approach across the whole area with coordinated measures in place – which, they also argued, would be more likely to be adhered to by motorists than a short stretch of 20mph zone that was never enforced, such as that on Pannal Ash Road.

Read more:

• Fundraising appeals set up for Rossett students injured in Harrogate crash
• Plan submitted for 20mph zones around five schools in Harrogate

The campaigners said they were frustrated by the lack of action on the issue since they began calling for change more than two years ago.

In November 2021, North Yorkshire County Council project engineer Paul Ryan wrote to Dr Marks to say the highways department was “considering a number of options and designs to implement traffic calming measures”, subject to funding.

However, he added:

A war of words has erupted over calls to introduce a default 20mph zone across North Yorkhire’s built-up areas, with the founder of a campaign group lodging a standards complaint against the county’s transport chief.

Road safety charity 20’s Plenty is focussing pressure on Cllr Keane Duncan after he questioned the group’s claims, accused them of using increasingly ruthless tactics and asked for time to thoroughly consider whether 20mph zones should become standard in towns and villages.

The authority’s executive member for highways and transport issued the statement ahead of a meeting of Conservative-led North Yorkshire County Council’s Thirsk and Malton Constituency Committee on February 3.

The meeting is scheduled to see a notice of motion proposed by opposition councillors considered, which calls to extend a proposed trial of default 20mph zones across the vast constituency.

The council, which last year sought to relax rules about setting up 20mph zones, is already examining a proposal to trial default 20mph zones in built-up areas around Harrogate, but its leaders have warned introducing it would cost about £1m and impact on its ability to fund road repairs across the county.

The charity’s founder and campaign director Rod King has declined to specify the nature of the complaint to the council. Campaigners in the group have stated it is based on criticisms Cllr Duncan made about the campaign group’s claims.

A 20s Plenty for North Yorkshire spokesperson said the complaint was “on the grounds of Cllr Duncan’s attempts to influence the due democratic process in the committee ahead of this Friday’s meeting  by means of unfounded claims on our integrity”.

Read more:

• 20mph speed limits to be investigated in Harrogate and Knaresborough
• Majority of residents want 20mph speed limit, councillor says
• North Yorkshire transport chief accuses 20mph campaigners of ‘misleading’ tactics

Members of the campaign group have suggested the outstanding standards issue would mean Cllr Duncan will not be able to vote on a notice of motion about 20mph limits at Friday’s Thirsk and Malton constituency committee meeting.

Responding to the suggestion, a county council spokesman said: 

“In the event of any complaint against a councillor, we would follow the relevant members complaints procedure.

“It would usually be a matter for a member to determine themselves whether they take part in a debate.”

‘Exaggerating opposition’

Ian Conlan, 20’s Plenty campaigner, who is also Mayor of Malton, said the group had consistently had 70% support over the years and its local surveys in North Yorkshire had backed that up and that Cllr Duncan was exaggerating the opposition to 20s Plenty.

He said 20s Plenty were pushing the issue at the moment in the hope of getting funding agreed for the pilot scheme in this year’s council budget.

Cllr Conlan said the council had had years to consider default 20mph zones and did not need more time to consider the issue and that Cllr Duncan was trying to influence the democratic process by spreading misinformation about 20s Plenty.

Cllr Duncan said rather than welcoming democratic challenge, the leadership of 20’s Plenty had “resorted to issuing a formal complaint against me and are attempting to block me from voting at Friday’s meeting”.

He added: 

“I will not be intimidated by what I consider to be heavy-handed tactics and I will continue to publicly challenge any misleading and exaggerated claims made.

“Most importantly, I will not allow the council’s review of 20mph limits to be rushed or unduly prejudiced. We will look at all factors thoroughly and only then will we make considered recommendations to improve road safety in North Yorkshire.”

Keane Duncan is only 28 but he has already packed a lot into his political career.

At 19 he was selected as a Conservative candidate for election on to Ryedale District Council. The following year he was elected and at 24 he became council leader.

At 22, he became the youngest ever North Yorkshire county councillor and after being re-elected in May last year he was appointed executive member for highways and transportation — the most high profile role on the executive besides the leader. Criticism — often fierce — is part of the brief.

He says:

“The role I have got right now has been the biggest political challenge I’ve had. We cover an area five times the size of Greater London.

“Everybody has got an opinion on transport and everybody wants to express it. It is difficult to switch off because I feel very heavily the weight of responsibility that I’ve got.

“But it’s my home area. North Yorkshire is where I’m born and bred and an area that I want to do everything I can to improve.”

The role includes oversight of major schemes including the £11.2 million Harrogate Station Gateway, the £70 million realignment of the A59 at Kex Gill, introducing a Harrogate park and ride and the headache-inducing Otley Road cycle route.

He became the youngest ever North Yorkshire county councillor at the age of 22.

