North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoë Metcalfe has resigned as a councillor on Harrogate Borough Council.
The news has not been publicly announced yet. However, the council’s website confirms she is no longer a councillor.
The Stray Ferret was alerted to the news by another councillor and has attempted to contact Ms Metcalfe directly, as well as the Office of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and Harrogate Borough Council for further details. So far only Harrogate Borough Council has replied to clarify there won’t be a by-election.
A spokesman said:
“Under the terms of the Structural Changes Order we are unable to run by-elections to fill vacancies arising after September 30, unless the total number of unfilled vacancies exceeds one third of the whole number of members. Therefore there will not be a by-election for this seat.”
Ms Metcalfe, a Conservative, was elected to the £74,000 commissioner’s role in November last year after her predecessor Philip Allott resigned.
At the time she represented Claro on Harrogate Borough Council and Knaresborough on North Yorkshire County Council.
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She did not seek re-election to the county council in May’s local elections but retained her borough council seat. Her departure today comes four months to the day before the borough council is abolished to make way for the new North Yorkshire Council.
Ms Metcalfe has strong local connections: she was born in Ripon and now lives in Aldborough, near Boroughbridge.
She joined the Conservatives in 2014 and has twice stood unsuccessfully for Parliament: first in Doncaster Central and then in Leeds West.
A fire service review she led this year generated controversy because of its decision to reduce the number of fire engines stationed at Harrogate from two to one overnight.
Mary, 87, retires after 47 years and 18,000 shifts as a lollipop woman in SummerbridgeA Nidderdale lollipop woman is set to retire after 47 years of helping children cross the road.
Mary Fisher, 87, is North Yorkshire’s longest-serving lollipop woman.
She has supervised generations of children crossing the busy Pateley Bridge to Harrogate road outside Summerbridge Community Primary School since 1975 — the year the Vietnam war ended, Margaret Thatcher became leader of the Conservative Party and Leeds United were beaten in the final of the European Cup.
Now, after 18,000 morning and afternoon patrols involving thousands of children, she has decided to retire. Her last day is due to be December 16.
Nick Coates, executive headteacher of Darley and Summerbridge Community Primary School Federation, said:
“Mary will still be a regular visitor to school but in a guest capacity rather than a working role and is going spend her retirement taking it easy, gardening, baking with the odd bit of knitting thrown in.
“We wish her all the best and of course, it goes without saying, all our love.”
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Mary came to North Yorkshire in 1954 with her husband Jim, and soon became firmly embedded within the local community.
In 1956 the couple moved to Summerbridge, where Mary worked at New York Mill and Jim worked in the building trade.
Over the next decade or so Mary and Jim raised their four children, all of whom attended the school. It was at this point that Mary’s relationship with the school really began.
Bringing the children to school everyday, it was soon noticed by the local ‘bobby’ that Mary would make a great lollipop lady and despite initial reluctance, she eventually agreed.
Two years ago, when she celebrated her milestone of 45 years, she said:
“One of the best parts of the job is that everyone recognises you – everyone always waves at me.
“I love being outside and active as well. I have to be out and about rather than sat inside. Not a day goes by where I think I don’t want to get up today and do it.”
Now, after 47 years and five headteachers, she has finally decided to call it a day.
Harrogate council putting up homeless people in town centre hotels at undisclosed cost
Harrogate Borough Council is paying some of Harrogate’s larger town centre hotels to provide accommodation to homeless people.
The Stray Ferret approached the council a month ago after a well-placed source revealed the names of some of the town’s best-known hotels that are being paid to put up homeless people. We asked the council how many homeless people it was helping, why it was having to use town centre hotels and how much it was paying the hotels.
The council, which has duties to prevent and relieve homelessness, confirmed it used hotels “as a last resort” but declined to reveal costs.
A council spokesperson said:
“Should someone become homeless we have a number of options available to help them find somewhere safe to stay on a temporary basis. As well as helping them plan for the long term and secure permanent accommodation.
“We have hostels in Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough as well as Fern House in Starbeck, our purpose-built temporary accommodation with 19 self-contained bedrooms.
