John Plummer, Author at The Stray Ferret

Harrogate and Ripon gardens win gold at Yorkshire in Bloom awards

Harrogate has been awarded a gold medal and been named a winner in the small city category at last night’s Yorkshire in Bloom awards.

The annual awards encourage communities of all sizes to use flowers to brighten up the landscape as well as foster community spirit and civic pride.

Although Harrogate is a town, it was entered in the ‘small city’ category due to the size of its population and took first place at a ceremony in Tadcaster.

Harrogate Borough Council parks and gardens flowers

Harrogate Borough Council maintains parks and green spaces across the district.

Harrogate Business Improvement District, which undertakes schemes to drive footfall to the town centre, also won a gold medal and was category winner in the BID division.

Harrogate’s Valley Gardens received a platinum award and Starbeck won a gold medal in the urban community category.

Starbeck in Bloom

There was success too for Ripon, which took a platinum award for Spa Gardens, a silver gilt award for the city itself and a discretionary award for the best platinum jubilee display.

The Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park was awarded a Gold Medal in the Tourist Attractions Award category and a Best Conservation Project Award.

Joel Dibb, Head Gardener said:

“The Garden suffered devastating tree losses last winter due to the disease Phytophthora ramorum. The team took up the challenge to replant and move on from this distressing event and have had a busy year selecting and replanting trees.

The discretionary Conservation Project Award recognises all this hard work and the wildlife conservation we do to keep the garden wildlife friendly.”

A post on Harrogate in Bloom’s Facebook page said:

“Well done to all our local community groups and to the team at Harrogate Borough Council – here’s to further success in 2023!”

Yorkshire in Bloom is a charity incorporated organisation and a regional body representing the RHS Britain in Bloom campaign that is organised by the Royal Horticultural Society.

Judges assess criteria developed by the RHS in consultation with the regions.

Harrogate council spends £400,000 on bin worker overtime

Harrogate Borough Council has spent £408,000 on overtime for bin workers over the last three years.

The Stray Ferret sent a freedom of information request to the council after a refuse collector got in touch to express concerns about overtime spending.

The council spent £138,246 on overtime in 2019, £135,636 in 2020 and £134,196 in 2021. The figures do not include casual workers.

The council, which will be abolished in just under six months, employed 93 waste and recycling drivers and loaders in 2020, compared with 95 in 2021 and 100 in 2020.

David Houlgate, secretary of the Harrogate local government branch of public sector union Unison, said the council had been “in a recruitment and retention crisis for some time”, adding:

“There are a number of factors for this crisis but primary it is, in our view, because of pay freezes and below inflation pay rises for over a decade or more as a result of chronic under-funding from central government who do not appear to care about public services.

“Consequently, some services such as environmental services have endured staffing issues for a number of years. Your readers may have noticed on some occasions that their refuse or recycling collection has been late or not happened at all, as a result.

“Staff may have been asked to work overtime to alleviate the problem but more concerning is that there has been an over-reliance on agency workers to deliver some services.”

Mr Houlgate said Unison submitted a freedom of information request around the costs of agency workers in 2019 and later wrote to the council’s overview and scrutiny commission asking it to look into the “excessive” sums.

The committee agreed to undertake a review but this was delayed by covid and in July this year Unison was informed it was “unlikely that the agency workers piece of work will be undertaken”. Mr Houlgate said:

“The staffing situation has arisen because council staff have been underpaid and undervalued for well over a decade and the situation now with the cost of living crisis has reached a breaking point.”

The Stray Ferret asked the council what the overtime pay rate is for waste and recycling staff and whether it was able to manage the service better to reduce costs.

A council spokesperson said he didn’t have an answer for the pay rate but added:

“Our waste and recycling service has around 30 rounds out per day collecting household waste, recycling, garden waste and trade waste from the 500 square miles of the Harrogate district.

“There are a number of reasons why overtime is required to support the delivery of this service.

