Motorbike destroyed in Knaresborough arson attack

A motorbike was destroyed in a fire believed to have been caused deliberately in Knaresborough last night.

On-call firefighters from the town were caused to a recreational area near Halfpenny Lane at 9.29pm.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service‘s incident report said the motorbike was “well alight” when they arrived.

“Crews extinguished the vehicle using a hose reel jet. The motorcycle sustained 100% fire damage and the cause was believed to had been deliberate.”


Knaresborough firefighters were called out earlier last night when they helped police deal with four youths on top of a commercial building on High Street.

The incident report said:

“Crews accessed the roof and politely persuaded the youths to come down from the roof via an internal stairway.

“The youths came down by their own accord and the incident was left in the hands of police.”

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Police tell drivers to stop abusing Harrogate lollipop man

North Yorkshire Police has urged motorists to stop abusing the lollipop man at Richard Taylor Church of England Primary School in Harrogate.

The lollipop man helps children cross the busy Bilton Lane outside the school.

But following a visit yesterday, police said in a statement:

“We have had reports of anti-social driving with drivers being abusive towards, and failing to adhere to the lollipop man outside Richard Taylor primary school.

“The school crossing patrol is there to ensure the safety of children crossing the road and failure to adhere to a stop sign outside of a school could result in penalty points and a fine.”


During their visit to Bilton, police speed cameras detected 15 vehicles travelling in excess of the 20 mph limit during a 30-minute check at school arriving time.

The statement added:

“We will be back in the area and continue enforcing to help tackle the issue.”

Read more:

Reopening Ripon to Harrogate train line could cost ‘hundreds of millions’

A transport official has poured cold water on hopes that the Harrogate – Ripon – Northallerton train line will reopen any time soon, saying to do so could cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds.

Harrogate’s link with Ripon was axed by Dr Beeching during his infamous 1960s rail reforms and the last train ran in 1967.

Much of the track was then ripped up to make way for the Ripon bypass and former station buildings have been converted into homes.

But there has been a long-running bid to see it reinstated, led by Dr Adrian Morgan, who founded the Ripon Railway Reinstatement Association in 1987.

The campaign was discussed by Graham North, strategy and performance rail officer at the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, when he gave a wide-ranging presentation to Skipton and Ripon councillors on Thursday.

However, Mr North claimed there was not the same level of public support for reopening the route when compared to similar campaigns such as at Skipton to Colne.

Mr North said:

“These schemes cost hundreds and hundreds of millions of pounds and we have to prioritise which ones come forward. We didn’t get the same level of support for Harrogate to Ripon when compared to other schemes.

“It’s been one individual all the time who’s been writing. There has to be a more coordinated campaign.”

The closure of Ripon Station left the city without rail connections and was strongly opposed at the time.

Cllr Barbara Brodigan (Liberal Democrat, Ripon Ure Bank and Spa) said she wanted to see the line reopened as she believes Ripon is underperforming primarily because of poor connectivity.

But she said she “doesn’t hold out any hope” for the line reopening in her lifetime.

Cllr Brodigan said:

“It will get worse with the barracks development increasing the population by 25%. All development is on the west side of the city. It’s a logjam that will get worse.

“Opening up the Harrogate to Ripon line would be a huge move forward and contribute to our economic development. Funding is an issue but the longer we leave it, the more expensive it becomes.”

Cllr David Noland (Green Party, Skipton North and Embsay-with-Eastby) struck a more optimistic tone and added:

“If we can put a tunnel under Stonehenge and a man on the moon why can’t we link Harrogate to Ripon?”

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Brimhams Active to be scrapped in council leisure shake-up

Brimhams Active, which runs council-owned leisure centres in the Harrogate district, is to be abolished.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive confirmed today it will bring all leisure centres and wellbeing hubs in the county back in-house. The Stray Ferret revealed in November it was planning the move.

It means Brimhams, which was set up less than three years ago by the now defunct Harrogate Borough Council and has overseen the multi-million pound opening and refurbishment of leisure centres in Ripon, Harrogate and Knaresborough, will no longer exist.

