Traditional paving to be reinstated after burst pipe repaired in Harrogate

A section of Cambridge Street in Harrogate has been replaced with tarmac after emergency repairs to a burst water main earlier this week.

Yorkshire Water said the pipes burst in the early hours of Tuesday morning and repairs were finished by Tuesday lunchtime with “minimal disruption” to customers.

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson told the Stray Ferret that the street will return to its normal state soon.

“We have repaired the surface on a temporary basis, in order to allow it to reopen for access. We are liaising with NYCC Highways and will be returning to site to reinstate fully once the correct materials are available.”

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Harrogate Railway FC juniors to make secondary school its new home

Juniors playing for Harrogate Railway football club will play all of their matches at Harrogate High School’s playing fields.

The club previously had juniors playing at its Station View ground in Starbeck, as well as other playing fields across Harrogate.

However, they said this “diluted” the feeling of Railway being a local club so they wanted a permanent base for children to play.

A Harrogate Railway spokesperson said:

“By consolidating teams into one location we will be able to further build on the youth development roles, which have been so successful. It will also help us increase the support we offer coaches, managers and team admins.”

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The club recently announced that they will offer one year of free football training to under 5s and under 6s, to try and spur on the next generation of footballers in Harrogate.

They are also looking for businesses to sponsor the playing fields and a storage facility for goals and equipment.

Richard Foster, youth development officer at Harrogate Railway, told the Stray Ferret that there’s been “no better time” to be involved in youth football in the town, thanks to the recent promotions of Harrogate Town and Leeds United.

Richard said the club wants to offer a clear pathway from grassroots through to the first team to give their young players something to aspire to. The club will also offer financial support to adults looking to get their UEFA coaching licences.

He said:

“This past six or seven months have been hard for the entire community and as a club we are here to support and serve them. The club has been here 85 years and is still going strong.”

Toolstation opens in Ripon

A new building supplies store has opened in Ripon, as demand for DIY products grows.

Toolstation opened its doors at Ripon Business Park on Monday.

It will be open seven days a week, serving both trade and domestic customers.

Several DIY companies have reported a “boom” in sales since lockdown began, with more people spending time working on home improvements.

Toolstation has 400 stores nationwide, including a branch at the Hydro Retail Park on Ripon Road in Harrogate.

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Devolution: good or bad for local voices in planning?

Residents groups in Harrogate are divided on whether devolution will increase the strength of local voice in the planning process.

Central government wants fewer, bigger local authorities as part of its plans to devolve power making.

North Yorkshire County Council has proposed creating one large authority that would serve all 610,000 people in the county besides York.

The seven district councils, including Harrogate Borough Council, have put forward an alternative east / west model that would result in two slightly smaller authorities.

Whatever happens will have major implications on how planning decisions are made in the district.

The Stray Ferret spoke to three local residents groups for their views.

Kingsley, Harrogate

John Hansard, from the Kingsley Ward Action Group, is worried that a larger authority would make it more difficult for the group’s voice to be heard in the planning process.

Currently, housing decisions are made by HBC’s planning committee, which is made up of local councillors. But Mr Hansard said that if a future planning committee were run from Northallerton, with members from places like Skipton or Scarborough, they wouldn’t have the same local insight as HBC councillors have.

He said:

“If you have a planning issue you can rely on local councillors to come down to the area and have a look. With NYCC you’d have no chance. We’d lose our local voice if it was put into their hands. It would be a step backwards.”

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Harlow and Pannal Ash

Rene Dziabas, chairman of Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association (HAPARA), spoke in a personal capacity to the Stray Ferret and said he has become frustrated with how Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council pass issues back and forth. He said a unitary authority would improve accountability.

He said:

“The majority of functions here are carried out by NYCC but other functions, like planning, are run by HBC. I’ve attended many meetings over the past few years and you get the bounce between the two. HBC says ‘it’s nothing to do with us’, and NYCC says the same thing. That needs sorting out.”

Mr Dziabas added that whatever organisation ends up taking control of Harrogate, they “must be more proactive” in taking on board the opinions of residents.

He said:

“There is a great feeling at the moment that whatever you say is ignored. In the whole devolution process, they must build in localism, so local people feel that they are involved in the things where they live.”

Ripon

Barbara Brodigan represents Ripon Residents Action Group and is mobilising local people against Homes England’s 1,300-home proposal at Ripon Barracks.

She said Ripon felt left out of decisions made by Harrogate Borough Council:

“That is the feeling from residents. They always feel like we are the Cinderella and the poor relation in the district.”

Ms Brodigan said whichever devolution model was adopted, the voices of local residents must be heard.

She added:

“How much local power cities or town councils will have over planning is generally a worry, as are the government’s planning reforms, which will take away a lot of local decisions.”

