Waitrose has submitted an objection to Tesco‘s bid to build a new supermarket on Skipton Road in Harrogate.

The objection, which was submitted last week by planning consultants First Plan on behalf of the retailer, says the new store would have a “significant adverse impact” on both Waitrose on Station Parade and Asda on Bower Road.

It also claims other retailers could be affected and questions shopping data provided by Tesco to support its application.

Tesco submitted plans to Harrogate Borough Council to build the new store in December.

It would be 38,795 square feet and include a petrol filling station, 200 car parking spaces, electric vehicle charging points and 24 cycle spaces. A new mini-roundabout would also be built on Skipton Road.

Tesco says 100 jobs would be created.

Assessment ‘lacks detail’

Waitrose’s objection says a retail assessment by Tesco in December to support its application “lacks detail”.

It says the assessment does not provide enough evidence to support the claim that a new Tesco supermarket would not harm retailers in the town centre.

Tesco has argued that the Bilton, Jennyfields and New Park areas of Harrogate are poorly served by major supermarkets.

Read more:

• Nearly 200 sign petition supporting new Harrogate Tesco

• Tesco consultation results reveal support for new Harrogate store

Its assessment, written by town planning consultants Martin Robeson Planning Practice, said Tesco will “add to local consumer choice” but will not cause “any significant adverse impact on existing shopping centres”.

The document adds:

“The northern part of Harrogate, particularly the extensive Bilton community, has very limited provision for food shopping.”

Change in shopping habits

However, Waitrose says the data around shopping habits in Harrogate used to underpin Tesco’s conclusions does not give an up-to-date picture.

Tesco’s retail assessment makes several references to the 2014 Harrogate Retail Study, which was undertaken by Harrogate Borough Council to identify trends in shopping habits.

It also says an increase in online shopping, which has been accelerated by the pandemic, has reduced the amount of spending in ‘bricks and mortar’ stores.

The six-page objection letter concludes:

“The cumulative impact of the proposed Tesco store and other recent permissions on town centre foodstores unquestionably represents a ‘significant adverse’ level of impact on the anchor Waitrose and Asda foodstores, with associated implications for the wider vitality and viability of Harrogate town centre, which has already been impacted by a number of high-profile closures in recent years and this should, in our view, constitute a reason for refusal of the application.”

A Tesco spokesperson said:

“We will consider all feedback received on our application and will have further discussions with Harrogate Council about the issues raised.”

Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the plans at a later date.

Montey’s on The Ginnel in Harrogate has stopped stocking Russian vodka to show support for Ukraine.

The bar, which is celebrating its 25th year, had Stolichnaya vodka on the shelves to pour for customers.

Other bars across the UK have made similar stands and stopped serving vodka produced by Russian companies.

Montey’s owner Jay Smith said the bar has got rid of its remaining bottles of Stolichnaya and will soon stock Ukrainian vodka instead.

He said:

“It’s easy to think that you are unable to help.

“What can a small business do to make an impact on a world event? We figured that if we did what we could, and others did the same, then in the end our actions could be really effective.

“So we removed all Russian vodka from our shelves. We won’t be buying any more and we are sourcing Ukrainian vodka to take its place.”

Read more:

• Harrogate nightlife institution Montey’s celebrates 25 years
• Harrogate’s Coach & Horses pub ‘coming back soon’ as plans approved

A new polling platform has been launched with the aim of cutting through online hate and trolling to find Harrogate’s shared views on key issues facing the district.

Harrogate District Consensus invites residents into an anonymous online space to vote on and debate issues including housing, schools and transport, with the data released to everyone whether they take part or not.

It is hoped the tool will be used not to measure division, but construct consensus that local politicians listen to and take into account.

The platform has been set up by Harrogate lawyer Andrew Gray and uses Polis – an artificial intelligence-driven software designed to find communities’ complex views.

Mr Gray said his idea to use the software was driven by a dislike of the tone of social media debates, as well as changing behaviours due to covid.

