New group to protect western Harrogate from urban expansion

With unprecedented levels of housing planned for the western fringes of Harrogate, a new campaign group has called for developments to have a greater focus on sustainability and infrastructure.

The Western Arc Coordination Group brings together organisations including Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association, Duchy Residents’ Association, Hampsthwaite Action Group, Zero Carbon Harrogate, Harrogate District Cycle Action and Pannal & Burn Bridge Parish Council.

As many as 4,000 houses could be built in the area by 2035. Harrogate Borough Council’s Local Plan includes 800 homes at Windmill Farm on Otley Road and 200 homes at the former police training centre on Yew Tree Lane.

Several other sites have either been recently completed or are under construction, such as Persimmon’s 600-home King Edwin Park development on Pennypot Lane and Stonebridge Homes 130-home scheme on Whinney Lane.

With construction set to continue in the area for at least the next 15 years, the group has produced a document warning of “serious disruption” to people living in what is one of Harrogate’s most popular areas.

Read the document in full here.

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‘Severe’ congestion

Queueing traffic in Burn Bridge this year.

The new group predicts the majority of developments in the western arc of Harrogate will be car-dependent, which will require a “major upgrade” of roads.

It says since North Yorkshire County Council scrapped plans for a controversial “relief road” last year, there has been little progress in tackling congestion.

It warns “accepted congestion problems” have been left unaddressed and says nearby villages such as North Rigton, Burn Bridge and Pannal will bear the brunt of increased traffic in and out of Harrogate. The document says:

“All the communities we represent already experience severe congestion and the environmental and road safety problems from existing volumes of traffic.”

Tackling climate change

A key focus of the group will be putting pressure on developers and the council to ensure homes are future-proofed to mitigate the effects of climate change.

However, it says current housing developments in Harrogate fall short of the mark when it comes to the environment. It says planners, developers and house builders have a “huge responsibility” to do their bit and recognise that the decisions they take will have ramifications for climate change.

It calls on house builders to ditch their dependence on old fashioned building techniques and move towards renewable energy and off-site construction methods, which it argues will slash carbon emissions during the production process and after residents move in.

The document says:

“We would like to see that any developments in this area are exemplars of the way in which new housing addresses the net zero challenge of the next decades.”

What do local councils say?

A spokesman for Harrogate Borough Council told the Stray Ferret that the Local Plan provided a “clear and robust” framework for developments, including the requirement for a “parameters plan” that will organise infrastructure.

He added:

“North Yorkshire County Council are carrying out a series of sustainable transport improvements following investment from central government, ourselves and developer contributions.

“These improvements, that will include smart traffic lights, improvements to the junction of Harlow Moor Road and Otley Road, a new off-road cycle route on Otley Road and new or improved pedestrian crossings, will help to improve safety and alleviate the current level of congestion and accommodate the future growth.”

Members of WACG spoke at North Yorkshire County Council’s area constituency committee this morning.

NYCC’s executive member for highways, Cllr Don Mackenzie, said the authority hopes to work together with the group going forward.

He said:

“I did comment on the contents of their Campaign for Sustainability of Development publication, asking for more clarity on the group’s precise aims, since it seemed to be calling for new highways infrastructure and downplaying the effectiveness of sustainable travel measures at the same time as advocating low carbon dependency infrastructure.

“I assured the delegates that NYCC wishes to continue the dialogue with their group and to work with them to introduce effective measures in the west of Harrogate to address the challenges of congestion which the high level of residential development in that area will bring.”

 

130-home Pannal Ash developer pledges to stick to agreements

The developer building 130 homes at Castle Hill Farm in Pannal Ash has pledged to stick to agreements with the council following complaints from residents.

Several residents have contacted the Stray Ferret recently to raise various concerns about the Stonebridge Homes development on Whinney Lane.

These include builders starting work early in the morning, temporary floodlights being as bright “as an airport runway”, and the road closure potentially putting the Squinting Cat pub out of business.

Whinney Lane closed to traffic in July and is not scheduled to re-open until February 28.

At a full council meeting last month, Conservative councillor for the Harrogate Pannal ward, John Mann, raised the prospect of enforcement action against Stonebridge unless it agreed to certain conditions.

In an email to residents, Cllr Mann said Stonebridge’s site manager had told him the company had an “aspiration” to bring forward the reopening of Whinney Lane to February “but it depends on the weather and progress as its a complex work programme”.

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The entrance to the Castle Hill Farm development on Whinney Lane.

Cllr Mann’s email also says Stonebridge had agreed to reduce the intensity of the four floodlights, abide by the 8am start time, deploy road sweepers three times a week to clear mud and issue a newsletter to residents updating them of progress.

The Squinting Cat pub requested Stonebridge install the lights to make it safer for people walking to-and-from the pub at night.

A spokesperson from Stonebridge Homes said:

“We can confirm that we have agreements in place with Harrogate Borough Council that our team continue to adhere to.

“We are working to reopen Whinney Lane as soon as possible and apologise for any inconvenience this is causing to local residents.”

Local resident Bruce Allison praised Cllr Mann for contacting Stonebridge but said he remained “sceptical” about whether any commitments would be adhered to.

Consultation on new 3,000-home settlement for Harrogate district extended

A consultation on a new 3,000-home settlement in the Harrogate district has been extended amid concerns some residents weren’t aware of it.

Harrogate Borough Council’s consultation, which opened on October 19, asks for views on three possible sites for the development in the Green Hammerton and Cattal area, close to York.

The preferred option is on land south of Cattal train station.

A report says the scheme would offer a 21st century village lifestyle with convenient links to Harrogate, York and Leeds.

But so far the consultation has generated nine responses, which are overwhelmingly opposed to the development.

One describes it as “a desecration of a beautiful unspoilt area” and “environmental vandalism”. Several say the Flaxby site, which the council discarded, would be better.

The consultation was due to close on December 11 but will now run until January 22.

Chris Eaton, from the Keep Green Hammerton Green action group, told the Stray Ferret local groups had asked the council to extend the deadline because some residents had still not received a leaflet informing them the consultation was taking place.

Cllr Richard Cooper, leader of the council, pledged last month it would be a “genuine consultation”, adding it was “critically important” for the council to get it right.

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Cllr Tim Myatt, the council’s new cabinet member for planning, said the extra time would ensure all residents and community groups had their say.

He said:

“We are listening to the community and following feedback have decided to extend the consultation so that everyone has had enough time to fully review the plans.

“We want this new settlement to be something which will serve the needs of new and existing residents. By extending the consultation and gathering further feedback we can ensure that residents and community groups have had time to provide a full response.”

Unemployment claims in Harrogate district fall by almost 300

The number of people claiming jobless benefits in the Harrogate district fell by almost 300 in October, the largest drop since the pandemic began in March.

A total of 3,595 people in the district claimed out-of-work benefits in October, down from 3,875 in September.

The figures, which were published today by the Office for National Statistics, reveal 3.8% of the district’s population claimed out-of-work benefits — down from 4.1% in the previous month.

Harrogate is below the UK-wide figure of 6.3% for people claiming the benefits, which include Jobseeker’s Allowance and Universal Credit.

The number of UK benefits claims fell from 2.7 million in September to 2.6 million last month.

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The government has now extended the furlough scheme until the end of March, and today’s figures suggest it has helped Harrogate safeguard jobs during the pandemic.

The scheme sees the government pay for 80% of employee salaries up to £2,500 a month. Employers cover pension and national insurance contributions.

However, a Harrogate employment lawyer told the Stray Ferret last month he was aware of cases where firms had put restructure plans in place for October 31 and shed staff then, shortly before the Prime Minister announced another lockdown and an extension to furlough.

Harrogate DJ swaps turntables for twins

If you’ve let your hair down in a Harrogate nightclub over the past 25 years, chances are you’ve danced to music played by Trevor “DJ Trev” Broadbank.

He’s spun tunes at them all — from dance nights at Jimmy’s, Bar Med and Carringtons to rock and metal nights at Cardinal Sins and the Viper Rooms.

But despite lockdown forcing him to down his DJ tools, he’s been busier than ever after partner Hannah gave birth to twins Louie and Laya 17 weeks ago. He said having more time at home has been a “silver lining” for not being able to DJ.

He said:

“My career might be over but I’m getting to spend 24 hours a day with Hannah and my kids, and that’s amazing.”

Whilst mums are legally entitled to 39 weeks paid maternity leave, dads are entitled to just two, which the DJ said has been a wake-up call.

“It’s underlined how poor the paternity system is for dads and for parents of twins. It would have been awful if I had to go out to work. In the scope of having a baby, two weeks feels like six seconds. That’s brought a lot of unfairness home to me.”

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Like nearly all nocturnal workers, DJ Trev has had to take a financial hit and has even sold some of his old records online.

He said:

“I’ve battened down the hatches, stripped down my expenses, sold things I might not need again. I just need to get through this.”

But he said he’s focusing on the positives, and is looking forward to the buzz of being able to play music to crowds again.

“I miss listening to music as much as I used to because that’s not the sound of twins screaming!

“I also miss being out and watching people dancing. You play a tune you want to stick on and it really works, you’d be mental not to miss that.”

Nightclubs and bars in Harrogate have come and gone and DJ Trev expects the town’s night scene to bounce back from covid, and he thinks there will be a big party when it does happen.

“I’m curious to see what the parties will be like after this – it could be pandemonium!”

Do you have a lockdown story to tell? Get in touch at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk as we’d love to hear from you.

Controversial 72-home Spofforth scheme set for green light

Developers have made changes to a 72-home scheme in Spofforth, as they look to get final plans approved by Harrogate Borough Council next week.

The development by Vistry Partnerships and housing association Yorkshire Housing was granted outline planning permission by HBC in March, despite over 250 local objections on issues including the design of the homes, flooding and congestion.

The developers have since amended the layout of the houses and say the site is now more reflective of the character of the village.

However, Shirley Fawcett, chair of Spofforth Parish Council, wrote to HBC about the new plans, saying the layout remained “crowded, urban and completely out of keeping with the village”.

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She added:

“One of the greatest concerns is the visual intrusion caused by the proposed artificial site elevation by 1.5 metres, which will visually impair the view into this conservation area at the key gateway to this historic village.”

A report published by HBC case officer Andy Hough recommends the plans be approved.

The council’s planning committee will meet on November 18 to decide whether it should get the final green light.

BBC in Harrogate tonight for FA Cup draw coverage

BBC cameras will be in Harrogate tonight as part of its coverage of the FA Cup second round draw.

Presenter Mark Chapman will speak to Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver and chairman Irving Weaver live from the EnviroVent Stadium to get their reaction to the draw as well as discussing their meteoric rise into the English Football League.

Harrogate’s story has captured the imagination of the football world in what has been a bleak year for the sport.

Town beat semi-professional Skelmersdale United 4-1 on Friday night to book their place in the second round and earn £25,500 in prize money.

Harrogate are ball number 21 and another victory would put them into the third round for the first time in their history.

The draw itself will take place in a studio in London from 7pm on BBC2.

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The third round would potentially pit them against Premier League opposition, such as Manchester City, Liverpool or even local favourites Leeds United.

For a more straightforward route to the third round, Town could hope to draw one of the non-league sides that are left in the competition, such as Canvey Island, Marine and Boreham Wood.

But tough fixtures against former Premier League clubs Hull City, Bradford City and Portsmouth could also await.

Town have reached the second round once before. In 2012/13, they agonisingly lost to Hastings on penalties in a second round replay.

Major Pannal Ash development could lose football pitch for more housing

Homes England wants to scrap plans for a community football pitch at the former Police Training Centre on Yew Tree Lane, in order to increase the total number of homes on the site from 180 to 200.

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

However, 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.

Homes England is the government’s housing agency and the owner of the site.

The new plans also reduce the size of a green space for residents called Central Parkland from 0.81 hectares to 0.41 hectares.

Homes England has instead agreed to pay £595,000 to improve facilities at Pannal Sports Ground. This includes a £100,000 contribution as compensation for the loss of the playing pitch.

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The site will now have 200 homes

It is the second time this year that Homes England has asked HBC to increase the number of homes at the development.

In 2018, the council granted planning permission for 161 homes to be built on the site. However, since then, the land was transferred from the Home Office to Homes England which, in June, submitted fresh plans to add an extra 19 homes to the development.

In HBC’s Local Plan, the site is allocated for 160 homes.

For decades, police recruits from all over the UK came to the site in Harrogate to train. It was closed in 2011 due to cost-cutting.

Horticap students ‘absolutely gutted’ at new lockdown

The new lockdown has delivered a fresh blow to Horticap’s dedicated team of students, who have been unable to work at the popular garden centre on Otley Road since March.

The charity was established 37 years ago to offer adults with learning difficulties the chance to learn practical, personal and teamwork skills through gardening.

However, because many of their students have underlying health conditions, it’s been decided that it would be safer for them to stay at home until the pandemic ends. Now, the charity’s leaders fear the latest lockdown will have an even greater impact on mental health.

Phillip Airey, operations manager at Horticap, told the Stray Ferret:

“They are getting so down with it all really, as they are usually so active here. They want to be working. They are absolutely gutted and they keep asking us why they can’t come back.

“They do understand there’s a virus but it’s been really, really difficult for their mental health. When they are here, it’s great for them. As soon as we can get them back the better, really, for their own wellbeing.”

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With Christmas approaching, the students would be normally be helping prepare for one of Horticap’s busiest times of year, making holly wreaths and helping out in the new shop. Phillip said the staff are just about managing to keep the place ticking over until they come back, as normally, “the students basically do everything”.

There have been dissenting voices on social media who have questioned why garden centres have been allowed to stay open, whereas other sectors have not. But Phillip said gardening has been crucial to people in Harrogate during this difficult year.

He added:

“Gardening is therapeutic. It’s the best thing you can do. We all believe that. We use horticulture as a therapeutic aid for our students. It does them, and me, no end of good.

“The customers get so much out of gardening, especially knowing that our students have grown the plants.”

Bottling plant plans for Pinewoods to be decided in December

Councillors will meet in December to consider Harrogate Spring Water’s proposals to extend its bottling plant in the Pinewoods.

The water company, which was bought out last year by multinational firm Danone, has had outline planning permission since 2016 to expand to the west of its existing site.

Harrogate Borough Council confirmed to the Stray Ferret that the planning committee will meet next month to consider an application to change the footprint of the new building, which the company wants to increase from 0.77 hectares to 0.94 hectares.

The plans would also remove public woodland in Rotary Wood, planted by local families to celebrate the organisation’s centenary.

A report from the council’s arboricultural manager, Paul Casey, said the loss of 2.8 acres of woodland floor would remove the “green corridor” link between the north and south of the site. He said:

“There are no proposals put forward that would mitigate for the loss of this woodland.

“In essence an area equal in size and appropriateness for woodland planting would need to be identified and allocated, preferably currently attached in some way to the Pinewoods, so as to meet any on-going objectives in terms of the following non-exhaustive list: biodiversity; woodland potential; carbon capture/sequestration potential; climate change and climate emergency objectives; flood alleviation benefits to match what is being lost; public use and benefits.”

More than 300 letters of objection have been sent to the council since the plans were submitted, including from the Rotary Club of Harrogate, the Pinewoods Conservation Group and Harrogate Civic Society.

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If the planning committee gives the plans the green light in December, another hearing at a future date will consider a separate application to confirm details of the new building, including its appearance and landscaping. The plans include planting some new trees near the bottling plant as well as a “living wall” to the north of the new extension.

In August, Nicky Cain, brand manager at Harrogate Spring Water, told the Stray Ferret the company planned to consult with local groups on the proposals but said the process had been delayed due to coronavirus. However, the Harrogate and District Green Party said the consultation had still not taken place.

Harrogate Spring Water has been contacted for a comment but had not responded at the time of publication.

To view the full details of the planning application, visit the planning pages of Harrogate Borough Council’s website and use reference 19/05245/DVCMAJ.