How can Harrogate achieve a net-zero carbon economy?

The crucial aim of Harrogate achieving a net-zero carbon economy by 2038 has been brought into sharper focus this month with the launch of the district’s first Climate Action Festival.

But what is a net-zero carbon economy and how can Harrogate achieve it?

Put simply, net-zero means the district’s economy will no longer be adding to the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

So, are we moving fast enough towards this aim?

Stephen Scales of campaign group Zero Carbon Harrogate says not.

“Locally we do need to move much faster in our carbon reduction. The urgency to decarbonise cannot be stressed enough,” he said.

“Global temperatures have already risen to over 1°C warmer than pre-industrial levels and the chances of staying below 1.5°C are getting slimmer.

“The difference between 1.5°C and 2°C in simple terms is a doubling of the economic and human suffering as well as biodiversity loss.”

Retrofitting homes to make them more energy efficient and cutting car use are just two things Mr Scales says can be done to counter the devastating impacts of rising global temperatures.

The past decade was the warmest on record and governments agree urgent collective action is needed.

That is why the upcoming COP26 summit in Glasgow at the end of the month is being seen as the most crucial yet if climate change is to be brought under control.

Most countries will set out their plans to reduce emissions, with the UK government this week announcing another big push towards electric vehicles, more tree planting and £5,000 grants for homeowners to replace their gas boilers with low-carbon heat pumps.

Read more:

Action is being taken locally too – although there are clearly questions over the urgency at which it is being taken – with residents, businesses and local authorities all having a role to play.

Councillor Phil Ireland, cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability at Harrogate Borough Council, said:

“Achieving net-zero and meeting our local carbon budget must involve the efforts of local authorities, businesses, industry, individual consumers and national government.

“2038 is sooner than the national target set by the Climate Change Act and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – both 2050 – and I believe our challenging target date reflects the urgency of the issue and is achievable with everyone working together.”

Major council projects such as Harrogate’s £10.9m Gateway scheme and North Yorkshire’s £116m Bus Service Improvement Plan are all indicators of the direction of travel local leaders believe we must take.

There are also other active travel schemes including Harrogate’s first Low Traffic Neighbourhood on Beech Grove with cutting short car journeys being a key aim for the town’s congested roads.

These projects of course require a delicate balancing act to support the local economy – and Zero Carbon Harrogate’s Mr Scales believes more people are now “starting to grasp the benefits of making the changes we need to go carbon net-zero.”

He said: “I’m hopeful for the transition to a low carbon economy, as so many people now understand what is at stake.

“The Harrogate district is dynamic and forward thinking so I hope we will continue to seek to lead here.”

A council pledge to plant thousands of trees covering more than 40 acres and an aim to get 10,000 electric on the roads by 2023 are two other areas of how Harrogate hopes to achieve carbon net-zero.

But still there are concerns that the district will miss its key targets without more decisive action.

A spokesperson for the Harrogate and District Green Party said:

“Harrogate’s position as a social and economic hub should put it in a fantastic place to lead the way in developing a new green economy.

“The Green Party believes that transformative change is possible, that positive actions will build momentum as beneficial progress is recognised, and that the vision of a green circular economy is developed, supported and shared.

“We fear that without political change, a lack of imagination, and poor consultation, we will see further procrastination and deliberation by local government and business decision-makers.”

Harrogate Borough Council will next month launch a public consultation on its revised carbon reduction strategy, while progress on North Yorkshire County Council’s carbon reduction plan is to be discussed by councillors on Thursday.

When will big charity balls return to the district?

Charity fundraising events in the Harrogate district have been slowly returning.

But whilst the smaller events have successfully returned, such as HELP‘s Nidderdale walk or Saint Michael’s ‘Go Purple’, the big set-piece charity balls are yet to return.

The balls play a vital role in the annual fundraising calendar for many charities – often raising significant amounts of money. Such as the Firecracker Ball, which raised over £250,000 in 2019.

Claire Mills who’s partner, Tony Furlong, received end of life care from Saint Michael’s Hospice, has organised one of the first balls to return.

The event named ‘The Tony Furlong Memorial Ball’, will take place at The Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate, on Friday, November 5. It has already sold over 150 tickets at £60 per person.