He explained:

“When covid came along I saw that everybody was moving online and I thought there must be better technological ways of doing democracy.

“Things can get quite hostile online and what we have seen with cancel culture is that some people are scared to speak out about a subject because they think they will get shouted down.

“The best conversations that we can have are when people express their views, but also listen to others and learn something new.

“That is what happens with Polis as every conversation has a life of its own and will find the consensus.”

Other issues which are already up for debate on the Harrogate District Consensus website include how to better use the Stray and whether Harrogate should host more cycling events after the 2017 Tour de Yorkshire and 2019 UCI Road World Championships.

Read more:

• Ripon family’s plea: ‘Please help the people of Ukraine’
• Harrogate’s Coach & Horses pub ‘coming back soon’ as plans approved

Local democracy is another topic and Mr Gray said he believes the platform could not have been launched at a better time with the upcoming North Yorkshire Council elections.

He said:

“If enough people use the platform then all of the local political parties and independents can use the data to their liking.

“And if this happens, I don’t think there will ever in the history of our country be more polling data for a single town than there will be for Harrogate ahead of this May’s elections.”We are going to know where Harrogate is at with things like bins or the hospital – and all of these key points will be known like never before.”

Consensus

Polis has been used all over the world by governments, academics and citizens. Born out of Seattle in the USA, it allows participants to share their feelings and to agree or disagree with others, like any other social media platform.

However, what makes it different is that the platform does not highlight the most divisive statements, but gives more visibility to the most consensual ones. These are comments which find support not only in one cluster of people, but across other groups too.

The first survey in Harrogate was about the town’s £10.9 million Station Gateway project which attracted around 24,000 votes from 460 participants in a single week.

The survey found most people were against the now-approved project, but it also produced very granular data and new ideas which the survey organisers say “could and should be explored”.

The software is also being used in Knaresborough under a separate project to create conversation and gather data about where the town should be heading.

Harrogate Borough Council paid hoteliers Simon Cotton and David Ritson £3,720 for permission to use the name Destination Harrogate for its new tourism body, the Stray Ferret can reveal.

Destination Harrogate is the council’s destination management organisation, which promotes the district to tourists.

The council decided to replace its old Visit Harrogate name last year and give the organisation, which is headed up by Gemma Rio, a facelift for 2022.

However, the name Destination Harrogate had already been used by Mr Cotton and Mr Ritson since 2011 for the organisation behind the Harrogate Hospitality and Tourism Association awards.

Mr Cotton is the managing director of the HRH Group, which owns the Fat Badger, the Yorkshire Hotel and the White Hart hotel. Mr Ritson is the general manager of the Old Swan hotel.

Questions for council

According to the council’s openly available list of expenditures over £250, it paid Destination Harrogate Ltd £3,720 in September 2021.

The council has confirmed to the Stray Ferret that this money was used for the rights to the name Destination Harrogate.

The transaction raises questions about why the council felt this name was worth the money, and why it didn’t come up with a different name that wasn’t already in use, saving the taxpayer thousands of pounds.

Read more:

• Harrogate council paid social media influencer £700 to promote town
• Stray Ferret to launch local daily business news round-up

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson said other names were considered but “none reflected the purpose of the organisation as well as Destination Harrogate”.

They added:

“Harrogate Hospitality and Tourism Association Limited was paid the sum of £3,750 to transfer ownership and control of the business name and the domain name of Destination Harrogate to Harrogate Borough Council, which included the costs for winding up the company known as Destination Harrogate Limited.

“Destination Harrogate was selected as the most appropriate name for Harrogate district’s destination management organisation as it reflects the ambition of the organisation to showcase the district as an exceptional destination to visit, meet and invest. Other names were considered but none reflected the purpose of the organisation as well as Destination Harrogate.”

Typical sum

The Stray Ferret asked Harrogate-based intellectual property solicitor Andrew Clay for his opinion on the deal.

Mr Clay described the sum paid by the council as typical, although he wondered whether it chose the name before realising it was already in use.