Plans for 13 homes at former Ripon timber yard

Red Tree Developments has submitted plans to demolish buildings at the site of the former NY Timber yard in Ripon and build 13 homes.

The site on Trinity Lane was home to a timber yard from 1860 to 2018.

Red Tree bought the 0.64-acre plot, which is adjacent to the listed buildings The Federation of Holy Trinity Church of England Junior School and St Wilfrid’s Catholic Church, from Cairngorm Capital for an undisclosed sum this year.

It has now applied to build three two-bedroom homes and 10 three-bedroom homes, which it said would alleviate demand for these types of properties in the city.

Jessica Coombes, associate director at Manchester property specialists CBRE, which negotiated the sale for Cairngorm Capital, said:

“The site is within walking distance of Ripon town centre with its wealth of services and amenities, including doctor and dental surgeries and the Duck Hill shopping quarter.

“With excellent schools nearby, including Ripon Grammar and the Holy Trinity junior school and a close-knit community feel, it is ideally placed for residential use.”

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Red Tree’s planning application is one of the first proposed housing developments in the district to qualify for Harrogate Borough Council’s new Community Infrastructure Levy.

The council introduced the levy to complement Section 106 agreements, which are agreed between the authority and developers to pay for infrastructure that might be affected by new developments, such as roads and schools.

Match preview: West Bromwich Albion vs Harrogate Town

Harrogate Town continue to break new ground this evening when they travel to Premier League West Bromwich Albion in the second round of the Carabao Cup.

The game at the Hawthorns will be the first time Harrogate have played a club from the top tier of English football in a competitive fixture.

It will also be the first time they’ve played live in front of the Sky Sports cameras. The match kicks off at 6pm.

Harrogate sealed their place in the second round when they beat Tranmere Rovers on penalties this month and they’ve continued to look impressive in the early stages of the new season.

The team made a dream start to life as an English Football League club on Saturday when they thrashed Southend United 4-0 away from home, with two goals from Jack Muldoon and a goal apiece from Lloyd Kerry and Aaron Martin.

However, West Brom will be a different proposition entirely as their squad is littered with internationals. The Baggies finished second to Leeds in last season’s Championship, earning promotion to the Premier League.

West Brom manager Slaven Bilic is expected to make changes from the side that lost 0-3 to Leicester City at the weekend. Experienced striker Charlie Austin is pushing for a start and winger Matt Phillips could also return to the side after an injury.

Harrogate manager Simon Weaver will be tempted to name the same team that beat Southend at the weekend, which saw four new signings on the substitutes bench.

Where to watch the match on TV

Pubs confirmed to be showing the game live in Harrogate tonight include The Empress, The Harrogate Arms, and The Alexandra. Fans are encouraged to book a table ahead of the game.

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Harrogate return to football league action on Saturday with a home tie against Walsall, which will be played at Doncaster Rovers’ Keepmoat Stadium due to Town laying grass at the newly renamed EnviroVent stadium.

The EFL invited clubs to apply to pilot the return of fans to this weekend’s fixtures, with 1,000 supporters permitted at matches.

But Harrogate told the Stray Ferret they didn’t apply because Doncaster’s stadium operations manager is currently absent from work on sick leave.

Harrogate is the smoking capital of North Yorkshire

Harrogate has the highest number of smokers in North Yorkshire, according to government figures.

Vaping company Vape Club analysed Public Health England data which revealed that 14.4% of adults living in the Harrogate district are smokers, above other districts in the county and the national figure of 13.9%.

One tobacconist in Harrogate told the Stray Ferret a trend towards different kinds of smoking could be behind the statistics – along with the coronavirus crisis.

James Barber has a shop on Cold Bath Road and told the Stray Ferret that his sales have doubled since lockdown. He said this is because smokers have not been able to travel abroad where they would usually buy cheaper cigarettes or rolling tobacco.

Mr Barber moved the shop to Harrogate from Otley last year and said there is a “phenomenal trade” in the town for expensive cigars.

He has also seen a rise in young men in their 20s who are becoming bored with vaping, and instead have moved on to smoking tobacco pipes. He said the pipe has been “reinvented” from the days of it being an old man’s pastime.

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The government introduced the indoor smoking ban in 2007, plain packaging for cigarettes in 2017, banned menthol cigarettes this year and has an ambition for the UK to be “smoke free” by 2030.

According to Public Health England, smoking is the leading cause of preventable illness and premature death in England, with about half of all lifelong smokers dying prematurely, losing on average around 10 years of life. In 2016 alone, there were around 78,000 deaths attributable to smoking, representing 16% of all deaths across the UK.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire County Council’s Living Well SmokeFree service said:

“When you quit smoking, it reduces your risk of illness, disability or death caused by cancer, heart or lung disease. It will protect the health of the people around you by reducing their exposure to secondhand smoke. It will also save you money – the average smoker saves £150 a month when they quit.”

