Council refuses 18 holiday cabins in woodland near Knaresborough

North Yorkshire Council has refused a plan to build 18 holiday cabins in a woodland near Knaresborough.

The Hargreaves family submitted plans this year for the tourism business, which included wooden shepherds huts, cabins and pods nestled within a woodland just outside the village of Coneythorpe.

Documents submitted by the applicants said they wanted to create a “tranquil overnight accommodation scheme in a unique location” that would be a base for tourists to explore North Yorkshire.

A new footpath was also proposed to the village which it said would increase footfall to the Tiger Inn pub and support the social and economic wellbeing of Coneythorpe.

The plans received 14 comments with one in support and 13 objecting.

But with strict planning laws in the countryside, the council refused the plans this week saying the site is outside the development limits of the village and the proposal does not demonstrate that the scheme requires a rural location.

Planning officer Trevor Watson wrote that the huts would not be accessible to existing local services, public facilities or tourist attractions and the proposal would not promote sustainable travel.

There were also concerns about a loss of trees in the woodland with the applicants not proposing to replant them on a two-for-one basis.

Mr Watson wrote:

“The cumulative effect of the proposed cabins, pods, shepherd huts, office, accesses and car park together with the change in activity and associated tourism paraphernalia would result in a visually intrusive and detrimental change to the agricultural and woodland character of the site.

“The proposal would fail to protect, enhance and restore the landscape character of the site and would result in substantial harm to the character and appearance of the conservation area. There are no public benefits associated with the proposal that would outweigh the harm.”

The applicants can appeal the decision.

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‘I feel liberated’: Harrogate Lib Dem councillor goes independent

Harrogate councillor Michael Schofield has left the Liberal Democrats and will sit as an independent on North Yorkshire Council.

Cllr Schofield was elected in May 2022 in the Harlow and St Georges division after winning 45% of the vote.

However, after just over a year he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service this morning that with the Lib Dems preparing for a potential general election next year he has stepped away from the party to focus on local issues.

He said:

“It’s a case of with the political turmoil going on nationally, and all parties gearing up for a general election, the worry is my local area will get left behind. I was elected to serve Harlow Hill and St Georges and my only aim is to do that.

“It’s time for a clean break and for me to serve in the town. People get bogged down with the electioneering. I’ll let people go and do and that. That takes me away from things I want to do and serving the community.”

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Cllr Schofield, who is the landlord of the Shepherds Dog pub on Harlow Hill, said he apologised to any of the voters who voted for him because of his former political affiliation but added that he’s not a “national political animal”.

He said some of his former Lib Dem colleagues are “probably not happy” with his decision but he said he now feels liberated free of the party machine.

He added:

“I have a lot of friends within that group but my aim is do cross-party politics. The only way we can move forward is by having cross-party politics. If you have two parties arguing all the time you’re never going to move forward. I’m all for collaboration.”

Cllr Schofield’s decision to stand as an independent follows similar moves by councillors on different parties in recent months.

In April, Scarborough councillor Tony Randerson resigned from the Labour party and stood as an independent in a by-election that he won.

This week Conservative councillor for Camblesforth, Mike Jordan, quit the party citing dismay with the national party.

North Yorkshire Council has 45 Tory members and the same number of Liberal Democrat, Liberals, Labour, Green and Independent councillors.

North Yorkshire Council staff could strike over pay

Members of Unison who work for North Yorkshire Council have been asked to back strike action after the local government union said the latest pay offer amounts to “yet another pay cut” in real terms.

Unison is asking for a pay rise of 2% above the retail price index (RPI) for 2023 which would result in an increase of 12.7% per employee.

However, the the National Joint Council (NJC) for local government services, which determines pay for council workers, has offered a flat rate increase of £1,925.

RPI is one of the two key measures for inflation, which the Office for National Statistics said this week was at 8.7% in the year to April. This was lower than in March when it was 10.1% but above the 8.2% figure some economists had expected.

David Houlgate, Unison branch secretary for Harrogate, said that over the last 12 years council staff have lost 25% from their pay when measured against the RPI.

Unison, which also represents school staff in North Yorkshire, closes the ballot on strike action on July 4.

Mr Houlgate said:

“Unison has been campaigning for a decent pay rise for council and school workers.  We called for a pay increase of inflation plus 2% – based on the Treasury’s annual forecast for RPI for 2023, this would amount to approximately 12.7%.

“However, the local government employers have responded with an offer of a flat rate increase of £1,925, with less for part-time and term-time workers, which when compared to the rate of inflation amounts to yet another pay cut.

“This simply is not good enough when public service workers are relying on food banks and struggling to afford heating. Furthermore, poor pay is a major factor in the recruitment and retention issues that impact on these vital public services.

