Harrogate Town takes part in mental health campaign

Harrogate Town fans have been asked to nominate someone whose mental health has suffered during the coronavirus pandemic and is deserving of a special Zoom call from a first-team player.

The initiative is part of mental health charity Mind’s ‘Do One Thing’ campaign, which inspires people to make one small change or take one action to look after their mental health. All English Football League clubs are taking part.

Nominations should be emailed to community@harrogatetownafc.com by Friday October 9. A group of senior Town players will then judge the nominations.

Supporters can also get involved in the campaign by sharing on social media their one piece of advice or activity that can improve mental health.

Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind, said:

“Coronavirus has undoubtedly affected the lives and routines of many fans. Whether that’s seeing familiar faces on the terraces on match day or celebrating/commiserating the result with fellow fans after, many fans will feel that the current climate has left them less able to do the things that support their mental health.

“Whether it’s going for a walk, learning a new skill or doing something creative, taking the first steps to getting support for yourself, or reaching out to someone else; Mind and the EFL are encouraging fans to do one thing for better mental health this World Mental Health Day.”

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On Friday night BT Sport aired “Proud To Be Town”, a 90-minute documentary filmed during and after lockdown.

It included contributions from manager Simon Weaver and first-team players who opened up about how the three-month shutdown of professional sport affected their mental wellbeing.

Could cars be banned outside primary schools in Harrogate?

As cars are banned from roads around primary schools elsewhere in the country, could Harrogate see new schemes introduced to do the same?

The national School Streets project aims to make streets near to schools a safer place for children, increase opportunities for them to walk or cycle, and reduce their exposure to toxic air pollution.

While North Yorkshire County Council has not said it will introduce School Streets, its Open Harrogate project – which aims to encourage active travel – confirmed on Twitter the possibility is being explored.

School Streets was pioneered in Hackney, London in 2017 and has since gone on across the country including at Yorkshire primary schools in Halifax, York, Leeds and Sheffield.

In Hackney, vehicles are able to apply for exemptions but only if they are a blue badge holder or a resident or business inside the School Streets zone.

Since School Streets first came to the London borough, children cycling to participating schools has increased by over 50%, with traffic outside the schools reducing by around two-thirds.

‘Behaviour change’

The idea of School Streets has been welcomed by environmental campaign groups. Caroline Linford from Sustainably Harrogate told the Stray Ferret that the scheme would help enforce “behaviour change” for parents in Harrogate.

She said:

“Improving congestion and pollution around schools is a bit of a chicken and egg issue. One of the reasons parents drop their children close to school is because it’s not safe for them to walk or cycle, but by doing so they’re actually exacerbating the problem.

“School Streets help enforce behaviour change and show parents that the school run can be a relaxed, safe, quiet and pollution free.”

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The walking and cycling charity Sustrans published a survey last week which involved more than 1,000 parents of children under 16. It found seven in ten (71%) parents agreed that local authorities should take steps to make it easier for families to walk and cycle to school.

According to David who runs the Harrogate-based cycling website Hedgehog Cycling, School Streets would make it safer for children to get to school.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“Children should be able to walk or cycle safely to school, but if school streets are full of vehicles parents will rightly worry about their safety. NYCC has been encouraging active travel through Open Harrogate, but it’s not enough just to encourage. Only if the local authority also makes it safe and easy will it happen.

“Small children and big SUVs don’t mix, and it would be great to see a plan to remove traffic danger around all schools in Harrogate.”

The Stray Ferret has recently heard concerns about the volume of traffic near to Killinghall and Western primary schools.

Sarah Bassitt, the headteacher of Killinghall Church of England Primary School, said she worries that traffic on Otley Road could eventually see a child killed.

Tim Broad, headteacher at Western Primary School, said the first week back was “chaotic” at pick-up time, adding:

“This is the first time I can remember feeling deeply concerned that we could have a road traffic accident.”

Match Preview: Harrogate Town vs Bolton Wanderers

Ten years ago this week, Harrogate Town and Bolton Wanderers were five divisions apart, with the Lancashire club plying their trade in the Premier League and Town in the National League North.

That year, 2010/11, was Simon Weaver’s first full season as player/manager of the club and Bolton’s side was littered with internationals including future England stars Daniel Sturridge and Gary Cahill.

But sport can be a great leveler and the two clubs will face each other for the first time in a competitive fixture at 3pm today. The game will be played at Town’s temporary home of the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster.