Cllr Duncan, who was born in Malton in Ryedale, has also got six other districts besides Harrogate to worry about, not to mention countywide problems such as potholes and trying to prevent a mass cull of bus services at the end of March.

Councillors aren’t paid but they do receive allowances. Cllr Duncan currently receives a basic allowance of £10,316 per year plus £15,939 for his executive portfolio. These sums are set to rise to £15,500 and £19,554 respectively when North Yorkshire County Council is replaced by North Yorkshire Council on April 1.

When he isn’t on council duty he works as deputy news editor of the Daily Star, writing recently about everything from a monster python attacking a child to the death of former Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev — who left power before Cllr Duncan was born.

He says:

“I work full-time in my journalism role and I would say I work full-time plus in my executive role so there is a lot of pressure. It does take a lot of time but I’m committed to my council duties.”

‘I believe in Conservative principles’

Cllr Duncan, a keen gym-goer, was the most eye-catching appointment to leader Carl Les’ 10-person executive, which is effectively his Cabinet, not least because he was 45 years younger than his predecessor Don Mackenzie.

During our interview, Cllr Duncan gave updates on the Otley Road cycle route and the gateway but we also wanted to know what has driven him since his teens to pursue politics so vigorously and what kind of Conservative he is. Even his degree is in politics. He says:

“Fundamentally I believe in Conservative principles — that is people taking responsibility, low taxes, everything you would expect from a Conservative.

“I do think I look at things slightly differently to some of my colleagues. That is maybe a result of being from a younger generation but I have always been prepared to make my own mind up on things. That isn’t always easy but I have done this for eight years through university and all my working life so far.

“I enjoy being a councillor and serving the public and for people who aren’t involved in local politics that’s difficult to explain and articulate. But it’s something I can’t imagine not having in my life.”

Pictured in Harrogate

Here’s what he had to say on the key local transport issues.

Kex Gill start ‘imminent’

Realigning the landslip-hit A59 at Kex Gill is “the most ambitious highways capital project that the county council has ever embarked on”, says Cllr Duncan.

Work has been delayed many times but the scheme is due to start any day. He said it was a deceptively complex project:

“On a map it looks very simple but we know there are all the engineering challenges this scheme presents. But we are committed to delivering this scheme.”

‘More comprehensive’ active travel schemes

The council’s commitment to active travel has been questioned by Harrogate District Cycle Action after Cllr Duncan indicated the second phase of the Otley Road cycle route won’t proceed.

Other cycling schemes on Beech Grove and Victoria Avenue in Harrogate have failed to progress, along with another scheme for Harrogate Road in Knaresborough.

It seems they may now be shelved too as wider, more ambitious plans are drawn up after the council submits a bid to the fourth round of funding by Active Travel England, which funded the schemes.

He said:

“We are progressing on those schemes but there’s the prospect of further funding in active travel round four and there might be a case for using funding we have already secured and funding we might secure in that round to deliver much more comprehensive active travel schemes in the future. So we are really just waiting to see the outcomes of that.

“We are looking to improve those corridors but there might be more comprehensive things we can do in those locations but they would require further funding so we are working closely with Active Travel England, discussing our plans and proposals, and they are saying ‘don’t deliver a scheme just because you have funding for that element of a scheme, take a step back and look at the bigger picture and if you need further funding to deliver a more comprehensive scheme then we want to work with you to provide that’.”

Read more:

• Local Liberal Democrats could determine fate of £11.2m Harrogate Station Gateway
• Cycling group questions commitment to active travel in Harrogate district
• Harrogate’s Otley Road cycleway: next phase looks set to be shelved

Speaking at County Hall in Northallerton

Park and ride location uncertain

The council previously said it had identified two possible sites for a park and ride in Pannal on land near Pannal Golf Club and the Buttersyke Bar roundabout south of the village.

These were identified as they connect to the 36 bus service which runs between Harrogate, Ripon and Leeds on the A61.

But it seems this too is under review. Asked about the Pannal options, Cllr Duncan said:

“As far as I’m concerned that is one of many sites that have been explored so I wouldn’t want to rule anything in or out at this stage but certainly work is ongoing at this stage in the hope that we can get a positive outcome from it.

“I’m open minded about that and want to wait and see the outcomes of the analysis we are doing. I have not yet had confirmation as to when this is expected to conclude.”

Buses face ‘cliff edge’

Although funding for the 24 service between Pateley Bridge and Harrogate was secured for another year this week, Cllr Duncan says 79 services in North Yorkshire are at risk of reduced frequency of service or ceasing altogether.

D-Day is fast approaching. He says:

“Passenger numbers are 80% of where they were before the covid pandemic on average.

“Operating costs and staffing costs have increased significantly and that has created this perfect storm. The scale of that challenge will far exceed the £1.6m of subsidy we set aside every year which has been the case since 2016.