But Mr Barber said some people in Harrogate are still smoking “because they don’t like being told what to do by the government”.

He added:

“I would never say smoking is good for you and I wouldn’t like my children to start smoking, so I can fully understand the government wanting everyone to stop smoking.

“But I don’t know where they will get the money to pay for tax. Smokers pay billions into the kitty. It’s gone a little bit over the top. We know it’s no good for us but it’s down to personal choice, at the end of the day.”

30 homes set to be built in Burton Leonard despite noise fears

Thirty homes are set to be built on the site of the former Hymas haulage yard in Burton Leonard despite concerns about noise from the farm next door.

Knaresborough-based Wharfedale Homes is behind the development for the brownfield site, which will feature a mixture of one to five-bedroom homes, with 30% being classed as affordable.

Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee met online this afternoon and voted to defer the decision to the chief planner for approval by 7 votes to 0, with two abstentions.

When the committee previously considered the proposal in January, councillors asked for a noise report to be conducted after the adjacent Hammond grain farm raised concerns about noise from its grain dryer.

Wharfedale Homes subsequently commissioned tests in July and August, which found noise was at acceptable levels for development.

However, Sue Hammond from the farm told the committee that due to an unusually poor harvest, farm machinery noise levels were much lower than usual when the tests were taken.

Ms Hammond added that the noise from her farm meant that approving the development would be to “the detriment and dismay of future dwellers and the future of our agribusiness”.

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Cllr Pat Marsh, who abstained, also questioned the noise impact on future residents. She said:

“I don’t think it’s right that we are imposing this noise on someone that wants to live there.”

Noise ‘not an obstacle’

Jon Beeston, from Wharfedale Homes, told the committee the noise monitoring took place “for an extensive period of time and used modelling with a worst-case scenario”. He added:

“Noise is not an obstacle to residential development on this site.”

Cllr Nigel Sims said the tests meant the council had “no grounds to refuse” the application on the basis of noise.

He said:

“If people don’t want to buy these houses then people won’t buy them. It’s as simple as that.”

Out-of-work benefit claims rise slightly in Harrogate district

There has been a slight rise in the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits in the Harrogate district.

In August, there were 3,970 people claiming out-of-work benefits, up slightly from 3,885 in July. Of those, 2,270 were men and 1,705 were women.

The figures were published today by the Office for National Statistics and are accurate up to August 13. They reveal that 4.2% of the district’s population was claiming out-of-work benefits, a rise from 4.1% in the previous month.

Harrogate is below the UK-wide figure of 6.5% for people claiming the benefits, which includes Job Seekers’ Allowance and Universal Credit.

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The numbers for benefit claims in the district have remained stable all summer, with the government’s furlough scheme used for more than 15,000 jobs in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

However, Harrogate’s Citizens Advice Bureau told the Stray Ferret they are “bracing themselves” for a sharp rise in unemployment in the town when the furlough scheme closes at the end of October.

Burton Leonard housing development ‘could put farm out of business’

A grain farmer in Burton Leonard says the construction of 30 homes next door could put his family’s fourth-generation farm out of business.

Knaresborough-based Wharfedale Homes has submitted plans to build 30 homes on the site of the former Alfred Hymas haulage yard.

The plans are due to go before Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee today.

When the planning committee previously considered the proposal in January, councillors asked for a noise report to be conducted after the adjacent Hammond grain farm raised concerns.

Wharfedale Homes subsequently undertook tests in July and August, which found that noise was at acceptable levels for development.

However, Sue Hammond, from JV Hammond & Sons, told the Stray Ferret the noise from machines was so loud it was similar to a helicopter running continuously, often until the early hours of the morning. She added that the noise tests were undertaken when the farm was quiet because it was a poor harvest.

Ms Hammond is concerned that if the development goes ahead, residents will make noise complaints against the farm and it will eventually get shut down.

She said:

“It will impact on our way of life and there won’t be a farming future for us if this development goes through.”

She said people buying the homes would have to endure loud machinery when the farmers process the grain.

“People that buy £500,000 houses who are having a barbecue and Pimm’s on the lawn don’t want to listen to us working away until 11pm at night.”

A spokesperson for Wharfedale Homes said:

“Wharfedale Homes have undertaken all the required assessments to ensure the proposed development would be built in compliance with all relevant local and national environmental regulations, as required under the statutory planning process.”

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According to Mrs Hammond, prior to Hymas selling the site for housing there was a good relationship between the two families, who would even go on holiday together.

She said if the development goes ahead it will be “devastating” for the prospects of her children, including her son Jake who this week started studying for an agriculture qualification at Askham Bryan College in York.

The Hymas family declined to comment.