A planning backlog at Harrogate Borough Council is being blamed on a “double whammy” of staffing shortages and rise in applications.

The authority is asking for patience as its depleted planning department works through a long list of applications that have seen a recent 20% rise compared with previous years.

Liberal Democrat councillor Pat Marsh, leader of the council’s opposition party, told a meeting on Monday that residents were becoming “frustrated” with the delays but added she was reassured action was being taken.

She said:

“This is being noticed by a lot of residents who have got planning applications in.

“There is a lot of frustration and I have had several people contact me saying this is taking too long.

“But this council isn’t just sitting still and doing nothing.”

A report to Monday’s meeting of the council’s overview and scrutiny committee said the planning department had job adverts out for the five vacancies it is currently trying to fill.

However, councillors admitted it could prove difficult to attract suitable candidates due to the uncertainties surrounding local government reorganisation which will mean the council is abolished by April 2023.

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The report to Monday’s meeting said:

“Planning applications are all showing as off target.

“This has been because the service is receiving 20% more applications than has been experienced in previous years.

“The service also experiences a high staff turnover which means the service has not been fully staffed since the review in March 2020.

“Agency staff contracts have been extended and the service has adverts for five new members of staff.”

The council aims to process all major applications within 13 weeks and all minor applications within 8 weeks.

Latest figures show 67% of major applications and 81% of minor applications met this aim between April and June this year.

Both of these were against a percentage target of 85%.

There have been seventy five new positive covid cases in the Harrogate district.

It brings the total number of people who have tested positive for covid since the pandemic began in the district to 21,670.

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The Harrogate district’s 7-day average case rate (per 100,000 population) is still the highest in North Yorkshire at 590.7 – latest data up to November 3. That compares with the North Yorkshire overall average of 489.0 and the England average of 387.4.

NHS England figures on the number of patients who have died in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus are no longer published on a weekend.

However, the hospital was treating 25 covid patients as of last Monday — a rise from 19 on last week.

The St Peter’s Players’ annual show returns next week with a production of the musical Oliver!.

The Players, who have been performing for over 20 years, are made up largely from members of the congregation of St Peter’s Church in the centre of Harrogate.

Members range from nine to 80 years old and include the vicar, The Reverend Dr Alan Garrow, who will be playing the comical Dr Grimwig.

The performances will take place daily from November 4 to 6 at St Peter’s Church on Cambridge Street.

After two years apart, the 55-strong group were keen to get back to rehearsing and found inventive ways to deal with covid.

John Hain, the director of the production, said:

“For people who haven’t been in a group, getting together for the first time in a long time, especially for the children, it’s been a joy.”

“The hardest thing has been that people can’t come to rehearsals because they’ve been self-isolating. So, we’ve had a few people attending rehearsals remotely!”

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Last year, the Players were forced to cancel their production, producing a short film instead.

Mr Hain explained:

“The last production we did was during lockdown and was a film cobbled together from everyone’s clips done at home. We wrote the script specifically around the restrictions, and the result was surprisingly successful, raising over £800 for the church.”

Tickets cost £10 and can be bought online. Children under 16 go free. All proceeds go to St Peter’s.

Public Health England has recorded another 124 positive cases in the district in the past 24 hours.

The total number of people who have tested positive in the Harrogate district since the pandemic began now stands at 20,855.

The average day case rate in the district is now 526.6 (latest data up to October 27). The North Yorkshire average rate is 492.5 and the England average stands at 423.5.

There have been another 115 new positive covid cases in the Harrogate district in the past 24 hours.

It brings the total number of people who have tested positive in the district since the pandemic began stands at 19,941.

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The seven day average case rate (per 100,000 population) in the Harrogate district is 647.3.

It remains the highest rate in North Yorkshire with the county average at 544.6 and the England average of 490.6.

The Harrogate district has been awarded £50,000 of government cash to bring forward housing on two underused garage sites.

The cash will be used by Harrogate Borough Council to cover infrastructure costs for five new homes at the sites on Woodfield Close, Harrogate and Park Row, Knaresborough.

Other councils received more funding – including City of York which got more than £2.5 million – but the borough council said it was still “delighted” with its allocation.