“So we are asking members to vote for strike action. This is not something we do lightly or, for that matter, often and it’s always our last resort, but after years of declining pay, the feeling is enough is enough.”

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£6m spent on transition to North Yorkshire Council so far

North Yorkshire Council has revealed £6 million has been spent so far on the transition from eight councils into one.

Local government reorganisation has seen the biggest change in local government in the county since 1974.

District councils in Harrogate, Craven, Hambleton, Scarborough, Rydedale, Richmondshire and Selby, as well as North Yorkshire County Council, were abolished on March 31.

The next day, a new unitary council called North Yorkshire Council based in Northallerton was created to provide all of the services previously delivered by the former councils.

To pay for the transition, £38m was allocated into a one-off fund, with the money coming from reserves held by the former North Yorkshire County Council.

The council allocated £16.9m to be spent between 2021/22 until 2024/25 and North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director for resources, Gary Fielding, said £6m of this has been spent so far.

Mr Fielding added a “significant proportion” has been spent on technology and digital systems, with nearly £2.3m allocated during the last financial year and a further £1.5m earmarked in the current financial year.

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Other areas of spending include £4.9m on delivering local government reorganisation over the previous and current financial years.

A further £3.4m has been allocated for finance and £1.8m for human resources with most of these costs due to upgrading IT systems.

The council is facing a £30m shortfall in its first year and is targeting savings of up to £252m in its first five years.

Earlier this month, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that the council will save £3.8m a year by cutting the roles of 24 senior managers.

Another one of the new unitary council’s early cost-cutting programmes will be to sell off some of the former district, borough and county council properties, which comes to more than 3,500 properties excluding schools.

Mr Fielding said:

“We remain committed to ensuring that the move to North Yorkshire Council presents the best value for money for taxpayers.

“The new authority is set to bring about annual savings of between £30m and £70m through the streamlining of services and bringing together eight councils into one organisation.”

North Yorkshire Greens accuse Tories of putting politics before climate

Green Party councillors have accused the Conservatives of putting party politics before the climate crisis following the appointment of a climate champion for North Yorkshire last week.

At a full meeting of the council in Northallerton, Conservative councillor for Bilton and Nidd Gorge, Paul Haslam and Green Party councillor for Ouseburn, Arnold Warneken made pitches about why they were best suited for the role, which involves encouraging positive action on the climate.

This led independent councillor for Filey, Sam Cross, to put forward a motion that would see the job shared, adding “the more brains fighting climate change the better”.

Councillors voted on the job share but it was narrowly defeated by 43 votes to 42 after the Conservatives, which is the largest party on the council, rejected the proposal.

Cllr Paul Haslam

Cllr Haslam then defeated Cllr Warneken by 46 to 38 in a second vote to become climate champion.

Speaking this week, Cllr Warneken said he was disappointed the Conservatives denied the job share. He said:

“Like many Greens, I am used to working alongside others and establishing good working relationships even when we disagree occasionally.

“This was a real opportunity for the ruling group to show that they want to work with others in order to help make the new council stronger. They comprehensively failed that task.”

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Before the job share vote, Cllr Gareth Dadd, the Conservative member for Thirsk, sought clarification from the senior legal officer Barry Khan on whether the arrangement would go against the council’s constitution.

Mr Khan confirmed there was nothing in the constitution to prevent the two councillors from sharing the role and the allowance that comes with it.

Cllr Kevin Foster, leader of the Green group on North Yorkshire Council, added:

“We heard from the Conservatives on numerous occasions about working in collaboration, we in the green group have always been open to working with any parties and we still stand by that.

“The green group want a new politics and want to work in a way that will take all views in to consideration. Unfortunately the Conservatives just want more of the same. The public made it clear in the last election they think politics is broken and we want to fix it. It really is sad that the Conservative thirst for power is more important than a balanced view.”

Despite Mr Khan’s comments last week, Conservative council leader, Carl Les, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he believed the constitution does not allow for two climate champions or for a job share agreement.

He added:

“It could be looked at in the future, but the opposition members were determined to push for a vote. Both candidates made speeches in favour of their suitability for the role, and I and my colleagues supported Cllr Haslam. That’s democracy in action.”

RAF Menwith Hill submits fresh plans to expand

Plans have been submitted to construct new buildings and roads at US spy base RAF Menwith Hill.

Menwith Hill, which is on the outskirts of Harrogate, is one of the United States’ largest overseas surveillance bases.

Its 37 giant radomes, or ‘golf balls’, are a distinctive feature of the 500-acre site, where much of the secretive activity takes place underground.

A request for an environmental impact assessment screening opinion, which comes before a full planning application, has been submitted to North Yorkshire Council to put up new structures on the northern side of the base.

