Bypass bid rejected for the second time
Lack of a map in report is criticised
TRANSPORT: A proposal to build a congestion-easing bypass near a spectacular gorge has been overwhelmingly rejected for the second time in a year by councillors at North Yorkshire County Council.
A PROPOSAL to build a congestion-easing bypass near a spectacular gorge has been overwhelmingly rejected for the second time in a year by councillors.
North Yorkshire County Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee discussed how to tackle Harrogate town centre’s congestion crisis with proposals to create a relief road at Nidd Gorge.
While there was no formal vote, councillors were encouraged to comment on the updated report – with the vast majority criticising the proposal over a lack of environmental and social analysis, as well as a lack of detail on a specific route.
Liberal Democrat councillor Geoff Webber, who represents Harrogate Bilton and Nidd Gorge, said he failed to see how the public could make an informed decision without a map.
He said: “Part of the democratic process is for other residents to be able to comment but I would only be comfortable for this process to go forward if a map was proHarrogate vided.” When councillors repeatedly asked why no specific routes were included in the 243-page report, a North Yorkshire council officers responded that it wasn’t “appropriate at this stage to do any more detailed mapping”.
Borough Council leader Richard Cooper, who was at the forefront of a vote last year to reject the relief road proposal, said he could not support a proposal that might potentially cut through Harrogate golf club, Nidd Gorge and private residences.
He suggested that North Yorkshire County Council drop the relief road proposal if they wanted to move into public consultation on congestion, given that the “vast majority” of public voices would not change in their opposition to the road.
Coun Cooper said getting people onto public transport meant implementing higher prices for parking, cutting down on parking spaces and creating car parks at park and ride points.
County councillor and executive member for access Don Mackenzie said he was “happy to go forward with both of these packages” to public consultation.
He said that residents often quizzed him about the number of homes being built and how congestion would be handled, and progressing to public consultation would enable the council to “get the views of everyone and not the select few”.