The news comes just two months after Knaresborough Leisure and Wellbeing Centre opened.

Brimhams Active, which was set up by the former Harrogate Borough Council in 2021, recently completed multi-million pound refurbishments at the Harrogate Leisure and Wellness Centre and Knaresborough Leisure and Wellness Centre.

A report prepared for councillors said this was “no reflection” on Brimham’s which delivers “much-valued and high-quality services” at venues including the Turkish Baths in Harrogate and Knaresborough’s new leisure centre and pool.

The company was set up following a strategic review carried out by the borough council, which recommended a local authority controlled company called Brimhams Active be formed to run leisure services in the district.

Its sites include Harrogate Leisure and Wellness Centre, Knaresborough Leisure and Wellness Centre, the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre in Ripon and Nidderdale Leisure and Wellness Centre in Pateley Bridge.

 

Harrogate Leisure and Wellness Centre

According to the council, the new service which will see a greater focus on health and wellbeing, provide more opportunities for people to participate and be active and focus on addressing inequalities.

The new delivery model, which triggers the start of the next phase of the authority’s strategic leisure review.

Councillors were told that work so far has included input from local communities and sports groups, as well as stakeholders like Sport England and North Yorkshire Sport. A cross-party working group of councillors has also visited sites across the county to help shape the proposals.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for culture, leisure and housing, Cllr Simon Myers, said: “With one of the largest leisure portfolios in the country we now have the opportunity to transform the way we deliver those services and put us at the forefront of a national movement towards improving physical and mental health and well-being.

“We will be creating a service bespoke to North Yorkshire with locally-based services and targeted provision, with particular emphasis on the needs of groups that may face barriers to participation. The UK population is 20 per cent less active than it was in the 1960s and we want to reverse that be providing the high quality, accessible and inclusive services people want, where they want them.

“We also want to work in greater partnership with the NHS and social care providers as we recognise the benefits of physical activity in preventing and managing long term health conditions.

“This is a very exciting time for leisure in North Yorkshire – local government reorganisation has given us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to look at our expansive portfolio and consolidate the services by building on best practice to create a new sport and active well-being service.”

Currently the council’s leisure portfolio – which includes 19 leisure centres, 16 swimming pools, three well-being hubs, a nursery and Harrogate’s Turkish Baths are run by five different operators.

Those arrangements will be moved to the single in-house model in a phased way – with the aim of the service being fully integrated and transformed by 2028. The first change will be for services in the former Selby district where the contract with IHL comes to an end this year.

The next phase of work is to create a leisure investment strategy, progressing work already undertaken during recent asset condition surveys at the leisure centres. This will look at the condition of each site, their future roles and sustainability as part of the new delivery model and identify sites where investment is needed.

 

South Stainley homes shortlisted for architectural award

A building project between Ripon and Harrogate has been named as a regional finalist in the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Awards.

Church Farm is a residential development of nine houses, with two converted from the original farm buildings.

Nominated by Harrogate firm Architecture One Eight, the scheme has been shortlisted in the residential development category for the Yorkshire and Humber region.

The RICS Awards showcase inspirational initiatives and developments in land, real estate, construction and infrastructure.

Entries are shortlisted across five categories – residential development, community benefit, heritage, public sector and refurbishment-revitalisation.

A list of the schemes shortlisted alongside Church Farm is included at the end of this article.

Mark Rugg, chair of the Yorkshire and Humber RICS Awards judging panel, said:

“It is inspiring to see such inspirational projects in Yorkshire and Humber shortlisted for these awards.

“It is a true testament to the dedication of surveying professionals despite challenging times in recent years.”

Read more:


The Yorkshire and Humber entries shortlisted for the awards are:

Questions raised over bid to build homes on Harrogate commercial site

Plans have been submitted to build 12 homes on a commercial site in Harrogate.

Property firm Carter Jonas is advertising the former Buildbase builders merchants site on Prospect Road in Starbeck as a ‘prime residential development opportunity’.

