Climate change impact assessment
The purpose of this assessment is to help us understand the likely impacts of our decisions on the environment of North Yorkshire and on our aspiration to achieve net carbon neutrality by 2030, or as close to that date as possible. The intention is to mitigate negative effects and identify projects which will have positive effects.
This document should be completed in consultation with the supporting guidance. The final document will be published as part of the decision making process and should be written in Plain English.
If you have any additional queries which are not covered by the guidance please email climatechange@northyorks.gov.uk
Please note: You may not need to undertake this
assessment if your proposal will be subject to any of the
following:
Planning
Permission
Environmental Impact Assessment
Strategic Environmental Assessment
However, you will still need to summarise your findings in in the summary section of the form below.
Please contact climatechange@northyorks.gov.uk for advice.
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Title of proposal |
Harrogate Station Gateway Transforming Cities fund |
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Brief description of proposal |
Strategy to create a transport hub around the rail station encouraging modal switch to active travel (walking/cycling) and public transport, while also delivering improved public realm to eastern side of town centre street scene. |
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Directorate |
Environment |
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Service area |
Major Projects |
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Lead officer |
Richard Binks |
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Names and roles of other people involved in carrying out the impact assessment |
Tania Weston |
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Date impact assessment started |
Oct 2021 |
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Options appraisal Were any other options considered in trying to achieve the aim of this project? If so, please give brief details and explain why alternative options were not progressed.
A full options appraisal was carried out for the project and described in the Outline Business Case which gained approval from host promoting body West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) in June 2021. This is a large document, available on request.
The optioneering process pursued is described in detail in the Option Assessment Report (OAR) within the OBC. Critical Success Factors and Multi-Criteria Analysis undertaken to develop the short list of options are established. A strategic review of the short-listed options has been undertaken to further refine the scheme options considering the latest LTN1/20 guidance. The short-listed options include a Preferred Option, a More Ambitious Option and a Less Ambitious Option. All three options have been appraised in line with Greenbook and WebTAG guidance compared against a Business As Usual scenario
In line with the scheme’s strategic scope, the majority of scheme benefits are related to health and journey ambience benefits for cyclists and pedestrians. The scheme will generate disbenefits for highway users as a result of prioritising pedestrians’ and cyclists’ movements at a number of local junctions, the part pedestrianisation of James Street and the reduction in road space on Station Parade
Reflecting on the results, the core scenario demonstrates a “medium” initial BCR of 1.70
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What impact will this proposal have on council budgets? Will it be cost neutral, have increased cost or reduce costs?
Please explain briefly why this will be the result, detailing estimated savings or costs where this is possible.
The project has been allocated £11.378m in baseline Grant Funding from the Transforming Cities fund (TCF), administered regionally by WYCA; a further £200k has been allocated by Harrogate Borough Council and NYCC £100K bringing total project budget to £11.678m.
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How will this proposal impact on the environment?
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Positive impact (Place a X in the box below where relevant) |
No impact (Place a X in the box below where relevant) |
Negative impact (Place a X in the box below where relevant) |
Explain why will it have this effect and over what timescale?
Where possible/relevant please include: · Changes over and above business as usual · Evidence or measurement of effect · Figures for CO2e · Links to relevant documents |
Explain how you plan to mitigate any negative impacts.
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Explain how you plan to improve any positive outcomes as far as possible. |
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Minimise greenhouse gas emissions e.g. reducing emissions from travel, increasing energy efficiencies etc.
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Emissions from travel |
Yes |
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Strategic context to encourage modal shift to active modes and public transport away from reliance upon private vehicle. |
New cycle infrastructure will be compliant with new government standard LTN/120. |
Adopt best practice and liaise with bodies such as Active Travel England. |
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Emissions from construction |
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Yes |
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An early contractor partnership has been established with key social value and environmental considerations applied to tender quality bid in respect materials / construction methodology / plant and local supply chains.