Simon Weaver’s men have been in buoyant form so far in League Two and are unbeaten after three games. They made an immediate statement, beating Southend 4-0 on the opening day of the season, and last Saturday they secured a battling point against the fancied Port Vale.

Bolton were relegated from League One last season and are one of the favourites for promotion – however, they have so far failed to pick up a win.

Simon Weaver said he hopes his team can build on their good form.

He said:

“The Bolton game is a huge one for us. They’re a massive club, with history, a big fan-base and a fantastic stadium, but they haven’t had the best of starts and they’ll be desperate to put that right this weekend.

“We can’t allow them to do that. We have to be on the front foot, making life difficult for them and all-energy with and without the ball. We’ve made a positive start to the season and we have to be relentless in trying to build on that.”

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Bolton manager Ian Evvet was full of praise for Town ahead of the game.

He said:

“They put you under pressure and they’ll put the ball into areas that force you to defend. They’re very good from set pieces as most League Two teams are, and we have to be at the races it’s as simple as that. We have to make sure we’re better with and without the ball than we were last Saturday.”

Town midfielder Jack Muldoon missed out on the trip to Port Vale with a minor muscle injury and he could come back into contention today.

Goalkeeper James Belshaw continues to progress in his recovery from a hand injury but he’ll most likely be unavailable, with Joe Cracknell continuing to deputise.

Bolton manager Ian Evatt said new signing Lloyd Isgrove will miss the game against Town because of an injury. Arthur Gnahoua is fit and available and could come into contention for a start.

Antoni Sarcevic and Shaun Miller returned to training this week and could be available for a place in the matchday squad.

Town fans can stream the game live through the club’s website for £10.

Council prepares for 3,000-home Green Hammerton consultation

Harrogate Borough Council is preparing a public consultation on the location of 3,000 new homes to be built near the villages of Green Hammerton and Cattal.

Planning consultant Gillespies has 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.

Along with the housing, the plans include two new primary schools, employment space and retail units.

HBC’s cabinet will meet on Wednesday to discuss the report and potentially approve a consultation that would begin later this year.

In February, developers Oakgate Group submitted plans to HBC for Maltkin Village, a scheme near to Cattal.

The three new settlement options to be discussed by the cabinet on Wednesday are below. The orange colour indicates where the new housing would be built, green indicates green spaces and purple indicates employment space. Blue shows where the “local centre” of the development would be.

Meanwhile, plans submitted in 2017 for 2,750 new homes at Flaxby which were due to be discussed by planners on Tuesday will now be heard at a later date. The developer, Flaxby Park Ltd, had not been informed of the committee date due to a “technical error”.

A council spokesperson said “as a gesture of goodwill” the authority would offer the developer more time to prepare. A new date is yet to be set.

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 option focuses on the area around Cattal station expanding towards the south and southwest of the railway line. This is the current preferred option, according to the report to be discussed by the cabinet on Wednesday.

Option Three – ‘Cattal Station Focus’

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‘Clawback’

A report written in 2017 by Gary Fielding, corporate director for strategic resources at North Yorkshire County Council, revealed that the county council would make money on some land at Green Hammerton if it were developed.

The report states that in 2003, NYCC sold land at Green Hammerton to farmer Derek Pickles. When the council sold the land, there was a covenant attached that said if planning permission were granted within 30 years for any other use of the property, a “clawback” would apply. This would result in NYCC receiving 70% of the uplift in the land’s open market value.

The land owned by Derek Pickles is highlighted in purple.

According to the report published by Gillespies, the land owned by Mr Pickles, which is close to the village of Green Hammerton, would primarily fall into options one and two and not the preferred option around Cattal train station.

Harrogate Borough Council adopted its Local Plan in March 2020 and chose Green Hammerton as the broad location for a new settlement in the district.

However, the choice has been contested by Flaxby Park Ltd, which wants to create a new village on a former golf course to the east of Knaresborough.

As reported in the Stray Ferret yesterday, Harrogate Borough Council will head to the High Court in London later this month for a judicial review that will decide whether or not the decision to choose Green Hammerton over Flaxby for a new settlement was unlawful.

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

BT Sport to broadcast Harrogate Town documentary tonight

Harrogate Town’s fairytale ascent into the English Football League will be the subject of a major TV documentary tonight.