“Should someone be placed in a B&B or hotel, they are only ever done so on a temporary basis and as a last resort when no other suitable accommodation is available.
“Currently, 16 people are being temporarily accommodated in B&Bs and hotels, and 82 in hostels, until we find a more permanent solution.”
The spokesperson added the council worked with partners “to find more secure accommodation” while it provided temporary relief.
Fern House, which cost £2.3 million to build, opened 18 months ago to help provide more accommodation for homeless people.
We once again asked the council to provide details of how much taxpayers’ money it was paying the hotels. But despite subsequent requests, it has not revealed how much it spends on hotels.
The spokesman initially said he “didn’t have the costs to hand” and it “wasn’t a straightforward answer”.
Three weeks ago he said he had asked a colleague in finance to collate the information and they would “pull it together as soon as they can”.
But no further details have been provided.
The Stray Ferret has submitted a Freedom of information request.
Harrogate district people with disabilities urged to have their say on housing tomorrow
People with disabilities in the Harrogate district have been invited to attend a debate tomorrow night about accessible housing.
Harrogate-based charity Disability Action Yorkshire has assembled a panel of four experts for the event, which will take place at the Cedar Court Hotel in Harrogate at 5pm.
Titled ‘Accessible Housing for Everyone in North Yorkshire’, the event gives disabled people the chance to have their say and influence decisions on assisted living.
Jackie Snape, chief executive of Disability Action Yorkshire, said:
“The aim of the evening is for disabled people to tell us, and more importantly our panellists, about their housing needs.
“Our hope is that their comments will help influence future assisted living decisions made by the new North Yorkshire Council, which in turn will deliver benefits to those disabled people looking to live in their own homes.”
The panel includes:
- Richard Webb, North Yorkshire County Council corporate director for health and adult services
- Sarah Roxby, Wakefield Clinical Commissioning Group‘s associate director of health.
- Cllr Mike Chambers, Harrogate Borough Council cabinet member for housing and safer communities
- Christina McGill, Habinteg Housing Association‘s director of social impact and external affairs
Disability Action Yorkshire chair, Neil Revely, will head the panel.
New 36-bed home
This year, Disability Action Yorkshire, in partnership with Highstone Housing Association, was granted approval by Harrogate Borough Council to replace its 20-bed care home on Claro Road, Harrogate with a new 36-bed care home.
The £7.5 million complex will also include a base for Disability Action Yorkshire staff, who will be on site 24-hours a day.
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Ms Snape said:
“Our assisted living scheme, which will be completed by this time next year, is one of the most significant developments in our 85-year history. It fulfils one of our key ambitions, to give disabled people the independence they crave.
“Whilst our panellists have a wealth of expertise in this area, we believe it’s vital that they hear from the district’s disabled community. These are the people who more often than not need some form of assistance to live independently, and we need to ensure these needs are properly met.”
If you would like to participate in the debate, contact Jackie Snape via email or telephone at: 01423855410.
The breaking ground ceremony at Claro Road with, from left to right, Disability Action Yorkshire chair Neil Revely, The Mayor of the Borough of Harrogate Cllr Victoria Oldham, Harrogate & Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones, and Highstone Housing Association executive director Joanne Hawley.
New woodland created on the Stray in HarrogateAbout 20 trees were planted on the Stray in Harrogate today as part of a scheme to create a new ‘pocket wood’.
The initiative, which took place during National Tree Week, aims to create a small woodland environment on the Stray, close to Skipton Road, that people can enjoy for generations.
Members of Harrogate branch of the union Unison joined staff from Harrogate Borough Council‘s parks and environmental services department to plant a variety of native trees, including elm and lime.
An avenue of 12 apple and maple trees was created on the Stray near Christchurch. Nearby, close to Regent Parade, another eight trees were planted.
Sam Perry, Unison branch environment officer, said the semi-mature trees planted today would, alongside the more mature trees nearby, would turn the area into a dense copse of trees. He added:
“The grass underneath will be allowed to grow uncut and, in the future, the canopy will also be under planted with smaller shrubs or wildflowers to create an even more diverse new ecosystem.
“Our new community pocket wood is a gift to our wider community in Harrogate and an invitation to all who see it to grow more green spaces in the world and more green thinking in their minds.’
