Harrogate BID “urges caution” over Station Gateway project

Harrogate Business Improvement District has “urged caution” over plans for the town’s £7.9 million Station Gateway project.

In its consultation response, the BID said it “broadly welcomed” the investment but added the town centre economy is in a “fragile state” and needed to be confident the changes would help Harrogate “thrive”.

The BID said it supported a two-lane option for Station Parade but with one lane dedicated to buses and taxis only.

It did not agree with the proposed two-way cycle lanes as it “does not form part of a connected and segregated cycling route, and would result in reduced space for pedestrians”.

Meanwhile, the BID said it supported segregated cycling on both sides of East Parade and preferred minor public realm improvements outside Victoria Shopping Centre in order to focus on Cambridge Street.

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It also preferred for pavements to be widened on James Street, allowing a single carriageway for vehicles, with some short stay/blue badge/delivery bays. Other proposals being consulted on include pedestrianising the street.

A proposal for widened pavements and single lane of traffic on James Street, which the Harrogate BID supports in the Station Gateway plan.

A proposal for widened pavements and single lane of traffic on James Street, which the Harrogate BID supports in the Station Gateway plan.

The BID also raised concerns the current consultation process had not engaged the wider Harrogate community, and urged North Yorkshire County Council to consider sending details of the proposals via email and post to all Harrogate residents.

Sara Ferguson, chair of Harrogate BID, said the project would have a “major impact on our town centre”, adding:

“We are pleased the investment aims to create a step change in travel, and forms part of a much wider plan to tackle the climate crisis and deliver a more sustainable future for the town centre.

“We also hope this investment will help to support our journey to recovery, but urge that consideration is given to the consultation feedback to ensure that we capture the views and ideas of businesses, residents and visitors, to shape and influence the proposed plans.

“It is essential that we continue to invest in infrastructure for cars, particularly off-street car parking, park and ride, improved signage, and electric car charging to ensure that Harrogate can thrive and prosper for many more generations.”

The government’s Transforming Cities Fund has provided funding for the gateway project, to improve the design of the town and encourage more sustainable transport.

North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority are delivering the initiative.

Number of covid patients at Harrogate hospital falls to six

The number of covid patients at Harrogate District Hospital has fallen to single figures.

Amanda Bloor, chief accountable officer at North Yorkshire CCG, told a press briefing of the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum today just six patients were now being treated at the hospital.

The number was stubbornly high in January and February, peaking at 68 on February 13.

But it has fallen sharply in recent weeks and has now more than halved from 13 last week.

The decline has enabled the hospital to re-open wards that had been allocated to covid patients.

Sixty-nine covid patients are being treated in hospitals serving North Yorkshire, which also includes York, South Tees and Scarborough.

Ms Bloor said:

“We continue to see that downward trend in the numbers. But we do need to continue to follow the national guidance.”

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The drop in numbers comes as covid vaccinations continue to be carried out in the district.

A letter from NHS England to hospital bosses across the country warned of a shortage of the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine from next month.

However, Ms Bloor said health officials have been assured by government there will be enough supply to vaccinate all adults over-50 by April 15.

According to latest NHS England figures, 70,138 first doses have been administered in the Harrogate district so far.

Those over-50 and people with underlying health conditions are currently being invited to book a vaccine appointment.

Lib Dem crime candidate: More frontline police needed

More police are needed on the frontline to help people feel safe, says the Liberal Democrat candidate for North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

James Barker, who is a City of York councillor, said he wanted to “explore why” more officers are not on the streets, if elected to the role.

Voters will go to the polls on May 6 to elect a successor to Julia Mulligan. There will also be candidates standing for the Conservative and Labour parties as well as an independent.

Mr Barker, who served 24 years in the military, has served as a scout leader and rugby coach.

More frontline officers

Mr Barker said North Yorkshire is not served equally by police and more frontline officers are needed to keep people safe.

He said as commissioner he would look to free up more police to be on the streets.

Mr Barker said:

“We are England’s largest county but not everyone is truly represented. How often do you see a copper?

“I want to explore reasons why we cannot get more coppers on the streets. I want to try and release more to the frontline.”

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Mr Barker added he would also look into the 101 non-emergency number service. He said he wanted to improve the response of the service after residents complained that it often “left them hanging” and on hold.

