Campaign group plans judicial review of £14.3 million Harrogate Station Gateway scheme decision
A campaign group says it is preparing to bring a judicial review of North Yorkshire Council’s decision to press ahead with the £14.3 million Harrogate Station Gateway scheme.
Get Away said a formal pre-action protocol letter had been sent by its legal advisers challenging the authority’s decision to proceed with the scheme made last month.
Members of the council’s executive committee agreed on November 18 to enter into a construction contract with North Yorkshire Highways and seek funding agreements with West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) and York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority (YNYCA).
The legal letter argues that the council’s decision is unlawful on several grounds.
It claims the council failed to carry out a lawful and adequate public consultation on the revised scheme and pressed ahead with the project despite the campaign group receiving permission to challenge an earlier decision made at the Court of Appeal.
Get Away also claims the council relied on a flawed business case which significantly overstated benefits to bus use, cycling, walking, rail patronage and air quality.
The letter also cites what it claims was a lack of information on traffic impacts, greenhouse gas emissions, heritage, safety and effects on protected species, and a reliance on a seven-year-old parking study.
Steven Baines, spokesperson for the Get Away campaign, which was launched by several Harrogate businesses, said: “North Yorkshire Council is trying to steamroller this scheme through on the basis of a business case that is out of date, over-hyped and riddled with risk.
“Our legal team is clear – the decision to press ahead is not just bad judgment – it is very likely unlawful.
“We are not prepared to stand by while millions of pounds of public money is gambled on a project that will damage Harrogate town centre, increase congestion and ignore serious safety, environmental and heritage concerns.”
North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director of environment, Karl Battersby, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We will be responding to the pre-action protocol letter, and we will look to defend our position should further legal action be taken.”
The scheme includes better pedestrian and cycling links near the transport hub, as well as improvements to public areas.