The contractor is a member of the Considerate Constructor scheme and has an ambition to achieve net zero by 2030. |
During construction materials will be recycled where possible, with measures in place through a management plan to minimise any negative impacts. |
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Emissions from running of buildings |
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n/a |
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Other |
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n/a |
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Minimise waste: Reduce, reuse, recycle and compost e.g. reducing use of single use plastic |
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n/a |
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Reduce water consumption |
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n/a |
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Minimise pollution (including air, land, water, light and noise)
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Yes |
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Air quality carbon assessment modelling shows a neutral effect initially as the uptake of cycling opportunity availed by the new cycle infrastructure is offset by slightly reduced vehicle travel times through the town centre due to reallocation of road space; in the medium-to-long term it is determined as modal switch gathers momentum positive air quality benefits will be realised. The TCF scheme would form part of a wider package of active travel measures across Harrogate to encourage modal shift away from the more polluting forms of travel. |
Road space reallocation, for instance in South Parade, which reduces from a dual to single vehicle lane, hence increased journey times, will be offset by introducing new smart traffic signal technology at junctions to maximise efficiencies |
Combine the infrastructure works with promotional campaigns to encourage increased cycling / walking and bus use. |
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Ensure resilience to the effects of climate change e.g. reducing flood risk, mitigating effects of drier, hotter summers |
Yes |
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The scheme will introduce planting schemes that contribute to sustainable drainage ensuring that water run-off will be reduced, helping to minimise risks around sudden, heavy rainfall.
Planting will be chosen to ensure species that can withstand predicted climate changes, with trees to provide shade and natural cooling in what is a hard landscaped part of the town centre. |
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Enhance conservation and wildlife |
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n/a |
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Safeguard the distinctive characteristics, features and special qualities of North Yorkshire’s landscape |
Yes |
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Materials have been chosen to reflect and complement the historic features of the town centre, including widespread use of York stone. |
Sourcing of York stone will seek low carbon options wherever possible. |
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Other (please state below)
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Yes |
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The project improves the street scene in the town eastern quarter with an improved town square opposite the rail station and pedestrianisation of James Street with high-quality materials and soft landscaping. |
Adopt benchmark urban design |
Emphasis upon high quality urban realm |
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Are there any recognised good practice environmental standards in relation to this proposal? If so, please detail how this proposal meets those standards. |
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The primary highway infrastructure standard being applied is LTN/120 which introduces new benchmark design to cycle travel infrastructure.
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Summary Summarise the findings of your impact assessment, including impacts, the recommendation in relation to addressing impacts, including any legal advice, and next steps. This summary should be used as part of the report to the decision maker.
The Harrogate TCF Package is aimed at encouraging investment in the town, supporting aspirations for sustainable economic growth by making it a more attractive place to live, work and visit. In turn, this will stimulate growth and address the key issues associated with a rapidly growing and ageing population and the economic imbalance caused by low value local jobs/economy and a highly skilled/ educated resident population, resulting in less resilient local economy, high levels of cross-boundary commuting and less sustainable travel patterns.
The scheme will deliver sustainable travel accessibility and infrastructure improvements to respond to existing demands on the local transport network which include congestion and journey time unreliability, which adversely impact upon Harrogate’s economic performance. There is an opportunity to improve sustainable transport accessibility to reduce these demands and unlock development/growth, whilst also taking full advantage of forthcoming rail franchise improvements, and bus enhancements. By improving the aesthetics of the railway station area, through public realm and townscape enhancements, combined with delivering multi-modal accessibility and connectivity improvements, the proposals will help to deliver ‘healthy streets’ in the town centre, and unlock growth and development within the town, such as the Station Parade development site located within close proximity to Harrogate Rail station.
The proposed scheme will establish Harrogate rail and bus stations at the heart of the town and the wider district, providing strong links and accessibility enhancements between the town centre, gateway and new developments, acting as a central sustainable travel ‘hub’. The package of improvements will drive a shift towards more active and sustainable travel and support enhanced connectivity to employment and education opportunities both locally, and across the wider Leeds City Region. The scheme is anticipated to result in modal shifts towards those modes of travel with the lowest impacts on climate change.
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Sign off section
This climate change impact assessment was completed by:
Authorised by relevant Assistant Director (signature): Barrie Mason
Date: 16 May 2023
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