Start date for Harrogate's £11.2m travel scheme revealed

One Arch underpass would be redeveloped under the new plans

Construction work for Harrogate's active travel scheme is set to begin this autumn, according to the council.

The £11.2m Station Gateway scheme has been designed to make the town centre more accessible to pedestrians and cyclists.

However, plans were drastically scaled back after a legal challenge from a property firm.

Pending approval from the government and West Yorkshire Combined Authority, building work could commence this year.

Keane Duncan, who is in charge of transport at the Conservative-run authority, announced the timeline to councillors on Wednesday.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he said work "continues to make progress" on the scheme and an autumn construction would be likely, subject to approvals.

Harrogate and Knaresborough's planning committee would also need to award planning permission for any changes, before construction could start, he said.

'Strike a balance'

The original version was abandoned after an objection from Hornbeam Park Developments, which owns several commercial properties in the town, including on James Street, which was set to be part-pedestrianised.

The fresh proposal included a redeveloped One Arch and Station Square, better traffic signals, a bus lane, a southbound cycle lane on Station Parade, new paving for pedestrians and cycling parking at Harrogate Station.

The active travel scheme divided residents, with plans attracting 5,000 comments split between support and opposition.

At a meeting earlier this month, council leader Carl Les was asked why the authority had failed to win support for the original version of the gateway scheme in Harrogate.

Mr Les said: "The Station Gateway is a classic example of putting forward a scheme and finding two distinct lobbies in Harrogate where there are well-educated people who know how to put a coherent argument forward.

"It's very clear a lot of people wanted a scheme that's much more pedestrian and cycle-friendly, other people wanted it to be more business-friendly. We've tried to strike a balance, whether we've got it right, only time will tell."

Construction on the county's other two gateway schemes in Selby and Skipton is also set to begin later this year.