Harrogate Borough Council has approved plans to convert a former pub near Boroughbridge into flats, despite objections from local residents over the loss of a community asset.
Stonefield Developments applied to the council to convert the building in Lower Dunsforth, It was most recently a restaurant called The Hideaway Kitchen. Before that it was a pub called The Dunsforth.
The village is four miles from Boroughbridge.
The restaurant closed last year. Planning documents cite a “lack of customer trade and consequent viability issues” as the reason.
Now, proposals will see the ground floor of the former restaurant converted into two two-bedroom flats, along with car parking.
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- End of an era: Harrogate working men’s club folds after 108 years
The upper floor of the building already has three existing flats, so if approved the building would have six in total.
37 letters of objection
The decision comes despite objections from the local parish of Dunsforth, which said the conversion would “strip a community of a vital asset”.
Chris France, who submitted the objection to the council on behalf of the parish, added in his letter:
“The pub is the only secular amenity in the village so its removal would severely impact village life leaving nowhere for the above to take place.”
In addition, 37 letters of objection were submitted to the council pointing out that the former pub has been a community asset in the village for more than 100 years.
The move comes as other applications have been lodged to convert former working men’s and private members clubs into flats.
In January, a proposal was lodged to Harrogate Borough Council to convert the former Ripon City Club into a house.
Bid to open scuba diving pool in KnaresboroughA businessman has resubmitted plans for a bespoke scuba diving training pool in Knaresborough.
Tim Yarrow, owner of Harrogate-based DiveShack UK, has lodged the plans in a bid to give the district a “truly unique” facility.
The plan would see the training pool built at land at Thistle Hill in Knaresborough and see the site changed from agricultural land to a deep water diving centre.
Mr Yarrow, who has been a a scuba instructor around the world for 30 years, said the move would help to draw people in from the area and improve access to the sport.
He added that his club, which has been open since 2018, currently trains young and upcoming divers. He said the facility would help to expand this.
He said:
“Our youngest diver is now 11, having completed her course at 10 and is currently spearheading an environmental charity campaign.
“This involves eight of her school peers coming and doing try dives with us and all money is going toward the British Divers Marine Life Rescue Association. These guys are the future and the potential saviours of our planet.”
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Mr Yarrow added that he hoped the proposed facility would be sympathetic to the local area. He has resubmitted the plan after withdrawing a previous proposal following concern from Knaresborough Town Council.
He said:
“The facility proposed will allow access for Diveshack to promote courses tailored to individual needs and timings, taking very little of the land for change of use and no negative impact on the close neighbours of whom all have been consulted and are in support.
“It has been drawn up in a sympathetic way to the environment with materials and energy usage and aims to be the best, most eco designated scuba training facility in the North.
“It will allow access to an amazing sport to numerous people who would maybe never have thought they could ever give it a try.”
Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the proposal at a later date.
Drainage concerns at Goldsborough housing site following Storm FranklinResidents in Goldsborough have raised concerns over drainage on land earmarked for 36 homes following Storm Franklin.
Heavy rainfall last week caused puddles to appear on a site off Station Road in the village (pictured above), which is a mile from Knaresborough. This has renewed concerns from residents of water run off into nearby properties.
The development was approved by Harrogate Borough Council in October 2021.
However, residents say they are concerned that the surface water may affect nearby homes and that they have repeatedly warned Stonebridge Homes, the developer, and the council over flood risk.
Noel Evans, who lives next to the site, said:
“Residents have frequently over the past four years stated that the change of this field from agricultural land, where there has been recorded flooding problems, will be immensely worse once the site is filled with hard surfaces such as roofs, pathways and roadways.”
In a letter to the council, local resident Beverley Jackson added:
“These heavy rainfall events now occur every year so we cannot treat them as occasional hazards.”
Read more:
- Controversial plans for Goldsborough homes approved
- Residents urged to report empty homes to help solve Harrogate’s housing crisis
Since the heavy rainfall last week, multiple residents have submitted comments via the council’s planning portal about their concerns.
The developer lodged a drainage plan as part of its proposal, but is still awaiting approval as part of its conditions with the council.
Mr Evans said the plan would need to be “superlative” in order to reduce the risk of flooding.
New sewer system
The Stray Ferret asked both Stonebridge Homes and its parent company, Henry Boot Ltd, for comment on the concerns raised by residents at the Goldsborough site, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
However, in a letter to the council in January this year addressing public comments on drainage, Katie Purdam, senior planner at Stonebridge Homes, said drainage at the site would “not contribute to the flood risk noted by residents”.
