3000-home Green Hammerton consultation goes live

A public consultation into controversial plans to 3,000 homes at Green Hammerton and Cattal has gone live.

Harrogate Borough Council is inviting people to have their say on the new settlement, which would change the rural villages forever.

The concept framework for the development says it would offer a “21st century village lifestyle” with convenient links to Harrogate, York and Leeds.

It says:

“Green Hammerton / Cattal is a new distinctive garden village making the most of a vibrant rail hub and village centre, and set in a tranquil landscape of farmland and woodland, wetland and gardens.”

Planning consultants Gillespies produced a report for the council setting out three possible sites for the development, including a preferred option on land south of Cattal train station.

Besides 3,000 houses, the plans include two new primary schools, employment space and retail units.

This month, Chris Eaton, from the campaign group Keep Green Hammerton Green, said it had “grave concerns” about the consultation because the council had not engaged with stakeholders in drawing up its plans.

He claimed the council chose its preferred option without meaningful input from residents.

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

The consultation runs until December 11.

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The three proposed options for the new settlement are below:

Option One

This option focuses on the area north of the railway line between Cattal and Hammerton train stations and incorporates the village edges of Green Hammerton and Kirk Hammerton.

Option One – ‘Central focus’

Option Two

This option focuses on the area north of the railway line around Cattal station, with the majority of the development located south of the A59.

Option Two – ‘North of Cattal station focus’

Option Three

This is the preferred option and focuses on the area around Cattal station, expanding towards the south and southwest of the railway line.

Option Three – ‘Cattal station focus’

Harrogate district’s cabinet member for planning steps down

Harrogate borough councillor Rebecca Burnett has stepped down from her role as cabinet member for planning.

The council said in a statement today Ms Burnett had left the position with immediate effect to concentrate on her full-time job as marketing manager at bus company Transdev Blazefield.

She will be replaced by High Harrogate councillor Tim Myatt.

The news comes just over a week before the council is due to begin a judicial review in London’s High Court with the developer Flaxby Park Ltd.

Conservative councillor Ms Burnett previously worked in Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones’ office as a caseworker.

Cllr Burnett will continue to serve as a councillor for the Harrogate St Georges ward in Rossett, a position she has held since 2014.

She was made cabinet member for planning in May 2015, taking over from Cllr Michael Harrison, and oversaw the development of HBC’s local plan, which was adopted in March 2020.

Harrogate Town fans criticise number of people allowed in stadium

Harrogate Town supporters have raised concerns about the number of people allowed in the club’s home ground on Saturday to watch the team play.

With spectators banned from attending matches due to covid, many fans paid £10 to watch a livestream of the game against Barrow.

Town won 1-0 and many fans in the Harrogate Town Supporters Facebook group hailed the team’s performance at the EnviroVent Stadium.

But 15 fans posted comments in the group about what they considered to be an excessive amount of people in the stands.

Although fans are not permitted to attend fixtures, club directors and staff, media and match volunteers, such as ballboys and girls, are allowed in.

One fan said it “was an absolute joke the amount of people in the ground today”.

Another said it was “not fair on the fans” and one described it as a “kick in the teeth”.

Harrogate Town declined to comment when approached by the Stray Ferret.

The club has won a lot of praise recently for its off the pitch initiatives as well as its performances on the pitch.

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Earlier this month, club chairman Irving Weaver told the Stray Ferret it was a “big loss” not having supporters in attendance during the club’s first-ever season in the English Football League.

Do you think there were too many people at Wetherby Road on Saturday? Watch the highlights below and judge for yourself.

Brimham Rocks farmhouse to be turned into a holiday cottage

Visitors to popular Nidderdale attraction Brimham Rocks will soon be able to stay the night in a former farmhouse.

The “Druids Cave” farmhouse at Brimham Rocks will be turned into holiday accommodation after Harrogate Borough Council approved a change of use application from the National Trust.

The farmhouse, which was built in the late 19th century, has three bedrooms and has been let on short-term tenancies by the National Trust for many years.

The “Druids Cave” farmhouse

It stands to the north west of the site, and is not the building currently used as the visitor centre and shop.

No external changes will be made to the building but the inside will be refurbished.

Bookings will be managed via the National Trust cottages website, which offers nights at a range of Trust properties across the country.

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Another 39 covid cases in Harrogate district

A further 39 people have tested positive for covid-19 in the Harrogate district since yesterday.

It brings the total number of cases with positive tests in the district to 1,637 since the start of the outbreak.

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Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the House of Commons this week the government would consider a district-by-district approach to its new tier system.

Meanwhile, Dr Lincoln Sargeant, director of public health for North Yorkshire, said the main cause of spread of coronavirus in the county was between households.

He said he supported the new tier system as it would help to tackle the spread in the county.

Match Preview: Harrogate Town return home

Harrogate Town will play in Harrogate for the first time since July, when they face fellow EFL newbies Barrow at the EnviroVent Stadium this afternoon.

There will, of course, be no fans in attendance at Wetherby Road due to coronavirus restrictions, but fans can stream the game for £10 through the club’s website. The game kicks off at 3pm.

Work has now been completed on the new grass pitch after the former artificial 3G surface was removed due to EFL regulations. The club said goodbye to their temporary home of the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster with a 3-1 win against Leicester City’s under-23 side earlier this month.

Whilst recent competitive fixtures against Bolton, West Brom, and Bradford were firsts for the club, Barrow is altogether more familiar territory, having played Town 23 times previously.

They were the two best sides in last season’s National League, with Barrow going up as champions.

However, the Cumbrian outfit have made a faltering start to the season and are currently in 22nd, with no wins in any of their first five fixtures.

