Harrogate District MPs are remaining tight-lipped about the government’s planning proposals as a storm brews within the Conservative party over the reforms.
If passed, the proposals would have a big impact locally and could see Harrogate Borough Council’s Local Plan redrawn so land would fall into one of three categories: growth, renewal or protected.
The government could also set a fresh housing needs requirement for Harrogate if they think more homes should be built on brownfield sites within the district.
The Stray Ferret asked Conservative MPs Andrew Jones, Julian Smith and Nigel Adams whether they backed the proposals but none responded at the time of publication.
The BBC reported last week that one Tory MP is predicting “quite a battle” in the Conservative party over the issue.
Conservative MP for the Cotswolds Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said he is worried the reforms will lead to “the slums of tomorrow” due to lower quality housing being built in affluent areas.
On the Today Programme this morning, Conservative MP for the Isle of Wight Bob Seely even suggested that a large amount of new homes being built on the island could affect his majority at the next General Election.
James Jamieson, the Local Government Association’s chairman and a Conservative councillor also said a loss of local control over developments “would be a concern.”
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The government wants to see 300,000 homes built a year in the UK and housing minister Robert Jenrick said the proposals will “cut red tape” to deliver housebuilding on a faster scale.
But it’s been criticised by Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) who called the proposals “disgrace” and the Labour Party who called it a “developers’ charter”.
Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrats on Harrogate Borough Council, said the government’s planning reforms won’t do enough for affordable or social housing in the district.
She said:
Harrogate Town to begin new season in three weeks“Yet again, we are witnessing a Conservative-run government who are completely unwilling to understand what people need. Reforming planning laws will not aid those who are either stuck on waiting lists or struggling to get the funds together to buy their own home.”
Harrogate Town will begin the 2020/21 season on September 5 in the first round of the Carabao Cup.
The team have not had long to bask in promotion glory and will play again on September 8 or 9 in the EFL Cup before kicking off their first-ever campaign in League Two on September 12.
The season will conclude on 8/9 May 2021 with the play-off final taking place at Wembley Stadium over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend May 29-31 2021.
Because the season is starting six weeks later than usual there will be 11-midweek fixtures.
If the team wins their first-round Carabao Cup clash on September 5 it would put them into the hat for a mouth-watering tie with Premier League outfits Manchester City, Liverpool and newly promoted Leeds United.
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Manager Simon Weaver has been busy in the transfer market since their historic win at Wembley less than two weeks ago, adding Jake Lawlor, Tom Walker and Connor Kirby in recent days.
Town fans are anxiously awaiting the announcement of who they will play in the league next season which will be released by the EFL on August 21 at 9am.
Town will play the first few games of the season at Doncaster Rovers’ Keepmoat Stadium due to the artificial 3G pitch at the CNG Stadium being replaced with grass due to EFL regulations.
Speaking to the Stray Ferret last week about the 3G pitch being replaced, Town managing director Garry Plant said “it’s time to say goodbye to a very old friend that’s done brilliantly for the club.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed yesterday that fans can begin to return to football stadiums from October 1, pending no spikes in coronavirus infections.
Ripon quarry submits plans to work 4 million tonnes of limestonePlans have been submitted to work an extra four million tonnes of limestone at a quarry next to Lightwater Valley theme park.
Limestone has been extracted at Potgate Quarry in North Stainley since the 1980s to create on-site concrete as well as for use in construction and road-building across North Yorkshire.
Lightwater Quarries Limited, which owns the quarry, said the amount of available limestone has been decreasing so it has applied to North Yorkshire County Council for an extension to the site to extract a further four million tonnes over a period of 20 years.
A map of the quarry and the proposed extension.
An environmental report attached to the application found that vibrations from the quarry would have a “slight adverse” impact on nearby houses. It also says that work at the site will cause some disturbance to local wildlife such as great crested newts.
However, as extraction works come to an end on other parts of the site, these areas will be restored with a patchwork of agricultural fields, woodland and grassland.
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The area is of archaeological importance dating back to the Iron Age or Roman period and an investigation would take place if the plans are passed.
In 2013, archaeologists unearthed an Iron Age enclosure while excavating land at the edge of the quarry.
North Yorkshire County Council will decide on the plans in November.