No new radomes are planned but the project would see the construction of an administration building and another building for technical equipment.

Planning documents say the works would also involve putting in generators, air-cooled chillers, transformers and power distribution modules.

Access roads, a refuelling bay, footpaths, a small car park and a secure perimeter fence surrounding the facilities would also be built.

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Several new radomes have been built at the site in recent years and in 2022 plans were approved to build a new visitor centre, vehicle canopy and changes to the road junction on Menwith Hill Road.

RAF Menwith Hill was built in the 1950s and leased to the US during the height of the Cold War but it has continued to be used to support American military operations abroad including during the war on terror.

The site is also used by UK intelligence agency GCHQ.

Leaked documents from whistleblower Edward Snowden identified Menwith Hill as providing the intelligence for a significant number of operations to “eliminate” targets in the Middle East.

School near Boroughbridge with just one pupil set for closure

Senior councillors could approve the closure of Skelton Newby Hall Church of England Primary School at a meeting next week.

A report has been prepared for North Yorkshire Council’s Conservative executive that recommends the school is closed in August due to falling pupil numbers.

In February this year, just one pupil remained on roll at the school although they are educated at the nearby Sharow Church of England Primary School, which is federated with Skelton Newby Hall.

The school has suffered from dwindling numbers for several years and at the beginning of September 2021 there were only 15 pupils left, plus two children in its nursery, which is well below the capacity of 52 pupils.

According to the report, there were no first preference applications made to the school for September 2023 and no pupils were allocated to the school on the recent National Offer Day for primary schools.

With pupil numbers determining the school budget, the report says there “appears to be no reasonable prospect of recovery” for the school.

Founded in 1856 by Lady Mary Vyner, the former owner of Newby Hall, the school has maintained a close relationship with the estate.

The report said across the area there was potential for 188 additional pupils to join five nearby schools until 2027/28 and there was also potential to provide additional capacity at Boroughbridge Community Primary School.

It noted governors have introduced various initiatives to attract more children to the school, including nursery provision in September 2019. The move attracted some children although numbers have been small.

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The closure would extend the catchment area of Kirby Hill Church of England Primary School to include the area currently served by Skelton Newby Hall.

However, concerns were raised in a public consultation as the catchment area of Kirby Hill is in the Boroughbridge High catchment area whereas Skelton Newby Hall is in the Ripon Grammar School and Outwood Academy catchment area.

Skelton cum Newby Parish Council has submitted an action plan to save the school, developed by a group including several headteachers, to restore classes and also retain its position in the catchment for Ripon but this plan has been rejected in the report.

The consultation included reasons from people on why they think the school failed.

Some said becoming part of a federation had sealed its demise and others said it had not been given enough care by the church and the council. 

According to one person, a ‘requires improvement’ judgement from Ofsted in 2019 that led to an “exodus” of pupils from the school.

The meeting will take place next Tuesday at 10.30am in Northallerton and it will be streamed on the council’s YouTube page.

Over 1,000 Ukrainians make North Yorkshire home since start of war

Some 1,267 Ukrainians have made North Yorkshire their home since the start of the Russian invasion last year, according to figures.

Ukrainian families fleeing war have found places to live through the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme with UK sponsors agreeing to house refugees for a minimum of six months.

North Yorkshire Council’s Conservative executive member for corporate services, Cllr David Chance, revealed how many Ukrainians have been supported through the scheme in an update to councillors this week.

Cllr Chance said that at the end of March 2023, the number of Ukrainians residing in North Yorkshire was 733.

In addition, 554 people who initially arrived in North Yorkshire have either moved on to live in independent accommodation, relocated to another council area or have returned to Ukraine, making up 1,287 arrivals since the scheme began in March 2022.

Over the winter, the council increased the ‘thank you’ payments for sponsors from £350 to £500 a month and this will be extended until October 2023 when it will again be reviewed.

To help new arrivals settle in, the council also has two dedicated employment advisors who work with Ukrainian residents to help them find training and apply for jobs.

Nationally, over 117,000 Ukrainians have moved to the UK through the resettlement scheme.

New housing in Harrogate

In March, it was confirmed that the council will spend £2m buying 19 homes for Ukrainians in the Harrogate district.

A report said: 

“Harrogate has a long and proud history of welcoming those fleeing violence and oppression in their home countries. In the past, this has included Belgium victims of the First World War and Jewish people escaping the Nazis.”

The money will come from the Local Authority Housing Fund, which is a £500m grant fund launched by the government so English councils can provide housing for those unable to find accommodation.

In recent months, there have been increasing reports of Ukrainians families struggling to find their own accommodation after leaving the sponsorship programme.