Its sales brochure adds “a decision is expected shortly” by North Yorkshire Council on whether to approve an outline planning application for 12 homes on the 1.02-acre site.

According to planning documents submitted to the council, the site — known as Arville Works — was advertised for sale as a commercial site by property firm FSS but failed to attract a buyer.

An officer at Harrogate Borough Council said in an email in January last year that it would be “really disappointing see the loss of this warehouse and retail showroom”.

The email said FSS had conducted 35 viewings, including second viewings, since September 2020. These led to nine offers, with two deals that progressed to solicitors falling through. But despite this “significant interest”, it concluded:

“Given the length of time that it has been actively marketed and the inability of FSS to secure a deal despite their best efforts, unfortunately it seems that there is little more that can be done in order to secure a successful commercial future for this site.”

The Arville Works site

 


Chris Robbins, a partner at Harrogate commercial property consultants Robbins Associates, questioned this.

Mr Robbins said:

“There is a massive shortage of employment land in Harrogate and Knaresborough, with most of the land allocation being at Flaxby, which does not appeal to many local employers.

“In my view this site should be retained for employment uses in accordance with the Local Plan policy. If it were to come back to the market, I believe it would find a ready occupier or purchaser.”

Cllr John Mann, a Conservative who chairs the council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee, said:

“The application remains under consideration with nothing on file to indicate one way or the other whether it will be approved.”

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‘Stop this madness,’ says anti-Station Gateway campaigner

One of the main opponents of the £12.1 million Harrogate Station Gateway has issued a plea to halt the scheme.

The Stray Ferret reported on Friday that West Yorkshire Combined Authority is expected to approve the full business case for the gateway on Thursday (March 13).

This will pave the way for North Yorkshire Council to begin preparatory work soon before the year-long project gets underway in earnest in September

However, the latest plans for the downgraded scheme have not yet been made public, the cost has risen by almost another £1 million to £12.1 million and an assessment of the scheme has branded it “poor value for money“.

This led retired architect Barry Adams, a Harrogate resident and vocal gateway critic, to issue a plea for a rethink.

In a letter to the Stray Ferret, Mr Adams said the “overwhelming opinion” in Harrogate was that the gateway is a “total waste of public money”.

He added:

“The gateway plan achieves absolutely nothing but disruption to the town.

“We need to get this madness stopped so in the first instance we will once again consider organising an online petition and would ask residents of Harrogate and businesses to give it their full support.

“We need to strike a chord with people before it is too late.”

Mr Adams, who said he represented Harrogate Residents Association and Granville Road Residents Group, called instead for more focus on creating a park and ride bus service and a Harrogate bypass.

He accused Cllr Keane Duncan. the council’s executive member for highways and Conservative candidate to be North Yorkshire mayor, of “drip feeding” limited information on the gateway to boost his image in the run-up to the mayoral election on May 2.

You can read Mr Adams’ letter below.


Cllr Duncan said last week it was an “exciting time for the regeneration” of the town centre. He added:

“It will see pedestrian improvements along Station Parade, including raised crossings and signal junction improvements, a bus lane from Bower Road into the bus station and a south-bound segregated cycle lane. Station Parade will remain two lanes and there will be no changes to James Street.

“The scheme will also see public realm improvements to One Arch and Station Square, and new cycle parking at the railway station.”

Read more:

Letter by Barry Adams

I was not totally surprised when I read the news in a Stray Ferret article that the West Yorkshire Combined Authority is expected to agree to approve downgraded gateway schemes in Selby and Skipton as well as Harrogate next week.

We have been drip fed very limited written statements on the de-scoped gateway but the actual plans have not been made public. This is totally inadequate to pass constructive comment on.

As we have stated repeatedly and publicly over the last few years the highways executive had and still appears to have a history of ignoring the democratic process, not listening, being dismissive of public comment, hiding behind a meaningless excess of words in press releases.

