Harrogate council staff could strike over ‘derisory’ pay offer in New Year

Strike action over a “derisory” pay offer for council staff could take place in Harrogate in the New Year.

Unison at Harrogate Borough Council is set to ballot members over whether or not to take industrial action after its members rejected a 1.75% pay increase last month.

Of a turnout of 62% of its members, 74% voted to refuse the pay offer.

The offer followed a national consultation from the Local Government Association over a pay increase.

A draft timetable will see members receive ballot papers from December 1 and close on January 14.

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It means strike action could take place as early as February, if members vote for this option.

David Houlgate, secretary of the Harrogate branch of Unison, has described the pay offer as “inadequate” and “derisory”.

He said:

“This overwhelming majority makes clear the strength of feeling among local government workers about their pay, here in Harrogate but nationwide too.

“Council and school workers have been the unsung heroes of the covid pandemic, working tirelessly and often at risk to their own safety to serve their communities.

“Meanwhile, since 2010 the value of their pay has fallen by 25%. The 1.75% pay offer is completely inadequate and Unison members have made their feelings about it clear.”

114 covid cases in Harrogate district as rate increases

The Harrogate district reported another 109 cases of covid today, according to latest Public Health England figures.

The infection rate has increased slightly to 571 per 100,000 people — the highest in the county, but lower than the 740 mark achieved on October 16.

The county average is 500 and the England rate stands at 412.

No further covid deaths have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital, according to latest NHS England figures.

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However, the hospital was treating 25 covid patients as of Monday — a rise from 19 on last week.

Today, health officials said they were unable to open walk-in vaccine clinics as centres in the Harrogate district were already at full capacity.

No Harrogate district walk-in vaccine centres as clinics ‘at capacity’

Health officials say they are unable to open any walk-in covid vaccination centres in Harrogate because clinics are already running at capacity.

The announcement on Monday that booster jabs were being made available without appointments caused some confusion as no Harrogate district sites appeared on the NHS online walk-in finder.

Those eligible for their third jabs were being sent to the nearest sites in Leeds or Middlesbrough, although a centre in Pateley Bridge has since appeared online.

NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group has now explained that it is unable to open any more walk-in sites in the area due to capacity and supply issues.

A CCG spokesperson said:

“All clinics are running at capacity and we will open walk-ins in a planned way as soon as we are able to.

“If we open walk-ins now it is likely we would exceed our vaccine allocation and there would be some disappointed people and negative feedback, which we are trying to avoid.”

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Appointment-based vaccines for over-50s and those with underlying health conditions are still available to book at local clinics via the national booking system.

Dedicated slots for 12 to 15-year-olds are also available at the Homecare Pharmacy site in Knaresborough.

These jabs for 12 to 15-year-olds are also being offered at schools and outside the district at the Askham Bar site in York, Leeds United’s Elland Road stadium, the Northern Echo Arena in Darlington and Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium.

New sites ‘as soon as possible’

The CCG said it was looking to add additional sites across North Yorkshire “as soon as possible”.

It was announced last week that Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground will reopen as a vaccine centre for an expected busy period of booster jabs in December.

The venue – which was used as a vaccine site for most of the year before closing in August – will reopen for two weeks at the start of the month.

Public Health England figures show a total of 130,898 people in the Harrogate district have received their first vaccine dose and 122,140 people their second.

No figures are available for booster jabs.

Vaccine take up is lowest among 12 to 15-year-olds with just 18% receiving their single dose.

The CCG said everyone in this age group will be offered their vaccine by the end of November.

Harrogate district firm ends sponsorship with Yorkshire County Cricket Club

Yorkshire Tea, which is based in the Harrogate district, has ended its sponsorship of Yorkshire County Cricket Club.

Yorkshire, which has many members and supporters in the district, has been fiercely criticised for saying it didn’t plan to take any disciplinary action against individuals following an investigation into the allegations by former player Azeem Rafiq.

The row escalated today when it was revealed Yorkshire chairman Roger Hutton, chief executive Mark Arthur and director of cricket Martyn Moxon would be questioned by MPs on November 16.

Now, Yorkshire Tea, which is part of the Bettys and Taylors Group based in Harrogate, revealed today it has ended its sponsorship with the club.