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New tourism body ‘not in the interests’ of North Yorkshire, says Masham councillor

A councillor who owns Swinton Park Hotel near Masham has said a new tourism body for North Yorkshire is “not in the interests” of the hospitality sector.

Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Masham and Fountains, said an organisation should be created for the whole of Yorkshire instead.

Cllr Cunliffe-Lister was speaking at a full meeting of North Yorkshire Council on Wednesday.

The council is coordinating a new tourism strategy to boost the county’s £1.5 billion tourism industry, which is home to popular destinations like Castle Howard, Fountains Abbey and Bettys tea rooms.

A draft destination management plan is due to be finalised by the end of June before a bid is submitted to government to become a Local Visitor Economy Partnership, which would open the door for funding.

LVEPs are replacing destination management organisations, such as the former Harrogate Borough Council’s Destination Harrogate, following an independent review.

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Visit Hull and East Yorkshire was awarded LVEP status last month and Cllr Cunliffe-Lister said having more than one LVEP in Yorkshire risked wasting taxpayers’ money as LVEPs would compete against each other to attract tourists.

The councillor also referred to Welcome To Yorkshire, the tourism body for Yorkshire that entered administration in 2022 following a high-profile expenses scandal. It still exists but is no longer funded by public money and is now owned by private business Silicon Dales.

Cllr Cunliffe-Lister said:

“The Yorkshire brand is well-established and well-regarded nationally and internationally. It’s not in interests of the hospitality sector that this is fragmented.

“Should North Yorkshire achieve LVEP status it will not deliver value for money if it is then used to be pitched as a competitor destination against East Yorkshire or other regions in Yorkshire.

“What is being done to establish a generic county-wide brand that all regions will subscribe to and support and what steps are being taken to co-ordinate with other councils to achieve this?”

In response, Conservative executive member for open to business, Derek Bastiman, said “work is being carried out on that” but added it will take time as the council is still only in its second month of existence.

Cllr Bastiman added that workshops were taking place across North Yorkshire for people and councillors to add their input into the new tourism strategy. 

He added:

“It’s vitally important as much work is done on the coast as is done in the Craven area to Richmondshire or Selby.“

Speaking this month, Conservative council leader Carl Les called the development of the new tourism strategy a “major milestone“ for the authority. 

He said:

“We have such a breadth of tourism businesses and attractions which we can be rightly proud of, but we want to ensure that the sector can grow and flourish in the future and help support the region’s wider economy.“

Harrogate councillor appointed county’s climate champion

Conservative councillor Paul Haslam was appointed as the North Yorkshire climate champion at a meeting yesterday.

His role will involve encouraging positive action over the climate crisis in North Yorkshire in the same week that an IPCC report said only drastic action can prevent “irrevocable damage to world.”

Cllr Haslam, who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge on North Yorkshire Council, has been a proponent of climate change policies and the need to protect the environment since becoming a councillor on the now-abolished Harrogate Borough Council in 2014. He was nominated for the climate champion role alongside Green Party member for Ouseburn, Arnold Warneken.

Councillors then made pitches about why they are best-suited before members voted again.

Cllr Warneken said:

“My adult life I’ve been campaigning for the climate.

“In my workplace, in my private life. I’ve committed my ambitions to see a better place for all of us to live. I don’t really care who saves the planet, as long as they get on with it.

“My credentials are I won’t politicise this, I will do it purely from what I think is the council’s best approach to ensure their commitment to climate change is secured. If you slice me in half, you’ll see climate change like a stick of rock.”

Cllr Haslam said:

“The fight to mitigate climate change is vital. It’s the mission of this generation.

“I’m persistent, some might say relentless. I will use this role to engage and educate the discussion around climate change and enable and empower people to fight this change.

“I believe I have the anger and courage, curiosity, and expertise, to not only champion but embed climate change in this council. For this community, this country and in a small way, the world.”

Councillors initially took a vote on the two councillors sharing the position, but it was narrowly defeated after many Conservative members voted against it.

When voting for who should take up the single role, councillors voted for Cllr Haslam by 46 to 38, with 3 abstentions.

 

Cllr Paul Haslam

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What is the council doing to tackle climate change?

Nearly all council services emit carbon emissions, from street lighting to getting rid of waste, heating schools and care homes. The council is the largest employer in North Yorkshire and is a significant landowner, which means it has the power to affect change.

In January the council published a draft climate change strategy that includes ambitions such as becoming carbon neutral by 2030, increasing walking and cycling as well as planting 37,000 hectares of new woodland by 2038.

But it has been criticised for its response to the climate crisis after it finally declared a climate emergency last year, three years later than other nearby councils in Harrogate, York and Darlington.