Civic Society opposes bid to convert Harrogate’s former post office

Harrogate Civic Society is to oppose plans to convert the town’s former post office into offices and 25 flats.

Post Office Ltd wants to add a fourth floor on to the three-storey sandstone terraced building, which closed last year after more than 100 years as a post office.

The society, which is a charity that aims to keep Harrogate beautiful, said in a statement it welcomed the principle of redeveloping the site into a mixed-use facility but added:

“We are, however, concerned about the impact of an additional floor to this building in the conservation area, as the proposal does not address the whole of the building as originally designed.

“The appearance of the new floor results in a design solution which is not fully considered or refined and therefore does not enhance the existing roofscape in its present form.”

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Property development company One Acre Group has submitted plans on behalf of Post Office Ltd to Harrogate Borough Council to convert the building. If approved, work could start in the summer.

The post office controversially relocated to WH Smith last year amid claims by Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones the service was being “downgraded”.

The society said the application would encourage retail and make the area more vibrant. It added:

“We support the principle of re-use of vacant upper floors in the town centre for residential purposes.

“We believe this concept should be encouraged and developed in all areas of the town centre so that buildings and streets as a whole appear to have life at all times.”

But the organisation said it was “concerned about the relationship of the proposed extension to the existing buildings along Cambridge Terrace”, adding:

“The society is of the opinion that the developer’s proposal as it stands should be resisted.”

 

 

Bishop of Ripon: why I love running

When the Bishop of Ripon called this month for the city to get a new sports village, she wasn’t speaking purely in a professional capacity.

The Rt Rev. Dr Helen-Ann Hartley is a keen runner who believes exercise has more than physical benefits.

Usually she runs alone but she’s also a member of Ripon Runners, and occasionally swaps her maroon robes for the club’s maroon colours.

The Stray Ferret was curious to discover more about the link between fitness and godliness and cheekily asked Helen-Ann is we could join her for a run.

She cheerfully agreed and on a pleasant eight kilometre jaunt around Ripon explained more about her journey from non-runner to regularly taking on distances of up to 16 km.

The Rt Rev. Dr Helen-Ann Hartley in her more usual attire.

She didn’t start running until two years ago, when she was 45. She says:

“I decided to give the couch to 5k programme a go. I never thought of myself as a runner, I enjoyed walking and going to the gym.

“But some friends had tried the programme and I thought it would be fun to try.

“I soon found the benefits of running both physically and mentally and starting Parkrun in August 2019 was a real milestone in my running journey.”

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Helen-Ann typically runs five to 15 km three times a week. Her personal best for a 5k is just under 30 minutes — it was 45 minutes when she started.

“To be honest though, I’m not that fussed about timing! My longest run was just over 16 km and I’m aiming for a half-marathon.”

Does running help with her day job?

“I think it does, because I use running to create space; I’ve often mulled tricky things over in my mind, or pondered a sermon and almost always come up with an idea or a different perspective because I’ve been out and about.

“I even pray as I run sometimes, when I’m running down streets I think of the people and the businesses and hope they’re doing ok, especially at the moment.”

Great North Run ambitions

Having grown up in the north-east, Helen-Ann’s ambition is to complete the Great North Run, which is a half marathon from Newcastle to South Shields.

“My dad has done it. I’d love to do it and raise money for a brilliant charity called Daft as a Brush that provided the transport to enable my dad to access his cancer treatment in Newcastle, which thankfully finished just before the first lockdown. The treatment was successful, thankfully.”

As any runner will tell you, part of the joy is discovering new routes and Ripon has plenty to offer.

“I do think the Fountains Abbey Parkrun is an amazing route. I love running along the river Ure in Ripon, though it’s a bit muddy at the moment”.

Bishop spotting

She joined Ripon Runners during lockdown

“Seeing them out and about as individuals or in their bubbles doing a lockdown challenge in fancy dress made me think, they look like a cheery bunch. So I emailed their membership secretary Nicole and got such an enthusiastic response I knew I’d made the right decision.

“As a club they welcome all types of runners, fast, slow and everything in-between. I really enjoy the weekly runs when we are able to gather. Generally though I’m a solo runner and enjoy waving at fellow runners as I go on my way.”

Helen-Ann says she doesn’t get recognised often, probably because she looks so different.

“But occasionally people do a double-take but by the time they have decided if that was or wasn’t the bishop I’m well on my way!”

Harrogate planner: ‘council mistakes have created massive urban sprawl’

A planning specialist has blamed Harrogate District Council’s “parochial mindset” and “lack of vision” for the district’s “massive urban sprawl”.

David Howarth, who was employed by the council for five years in the 1980s and then worked for it as a private consultant for 30 years, contacted the Stray Ferret to give us his views after reading our series of planning articles this week.

Mr Howarth said the coverage had “brilliantly identified the major problems we have had over the last 20 years”.

He said the district’s planning department had been in a “state of disarray for two decades”, which had left the area at the mercy of developers.

David Howarth

David Howarth

Mr Howarth said the “acutely embarrassing debacle” of the Local Plan, which maps planning in the district and took six years to finalise between 2014 and 2020, was the critical failure. He said:

“When you get to the position where you have no Local Plan it becomes a free-for-all.