New technology to tackle weeds in Harrogate, Knaresborough and RiponNew technology will tackle weeds in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon town centres following the coronavirus lockdown.
In a pilot scheme, North Yorkshire County Council will begin using a machine that uses hot water insulated by biodegradable foam – made from plant oils and sugars – to keep the liquid hot to kill weeds and moss right at their root without the use of harsh chemicals such as herbicide.
The Foamstream machine also sterilises surrounding seeds and spores to stop weeds spreading and then kills or damages the plant to prevent regrowth.
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As well as killing weeds, the machine is able to clean chewing gum off roads.
If the pilot is a success, the council said they will use the machines across the county.
Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive member for highways at NYCC said the machine will help make town centres more attractive. He said:
Harrogate councillors back £4.5m social housing investment“I welcome the use of this new, environment-friendly technological way to get rid of weeds from our roads and footpaths. This is particularly suited to our town centres, where a clean, weed-free streetscene is good for businesses, shoppers and visitors.”
Councillors have backed a major investment into social housing in Harrogate.
Meeting last night on Zoom, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet gave the green light for the authority to spend £4.5m on 52 properties that are currently being built on Whinney Lane in Pannal Ash.
16 of the homes would be transferred to HBC’s housing company, Bracewell Homes, to be sold under shared ownership, and the rest would be made available for social rent.
Developer Stonebridge Homes has planning permission to build 130 homes at the site with work currently underway. The homes earmarked by HBC for purchase are scheduled for completion in November.
Councillors were told that around 1,500 council homes have been lost in Harrogate town centre since Right to Buy was introduced in 1980 which the Whinney Lane purchase will help mitigate.
Cllr Mike Chambers, cabinet member for housing, called the purchase “good news” for HBC.
Cllr Graham Swift, cabinet member for economic development emphasised that HBC’s housing stock has been “significantly” reduced due to Right to Buy sales and the investment would “alleviate some of the demand from social housing that is there.”
HBC says it could recoup between £1.18m and £2.37m from the 16 shared ownership properties, with the council turning a profit on the purchase after at least 13 years thanks to the rental income.
Cllr Chambers said the purchase will help get families off the council home waiting list, which currently stands at 1,249 households.
However, the council’s report into the purchase warned there is “uncertainty” over the medium to long-term future of the housing market as estate agents in the district report a “pent up” demand for housing following the easing of lockdown restrictions.
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In related news, almost 50 Pannal Ash residents met on Sunday at the Squinting Cat pub to “mobilise” against hundreds of new houses proposed for Whinney Lane.
It was organised by Whinney Lane resident Mike Newall who wanted the event to be a “wake-up call” for locals who he said will face years of disruption.
Harrogate district event venues light up in ‘red alert’The Harrogate Convention Centre, Harrogate International Festival’s HQ and Ripon Catherdral lit up in red last night as part of a national campaign to highlight the plight of the stricken live entertainment industry.
The “Red Alert” campaign aims to put pressure on the government to give financial support to the industry which has been shut down by the coronavirus lockdown with no clear end in sight.
HIF cancelled its summer season events which has left freelancers working in the sector including artists, events teams, crew and technicians with no work until at least next year.
Harrogate International Festivals chief executive Sharon Canavar warned that without government support the sector could collapse.
She said:
“The impact of COVID-19 has taken our industry to near breaking point, and to support this national campaign, we bathed our Cheltenham Parade base in bright red light – sending an urgent ‘red alert’ to the Government.
“Red is the universal symbol of danger and, as an industry, we are in danger of ceasing to exist!
“It’s an urgent SOS that without support, the arts will not survive.”
Harrogate Convention Centre tweeted its support for the campaign.
Tonight we are showing our support for all the UK’s live event venues #LightItInRed and the amazing staff, suppliers and freelancers in our sector who deliver the live events we love #WeMakeEvents pic.twitter.com/dMXhvuT4rJ
— Harrogate Convention Centre (@HgtConventions) August 11, 2020
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10,000 tune into to Harrogate International Festivals’ virtual weekender
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Harrogate International Festivals’ virtual “word-class” line-up
Ripon Cathedral
Harrogate Theatre said they would not be lighting up in red “at a later date” due to concerns over health and safety.
Chief executive David Bown said:
“Of course we want to support the campaign it’s keeping the plight of theatres in people’s consciousness -our technicians are looking into it. The movement is to remind people of what is happening and the impact on the industry.