She said:
Safety urged after Knaresborough wall collapses“We have carried out the detailed technical analysis and soakaway tests to the required standards by an independent consultant, which has shown that we can provide sufficient permeability rates and therefore the development can be accommodated.
“The cause of the historic flooding noted by residents is likely the old-style sewage system which runs through the gardens on the west and east sides of Station Road, which may be poorly maintained.
“We will be providing a new sewer system, which will bypass the existing unadopted sewer system in the gardens of properties either side of Station Road. Our new foul sewer will be laid down the site access, north along Station Road and then east to connect directly into the adopted sewer at Princess Mead.
“The drainage from our site will therefore not contribute to the flood risk noted by residents.”
Residents in Knaresborough have been urged to be careful after a section of a wall near to the town’s High Street collapsed.
The wall on Vicarage Lane next to Knaresborough House collapsed yesterday and has since been reported to the council.
The road is just off the town’s High Street and serves as a route to St John the Baptist Church.
In a post on its social media, Knaresborough Business Collective urged people to take another route.
Read more:
- ‘End this farce’: Kirkby Malzeard wall to finally be rebuilt
- Knaresborough Museum to open doors for first time in June
Harrogate rugby club dedicates memorial bench to fan who died
Harrogate Rugby Union Club has dedicated a memorial bench to a fan who died last year.
Sean Kelly, who was also a long term sponsor of the club, died at the age of 75 in May 2021.
He supported the club for 20 years after moving to Hampsthwaite.
Now the club has installed a memorial bench at its ground in his memory.
Harrogate RUFC said on its website:
“Sean was involved with Harrogate Rugby Club for over twenty years beginning when he moved to live in Hampsthwaite, and became a neighbour of other Harrogate supporters known as “The Hampsthwaite Mafia”.
“When the planning application to move the rugby ground from Claro Road to Killinghall was rejected Sean joined the club committee to pressure Harrogate council to support the club in its ambition to relocate before Crest Homes served notice for the club to vacate Claro Road.
“Every year since 2003, Sean’s company has generously sponsored and supported the club and this support has continued to the present. Sean attended every annual dinner since 1998 and always booked a couple of tables.”
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- Harrogate rugby league club raises money for South Pacific island
- ‘Allez Allez Allez!’: Harrogate Town fans savour special Bradford trip
Boarded-up building in Harrogate town centre could become pharmacy
Plans have been lodged to convert the former William Hill bookmakers in Harrogate town centre into a pharmacy and retail unit.
The Pharmacy Group has submitted a planning application to Harrogate Borough Council to convert the boarded-up unit on the town’s Beulah Street.
It would see the bookies, which has been closed for some time, converted into a shop and the unit facing Station Parade into a pharmacy.
Office space will also be created in the space above the pharmacy.
The view from Station Parade.
The Pharmacy Group is a third generation family-owned business with 30 NHS community pharmacies across Yorkshire. They include Harrogate Pharmacy on Haywra Crescent.
The developer said in documents submitted to the council that the proposal would bring “positive benefits” to the area.
It said:
“The change of use from turf accountants to retail and offices and the proposed redevelopment of the site will bring positive benefits to the area by maintaining, enhancing and giving new life to a key property on both Beulah Street and Station Parade.”
Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.
Read more:
- Another industrial unit approved for new Harrogate business park
- Colourful mosaics brighten up Harrogate street
Harrogate hospital currently ‘very full’, say health officials
Harrogate hospital managers warned yesterday that “high numbers of very sick patients” is causing long waiting times.
They added that people with less urgent issues are experiencing long waits.
The news comes weeks after Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust reported that it had reached maximum bed capacity at the start of February due to covid and winter pressures.
In a post on its social media, the trust urged people to call the NHS on 111 unless they had a life-threatening or severe illness or injury.
It said:
“During this week at Harrogate District Hospital we are experiencing high numbers of very sick patients, and due to this the hospital is very full. As a result, patients with less urgent issues may experience longer waiting times than usual.
“This isn’t ideal and we will endeavour to keep waiting times as short as possible. We know that patients can be in pain, stressed or scared, and our dedicated team with do everything they can to help.
“Your health is our utmost priority and all we ask for in return is our staff are treated respectfully and do not have to face verbal or physical abuse as they try to do their job.
“Unless you have a life-threatening or severe illness or injury, we would ask you to contact NHS 111 first.”
Read more:
- Access to NHS dentists in North Yorkshire has ‘got worse’, says MP
- Harrogate hospital’s beds full as it battles winter pressures
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Plan to convert Harrogate’s Alexa House into family home
Plans have been submitted to convert a Victorian guest house in Harrogate into a family home.