“The cliff edge moment is going to be March when the central government funding comes to an end. But when the people of North Yorkshire are for whatever reason not using buses, it wouldn’t be right to then ask the public to pay more to subsidise services they are not using. That is not sustainable.

“The only real way forward is passengers. Passengers are the key to this problem and we need people to use buses.”

Public control of North Yorkshire’s bus network is not a “realistic answer” to the system’s current woes, says the county’s transport chief.

Cllr Keane Duncan, executive member for highways and transport at North Yorkshire County Council, said such a move would be too expensive for the authority to take on.

It comes as officials at the county council have warned passengers that some services may be scrapped if not enough people use them.

Cllr Duncan told an executive meeting that bringing the network under public authority ownership – often referred to as franchising –  would lead to “20 to 30 thousands pounds of subsidy” per passenger every year.

He said:

“I think that no matter what political party you may come from in North Yorkshire County Council and beyond, or whatever political persuasion you might be, you’re looking at those figures at potentially subsiding per passenger per year at ten, twenty, thirty thousand pounds and it just doesn’t stack up.

“The case is not there. We know we have got some unique times in North Yorkshire and we have got to work through those. It is potentially more difficult than just ‘lets have public authority control’, that is not going to be a realistic answer to the problems we face.”

Local control is ‘better value’

Matthew Topham, of the Better Buses for North Yorkshire campaign group, said that bringing the county’s network under local control was “common sense”.

Mr Topham said a franchising model – which Transport for London and Greater Manchester operate under – would be better value for passengers.

He said:

“Far from being “unrealistic,” taking buses into local control is the only common sense answer. It’s better value. It’s popular. It unlocks unique powers to improve services.

“Findings from London show franchising is a more efficient use of public money. In Jersey, it helped the council add routes while cutting costs by £800,000 a year. Imagine if we had it here!

“Polls show over two-thirds of the public back local control. Experts from the Countryside Charity CPRE, levelling up think tank IPPR North, and even the UN agree: local control is the way forward.

“If the mountainous areas of France or Switzerland all find it cheaper to coordinate services through local control, we can trust that North Yorkshire will too.”

The network’s woes come as seven months ago the government rejected North Yorkshire County Council’s bid for a £116m share of Boris Johnson’s high-profile Bus Back Better initiative, saying the local authority’s plans lacked ambition.

Since then, local politicians have raised concern over the future of services in their area.

Read more:

• North Yorkshire transport boss warns bus network faces ‘really grave situation’
• 80 bus services in North Yorkshire under threat, says Harrogate district MP

Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty which includes rural Harrogate, said he feared up to 80 services could be under threat across the county.

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat councillor for Pateley Bridge, Andrew Murday, said residents of his division faced having just two services a day to Harrogate.

He said:

“We just have to do something about bus services, and encourage more people onto buses. We need to know how we are going to go about discouraging people from driving and encouraging people on to buses, so bus services can thrive.”

Calls have been made for North Yorkshire to consider keeping local taxi licence zones amid a proposal to move to a single policy.

Cllr Andrew Williams, county councillor for Ripon Minster and Moorside, called for assurances that council officials would look at retaining local licensing zones after concern from cabbies.

Under proposals already put forward, the new North Yorkshire Council would create a single licensing policy for hackney carriages and private hire vehicles in the entire county.

It would mean drivers in Harrogate could operate anywhere in North Yorkshire, whereas they are currently restricted to the Harrogate district.

Cllr Williams told a council meeting yesterday that local drivers had raised concern that the changes would lead to taxis flocking to areas during high demand, such as a large event, leaving customers in other areas struggling to get a cab.

He said:

“I have been approached by taxi drivers who I represent who are very concerned that any form of deregulation could lead to problems in terms of actually being able to get a taxi because taxi drivers will move from rank to rank depending on when there is a busy day in a certain locality.”

Read more:

• No increase in wheelchair accessible taxis in Harrogate district
• Taxi licensing changes will cause ‘chaos’, says Ripon cabbie
• New council plans single taxi licensing for North Yorkshire

Cllr Williams added that fare rates for the entire county should be based on the highest charged otherwise drivers could lose out on income.

The council said previously that fares for hackney carriages would be reviewed at a later date.

In response, Cllr Carl Les, leader of the county council, said that all views submitted to a consultation over the changes would be considered.

He said:

“I think they are all valid points.

“Hopefully they will all come out in that consultation and then we will make the decisions when we have heard what people have actually said.”

Changes will cause “chaos”

The move to propose a single licensing policy has caused concern for cabbies in the Harrogate district.

Richard Fieldman, who has operated his cab in Ripon for 28 years, told the Stray Ferret previously that the planned changes would see drivers “swamp” areas during the busiest times of day.

Mr Fieldman said the move would see quieter areas deprived of taxis during the busier times.