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Tea told the Stray Ferret:

“We were upset to read about the experiences of Azeem Rafiq during his time at Yorkshire County Cricket Club. We wholeheartedly believe that cricket should be a sport for everyone, but his experiences and the way the panel report has been handled don’t reflect that.

“Our current sponsorship of YCCC was naturally coming to an end but we have taken the decision to end it with immediate effect.”

Meanwhile, Harrogate Spring Water, which also sponsors the club, said it had raised concerns with senior officials at Yorkshire over the matter.

A spokesperson for the company said:

“We are deeply disappointed at the allegations which have come to light concerning individuals within Yorkshire County Cricket Club and have expressed our concerns in discussions with senior personnel at the club.

“Racism has no place in sport or society and we are keen to hear further from Yorkshire CCC how they intend to bring about meaningful, positive change on this issue.”

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The news comes as Anchor butter, which had its logo on Yorkshire’s website, confirmed it had cut ties with the club.

Meanwhile, Emerald Publishing, which has naming rights to Headingley cricket ground, said it would review the findings of an investigation by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The company added that Yorkshire had a “great deal to do” to restore trust.

Yesterday, Mark Ellis, chairman of Masham Cricket Club, told the Stray Ferret that the county club’s actions “sent mixed messages” to grassroots cricket and that the club was “extremely disappointed” in Yorkshire’s actions.

Ripon Leisure Centre: Harrogate council plans 3D soil map amid sinkhole fears

Harrogate Borough Council is to commission a 3D map of underground soil conditions at the new multi-million pound Ripon Leisure Centre, amid ongoing safety concerns.

The council said in a statement last night the imaging would be part of “ground remedial works and a thorough investigation programme” following the discovery of a void.

The city has a history of sinkholes caused by the soluble of nature gypsum, the rock that lies under much of the area.

The statement said a survey of the whole site and the 3D map would “ensure leisure facilities can continue to be safely provided in Ripon”.

Senior councillors will be asked to approve the remedial works and investigation at a cabinet meeting next week,

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As reported by the Stray Ferret, Ripon-based chartered engineer Stanley Mackintosh has consistently raised concerns with the council about the suitability of building a swimming pool on land with a history of ground instability issues. But he feels his comments, made at a June 2019 planning meeting where the new leisure centre was approved, were largely dismissed.

The council now plans to open a new six-lane pool on the site on December 8 — but the adjoining leisure centre will only partially open on that date because of concerns about the void.

Council officials confirmed last week that the leisure centre’s ground floor will remain closed.

‘Disappointment for some’

Trevor Watson, Harrogate Borough Council’s director of economy, environment and housing, said yesterday:

“Understandably, the delayed opening of some of the new facilities in the leisure centre will be a disappointment for some, but by carrying out this investigation now it will allow us to provide fit-for-purpose leisure facilities for the people of Ripon for years to come.”

The void is understood to have been present a number of years and was only discovered last year when the reinforced concrete slab, which provides the foundation for the new swimming pool, was cast.

In May, the council approved an investigation into the “void in the ground” at an estimated cost of £110,000. Now further measures are planned.

The project, which includes a pool, fully-refurbished leisure centre and outside play areas was initially scheduled for completion in May, but ground stabilisation work known as grouting, contributed to a six-month hold up.

Pannal left with ‘eyesore’ Dunlopillo apartments, says parish council

Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council has criticised Harrogate Borough Council for leaving the village with an “eyesore” of a development on the former Dunlopillo office site.

Last month the borough council approved a plan to demolish the office block and replace it with apartments, despite backlash from residents and Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones.

The proposal will see the 1961 office block replaced by 48 one-and two-bedroom apartments.

The parish council has criticised the borough council for granting permission for the development, which it says will mean the village has “a more hideous, more obtrusive building”.

It added it had written to Wallace Sampson, chief executive of the borough council, to “express its frustration” at the decision.

A spokesperson for the parish council said:

“The parish council has written to Mr Sampson, expressing its frustration that because of Harrogate Borough Council’s failings, the parish will have to live with an unsightly, even larger eyesore than it has suffered since that same council’s failure back in 1960 to prevent the initial build.

“The problem is how Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council could afford to take the matter to judicial review, having legal limits as to how much taxpayers’ money could be spent on such a review? This shows the total imbalance of the whole planning system which is geared in favour of developers with very deep pockets, irrespective of right or wrong.”