Make Ripon “less attractive” for anti-social behaviour

Mr Barker said he would look at working with social services, youth offending teams, the police and other organisations to look at making Ripon “less attractive” for anti-social behaviour.

The city has been blighted by crime in recent months with cannabis farms found on an industrial estate and five incidents in one three-hour spree earlier in February, including a robbery, thefts and reports of a man carrying a machete.

Mr Barker said the problem needed to be “nipped at the lowest form” before it got worse.

When pressed on how his solution would solve the problem when the police had already committed resources to the city, he said he would want to do more.

He said:

“I would want to look at what exactly is being allocated in terms of resources and what we can do more and what we can do better.”

The current Pateley Bridge police station on King Street in the town. Picture: Nidderdale AONB.

The Pateley Bridge police station on King Street in the town, which was closed. Picture: Nidderdale AONB.

Police stations

When asked if he would continue the policy of closing police stations to save money, Mr Barker said there would be other avenues he would look at.

He described rural police stations as a “focal point of the community” and important for helping people feel safe.

It comes as North Yorkshire has seen a number of stations shut down. 

In the Harrogate district, Pateley Bridge police station was recently closed and staff moved across the road in an effort to save £19,000 a year.

Mr Barker said cuts to the police were “starting to bite deep” and that he may have to make some difficult decisions to save money.

He said:

“Some difficult decisions will need to be made. I’m happy to make difficult decisions, but I will not do it lightly.

“I will not do it without as much information as I could possibly have.”

Funding the fire service

Mr Barker said the commissioner’s office needed to look “long and hard” at why North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue was underfunded.

Mulligan, the current police, fire and crime commissioner, said recently that the county’s fire service is among the worst funded in the country.

The government set a 2% cap on any increase to the fire precept for 2021/22. Anything above that amount would require a referendum.

However, the police precept threshold was set much higher at £15 – which means more scope for income for the force.

When asked how he would solve the underfunding of the fire service, Mr Barker said the commissioner’s office needed to look at what it could do about the service’s finances.

He said: 

“I wish I had a magic chequebook that I could whip out overnight. 

“But, again, it comes to looking long and hard at why the underfunding has happened and what we can do about it.”

He suggested that the commissioner could look at ways of helping towns which are underserved, such as sharing appliances with other fire services.

The following candidates so far have announced they are standing for election as commissioner:

The final list of nominations will be published on April 9. The deadline to register to vote in the May elections is April 19. You can register to vote here.

Tomorrow, the Stray Ferret will feature an interview with Labour Party candidate, Alison Hume.

Harrogate district reports 14 more covid cases

A further 14 cases of covid have been confirmed in the Harrogate district today.

The figure, by Public Health England, takes the total number of cases to 7,532.

Meanwhile, the district’s seven-day covid rate has increased to 48 infections per 100,000 people.

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The North Yorkshire average is 44, while the England rate is 55.

In the Harrogate district, Killinghall and Hampsthwaite is again the local area with the most covid cases in the last seven-days, with eight infections.

Harrogate East and Harrogate West and Pannal have recorded seven cases each, according to North Yorkshire County Council figures.

No further deaths from patients who tested positive for covid have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital.

Investigation launched into Harrogate Nightingale hospital

An investigation is to be held into what lessons can be learned from Harrogate’s Nightingale hospital.

West Yorkshire Joint Health Scrutiny Committee will carry out the investigation, which it is hoped will provide evidence for any future public inquiry into covid.

Cllr Jim Clark, a Conservative who represents North Yorkshire on the panel, proposed the investigation and said it was “important to learn lessons” from the Nightingale.

The committee will look into how the hospital would have been staffed and what services would have been affected if it had been needed.

Councillors agreed to start the investigation at the next meeting of the health scrutiny committee on June 22. NHS officials will be called to give evidence to the panel.

The Harrogate Nightingale, which cost £27 million to set up and served the entire Yorkshire and Humber region, did not treat a single covid patient.

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However, it has been used to provide CT scans to non-covid patients.

Cllr Clark, who had previously called for a public inquiry into the hospital, said an investigation should be carried out as soon as possible.

He said:

“We need to look at what lessons can be learned from having had the Nightingale. 

“We have not had to use it, but I think we need to know how we would have staffed it and what capacity it would have been able to provide. Whether the staff would have come from other hospitals and what affect that would have had on the services within the rest of Yorkshire.