A council spokesperson said: 

“£50,000 is no small sum and the council tenants of Harrogate will be more than happy to see this cost met by the grant award and not from council rents.

“This is a fund specifically aimed at the cost of infrastructure requirements on council-owned land.

“By helping meet these costs, sites will become viable for development, either by the local authority directly or by private developers, enabling the site to be placed on the open market.”

The council has secured almost £4.5 million for such sites over the past few years.

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The latest allocation comes from the government’s £75 million Brownfield Land Release Fund which aims to bring forward affordable homes and get people on the property ladder.

Harrogate is one of the most unaffordable places to live in England, with average house prices around 11 times the median annual income of people who work in the district.

The council itself has admitted there is a “desperate” lack of affordable homes and has pledged to bring these properties forward through private developments, building social housing and bringing empty properties back into use.

Announcing the latest funding allocation, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, MP Michael Gove said: 

“We are levelling up and backing home ownership in every corner of the country, delivering new high-quality, affordable homes and creating thriving places where people want to live, work and visit.

“Making the most of previously developed land is a government priority and it will help protect our cherished countryside and green spaces.”

Property Gold is a monthly column written by independent property consultant, Alex Goldstein. With more than 17 years’ experience, Alex helps his clients to buy and sell residential property in some of the most desirable locations in Yorkshire and beyond. This month, Alex explains why the Yorkshire property market is so strong. 

The Yorkshire market has been on fire recently, with surging house prices, strong demand and there doesn’t seem to be any loss of appetite currently. So how did all this interest suddenly come to Yorkshire and what’s really going on?

During lockdown v3.0 earlier this year, people began planning ahead for what was going to be the brave new world. 9 to 5 jobs, daily commuting, being close to the head office were quickly cast aside, as buyers quickly changed their priorities to be centred around family life and associated lifestyle.

Whilst this philosophy had always been gently simmering for the last several years, it took the pandemic for companies to realise that they could have a fully functioning remote workforce and offer their staff the flexible working they had been pushing for. Equally they could now make substantial associated savings, which would prove beneficial when looking at slightly more uncertain times. A win-win situation you might say.

The lockdown provided time for people to stop, think and prioritise what they really wanted and as such, the property market remained relatively active during this time. As we exited lockdown, from day one, the market very quickly got straight back up to speed. Sellers and buyers were keen to make it happen and to create their new lives.

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The Chancellor then had what he felt a eureka moment about offering an SDLT holiday. Despite calls from the property industry saying not to do it as it would create other problems (and wasn’t required from the Yorkshire perspective), he proceeded. This sent an already strong market into intergalactic warp-drive. Never, in my 19-years of experience, has the market performed at such an astonishing pace.

Overlaying this, Yorkshire then grabbed the attention of the international buyers – either those who wanted to ‘come back home’ from abroad, or investors who saw a new property hotspot emerging and where yields were more favourable than the south. Leeds being back in the football premiership also helped their thinking.

London and home county based buyers also relocated to the area and the north-south price differential has been quickly closing.

The media obsession with our county then accelerated, with newspapers waxing lyrical about the lifestyle on offer and the television bosses offering up endless programmes with Yorkshire based themes, not to mention the Bank of England having an office in Leeds, Channel 4 and the BBC changing head offices, the list goes on…

The stars have well and truly aligned for Yorkshire – rarely has it been more fast paced. This is the start of our journey and time make sure you’re part of it!

If you have any comments or questions for Alex, please feel free to contact him on alex@alexgoldstein.co.uk

Queues formed on James Street this morning for the opening of the new, relocated Hotel Chocolat store.  Around 30 people waited for the store to open at 10am with staff serving hot chocolate to them whilst they waited.

The new store is almost opposite the old one but is larger with a cafe that can seat 30 people at the back of the shop. The chocolate chain has seen rapid growth in recent years and the new store will have up to 15 staff in the run up to Christmas — double the number of the previous store.

The co-founder of Hotel Chocolat, Peter Harris, said there was demand in Harrogate for the store to expand:

” Harrogate is a beautiful location and town. The community here like to support local businesses. We’ve been here since 2009, people have loved it and wanted the full Hotel Chocolat experience of drinks and ices as well as a larger store.

