Last updated 11th August 2022
1) Introduction
This is an assessment of the approach to cycle provision in Harrogate District by North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC). It is intended to provide local knowledge to Active Travel England (ATE) when it assesses provision here.
We would like ATE to assess NYCC as soon as possible. Provision for cycling in Harrogate District is poor and progress is slow to non-existent. Worse, new housing developments are being built without making any worthwhile provision for active travel.
Over recent years there has been a lot of talk from NYCC and many broken promises.
During the pandemic local authorities were instructed to reallocate road space to walking and cycling. Modal filters were put in on Beech Grove, under an ETRO. This was the only scheme in the whole of North Yorkshire that reallocated road space, and the only LTN 1/20-compliant scheme.
Now NYCC is removing the Beech Grove scheme and reinstating the road as a rat run for through traffic. This is being done with no evidence report, in breach of NYCC’s Network Management Duty.
This was the first significant decision of new Executive Member for Access Keane Duncan on active travel.
NYCC has therefore reallocated no road space at all in the whole county since the start of the pandemic and delivered zero LTN 1/20-compliant schemes.
Overall, NYCC is failing on active travel.
Historically there has been a negative attitude to active travel embedded deep in the culture of NYCC, and a near-exclusive focus on cars. That may be changing somewhat, although there are still large pockets of resistance to the active travel agenda – notably among development control officers.
The biggest problem of all is the systematic inability of NYCC to deliver active travel projects in a professional way to their own timetables. Deadlines are constantly put back 3 months at a time, with a cumulative result of years of delay and very little achieved.
There is hope, because the council leadership says it is in favour of active travel. We therefore ask ATE not to give up on NYCC – but they need to improve a lot, and will benefit from ATE’s help.
In the sections that follow, we set out the issues. We have tried to be very fair, and to mention any positives as well as the negatives.
10) Solutions
Solutions that would improve cycle facilites in Harrogate District and hasten the creation of a cycle network.