The Alexa House on Ripon Road was sold last year for an undisclosed sum by former owner Sandra Doherty.
Mrs Doherty, who owned the property for 15 years, sold the bed and breakfast after she stepped down as chief executive of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce to retire to Northumberland.
She had previously had an application to convert the guest house into seven apartments rejected in January 2021 after Harrogate Borough Council said it would not “contribute to local distinctiveness”.
Now a fresh proposal has been tabled to the council to convert the guest house into a family home.
Read more:
The application by the Architect Design Studio Ltd on behalf of Laura Harvey includes converting the outbuildings at the property into a garage and workshop area and reducing the size of the car park.
Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the proposal at a later date.
Alexa House was built in 1896 by the renowned art collector Baron Conrad Adolphus du Bois de Ferrieres.
It was built as a hunting lodge for its London-based owners to spend time enjoying Harrogate’s spa waters and riding in the nearby countryside.
Traffic and Travel Alert: Lane closures on A1(M) at Baldersby due to HGV fireTwo lanes are closed on the A1(M) in North Yorkshire due to a heavy goods vehicle on fire.
The lane closures are in place northbound between junction 50 at Baldersby and junction 51 at Leeming Bar.
North Yorkshire Police has urged drivers to allow extra time for their journey this morning.
**HIGH** 2 lanes closed #A1M North between #Baldersby J50 & #Leeming J51 due to a HGV fire. Please take care in the area and allow extra time on your commute this morning pic.twitter.com/DaxeS2BV57
— Sgt Paul Cording BEM (@OscarRomeo1268) February 25, 2022
The Stray Ferret has changed the way it offers Traffic and Travel alerts.
We will now notify you instantly through app notifications and flash tweets when there is an urgent alert. This could include heavy traffic, dangerous weather and long delays or cancellations of public transport.
To downloads our app, click here.
The alerts are sponsored by The HACS Group.
Concern over North Yorkshire’s plateauing covid vaccine rateNorth Yorkshire’s plateauing vaccination rates have been raised as a concern by health officials as all remaining covid legal restrictions come to an end today.
A meeting of the North Yorkshire Outbreak Management Advisory Board today heard that while vaccine take up has been “pretty good” across the county, more than 41,000 people have yet to receive a first dose.
That represents around 10% of the population – and areas in Harrogate and Scarborough have been highlighted as lagging behind.
Sue Peckitt, chief nurse at the NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, told today’s meeting:
“We continue to offer vaccines as an evergreen offer and have been running a number of pop-up sites across the locality including in Harrogate, Scarborough and other areas where we have had very little take up.
“We are now putting out a plea that if those people still want their vaccine, we have plenty available.
“We recently ran a pop-up clinic in Eastfield in Scarborough and had two people attend all day. And two weekends ago we ran another for two days in Harrogate and received 24 people for vaccination. We are just not having people come forward now.”
Ms Peckitt said vaccine take up was lowest amongst 18 to 29-year-olds, followed by 30 to 39-year-olds.
Her plea comes as Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground vaccination site prepares to shut in March. The site at Ripon Races closed last weekend.
Read more:
- Harrogate and Ripon vaccination sites hit 200,000 jab milestone
- Harrogate covid vaccination centre set to close in March
Vaccines are now being redirected to pharmacies and GP surgeries where an additional booster dose will be offered to all adults over-75 and the most vulnerable over-12s this spring.
An autumn booster programme, aimed at a wider group of people, is also planned later this year.
Pharmacies and GP surgeries will also be used to vaccinate children aged five to 11 from April.
This extension of the rollout comes after months of deliberation over the benefits and risks before official scientific advice concluded the move would help protect the “very small” number of children who become seriously ill with covid.
No legal requirement to self-isolate
As of today, all remaining legal covid restrictions in England have been removed as part of the prime minister’s Living with Covid plan.
It means people who test positive are no longer legally required to self-isolate, although they are still advised to do so.
The decision has come as a surprise to some health officials who have questioned what the changes will do to the spread of the virus.
North Yorkshire’s weekly infection rate is currently at 412 cases per 100,000 people – its lowest level since mid-December.
Dr Victoria Turner, public health consultant at North Yorkshire County Council, described this as a “much improved” picture at today’s North Yorkshire Outbreak Management Advisory Board meeting.
She also said although many people will have some immunity from vaccines or previous infection, people should still be cautious about the virus now all restrictions have ended.
Dr Turner said:
“There is a very high proportion of the population that will have a degree of immunity, whether through vaccination, direct exposure to the virus or both.
“What that doesn’t mean though is you are therefore immune from getting the virus again.”