“There are a number of questions that need asking.”

NHS England confirmed earlier this month that the Nightingale will close and return to being a convention centre after this month.

The NHS has been paying utility bills of between £125,000 and £160,000 per month to Harrogate Borough Council.

Lord Newby, the Liberal Democrat leader in the House of Lords, who lives in Ripon, has described the Nightingale as a “costly PR stunt” and said it should have been closed “months ago”.

Tory crime candidate: No plans to close more police stations

The Conservative candidate for North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has said he does not envisage closing more police stations if elected.

In the first of a series of candidate interviews with the Stray Ferret, Philip Allott said he would take the closure of stations on a case by case basis.

Voters will go to the polls on May 6 to elect a new commissioner. The Liberal Democrats, Labour Party and an independent candidate will also be fielding candidates.

Mr Allott, who lives in Knaresborough, is standing for the Conservative party. He is managing director of PR and marketing agency Allott and Associates Ltd.

No more station closures

Mr Allott said, if elected commissioner, he did not “envisage” closing anymore stations.

In the Harrogate district, Pateley Bridge police station became the latest to be closed in the county in an effort to save money.

The building on King Street has been put up for sale and officers relocated to save £19,000 per year.

It follows other station closures, such as Northallerton, which have been shut to relocate officers with other public sector workers.

Mr Allott said some of the stations had been closed due to a lack of people coming in to report crime. He said the Pateley Bridge station was among those that were underused.

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He added that the money has been used to invest in frontline policing, such as body cameras.

When asked if he intended to stick with the policy to close stations down in order to save money for taxpayers, Mr Allott said: 

“I don’t envisage anymore police stations closing, that has been worked through.

“If there is a special case, then I will do it on a case by case basis. But I think where we are is just about right.”

Harrogate ‘badly hit’ by county lines

In the last six months of 2020, police made 140 arrests related to county lines drugs across the Harrogate district.

Police launched Operation Expedite, based in the town, to deal with drug dealing and the exploitation of vulnerable people.

Mr Allott said Harrogate had been “badly hit” by county lines drugs gangs in recent years.

He said he would extend the automatic number plate recognition system and encourage stop and search “on reasonable grounds” to help the force tackle drug gangs.

Mr Allot said there were “some easy hits” to make on tackling the problem, but added there were longer term issues such as working to help vulnerable young people who may be encouraged into gangs.

He said:

“I’m a realist. The police, fire and crime commissioner on their own and with partners can’t stop the drugs trade.

“It would be fantastic if we could, but we can’t. We can simply control it.

“But what I want to do is to make it so hard for that trade in North Yorkshire.”

North Yorkshire Police in Ripon.

More police presence to tackle Ripon crime

In order to tackle the problems over anti-social behaviour in Ripon, Mr Allott said he wanted to double the number of police officers in the city.

The city has been blighted by crime in recent months with cannabis farms found on an industrial estate and five incidents in one three-hour spree earlier in February, including a robbery, thefts and reports of a man carrying a machete.

Mr Allott said part of the issue was a “lack of visibility” of police officers. He added that there should be a mobile unit patrolling communities, including Ripon.

When asked whether he really believed more police would work when officers had already pledged to tackle the problem in the city, he said the force needed to use the “record number” of resources that it will soon have at its disposal.

He said:

“We’re well on our way to a record number of officers. We’ve definitely got a record number of PCSOs.

“But we’ve got to utilise those people and police have got to have a greater community involvement. Other agencies and organisations need to support the police.”

Dog thefts and keeping women safe on Harrogate’s streets

One area where the Conservative candidate has focused a lot of his campaign is on dog thefts.

Mr Allott believes many frustrated dog owners feel some police forces treat the crime as low priority. He wants to lobby for stronger enforcement on dog thefts.

“There’s a lot of people out there who feel they are not been listened to about their pets. That needs to be addressed.”

He highlighted a survey showing dog thefts increased by 250% last year due to gangs cashing in on the demand for puppies during lockdown.

A Freedom of Information request by the Stray Ferret to North Yorkshire Police showed the number of incidents recorded in the district where a dog had been stolen was nine last year, four in 2019 and four in 2018.

When asked whether violence against women would be a better focus for his campaign, he pointed to £500,000 which has been allocated by government to North Yorkshire to spend on improving female safety.

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Mr Allott said he wanted the money spent on plain clothes police officers and to educate young men on the issue.

As part of his campaign, he has launched a survey to gather views on how the funding should be best spent.

He said:

“The hard knock is the plain clothes police to arrest men who are harassing women. But secondly we need a cultural change.

“The way we are going to do that cultural change is that we are going to educate men to behave better.”

Funding the fire service

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue also falls within the commissioners remit.

The service precept, which funds the fire service, is set by the commissioner’s office.

But, Julia Mulligan, who has held the role since 2012, said recently that the county’s fire service is among the worst funded in the country.

Asked how he would solve that problem, Mr Allott said there would need to be more funding for the service.

He said this could be done through running fire stations more effectively, increasing the precept and lobbying ministers for more funding.

The following candidates so far have announced they are standing for election as commissioner:

The final list of nominations will be published on April 9. The deadline to register to vote in the May elections is April 19. You can register to vote here.

Tomorrow, the Stray Ferret will feature an interview with Liberal Democrat candidate, James Barker.

Harrogate district records 10 further coronavirus cases

The Harrogate district has recorded a further 10 coronavirus cases.

It takes the total number of infections since the start of the pandemic to 7,507, according to Public Health England statistics.

The district’s seven-day covid rate stands at 44 per 100,000 people. Elsewhere, the North Yorkshire average is 46 and the England rate is 55.

Meanwhile, NHS England figures show a death from a patient who tested positive for covid was reported on March 16 at Harrogate District Hospital.

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It takes the total deaths at the hospital since March last year to 177.

Today, Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that more than half of adults across the UK have had a first dose of a covid vaccine.

In the Harrogate district, 70,138 people have been vaccinated according to NHS England figures.

Union dispute over cost of Harrogate council staff working from home

Union officials have lodged a formal dispute to Harrogate Borough Council over the cost of staff working from home.

Unison said the authority refuses to cover any additional costs incurred by remote working and had been doing so for a full year.

It added that union officials had made “reasonable and legitimate” requests for the borough council to pay a tax free allowance of £6 a week for those who have no choice but to work from home.

But, the council said less than 50% of its staff are working from home and it had ensured that all of them are aware of the tax relief available from HMRC for working from home.

The tax relief offered by the government offers people who have to work from home the chance to claim costs based upon the rate in which they pay tax.

For example, a person who pays 20% basic rate claiming relief on £6 per week would receive £1.20 per week.

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David Houlgate, branch secretary for Unison Harrogate Local Government branch, said the relief from HMRC “does not come close” to covering increased costs of working from home.

He said:

“Staff have incurred increased gas, electric and water bills as a result of working from home and are in effect being asked to subsidise the council in delivering its services. Against this are the savings in these very same utilities that we believe the council is making by way of staff working from home and council sites being closed or sparsely occupied.

“It should be noted that we do not accept any argument that staff are saving on travel costs. This may benefit some but by no means all.

“The dispute also includes an issue around mileage because of a deferral by the council on a decision relating to Unison’s request for the council to change its policy on mileage to reflect the fact that the workplace has now in effect changed by way of staff being forced to work from home. 

“Ordinarily staff who use their own vehicles on council business can claim for mileage when doing so but only from the established workplace. Unison believes that the workplace is no longer the office but is in fact the home.”

In response, a council spokeswoman said:

“In a time when many employers are going out of business, making redundancies or putting staff on furlough we have managed to ensure no one has been put in this position. This has been achieved by being in a relatively strong financial position before the pandemic, redeploying staff to other council services and being extremely cautious with our finances over the last 12-months.

“We have ensured that staff who are working at home as a result of the ongoing global pandemic – which we believe to be less than 50% of all employees – are aware of the HMRC tax relief for additional household costs. This tax relief is backdated for the 2020/21 tax year and equates to £62.40 for the basic tax payer. Any member of staff who believes they have higher costs than £6 a week, can claim via the HMRC.

“A vast proportion of office-based staff are also saving on travel costs, whether public transport or their own vehicles.”

Harrogate county lines drug runner jailed

A Harrogate drug runner linked to the county lines trade has been jailed for 20 months after he was stopped by plain-clothed officers.