Ms Mills said:

“I am looking forward to welcoming friends, family and colleagues of Tony to the ball, I am hoping that we raise a huge amount for St. Michael’s Hospice whilst remembering Tony and sharing some great memories. Tony loved to attend a black tie ball, particularly as he spent his career managing hotels and I am sure everyone attending will do him proud by having a fantastic evening, particularly after such a challenging year, I think everyone is ready for a party.”

Read More:

Other annual charity balls, such as the Barnardo’s Firecracker Ball, Martin House’s Glitter Ball, and the Candlelighters Ilkley Ball – have not been confirmed to be returning this year.

The Glitter Ball, though, is scheduled for May next year at Rudding Park. 

Sara Cracknell, senior events fundraiser at Martin House Children’s Hospice, said:

“We are excited to announce that the Martin House Glitter Ball will return to Rudding Park Hotel on Friday 6th May 2022, hosted by Bargain Hunt star Charles Hanson.”

“The Glitter Ball is our most glamorous fundraising event, and also our biggest – in 2019 it raised over £172,000.”

The Ilkley Candlelighters Ball, will not return in 2021, with 2022 still under review. In past years the ball has raised upwards of £52,000 in donations.

Alison Clay, chairman for the Ilkley Candlelighters Ball, said:

“With rising costs and dwindling returns, year on year, and the current situation we all find ourselves in, we are fearful this type of event will ever happen again! I sincerely hope and pray that this is not the case as the charity provides an invaluable resource for patients and their families in the most dire of circumstances and I urge all our supporters, past and present, to do their utmost to make sure that the Ilkley Candlelighters Ball continues for many years to come.”

For more information about the ‘The Tony Furlong Memorial Ball’, contact: cmills@classiclodges.co.uk and to support Claire’s fundraising for Saint Michael’s click here.

 

Bishop of Ripon: Crime Commissioner’s position is “untenable”

The Bishop of Ripon has said Philip Allott’s position as the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner is untenable after comments he made yesterday on the arrest and murder of Sarah Everard.

Mr Allott said in an interview on BBC Radio York that women “need to be street wise” and that Ms Everard “never should have submitted” to arrest.

His words led to an outcry of anger from the public, with thousands calling for Mr Allott to resign. He later apologised, tweeting that his words had been insensitive and that he “retracted them in full”.

This morning the Bishop of Ripon, Dr Helen-Ann Hartley told the Stray Ferret:

I am utterly appalled and dismayed by the comments made by the North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner regarding the horrific case of the rape and murder of Sarah Everard, and the conviction of a serving police officer.

In my opinion, Mr Allott’s position is untenable, and while he has apologised he has surely undermined his own role by placing the blame upon the victim, not to mention the immense distress his comments will have caused Sarah’s family and all who mourn.

This is a timely reminder for all who hold elected public office that the language they use matters.

Read More: 

 

Today, Mr Allott and his team are due to attend a public engagement exercise at the war memorial in Harrogate that had been scheduled before he made his controversial comments.

It’s understood there will also be people collecting names on a petition calling for his resignation.

If you are visiting #Harrogate tomorrow, please come along and meet @philAllottPFCC's team and have your say on Policing, Fire & Rescue, and Victims’ Services. We will be near the Cenotaph from 9am until 4pm.
Alternatively, have your say online at: https://t.co/pPoHHUAwGS pic.twitter.com/zRx8R0iYTw

— Office for Policing, Fire, Crime & Commissioning (@northyorkspfcc) October 1, 2021

 

New artisan market to open in Knaresborough this Saturday

A new artisan market is set to open this Saturday on Knaresborough’s Market Place.

The market set up by Little Bird Made will sell artisanal products – varying from food and drink to clothes and plants.

Working with Knaresborough Town Council the new artisan market will be monthly.

Hazel Morrison, press officer at Little Bird Made, said:

“Little Bird Made run a number of markets across the North Yorkshire area and with Knaresborough being well known as a market town, set within a beautiful setting, what better place to expand our portfolio of venues to include.”

“The dates for the market until the end of the year are, Saturday 2 of October, 6 of November and 19 of December. We are currently working on our programme of dates for 2022 and the market will take place monthly, with set dates to be confirmed.”

Read More:

The market will contain 50 curated stalls – catering to a wide range of customers. It will run from 9am to 3pm.

Little Bird Made is also organising the new Christmas market in the Valley Gardens, Harrogate from December 2 to 4.

