Calvin Robinson Chief Reporter, Author at The Stray Ferret

Harrogate district bids for £432,000 post-Brexit boost to economy

A bid for almost half-a-million pounds of post-Brexit cash to support the Harrogate district economy is to be submitted to a new government fund.

North Yorkshire County Council is hoping to win £432,009 from the Community Renewal Fund, which has been launched as a replacement for the loss of EU funding streams after Brexit.

The funding would be used to invest in skills, jobs and local communities.

Thirteen projects from businesses and community groups in the Harrogate district have been shortlisted for the funds, although full details have yet to be announced.

Speaking at a meeting yesterday, Cllr Andrew Lee, executive member for open to business at the county council, said the wider North Yorkshire region had bid for a total of £8.4 million, which he hoped would provide a “shot in the arm” for the county’s Brexit transition and Covid recovery.

He said:

“The Community Renewal Fund is seen as an essential tool in the government’s levelling up agenda and I’m exceptionally pleased we have been able to secure 66 applications.

“Our officers have managed to shortlist these applications down to 28 projects with a total of £8.4m that we now intend to submit to government.

“If this is successful, we believe this will provide a real shot in the arm for our county.

“I believe we have certainly hit the government’s brief which is to enable innovation. I hope we will secure the full £8.4m for North Yorkshire and I look forward to hearing from government on the final funding award in July and August.”

Of the £8.4 million, Harrogate would receive the lowest sum, while Scarborough and Richmondshire would get the most with £2,981,341 and £1,904,097 respectively after being identified as priority areas by the government.

Applications for the cash closed in May. The government will have the final say on which projects are granted funding, with an announcement expected in July or early August.

The Community Renewal Fund fund is initially being trialled as a pilot scheme before the Shared Prosperity Fund, announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in November’s spending review, is fully rolled out next year.

North Yorkshire County Council will also make a bid to the government’s Levelling Up Fund, which will provide a one-off capital investment of up to £20 million “in infrastructure that improves everyday life”.

Feasibility studies have already been carried out into several local projects, including an anaerobic digestion plant in Ryedale, an electric vehicle charge network and the renewal of Ripon Barracks.

Karl Battersby, the county council’s corporate director of business and environmental services, told Tuesday’s meeting that the authority had now shortlisted three projects, with the full details to be revealed after the bid is submitted.

He said:

“There is currently a round one for submissions and a round two which has yet to be announced. What we have determined in numerous discussions is that it would be much better for us to submit a comprehensive round two bid where we can maximise the opportunities that the Levelling Up bid presents.”

Twelve more covid cases in the Harrogate district

A further 12 covid cases have been reported in the Harrogate district, according to latest Public Health England figures.

It takes the total number of infections since last March to 7,834.

Meanwhile, 109,243 people have had a first dose of a covid vaccine in the district and 83,710 have had a second jab.

In total, 192,953 vaccinations have been given so far.

Those aged between 25 and 29 have been invited to book their vaccine appointment from today.

Elsewhere, no deaths from patients who tested positive for covid have been recorded at Harrogate District Hospital.

According to NHS England statistics, the last death recorded was on April 11. The death toll at the hospital remains at 179.

The Harrogate district’s seven-day covid rate of infection has nudged up to 31 per 100,000 people.

The North Yorkshire average is 28 and the England rate is 50.

Council reveals Knaresborough Pool £27,000 repair costs

The cost of replacing broken equipment that has kept Knaresborough Pool closed since last year has been revealed by Harrogate Borough Council.

The council announced on Friday that the pool will welcome back swimmers in July after more than 14 months of closures caused by coronavirus lockdowns and a fault with the filtration system.

It previously said there was a delay with reopening as the fault could only be fixed by Spanish manufacturers unable to travel due to covid restrictions, but a council spokesperson has now confirmed a UK-based firm has installed three new filters at a cost of £27,000.

They added the previous plan to repair the old filters would have cost £19,858, and that the now-completed works therefore represented an additional spend of “just over £7,000”.

In March, the local Liberal Democrat party accused the council of “poor planning” and “taking its eye off the ball” because of the reopening delays, as it also questioned why a UK-based firm had not been used to fix the problem earlier.

Speaking on Friday, a council spokesperson said following an “extensive amount of work to accommodate the new filters,” they have now been installed and that the pool was being filled ready for reopening.

