Harrogate Chamber Hustings : Your Questions Answered

Station Parade Gateway - Yes or No?

In preparation for the General Election to be held in less than 2 weeks, we hosted a Hustings of our own with 6 of the 7 candidates standing in the Harrogate & District constituency in attendance. This week we will reflect on the questions asked and the answers given.

Chris Bentley from Hornbeam Park Developments asked: 

Is the £12.2 million to be spent on the Harrogate Station Gateway an effective use of taxpayers’ money - yes or no? 

Shan Oakes (Green):

I don’t think it is. Of course we want active travel, we want public transport that's integrated. But I think it could have been done much more cheaply, and I don't mean shoddily; I mean it could have been thought through and done without this massive input and huge digging everything up and starting all over again. I think it's about lack of proper consultation. 

John Swales (Reform):

I’ll be brief. No. 

Conrad Whitcroft (Labour):

I am supportive of the plans but it’s far too much money. In going over budget and taking such a long time, it's caused a real problem and a lot of concern for people. Again, the planning system itself is simply not fit for purpose - it takes such a long time. Planning committees are supposed to be independent but there’s huge political control. I think the fact that we haven't had proper reforms to the planning system for so long is symptomatic of why these things take so long and why they end up costing so much taxpayers’ money.  

Tom Gordon (Lib Dem):

No. I think the entire process has made an absolute mockery of local consultation. There's still the ongoing question about the council who haven't exactly said how they managed to mess up the process, which enabled a potential legal challenge. This has wasted our taxpayer money - on a vanity scheme with the Tories in search of something they could try and deliver to say they’ve put money into Harrogate. People want to be able to lead and live healthy lives and get around however they choose to. But the Station Gateway scheme was crackers. It was going to make the traffic worse. We don’t need more cars clogging up town, choking people with issues with air quality. I find it truly horrifying that over successive years of Conservatives running Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council, there has been a complete abject failure to put in place an integrated transport plan. We don't have an idea how we should get people moving around town, whether it be by car, by bike or by foot. And that's a failure on those two local authorities and they should hang their heads and shame. 

Paul Haslam (Independent):

I’m in the middle. The original process was for an integrated transport hub with an active travel element, and we have got a protracted process, which didn't go to plan. And in fact, there was a legal challenge. Effectively we've ended up being what I'd call half pregnant. But the problem started with the fact that there was not a strong consultation on this. And I feel that one of the things that we've got to work on is how government consults such that we consult so that we are doing work for people and not to people. So, I'm disappointed with the outcome and I think that more money will need to be spent in the end to make the town the beauty that it can be. 

Andrew Jones (Conservative):

The council has not handled this project at all. They had multiple consultations but failed to take people and the business community with them. Equally, I do think the area needs some investment and I think we should be looking to enhance our public transport offer. The council must work much harder on its second proposal and one of the first things it should do is be much clearer about what it is. They haven't given us the full details. So, we need far greater transparency from the council before we can start to make some proper judgements. We need to make sure that we have got the public supporting this project in terms of its value. I think we need to strive for significantly better value than we have achieved so far.