He added:

“What is perhaps a little surprising is that before they adopted the brand Destination Harrogate that Harrogate Borough Council didn’t carry out a Google or Companies House search on the words Destination Harrogate. Either search would have revealed the existence of Simon Cotton’s company.

“Had they done that they could have chosen another equally appropriate available name and saved the tax payer several thousand pounds.”

We have published a subsequent article, which you can read here, after HHTA Ltd published a statement.

Plans for a £17m leisure centre in Knaresborough have been unanimously approved by councillors in what will mark the town centre’s biggest building project in decades.

Harrogate Borough Council yesterday passed its own plans for the new facility to be built over a play area at Fysche Field before the existing Knaresborough Pool just metres away is demolished to make way for a larger car park and new play equipment.

The new leisure centre will have a six-lane pool and exercise studios, and has been hailed by the council as a “modern and fit-for-purpose” facility for the town’s growing population.

Environmental impact

It could be built by the end of 2023 and will also be powered by air source heat pumps and solar panels.

However, some concerns have been raised over the environmental impact of demolishing a large building to replace it with another.

Bill Rigby, chairman of Knaresborough Civic Society, told today’s planning committee meeting that the project should be scrapped in favour of rival proposals for a major upgrade of the existing pool.

He said:

“Rejecting an extension in favour of a new build frustrates the nation’s and district’s own attempts to meet the challenge of a climate emergency.

“We are at a pivotal moment in our history as a community, nation and citizens of the world.

“The proposal fails to respond appropriately at all of these levels.”

Mr Rigby also criticised a council-run survey on where to build the new leisure centre as “flawed” and added residents were never asked if they believed there was a need for it at all.

‘Low carbon priority’

But Jonathan Dunk, chief development officer at the council, described the 30-year-old Knaresborough Pool as “at the end of its working life” and said more swimming space is needed. He said:

“We need to renew rather than refurbish the existing facility because it is old and there is inadequate water space.

“We also want to upgrade to make the most of the energy performance of the new building.

“We have chosen to invest more money and develop to a higher, excellent standard because addressing low-carbon is a high priority for the council.”

Read more:

• £13 million Knaresborough Leisure Centre plans to go to vote on Monday
• Police still investigating missing Porsches at former Knaresborough car dealership

Today’s vote of approval comes after the council confirmed the project budget had increased from £13million to £17million due to increased material and labour costs, and extra spending on safety equipment.

All nine members of the planning committee voted in favour of the project which was described as a “wise investment” for the town.

Knaresborough mayor councillor Christine Willoughby said:

“I’m very pleased to support this new facility.

“This is the perfect site as I have always felt the pool needs to be in the centre of Knaresborough.

“In a town with a river, it is really important that our children learn to swim.

“We have had too many fatalities in the river over the years.”

Other locations previously considered for the leisure centre included Knaresborough House, Hay-a-Park, Conyngham Hall and a plot of land at Halfpenny Lane.

Alliance Leisure

Today’s decision will now be followed by a cabinet meeting on Wednesday when councillors will be asked to approve a £28million contract for Bristol-based firm Alliance Leisure to build the new leisure centre at Fysche Field and separate plans for the Harrogate Hydro.

The proposals for a two-storey extension of the Hydro were approved in October 2021 and include demolishing the existing entrance and replacing it with a larger cafe and reception area, as well as a new fitness suite.

Meanwhile, the council last week announced that Ripon’s new multi-million-pound swimming pool is finally set to open on Wednesday after months of costly delays.

The project is nine months overdue and £4million over budget, and refurbishment works on the adjoining Ripon Leisure Centre are still underway after the discovery of an underground void prompted the need for an investigation.

Brimhams Active

All 11 council-run leisure venues across the Harrogate district are now being run by Brimhams Active – a council-owned company which launched last year and aims to save around half a million pound a year.

Brimhams Active was hailed as a “new vision for the future” sports and leisure services when it launched last year, although there are now questions over what will happen to the company when the council is replaced by a new North Yorkshire Council in April 2023.

