The High Court has ruled in favour of North Yorkshire Council over recent traffic regulation orders (TROs) in Harrogate, dismissing all five grounds against them presented by a local property firm.
The TROs are set to be introduced as part of a £12m scheme designed to provide better access to public transport in Harrogate town centre, backed by the Transforming Cities Fund.
The scheme was first proposed in 2021, but in February 2025, the property firm A&E Baines initiated legal action against it via the campaign group Harrogate Get Away based on five grounds:
- It was unlawful to make the TROs without public consultation
- The council unlawfully failed to take into account the totality of impacts when considering whether to make the TROs
- The TRO publicity was legally inadequate because the publicity documentation was materially misleading
- North Yorkshire unlawfully included claims either unsupported by adequate evidence or contrary to evidence before it, failed to take into account material considerations, and gave inadequate reasoning
- It was unlawful to make TROs that implemented only part of the scheme while taking into account the benefits of the wider scheme and without any certainty that the remainder of the scheme would be delivered by further TROs.
Following a two-day hearing, however, a High Court judge ruled in favour of the council, dismissing all grounds, stating that ‘the fact that the applicant does not agree with [the plans] and does not like the fact that its arguments were not accepted, does not make the reasons inadequate in law’.
Executive member for highways and transport, Cllr Malcolm Taylor, said: ‘After many months of uncertainty, we welcome the court’s clear and unequivocal ruling in favour of the council on all five grounds.
‘This decision not only vindicates the thorough and transparent process we followed, but also allows us to move forward with confidence.’
Harrogate Get Out has been approached for comment.
Image credit: John Wreford / Shutterstock.com