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Death of Harrogate man in his 30s not being treated as suspicious
North Yorkshire Police said today it was not treating the death of a Harrogate man in his 30s as suspicious.
Police put up a cordon after they were called by the ambulance service to a flat on East Parade last Thursday evening.
A nearby resident contacted the Stray Ferret today to say other people in the flat were evacuated and put up in hotels while crime scene investigators carried out work.
The person wanted to know why there had been so subsequent police information informing nearby residents about the incident and offering reassurance.
Police said in response to a request for information today:
“At the time of reporting, his death was treated as unexplained, therefore a cordon was put in place to protect the scene while officers carried out a full examination of the property where the death occurred.
“Following a post mortem examination, officers do not believe that there are any suspicious circumstances that led to the man’s death.
“A report will be prepared for the coroner to inform a future inquest into the man’s death.”
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Northern bans e-scooters, hoverboards and e-skateboards on all trains
Rail operator Northern is introducing a ban on all e-scooters, hoverboards and e-skateboards across its trains and stations.
The ruling, which comes into effect tomorrow, is due to the potential fire risk posed by the lithium batteries in these devices, which can overheat and catch fire.
It will affect people using the line between Leeds and York that runs through Harrogate and Knaresborough.
Electric wheelchairs and e-bikes are exempt from the ban – as are mobility scooters for those with access needs, as long as they are registered with the train operator’s Mobility Scooter Permit Scheme – which checks devices by a range of criteria to make sure they are safe to use on-board.Tricia Williams, chief operating officer at Northern, said:
“The safety of our customers and staff is our number one priority.
“As these devices have become more and more popular, so have the horror stories of lithium batteries overheating and catching fire.
“Most of these devices are not actually approved for use in the UK – and from 1 December our staff will refuse travel to anyone attempting to board one of our trains, or access one of our stations with such a device.”
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Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with nearly 2,000 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.
On Sunday, December 11, Northern’s new timetable comes into effect and all customers, especially those who have made regular journeys on the same train times, are advised to check online journey planners before they travel to ensure their service operates at the same time and calls at the same stations.
Harrogate Borough Council chief executive Wallace Sampson is in line for a £101,274 redundancy package when the local authority is abolished at the end of March.
Mr Sampson looks set to receive a contractual redundancy payment of £71,633 plus £29,641 for a 12-week notice period he will not have to work.
Harrogate Borough Council is one of seven district councils which, along with North Yorkshire County Council, will cease to exist on April 1, when the new North Yorkshire Council takes over.
Harrogate Borough Council’s council’s chief officer employment committee has been recommended to approve the settlement when it meets next week.
A report to the committee says Mr Sampson, who joined the council in 2008 and is a member of the Association of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers union, will be “effectively stranded” by the council’s abolition.
It says he is contractually entitled to be paid for his notice period, but there will be no role for him to perform due to the council’s abolition.
The report also says lawyers Browne Jacobson have advised Mr Sampson is entitled to be transferred under TUPE regulations and to dismiss him before March 31 would “inevitably lead to an automatically unfair dismissal claim causing unnecessary conflict, impact on senior officer time and a waste of public funds as explained in the appended business case”.
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It is therefore recommended Mr Sampson be paid in lieu for his 12-week notice period:
The report says:
“In short, the proposal in the report recognises this and is a practical and pragmatic solution.”
All the district council leaders in North Yorkshire will lose their jobs at the end of March, in a move that it is claimed will save about £1m a year.
Richard Flinton, the current chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council, will become chief executive of North Yorkshire Council on a salary of between £180,000 and £197,000
The report says:
“The proposed settlement is considered to represent value for money by ensuring that the chief executive remains in office and engaged to enable the council to continue to deliver its services until 31 March 2023; that there is a smooth transition to the new authority; and contractual and statutory payments to the chief executive are paid to him as a result of the termination of his employment on the grounds of redundancy.”
Questions raised as Harrogate Royal Baths loses £2.5m in value
The value of Harrogate Royal Baths has fallen by £2.5m since it was acquired as a commercial investment by North Yorkshire County Council in 2018.
