Harrogate homebuyers frustrated by land search delays

People buying and selling property in the Harrogate district have expressed frustration over delays for land searches to be completed.

A buoyant local property market has increased the workload on Harrogate Borough Council.

The Stray Ferret understands searches in Harrogate are taking several weeks longer than in neighbouring authorities Leeds and York.

Local authority searches, which check there are no hidden surprises for buyers, are an essential part of the home-buying process.

HBC’s local land charges team charges £103.95 for a search, which reveals information on issues relating to the property such as previous planning applications, roads, utilities and the environment.

According to HBC’s website, the average search time in August 2020 was just over three weeks. However, the Stray Ferret has spoken to someone selling a house, an estate agent, and a solicitor who all say the process is now taking much longer.

‘Banging your head against a brick wall’

Robert Ash and his wife are currently selling a property in the village of Grantley, near Ripon. Their buyer’s solicitor asked HBC to undertake a search of the property at the end of August and he has now been told the result will be ready on November 8 — 10 weeks later.

Mr Ash suggested it could be taking longer because “everyone is trying to sell a house in Harrogate” at the moment.

He said he’d tried to ask the council why it was taking so much longer than expected but said “it’s like banging your head against a brick wall”. He added:

“It does seem ridiculous because everyone is anxious to get on with these things.”

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Estate agent Jak Cavanagh from Knight Frank in Harrogate said the delays were too long.

Knight Frank has offices across the country and Mr Cavanagh said Harrogate was known nationally for taking a long time to process searches.

He said searches were now taking 10-12 weeks, around twice as long as they were pre-covid.

“It would be great if they were a bit quicker. It’s delaying things a bit too much.

“From a seller’s point of view, it can be frustrating, but Harrogate is known all over the country for this, I’m afraid.”

Leeds and York quicker

The estate agent’s experience was echoed by local property solicitor Mike Sheldon, from the law firm Wilson Bramwell.

Mr Sheldon said searches were taking far longer in Harrogate compared to other local authorities, such as York and Leeds.

He said:

“The council are taking longer, there’s no question about that, but it’s just the volume of conveyancing that’s going on. It’s slowing things down. Each council is different but Leeds and York seem to be a lot quicker.”

In a statement released to the Stray Ferret, HBC said the current processing timescales for searches was approximately 28 working days.

It said July, August and September were the busiest three months for local land charges team in “a number of years”.

The council added that increased pressures related to covid meant it was unable to provide the team with additional resources. It also said two experienced staff from the team had recently retired.

The council added it had made overtime available for staff to clear some of the backlog.

A council spokesperson said:

“We appreciate how stressful buying a house can be and we are doing everything we can to reduce the processing times for local land charge searches.

“There have been a number of issues that have meant we are dealing with an unprecedented level of demand so we are asking people to be mindful of the current timescales and advise them to carry out searches as early as possible in their housing buying process.”

Judicial review looms after 2,750-home Flaxby development refused

Councillors took an hour this afternoon to refuse an application for up to 2,750 homes on the former Flaxby golf course, near Knaresborough.

Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee rejected the plans because they contravene its Local Plan, which chose Green Hammerton and Cattal as the location for a new settlement instead of Flaxby.

The Flaxby proposals also include a retirement village and two primary schools, as well as retail and office space.

The developer, Flaxby Park Ltd, is challenging HBC’s decision at a judicial review, which will take place at the High Court in London this month.

Cllr Robert Windass questioned why the planning committee had been asked to decide on Flaxby now, just weeks before the judicial review. He said the council should postpone any decision until after the judicial review takes place.

But his request was rebuffed by HBC’s chief planner, John Worthington, who said the planning committee and the judicial review were “two very separate processes”.

Cllr Christine Willoughby, who spoke representing Knaresborough Town Council, said the development would have a negative impact on the market town.

She said:

“The town council objects to this application as there would be a serious detrimental impact to health services, educational and recreational services of Knaresborough. Any economic benefit [to Knaresborough] would be small.”

Alex Smith, a member of the public, urged councillors to defer the Flaxby decision until the Green Hammerton development plan document was more fully developed.

He said the Flaxby development was “more sustainable” than Green Hammerton, which he said would require significant infrastructure investment. He said:

“We have a disused golf course and an existing dual carriageway here, now and ready to go. Why discard that site now?”

Eight councillors voted to refuse the plans. Two abstained.

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The judicial review will take place on October 27, 28, and 29 at the High Court in London.

Flaxby Park Ltd has claimed the council’s decision to choose Green Hammerton was based on “flawed information of a scant, conflicting and contradictory nature”.

A judge will decide whether the decision was lawful and followed the correct procedure.

If found to be unlawful, the decision on where to place the new settlement may have to be made again.

Meanwhile, HBC is pressing ahead with plans for Green Hammerton and last week rubber-stamped a public consultation that is expected to take place later this year.

Unemployment claims fall slightly in Harrogate district

There was a slight fall in the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits in the Harrogate district in September.

A total of 3,875 people claimed out-of-work benefits during the month, down slightly from 3,970 in August. Of those, 2,210 were men and 1,665 were women.