For more information click here.

Harrogate council criticised for approving Pannal “skyscraper”

Harrogate’s MP and residents have criticised the borough council for its “mistake” in approving plans for a controversial apartment block without a vote from councillors.

The plans to demolish the derelict Dunlopillo office building in Pannal to make way for a six-storey apartment block were this week approved at officer level and under rules called permitted development rights despite calls for an emergency meeting.

The decision not to call members of Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee together for a vote has been criticised as “very wrong”.

However, the council has hit back saying it must follow rules under permitted development rights and that the calls for an emergency meeting were made too late.

A council spokesperson said:

“Proposals received under permitted development are different to applications made to us under the Planning Act.

“We receive notification from the developer and then have 56 days to check the submission and assess it. If we do not determine the application within 56 days, the proposal is deemed to have been given consent.

“In this instance, the request to consider the application was made too close to the target date to enable an emergency planning committee meeting to be arranged.”

Permitted development rights were introduced by the government to fast-track the conversion of empty buildings into homes. However, there have been criticisms over how much of a say residents and councillors have in the process.

Harrogate MP Andrew Jones previously said the Dunlopillo plans should not have been lodged under these rules and has now criticised the council for its “mistake” in approving the development in this way.

He said:

“Over the past eleven years as our area’s MP I have been extremely supportive of our local councils. I do think though in this instance the council has made a mistake in not putting this application before planning committee.

“The outcome may well have been the same; it may not.  That is not a matter for me but for elected members.

“It would though have given council officers the opportunity to demonstrate to councillors and the public the reasoning behind the decision they made.

“Whatever the outcome, surely this would have been a better way to deal with this particular application?”

Read More:

The plans from Otley-based Quattro Property Group include 48 flats for the Station Road site which has sat empty since Dunlopillo – which made pillows and mattresses – moved out in 2008.

The apartments will be split into two blocks – one with four storeys and another with six – and residents are fearful that the development will have a major visual impact on the area which has no other buildings of this type.

Resident Anne Smith said:

“We are going to be stuck with this skyscraper-type building. I honestly don’t know what Harrogate Borough Council are doing because there has been a lot of opposition to this.

“It would have been far fairer for the plans to have gone before councillors.

“We are extremely disappointed that this didn’t happen – this is all very wrong.”

Rise in covid cases ‘being driven by school-age children’, says public health boss

The sharp rise in coronavirus cases in North Yorkshire is “being driven by school-age children”, the county’s director of public health has said.

Louise Wallace told a meeting of the North Yorkshire Outbreak Management Advisory Board today that case numbers have been climbing since mid-September with most infections among school children and other young people.

She also said it was “quite unusual” that the county’s infection rate had climbed above the England average.

Ms Wallace said.

“This is being driven by what we are seeing in terms of cases through education settings

“We are looking at the data everyday trying to understand any patterns or trends, but from what we can in the terms of the age bandings from the most recent cases, they do seem to be coming from school children and young people.”

Schools and colleges returned at the start of September and twice-weekly testing is being used to limit infections, while rules on social distancing and face masks have been scrapped.

Read more:

Ms Wallace said headteachers were receiving continued support from public health teams and that she was hopeful the increase in infections would ease over the coming weeks.

She said: 

“We are seeing an increase in the daily rate across North Yorkshire and we are slightly above the England average which is quite unusual as we usually track it or are slightly below.

“But I am hopeful that this will start to settle and fall back in line as the next few weeks go by.”

The latest figures show North Yorkshire’s weekly infection rate per 100,000 people currently stands 452 – above the England average of 332.

A breakdown of the numbers shows the Harrogate district has the highest infection rate after this week surpassing its previous record of 559 in July to reach 547.

Meanwhile the Harrogate district has recorded a further 128 per 100,000 people, according to latest Public Health England figures.

Elsewhere, 128,163 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 120,343 have had a second dose.

One hundred and seven new covid cases in district

The number of people testing positive for in the Harrogate district has risen by 107 in the past 24 hours, according to data from Public Health England.

It brings the total number of people who have tested positive for the virus to 15,847 since the pandemic began.

Read More: 

 

The seven day average case rate per 100,000 population in Harrogate is now 506.7 – higher than any other district in North Yorkshire and above the England average of 320.3 (latest data up to September 23).

