Harrogate traders are warning that the planned Harrogate Station Gateway scheme poses risk to businesses, livelihoods - and even lives.
As North Yorkshire Council prepares to begin work - a project budgeted at more than £14 million - long-time business owners say the likely reduction in parking and disruption from construction could force closures and endanger the future of the town centre.
Tattoo artist Keith Hammonds, who has run his business in Harrogate town centre for 21 years and employs four people, says he may now have to close.
He said:
“I simply won’t be able to stay open if this development goes ahead.
"I have built up a good trade here over the last two decades, with 40 to 50 customers a week as the demand for tattoos has grown amongst all adult ages.
"However, with higher business costs and the expected decline in trade from two years of construction works, there is a very real possibility that I will have to throw the towel in.
"I really worry for the future of the town centre, and particularly other independent traders like me which are the life and soul of Harrogate.”
He adds that fewer disabled parking spaces - crucial for him after a road accident that broke his pelvis - could make access “impossible”, making him consider moving the business or walking away from a livelihood he has built over decades.
Others share his fears.
Jaye Selway, 42, has lived in Harrogate since he was four and is now an engineer.
Jaye, a blue badge holder due to a disability caused by joint instability, travels into the town centre providing technical services for a number of venues, including restaurants.
He said:
“It’s hard enough to park already but with the proposals being put forward for the scheme, it will make parking close by to my clients virtually impossible, and make my life so much harder.
"The only place I could probably park is in a multi-storey which would be far from ideal given my disability.
“The council has just not put enough thought into the proposals and not consulted with traders. This development will come at a cost to livelihoods."
Local taxi operators are particularly concerned for wheelchair users.
Garry Sadler-Simpson, chairman of Mainline Taxis in Lower Station Parade, which has been in operation since 1981, is concerned about the safety of the scheme as a result of bus lanes being added to the road network outside the bus and railway stations.
He said:
“Parking will be replaced on both sides of the road where we are located. The side that runs alongside our taxi rank will become a bus only lane, with another lane next to it for general traffic.
"It means that any of our wheelchair customers will have to be pushed across a bus lane and then an any-vehicle lane by my drivers or their families to get to our cabs on the other side of the road from where we are situated.
"It’s bad enough for abled bodied people to experience getting across the road, let alone someone whose has restricted mobility and requires a wheelchair."
Despite the backlash, the council’s executive has given the go-ahead for the project.
Cllr Malcolm Taylor, the council’s executive member for highways and transport, defended the scheme:
“The scheme has been in the making for around five years, with several rounds of consultation and engagement to produce the final designs.
“We have maintained our commitment to delivering the scheme, which will be key in promoting sustainable travel and public transport options.
"The town centre will become more visibly appealing, ultimately driving economic prosperity through improved access to employment and future investment.”
Council supporters argue the Gateway will modernise the area around the railway and bus stations, improving public-transport links, pedestrian and cycle infrastructure, and making the town centre more attractive for investment.
Work on the Harrogate Station Gateway is scheduled to begin in the New Year.
Completion is expected in autumn 2027.
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