The figures, which were published today by the Office for National Statistics, revealed 4.1% of the district’s population claimed out-of-work benefits — down from 4.2% in the previous month.

Harrogate is below the UK-wide figure of 6.5% for people claiming the benefits, which include Jobseeker’s Allowance and Universal Credit.

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The number of benefit claims in the district has remained stable since May, with the government’s furlough scheme used to protect more than 15,000 jobs in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

The scheme ends this month and will be replaced by the Job Support Scheme, which is designed to protect viable jobs.

Under the new scheme, an employee who works a minimum of 33% of their normal hours a week will be guaranteed 77% of their weekly wage.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said financial support on offer to employees must “adapt and evolve”.

District MPs vote against food safety amendment

Harrogate district Conservative MPs Andrew Jones, Julian Smith, and Nigel Adams voted against an amendment to the Agriculture Bill yesterday that would have forced any future trade deal to meet UK food safety and animal welfare requirements.

The government said the amendment was not needed as it had already committed to ensuring UK food standards would be retained in any post-Brexit trade deals.

MPs voted by 332 votes to 279 to reject the House of Lords amendment. Former Harrogate councillor and current York Outer MP Julian Sturdy was one of 14 Tory rebels who voted against the government.

The bill will now return to the Lords.

Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesperson Judith Rogerson accused Andrew Jones of “selling out” farmers.

She said:

“It’s disappointing to see Harrogate & Knaresborough’s MP fail to stand up for local farmers by voting to allow countries with lower standards undercut them.

”The UK should be leading the way in upholding the highest environmental and animal welfare standards, not selling out our planet, animals, and farmers for the sake of future trade deals.”

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Farming minister Victoria Prentis told the Commons the government was “absolutely committed to high standards”.

Last week, protestors met outside Mr Jones’ constituency office in Harrogate urging him to vote down the amendment. 

Philip Knight, who attended the protest, told the Stray Ferret he was worried the bill would lead to lower food standards in post-Brexit trade deals:

“Personally, I’m worried that because of Brexit and a frenzy for a trade deal that the government is going to make some mistakes and lower food standards in this country, which will affect not only what we eat but the livelihoods of farmers.”

The Stray Ferret asked Mr Jones, Mr Smith, and Mr Adams for comment but none had responded at the time of publication.

 

Harrogate Town: Project Big Picture should be ‘seriously considered’

Harrogate Town managing director Garry Plant has said proposals that could see the club potentially receive millions of pounds in funding from the Premier League should be “seriously considered”.

Details of Project Big Picture, which would radically overhaul the way finances are distributed down the football pyramid, were leaked to the media over the weekend.

Under the proposals, put forward by Liverpool and Manchester United, the top nine clubs in the Premier League would get more control in return for giving an immediate £350m rescue fund to the English Football League, plus 25% of revenue from future deals.

This would give EFL clubs, who have struggled financially since the lockdown, a much-needed cash windfall. Currently, each EFL club receives £430,000 a season from the Premier League as a “solidarity payment”.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret yesterday, Mr Plant said:

“Any assistance that the clubs can get has to be seriously considered otherwise there might not be some clubs in the EFL for much longer.

“The club is being guided by and trusts the EFL to arrive at the very best solution for the football family.”

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The proposals would also see the League Cup scrapped, which Mr Plant suggested would be a small price to pay if it guaranteed the survival of EFL clubs.

Mr Plant warned if communities lost their football clubs it would have a lasting impact that would run deeper than purely sport.

He added:

“The key important thing is the survival of football.

“Bury and Macclesfield have already closed and it would have a massive impact on local communities.”

Only 17% of Harrogate hate crime reports lead to charges

A total of 264 hate crimes were reported in the Harrogate district in the last three years — but fewer than two in 10 led to a charge.

One hundred and sixty seven of the reports were for racial hate crimes, 32 were for homophobia and 20 related to disabled people. There were also 13 reports relating to Muslims and eight relating to trans people.

In total, 46 charges were brought, which represents 17 per cent of the number of complaints made.

The Stray Ferret obtained the figures, which cover 2017, 2018, and 2019, from North Yorkshire Police through the Freedom of Information Act.

The number of reported hate crimes was stable in each of the three years but the number of reports that led to a charge decreased from 21 in 2017 to nine in 2019.

The police cited a variety of reasons for not bringing charges, including being unable to identify the suspect, the victim deciding not to support police action, and community resolutions.

Crown Prosecution Service figures show that the national conviction rate for hate crimes in 2018/19 was 84.3%.

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Hate crime often involves verbal or physical abuse but can also cover vandalism, criminal damage, graffiti, arson, cyberbullying, offensive communications, threats of attack, or financial exploitation.

This week is National Hate Crime Awareness Week and superintendent Mark Khan, North Yorkshire Police’s lead for hate crime, said he wanted the public to feel confident reporting hate crime.

He said:

“Hate crime has a devastating impact on its victims, their families and their communities.

“It’s so important that we do not let this type of behaviour go unnoticed or unchallenged. Reporting hate crime is everyone’s business. We want people in Harrogate, and across North Yorkshire, to report it – and to feel confident reporting it.