The North Yorkshire average is 420.7

This week Harrogate District Hospital recorded another death of a patient who tested positive for covid.

It takes the death toll from covid at the hospital since March 2020 to 188.

 

Property Gold: The Hidden Property Sector

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 discusses ‘off-market’ property sales.

There has been a part of the property market that has been steadily gaining strength and which remains hidden to many – and that is the off-market sector.

To the uninitiated, these are properties that are not available in the public domain. They are not listed on any of your favourite property portals and are on a confidential need-to-know basis only. Gaining access to these properties can be via the estate agents, whereby they are instructed on a low-key basis or directly to the vendors themselves.

In this digital age run by algorithms and online targeting, one could understandably think this was a somewhat backward step? However, this is where there has been a power shift in thinking.

No longer do some vendors want their homes (and names) blurted out online for their information to be available to all and sundry for years to come, with no control over the information released. Owners are ever more mindful of their online footprint and digital presence, where for a number of reasons they may wish to keep this to a minimum.

Read More: 

On the flip side, agents are finding that by going back to ‘old school’ basics, they are getting better and more profitable transactions over the line. Albeit the one major downside of selling a property off-market, is that you are not strictly testing the entire market. Therefore, is this the best price the market could have achieved? Only you can decide.

Getting access to these properties can be tricky, as often the properties are tightly controlled with information only being given to those known to be in proceedable buying positions. Again, I am seeing that reliability and security of buyers is paramount and often takes precedent over the offer amount.

Therefore, as a buyer if you want access to these properties, you need to be in the best possible buying position and have the right connections to boot. Being ‘Under Offer’ is good, but it doesn’t have the same clout that it once did. This is primarily as legals and lenders take so much longer than several years ago. Bolt these into a small chain and you are already looking high risk in the eyes of vendors and agents. It is therefore vital that you get as close to exchange as possible or ideally over this point, to have the leverage required to gain access to this club. Then the doors start to open…

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

Ripon Tennis Centre seeks local support to build padel courts

Ripon Tennis Centre has asked locals in the Harrogate district to help fund two padel tennis courts.

The sport is growing in popularity and the crowdfunding project hopes to raise £30,000.

Sport England is making a donation of £10,000 and the Lawn Tennis Association will also be contributing with a loan.

The LTA has recognised padel tennis as an official sport.

Diane Hutchinson, centre manager, said:

“Padel is a great sport, we would love for it to accompany tennis at our centre”

“£30,000 is a lot to raise, we welcome any support whether it be big or small”

“The club welcomes people from all walks of life”

Read More:

Padel is a cross between squash and tennis. A padel court is one third the size of a normal tennis court and has glass around the court for the balls to bounce off.

Padel tennis racquets

The crowdfunding campaign has already received some attention, with Rudding Park donating a one night stay and spa day, as well as a golf day, to be sold by Ripon Tennis Centre to help raise money.

Ripon Tennis Centre said it has started to see a rise in new memberships post the pandemic and hopes even more will join after Emma Raducanu’s historic US Grand Slam win.

Harrogate student stars in second series of All Creatures Great and Small

Popular drama All Creatures Great and Small returns tonight on Channel 5  with Harrogate Grammar student Imogen Clawson reprising her role as Jenny Alderson.

Fourteen year old Imogen has just started studying for her GSCEs and had to do an hour a day tutoring whilst she was on the TV set.

It is the second time James Herriot’s famous books, as life as a vet in the Dales, have been dramatised for TV.  It’s has been a big success for Channel 5 bringing in millions of viewers.

When asked about the similarities she shares with her character Jenny Alderson, Imogen said:

“We share the same confident flair, we’re both independent and witty, and we both have a love for animals”

Read More:

Imogen said it has been great to work with the cast of All Creatures Great and Small and how supportive her school, Harrogate Grammar, has been.

Neil Renton, head teacher of HGS, said:

“We are incredibly proud of Imogen’s achievements and her commitment to the arts. She effectively balances the pressures of her acting role with her studies and this a real credit to her dedication. We look forward to watching the new series and seeing her future career unfold.”

Imogen added that the show’s success may also be down to timing :

“It’s a great show to watch after covid 19 as it’s a very relaxing show.”

Series 2 of All Creatures Great and Small starts at 9pm tonight on Channel 5, Thursday, September 16.