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.”

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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.

 

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.”

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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.

Harrogate youngsters shine but competitive festival faces uncertain future 

For nearly 90 years, the Harrogate Competitive Festival for Music, Speech and Drama has been showcasing the diverse talents of up-and-coming performers from across the district. 

The festival, which attracted more than 1,000 entries this year, opened on Friday, March 1 with the promise of a varied programme over three weekends. It will end with a flourish on Sunday, March 17th, when the winning musicians and performers give a final concert.   

For many young musicians and drama students in the area, the festival is a much-loved fixture on their calendar. It offers an invaluable opportunity to perform in front of an audience of peers and receive feedback from professional adjudicators.

Former entrants have gone on to distinguished careers in music and the performing arts, with some of them featured in this year’s programme sharing their fond festival memories. 

Treasurer and secretary Alan Connell is one of them. He vividly remembers taking to the stage as a young violinist 63 years ago when the festival was held at the Royal Hall. He said it was a great experience and can help young performers push themselves and make progress – with some discovering how much they love it. He said: 

“We’ve got quite a lot of teenagers who have been coming since they were little. We get children whose parents performed as youngsters at the festival. Some of the performing arts participants come every year because they intend to pursue it as a profession.” 

Harrogate Competitive Festival winners

Winners Beatrice Adeleke and Sophia Coe with drama teacher Denyse Smith, all from the Knaresborough School of Speech and Drama, and adjudicator Paul Trigg.

An uncertain future 

This year’s opening weekend went very well, said Alan, with more than 60 classes mainly in piano, strings and woodwind, plus some speech and drama. But despite the fantastic start and the healthy number of entries, the festival faces an uncertain future. 

It has struggled to return to its pre-pandemic numbers after being forced to cancel in 2020 and 2021. Since then, the committee has been working to attract more competitors and last year introduced additional classes to appeal to a wider demographic. Alan said this had helped to some extent:  

“This year has been a lot better for numbers, and for the first time in about five years we’ve had enough entries to warrant classes on Friday evenings as well as the weekend. But we’ve noticed that some of the festival’s music classes are not as well attended as they used to be. Schools are no longer encouraged to provide music lessons and it can be expensive for parents to pay for tuition for their children.

“Speech and drama, however, is doing better and overall we are quite confident that if we can keep going for a few more years we can get the numbers back up to pre-pandemic levels.” 

Whether there’s time to do this remains in doubt, however. The festival was founded in 1936 and is run entirely by volunteers as a registered charity.

It costs around £20,000 a year to produce the event, and this is covered through operating income and donations. Grants and funding that were previously available have been cut, as they have for other similar festivals and the arts and music nationally. Entry fees for all classes were increased this year, but the festival is reliant on reserves built up through the generosity of benefactors and donors.

Alan said:

“We don’t consider making a profit but we do think in terms of shortfalls. We need financial support. We’ve been lucky over the last 10 years to have had a couple of nice legacies from a small number of supporters, but it’s very difficult to break even. The festival’s future over the next couple of years is uncertain.”

He added that the volunteers are ‘all getting older’ and they were also in need of new people to help them organise and run the event.

The final concert takes place at Harrogate High School on Sunday March 17, at 2pm. Tickets cost £6 and are available from Alan Connell on 01423 527 586. Contact Alan if you would also like to make a donation to support the festival.

Min pic: Some of the festival competitors and adjudicators

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Yemi’s Food Stories: Brunch at The Hideaway in Boroughbridge

Yemi Adelekan is a food writer and blogger who was a semi-finalist in the 2022 series of BBC TV’s Masterchef competition.

Every Saturday Yemi writes on the Stray Ferret about her love of the district’s food and shares cooking tips – please get in touch with her if you want her to review a restaurant, visit your farm, taste the produce you sell or even share a recipe.

 

The Hideaway is one of those places that locals would like to keep quiet to ensure they can always get a table – but a good secret is worth sharing. At least that’s what I told some Boroughbridge residents I ran into at the restaurant, after they said I am going to be calling Yorkshire’s attention to their ‘hideaway’.

Head chef Ben Keightley invited me to try the brunch-style menu, which takes inspiration from world cuisines. With options ranging from American-style fried chicken and rarebit, to Asian salads and a Moroccan lamb dish, this was an offer I could not refuse.

There was a definite buzz about the restaurant, and I could tell they have made quite an impression since they opened. The décor is calm, inviting and welcoming and the relaxed atmosphere and layout accommodates everyone.