“You can’t blame the developers. They’re just doing their job. You can’t criticise them any more than you can Volvo for selling cars.”

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Mr Howarth said many councils faced similar challenges but Harrogate Borough Council’s “parochial mindset” had backfired because its unrealistically low housing targets had been rejected by the government and resulted in far more being built. He said:

“We tried to restrict development because places like Harrogate and Knaresborough are nice places to live but when you try to restrict development to the absolute minimum and don’t conform with government guidelines, what happens then is the opposite arises and everybody piles in.

“In 1982 Killinghall Parish Council was screaming for a bypass. That’s 40 years ago — where’s the bypass? What we have instead is massive urban sprawl.

“A bypass could have been included in the Local Plan. The plan could have made developers pay a levy for houses they built Killinghall.”

Afraid to speak out

Mr Howarth said the council’s weak resistance to builders contrasted with its heavy-handed approach to residents seeking planning permission. He said:

“Some developments that have been accepted are very poor but if you put in an application to extend your conservatory they are down on you like a ton of bricks.”

Mr Howarth said the current situation was “predominantly the fault of the people in charge of Harrogate Borough Council” and its planning department needed to be more dynamic and visionary.

He said many planners were reluctant to speak out in case it cost them work with the council. He said:

“I’ve retired and could not care less now. Five years ago I wouldn’t have made this phone call.”

The Stray Ferret has asked Harrogate Borough Council for a response to Mr Howarth’s claims. At the time of publication we had not received one.

Starbeck cash machine explosion: two males sentenced

A 16-year-old teenager and a man aged 38 who caused an explosion at a cash machine in Starbeck were sentenced today.

Frederick Squires, of Castleacre Road, Swaffham, Norfolk and the teenager from Doncaster, who cannot be named, targeted cash machines across Yorkshire and Leicestershire whilst driving a stolen vehicle.

Squires was sentenced to eight years and six months in prison at York Crown Court and was disqualified from driving for seven years and three months.

The 16-year-old received a two-year detention and training order.

Both men were charged with conspiracy to commit burglaries and conspiracy to cause explosions. Squires was also charged with aggravated vehicle taking.

Lit a fuse

The offences, which began on March 4, were caught on CCTV, which showed them driving the stolen vehicle using cloned registration plates.

The men pumped gas into a cash machine at the post office in Shepshed, Leicestershire at 12.30am and then lit a fuse to cause an explosion.

This attempt was unsuccessful so they moved on to the Jet garage in Adwick, near Doncaster at about 3.15am. Using the same tactics they stole £35,130 in cash cassettes.

Two days later they targeted the cash machine at the Co-op on the High Street in Starbeck shortly after 1am. This attempt was unsuccessful.

At about 2am on March 10, North Yorkshire Police officers spotted the stolen vehicle near York.

100mph chase

In a 100mph chase, the vehicle drove the wrong way round a roundabout before travelling along the wrong side of the A64 dual carriageway and shortly after crashed into the car park barriers at the York Designer Outlet.

Officers were unable to locate the suspects until a helicopter spotted a heat source close to the River Ouse. Officers located the suspects hiding in a tree trunk and they were subsequently arrested.

Squires pleaded guilty to all charges and the 16-year-old youth was found guilty following trial. A third man, who cannot currently be named for legal reasons, plead guilty to all charges but will be sentenced at a later date.

Detective superintendent Fran Naughton, of North Yorkshire Police, said:

“The sentences given to these two individuals today are a clear demonstration that this type of crime will not be tolerated, either in North Yorkshire or across the country.

“Setting off an explosion inside an ATM is extremely dangerous, particularly one on a fuel station forecourt, and showed no regard for the safety of local residents in the properties nearby.

“Added to all of this are the highly irresponsible actions of the driver as they fled from the police, endangering the lives of many road users and causing further damage.”

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Sarah Staff, head of SaferCash, the security initiative hosted by the British Security Industry Association, said: “This series of ATM attacks were potentially extremely dangerous to the public and had a significant impact on local communities that rely upon these services and their access to cash.

“The outcome of today’s sentences will be a strong deterrent to those involved in similar offending.”

 

Just 23 covid infections today as R number falls to 0.8

Just 23 coronavirus infections for the Harrogate district have been announced today by Public Health England.

The figure is well below the record 95 that occurred on November 9 and continues the recent sharp downward trend.

In more good news, the district’s R number, which refers to the rate of spread of the virus, has once again fallen, from 0.9 to 0.8.

It means every 10 people with covid will infect eight, so the virus is declining in the district as a whole.

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The seven-day average rate of infection has fallen to 128 per 100,000 people. It was over 300 three weeks ago.

The England average is 188 and the North Yorkshire average is 164.

Harrogate was placed in tier two restrictions today but this will be reviewed in two weeks time.

R number falls below 1 in the Harrogate district

The R number has fallen below one in the Harrogate district for the first time since the second wave of the pandemic took off.

The number has fallen to 0.9 — anything below one means the spread of the virus is declining.

Infection rates have fallen dramatically in the second half of November and are now lower than they were at the start of lockdown.

