About 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.’

Read more:

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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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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.”

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.

“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.”

Read more:

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• Controversial 21-house scheme in Markington to be discussed tonight

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

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a Harrogate man who allegedly breached a closure order on a house in Jennyfields.

The closure order, granted by Harrogate Magistrates Court on November 3, banned anyone except an authorised council officer and one other named person from entering the property for three months.

Harrogate Borough Council said in a statement after the hearing it applied for the order “following concerns about drug use and anti-social behaviour”.

Aaron John Herbert, 49, of Deane Place, Harrogate, was due to appear in court on Thursday charged with entering the premises in contravention of the order.

But he did not appear, prompting magistrates at Harrogate to issue a warrant for his arrest.

North Yorkshire Police said this morning:

“The court warrant is still in place and enquiries are ongoing to locate him.”

Read more:

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Free weekday parking is being introduced in Harrogate’s Victoria Car Park this week until early January to attract Christmas shoppers.

Harrogate Business Improvement District is funding the initiative as part of its mission to drive town centre footfall.

From this week until Thursday, January 5 — free parking will be available between 3pm and 7.30pm in the Victoria Car Park on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

The ‘free after three’ campaign encourages town centre visitors on quieter days of the week, helping Harrogate’s retail, hospitality and entertainment sectors.

Harrogate BID manager Matthew Chapman said:

“Once again, we are delivering on our pledge to retailers to provide free parking in the town centre during the run up to Christmas, which is traditionally one of the busiest periods in their calendar.

“And whereas in the two previous years ‘free after three’ has ended just before Christmas, I’m delighted to say that this time we are extending it right through to Thursday, January 5, which we know will be beneficial to both visitors and businesses.

“‘Free after Three’ is only available in Victoria Car Park, which has ample space. It links directly to Victoria Shopping Centre, giving easy access to the heart of the town centre and the wonderful shops, bars, restaurants and entertainment venues Harrogate is home to.”

The BID’s 2022 Christmas campaign also includes sponsoring the North Pole Post Office, the Candy Cane Express road train, the Father Christmas Experience, the Christmas Shop Window Competition, and the Christmas lights.

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A car was turned into a fireball on the A59 near Flaxby today.

Knaresborough firefighters were summoned at 8.55am to the main road, which is close to the A1.

Knaresborough Fire Station said in a Facebook post:

“The police were already on scene providing scene safety. The fire was extinguished by two breathing apparatus wearers using two hose reel Jets.”

No further details are available.

Firefighters tackle the blaze. Pic: Knaresborough Fire Station

The car afterwards, Pic Knaresborough Fire Station

It was the first of two serious incidents in the Harrogate district today.

At 3.58pm, firefighters from Harrogate and Knaresborough responded to reports of a kitchen fire at a home on Rowan Close, Harrogate.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident log says:

“The female occupant was out of the property on arrival of crews.

“Two hose reel jets and four breathing apparatus were used to extinguish the fire and a positive pressure ventilation fan was used to ventilate the property.”

Read more:

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Controversial plans to build 21 homes in Markington will be discussed by the village’s parish council tonight.

Leeds firm KCS Developments Ltd has applied to build a combination of two- to four-bedroom houses with gardens and car parking spaces at High Mill Farm on High Street. Eight of the 21 homes would be classed as affordable.

Markington, which is situated between Harrogate and Ripon, has a population of just over 600 people.

Some residents have expressed concerns on social media about the impact of the development on the landscape and infrastructure in the historic settlement.

The proposed site

But a design and access statement submitted to Harrogate Borough Council by Ilkley architects Halliday Clark on behalf of the applicant, says there is an “identified need” for new housing in Markington. It says:

“The proposal sits centrally in Markington and is in walking distance of all the village amenities such as the primary school, shops and community spaces.

“Developing in a small village such as Markington will protect the continuation of these vital services, allowing the village to stay sustainable. There is an identified need within Markington to provide affordable family housing to enable young families and people to stay living in the village.”

The statement adds the development would be “concealed and therefore will have no visual impact on Markington’s high street”.

Markington with Wallerthwaite Parish Council will discuss the development at tonight’s monthly meeting, which is open at everyone, at 7.30pm at the Yorkshire Hussar Inn in the village.

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