A council report reveals the Grade II listed building, built in the 1890s, was valued at £7m in March this year, compared with £9.5m when the local authority bought it. The council paid £9m but was prepared to pay £10m.
The report also reveals the Baths had only generated a 1.82% return on investment by September 30, which marked the end of the second quarter of the financial year.
The depreciation of the asset, along with the low rate of return on investment, has sparked fresh questions about the council’s decision to buy the Baths and its ability to manage commercial assets.
Last year Conservative county councillor Richard Musgrave said he was “absolutely speechless” to learn the council had paid £9m, adding “the performance looks very, very poor” and describing it as a “trophy investment”.
Speaking about the latest figures, Cllr Stuart Parsons, leader of the council’s Independent group, said local authorities should aim for investment returns of between five and 10 per cent and although times were hard the 1.82% figure was not acceptable. He added:
“The main problem is local authorities should not really own these properties because they don’t know what they are doing.
“I just don’t think there’s enough commercial nouse in the local authority to be running these sites.”
Figures contained on p134 of the council report.
Cllr Parsons said the new North Yorkshire Council, which comes into existence in April, should “hire proper commercial people” to run key assets like the Baths and the loss-making Harrogate Convention Centre, which he said had been “a millstone around Harrogate Borough Council‘s neck for a long time” and in danger of becoming a “white elephant”.
He added:
“This should be the last chance. Give commercial people a couple of years to turn them around and if they can’t, the council should think about disposal. There has to be a proper policy.”
‘Severely impacted by covid’
Asked about the latest figures, North Yorkshire County Council’s corporate director for strategic resources, Gary Fielding, said:
“This particular investment was an opportunity to invest not only for a direct financial return but also in our locality. To the end of the last financial year, returns have been in excess of our standard treasury investments. The issues experienced have been the result of a global pandemic and more recently other issues beyond UK borders.
“Investments are made for the longer term — balancing risks that can reasonably be foreseen and having sufficient cash flow and reserves to deal with shorter term shocks.
“As we move towards a new unitary council from April 1, 2023, we will see the freehold of Harrogate baths pass to the new council. Whilst the investment from North Yorkshire County Council will cease at this point, the ongoing relationships with tenants will continue.”
Read more:
- Harrogate’s Royal Baths: the council’s under-performing ‘trophy investment’
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Mr Fielding indicated the council would take a tougher line on commercial tenants to maximise income.
Plans submitted to convert Ripon City football ground into 66-bed care home“The hospitality sector has been severely impacted by the covid pandemic and the council has done all it reasonably can to support its tenants through these difficult times for the benefit of the local economy and taxpayers generally.
“We work with our tenants to understand their circumstances in order to maximise the income into the council. However, it is not the council’s responsibility to support tenants indefinitely, and if businesses are not sustainable then we work with tenants to bring tenancies to a close.
“We have seen improvement over the last six months which is encouraging. However, with the ongoing cost of living crisis, the hospitality sector may unfortunately experience further pressures.”
Plans have been submitted to build a two-storey, 66-bed care home on Ripon City AFC‘s ground.
The club, which has played at Mallorie Park for more than 100 years, revealed last month it planned to relocate.
Leeds-based care company LNT Care Developments has now submitted plans to Harrogate Borough Council to transform the ground into a home specialising in general and dementia care, including 25 parking spaces.
A visual of the proposed new home.
LNT has developed over 200 care homes in the UK since 2005. A planning statement, prepared on behalf of the company to support the application, says:
“The proposed care home would provide a character and form of development that should positively
enhance the character of the site and surrounding area, whilst also offering an important local
community service.The development would also have a positive impact within the area by improving employment
opportunities, not only during the construction phase but also in the longer term when the care home
becomes fully operational.”
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Neither LNT nor Ripon City AFC has disclosed how much the deal is worth.
The club said in a statement last month that funds from any sale would be used to develop a new facility, which would include floodlit 3G and grass pitches, seated stands as well as a multipurpose clubhouse.
The location of the new ground has yet to be revealed but the club has published a proposed layout of how it would look.
The proposed layout for the new Ripon City AFC facility