However, and in the spirit of co-operation and adopting a positive approach a small interested group has tried to arrange a meeting with Cllr Keane Duncan, the executive member for highways, to understand the full implications of the details. We have been waiting for over two months now for him to confirm an actual date.

We believe all the noise from North Yorkshire Council and Keane Duncan is a publicity exercise massaged to justify the project and now to boost the image of Cllr Duncan, the Conservative candidate in the forthcoming elections for Mayor of York and North Yorkshire.  It also appears they are desperately scrambling to rescue their reputation with the Department for Transport and possibly other funding bodies.

This must not be allowed to happen at the long term expense of damage to Harrogate but North Yorkshire Council seem inured to criticism.  As the article points out, the de-scoped gateway has been branded “poor value for money” in a cost assessment of the scheme. It is an utter total waste of money when councils across the country are desperately trying to make ends meet.

From the extremely limited information we have been fed by North Yorkshire Council, this scheme is more insane than the original, wasting even more money.

It is OUR money — we as taxpayers in one form or another will ultimately pay for it.

The overwhelming opinion in Harrogate is that the gateway project even in its scaled back form is still a total waste of public money especially with the extortionate level of consultants’ fees spent to date.

All this appears to put the cart before the horse and we therefore question what opportunity there will be for change if, for example, we are not satisfied with the so called “first class public realm improvements”.

What improvements will there be to the appearance of Station Square, if any?  What improvements will there be for cycling when we have already suggested a way of achieving this in a joined-up way?  What improvements will there be for pedestrians? None.

What improvements will there be to public transport — none apart from the creation of a short length of dedicated bus lane.  Still no mention of park and ride.  What improvements will there be to reducing congestion, the original purpose of a gateway project — absolutely none.

A re-think on a bypass to remove through traffic from Station Parade is required along with park and ride in the town.   The gateway plan achieves absolutely nothing but disruption to the town.  We need to get this madness stopped so in the first instance we will once again consider organising an online petition and would ask residents of Harrogate and businesses to give it their full support.  We need to strike a chord with people before it is too late.

Barry Adams

On behalf of Harrogate Residents Association and Granville Road Resident’s Group

Readers’ Letters: Why does everything in Harrogate have to cater to the young?

Readers’ Letters is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

This letter is in response to a feature written by senior journalist, John Grainger, about why Harrogate is so lacking in fun for young people.

Why does everything have to be aimed at the young? No bowling alley, for example.

Before the alley on Tower Street closed, others and I used to play there regularly – and we were not young! We were at least in our 70s at the time.

M&S is gearing their clothing for the young, and most of the shops in town seem to be geared for the young coffee drinkers who appear to have loads of time to be out and about.

We are all living longer and still wish to enjoy ourselves.

A bowling alley in Harrogate would be great.

Valerie Cooke, Harrogate

Why is the Harrogate taxpayer funding London consultants?

This letter is in response to an article about North Yorkshire Council hiring a London consultancy firm to look at alternative uses for Harrogate’s Convention Centre. The council declined to reveal how much it is paying the firm.

Well, so much for democracy!

The rate payers of Harrogate district paid for a London firm – why London? Leeds is closer and possibly cheaper to consult on the Convention Centre.

Tell us how much you spent of our money.

Who decided to use London consultants? As if London cares about Harrogate. Until, of course, Harrogate decides not to vote the London way.

Gillian Knight, Harrogate

Reservoir parking charges: a pay-on-exit system would be much fairer

This letter is in response to a story about parking charges recently introduced at Swinsty and Fewston reservoirs. It highlights problems with the ANPR system and walkers avoiding paying for parking.

We visited shortly after charges were introduced and ended up receiving a fine.

We intended to only walk round Fewston and thought that 2 hours would be ample for this.

What we had not realised was that, although our walk started at 11am, we had actually got there at about 10.45am to put our boots on and go to the loo etc.

It took us a bit longer than the two hours to complete the walk and then when we got back take our boots off. Our total time spent there was 2 hours and 20 minutes – hence the fine.

