What is the situation in the Harrogate district on free school meals?

The Stray Ferret has received lots of messages about free school meals after last night’s vote in the House of Commons.

A Labour motion to extend provision of £15-a-week food vouchers to 1.4m disadvantaged children in England during holidays until Easter 2021 was voted down.

Opposition motions rarely succeed — only one has done so since 1978. They are designed to raise issues governments would prefer to ignore but the high profile support of footballer Marcus Rashford and the sensitivity of the issue generated considerable interest.

Many comments to the Stray Ferret were critical of Harrogate district Conservative MPs Andrew Jones, Julian Smith, and Nigel Adams, who all voted against the motion.

The Harrogate district is below the national average for children receiving school meals, but nevertheless almost 1 in 10 children receive them.

1,932 free meals in district

A Freedom of Information request in 2019 to North Yorkshire County Council revealed that in May 2019, 1,932 children in the Harrogate district received free school meals, which represented 8.2% of all pupils.

Last year, the county average was 10.2% and the national average was 14.1%.

However, the number of children receiving free school meals in the district had risen from October 2018, when it was 7.7% of pupils.

To qualify for free school meals a parent must apply to North Yorkshire County Council with evidence that they are receiving a benefit, such as Child Tax Credit, Income Support, or Universal Credit.

Several Conservative MPs issued a joint tweet last night defending what the government is doing for low-income families.

It said:

“We’re supporting pupils in need: Free school meals for 1.4 million children from low income families, £9 billion extra put into the welfare system to help and £63m to help councils support families in need.”

A spokesperson from Harrogate District Food Bank, a charity that supports community action, told the Stray Ferret it expected to see Harrogate families using its food bank during half-term next week.

The spokesperson said:

“”From past experiences, families in Harrogate seem to scrape through the holiday and then come to the food bank the week or two after, but we shall just wait and see if that is the case.”

Read more:

Yesterday’s motion was voted down by 322 to 261, with five Conservative MPs voting against the government.

The Stray Ferret contacted Andrew Jones, Julian Smith and Nigel Adams but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Match Preview: Grimsby Town vs Harrogate Town

Harrogate Town will be looking for a third league win on the bounce tonight when they head to the east coast to play Grimsby Town.

Town have taken confidently to life in League Two of the English Football League and recorded victories over Barrow AFC and Bradford City in their last two fixtures. The club is currently in 7th place, which is in the playoff positions and just two points behind leaders Cambridge United.

Grimsby, who are managed by the popular Ian Holloway, are also looking for a third win in a row after recent victories against Cheltenham and Leyton Orient.

The two clubs have already played each other this season in the EFL Trophy. That game at Blundell Park ended 2-2 with Grimsby winning on penalties.

Read more:

Town manager Simon Weaver has largely stuck with the same team that won promotion last season, minus Jack Diamond, who has been replaced by former Celtic midfielder Calvin Miller.

There is competition for places between veteran striker Jon Stead and Aaron Martin, who joined the club from Guiseley just before lockdown.

Weaver opted for the lively Martin in the first few games but in the last two games has picked the more experienced Stead.

Grimsby have had a recent run of misfortune with injuries, and James Hanson, Max Wright, Elliot Hewitt and Danny Rose all expected to miss out tonight.

Knaresborough’s Oliver Cromwell building set for facelift

A historic building in Knaresborough, which is believed to be on the site where Oliver Cromwell stayed during the siege of the town in 1644, is set for a facelift.

80 Knaresborough High Street, which dates back to 1764, has been derelict for decades.

Knaresborough was a Royalist stronghold during the English civil war but surrendered after Cromwell’s Parliamentarian forces laid siege to the castle for four months.

Harrogate Borough Council has applied to turn the building which is on the site where he is reputed to have stayed, as well as a former weaver’s workshop on number 82, into flats and new shops.

The council purchased the two Grade II listed properties in 2019 from developer Freshwater Group with the intention to bring them back into use.

Read more:

The application proposes to refurbish and retain the existing vacant retail units on the ground floor and turn the upper levels into four flats.

The council’s planning committee will meet on Tuesday next week to decide on the plans, which are recommended for approval.

The application is supported by both Knaresborough Civic Society and York Georgian Society.

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.

Read more:

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.

Read more:

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.

Read more:

 

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.

Read more:

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.

Read more:

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.

Read more:

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.”