New signs in the windows of the Coach & Horses pub in Harrogate have indicated it will be reopening in the near future.

On Friday, Harrogate Borough Council approved the new owner’s plans to refurbish the premises.

Provenance Inns, which owns West Park Hotel on the same street, took over the pub in October last year.

It has been closed since May 2020 after the previous landlord John Nelson had his licence revoked for breaching covid rules.

Provenance will revamp the bar and kitchen area and reinstate the corner entrance.

New branding for the Coach & Horses

It will also convert the first floor into a restaurant area along with staff accommodation and office space.

Anthony Blundell, commercial manager at Provenance Inns, told the Stray Ferret that the company wanted to maintain the Coach and Horses as a “traditional pub”.

He said:

“The idea is to refurbish what is already there.

“We see it as the last traditional pub in Harrogate. We know from our guests how well it was respected.”

Read more:

• Plan submitted to refurbish Harrogate’s Coach and Horses pub
• Coach and Horses set to reopen under new ownership

A 24-hour vigil will begin at the war memorial in Harrogate tomorrow to show support with Ukraine in its war with Russia.

The vigil, which has been organised by Christopher and Lindis Percy, will start at 10am and finish at 10am the following day.

Anyone is welcome to stay for as long as they want. Warm clothing is advised.

Ms Percy, who has been a well-known peace campaigner in the district for many years, said:

“The news is very dire and we thought we must do something. It is a very dangerous situation in Ukraine. We hope people will join us”.

Read more:

• LIVE: Harrogate Polish shop ‘overwhelmed’ by response to appeal for donations
• Former Ripon student fleeing Ukraine today to set up refugee shelter
• Ripon man with family in Ukraine speaks of ‘deeply troubling’ times

The Stray Ferret is running a live blog about people in the district who are helping people affected by the war in Ukraine.

If you know of an initiative to provide help or support run by a person, charity, church, community group or business, let us know by calling the newsroom on 01423276197 or by emailing us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

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.

In February, war broke out in Ukraine and all legal restrictions for covid were lifted after almost two years.

We asked our three Conservative MPs, Harrogate & Knaresborough’s Andrew Jones, Skipton and Ripon’s Julian Smith, and Selby and Ainsty’s Nigel Adams if they would like to highlight anything in particular that they have been doing this month, but, as usual, we did not receive a response from any of them.

Here is what we know after analysing their online presence.

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, Mr Jones:

• Writing on his local “news” website, Community News, on February 1, Mr Jones commented on the release of the Sue Gray Downing Street parties report. He said he was “disappointed” the full report would not be published until after the police investigation but called the alleged events at Downing Street a “sorry state of affairs.”
• On February 15, the MP posed for a photo with Copgrove-based Abacus Manufacturing owner Ian Pattison. The pair discussed how the business had coped during covid and its expansion plans.
• The MP is the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Infrastructure. On February 23 he posed for a photo with chancellor Rishi Sunak and leading figures from the civil engineering industry.
• At PMQs on the same day, Mr Jones asked the prime minister if the NHS would review the system for identifying people most vulnerable to covid, as he said some are at risk of being missed.
• The MP defended Harrogate District Hospital after the Local Democracy Service revealed 800 patients were allowed to return to their care homes without being tested for covid. Mr Jones said :“This must have been extremely difficult for them particularly in the early days of the pandemic when the world was fighting against something new.”

Read more:

• New gritter tracker shows which roads in Harrogate district are being treated

• Harrogate council ranks in lowest 15% of local authorities for tackling climate change

Julian Smith, MP for Skipton and Ripon.

