“An embarrassment for York”: Lib Dems slam Station Gateway chaos

York Liberal Democrats say the latest Station Gateway delay is an embarrassment for the city after cyclists were met with temporary planters blocking the route the scheme was supposed to deliver.

An update from the Council posted on Facebook has confirmed that the final Station Gateway cycle route and taxi arrangements outside York railway station will not now be completed until 2028, with temporary arrangements remaining in place for at least another two years.

The announcement comes after years of disruption and a project that has ballooned to around £34 million over budget.

Pictured outside the station, Lib Dem councillor Andrew Waller stops beside a giant planter blocking the cycle route – a photograph the party says perfectly sums up the project.

Cllr Andrew Waller said:

“York residents are very frustrated that this is what Station Gateway has become. After all the disruption, delays and massive overspend we are now being told that the final cycle route will not be fully operational until 2028. With so many potholes making day to day cycling hazardous in other parts of the city, questions need to be answered why this has happened.

“Residents were promised a world-class gateway to our city. Instead, years after work began, we’re still relying on temporary arrangements and being told to wait even longer for the finished product.

“This is an embarrassment for York.”

York Liberal Democrats say that whilst Labour changed the approved Station Gateway designs to supposedly prioritise cycling, it is ironic that delivery of the cycling infrastructure is now subject to further delay.

Group Leader Cllr Nigel Ayre said the latest delay showed why the project had become synonymous with poor delivery and spiralling costs.

Cllr Nigel Ayre said:

“Station Gateway should have been a project York could be proud of. Instead, it has become a byword for delay, disruption and overspending.

“Council-taxpayers have been left footing the bill for a project that is £34 million over budget, yet residents still don’t have the finished scheme they were promised.

“York deserves better than endless temporary fixes. Labour must finally deliver a completed Station Gateway and explain how they allowed one of the city’s flagship projects to end up in this position.”

Cllr Ayre has also questioned whether the council’s rejection in November 2023 of an LNER planning application to improve the portico is partly to blame for the latest delay.

“The council’s brief Facebook post states that the final Station Gateway layout depends on LNER's future station frontage works. LNER had a very clear vision for the station frontage and wanted to invest in transforming the portico, but a majority of councillors on the Planning Committee voted against those plans in 2023. Had that scheme been approved, it seems likely that the LNER and council schemes could have been progressed at the same time. As it is, the decision to turn down LNER’s plans seems to be coming back to bite this Labour council.”