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Under the plans, the site will be split into two blocks, one with four storeys and another with six.

There will also be one car parking space per apartment plus additional spaces for visitors at the back of the building.

However, the plans have proved controversial with residents, the parish council and Mr Jones criticising the development.

Mr Jones wrote to Michael Gove, communities secretary, to ask for him to intervene “should the council’s local planning powers not be sufficient to enable full scrutiny of the application”.

He said the development should not have been lodged under the permitted development rights, which the application has been made under.

Johnson Mowat, which submitted the application, said in its planning documents that the scheme would be an improvement on the current empty office block, which has been deteriorating for several years.

The Stray Ferret has approached Harrogate Borough Council for a response to the criticisms.

All 145 CNG energy staff in Harrogate set to lose jobs

Harrogate energy firm CNG has confirmed in internal meetings that all 145 staff at the company have lost their jobs.

The Stray Ferret exclusively revealed last month that staff had been informed the company was to enter liquidation amid the spiralling increase in wholesale gas prices.

A source who worked at CNG told us that management had now confirmed the news at internal meetings and discussions were taking place about redundancy. We have approached CNG for comment.

The company, which is based on Victoria Avenue, supplies energy to about 15 to 20 retail energy companies through its wholesale business arm and also has around 50,000 business customers.

The Stray Ferret has approached regulator Ofgem to ask whether the company had entered Supplier of Last Resort, but were told that the regulator “did not comment on supplier failures”.

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Harrogate district reports 109 covid cases as hospitalisations rise

The Harrogate district reported another 109 cases of covid today, according to latest figures.

The infection rate has dropped to 552 per 100,000 people — the highest in the county, but lower than the 740 mark achieved on October 16.

The county average is 499 and the England rate stands at 416.

No further covid deaths have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital, according to latest NHS England figures.

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However, the hospital was treating 25 covid patients as of Monday — a rise from 19 on last week.

Russell Nightingale, chief operating officer at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said the increase in covid patients was still putting increased pressure on the hospital ahead of winter which is “always a challenging time”.

He said: 

“The vaccine programme has undoubtedly had a big impact and we are seeing far fewer covid patients in intensive care with severe symptoms.

“However, as we are now mixing more compared to this time last year, there is the potential that covid infections will continue to rise and we will start to see an increase in the number of patients with other respiratory viruses.

“Whilst most covid restrictions have now been lifted, the virus has not gone away.

“We would encourage people to get vaccinated if they have not already done so, and have their booster if they are eligible.”

What is green belt land and how would Harrogate look without it?

It was first introduced in the 1960s to stop urban sprawl and protect Harrogate’s countryside from being dug up for developments.

The green belt is protected areas of rural land where the building of new homes and businesses is only allowed in special circumstances.

Its supporters say green belts have preserved landscapes across the country, while critics claim they protect the rich, stop houses being built and encourage commuting by cars.

But what would Harrogate look like if its protected areas of land had never been created?

36,000 acres of greenbelt

The green belt covers almost 36,000 acres across the district – equivalent to 11% of the total area.

It stretches along the district’s southern boundary with Leeds and up between Harrogate and Knaresborough to stop the two towns merging. There is also an area in the east of the district that forms part of the York green belt, which encircles the city.

Without the protection that the green belt offers, Harrogate and Knaresborough’s built-up areas – which sit just half a mile apart – could have formed one.

Other areas to the west including Otley and Ilkley could have also expanded ever-outwards and swallowed up the smaller settlements that surround them.

But the rules and regulations which make up green belt policy have not stopped developers coming forward with plans.

There have been almost 1,700 applications to Harrogate Borough Council in the protected areas since 2011. Most of these were for extensions and farm buildings, but others have been of some significance.

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In early 2020, a developer behind plans for 210 homes on the outskirts of Wetherby near Stockeld Park was refused planning permission by both the council and a government inspector at appeal.

On the flip side, the construction of Harrogate Rugby Club’s Rudding Lane ground would not have been possible if the council did not allow for “special circumstances” when plans were approved in 2013.

These are just two examples of when development can and can’t take place in the green belt, with the task of deciding which circumstances are “special” enough to justify development often resulting in interventions by government inspectors.

Protecting greenbelt ‘a core principle’, says council

Cllr Tim Myatt, cabinet member for planning at Harrogate Borough Council, said the authority attaches great importance to protecting the green belt and that doing so is a key part of local and national policy.

