Harrogate cycle groups back one-lane Station Parade plan

Cycling and climate change groups have backed measures to reduce traffic on Station Parade to one lane and fully pedestrianise James Street in Harrogate.

Harrogate and District Cycle Action (HDCA) and Zero Carbon Harrogate issued their comments as part of the consultation on the town’s £7.9 million Station Gateway proposals, which ends today.

Business organisations, including Independent Harrogate and Harrogate Business Improvement District, have expressed concern at some of the plans and rejected the one-lane option.

But both HDCA and Zero Carbon Harrogate support creating a single lane for traffic on Station Parade, which also includes cycle lanes.

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HDCA said in its response to the plans:

“We are in favour of the one-lane option, which reduces Station Parade to one lane. Through traffic is routed along Cheltenham Mount, Bower Road, East Parade, and over Station Bridge back to Station Parade.

“The two-lane option does much less to achieve the objective of creating a more welcoming environment for people arriving at the station, and the cycle provision on Station Parade has a missing link in that version.”

A proposal to pedestrianise James Street in Harrogate, which is being consulted on as part of the Station Gateway plans.

A proposal to pedestrianise James Street in Harrogate is being consulted on as part of the Station Gateway plans.

The two groups also support the pedestrianisation of James Street to improve cycling and walking in the town centre.

‘Safer and more pleasant’

Zero Carbon Harrogate said pedestrianisation, combined with a single lane of traffic on Station Parade, would reduce town centre traffic. It said:

“Sustainable travel will become safer, more convenient and more pleasant, whilst travel by private car will become a little less convenient.

“We anticipate that the latter point will generate some opposition but believe that both sides of the equation must be addressed in order to achieve traffic reduction.”

The proposal for James Street has also been backed by Paul Haslam, a Conservative who represents Harrogate Old Bilton on Harrogate Borough Council.

Cllr Haslam, who has worked as a retail director and lecturer for the last 24 years, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that it would be “the best thing that could ever happen to it”.

He said:

“I very much welcome the pedestrianisation of James Street although I am understanding of the concerns and misgivings from some businesses.

“The decline of high-street retail has become more and more true for Harrogate, and it has now been accelerated by covid, which has ultimately been the kiss of death for some businesses.

“One of the things we have got to stop this hollowing out of the town is the town centre plan. Within that we have the Gateway project, but also the conference centre refurbishment and more regular trains running from places like London to bring more people in.

“These are all part of a bigger picture and I believe the pedestrianisation of James Street will absolutely fit in and be perfect for the gateway project.”

Business concerns remain

The government’s Transforming Cities Fund, which aims to encourage sustainable transport, is funding the gateway scheme.

A partnership between North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority is delivering the initiative.

Businesses remain concerned that any measures to reduce traffic could harm trade.

Andrew Goodacre, chief executive of the British Independent Retailers Association and a former Harrogate resident, said the measures included in the project would have a “negative impact” on its members’ businesses.

Sandra Doherty, chief executive of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, said a “well thought out plan” was needed for the town centre, which takes into the account the views of businesses, local people and visitors from further afield.

Labour crime candidate: county lines is ‘ripping families apart’

Labour’s candidate to be North Yorkshire next police, fire and crime commissioner has pledged to tackle county lines drug dealing, which is “ripping families apart” in the Harrogate district.

Alison Hume, a screenwriter and part-time lecturer at the University of Leeds, said the county needed an “approachable and visible” commissioner.

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

Ms Hume is standing for the Labour and Co-operative party at this year’s North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner election.

County lines is “ripping families apart”

Ms Hume has pledged to make tackling county lines drug dealing one of her key campaign issues.

County lines refers to drugs being transported from one area to another, often across police boundaries.

The issue has hit the Harrogate district hard recently: in the last six months of 2020, police made 140 arrests related to the issue.

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Ms Hume pledged to support police to “eliminate” the drug dealing and help those who have fallen victim to county lines gangs.

She said:

“County lines is ripping families and young people apart. I am really concerned about it.

“People need to see that it will not happen to them.”

She added that more programmes were needed to help support vulnerable young people who may be drawn into county lines.

Ripon anti-social behaviour

Ms Hume said police need to be more visible in Ripon and do more to prevent anti-social behaviour.

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

Ms Hume said she would like to move to a model where police community support officers are embedded in neighbourhoods in order to improve “visible policing”.

She said:

“It is an operational decision, but I would like to move towards the introduction of accountable, dedicated and visible police.

“To do that I think we need a police officer and a long-term embedded PCSO in every neighbourhood.”

Ms Hume said the move would help to “disrupt” anti-social behaviour at an early stage.

When it was pointed out North Yorkshire Police had already committed more resources to the city, she said the situation had already escalated.

“They had to react to a situation that had already escalated and had already been reported to them.

“I think they would be the first to admit that they are working towards a different mode of working where they are doing far more early work in the communities.

“I just want to accelerate that process.”

Safety of women on Harrogate’s streets

Ms Hume said she would want to introduce a “comprehensive strategy” on the safety of women on the streets of North Yorkshire.

She said that there were already good services in place for victims, but they needed to be brought together in a plan.

This would replicate a strategy introduced in Northumbria by former police commissioner and current Victims Commissioner, Dame Vera Baird.

Ms Hume said:

“It’s something that I feel very strongly about as a mother of two girls.

“In all the time that I started to campaign for women’s’ rights, we have not moved forward as we should have done.

“Women do not feel safe on the streets.”

Ms Hume, who is a graduate of Labour’s Jo Cox Women in Leadership programme, said she recognised it was an ambitious plan but added “it can be done”.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue has been underfunded, says Labour Party candidate for police, fire and crime commissioner. Picture: Stock.

Funding the fire service

Ms Hume said North Yorkshire’s fire service has been underfunded  and pledged to lobby government to change this.

Current commissioner, Julia Mulligan, said recently that the 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.

Ms Hume said:

“Is it really recognised how essential the fire service is to our communities? I don’t think it is in terms of the funding.

“I would be looking to raise the profile of what they actually contribute to the public.”

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.

Ten more covid cases confirmed in the Harrogate district

Ten more covid cases have been recorded in the Harrogate district, according to Public Health England figures.

It takes the total number of infections since last March to 7,542.

Meanwhile, the district’s covid seven-day rate remains at 48 infections per 100,000 people.

The North Yorkshire average is 47 and the England rate is 55.

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It was revealed today that the number of covid patients being treated at Harrogate District Hospital has fallen to six.

Last week, there were 13 patients at the hospital.

No covid-related deaths have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital today.

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.