Proud To Be Town will be premiered on BT Sport at 10pm and will be available on the BT Sport app on Saturday.

BT Sport is billing the 90-minute programme as the first full-length documentary to highlight the “profound impact” of the Covid pandemic on football.

Filming for the documentary began in June when the club began preparing for the National League playoffs after the season had been curtailed in March due to the lockdown. Town went on to win a historic Wembley playoff final against Notts County 3-1 in August.

The behind-the-scenes film traces the club’s exploits on the pitch as well as exploring how coronavirus hit the club’s finances.

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Simon Green, head of BT Sport, said:

“This is not just the story of one club. It reflects aspects of almost every football club in the country amid the Covid pandemic.

“A large proportion of the film was self-shot by members of the team and club staff on phones and tablets, who enthusiastically recorded their experiences of lockdown, getting back into action and making their historic bid for promotion.

“We are grateful for the club’s collaboration.”

Whinney Lane lights ‘like Leeds Bradford Airport runway’

Residents on Whinney Lane have said lights used to brighten a temporary footpath at night are so intense they are like “a Leeds Bradford airport runway”.

Whinney Lane in Pannal Ash is closed to traffic until February 28 while work on the 130-home Castle Hill Farm housing development is carried out.

A temporary footpath has been created through a field that bypasses most of Whinney Lane.

The Squinting Cat pub requested developer Stonebridge Homes installed lights on the footpath to make it safer for people walking to-and-from the pub at night.

One resident, who did not wish to be named, said the lights have been in operation since Monday. He praised Stonebridge for installing them but said the brightness was “totally over the top”.

He said the lights were good for safety but added:

“It’s lit the footpath up but it’s also lit our bedroom up. I’ve had enough of it.”

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Another resident Mike Newall, who is a former pilot, said the lights reminded him of his flying days. He welcomed them being installed but described the brightness as “overkill”.

North Yorkshire County Council said it had not received any complaints from residents about the lights.

The Stray Ferret contacted Stonebridge about the brightness but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Flaxby development set for High Court battle

A developer who wants to build 2,750 homes at Flaxby Park near Knaresborough has urged Harrogate Borough Council to delay making a decision until a judicial review takes place in the High Court next month.

Flaxby Park Ltd has been granted a judicial review that will examine HBC’s decision to choose Green Hammerton ahead of Flaxby for a new settlement in its Local Plan, which was adopted in March this year.

The Flaxby settlement would be on a former golf course four miles from Knaresborough and include a retirement village and two primary schools, as well as retail and office space.

The proposal is due to go before HBC’s planning committee on Tuesday, almost three years after it was first submitted.

A report prepared by HBC officers recommends committee members refuse the development because the Local Plan now allocates Green Hammerton for the new settlement.

But the developer says the council’s decision to choose Green Hammerton was based on “flawed information of a scant, conflicting and contradictory nature”.

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

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 made again. Flaxby Park Ltd told the Stray Ferret this would be a “game-changer” for the Harrogate district.

‘Defer a decision’

In a statement released to the Stray Ferret, Chris Musgrave, chief executive at Flaxby Park Ltd, questioned the timing of the decision to bring the plans before councillors now, just weeks before the High Court date.

He said:

“Bearing in mind that the planning application was submitted to the council almost three years ago, we fail to understand why planning officers have decided to present the application on October 6, but I urge the planning committee to follow the right course of action and defer a decision on the application until the judicial review has been concluded.”

Mr Musgrave also said Flaxby Park Ltd was not told of the council’s decision to bring the plans before the planning committee until the company was contacted by the Stray Ferret this week. He said this gave them less than a week to prepare, puttng them at a disadvantage.

‘Separate processes’

A HBC spokesperson said Flaxby Park Ltd was not informed about next week’s planning committee meeting due to a “technical error”. The spokesperson said:

“While we do not agree that the applicant has been disadvantaged we do apologise for the error. As a gesture of goodwill we have offered the applicant a potential deferent of the application by a week, if they feel they need more time to prepare for the meeting.”

But the spokesperson said the council would not defer the planning committee meeting until after the judicial review:

“We are not proposing to defer consideration of this application until the judicial review has taken place, as these are two very separate procedural processes.”

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Care providers back county council’s devolution bid

An independent body for care providers in North Yorkshire has said it would be “pointless and unnecessary” to allow devolution to dismantle the current system of social care in the county.

