29 November 2007:
SENIOR councillors and officers at Harrogate Borough Council have expressed their dismay at the decision taken by North Yorkshire County Council's Transport and Telecommunications Overview and Scrutiny Committee to recommend that two local highways agencies be scrapped.
This has been done in the face of overwhelming evidence that this would represent poor value for money and lead to a reduction in service standards.
For more than thirty years, Harrogate Borough Council and Scarborough Borough Council have been responsible for highways in their area acting as agents for the County Council.
In Harrogate Council's case this includes taking care of over 300 kilometres of roads and 600 kilometres of footpaths in Harrogate and Knaresborough.
Harrogate and Knaresborough are facing unprecedented challenges over the next few years and there is concern that Harrogate Council's ability to respond effectively will be significantly reduced if it loses influence over transport planning.
Councillor Don Mackenzie, Cabinet Member for Planning and Transport, says that members of the County Council have totally ignored local compelling evidence that this move will be detrimental to the residents of Harrogate and Knaresborough.
He said: "We believe that our Borough Council provides an excellent local service to the residents of Harrogate and Knaresborough, delivered by a skilled and dedicated highways team, who are on the spot, and familiar with urban traffic conditions on the county's busiest roads.
We do not wish to see the management of our highways transferred to Northallerton, and we shall now review our various options to keep transport responsibilities as close as possible to our residents."
North Yorkshire County Council declined Harrogate Borough Council's request for a joint review of the agency area, preferring instead to go forward on the basis of recommendations based on assertion not evidence.
The Borough Council has, since 2005, been asking for a proper examination of a whole range of options, which could have included an extension of the agency area.
Council Leader, Mike Gardner, added his voice to the concerns expressed.
"I am extremely dismayed that the proposal to end the highways agency is based on a seriously flawed report.
Their officers told the County Council Committee that the proposals would produce cost savings because of the ability to let a larger maintenance contract.
This was despite quantified evidence which shows that the Borough Councils are achieving lower contracting costs than the County Council."
Both Borough Councils believe that the biggest losers will be their council taxpayers who are likely to face higher taxes or a reduction in investment in their highways and footways or indeed both.
Councillor Don Mackenzie, who spoke at the meeting, added that North Yorkshire County Council seemed to be proposing a uniformity of service provision without having a real appreciation of the different needs facing the county's urban and rural areas.
Adding:
"We had hoped that, following the local government review decision, the County would have been working in partnership with the Boroughs to explore opportunities for enhanced two tier working."
Director of Development Services, Nigel Avison, has no doubt that the complexities of traffic management in North Yorkshire's two main urban centres of Harrogate and Scarborough require a different response to the rest of the county.
He said:
"The local highway agencies are currently able to provide this for example by making use of the CCTV system to support urban traffic management.
"Both agencies have an excellent track record of achievement and have been at the forefront of highway innovation within the county."
Harrogate Borough Council has asked its own Scrutiny and Overview Commission to examine the issues surrounding the agency agreement and will be inviting the County Council to attend a meeting on 17 December.
NOTE EDITORS:
The two highway agency areas covers 25 per cent of the population of the whole county and in Harrogate Borough Council's case over 50 per cent of the Harrogate district.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Councillor Don Mackenzie is available on 01423 872211 or 07957 304109 and Councillor Mike Gardner on 01423 500600 ext 6299.
Further technical information is available from Mr Nigel Avison, Director of Development Services on 01423 556536.