“On a day-to-day basis this could range from roadworks, delays or breakdowns leading to rounds finishing late and employees working over their contracted hours. Short or longer term driver and staff shortages also require additional time to be worked by employees to ensure the delivery of this service.

“It is fair and right that additional time worked by employees over contracted hours – that equates to less than five per cent of the overall delivery of the service – is paid at the appropriate rate in-line with our overtime policy. Equally, where hours are worked on bank holidays to ensure rounds are completed, overtime is rightly paid to employees.

“Without the good will and support from staff to work these additional hours we would struggle to deliver the existing quality of service that our residents and business customers expect to receive.”

Traffic and Travel: Harrogate district updates

Roads

Temporary traffic lights are due to arrive today on Harrogate’s busy Cold Bath Road for five weeks as Northern Gas Networks carries out maintenance work, according to North Yorkshire County Council’s live roadworks map. This is likely to cause considerable delays.

Roadworks are also taking place on nearby Victoria Road, where a diversion is in place.

Elsewhere in Harrogate, long-term work on Crescent Road means motorists are unable to turn left at the Parliament Street junction. Traffic coming the opposite way on Ripon Road is unable to turn right.

Montpellier Road remains closed until October 12 as Northern Gas Networks carries out maintenance work.

Roadworks are also due from 9am to 7pm today on Leadhill Crescent.

Drivers should expect the usual Friday morning rush hour delays on key routes, such as Wetherby Road, Knaresborough Road and Skipton Road but it is the first Walk to School day this term, which may reduce congestion slightly.

At Blossomgate in Ripon, work is due to take place to replace and reset the kerb and improve the road.

Further afield, anyone travelling eastbound on the M62 this morning should be aware of early morning problems.

2 lanes (of 3) remain closed on the #M62 eastbound in #WestYorkshire between J29 (for the #M1) and J30 (#Rothwell) whilst recovery is ongoing for a lorry involved in a collision.

There's just over 2 miles of congestion on approach so allow extra journey time this morning. pic.twitter.com/RKU3rvh5XP

— National Highways: Yorkshire (@HighwaysYORKS) October 7, 2022

Trains and buses

No rail strikes today, but another day of strikes is expected tomorrow.

Northern, which operates services through Harrogate and Knaresborough, has urged passengers not to travel on strike days.

As for today, Northern services between Harrogate and Knaresborough going to York and Leeds are scheduled to run as normal this morning.

But rail passengers on Harrogate’s LNER services have been warned to expect disruption until the end of the weekend..

Major engineering works in the Newcastle area by Network Rail will affect many services on the LNER route during this period.

Meanwhile, the Harrogate Bus Company is not reporting any problems this morning.

You can check service updates here.

Starbeck to have two Remembrance Sunday events amid time disagreement

Starbeck is to have two Remembrance Sunday events this year at 11am and 3pm amid a disagreement over the best time to honour the war dead.

A remembrance service traditionally takes place at 3pm at the war memorial on Starbeck High Street.

The afternoon time enables local veterans, dignitaries and anyone else wishing to pay their respects to do so first at the large morning parade in Harrogate town centre.

But some people feel Starbeck should follow the rest of the country by honouring the fallen at 11am.

Last year some residents observed a two-minute silence at the war memorial at 11am — and they intend to do so again this year, even though the afternoon service will go ahead as usual.

Starbeck Residents Association has taken over the running of the afternoon service and lead organiser Andy Dennis said this year’s event, on November 13, would be Starbeck’s official event marking Remembrance Sunday. He said:

“I want to be clear with this, as a local group held an unofficial service at 11am last year and this poorly attended event was projected in some quarters as the community’s response to remembrance.

“The 3pm service is always well supported by the community, it is held at this time to allow dignitaries such as the MP and councillors to attend the Harrogate service at 11am and the the Starbeck service later.”