How do you know how long it is going to take you to do these walks? Especially if people are taking young children or dogs.

A system that charges on exit time taken would be much fairer and would avoid all this.

I note also that, although the charges have been introduced, the gents and disabled toilets are still out of order after several months.

In an isolated location like this vandalism is inevitable and will happen on a repeat basis I would think. How much is this going to cost?

We are now told we need to pay on the app. But from what we saw most people were struggling to understand the existing equipment – never mind an app.

We also noted on the day we walked that a group of walkers had not used the car park and parked at least 20 cars on both sides of the road in Timble village. Is that what the council wants?

Can you please help us to get this awful decision changed? At least payment on exit please!

Colin Calderwood, Wetherby

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

Report reveals state of schools in Harrogate and Knaresborough

Secondary schools in Harrogate and Knaresborough have considerably lower Ofsted ratings than the county and national average, according to a new report.

The report also reveals local secondary schools are amongst the worst funded in the country, ranking 141st out of 150 in terms of funding per pupil.

However, primary schools are better funded and out-perform the national and county average Ofsted gradings.

The report was prepared for North Yorkshire Council‘s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee, which meets on Thursday (March 14).

Written by senior council officers, it gives an overview on attainment, funding and special educational needs, as well as highlighting where new schools are needed.

There are 29 primary schools in the Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency area, which until the next general election includes Boroughbridge. Twenty-one are academies or free schools and eight are maintained by the council. Independent schools aren’t included.

There are seven secondary schools, of which five belong to academies and two are council-maintained. There are also two special schools and one pupil referral unit.

Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

Ofsted woes

As of January 2024, 57% of Harrogate and Knaresborough secondary schools were judged good or outstanding, which is considerably lower than the North Yorkshire (83%) and national (79%) averages.

But 97% of Harrogate and Knaresborough primary schools were judged good or outstanding, which is above the North Yorkshire (86%) and national (91%) averages.

Regarding key stage attainment levels, the report says:

“In North Yorkshire, attainment appears to have returned to pre-pandemic levels and is now very similar to national attainment levels.”

Special educational needs soaring

The report reveals 883 children in Harrogate and Knaresborough were in receipt of a North Yorkshire-funded education, health and care plan in January this year — 18% of the North Yorkshire total.

EHC plans identify educational, health and social needs and set out the additional support to meet those needs. The most common local needs are: autism (46%); social emotional and mental health (18%); moderate learning disabilities (11%).

North Yorkshire Council received 1,275 requests for an EHC plan in 2023 — the highest number since they were introduced and 30% up on 2022. Of these, 199 (16%) were for young people in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

The report says:

“At the time of writing, there were circa 600 requests either awaiting a decision to assess, a decision to issue an EHC plan or awaiting the finalising of a plan.

“At the same point last year, there were circa 300 in process. This rise in requests in process is at least partly due to the difficulty in gathering required information for decisions on EHC plan assessments, owing to an acute national shortage of educational psychologists available.

“North Yorkshire Council’s approach to the challenge has involved the contracting of agencies in addressing a backlog in receiving advice from educational psychologist services.”

The report added “a successful recruitment drive” had led to the hiring of a principal educational psychologist and a number of part-time and trainee educational psychologists. It adds:

“This is expected to have a consequent effect of an upturn in overall timeliness in final plans being issued towards through the year.”

Home education increasing

At the beginning of the 2023/24 academic year, 817 children were recorded as electively home educated in North Yorkshire, 95 of whom were formerly from a mainstream school in Harrogate and Knaresborough. There were 87 in the constituency last year so the number has risen by 9%.

The report also says in 2022/23, 10 of the 96 permanent exclusions from all schools in the county were for children in Harrogate and Knaresborough mainstream schools. The figure was also 10 last year.

Low secondary school funding

North Yorkshire secondary schools are placed 141 out of 150 local authorities in terms of funding level per pupil. On average, a school in North Yorkshire will receive £5,994 per pupil in 2023-24 compared to a national average of £6,542. Comparing the funding for a 1,500 pupil secondary school this equates to a difference in funding of £0.82m.