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Town will be looking to build on an excellent victory over Bradford City in front of the Sky Sports cameras on Monday night.

Jack Muldoon’s assist on Monday night saw him become the most prolific player in the division so far this season, with a goals and assists ratio of 1.37 per 90 minutes.

Barrow manager David Dunn will assess the fitness of striker Scott Quigley who was forced to miss last weekend’s game against Leyton Orient after picking up a knock in training.

Town manager Simon Weaver said he expects a tough game this afternoon.

He said:

“We had a good win against them at the start of last season and 3-0 flattered us a little bit. But after that, they went on an unbelievable run to win the league. They have strengths all around but, hopefully, ours on the day outweigh theirs.”

Council could take enforcement action over Pannal Ash disruption

Harrogate Borough Council could take enforcement action against Stonebridge Homes’ 130-home Castle Hill Farm development on Whinney Lane in Pannal Ash, after complaints from residents.

At a full council meeting on Wednesday, Conservative councillor John Mann, who represents the Pannal ward, said several residents had contacted him with concerns about issues such as early morning working, mud on roads, parking on pavements and construction traffic.

Cllr Mann asked HBC’s cabinet member for planning, Cllr Rebecca Burnett, if any enforcement measures could be taken against Stonebridge Homes to reduce disruption.

Cllr Burnett said HBC’s compliance officer was speaking to the developer about the issues and added:

“If it’s persistent, the council’s team can take stronger enforcement action.

“Our compliance officer is raising these issues with the relevant people and trying to deal with them. There’s a lot going on at the site that’s upset residents.”

The Stray Ferret asked Stonebridge Homes to comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

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Whinney Lane is closed until February due to the construction of two site access points for the Castle Hill Farm housing development, as well as a new roundabout.

The lengthy closure has proved controversial: the manager of the Squinting Cat pub told the Stray Ferret it “could kill” his business.

Cllr Burnett said she sympathised with the residents’ concerns.

She added:

“We know it’s difficult for anyone living next to a building site and we hope as a council we are doing all we can to support the residents.”

Greens step-up campaign for Stray wildflowers

Harrogate Borough Council is to publish a 10-year vision for horticulture in the district — but it’s unclear if it will include plans to grow wildflowers on the Stray.

The Harrogate and District Green Party has called for wildflowers to be planted to attract more wildlife, such as bees, and to act as a focal point for visitors.

It recently launched a petition, which has almost 600 signatures, urging the council to support this.

At last night’s full council meeting, Rebecca Maunder, chair of the Harrogate and District Green Party, asked Cllr Andy Paraskos, cabinet member for the environment, if HBC would commit to planting more bulb species as well as sowing wildflower seeds on the Stray.

Cllr Paraskos said he “absolutely” agreed with the Green Party’s sentiments on biodiversity but did not commit to any specific changes on the Stray.

He said:

“Biodiversity is not just about the Stray but across the whole district so hopefully we will see some exciting projects over the coming years.

“The Stray does not belong to us, so everything we do on the Stray is by negotiations with the Duchy, but we will continue to look at biodiversity”.

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The council held a consultation on the future of horticulture in the district this year.

Its horticulture strategy, which is yet to be approved, will detail the authority’s planting plans.

Cllr Paraskos said biodiversity “is a strong theme” of the upcoming strategy.

The council has already committed to planting 60,000 crocuses on the the Stray at West Park in the coming months.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret after the meeting, Ms Maunder said “now is the perfect” time to add a greater mix of bulbs when the Stray is replanted.

She said:

“Why not grasp this opportunity and make a significant impact?”

Italian bar and restaurant closes in Harrogate

The Italian bar and restaurant Porco Rosso on The Ginnel in Harrogate has permanently closed.

The restaurant was owned by the people behind another Italian restaurant, Stuzzi, on King’s Road, and opened in summer 2017.

It reopened after the coronavirus lockdown in July but a post on the Porco Rosso Facebook page earlier announced its demise.

The post said:

“Due to the ever-changing current circumstances and the difficulty the hospitality industry is facing at the moment we have taken the difficult decision to close Porco Rosso and concentrate entirely on the Stuzzi brand.
“We would like to thank all of our loyal customers from over the years who have frequented the venue and helped make the place what is was. From hosting various wine producers from all over Italy for civilised, informative and often one-off wine tastings and events, to debaucherous bank holidays and New Year’s eves of dancing on the sofas and binge drinking.”
The site is set to reopen at an unconfirmed date as a new bar and pizzeria called Hidden Bar.

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North Yorkshire districts could be placed in different covid tiers

Health secretary Matt Hancock has said the government is prepared to consider district rather than county-wide covid tiers in North Yorkshire in response to variable transmission rates.

This would mean some parts of the county could be placed in a higher category — and be subject to greater restrictions — than others.

The Harrogate district currently has the highest infection rate of the seven district council areas in North Yorkshire.

York, which is a unitary authority, does however have a higher rate than Harrogate.

In the House of Commons yesterday, Thirsk and Malton Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake asked Mr Hancock:

“The rate of transmission varies significantly within the eight different districts of North Yorkshire.

“When we are looking at putting different areas into different tiers, can we look at that by district rather than at county level?”

Mr Hancock replied:

“Yes, absolutely, and I will go further than that: we look at this at sub-district level, if that is appropriate.”

He said this had already happened in High Peak, Derbyshire, where some areas are in level 2 and others are in level 1.

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Mr Hancock added, however, that it was not purely down to transmission rates:

“Some districts within North Yorkshire have individual outbreaks in individual institutions that we are managing, and we should not mistake that for general community transmission and therefore put those areas into a higher level than is necessary.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the new tier system on Monday, which placed all of North Yorkshire in tier 1, which is the lowest category.