Starbeck resident Lucky Hubbard said she was one of about 30 people who observed last year’s 11am silence and she intends to do so again this year. Some, including herself, will attend both gatherings. She said:

“I’m an ex-army wife so Remembrance Sunday has always been a big thing to me, and it’s always been at 11am.

“We are not saying don’t go at 3pm — we just want to pay our respects at 11am.”

St Andrew's Church

Ms Hubbard runs a Starbeck knitting group called Knitwits, which decorated local landmarks with poppies last year. This year it is knitting 2,000 poppies to go on the side of St Andrew’s Church (pictured).

She is also involved with a fundraising event for the Yorkshire Trench project on Saturday, November 12, as well as a veterans’ breakfast after the Sunday morning two-minute silence.

Some of those supporting the morning silence are involved with Starbeck Community Group, which has had an uneasy relationship with Starbeck Residents Association in recent years.

Ms Hubbard said:

“It’s a shame that this spat keeps rearing its ugly head.”

Harrogate council refuses to say if chief executive will get payout package

Harrogate Borough Council has refused to say whether its chief executive will receive a payout package when the authority is abolished in April.

Questions over possible payments to Wallace Sampson were raised after a proposed redundancy package of around £225,000 for Hambleton District Council’s chief executive was criticised by “dismayed and angry” union officials.

But when asked if its most senior officer would receive something similar, Harrogate Borough Council only provided the following statement:

“We respect the contractual rights of all our employees, and relevant employment law.

“This applies to all employees irrespective of their salary or position.”

Mr Sampson, who is paid a £118,447-a-year salary, will along with the other district council chiefs in North Yorkshire see his role scrapped when a new unitary authority covering the whole county launches in April.

County officials have repeatedly insisted that most staff will be transferred across to the new North Yorkshire Council.

However, there have been some uncertainties over job security which has led to an increase in staff quitting ahead of the eight existing councils merging into one.

Unison – which represents over 6,000 local government workers in North Yorkshire – said it was seeking clarity from the existing councils after Hambleton’s proposal which it said “will not go down well” with staff and taxpayers during the cost of living crisis.

The union said in a statement:

“We have already had contact from our members who work for Hambleton District Council to express their shock and disgust at this proposal.

“We will also be writing to the other district and borough councils across North Yorkshire to make sure they are not tempted to do the same.”

‘Inappropriate expenditure’

The comments come after Harrogate Borough Council was last year told to change its rules on payouts for departing staff after auditors raised concerns over what they described as “inappropriate expenditure”.

Figures published in the council’s annual statement of accounts showed £354,000 was paid out to 19 former employees in 2019/20.

This was an increase from the previous financial year when £278,000 was agreed for 15 staff.

The statement of accounts also showed one member of staff received a £62,000 exit package in 2019/2020, although it is not known what job title they had or how much they were earning before they left their role.

The only member of staff who was named was former director of community Paul Campbell who was paid £55,065 in compensation for loss of office.

It was later agreed that all payments – which can also include allowances and hardship cash – have to be approved by the borough council leader and chief executive, and reported on an annual basis.

Any payments over £100,000 now also require approval from full council.

Previously, the payments were signed off by a monitoring officer and only those made to senior staff were reported annually.

Meanwhile, North Yorkshire County Council’s chief executive Richard Flinton was earlier this year appointed to carry out the same role on the new unitary authority at a crucial time of change for the county.

He will earn up to £197,000 a year with responsibility for an annual budget of £1.4 billion and a workforce of 10,500 staff.

TV presenters heading to Harrogate for literature festival

Former Calendar news presenters Christine Talbot and Gaynor Barnes are to attend this month’s Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival.

The pair will be putting their presenting skills to use when they each interview one of this year’s guest writers.

Christine will interview Antique Roadshow star Ronnie Archer-Morgan about his autobiography, Would it Surprise You to Know…? at 11.30am on Saturday, October 22.