North Yorkshire primary schools rank 32nd out of 150 local authorities in terms of the funding level per pupil. For primary schools, a North Yorkshire school will receive on average £5,125 per pupil compared to a national average of £5,014.

The report says school budgets “have experienced significant cost pressures in the 2023/24 financial year”.

It adds the pressures include a teachers pay award of 6.5% in September last year. “with school budgets being required to meet the initial 3.5% cost and the Department for Education providing additional grant funding to cover the cost in excess of 3.5%”.

It adds a 9.42% pay increase for support staff “is a particular cost pressure”, along with energy costs and inflation.

Woodfield Community Primary School in Harrogate, which is at risk of closure.

Woodfield Community Primary School

Rural school closures?

Woodfield Community Primary School in Bilton closed in December 2022 and several rural schools have also ceased operating in North Yorkshire in recent years.

The report provides little reassurance that others won’t follow. It says the council is “carefully monitoring pupil numbers across the Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency area”, adding:

“A falling birth rate combined with changing demographics means that a number of small schools are facing financial challenges associated with low numbers on roll.”

It adds declining rural population and falling birth rates mean “a number of small schools are facing multiple challenges associated with low numbers on roll”.

Primary school changes

The report says council officers are “monitoring the situation carefully in Boroughbridge town and Kirby Hill in terms of school place planning” due to the number of new houses.

It adds:

“Additional capacity is planned for Boroughbridge Community Primary School (60 places), with work expected to start on site in summer 2024.”

In response to “significant housing development” in west Harrogate, it says:

“Two primary school sites are provisionally indicated, one on H49 (Windmill Farm) and one on H51 (Land East of Whinney Lane). In addition, the local authority has secured an additional site for education at Penny Pot Lane.

“Housing development has started at Penny Pot Lane and we are currently monitoring the pace of housing and the impact on the need for additional school places.”

It also says “additional capacity” has been added to Oatlands Junior School.

Three classrooms have been added to Killinghall CE School since 2017,

Plans for a 210-pupil primary school at Manse Farm in Knaresborough were approved in 2020 but no work has taken place and the situation appears deadlocked. The report says:

“The council continues to actively encourage the third parties to resolve the issues that are preventing the transfer of the school land to the council.

“Only when this is achieved would the council be able to review and confirm its plans for the proposed school.”

Secondary school changes

Two classrooms and three classrooms have added capacity to Rossett School  and Harrogate Grammar School respectively, the report says. It adds:

“Both will assist in meeting the expected rise in demand for places as a result of housing growth but pupil numbers will be kept under review.”

King James' School

King James’s School

Data shows King James’s School in Knaresborough has “sufficient places for local children”, according to the report.

A proposal to convert the former Woodfield Community Primary School to a special school provision for children with autism is being developed but the target opening date has been pushed back from September this year to April 2025.

A proposal to provide additional special school places from September 2025 at Springwater School is being developed.

Maltkiln

There is provision for two primary school sites at Maltkiln, a proposed new town that could be home to 10,000 people near Cattal. The report says:

“It is not expected that the size of the overall development would generate sufficient pupils to require the provision of a new secondary school.

“It is intended that Boroughbridge High School would be expanded to meet the anticipated growth in secondary pupils from the development. However, safeguarded land for secondary provision is indicated within proposals for Maltkiln, should this be required in the future.”

Read more:

Five fire crews tackle barn blaze near Boroughbridge

Firefighters from five stations were called to a blaze in a large barn near Boroughbridge this afternoon.

Crews from Boroughbridge, Ripon, Knaresborough, Harrogate and Thirsk were summoned to a farm at Aldborough at 12.55pm.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident report said a farm building measuring 50 metres by 20 metres was on fire.

It added:

“Crews used two hose reel jets, two main jets, and the aeriel ladder platform to deal with the incident.

“The cause of the incident is undetermined, and currently under investigation.”

Read more: