Harrogate council lifts cap on wheelchair taxi licences

A limit on the number of wheelchair-accessible taxi licences in the Harrogate district has been removed, despite concerns from cabbies it will have a “devastating” impact on trade.

Harrogate Borough Council’s licensing committee yesterday agreed to the move, which aims to support disabled people in the district.

Campaigners say disabled people have been “cut off from society” and left suffering with “social isolation and frustration” because of a lack of travel options.

But some taxi drivers are against an unlimited number of licences and urged the committee to reconsider sticking to a previous plan to introduce 12 extra plates or risk “deregulating” the trade.

Speaking at a meeting yesterday, Richard Fieldman, who runs A1 Cars of Ripon and Harrogate, said:

“When there are only 10 applicants for the proposed 12 wheelchair accessible plates, why are you considering a proposal to un-limit the number of them?

“This would not only be devastating to the trade but also to the council and its road traffic problems as there is not enough rank space to accommodate this.”

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Kevin O’Boyle, owner of Central Taxis and the longest holder of a taxi license in the district, also said in a letter to councillors before the meeting that the move risked Harrogate “losing control” of how many taxis are allowed on the roads.

He said:

“If you decide to deregulate, you, the council, will lose control and will be letting the genie out of the bottle. A genie I fear that once out, will be impossible to put back.”

Legal threat

In September last year, the licensing committee agreed to double the number of wheelchair-accessible taxi licences from 11 to 23 after a council-run study concluded disabled people were suffering from a “great deal of anxiety” over worries they could not get around.

However, the authority says has since run into difficulties over creating a “fair and lawful” system to distribute just the 12 additional licences, and it believes it could be left vulnerable to legal challenges from disappointed applicants.

Currently there are 22 wheelchair-accessible taxis operating in the district – a figure that has declined in recent years. This decline is something the council believes is partly down to the costs of purchasing a wheelchair-accessible taxi – and it is these costs that it says will “self-regulate” the number of vehicles on the roads.

Cllr Victoria Oldham, chair of the licensing committee, also told yesterday’s meeting that the council was not expecting a “surge” in licence applications and that it had not been made aware of any rank space issues.

She said:

“The purpose of these proposals is to overcome the provision for customers who require wheelchair-accessible vehicles. We know from the work that officers have done that the current provision by the trade is insufficient and does not meet the need.

“Based upon the expression of interests received in January 2021, there is no indication at this stage that there will be a surge in applicants.

“What the proposals will facilitate is the market meeting the existing demand. Numbers will also be naturally limited by the cost in purchasing and upkeeping a wheelchair accessible vehicle.”

The licensing committee voted in favour of the proposals with two amendments to conditions, which mean a review will be carried out in a year rather than five, as well as a requirement for drivers to complete a disability training course within one month of being approved rather than six.

Local taxpayers may contribute to further Tour de Yorkshire funding

North Yorkshire County Council is in early discussions with Welcome to Yorkshire over funding next year’s Tour de Yorkshire if the body fails to get sponsorship.

The event, which is usually held over the May Day bank holiday weekend, has not taken place for the last two years due to covid.

The request for funding in 2022 is understood to have been made to numerous local authorities, which are host towns for the race.

As Harrogate is not a host town, Harrogate Borough Council is not expected to contribute to the costs. But if North Yorkshire County Council agrees to do so then everyone in the county would pay through their council tax.

The race is being promoted as an opportunity to aid economic recovery across the region, and in particular in host towns and cities of Leyburn, Barnsley, Beverly, Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds, Redcar and Skipton.

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Richard Flinton, chief executive at North Yorkshire County Council, said: 

“We are in early discussions about what is needed to enable the Tour de Yorkshire to take place, including whether there needs to be any underwriting of the sponsorship element that Welcome to Yorkshire wants to raise. 

“We have not yet taken any decisions about the Tour de Yorkshire.”

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Richmondshire District Council is among the district councils that may be asked to contribute to the event.

An officer’s report to a council meeting next Tuesday said in addition to the usual estimated costs of hosting a stage of the event, “there may be a requirement to underwrite a further amount by the end of June to allow Welcome to Yorkshire to commit to the race”.

The report states there would be a potential extra £100,000 cost to Richmondshire council alone, on top of the £160,000 it has already agreed to pay, if Welcome to Yorkshire is unable to secure sufficient sponsorship.

The report suggests some of the extra funds could be drawn from the council’s dwindling reserves.

Richmondshire council’s corporate board spokesman, Cllr Stuart Parsons, said the authority would debate whether offering extra funds on a weather-dependent event would be value for money.

He said: 

“Personally speaking, if we are able to raise the money that Welcome to Yorkshire expects we should be investing that money in expanding events that directly function in Richmondshire, like the Swaledale Festival and Richmond Walking and Book Festival as they would bring in a much longer term gain for the local economy.”

‘No better promotion’

However, Cllr Carl Les, Welcome to Yorkshire board member and county council leader, rejected the criticisms, saying it was a duty of councils to promote their areas to a wider audience.

He added: 

“I am satisfied with the probity and governance arrangements around Welcome to Yorkshire. There’s a new chairman and a new chief executive in place, new board members and audit and other controls in place following reports by Clarion Solicitors and accountants BDO.

“While staycation is going to of benefit this year, in future years we are going to have to be more competitive with other destinations, so we need to set out our stall the best we can, and there isn’t a better way of promoting the geography of an area than following a cycle race as it goes on television for hours. If you had to buy that sort of advertising it would cost millions.”