He said:

“It will mean that any taxi can work in any area.

“You are going to have swamps of taxis in busy areas at busy times. That in itself brings chaos.”

A consultation into the policy changes is open until January 19, 2023. You can have your say here.

North Yorkshire County Council has revealed it is exploring new plans to cut congestion and improve road safety on one of Harrogate’s busiest routes.

Bus lanes, junction upgrades and cycling and walking improvements are being considered for the A61, which is a key artery connecting Ripon and Leeds.

There are also the long-discussed proposals for a park and ride scheme, which could have multiple sites in Harrogate.

The plans form part of a latest study that is underway after debate over the town’s £11.2 million Station Gateway project last year ignited calls for the Parliament Street section of the A61 to revert to two-way traffic as it was pre-1971.

However, the county council has repeatedly rejected the idea, saying the projected £30 million costs were not manageable.

Councillor Keane Duncan, executive member for highways and transportation, has again reaffirmed the authority’s stance whilst also revealing that a second phase of the Harrogate Transport Improvements Programme study is now focusing on other proposals for the A61. He said:

“Our position on the A61 one-way system remains unchanged.

“A two-way system would be likely to have a detrimental effect on Parliament Street and West Park, increasing congestion along this corridor and worsening air quality for people who live, work and spend time in the area.

“In addition, initial estimates of re-introducing two-way traffic indicated the cost would be at least £30 million. This would now be significantly higher following recent rises in inflation.

“We are preparing a number of proposals for the A61 corridor in line with government guidance on the development of major schemes.

“Detailed work is expected to be complete by the end of this year, after which we will take options to the public for consideration.”

Read more:

• Harrogate still a ‘top priority’ for bus improvements despite funding warning
• Harrogate park and ride plans could finally be revealed next year

After launching in 2019, the Harrogate Transport Improvements Programme has been hit by recent delays because the work is “extremely time consuming and complex”.

That is according to a council report, which also highlighted how there were further setbacks when the council’s £116 million bid to the government’s Bus Back Better scheme failed to secure any funding.

At the centre of the bid was plans for a Harrogate park and ride scheme and the council has again insisted that this is still a priority.

More than 100 possible sites have been examined and the two most promising were previously revealed as land near Pannal Golf Club and the Buttersyke Bar roundabout south of the village.

These were identified as they connect to the 36 bus service which runs between Harrogate, Ripon and Leeds on the A61.

Keane Duncan

But Cllr Duncan said more than one park and ride site would be needed in order to make the scheme a success and encourage people to change their travel habits. He added:

“If park and ride is developed further, we will hold further discussions with bus operators, because proximity to existing bus services is crucial to a scheme’s financial viability and sustainability.

“The Harrogate Transport Improvements Programme study focuses on improving provision for walking and cycling, improvements to junctions and enhanced priority for buses along the A61 Leeds Road, and the feasibility of park and ride services across the wider Harrogate area.

“Our aim is to deliver long-lasting benefits in a consistent, co-ordinated way.”

The government is set to award North Yorkshire County Council £336,000 for bus services just five months after rejecting a multi-million pound funding bid.

Ministers wrote to council officers to offer a grant to cover the costs of staffing in its enhanced partnership team, which helps to draw up funding bids and work with bus operators to improve services.

The move comes after the Department for Transport rejected a £116 million funding bid as part of the authority’s Bus Service Improvement Plan for the county.

In a letter to council officials, the government said the grant would help it continue to work with bus companies.

It said:

“We understand that this funding does not replace BSIP funding to spend on transforming your bus services.

“But we do hope it will help to support your ongoing work with operator partners, especially working through an enhance partnership or franchising arrangement, to deliver better bus services (whether they are commercial or tendered) and enable you to use local bus funding to best effect and attract future bus funding as it becomes available.”

Failed funding bid

The move comes after the county council failed in a bid for bus improvement funding back in April.

Ministers rejected a £116 million bid from the authority which would have funded new bus lanes, more affordable fares, real-time passenger information and a simpler ticketing system for services across North Yorkshire.

The government said it refused the scheme because it “lacked ambition”.

Read more:

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Cllr Keane Duncan, executive councillor for transport at the council, warned in July that bus services were “facing a potential cliff edge” due to loss of government subsidies.

Despite the failed bid, Cllr Duncan said previously that the council would continue with some of its plans for transport – such as a park and ride in the district.

He said:

“While we suffered a setback with our Bus Service Improvement Plan bid to the Department for Transport being unsuccessful, we are working to identify potential sites along the A61 corridor and elsewhere in town.

“This will build on the work we’ve already undertaken as part of the Harrogate Transport Improvements Programme study that was completed in 2021.”

The Stray Ferret approached North Yorkshire County Council to ask whether it felt the latest bus grant was sufficient, but had not received a response by the time of publication.