North Yorkshire Council (NYC) continues to fail to deliver meaningful on-the-ground improvements to Harrogate & Knaresborough’s cycle network.
We started tracking progress on the council’s projects at the beginning of 2023, after a desperately disappointing 2022 in which NYC made negative progress – removing the excellent Beech Grove scheme, and achieving very little positive.
2023 was another year of failure, in which NYC abandoned its flagship Otley Road Cycleway scheme, missed all its own deadlines, and made no meaningful progress on any of its smaller cycling schemes.
Holding NYC to Account Table
| Project | Promised Action (Start of 2023) | Results Achieved |
|---|---|---|
| Nidderdale Greenway crossing of Bilton Lane | Construction by March 2023 | Fail. No construction work started in the year to the end of March 2023. Still no work started at end of June 2024. |
| Otley Road Cycleway | Consultation results January 2023 Work to be done by April 2023 | Fail. Project (Phase 2) abandoned Feb 2023. |
| Beech Grove | Report to BES Executive January 2023 Scheme to be delivered in Summer 2023 | Fail. Project abandoned Feb 2023, replaced with vague promises from Cllr Duncan of an unspecified new scheme at an unspecified future date. Still no details announced end of June 2024. |
| Harrogate Station Gateway | Consultation results to be published (January 2023?) H&K Area Committee to consider the scheme (5th May 2023) Construction to start “late 2023” | Consultation results published Jan 2023. Council caved in to judicial review by opponents 22nd August 2023. Revised design stripped of most cycle infrastructure and focused on motor vehicles will apparently go ahead in late 2024. |
| Oatlands Drive (ATF2) | Report with options in “the New Year” 2023 | Fail. Report finally published December 2023. No ‘next steps’ announced. |
| Victoria Avenue (ATF2) | 3rd consultation to start in “the New Year” 2023 | Fail. April 2024: Victoria Avenue consultation finally held, on scheme with all cycle infrastructure stripped out of it. |
| A59 Knaresborough Road (ATF2) | 3rd consultation to start in “the New Year” 2023 | ATF4 bid for further funding failed; scheme not proceeding. May 2024: local Area Committee of Councillors agreed to fund design of 250m missing link from High Bridge |
| Wetherby Road & Oatlands Drive Crossings | Feasibility study to be written Construction in 2023/4 (i.e. by March 2024) | 31st March 2024 deadline to complete construction missed. Consultation and Stray land consultation held March/April 2024; second consultation needed due to a mistake, in progress June/July 2024. |
| Harrogate LCWIP to be ‘refreshed’ | Draft was to be available by mid-Dec 2022 (missed) To BES Executive January/February 2023 | Fail. End of June 2024: no news of any progress. |
| Ripon LCWIP | To be approved in Spring 2023 | Fail. End of Jun 2024: no news of any progress. |
Crossing of Bilton Lane
This should have been a simple project to build a crossing of Bilton Lane. NYC’s deadline to complete construction was 31st March 2023.
It is now more than a year after that deadline. No construction work has started, and there is no date for it to start.
Otley Road Cycleway
Phase 2 of Otley Road Cycleway was defunded and appears to have been abandoned.
Bizarrely, NYC is still committed to Phase 3. Their Cycle Network Prioritisation work acknowledges the need to have a pipeline of schemes that join up to create a cohesive network.
Instead of actually doing this, they are deliberately planning a broken link on Otley Road.
Beech Grove
It is now nearly 2 years since NYC ripped out the successful and popular Beech Grove modal filters. Despite promising to replace it with an alternative scheme, they have announced nothing at all.
With a council that can’t get anything done, the value of a scheme that was actually in place was immeasurable.
On Beech Grove we are now back to the usual NYC strategy of talking about perhaps doing something in the future, but doing nothing in the present. It is infuriating that we are stuck with a do-nothing council.
Harrogate Station Gateway
We started off hugely supportive of what was an ambitious active travel scheme.
It is hard to get excited about the latest iteration of Harrogate Station Gateway.
Cycle infrastructure in the plans has been reduced to a one-way cycle track on Station Parade and some cycle parking; it is hard to see how people would be able to get to and from the station by bike under the latest plans.
Oatlands Drive
The consultants’ report on how to prioritise active travel on Oatlands Drive was finally published in December 2023.
The council appears to have completely given up on actually doing anything about it.
Victoria Avenue
NYC finally consulted on proposals for Victoria Avenue in April/May 2024. They had stripped all the cycling elements out of the scheme.
We do not support the new scheme. A consultation report is due to be considered by the Council Executive on 12th July 2024.
A59 Knaresborough Road
The ATF2 scheme for cycle tracks on the A59 Knaresborough Road is on hold indefinitely, as all the ATF2 funding left has been allocated to the rubbish scheme on Victoria Avenue.
The local area Councillors for Harrogate & Knaresborough have found funding to commission a design for the 250m missing link from High Bridge to the point where the existing cycle path starts.
Wetherby Road & Oatlands Drive Crossings
We are currently on a second consultation about these crossings, after a mistake in the first one.
The NYC deadline for completing construction has long passed. We are told that the works are due to be tendered this Summer, and then a programme for delivery will be drawn up.