Dismayed cyclists and residents group's conflicting views on 'opposition' to new Harrogate cycle path

The angry claims by dismayed members of Harrogate District Cycle Action follow a set of setbacks on sustainable transport policies in Harrogate which has left the town with no major new cycle routes over the last five years.

In particular, HDCA say the first two phases of North Yorkshire Council’s plans for a cycle path on Otley Road in response to a wave of new housing developments on the western side of Harrogate have only served to improve travel for cars and have failed to improve safe cycling for individuals and families.

The final straw for the normally mild-mannered members of Harrogate District Cycle Action appears to have been a recent flyer issued by Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents’ Association.

The residents group was founded more than 30 years ago to provide a voice for the community on the west side of Harrogate, covering an area from Harlow Hill to Rossett Green and Arthurs Avenue to Castle Hill.

What irks HDCA is that, rather than welcoming phase 3 of the Otley Road cycle plans as a small step forward, HAPARA’s leaflet lists a long line of objections.

HDCA argues this adds up to a pattern of behaviour in the town’s long-running debate over sustainable transport which has seen virtually no moves to reduce carbon emissions or support for non-car means of travel in recent years.

A HDCA spokesperson told the Harrogate Advertiser: "We are really disappointed by HAPARA’s opposition to Phase 3 of the Otley Road cycle path particularly on the basis that it would replace a strip of grass verge.

"Following this logic it would be impossible to create a good cycle network in Harrogate or anywhere else.

"From their flyer, it appears that the individuals in charge of HAPARA have already made up their minds, and are hostile to the proposed cycle way.

"HAPARA does not admit to being anti-cycling, but it is openly anti-cycling infrastructure.

"It, perhaps, does not realise it, but it appears be opposed to cycle infrastructure unless it’s on existing tarmac.”

Conflicting viewpoints: What HAPARA and HDCA say about plans for Phase 3 of the new Otley Road cycle path

1 HAPARA: Phase 2 of the Otley Road cycle path was cancelled in 2023 following the strong negative public response.

Harrogate District Cycle Action: "That claim is inaccurate. In reality, of the respondents who expressed a view: 104 were in favour of an Otley Road scheme and 83 were against.”

2 HAPARA: Construction of the Cycleway will result in the loss of five trees at the Beckwith Road Junction.

Harrogate District Cycle Action: "There is no need for any trees to be lost in order to create Phase 3 of the Otley Road Cycleway.

"If trees are to be cut down at the Beckwith Road junction, my understanding is that it would be because North Yorkshire Council and the housing developers want to widen the road for motor vehicles in order to create right-turn lanes."

3 HAPARA: There will be an approximate 1.5m strip of grass verge lost along the entire length of Phase 3 – a noticeable loss of green landscape.

Harrogate District Cycle Action: "Grass will be lost so that all the new houses can be built on what was previously fields. Is HAPARA complaining about this loss of grass? Not in their flier."

4 HAPARA: A better option would be to publicise the existing network of cycle paths to a greater extent.

Harrogate District Cycle Action: "Otley Road is very busy, and hostile to cycling.

"What alternative cycle route does HAPARA believe there is from Windmill Farm to the town centre, as part of ‘the existing network of cycle paths’? There isn’t one."