Gaynor will have a conversation with Radio 5’s Nihal Arthanayake – whose book is coincidentally titled How to Have Better Conversations at 1pm on Saturday, October 22.

The festival runs from October 20 to 23. Further details are available here.

New plans to tackle traffic on Harrogate’s A61

North Yorkshire County Council has revealed it is exploring new plans to cut congestion and improve road safety on one of Harrogate’s busiest routes.

Bus lanes, junction upgrades and cycling and walking improvements are being considered for the A61, which is a key artery connecting Ripon and Leeds.

There are also the long-discussed proposals for a park and ride scheme, which could have multiple sites in Harrogate.

The plans form part of a latest study that is underway after debate over the town’s £11.2 million Station Gateway project last year ignited calls for the Parliament Street section of the A61 to revert to two-way traffic as it was pre-1971.

However, the county council has repeatedly rejected the idea, saying the projected £30 million costs were not manageable.

Councillor Keane Duncan, executive member for highways and transportation, has again reaffirmed the authority’s stance whilst also revealing that a second phase of the Harrogate Transport Improvements Programme study is now focusing on other proposals for the A61. He said:

“Our position on the A61 one-way system remains unchanged.

“A two-way system would be likely to have a detrimental effect on Parliament Street and West Park, increasing congestion along this corridor and worsening air quality for people who live, work and spend time in the area.

“In addition, initial estimates of re-introducing two-way traffic indicated the cost would be at least £30 million. This would now be significantly higher following recent rises in inflation.

“We are preparing a number of proposals for the A61 corridor in line with government guidance on the development of major schemes.

“Detailed work is expected to be complete by the end of this year, after which we will take options to the public for consideration.”

After launching in 2019, the Harrogate Transport Improvements Programme has been hit by recent delays because the work is “extremely time consuming and complex”.

That is according to a council report, which also highlighted how there were further setbacks when the council’s £116 million bid to the government’s Bus Back Better scheme failed to secure any funding.

At the centre of the bid was plans for a Harrogate park and ride scheme and the council has again insisted that this is still a priority.

More than 100 possible sites have been examined and the two most promising were previously revealed as land near Pannal Golf Club and the Buttersyke Bar roundabout south of the village.

These were identified as they connect to the 36 bus service which runs between Harrogate, Ripon and Leeds on the A61.

Keane Duncan

But Cllr Duncan said more than one park and ride site would be needed in order to make the scheme a success and encourage people to change their travel habits. He added:

“If park and ride is developed further, we will hold further discussions with bus operators, because proximity to existing bus services is crucial to a scheme’s financial viability and sustainability.

“The Harrogate Transport Improvements Programme study focuses on improving provision for walking and cycling, improvements to junctions and enhanced priority for buses along the A61 Leeds Road, and the feasibility of park and ride services across the wider Harrogate area.

“Our aim is to deliver long-lasting benefits in a consistent, co-ordinated way.”

Details emerge of new Harrogate district town the size of Thirsk

A six-week consultation has begun on the Harrogate district’s proposed new town.

Maltkiln is expected to be built in the Hammerton and Cattal area and include between 3,000 and 4,000 homes, two primary schools, shops and a GP surgery.

With an estimated population of up to 10,000, it is likely to be bigger than Richmond and similar in size to Thirsk.

The development moved a step closer this week when Harrogate Borough Council opened a consultation on its draft new settlement development plan document, which sets out a 30-year vision and policy framework on how Maltkiln is designed and developed.

The consultation documents cover issues such as the impact of the development on flood risk, heritage sites and climate change.

Maltkiln

A section outlining the council’s ‘vision’ for Maltkiln describes it as “a garden village with a distinctive identity” that is “developed around convenient rail access to Harrogate, Leeds and York” and “people are not dependent on a car”.

People have until November 14 to make comments on the proposal. You can do so online or at the council’s Civic Centre in Harrogate or at libraries in Harrogate, Ripon, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge and Poppleton.