Christopher Hollowed, 54, who has a long criminal history, had been dealing heroin and crack cocaine on the streets of Harrogate under the auspices of his drug bosses, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Matthew Collins said under-cover officers in an unmarked police car spotted Hollowed and another man approaching each other in the street.

They exchanged, “by way of a short handshake” known as a “hand-off”, a drugs packet.

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The officers approached the two men, but they ran off in separate directions. They recognised Hollowed immediately and caught up with him, seizing cash.

The other named man was detained and officers found two wraps of heroin and crack cocaine on him.

Hollowed’s fingerprints were later found on the drug wraps, suggesting he had sold the drugs to the other man.

Police searched a local block of flats where Hollowed lived as part of a wider investigation into county lines drug-dealing and so-called “cuckooing”, the practice by which drug dealers take over the homes of addicts and use them as bases for their dealing operations.

One such “vulnerable” man, who lived a few flats down from Hollowed, was found in one of the rooms along with Lee Bavin, a county lines dealer.

Bavin was found with several wraps of heroin and crack “similar in type, consistency and amounts” to the ones exchanged in the earlier street “hand-off”, said Mr Collins.

The prosecutor added:

“It’s clear that this means that Mr Hollowed was acting as a runner, moving drugs (from that flat) to the..street.”

In January, Bavin, of Manchester Road, Bradford, was jailed for 21 months for his part in this street-dealing operation and received an extra 43 months consecutively after being convicted of further drug-dealing offences as part of a wider county lines network. He is now serving a total five-year jail sentence.

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Bavin, who had been active since at least 2018, was snared as part of North Yorkshire Police’s Operation Expedite. He was part of a wider network of Bradford-run dealers and drug runners targeting Harrogate and flooding the town with heroin and crack cocaine. He was initially arrested in September 2018 as he travelled in a white Mercedes heading for Harrogate.

Hollowed, of Mount Parade, ultimately admitted two counts of supplying a Class A drug following his arrest on January 9 last year. The court heard he had 105 offences on his record including 10 for drug possession.

Imran Khan, for Hollowed, said his client had an “entrenched” drug addiction dating back over 20 years which had taken a heavy toll on his health.

He claimed that Hollowed was a “vulnerable” man who had been exploited by drug suppliers higher up the chain and had played a lesser role in the dealing operation.

Recorder Alex Menary said that county lines dealing “in this part of North Yorkshire is something of increasing prevalence”.

He added that, “unhappily, the buying and the supply is carried out by known, vulnerable drug users like (Hollowed)”, while the main players “kept their hands clean”.

He told Hollowed:

“In the pre-sentence report you made plain that that is your life now. You were a (drug) runner.

“Anyone who involves themselves in dealing Class A drugs in broad daylight must expect a custodial sentence.”

Hollowed will serve half of the 20-month sentence behind bars before being released on licence.

Highways bosses should not ‘shy away’ from sustainable transport, says council leader

The conservative leader of Harrogate Borough Council leader has said highways officials should not “shy away” from transport measures which “make use of the private car more difficult”.

Speaking before a Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Committee today, Cllr Richard Cooper welcomed measures for more cycle lanes and sustainable transport plans for the town.

Cllr Cooper, who also represents Harrogate central on the county council, told the committee that any opposition to such measures was inevitable.

However, he said the county council, which is the highways authority, should not hide from the public what the measures are intended to do.

He said:

“I think it’s a big job to do in persuading the public that they actually need also to fully get behind the alternative to more roads and congestion.

“That alternative I’m afraid is, and we should not hide it from people, making the use of the private car more difficult. It’s taking away tarmac that is dedicated to private cars and giving it to cyclists, pedestrians and public transport.

“Let’s not shy away from that, that is what we are talking about.”

He added that “there will always be a level of protest” and that council bosses should take those views into account.

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But, Cllr Cooper said the council ultimately had a decision to make which should reflect the authority’s objectives to reduce carbon emissions.

His comments come as North Yorkshire County Council officers will go to detailed consultation on Monday on active travel plans in Harrogate.

The proposals include cycle lanes on Victoria Avenue and on the A59 Maple Close between Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Meanwhile, Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive county councillor for access, announced that a controversial plan to make Oatlands Drive one-way would be scrapped.

Instead, the council will consult on proposals for a 20 mile per hour zone on the road.

The county council received £1,011,750 for cycling improvements and outlined three cycle route projects in Harrogate.