Cllr Stanley Lumley, cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport at the council, also said this was “fantastic news”.

He said:

“We were hopeful that travel would be relaxed so that the specialist Spanish contractor could carry out the work on the existing filters. But given the continued travel restrictions, we felt now was the right time to make the decision to invest in new filters to ensure we can open the pool as soon as possible.

“I know local parents and children are keen to jump back in the pool, and thanks to the hard work and investment from the borough council, they’ll be able to do so in the coming weeks.”

Knaresborough Pool will reopen before the start of the school summer holidays in July, but the council said it could not yet give an exact date.

When it does reopen Starbeck Baths will be the only council-run leisure venue in the district to stay shut – and it remains unclear when it will make a return.

Cllr Lumley previously said he hoped Starbeck Baths would reopen shortly after Ripon Spa Baths on 14 May, but issues around staffing and social distancing mean it must remain closed for now.

Harrogate and Knaresborough could be shrunk, under parliamentary boundary shake-up

The Harrogate and Knaresborough parliamentary constituency could be reduced in size, under proposals outlined today by the Boundary Commission for England.

Under the plans, Harrogate and Knaresborough’s electorate would be shrunk and areas, including Boroughbridge, would fall under a new constituency.

Harrogate and Knaresborough’s constituency would see its electorate fall from 74,319 to 72,850. The Conservative Andrew Jones currently holds the seat.

The commission has carried out a review of parliamentary seat boundaries and opened a public consultation.

Following further consultation next year, it will publish a final report on boundary changes in 2023.

Under the current proposals, the number of constituencies in Yorkshire and Humber would remain at 54.

But Conservative Nigel Adams’ seat of Selby and Ainsty, which includes the south of Harrogate, would be scrapped.

How the current constituency boundaries look in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

The current constituency boundaries in and around the Harrogate district.

Instead, Selby would have its own seat and the north of the district would fall under a new constituency called Wetherby and Easingwold, which would take in areas including Wetherby, Boroughbridge and Green Hammerton.

A map of the new constituency and reduced Harrogate and Knaresborough seat under the Boundary Commission plans. Picture: Boundary Commission.

Kirby Hill and Bishop Monkton would become part of the new Wetherby and Easingwold seat.

The Skipton and Ripon constituency, which is currently represented by Conservative Julian Smith, would include Ripley, which is currently part of Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Tim Bowden, secretary to the Boundary Commission for England, said:

“Today’s proposals mark the first time people get to see what the new map of parliamentary constituencies might look like. But they are just the commission’s initial thoughts.

“Help us draw the line to make the number of electors in each parliamentary constituency more equal.

“Each constituency we recommend is required by law to contain between 69,724 and 77,062 electors, meaning there will be significant change to current boundaries.

“We want to hear the views of the public to ensure that we get the new boundaries for parliamentary constituencies right.”

The review will increase the number of constituencies in England from 533 to 543.

Just under 10% of existing seats remain unchanged as part of the proposals.

Members of the public can have their say on the proposals as part of an eight-week public consultation on the Boundary Commission for England website.

The consultation will close on August 2.

Harrogate councillor ‘confident’ ahead of Wetherby Road Starbucks appeal

A Harrogate councillor has said she is confident in defending a decision to refuse plans for a controversial Starbucks drive-thru on Wetherby Road.

Cllr Pat Marsh, a Liberal Democrat who represents the area, is set fight the proposals with local residents at an appeal hearing next week.

It comes as Harrogate Borough Council rejected plans for the former 1st Dental surgery site three times.

But the authority has dropped its objection to the latest plans by Euro Garages for the site.

It has left local residents to fight the proposals themselves before a planning inspector at an online appeal hearing on June 15.

Cllr Marsh, who will lead the residents’ defence next week, said she felt there were enough reasons to turn the application down.

She said:

“I think there are very sound planning reasons to turn it down and I’m confident we have come up with enough of them.

“Residents are not against the development of the site. But this is too much.”

Cllr Marsh previously described the proposal as another example of “big companies pushing for planning applications” to be put through.

Euro Garages, which also operates drive-thru facilities for KFC and Greggs, did not wish to comment ahead of the hearing.

‘It would change our lives’

Residents who live next to the 1st Dental site told the Stray Ferret previously that the Starbucks would adversely affect their lives.

