Editor’s Pick of the Week: A new Harrogate restaurant and ongoing battles to save trees

Harrogate’s new fine-dining restaurant Rhubarb created quite a stir this week, especially as its town centre location has proved a graveyard for several recent ventures.

Today our food writer, Masterchef semi-finalist and Harrogate resident Yemi Adelekan, reviews it.

On the topic of good food, we also revealed the local entries in the latest Michelin Guide.

Besides food, trees have dominated the local news landscape. Some have been felled at the former gasworks where Tesco is starting sitework on its new Harrogate supermarket.

Campaigners are doing their utmost to resist 450 being felled in Rotary Wood, where Harrogate Spring Water’s expansion plans took a step forward.

In Ripon, the cathedral announced it was still open to ways of saving a veteran beech tree due to be felled as part of a new development on Minster Gardens — but none has been identified yet.

Some weird and wonderful things have been happening in Knaresborough. Tonight the town hosts a show featuring local burlesque performer Foxie Gingerella, better known locally as businesswoman Sarah Lowe, from beauty salon Orchis Escape. And did you see our article about another person having to be rescued from public toilets on Waterside?

It’s difficult to follow that — enjoy the weekend content.

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Ripon Cathedral announces next steps for controversial annexe plan

Ripon Cathedral will host drop-in consultation events in February and March where cathedral members will answer questions regarding its controversial plans to build a new annexe.

The cathedral “paused” its planning application to North Yorkshire Council last month following opposition from campaigners and local businesses.

According to a document published today, senior figures at the cathedral still appear committed to the extension — which it now says would cost £8 million. The figure was previously believed to be about £6 million.

However, a spokesperson said it hopes that through the consultation events it can identify areas of “creative thinking” with possible amendments made to the plans.

They said at present, the cathedral has not yet found an alternative to chopping down 11 trees. But it added the future of a veteran beech tree “remains open”.

A Q&A on its website answers some of the key questions posed by critics of the scheme. These include its potential impact on businesses and whether the annexe could be built elsewhere within the footprint of the cathedral.

It maintains the annexe is crucial to offer 21st century facilities whilst safeguarding the future of its choir.

The proposed new song school and cafe would be built next to the cathedral on Minster Gardens.

Local businesses have said it will take trade away from them and there have been protests against the felling of the trees.

Trees in Minster Gardens

A spokesperson said:

“It is hoped that a pause in the planning application to allow for additional consultation will prompt a genuine exchange of views, the sharing of informed ideas and the constructive discussion of concerns raised.”

You can read the Q&A in full here.

Drop-in events will be held at the cathedral on the dates and at the times shown below.

One event on Thursday March 7, from 9am-12pm, will take place at Ripon Town Hall,

February

March

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Harrogate manager Simon Weaver named Manager of the Month

Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver has been named SkyBet League Two Manager of the Month for January.

Weaver guided his side into the promotion race with 10 points from four unbeaten matches.

He said:

“I think this award should go to the whole management team. Everyone does contribute so much to the cause, the staff, the players, we are all here together.”

Weaver has guided his side up the table.

Danny Wilson who chairs the Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month judging panel, said:

“Four unbeaten games in January and 10 points returned is a fantastic run considering the injury list Simon has had to deal with.

“With the momentum gaining pace, Harrogate find themselves on the brink of the play off places with some very exciting fixtures coming up.”

Celebrating with Town colleagues.

Sky Sports’ EFL pundit Don Goodman described Town as “the form team in League One and Simon Weaver deserves a lot of credit”.

He added:

“They are now in the chase for a play-off position and have hit their stride at the perfect time.”

The Sulphurites started the season 100/30 favourites for relegation but are now 33/1 to be promoted and 7/1 to make the play offs.

They entertain Colchester United this weekend at the EnviroVent Stadium on Wetherby Road.

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Gritting boss heralds Lofthouse heroes after becoming stricken on ungritted road

The Conservative politician responsible for North Yorkshire’s highways who is also challenging to become the area’s first elected mayor has hailed residents’ “heroic efforts” to rescue him after his election battlebus got stuck on an apparently ungritted snow-covered road.

Cllr Keane Duncan had been driving in wintry conditions in one of the most remote areas of the county, on the notorious road between Lofthouse, near Pateley Bridge, and Masham.

It was part of his ongoing 1,000-stop tour of the county ahead of the May election, when the van he calls Peggy left the road this morning (February 8).

As the North Yorkshire Council executive member for highways, Cllr Duncan oversees the county’s gritting crews and a £7 million budget to deliver what he describes as “one of the UK’s most comprehensive winter programmes”.

The authority’s fleet includes about 80 vehicles and is supported by about 100 farming contractors, who are deployed to keep the roads clear during more challenging conditions.