“We’re also delighted that we can provide flat access for wheelchairs and buggies which is an improvement on the previous location, which had a step in it and was very narrow.”

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The new store is a boost for James Street which has seen mixed fortunes in recent years with loss of key brands such as Next and Laura Ashley.

Local businesses have expressed concern that plans to pedestrianise the top of the street as part of the Station Gateway proposal will be damaging for trade.  Harrogate Borough Council has argued that the plans will mean  “short-term disruption for long-term gain”.

James Ogden, a new recruit to Hotel Chocolat, said he was excited to be involved in a store opening:

“I’m super excited to be working in my local area – I love coming into work every day and making people happy with chocolate!”

James Ogden at the cafe bar in the new store.

The former Natwest bank in Knaresborough is to be turned into an independent bar and restaurant after a premises licence was granted for the venue.

It will reopen as Claro Social – a collaboration between Knaresborough brewery Turning Point Brew Co and Harrogate bar Major Tom’s Social.

A licence for the High Street venue – which closed as a bank in 2017 – was granted at a meeting of Harrogate Borough Council’s sub-licensing committee today despite concerns from neighbouring residents and businesses. Carol Rees, a director at marketing company Allott and Associates, which is based on the first floor of the building, said:

“I’m particularly concerned about the safety issue of leaving our offices and people potentially being drunk and disorderly on a night.
“I have concerns about noise. And I’m also concerned about the opportunities for crime and disorder.”

A total of 12 residents wrote in objection to the application which covers the sale of alcohol, food and entertainment. Councillor Christine Willoughby, the mayor of Knaresborough, said she was contacted by some residents “in fear” of what is proposed.

“Everything I have heard today really convinces me that this fear is real..
“This is the fear of disruption to residents’ everyday lives through noise from the rear terrace. Ideally, I think the answer would be to not have the terraced area at all.”

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The council granted planning permission for a change of use of the building in August last year.

Cameron McQueen, co-owner of Turning Point Brew Co, said food and drink deliveries will be limited, CCTV installed and that customers will only be allowed to enter the building from the front entrance on High Street.
Mr McQueen also said the bar and restaurant would have a “family friendly” atmosphere:

“The site has been unoccupied for quite some time and we would really like the opportunity to give it a new lease of life.
“There will be no smoking on site whatsoever – and that includes our rear outside area.
“We have a brewery a couple of miles away so if necessary we will be more than happy to receive deliveries to our brewery site and then deliver once or twice a week to minimise the impact on residents and businesses.
“We are also more than happy to conduct a sound study on the building to see what an appropriate level of noise is.”

The licence was granted with opening hours of noon until 11.30pm every day.

There were also conditions attached which mean the rear terrace area of the building must shut by 9pm.

Mr McQueen added:

“We are really excited at the prospect of moving in and getting started on this project.
“Our interest is to open a business here, but at the end of the day we also want to get on well with our neighbouring businesses and residents.”

A new micropub selling craft beer is coming to Boroughbridge after a premises licence was granted for the venue.

Borough Tap will open at the former Horticouture florist on Horsefair but with reduced alcohol serving hours after some residents raised concerns over “rowdy” late-night behaviour from customers.

The application from landlord Paul McCusker was for the micropub to serve alcohol between 9am and 1am Monday to Sunday, however, this was reduced to 11am until 10pm on the same days by Harrogate Borough Council’s sub-licensing committee.

Mr McCusker told the committee he did not intend to open the micropub during all permissible hours and that it would be a “quiet and friendly” venue.

He added:

“Borougbridge’s population has expanded and there is a lack of amenities in the area. There is a gap in the market for a micropub specialising in craft and cask ales.
“I’m not going for the rowdy crowd. It’s going to be catering for middle-aged people having a relaxed conversion over a pint.
“Not loud music or raucous events.”

Paul McCusker, soon to be landlord of the Borough Tap

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The licence was granted with conditions which mean no open alcoholic drinks can be taken out of the venue. All windows and doors will also have to be kept closed during opening hours to reduce the noise impact on neighbours.

A total of six residents raised objections to the application.

An objection was also received from North Yorkshire Police but this was withdrawn after the alcohol serving hours were reduced.