David Stephenson, who has lived on Coachman’s Court with his wife for six years, is among those fighting the proposal.

Mr Stephenson’s house is next door the proposed site and he would be able to see the serving hatch of the Starbucks from his lounge window.

David Stephenson, whose house on Coachmans Court is next to the proposed Starbucks site on Wetherby Road.

Mr Stephenson said:

“I think it is going to change our lives.

“We live in a nice, quiet cul-de-sac and this is not what we wanted in our retirement.”

Meanwhile, Joanne Richardson, who also lives on Coachman’s Court, said she “could not believe” the council would not be defending its refusal.

Last month, John Worthington, the council’s executive officer for development management, said officers could not stand successfully at appeal because their previous recommendation would “undermine” their case”.

He added that losing also risked legal costs of over £50,000.

A council spokesman told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that not contesting the appeal “hasn’t been an easy decision to make” but was “the best way forward in this instance”.

Wonder of nature: Ghostly caterpillar web covers Harrogate hedge

Caterpillars have covered a hedge on Wetherby Road in what looks like a ghostly web.

Drivers will spot the small section of hedge covered in the white webbing on the A661 heading towards Spofforth.

It has become home for caterpillars, which create the webs to protect themselves against predators such as birds.

The phenomena allows them to feed on the hedge, say experts, and is nothing to be concerned about.

According to the charity Butterfly Conservation’s website, while the webs may look “sinister”, they are common this time of year.

The webs often hide hundreds of caterpillars, known as “small ermine moths”.

It said:

“These striking and obvious webs hide hundreds and sometimes tens of thousands of caterpillars of a group of moths called the Small Ermine moths.”

It added:

“These webs and caterpillars are harmless and usually last from May to June. The webs slowly disappear over the summer and typically the hedgerow shrubs/trees recover.

“The adult moths fly later in summer and all look superficially similar, being white or greyish with many small black dots, hence the ermine name.”

Harrogate district records highest daily covid cases since March

The Harrogate district has recorded its highest daily covid cases since March.

According to today’s Public Health England figures, 15 cases have tested positive.

It’s the highest daily infections since March 21, when 15 were also reported.

The figure takes the total number of infections since the start of the pandemic to 7,805.

The daily number of cases reported is now based on PCR and lateral flow tests returning positive results.

However, if someone with a positive lateral flow test later has a negative result with a PCR test, the earlier result will be removed.

NHS England no longer reports coronavirus deaths from hospitals over weekends or on Bank Holidays.

Meanwhile, the district’s seven-day rate currently stands at 23 per 100,000 people.

The North Yorkshire average is 18 and the England rate is 37.

Harrogate councillor’s countryside home approved at third time of asking

A Harrogate councillor has been granted final approval to build a new countryside home at the third time of asking.

Conservative Cllr Margaret Atkinson, who represents the Fountains and Ripley ward, has won permission to build a four-bedroom farmhouse opposite her existing home in Kirkby Malzeard after previously being refused over size concerns.

She was asked to justify why the property classed as a farm workers dwelling needed to be so large before she scaled back the overall floorspace from 276 sq m to 199.5 sq m.

Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee, which Cllr Atkinson was formerly a member of, voted through her new proposals at a meeting yesterday (June 3) with five votes for, one against and two abstentions.

The only committee member to speak against the plans was Cllr Pat Marsh who said it was a “mistake” to previously grant outline permission in 2019 and that she was still not convinced why a property of that size was needed.

Cllr Marsh said:

“I do feel that the mistake, in my eyes, was made when first consent was given. The applicant has had opportunities to build up to seven properties around that area in very close proximity – one of those could have been used if required.

“Because of this piecemeal approach, we have not been able to get any affordable housing because they have been individual applications.

“The property is down to almost 200 sq m, whereas what they expect of an agricultural worker’s dwelling is probably on average about 140 sq m. I still do not think it is down to the right size and I’m still not convinced of the need.”

Cllr Atkinson told the committee the farmhouse needed to be larger than Nationally Described Space Standards (NDSS) – which recommends up to 124 sq m – because of family and business needs, with a family-run farm amassing around 200 acres and 800 cattle.

As well as four bedrooms, Cllr Atkinson’s plans also include a living room, dining room, kitchen, sunroom, office, storage space and two-bay carport.

