Councillors have deferred making a decision on plans to reconfigure Skipton Railway Station’s car park.
This was because North Yorkshire Council made a last minute change to a condition so construction takes place overnight, following a request from rail operator Northern on the morning of the meeting.
But the Skipton & Ripon planning committee agreed that the public must be consulted on the new working hours first before a decision can be made.
At a meeting in Skipton yesterday afternoon, councillors also raised concerns about the number of trees that would be replanted to replace the 12 that would be chopped down.
Plans submitted by the council include reconfiguring the station car park to give more space for 10 EV charging points, disabled parking bays and a cycle shelter.
Existing access to the car park would be retained and a new one-way system would be created.
A exit is proposed in the west of the station car park onto Broughton Road which would require the part demolition and realignment of a 22m stone boundary wall.
The Black Walk footpath into Skipton town centre would also be resurfaced.
The changes form part of the £7.8m “Skipton Gateway” scheme and were recommended for approval in an officer report.
In the report that had been uploaded to the council’s website last week, a condition was attached that said construction must take place between 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays.
However, case officer Andrea Muscroft told councillors that they had received correspondence from Northern that morning objecting.
To satisfy the rail operator, the council proposed construction takes place between 6pm to 3am Monday to Friday and 8pm to 1am on Saturday.
This led Conservative and Independent Group councillor for Ripon Minster & Moorside Andrew Williams to query why the hours of working wasn’t agreed “weeks or months ago” and said it did not give nearby residents the chance to object.
Cllr Williams said: “This was information that should have been obtained from Northern much earlier than this morning. The department should have had those discussions weeks and months ago not arriving with a message this morning that a proposed condition is not acceptable. That should have been ironed out at the start of process. As matter of principle I cannot support the application”.
Green Party councillor for Aire Valley, Andy Brown said there was some “significant good things” about the proposals, including the resurfacing of Black Walk which he called “squalid”.
But he said he wanted to see the plans return to councillors with more trees being replanted to replace those lost.
Under the plans, 12 trees would be removed from within the car park, however, the proposal would provide 19 replacement trees wildflower green roofs, shrub planting and rain gardens.
An additional 17 trees would be planted off-site within the Aireville estate.
A statement was read out on behalf of Tania Weston, Transforming Cities Fund programme manager.
Ms Weston said: “We recognise any loss of tree is regrettable, however the scheme retains the most valuable trees with considerable proposed replacement on-and-off site. It will provide Skipton with a transport hub fit for the town whilst improving sustainable transport connectivity”.
Councillors unanimously voted to defer the plans so the public can be consulted on the night-time working.
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