Shock as Harrogate Lib Dems pull plug on supporting controversial £11.2m Gateway project

At a meeting of North Yorkshire Conservative-controlled Councils Executive today, Lib Dem Coun Chris Aldred announced that the Liberal Democrat councillors in Harrogate and Knaresborough had finally been forced to withdraw their support for the scheme to bring cycling and pedestrianisation to Harrogate town centre in the face of what they claimed were “Conservative failures”.

Coun Aldred said: “When the Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Committee passed a motion in support of the scheme earlier this year, it was conditional on the Conservative Council agreeing to listen to local people’s concerns

"It is clear that they have no interest in doing this, therefore, we can no longer support the scheme.

“We asked for a working group so that local councillors could be involved, again, they failed on this.

"We cannot have those people who will be most affected by these changes feel ignored.”

In their joint statement, all Liberal Democrat Councillors for Harrogate and Knaresborough say they have lost all confidence in the ability of the Conservative-led council to deliver the project for the benefit of Harrogate.

The announcement follows on from previous comments made by Tom Gordon, Parliamentary Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats who has questioned the deliverability of the scheme.

Mr Gordon said: “I welcome the decision by Harrogate and Knaresborough’s Lib Dem Councillors to remove the conditional support for the project given the inaction of this failing Conservative Council Administration.

"Local residents have the right to be informed about what is happening in our town and to know how our money is being spent.

"Local residents have told me they feel in the dark about the current and projected costs of the project.

"Only to be told that aspects of the project can be removed or scaled back to deliver the scheme in budget.

"This lack of transparency about what is actually deliverable and the lack of meaningful engagement undermines public trust and confidence in the Harrogate Gateway project.”