However, it is understood the site where Cllr Duncan’s vehicle left the road is known locally for not being gritted as it is where two of the council’s highways branches, Hambleton and Harrogate, meet and their gritting lorries turn around.

Speaking after being “pulled to safety” by Lofthouse residents Stephen Ramsden and Ashley Gatecliffe, Cllr Duncan said the road did not look like it had been gritted before his van got stuck in mud.

Cllr Duncan and his two rescuers.

After seeing his plight, villagers asked Cllr Duncan to take up their case to ensure gritting is more comprehensive in the area.

Cllr Duncan said:

“Peggy became briefly stuck in the mud between Lofthouse and Fearby during today’s snowy weather.

“Suffering nothing but a bruise, Peggy is back on the road and my tour of the county continues as scheduled.

“Despite Peggy’s unplanned rest, my visit to Lofthouse and the wider Nidderdale area was immensely useful. I was able to speak to residents personally and directly about their concerns.”

Mr Gatecliffe said he appreciated Cllr Duncan taking the time to venture up here to understand the issues being faced by residents first hand.

He added:

“This is a treacherous road and we appeciate Keane’s help to get it gritted. This is the proactive and visible representation we want to see from our new mayor.”

However, opposition councillors pointed towards financial cuts by the government to North Yorkshire over the last 13 years, leaving resources limited and the gritting service “prioritised”.

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Liberal Democrat group leader Councillor Bryn Griffiths said:

“Keane will be very aware of the priority schedule.

“If he can’t follow his own highways advice and drive responsibly, what does that say about his competence to be an effective mayor?”

Cllr Steve Mason, a Liberal Democrat who represents Amotherby and Ampleforth, said added there was “a certain irony” that the executive lead councillor for gritting had come off an ungritted North Yorkshire road.

He said:

“Perhaps more focus on his paid role to ensure our roads run smoothly at this time would have been prudent.”

Council’s approach to Maltkiln has left locals feeling ‘bullied and threatened’

North Yorkshire Council has been strongly criticised for its approach to the 4,000-home Maltkiln scheme with a Cattal resident claiming it has left locals feeling “bullied, threatened and let down”.

The council’s Conservative-run executive met on Tuesday in Northallerton to discuss Maltkiln’s development plan document which is set to be submitted to the secretary of state for housing later this month.

The meeting was attended by several parish councillors living in villages affected by the development including Green Hammerton, Cattal, Whixley and Kirk Hammerton.

They took turns to tell the executive how they felt the council has handled consultation around the development plan document.

As the site is the largest allocation for housing in the Harrogate district local plan, the council has a major say on how the scheme is developed. Wetherby-based developer Caddick Group has been chosen to build and sell the homes.

Martin Simpson, chair of Green Hammerton Parish Council, said aspirations to include 40% affordable housing as part of the development were “pie in the sky” and claimed council officers had been led by the commercial interests of developer Caddick. He said:

“This has been pushed by profit margins rather than where houses are needed.”

Harrogate Borough Council worked on the development plan document for several years before handing it over to the unitary authority due to local government reorganisation.

Whixley parish councillor Cokie Van Der Velde said the council had ignored a transport assessment that suggested the busy A59 between Maltkiln and the A1 (M) will need to become a dual carriageway to cope with an increase in traffic.

She said:

“We cannot be left with a constant traffic jam on the most important road serving our communities.”

Kevin Bramley from Hunsingore, Walshford with Great Ribston and Cattal Parish Council, said the council had “disadvantaged” local communities through a perceived lack of public engagement regarding the development plan document.

He said:

“Locals feel let down, threatened and bullied by lack of consultation and now the threat of the compulsory purchase order. Consultation should help minimise costs to the public and private purse, serving purpose rather than process.”

Cllr Derek Bastiman, the council’s executive member for business, was put forward to respond to the complaints and he issued a strong rebuttal to the claim that Maltkiln was a developer-led scheme, adding this was “entirely without foundation”.

He said:

“The consultation has been carried out in line with requirements. It’s unclear how this can be perceived as a threat or bullying and it’s disappointing such emotive language has been used in this context.

“It’s not normal practice to undertake further consultation unless significant changes are required and we don’t believe this to be the case with Maltkiln development plan document.”

Regarding the potential dualling of the A59, Cllr Bastiman said:

”Strategic traffic modelling did not indicate an immediate need to dual the A59.  It does not require this as part of highway mitigation but land should be safeguarded as neccessary.”

Cllr Bastiman also rejected a request from Cllr Arnold Warneken (Green Party, Ouseburn) to delay the submission of the development plan document by two months to allow for further consultation with communities. He added:

“Extensive consultation has taken place throughout the development of the development plan document.”