Tactical voting could swing Harrogate and Knaresborough to Lib Dems, poll says

The Liberal Democrats could take Harrogate and Knaresborough off the Conservatives at the next general election if people vote tactically, a poll suggests.

The New Statesman published an article today about the impact of tactical voting at the next election.

The findings are based on questions put to 2,500 voters a week ago by polling company Redfield & Wilton Strategies.

It forecasts tactical voting would lead to a Labour landslide and reduce the Conservatives to just eight seats in northern England — with Mr Jones among the victims.

Data by New Statesman and Redfield & Wilton Strategies

The article says Conservative Andrew Jones is currently set to win in Harrogate and Knaresborough for the fifth consecutive time, taking 35% of the vote compared with 32% for the Liberal Democrats and 25% for Labour.

But with tactical voting, the Liberal Democrats would win with 42% compared with 37% for Mr Jones. Labour’s vote would slump to 13%.

The figures are extrapolated from YouGov polling in May, which revealed 50% of Labour voters would consider voting for the Liberal Democrats — but just 13% would consider voting for the Conservatives. The article says:

“Tactical voting would see some voters switch to the Conservatives, without doubt, but the overwhelming majority who would change their vote would change it against them.”

Applied nationally, both for Con-Lib marginal seats and Con-Lab marginal seats, three to four dozen seats would change hands.

The Conservatives would win just 117 seats overall, the Liberal Democrats would win 41 and Labour would end up with 408 seats.

The article warns:

“These types of polling questions come with a health warning about hypothetical data, but they can aid us in modelling the next election.

“They let us look at seats where the Lib Dems are in second and gauge how many Labour voters might switch to help them over the line.”

The Liberal Democrats upgraded Harrogate and Knaresborough to a target seat this year, which prompted the selection process for its next prospective parliamentary candidate to be restarted.

North Yorkshire Police says it won’t work with online vigilantes

North Yorkshire Police has urged people not to support online child abuse activists and said it will not work with them.

The constabulary issued a statement today saying the number of online vigilante groups had increased in the county but they risked hampering prosecutions and often targeted innocent people.

Such groups often use a decoy victim – an adult pretending to be a child – to snare suspected child abusers.

They then live-stream or post videos on social media of them confronting suspects, often calling the police at this stage.

The statement said:

“We have specialist teams working hard around the clock to identify and bring offenders to justice and all too often these groups put the lives of innocent people in danger, interfere with our ongoing investigations and risk the course of fair justice.”

Detective Inspector Paula Eccles, from North Yorkshire Police’s safeguarding team, said:

“The police service does not endorse online child abuse activist groups and we will not work with them.

“Unlike our highly-trained officers in the online abuse and exploitation team and the digital forensics unit, they operate without any procedures to keep people safe.

“Accused people can become vulnerable to self-harm and there are cases around the country of people dying by suicide because of the action of such groups.”

‘Cause cases to collapse’

Det Insp Eccles added some groups operated as a cover for crimes like blackmail and extortion and there was “no way of making sure that these groups act on reliable evidence”.

She added:

“The standard of evidence that is gathered is also often poor, there are issues with legal disclosure, and the way the groups share their evidence publicly online before it has been tested at court.

“Some evidential issues can even cause cases to collapse. This is completely unacceptable.”

Police nationally arrest more than 400 people for child sexual abuse and protect more than 500 children from harm each week.

North Yorkshire Police said its specialist teams “have the expertise and experience to carry out thorough, complex and intelligence-led investigations, as well as preparing evidence that can stand up to scrutiny by the Crown Prosecution Service”.

It urged anyone concerned about indecent images of children and sexual abuse to report it online via its website or by calling 101, or 999 if it’s an emergency.

Read more:

Read more:

Roads

Trains and buses

Read more:

Read more:

Read more:

‘Inappropriate expenditure’

Read more:

Read more:

Read more:

Read more:

Read more:

‘Cause cases to collapse’