Public Health England confirmed another 36 infections in the district today.

However, leading public health figures suggested at a media briefing today of North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, a partnership of agencies that tackles emergencies, the county could be put in tier two or even tier three tomorrow.

However, the national government will decide.

Such a move would devastate many pubs that do not serve substantial meals, as they would be unable to open.

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Today’s briefing also revealed Harrogate District Hospital currently has 31 covid patients, which is four more than last week.

North Yorkshire as a whole has 272 covid patients. There were 302 at the peak of the first wave of the pandemic in spring.

No deaths were reported at Harrogate District Hospital today. However, there were four in the previous three days, bringing the total to 98.

A total of 54 care homes in the county currently have covid outbreaks.

Pupil attendance in schools is 87 per cent.

Central Harrogate has had the most positive cases in the Harrogate district in the last seven days, with 23.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Pateley Bridge and Nidd Valley has had none.

Help give homeless and elderly people free Christmas hampers

The Wesley Chapel in Harrogate is fundraising to buy hampers for people who are alone this Christmas after covid prevented its usual lunch from taking place.

For the past 35 years the Methodist chapel has provided Christmas day lunches for up to 100 people.

All guests are offered a full Christmas dinner, entertainment, carol singing, and a snack before being transported home.

It has given mainly elderly, lonely and homeless people not only a hot meal but also company.

Now it has set up a crowdfunding campaign to buy a minimum of 120 hampers.

Esther Hitchen, a volunteer helper for the Wesley Chapel, said:

“Sadly, this year we are unable to provide a Christmas Day lunch due to the covid restrictions.

“Instead, we are organising hampers, which will be delivered to the door of our guests on the 25th of December.

“We hope it will brighten up their day and help them feel less alone this Christmas.”

Any funds that don’t get used will go towards next year’s Christmas dinner.

You can support the appeal here.

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Will falling covid rate save Harrogate district from tier 2?

Covid rates in the Harrogate district and North Yorkshire overall are continuing to fall sharply — but will it be enough to prevent the county moving into tier two restrictions next week?

Public Health England reported just 21 infections for the district today, which followed 11 announced yesterday.

The district’s seven-day average rate of infections is now 157 per 100,000 people — about half of what it was a fortnight ago.

North Yorkshire’s current rate is 196. The England rate is 207.

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The government is due to reveal on Thursday which tiers each area will be in.

It would appear North Yorkshire is likely to be in tier one or tier two — and the difference between the two is vast.

In tier one, pubs and restaurants can open with table service; in tier two, they can only open if they serve substantial meals and there is no household mixing indoors.

The decision could therefore determine whether many hospitality businesses stay open — and possibly even survive.

King James’s School spending £7,000 a week on covid

King James’s School in Knaresborough is spending an extra £7,000 a week tackling covid, Parliament was told yesterday.

Covid has imposed additional costs on all schools, such as paying for supply teachers to cover teachers who are isolating.

But the scale of the problem at one local school was laid bare during a Commons education debate.

Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, asked if the government would take into account variable infection rates when planning education budgets for tomorrow’s Spending Review.

Mr Jones said:

“The highest levels of infection lead to the highest levels of people having to isolate, including teachers, so there are increased budgetary costs from having to backfill teaching staff.

“King James’s School in Knaresborough, a secondary school in my constituency, briefed me that this is running at £7,000 a week, so schools are facing a significant challenge.”

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Paul McIntosh, acting headteacher of King James’s School, urged ministers to help. He told the Stray Ferret:

“In the present climate, it is unsustainable to keep spending the extra money on resources like additional cleaning and supply teachers in order simply to maintain the school functioning in a relatively normal capacity.

“We would greatly appreciate the government giving serious consideration to providing schools with additional funding in order to support us through these difficult winter months.”

Gillian Keegan, the skills minister, told the Commons debate the government had provided £75,000 additional funding for “unavoidable costs that could not be met from their existing budgets”.

She added:

“There will be a further opportunity later in the year for schools to claim for eligible costs that fell between March and July.”

 

Harrogate and Knaresborough libraries partially reopen

Harrogate and Knaresborough libraries are set to resume their reduced lockdown services this week.

The libraries closed last week after a member of staff in each one tested positive for covid.

The buildings have been given a deep clean and staff who needed to have self-isolated.

Harrogate library will resume services tomorrow and Knaresborough is expected to be back in operation on Saturday.

Library members will be able to use the select and collect service, which allows them to order books by phone or email and pick them up from the library entrance.

Library computers will also be available for essential use, but must be booked in advance.

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Harrogate will open from 10am to 4pm on weekdays and from 10am to 2pm on Saturday.

Knaresborough will open from 9.30am to 1.30pm on Saturday, 9.30am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 5pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 9.30am to 1.30pm on Thursday and 9.30am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 7pm on Friday.

North Yorkshire county councillor Greg White, executive member for libraries, said:

“We have robust safety measures in place, including collecting contact tracing details, strictly limited numbers and plentiful hand sanitiser, so customers can continue to use our select and collect and to book public computer sessions with confidence.”

All libraries in the county are currently closed for browsing.