There is a little corner of the restaurant in which you can buy gifts including handmade soaps, candles, books and scarves. I thought this was a lovely way to end the meal.

Moroccan-inspired lamb

I opted for the Moroccan-style braised lamb, served with garlic flatbread, tzatziki, rocket and pomegranate.

I can’t resist fresh bread, so this was at the top of my list and I wasn’t disappointed! The bread was fluffy and slightly crunchy on the outside. The lamb was tender with the fat well rendered down, flavoursome and fragrant from the spices without having any heat.

Yoghurt-based sauces are sometimes bland, but this was well seasoned and provided the creaminess to the dish that married well with the braised lamb. I also loved the simple yet stylish plating.

The red onion and lamb delivered umami and the rocket brought a touch of bitterness. The sauce provided a necessary creaminess and the pomegranate seeds gave pops of sweet juiciness.

The magic happened when you get a bit of every element on your fork.

This was a dish I couldn’t stop eating and one that I would definitely recommend. It is substantial, filling and reasonably priced at £15.95.

Buttermilk chicken

The second dish I tried was the buttermilk chicken with coleslaw and charred sweetcorn.

There is something about charred sweetcorn that immediately takes me back to my childhood in Nigeria. The smell of corns roasting over hot coals would always draw you in.

I am partial to flavour, temperature, and texture combinations, so the play on sweet, savoury, crunch, creaminess, bitterness and acidity was lovely.

I am not a fan of raw onions, but I loved the touch of acidity that the onion brought to the red coleslaw – which was also delicious. Creamy dressings can often feel and taste heavy, but this one was delicate.

The charred corn was sweet and juicy with pops of crunchiness, and the rocket salad complemented the creamy slaw well.

This dish reminded me of my American holidays; crunchy yet juicy fried chicken, drizzled in sweet maple and mustard dressing.

Next time, I think I’ll try the halloumi or truffle fries on the side of this dish.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. For me, a touch more mustard would help to cut through and restrain the sweetness of the maple syrup.

But, this brunch dish is only £14 and is a great value for money.

With plans to start a Friday and Saturday tasting menu on April 4, this is set to be an exciting hangout for all and certainly worth a trip to Boroughbridge.

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Developers revive plans to build in Harrogate’s Crimple Valley

Developers have revived plans to build 17 homes in Harrogate’s Crimple Valley.

North Yorkshire Council refused an application by Harrogate firm Square Feet Ltd and Leeds-based Antela Developments Ltd to build 17 homes at Almsford Bank Stables in September.

It was the third attempt to build on land off Leeds Road, south of properties on Fulwith Road and Fulwith Grove.

The plans were opposed by the campaign group Save Crimple Valley and received 360 objections and no letters of support.

Now the developers have appealed against the decision to the government’s Planning Inspectorate, which will adjudicate.

The council’s reasons for refusal included that the scheme would “urbanise and erode the distinctive rural character of the Crimple Valley landscape”, cause harm to the setting of the grade two listed Crimple Valley Viaduct and result in the loss of a “relatively large number of mature trees, including trees protected by a tree preservation order”.

The 4.4 hectare-site, which has historically been used for equestrian purposes, would see seven affordable build and 10 self and custom build homes.

Loss of 48 trees

A statement of case by the developers said the appeal “is made in the context of the government’s requirement to meet the need for self and custom build housing and seeks to assist in addressing the significant and sustained unmet need in Harrogate for self and custom housing plots”. It then details why it believes the council’s reasons were flawed.

It says the Harrogate District Local Plan 2014-35, which outlines where development can take place, supports windfall sites for self and custom build housing on the edge of settlements.

It argues views of the viaduct “have been carefully considered and protected” and “extended areas of native planting will reinforce the green nature of the corridor”. The document adds:

“The proposal does not therefore urbanise or erode the rural character of this part of Harrogate but has been sympathetically designed to respect the edge of settlement location and the setting of the Crimple Valley Viaduct.

“The proposed replacement and mitigation planting results in a net increase in tree cover.

“On the basis of the evidence set out, the development as proposed is both suitable and sustainable and there is a justification to grant planning permission.”

A tree report submitted in documents to the council says 48 trees “together with a short stretch of hedge requires removal for the access road”.

It adds:

“The trees to be removed are generally poor quality, mostly small in stature and easily replaceable, the retained trees and woodland can be robustly protected.”

In 2021, plans for 65 homes at the site were withdrawn. In 2022, a smaller application for 35 homes was refused by Harrogate Borough Council.

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