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Grassroots funding awarded to Harrogate football clubs

Four football clubs in the Harrogate district have been awarded grants from the government as part of the Multi-Sport Grassroots Fund.

The fund will award £93 million in 2023-24 to more than 1,100 projects around the country.

In total the Harrogate district was awarded £5,077 between the four clubs, with all of them applying for goalpost funding. 

Applicants could apply for a range of facilities including football turf, floodlights, pavilions, goalposts, changing rooms and improving sports access.

The Harrogate district clubs which were successful in securing grassroots funding were: 

The aim of the funding was to increase participation in sport amongst underrepresented groups and target communities most in need. 

Currently, the focus within underrepresented groups is to increase the involvement of women and girls, disabled players and those in deprived areas. 

The government funding is partnered with investments from the English FA and the Premier League. 

Conservative MP for Skipton and Ripon, Julian Smith, said:

“This is great news for these local clubs. 

“The government is making a real investment in grassroots sports as we make significant progress towards meeting our ambitious target of 3.5 million more people active by 2030.”

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Harrogate’s Ashville College to end boarding next year

Harrogate‘s Ashville College is to phase out boarding by next year as part of a major new masterplan.

The fee-paying school said the masterplan would see “the biggest investment in its academic and sporting facilities in its history”.

But it will also result in the end of boarding after almost 150 years as Ashville begins a new era exclusively for day pupils, who currently account for more than 90 per cent of its intake.

Chair of governors Jamie Search described the decision as “sensible — and inevitable”.

He added:

“Decisions we have taken about boarding will allow us to fulfil our aim of becoming the school of first choice for those parents in the Harrogate, and the wider Harrogate area, who want independent education for their children aged 2-18.

“In the UK independent sector, boarding education as a concept has been under considerable pressure for some time, exacerbated by the covid pandemic.”

Ashville’s campus

Mr Search added:

“Ashville is a day school with some boarding and is, therefore, very different to a full boarding school.

“Like many similar schools, where boarding is a small and decreasing part of its operation, Ashville has not been immune to these trends. We now have about a third of the number of boarders we had 10 years ago and we occupy only two of our four boarding houses.”

Current Year 10 and lower sixth boarders will be able to complete their current stage of education, whether at GCSE or ‘A’ Level.

Ashville said in a statement it was “working to support families of pupils who currently board by offering one-to-one specialist advice and guidance, including signposting them to alternative boarding schools, before boarding at Ashville ceases in July 2025″.

It added the school was already working with architects and designers on its new vision and would share more details and images next term.

Rhiannon Wilkinson, Ashville head

Rhiannon Wilkinson

Head Rhiannon Wilkinson said in a letter to parents:

“The decision to wind down boarding is made from a position of confidence and it brings us many opportunities as an all-through, co-educational day school.

“We will be able to develop our teaching spaces to accommodate the new styles of teaching and learning and curriculum design which a changing world of work necessitates.”

She added:

“We have plans to develop social and study spaces for our pupils and we are keen to invest further in our sporting facilities.

“We also want to redesign and upgrade a number of other areas across the campus as we further develop a modern learning environment for all our pupils.”

 Founded in 1877, Ashville College caters for boys and girls aged 2-18 years. It consists of Acorns Early Years, and Ashville’s prep school, senior school and sixth form.

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Average council tax bills set to soar by more than £100 in North Yorkshire

Average council tax bills across North Yorkshire look set to increase by more than £100, despite the organisations levying the lion’s share of the rise being in relatively strong financial positions.

Two meetings at County Hall in Northallerton this week heard that North Yorkshire Police was “very healthy” and envied by neighbouring forces and North Yorkshire Council was in a far better financial position than most local authorities due to savings from becoming a unitary authority.

A meeting of the county’s police, fire and crime panel saw commissioner Zoe Metcalfe’s proposal to charge band D taxpayers £11.77 extra for the police service and £2.41 more for the fire brigade approved.

The council’s executive then recommended to a meeting of the full council later this month for a £87.80 increase, meaning average council tax bills will rise by £101.98, before any potential town or parish council precept increase is added.

The scale of the increase in council tax follows comes as the council’s leader and chairman of the police, fire and crime panel, Councillor Carl Les, called on the government to undertake a long-awaited review of funding levels for providing services across England’s largest county.

He said:

“It would be good if there was a level playing field across the country, but over time the equation of the principal sources of revenue in different parts of the country has become skewed.”

Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe said in charging the average resident £306.86 for the police service she had not taken full advantage of the maximum increase the government had permitted this year.

She emphasised she only wanted to charge residents what was absolutely necessary during a cost of living crisis.

Mrs Metcalfe said in a survey of almost 3,000 residents some 61 per cent had supported an increase of £10 or more.