“So whether you are a victim of any kind of hate crime, or have witnessed a hate crime incident, no matter how insignificant it may seem, we would urge you to call the police, via 101 or 999 in an emergency.

“If you do not wish to speak to the police, contact Supporting Victims in North Yorkshire or visit True Vision, who can both be contacted confidentially and can offer support and advice.”

Match Preview: Bradford City vs Harrogate Town

When Harrogate Town won promotion to the English Football League, Bradford City away was the fixture many fans were looking forward to most.

Harrogate are no strangers to the city, having recently played in the National League North against Bradford Park Avenue.

However, Bradford City’s 25,000 all-seater Valley Parade is worthy of a higher division and would have been a special day out for fans.

Instead, they will have to make do watching the game, which kicks off at 7.45 pm tonight, live on Sky Sports.

Muldoon set to return

Both clubs have five points so far, with Town having played one more game than their West Yorkshire rivals.

City beat Stevenage 2-1 in their last league fixture whilst Town’s good start to the season faltered when they went down last week 1-2 against Bolton Wanderers.

Town missed Jack Muldoon against Bolton but Simon Weaver has confirmed that the free-scoring forward is likely to return after recovering from a recent injury.

Weaver could give a start to experienced striker Jon Stead, who played for Bradford on loan in 2014/15.

He said:

“The fixtures do not come much bigger for us at this level. We are looking forward to it and have been doing since the fixtures were released.

“Bradford have an experienced manager who Paul Thirlwell knows very well in Stuart McCall, who is a club legend.

“We have looked at their games and they have some really experienced players, so it is sure to be a big challenge.”

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City manager Stuart McCall said he is looking forward to the game:

“Harrogate have started very well and are a good footballing side.

“They have two guys in Simon Weaver and his assistant Paul Thirlwell – who I know well having played with him at Sheffield United – who have done a fantastic job. We are really starting to see the emergence of the football club as a whole.

“They play some very good football and are a strong team. It is a match I am really looking forward to.”

Developer cuts larger homes at Boroughbridge due to ‘market conditions’

Linden Homes will cut the number of four- and five-bedroom homes at its Riverside Mills development as a response to “market conditions”.

This week, Harrogate Borough Council approved a planning application from the developer to alter the already-agreed 95 homes on the site, where work has already begun.

Linden will replace nine 3-bedroom, sixteen 4-bedroom and seven 5-bedroom homes with four 4-bedroom, 34 three-bedroom and eight 2-bedroom homes. This will increase the total number of homes in the development by 14, and the total number of bedrooms by eight.

The application to make the changes was first submitted in October 2019.

The Stray Ferret asked Linden Homes to comment but the company had not responded by the time of publication. A document submitted to HBC by Pegasus Group on behalf of Linden Homes said:

“The proposed scheme seeks [to] maintain the existing infrastructure layout of the site, whilst introducing a number of smaller units to reflect market conditions in Boroughbridge.”

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There have been signs locally that, since lockdown, housebuilders are being more cautious with developments. In July, the UK’s largest housebuilder, Barratt Homes, pulled out of a 390-home development in Littlethorpe, Ripon.

In August, Harrogate Borough Council agreed to buy 52 homes for £4.5m at Stonebridge Homes’ Castle Hill Farm development on Whinney Lane.

Despite some caution from housebuilders, estate agents in the district have reported a “manic” period since June.

Alex Atkinson, sales manager at Linley & Simpson, told the Stray Ferret that 2020 will end strongly thanks to the government’s Stamp Duty holiday, which ends in March 2021.

He said:

“Since lockdown we’ve seen a massive shift in our village and rural properties. Anything with land or outdoor space is selling like hotcakes at the moment.”

Another 42 coronavirus cases in Harrogate district

A further 42 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the Harrogate district, according to the latest Public Health England figures.

It takes the total number of cases in the district since the start of the pandemic to 1,412.

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Earlier this week, Harrogate Borough Council was allocated £57,951 as part of government attempts to enforce coronavirus restrictions.

The government has awarded £60 million to councils and police forces across the country.

North Yorkshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has been allocated £291,987 as part of the deal.

Councils are expected to use the money for compliance and enforcement, such as recruiting covid marshals, carrying out inspections, issuing fines and closing premises in the case of non-compliance.

Although covid marshals will not have any enforcement powers, government guidance says they should “engage, explain and encourage best practice and national covid secure guidance”.

‘Mindless vandals’ damage trees on the Stray

Several trees on the Stray have been damaged, believed to be by vandals.

Sgt Andy Graham from North Yorkshire Police tweeted that he saw the trees, which are on the York Place section of the Stray, when walking to work this morning.

https://twitter.com/KnaresPolice/status/1314819033053757440?s=20

Responding to Sgt Graham’s tweet, the Stray Defence Association tweeted:

“What motivates these mindless vandals? Why would anyone destroy their local environment?”

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It is not the first time this year trees have been damaged on the Stray.

In June, two young trees were pulled up following reports of large gatherings.