County councillor and Pannal Ash Junior Football Club president Cliff Trotter has described as “absolutely scandalous” plans to remove a football pitch from a housing development in Harrogate.

Government agency Homes England owns the former Police Training Centre on Yew Tree Lane.

It wants to scrap plans for a community football pitch and increase the number of homes on the site from 180 to 200.

The site currently has three football pitches and a disused cricket ground.

It was originally planned that one football pitch would be kept and used by local sports teams, and potentially adopted and managed by Harrogate Borough Council.

But according to planning documents, Sport England and the Football Foundation have said they consider it “unlikely” that the pitch would be actively used, instead advising Homes England to consider using the pitch for more housing.

‘Beggars belief’

Cllr Trotter formed Pannal Ash junior football club in 1978. It now has around 600 boys and girls involved with teams for ages 6 to16.

He told the Stray Ferret it “beggars belief” that the pitch will be removed, as the club is “desperately short” of quality surfaces to play on.

The club has a home at Almsford Playing Fields in Oatlands but the club’s large number of players means it also has to arrange matches elsewhere, such as on the Stray, which can get waterlogged during wet weather.

One club team has to travel as far as Green Hammerton, near York, to play home matches.

Cllr Trotter said:

“We’re desperate for more pitches with all the kids we have.”

Read more:

• ‘Unjustifiable planning creep’ at 200-home Pannal Ash development

• New group to protect western Harrogate from urban expansion

Instead of retaining a pitch, Homes England has agreed to pay £595,000 to improve facilities at Pannal Sports Community Park, which opened last year on Leeds Road.

‘Limited opportunities’

However, Mike Orton, a coach for Pannal Ash Junior FC, said that ground is for a different club called Pannal Sports Junior FC, and there are limited opportunities for other clubs to play there.

He told the Stray Ferret that Pannal Ash Junior FC would have made good use of the pitch at the former police training centre and questioned why it is set to be turned into housing. He said:

“Everybody needs a good facility. If Pannal Sports has a great facility then everybody will want to play for them. The opportunity should be spread around all clubs.”

The Stray Ferret contacted Pannal Sports JFC for a response but had not received one by the time of publication.

A Homes England spokesperson said:

“As part of our plans for the development of the former Police Training Centre in Harrogate, Homes England is agreeing to provide funding for sporting facilities, which will form part of a section 106 agreement.

“We will continue to engage with statutory consultees and the local authority on these plans to identify where this funding can be used to meet the local need.”

Skipton and Ripon MP Julian Smith has been appointed as an external advisor to a green energy company at a rate of between £1,000 and £2,000 per hour.

The former Northern Ireland secretary will be paid £2,000 a month to advise Simply Blue Management for the next year and will work between one and two hours each month.

The company, whose head office is in Cork, describes itself as ‘the leading early stage developer of sustainable and transformative marine projects’.

Last year the Stray Ferret revealed Mr Smith would be paid £3,000 an hour for another external advisor role with low carbon transport company Ryse Hydrogen.

That contract was for 12 months, with Mr Smith being paid £60,000 for 20 hours work.

Read more:

• MP takes advisory role at hydrogen company – at £3,000 an hour

• MPs watch 2020: the year of coronavirus, Brexit and free school meals

As former Northern Ireland secretary until February last year, Mr Smith sought advice from the Office of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments about a potential conflict in taking the new role at Simply Blue Management.

In his response, committee chair Lord Eric Pickles warned Mr Smith there were “inherent risks’ with the appointment due to his previous position.

However, he was happy for Mr Smith to take up the role provided he doesn’t use any information gained during his time as a minister to benefit the business.

He also said the Ripon MP was not allowed to lobby the government on behalf of the business or advise on contracts with the UK government or the Northern Ireland executive for two years from the end of his appointment as secretary of state for Northern Ireland.

Lord Pickles wrote:

“As a former minister, there are also inherent risks with the contacts you have gained in office. However you have stated that you will not have contact with the government and this role will be advisory.

“The committee would draw your attention to the lobbying and bids and contracts bans below which makes it clear that it would be improper to make use of your contacts (directly or indirectly) to the unfair advantage of your employer, or advise on a bid or contract relating to the UK government or Northern Ireland executive.”

Neither Mr Smith nor Simply Blue Management responded to the Stray Ferret’s request for a comment on his appointment.

The history of Harrogate Borough Council and Harrogate Spring Water is intertwined — the more money the site makes the more it has to pay to the council.

This is because as well as paying £13,000 a year in ground rent to the council, which owns the land, the company also has to pay a percentage of the site’s annual turnover to the council.

When asked by the Pinewoods Conservation Group charity in a freedom of information request, the council refused to disclose details of this turnover-related revenue, citing “confidentiality obligations” set out when the deal was first drawn up.

When councillors on the planning committee meet next week to decide if they approve the plant’s expansion plans, they will be weighing up the value of potentially more income to taxpayers in the district against what many local residents believe is an environmentally destructive proposal.

The plant’s history

Water has been bottled in Harrogate for centuries but in the early 1990s Harrogate Spa Water, as the company was previously known, was selling just 1,000 bottles of water a year.

The company’s fortunes changed in the late 1990s when HBC, run then by the Liberal Democrats, identified an opportunity to explore water resources at the current site on Harlow Moor Road.

It was a hugely controversial decision at the time but the bottling plant was granted planning permission with the land leased to the privately-owned water company with the council taking a percentage of the turnover.

Jane Blayney was a Liberal Democrat councillor for the Duchy Ward at the time and told the Stray Ferret she lost her seat in 2002 due to her then-support of the bottling plant. She said the local Conservative group was strongly against the plant being built, which changed once they gained control of the council in 2003.

By 2019 Harrogate Spring Water had a turnover of £22m selling Harrogate water as far afield as Tokyo and Toronto.

Read more:

• TV presenter criticises Harrogate Spring Water’s Pinewoods plans

• Harrogate Spring Water’s Pinewoods plans set for approval

The local economy

The council report published last week describes Harrogate Spring Water, which was bought out by French multinational Danone in 2020, as a ‘global brand’ and ‘strategic employer’ that makes a significant contribution to the local economy.

Yet there was no specific mention of the turnover-related revenue and how it benefits the council.

Like other councils across the country, Harrogate Borough Council has faced significant financial challenges in recent years due to government cuts and now the coronavirus pandemic.

Covid is set to cost the council £5.9m and the council recently proposed a £5 increase in council tax as well as £1.14 million in spending cuts to help balance the books.

It means that any extra revenue received would be greatly received and could be used to help pay for services.

Pinewoods Conservation Group published a council document from 2016 that praises the company for its positive financial impact on the town:

“The positive impact of Harrogate Spring Water on the marketing of Harrogate as a ‘quality’ spa town is only set to increase as a result of the companies’ expanding international customer base, their targeted growth of water sales within key transport industries (trains, planes, airports etc) and their pursuit of ‘appropriate’ brand sponsorship opportunities’.”

Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee will meet on Tuesday to consider Danone’s proposals.

The council downplayed any potential conflict of interest in a statement released to the Stray Ferret:

“Decisions taken by any local planning authority are separate and distinct from decisions taken by a local authority as land owner.”

North Yorkshire Police has issued a £1,000 fixed penalty notice for a breach of coronavirus regulations at a hotel in Harrogate on New Year’s Eve.

Last week the Stray Ferret published claims that Harrogate hotelier Simon Cotton flouted covid restrictions by holding a party for himself and 10 friends at the Yorkshire Hotel on New Year’s Eve. Mr Cotton has consistently denied the allegations.

The Stray Ferret spoke to multiple sources who allege the party ate on a single table, did not observe social distancing and that speakers were brought in to play music with bar staff on hand to serve drinks into the early hours of the morning.

The party stayed in the hotel overnight and new staff were then brought in to serve the group breakfast on New Year’s Day.

Our sources say some staff were extremely unhappy at being asked to work but feared for their jobs if they refused.

North Yorkshire Police issued the following statement today:

“An investigation into an alleged breach of coronavirus regulations at a hotel in Harrogate on New Year’s Eve has now concluded. As a result, North Yorkshire Police have issued the person responsible for the venue with a fixed penalty notice of £1,000 fine.”

Government covid legislation gives police powers to issue a £1,000 fixed penalty notice for business-related breaches. This is increased to £2,000, £4,000, and £10,000 for repeat offences.

Read more:

• Claims well-known Harrogate hotelier held illegal New Year’s Eve party

• Police investigating alleged illegal New Year’s Eve party at Harrogate hotel

• HRH Group silent on illegal party allegations at the Yorkshire Hotel

The Stray Ferret contacted the HRH Group, which owns the Yorkshire Hotel as well as the Fat Badger and the White Hart Hotel, and Mr Cotton for a response but we had not received one by the time of publication.

Mr Cotton has continued to be active on Twitter since the Stray Ferret story broke, including a retweet that paid tribute to the NHS. He has also posted pictures of himself delivering food to customers from the Fat Badger.

Harrogate Spring Water has welcomed a council report that recommends councillors approve the company’s controversial expansion plans.

A report published by HBC case officer Mark Williams’ recommends the firm’s plans to extend its bottling plant by 40% are deferred and approved subject to a section 106 legal agreement being drawn up for biodiversity. This would confirm where trees that would be felled in an area of the Pinewoods known as Rotary Wood would be replanted.

Rob Pickering, sales and marketing manager for Harrogate Spring Water said welcomed the council’s recommendation:

“We’re pleased with the outcome of the planning committee report and are grateful for the council’s support with this application.”

“We’d like to reassure the local community that the plan for Rotary Wood places a huge focus on supporting the local environment and promoting biodiversity.

Read more:

• TV presenter criticises Harrogate Spring Water’s Pinewoods plans

• Harrogate Spring Water’s Pinewoods plans set for approval

The HBC report recommends the plans are deferred and approved subject to a section 106 legal agreement being drawn up for biodiversity that confirms where the trees would be replanted.

Mr Pickering added:

“Our plans include a commitment to replacing the trees on a two for one basis and a long term plan to ensure they are looked after and protected. And for the area of Rotary Woods that will remain as woodland, we will be investing to enhance its accessibility and usability for the community.”

“We are and will continue to be good considerate neighbours within Harrogate. We’ll look to work with everyone around us to ensure they play a key part in shaping the area.”

The council’s planning committee will meet on Tuesday next week to consider the proposals.

Who is on the planning committee?

Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee is made up of 12 councillors. 9 are Conservatives, two are Liberal Democrats and one is a Ripon Independent.

They usually meet every three weeks to make decisions on bigger, more sensitive planning applications. Since the covid pandemic began in March, meetings have taken place online and are streamed live on YouTube for anyone to watch.

Despite the recommendation to approve the Pinewoods proposals, the committee could still refuse it. Councillors have gone against HBC officer recommendations on two other high-profile occasions in recent months.

In November, they refused a 72-home reserved matters application in Spofforth and earlier this month they approved St Aidan’s secondary school’s application to build a 3G artificial sports pitch.

Harrogate Spring Water’s Pinewoods proposals have had a huge public response which could influence the decision of councillors. At the time of publication, it has garnered 328 objections and 28 in favour.

TV presenter Julia Bradbury has described Harrogate Spring Water’s plans to cut down trees in the Pinewoods to expand its bottling plant as “beyond destructive”.

Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee has been recommended to conditionally approve the controversial plans, which have captured national attention in recent days with an article in the Independent and a passionate debate on social media.

Trees in the area of Pinewoods known as Rotary Wood, which were planted by families in 2015, would be felled as part of plans by Harrogate Spring Water’s parent company Danone to expand its bottling plant.

Talks between Danone and local green groups have failed to reach agreement on a solution that would compensate for the loss of biodiversity and community access.

Former Countryfile host Ms Bradbury, who is a well-known advocate for the outdoors, tweeted her opposition to the proposal on Sunday.

https://twitter.com/JuliaBradbury/status/1350739832251805696

She also tweeted Emmanuel Faber, chief executive of Harrogate Spring’s water parent company Danone, that called on the firm to “do the right thing”.

Yesterday she told the Stray Ferret that Danone’s plans were “like a plot from a bad nature documentary”.

Ms Bradbury also criticised the company’s use of plastic bottles, saying “you can’t recycle your way out of” the plastic waste crisis seen around the world. She said:

“I’m astounded. We bang the drum for more nature so we need trees and this is a community woodland planted by local school children. It’s a very controversial decision and comes at a time when people are benefiting from nature.”

Read more:

• Impasse between Harrogate Spring Water and local groups continues
• Pinewoods tree protester vows to lobby council offices every week

A Harrogate Borough Council report published yesterday recommended councillors conditionally approve the plans on Tuesday next week.

The application, which would lead to 12 new jobs, has received 328 objections and 28 in support.

Danone argues that the proposals, which include a new pond, a 30-year long replanting programme and a grassland ‘green’ roof will benefit the local environment.

Harrogate Spring Water’s sales and marketing manager Rob Pickering told the Stray Ferret the plans would “promote biodiversity”. He added:

“We’re committed for 30 years to develop the planting and landscaping as it establishes itself. We’ll do that with the ecologists and hopefully the support of the community.

“We’ll continue to provide those facts to give the people of Harrogate a more informed view of the work we plan to do. I genuinely believe the end result of the work will be something we’ll all be proud of.”

Council case officer Mark Williams’ report describes Harrogate Spring Water as a ‘global brand’ and ‘strategic employer’ that makes a significant contribution to the local economy.

The report acknowledges concerns about issues such as the loss of trees and increase in single use plastics but concludes:

A Harrogate Borough Council report published today has recommended conditionally approving Harrogate Spring Water’s controversial expansion plans.

The council’s planning committee will meet on Tuesday next week to discuss the company’s proposal to fell trees in the Pinewoods to expand its bottling plant.

Case officer Mark Williams’ report describes Harrogate Spring Water as a ‘global brand’ and ‘strategic employer’ that makes a significant contribution to the local economy.

The report acknowledges concerns about issues such as the loss of trees and increase in single use plastics but concludes:

The report recommends deferring and approving the application subject to a section 106 legal agreement being drawn up for biodiversity that confirms where the trees would be replanted.

The application, which would lead to 87 new jobs, has received 328 objections and 28 in support.

Many objections refer to an increase in single use plastics for bottling water but the report says this issue is covered by legislation and therefore “not a reason to refuse this application”.

A spokesperson from Pinewoods Conservation Group said:

“This is unfortunately typical by Harrogate council where ecological and environmental impact of a decisions are often ignored.

“The report makes it clear that a significant number of trees will be lost and the proposed development would lead to a loss of public amenity.

“The recommendation is still to approve despite the 100s of objections and clear negative impacts. We can only hope that the councillors on the planning committee can take account of the bigger picture here.”

Read more:

• Pinewoods tree protester vows to lobby council offices every week

• Impasse between Harrogate Spring Water and local groups continues

Harrogate Spring Water received outline planning permission to expand in 2016 but now wants to extend this by 40 per cent, which would mean felling trees in the area of Pinewoods known as Rotary Wood.

Talks between Harrogate Spring Water’s parent company Danone and local green groups have so far failed to reach agreement on a solution that would compensate for the loss of biodiversity and community access.

The Stray Ferret has contacted Harrogate Spring Water for a response to the report but has yet to receive a reply.

Harrogate Spring Water’s sales and marketing manager Rob Pickering told the Stray Ferret last week he wanted to ensure the people of Harrogate “have the facts”.

Mr Pickering said:

“We’ll continue to provide those facts to let the people of Harrogate of a more informed view of the work we plan to do. I genuinely believe the end result of the work will be something we’ll all be proud of.”

North Yorkshire County Council has today appealed for patience as it refills grit bins following the recent prolonged period of snow and ice.

The Stray Ferret received several complaints from residents over the weekend, who said untreated pavements in the Harrogate district were too treacherous for pedestrians, forcing people to walk on roads.

Gritting is the county council’s responsibility and besides employing gritters it maintains more than 3,000 self-help grit bins in North Yorkshire.

People can use the bins to grit minor roads and pavements but not private drives.

Stocks are replenished midwinter and in response to requests.

The long post-Christmas cold snap has led to higher demand than usual and the council’s highways department has urged residents to use salt sparingly.

Read more:

• Gallery: stunning images of snow in the Harrogate district

• Ripon couple saved as tree falls in heavy snow

County Councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for access, said:

“I would like to reassure residents that we are currently refilling grit bins and heaps as quickly as we can. This process is a huge task as we have responsibility for more than 3,100 grit bins and 4,700 grit heaps.

“Please bear in mind that those involved in replenishing the bins and heaps are the same people that drive the gritters and deal with other emergencies on the highway network.

“Whilst every effort is made to replenish the grit as soon as possible we do encounter unavoidable delays, which can occur during prolonged or repeated periods of very cold weather.”

Wet weather is forecast for the next few days but the forecast is to turn colder by Friday, with further icy spells.

The owner of an Apple repair shop in Harrogate has launched an appeal for faulty iPads that will be refurbished and given to local school children.

Tom James, owner of Howard Conrad on Leeds Road, was spurred to act after reading news reports about parents not having the technology for children to study from home during lockdown.

Mr James told the Stray Ferret:

“You see it in the news with children learning from home. Some don’t have access to what they need. We repair iPads and thought we could help the children of Harrogate”

The shop has an agreement to donate iPads to Red Kite Learning Trust, a charity that operates several schools in the district, including Harrogate Grammar School, Western Primary School and Rossett Acre Primary School.

Read more:

• ‘We won’t abandon children’ on exams, says Harrogate headteacher

• Teachers call for tighter key worker rules as schools under pressure

Mr James said old iPads tucked away in a drawer could be refurbished, as could ones that have had their screens smashed or simply broken down.

Howard Conrad is only able to accept Apple iPads rather than other types of tablet.

The iPads need to be running the operating system iOS 11 or newer to be compatible with the learning apps and must have the linked iCloud account removed.

The company is able to accept the following models:

12.9-inch iPad Pro (2nd generation)
12.9-inch iPad Pro (1st generation)
iPad Pro (10.5-inch)
iPad Pro (9.7-inch)
iPad Air 2
iPad Air
iPad (6th generation)
iPad (5th generation)
iPad mini 4
iPad mini 3
iPad mini 2

To donate an iPad, click here.

Plans have been submitted for 98 homes in the village of Bishop Monkton near Ripon.

The developer Alfa Homes is behind the proposals which would be built on the western edge of the village on Knaresborough Road and Moor Road.

The site is designated for development in Harrogate Borough Council’s Local Plan, which is a blueprint for development in the district over the next 15 years.

The majority of the properties will be either 2 or 3-bedroom and 39 will be classed as affordable.

Read more:

• Plans to turn Bishop Monkton pub into five houses
• Green Hammerton gets final approval for 3,000-home settlement

Alfa Homes organised a community consultation in summer 2020 where concerns were raised by local residents that the development was too dense and “out of kilter with the urban grain of the village”.

The developer defended the style of the properties saying the two-storey buildings “reflects the general character of the local area”.

They said the plans were “designed to be sympathetic whilst enhancing the exciting character of the surroundings.”

Alfa Homes is the sister company of Wetherby-based developer Berkeley DeVeer.