The police, fire and crime panel meeting heard the 3.99 per cent police precept increase would put the force in a “very healthy” financial position for the next four years, and when any efficiency savings were made, those funds could be re-invested in the service.

Members heard the force had almost 1,700 police officers at the end of December and was on target to meet all of the Police Officer Uplift targets announced in 2019 as part of a drive to reverse a decade of austerity cuts.

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Councillors approve staff accommodation plan above Chinese restaurant in Ripon

Councillors have approved plans to create living accommodation for staff above a Chinese restaurant in Ripon.

North Yorkshire Council’s Skipton and Ripon planning committee met this afternoon at Ripon Town Hall to consider an application from Mr Wang, who took over The Dragon Inn on the market square in 2021.

The restaurant is part of a five-storey grade two listed building and according to planning documents, the first, second and attic levels are bedrooms for staff with a communal kitchen and bathrooms.

However, planning permission was never obtained to use the building as a house in multiple occupation so the application was part-retrospective.

It’s the second time plans have come before councillors following a deferral at a previous meeting in September.

At the time, councillors raised concerns about access to the rear of the building and fire safety.

Since then, the plans have been amended to remove the rear access and create a second internal staircase.

Architect Jonathan Green told councillors the applicant had addressed issues raised by councillors. He said:

 “The Dragon Inn was dilapidated but has been much improved.”

“If approved, Ripon would benefit as the whole building would be in use. It would be a small step towards a marketplace full of occupied properties.”

Despite being recommended for refusal by a council officer, councillors unanimously voted to approve the plans saying it would create much-needed affordable housing in the city centre.

Councillors visited the site before the meeting with Andy Brown (Green Party, Aire Valley) describing it as a building that “had not been loved in a very long time.”

Cllr Barbara Brodigan (Liberal Democrat, Ripon Ure Bank and Spa) said:

“There are so many buildings where the ground floor is occupied, and upstairs is a storing room or dumping ground.

“We’re told there’s a housing shortage in the city, certainly for people on lower incomes. This is accommodation for their workers. It’s bringing people back into the city and will preserve this building.”

Cllr Robert Heseltine (Conservative and Independents Group, Skipton South) said he could find “no sound reason” to refuse the plans. He added:

“We have to put ourselves in the applicant’s shoes. They will invest a substantial sum of money to bring it back into use.”

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Harrogate Spring Water submits controversial expansion plans

Harrogate Spring Water announced today it has formally submitted plans to expand its bottling plant.

The company wants to fell 450 trees, including some planted by schoolchildren in the 2000s, to develop its site off Harlow Moor Road in Harrogate.

Harrogate Spring Water is a major local employer and one of the town’s best known brands. But its bid to remove trees from Rotary Wood to create more plastic bottles has generated national controversy.

The Stray Ferret has been following the issue closely. We published this summary of the long-running saga in November shortly after Harrogate Spring Water said it planned to create a publicly accessible 1,200-tree woodland to offset the loss of trees.

The firm, which is owned by French multinational Danone, held a consultation event later that month, which attracted protestors from the Save Rotary Wood campaign group, which accused the company of greenwash.

Today Harrogate Spring Water said it had submitted plans and “is now working with the authority to progress the proposal”.

The 1,200 saplings would be planted on two acres of land immediately next to Rotary Wood and to the rear of the existing Harrogate Spring Water operations.

Richard Hall

Richard Hall, managing director at Harrogate Spring Water, said:

“As a business whose success is rooted in the town of Harrogate and its people, it is really important for us to work in partnership with the local community.

“The local community has been very clear in expressing their concern about the potential loss of trees from part of Rotary Wood which an expanded production facility could bring.

“This is why at the heart of our reserved matters application is a new community woodland which will be fully accessible to the public and we hope will become a valued resource for the local community for many years to come.”

Harrogate Spring Water has also pledged to plant 260 trees on the current Rotary Wood site where it aims to expand its production facilities.

Its press release today said “taken together with the new community woodland, this means that any trees in Rotary Wood which are removed as a result of the proposed expansion will be replaced by a ratio of 3:1”.

The release added the company was working alongside forestry experts to identify other locations in Harrogate where an additional 1,500 trees will be planted, further improving the replacement rate.

Harrogate spring water

The company’s headquarters on Harlow Moor Road.

The expansion would help to create more than 50 jobs plus 20 more during construction.

Harrogate Spring Water secured outline planning permission for its expansion in 2017 from Harrogate Borough Council, which means the principle of development has been established.

The reserved matters application put forward now to North Yorkshire Council contains details on the size and design of the expanded production facility as well as information on matters including landscaping.

Councillors on the Liberal Democrat-controlled 13-person Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee will decide whether to approve the application.

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