Harrogate district daily covid infections rocket to 28

The Harrogate district has recorded another 28 cases of covid, according to today’s statistics from Public Health England.

It is the highest daily number since February 17, when 31 people tested positive.

However, although the number of cases has increased, health bosses in North Yorkshire said today that no covid patients are currently being treated in Harrogate District Hospital.

And there hasn’t been a covid-related death at the hospital since April 11. The hospital covid death toll remains at 179.

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According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Amanda Bloor, accountable officer for North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said it was too early to say whether the county’s hospitals will see a spike in covid admissions.

She told a North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum press briefing today:

“The numbers of patients in hospital are increasing very slowly and we are watching them very closely, but we do know as more people have their second jab the vaccination provides significant protection against serious illness.

“We will see the data in the next few weeks about the impact of the Delta variant on the number of patients requiring hospital treatment, and any impact in terms of death, but it is too early to say.

“All of our hospitals have surge plans in place to cope with any increased demand and they will flex accordingly, but hopefully with the continued success of the vaccination programme we will see lower levels of hospitalisations as we move forwards.”

The Harrogate district’s seven-day covid rate has increased to 37 per 100,000 people after today’s figures.

The North Yorkshire average stands at 32 and the England rate is 51.

 

Harrogate residents prepare to fight Starbucks second appeal

Harrogate residents fighting plans for a Starbucks drive-thru are getting ready to do battle next week when a second appeal into the rejected proposals gets underway.

A government planning inspector will on Tuesday open a hearing into the controversial plans for the former 1st Dental surgery on Wetherby Road.

The plans have already been refused three times over concerns about highway safety, air quality and the impact of nearby residents.

Retail firm Euro Garages is behind the scheme and will feel it now has its best chance yet of winning approval after Harrogate Borough Council last month withdrew an objection and chose not to contest the appeal, instead leaving it in the hands of residents.

Headed up by ward councillor Pat Marsh, locals are now preparing to take their fight to the June 15 hearing, which is expected to return a decision before the end of the month.

Cllr Marsh said:

“We are so committed to making sure the right decision is made by the inspector. This is a site that has been refused all the way down the line, including a decision from a previous inspector, so our case must have some validity.

“What we are talking about is a business which would only attract more cars to an already busy area. The name drive-thru is a good clue and it will mean cars upon cars upon cars.

“The developers will have all kinds of legal people to try to knock us down. We are not legal people, we are just normal residents who appreciate where they live and want to stop this inappropriate development in an inappropriate area.

“Residents have made a really strong case to fight this appeal and I will be there right behind them.”

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After the plans were first refused by the council in 2017, a key moment came a year later when a first appeal was dismissed by an inspector on the grounds that the site would cause “unacceptable” harm to nearby residents.

Euro Garages then submitted a revised scheme after what they said was “very careful consideration” of the inspector’s ruling, with a reduction in the size of the proposed building and relocated parking.

These latest plans were still rejected by the council in 2019, and are what will be up for debate at next week’s appeal.

‘Angry and upset’

The reason for the council not wanting to contest is because it previously made a recommendation in support of the plans, which it believes would have hindered an argument against.

It also said it was unable to find lawyers willing to fight the appeal for them.

Cllr Pat Marsh, who is also leader of the opposition Liberal Democrat party, said she was “angered” by this decision but vowed to fight on.

She said: 

“I still feel angry and upset because when we previously voted for refusal, and even though it was contrary to officer recommendation, we had sound planning reasons.

“At the time, a legal officer for the council never stood up to question this. Clearly what we had done was seen to be acceptable and we thought the council were on our side.”

A council spokesman previously said not contesting the appeal “hasn’t been an easy decision to make” but was “the best way forward in this instance.”

They said: 

“In this case, the officer recommendation of approval was overturned by the planning committee and permission was refused, which has led to an appeal by the applicant.

“Following this recommendation, along with feedback from relevant consultees and comments made by an independent inspector – who considered a previous appeal at the site for a similar proposal – we believe the most sensible and cost-effective approach would be to not defend the appeal.”

Shop vacancy rates fall in Harrogate district, according to council figures

Shop vacancy rates across Harrogate district have fallen over the last year, according to latest borough council data.

The figures for March 2021 show most areas saw a decrease in the number of vacant units on the same time last year.

Boroughbridge was among the best performing with just 1.5% of shops in the town empty – a drop from 6.1% on March last year.

According to the council’s data, just one out of 64 shops were vacant in the town.

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Meanwhile, Harrogate town saw the number of empty units fall from 9.5% in March 2020 to 7.3% in the same period this year.

However, figures for the Harrogate suburbs increased from 3.9% to 4.4%.

Pateley Bridge’s rate stayed the same, while Ripon fell to 6.6% and Masham dropped by 2.2% to 11.1%.

Overall the district has 83 out of 1,211 units sat empty, according to the data.

In a post on his news site, Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, said:

“These have been difficult times and we are still not through them. Retail and hospitality are going to face ongoing challenges but these figures are positive and an improving position on much of the last few years.

“While the Harrogate town centre vacancy rate is at its lowest since June 2015 this is somewhat masked by the fact that a few really large units in prominent positions are empty which smaller units are generally being occupied.

“Knaresborough’s figures should improve even further when the long-term empty properties on the High Street come into use later this year. They were derelict until Harrogate council bought them and refurbished them.

“The Boroughbridge story is amazing and a tribute to this positive, community-oriented outlook. The town even featured on the BBC news described as ‘Boom town Boroughbridge’; quite an accolade.”

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.

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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.

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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”.

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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.

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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.

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.

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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.

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”.