Other reasons for refusal previously given by officers were a negative impact on the surrounding countryside and that the farmhouse would not have been affordable to any future owners because of its size.

The scale and layout of a proposed garden area was also a concern, as well as a lack of “suitable planting species and mix”.

However, a report to yesterday’s meeting said these areas had now been addressed in the new application.

It said:

“The overall layout and design of the proposed property is considered to be in keeping with the local area and would not have a detrimental impact on the character and appearance of the Nidderdale AONB.

“The proposed landscaping scheme sets out a clear delineation of the domestic curtilage from the wider landscape and the proposed planting provides opportunities for biodiversity net gain and a suitable level of screening.”

Two covid cases reported in Harrogate district

Two further covid cases have been reported in the Harrogate district.

According to latest Public Health England figures, it takes the total number of cases since last March to 7,790.

The daily number of cases reported is based on PCR and lateral flow tests returning positive results.

However, if someone with a positive lateral flow test later has a negative result with a PCR test, the earlier result will be removed.

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

According to NHS England figures, the most recent death of a patient who tested positive for covid was recorded on April 11.

It means the death toll at the hospital since last March remains at 179.

Elsewhere, the district’s seven-day covid rate stands at 21 per 100,000 people.

The North Yorkshire average is 18 and the England rate is 34.

‘Crammed’ housing plans for Boroughbridge rejected

Developers wanting to build 260 homes in Boroughbridge have had their plans thrown out by councillors concerned that the houses would be “crammed in” together.

Barratt and David Wilson Homes already has outline approval as part of the first phase of a larger 450-home development at Stump Cross but was denied final permission at a meeting of Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee yesterday (3 June).

The concerns from councillors were that too many terraced properties had been concentrated in a small area, and that residents would also not get enough garden or storage space.

Cllr Nigel Simms described the plans as “like a sink development from Lancashire, not something that we should be having in North Yorkshire”.

He said:

“We have got terraced properties with no access to the back for their own cycle storage, and we have got huge car parks in the middle of residential developments.

“All the layout is wrong to me and alien to what I would expect to see on the outskirts of Boroughbridge.”

Cllr Andrew Paraskos added:

“It looks like they have crammed as many houses in as possible.”

There were also concerns that no cycling and walking links to the town centre would mean busier roads, as well as worries over drainage and flooding at the site which was described as “like a river” during wet weather.

Site layout for the proposed 200 homes in Boroughbridge.

Site layout for the proposed 260 homes in Boroughbridge.

Cllr John Goss, a member of Boroughbridge Town Council, told the committee the site was prone to becoming waterlogged and that the town suffers with raw sewage spilling out of drains because of added pressure from the hundreds of new homes already built in the area.

He said:

“The current infrastructure for the sewerage and drainage is inadequate.

“When we have heavy rainfall the town suffers with sewage coming through street manholes, across the school playing field and into our local car park.”

He added:

“The site at Stump Cross floods very frequently. Many years ago we used to have the Aldborough Show in that field and it got so waterlogged that we had to move it elsewhere.

“We have absorbed around 1,000 new houses in and around the town of Boroughbridge and we would now like to call a halt to further development.”

Although flooding officials at North Yorkshire County Council did not previously object to the plans, they did conclude the site was at “high risk” of surface water flooding.

Yorkshire Water also did not raise any concerns at outline stage but did lodge an objection against the latest plans. It said an underground pipe that runs diagonally through the site would “seriously jeopardise” its ability to maintain the public water supply.

When yesterday’s decision of refusal was made, the council had yet to receive further representations from the water company but an agent for the developers did defend the plans.

Liam Tate, planning manager at Barratt and David Wilson Homes, said development of the site would in fact improve drainage and that Yorkshire Water had confirmed to them that there was enough capacity in the system to cope with added pressure.

He said:

“As part of this scheme, drainage, in particular surface water drainage, will be improved as at the moment there is no infrastructure in place to accommodate surface water other than limited field drains.”

Asking councillors to vote for approval, he added:

“The site is allocated by the council for residential development. It is fully compliant with national and local policy, and will deliver much-needed affordable housing.”

Councillors voted seven votes for and one against to reject the application on the grounds of design and layout.

The developers now have the options to appeal the decision or bring forward revised plans.

Councillors on the committee later rejected a proposal for up to 200 homes in Pannal Ash, which council officers had recommended for approval.

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‘It would change our lives’

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