Under the existing two-tier system of local government, North Yorkshire County Council has full responsibility for social care in the county.

But this could change under government plans to devolve power.

The seven district and borough councils in North Yorkshire, including Harrogate Borough Council, would prefer to create an east / west model of local government.

NYCC prefer having a unitary authority for the county, which Mike Padgham, chair of the Independent Care Group, said would offer the best outcome for older and vulnerable people in the area.

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Mr Padgham said effective county-wide social care services already existed built on years of close working between the local authority and independent providers of social care. He added:

“It would seem pointless and unnecessary to dismantle this.

“NYCC is looking to bring in more investment and more decision-making power to a single authority, which can only be a positive move forward for the overall future of North Yorkshire.

“The proposal from NYCC for a single unitary authority provides the best option for facing and overcoming those challenges.”

Speaking on behalf of the seven district and borough councils, Keane Duncan, leader of Ryedale District Council, told the Stray Ferret it was “surprising and disappointing” that the ICG has backed NYCC’s proposal.

He added:

“ICG’s support for a mega-council is particularly disappointing too when they have not engaged with us about their views, aspirations and concerns for the future of care in our county.

“We would welcome the opportunity to share with them how our alternative to a mega-council can best support care providers, and those who need care, not only in North Yorkshire, but in the City of York too.”

 

MPs WATCH: Care home visits, the Brexit bill and a visit to Ripon Cathedral

Every month the Stray Ferret tries to find out what our local MPs have been up to in their constituencies and in the House of Commons.

September saw MPs return to Parliament after the summer recess. Several important votes took place on issues such as Brexit, the military, and fire safety in high-rise buildings.

We asked Harrogate & Knaresborough MP, Andrew Jones, Ripon MP Julian Smith, and Selby and Ainsty MP Nigel Adams if they would like to highlight anything in particular, but we did not receive a response from any of them.

So here is what we know after analysing their online presence.

Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough here is what we found on Mr Jones:

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Julian Smith, MP for Ripon and Skipton.

In Ripon here is what we found on Mr Smith:

Nigel Adams, MP For Selby and Ainsty

In rural south Harrogate here is what we found on Mr Adams.

 

Couple’s mission to plant 100,000 trees in Harrogate district

Husband and wife Christopher and Helen Neave are on a mission to plant 100,000 trees in the Harrogate district before 2030 — and they say the biodiversity benefits for everybody living here will be profound.

Their business Make It Wild started 10 years ago when they bought a 26-acre plot of land near Kirk Hammerton.

Helen told the Stray Ferret they were inspired after planting 20,000 trees on the land. She said after waiting five years for the trees to grow, the amount of wildlife that came was “absolutely incredible”.

She said:

“It was an oasis of nature with insects, birds and mammals.”

The site is now home to a vast array of wildlife and known locally as Sylvan Nature Reserve.

Helen was a consultant surgeon in the NHS for most of her career and said that what started out as a semi-retirement project for the couple has taken off massively.

Make It Wild has since bought more sites in Nidderdale including 111 acres at Bank Woods and a 44-acre neighbouring site known as Dowgill Grange.

Working with the Woodland Trust and the Forestry Commission, Make It Wild has already planted more than 16,000 trees across both sites and this year Bank Woods was designated a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation.

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To fund the tree planting, Make It Wild sells tree dedications for weddings or birthdays, carbon offsetting for businesses and eco-friendly products including animal habitat boxes.

Helen added:

“People are always building houses, roads and runways so we thought we’d do our little bit to give some space back to nature. It’s captured people’s imagination.

“With lockdown people are appreciating how important it is to connect with nature. We’ve lost so much of that as a society.”

The Woodland Trust says trees provide crucial habitat for much of the UK’s wildlife. However, we lag behind other European countries when it comes to woodland. 13% of the UK’s land area is woodland whereas France and Germany have 31% and 32% respectively.

Make it Wild’s mission statement is to “give space back to nature” and several local companies have partnered with it to plant more trees. These include Full Circle Funerals, which is paying for a tree to be planted for every family it supports whilst off-setting the carbon of its funerals.

Helen said Make It Wild is on the lookout for more land in the Harrogate district to reach its target of 100,000 trees.

Helen said anyone who owns a piece of land can do their bit.

She said:

“Even if you can’t plant hundreds of trees, just plant one in your garden that will attract wildlife. Everybody can do their little bit to help.”