“It’s the health and safety that we have to be careful with, leaving lights on when no-one is in the building.”
The government said it has launched a £1.57 billion support package for the arts with applications for funding still open.
A government spokesperson said:
Grouse shooting in Nidderdale: barbaric or necessary?“Our £1.57 billion support package is the biggest ever one-off cash injection in UK culture to secure the future of the performing arts and live events, protect jobs in the industry and ensure work continues to flow to freelancers. Throughout this crisis, we have worked with urgency to support the arts and we are committed to delivering this funding quickly and fairly to organisations across the country.”
Today is the so-called “Glorious Twelfth”, the start of the shooting season for red grouse in the UK.
Grouse shoots are either barbaric or a crucial part of a rural life depending on who you ask.
They are held in the Harrogate district across Nidderdale and are legal. It’s argued that the shoots are vital for the management of moorland but campaigners say a spate of birds of prey killings near to Patelely Bridge this year has raised fresh questions about the practice.
Leeds-based campaigner Luke Steele told the Stray Ferret that birds of prey such as buzzards, hen harriers or red kite are killed on moorland near to Harrogate because they eat grouse eggs, and shoots rely on an abundance of grouse when the season begins.
He said it’s “inevitable” that more will be killed as the grouse shooting season begins.
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Mr Steele said it’s “difficult to separate” the legal killing of grouse with the illegal killing of birds of prey and called on the government to introduce stricter legislation to stop wildlife crime.
He said:
“There’s an antiquated view that we need to be killing off the birds and burning the heather to create the habitat for the grouse. It doesn’t need to happen.
North Yorkshire Police has issued several appeals for information this year after birds of prey were found either shot or poisoned in Nidderdale — but it’s historically been difficult to prosecute.
The issue was highlighted in July by TV presenter Chris Packham when he told the Independent that not just birds of prey were being killed to protect grouse moors, but also foxes, weasels and stoats.
Andrew Gilruth from the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, a charity that promotes grouse shooting, told the Stray Ferret that birds of prey are killed by a small minority of landowners or gamekeepers.
He said:
“If you’re going to look at individual cases of people breaking the law then the police are looking at them. It’s not my job to end all wildlife crime.”
“But there’s a coalition of people fed up with their livelihoods being played with by celebrities like Chris Packham. They are being presented to the world as evil people.”
The food chain
Mr Gilruth claimed people taking part in grouse shoots will eat every bird they kill.
He said it is hypocritical to criticise grouse shooting when shoppers in the district will happily buy meat from the supermarket.
He added those criticising grouse shooting have become removed from where their food comes from and have instead “subcontracted killing to supermarkets”.
He added:
“Would you rather be a grouse flying around where you might get shot or you might not — living the life of Riley — or would you like to be a supermarket chicken who lives to the grand age of 30 days then gets gassed and presented in cling film in a supermarket?”
The rural economy
Mr Gilruth said grouse shooting is vital for the rural economy, bringing visitors to Nidderdale who will stay in B & Bs and eat and drink in local pubs.
He said the thought of this ending “terrifies” many local businesses and said campaigners who want to stop grouse shooting have not come up with a viable alternative for what the moorland will be used for.
He said:
“What jobs will they have? What’s going to happen once you’ve decided to end this?”
However, Luke Steele called the tourism aspect “massively overplayed”.
He suggested that more news reports of birds of prey being killed to protect grouse moors could even damage the reputation of Nidderdale and keep tourists away.
He said:
Ripon Barracks transport assessment ‘flawed’, says council“It’s affecting the reputation of Nidderdale and the local community.
“In a time when the country is recovering from the covid crisis the last thing Nidderdale needs is bird of prey killings damaging the reputation, but that’s exactly what the grouse moors are doing.”
Ripon City Council says a transport assessment for the 1,300-home Ripon Barracks development is “flawed” — and a new road should be added to alleviate potential congestion.
The development will be called Clotherholme and encompasses Claro Barracks, Deverell Barracks and Laver Banks. It’s being developed by the government’s housing agency, Homes England, and the Defence Infrastructure Organisation.
As well as the new homes, the plans include a community centre, employment space, shops, parkland, a new primary school and sports facilities.
