North Yorkshire Council

HARROGATE AND KNARESBOROUGH AREA COMMITTEE

STATION GATEWAY WORKING GROUP

Notes of the virtual meeting held on Wednesday 17 July 2024, at 13:30.

Working Group Members Present:  Councillors Chris Aldred (Working Group Chair), Sam Gibbs, Hannah Gostlow, and Robert Windass.

Other Area Committee Members Present:  Councillors Phillip Broadbank, Andrew Timothy, and Matt Walker.

Officers Present:  Matt Roberts (Economic and Regeneration Projects Manager), Tania Weston (TCF Programme Delivery Manager - Major Projects and Infrastructure), Edward Maxwell (Senior Democratic Services Officer), and Paul Preston (Senior Democratic Services Officer.

Apologies:  Councillors Paul Haslam, Peter Lacey, Michael Harrison, and Monika Slater.

1. Agenda Items 1 (Confirmation of the approval from the West Yorkshire Mayor / Department for Transport) and 4 (Proposed Timescale including Public & Local Business Engagement) were discussed together in a presentation from the Economic and Regeneration Projects Manager.

The full business case for the scheme had been approved in March 2024, and currently there was a scheduled date of 9 August for completion of the detailed design phase, which would bring together the various elements of the scheme.  Once this has been complete, the council would submit Approval to Proceed from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, including the discharge of conditions imposed with the Full Business Case approval.   The next step would be seeking contractor pricing. 

Currently the scheme was scheduled to begin in March 2025, with a possible completion date around March 2026. The programme would be confirmed once pricing has been completed.

In the short term, the next significant date was the beginning of the consultation period for the Traffic Regulation Orders, along with the publication of a few images showing how the completed scheme would appear, on Thursday 25 July.

2. Members then considered a more detailed breakdown of the scheme.  There had been no substantial changes, but the plans were explained and it was highlighted that information on the scheme, along with the full business case, concept drawings, and a map outlining the plans, was available on the council’s website.

3. The funding update included an update on the submission of bids for Gainshare funding from the new York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, seeking £500,000 to support the scheme.  Officers also referred to planned Northern Powergrid works in Harrogate which were anticipated to cause significant disruption, but which were planned for completion ahead of works commencing for the Station Gateway project in March 2025. Area officers are liaising with NPG.  In response to comments from members about the possibility of using Area Committee SEED funding to add a mural to the wall of the station, officers were liaising actively with Network Rail to explore this option.

Members thanked officers for their work on the scheme and agreed that a further meeting would be arranged in the autumn, to update the Working Group.  This briefing would include public feedback on the TROs from the consultation, and an update on the project’s funding update with information on the submitted bids.