Subscribe to trusted local news
If you are accessing this story via Facebook but you are a subscriber then you will be unable to access the story. Facebook wants you to stay and read in the app and your login details are not shared with Facebook. If you experience problems with accessing the news but have subscribed, please contact subscriptions@thestrayferret.co.uk. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
- Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
11
Aug
The reality of one of the UK’s most deprived areas – in Harrogate
Harrogate is known for being one of the poshest places up north – but just over a mile away from Bettys is one of the UK’s most deprived areas.
The Bilton and Nidd Gorge area, specifically the Woodfield Road and Dene Park neighbourhood, is ranked more deprived than 93% of the UK, including in measures such as education, disability, income and crime.
The Stray Ferret has previously reported on how this area has double the number of crimes than the Harrogate average.
We spoke to Paul Haslam, an Independent councillor for the area – and he took us for a tour to see the deprivation for ourselves.
The first thing that struck me – especially as someone who previously lived in London – was how nice it looked. Front gardens neatly kept, no litter, even Audis and BMWs parked in some driveways.
When I said this, Cllr Haslam responded:
I guess deprivation is all relative. You can’t always see the deprivation, but it’s there. The evidence tells us that, despite the efforts of many dedicated people and organisations, Woodfield has experienced persistent deprivation for at least the last 10 years.
Councillor Paul Haslam is very hands on in helping out his ward.
Cllr Haslam says the biggest problem is anti-social behaviour. He said it’s got to the point where people don’t report the crime anymore, and therefore police don’t have the data to do anything about it.
He said:
It’s just a few bad apples. Some older residents have told me they are reluctant to do so [report crime] because they fear retribution. There’s also cuckooing, and people moving ‘products’ between houses to avoid police raids.
He believes that a large part of the issue is due to county lines, whereby urban gangs, often from West Yorkshire, traffic illegal drugs into the area.
Cllr Haslam has created courses for young people to educate them on the risks of gangs and grooming.
Police do come to the area to hold community drop-in sessions, giving locals the chance to raise concerns and ask questions, but locals still seem to be hesitant to speak up.
I suggest, based on a Facebook comment I’d seen, that people are fed-up of reporting things then seeing nothing happen – one person called the place a drug den.
Cllr Haslam said:
It is completely [a drug den] – we’ve started to get local intelligence which helps, but we need to keep policing up. People need to report the crimes otherwise I can’t turn around to police and ask for more resources.
Some of the council houses are newly built and modern looking.
The area isn’t just council housing – some of the housing is privately owned, and one block of flats is the Grade II listed Royal Stables, built in 1890 complete with clock tower.
One of the causes of the high deprivation ranking, Cllr Haslam points out, is the elderly population.
Not only are they more likely to be living with a disability, be unemployed or struggling financially, but they may have left school before the age of 16 and so distort the ‘education’ metric.
Walking around the ward there are numerous signs of the elderly and disabled population – ramps and handles at doors, mobility scooters and even a couple of people sat outside in wheelchairs.
The local school, Woodfield Community Primary School, closed a few years ago, which meant some families in the area moved away. The building is now set to reopen in November as a special school.
'This is effectively an inner-city school'
Nearby Harrogate High School is also home to “some real disadvantage”, according to its headteacher, Sukhraj Gill.
With his background working in challenging Bradford Schools, he told the Stray Ferret:
My experience of working in inner cities is good for Harrogate High School, because this is effectively an inner-city comprehensive school – even though Harrogate is a town. This is a true comprehensive school. We’ve got affluence and high attainers, and we’ve also got some real disadvantage, and that's not always appreciated by the wider community.
Crime in the area (blue) is significantly higher than the Harrogate average (grey).
So, what’s to be done?
Cllr Haslam highlights that some initiatives are already in place thanks to grants and government policy, so asking for more money isn’t the answer. Instead, he thinks causes of deprivation need to be understood better.
He said:
If older people experience particularly high income deprivation, are we doing everything possible to ensure they receive the support to which they are entitled? If health outcomes are amongst the worst in the country, what are the underlying causes and how are the council, NHS and voluntary sector working together to address them? If anti-social behaviour is a significant issue, are residents confident enough to report it and are the police and community partners responding in the right way?
I will pursue those answers through the council. If there are good initiatives already in place, I want to understand them. If there are gaps, I want to understand why. And if there are opportunities to do things differently, then I want to help make those happen.
'Life expectancy is more than a decade lower compared to a few miles up the road'
The Stray Ferret also contacted Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, to see what he was doing to address deprivation in the area.
His statement said:
I was born into a single parent household and was the first in my family to go to university. Levelling the playing field and letting people get on in life no matter their background is my bread and butter.
That’s why I campaign for those basic building blocks. A NHS dentist. A college that opens up opportunity and a regular bus to get you there. Life expectancy in this area is more than a decade lower compared to Oatlands a few miles up the road. It’s not acceptable. North Yorkshire Council is aware of these stats and needs to think seriously about how to reduce the gap for residents in Woodfield.
0