Homes England commissioned consultancy firm AECOM to undertake a study which would provide evidence on where roads will be built. This informed their masterplan for the development which included main access points on Clotherholme Road and Kirkby Road.
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However, Ripon City Council called this assessment “flawed” because it was undertaken during a period when there was less traffic coming through the city.
It said:
“It was collected during a very quiet period of time in the city, namely June. The city is quieter at that time for a number of reasons; many residents are on holiday – taking advantage of going away before the school holiday season; seasonal visitor numbers have yet to increase; some year groups at the secondary schools are absent, having already sat exams; the milder weather means that many residents might choose to walk rather than drive into the city centre.”
The council’s report, which was undertaken by Andrew Cameron & Associates, said a new road from Chatham Road to Galphay Lane and Studley Road could potentially relieve some of the congestion on Clotherholme Road.
It also said the development should reuse or replace the existing military bridge over the River Laver, to create a new connection to the south of the city.
It added that AECOM’s transport assessment did not do enough to encourage walking and cycling and called for a review into reopening the Harrogate to Ripon train line that was closed in 1967.
Homes England said Ripon City Council’s report “was not correct” and released the following statement to the Stray Ferret:
Harrogate Town bolsters squad with two new signings“The impact of traffic from major developments with a planning consents within Ripon have been taken into account as part of the transport assessment.
“The approach used by Aecom builds on ‘the Ripon Transport model’ which was used to inform the Harrogate Borough Council (HBC) Local Plan (which included the key allocations and consented developments).
“The approach behind the surveys is robust and the surveys were undertaken at a time which is in line with national guidance.
“The timing and location of the surveys formed part of a report to inform the Transport Assessment and this was agreed by North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) who is the Local Highway Authority. The ACA report also did not raise concerns regarding the timing of surveys.”
“The proposed Galphay road link in not needed, and a new road in this location is not supported by the HBC adopted Local Plan or the NYCC Local Transport Plan.”
Harrogate Town have announced Jake Lawlor and Connor Kirby will join the club as they prepare for their first-ever campaign in the English Football League.
The two players will join Simon Weaver’s history-making squad who celebrated their promotion with an open-top bus parade on Saturday through Harrogate.
Centre back Lawlor, aged 29, joins on a free transfer after his contract expired with Wrexham at the end of the season. The 6ft 4in Lawlor started his career at Osset Town before spells with Guiseley and Town’s local neighbours Harrogate Railway,
As well as scoring against Town during his time at Guiseley, Lawlor started both fixtures for Wrexham home and away against Town this season and is familiar to manager Simon Weaver.
Weaver said:
“I’ve liked Jake for years, he’s a good player and to add someone of Jake’s experience still with that hunger to improve is a real lift.”
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Connor Kirby who signs on a free transfer.
Midfielder Connor Kirby joins on a free transfer from Sheffield Wednesday after being named runner-up player of the season during a loan spell at fellow League Two outfit Macclesfield Town.
Weaver described him as a “really energetic midfielder”.
He said:
Harrogate out-of-work benefits claims rise slightly“He’s local, talented lad and will do well here I’m sure – getting the right characters in means everything to us.”
“He’s a really energetic centre midfielder who is willing to break forward and put a tackle in, a good all-round, honest, hungry and talented lad.
“He has already shown he can do it in League Two and he’ll attack it with confidence; as soon as I met him I thought he would be a great fit for us.”
There has been a slight rise in the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits in the Harrogate district.
In July, there were 3,885 people claiming out-of-work benefits, up slightly from 3,740 in June. Of those, 2,235 were men and 1,650 were women.
The figures were published today by the Office for National Statistics and are accurate up to July 9. They reveal that 4.1% of the district’s population were claiming out-of-work benefits, a decrease from 3.9% in June.
Harrogate is below the UK figure of 6.4% for people claiming the benefits, which includes Job Seekers’ Allowance and Universal Credit.
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The figures have remained stable over the past couple of months but with the government’s furlough scheme winding down ahead of it closing completely in October, the long-term outlook for jobs in the Harrogate district remains uncertain.
According to Harrogate & Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones, 15,200 people have had their jobs protected in the district through the furlough scheme since it began.
Last week, a study undertaken by the County Councils Network suggested that more than 50% of all jobs in Harrogate are “at risk” due to the economic impact of coronavirus.