In Skipton and Ripon, here is what we found on Mr Smith:

• The MP was uncharacteristically outspoken on Twitter during February. On February 1 he criticised prime minister Boris Johnson for suggesting labour leader Keir Starmer failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile while he was Director of Public Prosecutions. He wrote: “The smear made against Keir Starmer relating to Jimmy Saville yesterday is wrong & cannot be defended. It should be withdrawn. False and baseless personal slurs are dangerous, corrode trust & can’t just be accepted as part of the cut & thrust of parliamentary debate.”
• After Keir Starmer was harassed outside Parliament a week later, Mr Smith again called for the PM to withdraw the “false slur” about Jimmy Savile.
• In a tweet on February 26, he urged the UK government to “make an immediate open, welcoming and warm hearted commitment of sanctuary to those who wish to leave Ukraine. Rip up the usual bureaucracy and let’s just say they are welcome and we will make it as easy as possible to be here.”
• On February 9, Children from Masham C of E Primary School visited Mr Smith in Parliament. He tweeted that he was envious of their Happy Meal at the end of the day.
• The MP criticised fellow Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg who suggested civil servants do not make British life better. Mr Smith replied “Have to disagree. Massive thanks to all local, devolved & central gov civil servants.”

Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty which includes rural Harrogate.

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

• The MP said on February 1 he was “delighted’ that North Yorkshire would become an Education Investment Area. Ministers plan to offer retention payments in those areas to keep the best teachers and prioritise them for new specialist sixth form free schools.
• On Twitter, the MP praised his boss Boris Johnson for hiring the “fabulous” ex-BBC and GB News journalist Guto Harri as his new director of communications.
• On February 16, the MP visited Qatar for a trip to help drum up trade to the UK.
• Mr Adams’ constituency includes Tadcaster, just outside the Harrogate district, which was hit by floods in February. He told ITV the Environment Agency needs to ‘get their fingers out’ and invest in flood defences for the town.

North Yorkshire County Council will resurface Bogs Lane next month.

The road, just off the main A59, is a busy residential area that has been affected by numerous new housing schemes.

Henshaws Specialist College, which has about 80 students with special educational needs and disabilities, is also based on Bogs Lane.

A North Yorkshire County Council spokesperson said resurfacing works will start on March 7 with phases road closures in place from 9.30am to 3.30pm.

It will cover the stretch of Bogs Lane from the A59 Knaresborough Road junction and Henshaws College.

Read more:

• 18-month road closure order begins on Starbeck’s Bogs Lane
• Starbeck residents pledge to fight 181-home Kingsley Drive plans ‘tooth and nail’

The section of road that Henshaws is on will be completed in the evening between 7pm and midnight. The works are scheduled to be completed on March 18.

An 18-month closure order came into place on Bogs Lane in September 2021. The order is designed to give the council flexibility to close the road for periods of time.

Harrogate College will turn green in March for a series of environmentally-focused events and activities.

For its first Green Month, the college on Hornbeam Park will offer wildflower planting, an art exhibition, a climate café and educational webinars.

The activities will kick off with a business presentation on sustainable technology, plus a litter pick, on March 8.

Last year the college hosted the launch event for the Harrogate district’s’s first climate action festival.

Holly Hansen-Maughan, partnerships and development manager at the college, said:

“The festival proved to be a real catalyst for environmental action both for ourselves and the wider community, and our Green Month is the latest example of that.

“We have worked hard to put together a schedule that includes something for everyone and a number of events that are open to residents as well as our students and staff.

“We hope to see lot of people taking part, both to make a difference and to find out more about how we can all work together to secure a more sustainable future.”

Read more:

• Green Shoots: Boroughbridge heat pump engineer on his environmental ‘obsession’
• Green Shoots: The Harrogate wind farm that powers 8,000 homes

The college has also teamed up with several local businesses and organisations for Green Month.

They include Techbuyer and Ortial, who will be holding a discussion on sustainable technology.

Social impact company Too Good To Go, will explain how they connect businesses with people in need so they can put their surplus food to good use, instead of going to waste.

Harrogate District schools, colleges and sixth forms will also be involved as pupils and students are being invited to design a poster, or piece of art, that will inspire positive environmental action.

For dates, times and more details on all of Harrogate College’s Green Month activities visit harrogate-college.ac.uk/partners/green-agenda/.