He said: 

“Any proposal for development in the district’s two green belts – namely the West Yorkshire green belt and the York green belt – would need to be in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework, which makes clear that any development should not be approved except in very special circumstances.

“Protecting the green belt is one of the core planning principles of the NPPF and something our adopted Local Plan also specifies.”

The green belt between Harrogate and Knaresborough was reviewed in 1992 and minor changes were made when the district’s 2001 Local Plan was adopted.

However, the boundaries were not reviewed when the most recent Local Plan was adopted in 2020 – something residents in Harlow and Pannal Ash say should have happened.

David Siddans, secretary of Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association, said: 

“We would have liked to see the green belt extended to provide more protection to the landscape between Harrogate and Beckwithshaw.

“But that, we understand, would have required a formal review process, and Harrogate Borough Council was not receptive to the idea.”

Mr Siddans also said it is the development of greenfield land – not green belt – which presents the biggest threat to the environment and local area, which is facing the construction of hundreds of new homes.

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He said these greenfield sites – which are untouched areas not previously built on – were seen as “easy pickings” when Harrogate’s most recent Local Plan was being developed.

Mr Siddans said: 

“When the Local Plan was being prepared and sites were being sought to accommodate around 16,000 new houses, all the greenfields around the western arc which were not green belt were targeted for development.

“No major developments are proposed on the existing area zoned as green belt west of Harrogate.

“However, greenfield sites do not have the same protection, except that those located around the western arc are all within designated areas of special landscape value.

“In practice, the planning authority pays little attention to this protection, hence the massive and highly intrusive developments currently being proposed.”

Masham Cricket Club criticises Yorkshire response to racism allegations

Masham Cricket Club has said it is “extremely disappointed” by Yorkshire County Cricket Club’s response to allegations that it is institutionally racist.

The allegations were made in August 2020 by Azeem Rafiq, who was an off-spin bowler for Yorkshire and became the club’s youngest ever Twenty20 format captain in 2012.

Yorkshire, which has many members and supporters in the Harrogate district, has faced fierce criticism after it insisted no disciplinary action would be taken against former players, employees or executives following an investigation.

Mark Ellis, chairman of Masham Cricket Club, said the response from Yorkshire “felt like double standards”.

He said grassroot clubs encouraged inclusivity and fostered communities, but felt like the county’s actions “sent mixed messages”.

Mr Ellis said:

“What I see here is that Yorkshire County Cricket are the most senior club in the county and there just seems to be double standards.

“What message does that send to grassroots cricket?

“I accept there has been some kind of apology, but it feels as though they are being forced to do that.”

In a tweet this morning, Masham Cricket Club said the response from the club to the allegations had left it “angry”.

It said:

“As a Yorkshire grassroots cricket club, [we are] extremely disappointed and angry that our county club is not taking the right actions over this matter and therefore the only conclusion that can be drawn is that they are institutional racist.”

As a Yorkshire grassroots Cricket Club, extremely disappointed and angry that our county club is not taking the right actions over this matter and therefore the only conclusion that can be drawn is that they are institutional racist. https://t.co/hrLUhpsH9a

— Masham Cricket Club (@MashamCricket) November 2, 2021

On September 10, Yorkshire released a summary statement of the panel’s investigation into the allegations and apologised to Rafiq.

But the club faced criticism, including by Jo Stevens, Shadow Secretary for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for releasing the statement in the midst of the cancellation of England’s final test match against India.

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The club later cited legal reasons for not releasing the full report.

However, yesterday, ESPNCricinfo reported that the investigation panel found at least one player used the P-word when talking to Rafiq.

‘Banter’ between players

The investigation cleared the player of any wrongdoing after the report said it was perceived as friendly, good-natured “banter” between the two players.

Following the publication of the summary report, Rafiq has continued to campaign against racism and taken to social media to criticise Yorkshire’s response.

The Stray Ferret has approached Yorkshire County Cricket Club for comment.

In response to the allegations, Roger Hutton, chairman of Yorkshire, said in a statement in September:

“There is no question that Azeem Rafiq, during his first spell as a player at YCCC, was the victim of racial harassment. He was also subsequently the victim of bullying.

“On behalf of all at YCCC, I wish to extend my sincere, profound and unreserved apologies to Azeem and to his family.”