Stray bonfire raises record-breaking £6,500 for charity

The 50th Stray bonfire and fireworks on Saturday night raised a record-breaking £6,568.42 for charity, organisers have announced.

Harrogate RoundTable, a group of local men aged 18-45 who organise charity and community events, will donate the proceeds to Friends of Harrogate Hospital.

If anyone missed the chance to donate, a GoFundMe is still open.

John Carter of Harrogate RoundTable said:

“Harrogate RoundTable would like to thank everyone who came along to enjoy the bonfire and fireworks display on the Stray. It’s the 50th year that we’ve put on the event and it was a fantastic night!

“As always the event was free for everyone to attend, however, we’d like to thank the Harrogate public for their generous donations to raise funds for this year’s charity The Friends of Harrogate Hospital. We also want to thank all the volunteers for their hard work over the whole weekend.”

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Harrogate RoundTable is also asking attendees and the wider Harrogate public for their views on how to take the event forward in future years.

An online survey has been created which can be accessed here.

 

Skipton Road set for six months of disruption as new bridge plans approved

Motorists using Skipton Road will face six months of disruption after plans were approved to demolish and replace a footbridge near the New Park roundabout.

North Yorkshire County Council is behind the plans to replace Oak Beck Bridge, which the council says is in poor condition.

The road is heavily used by traffic, especially by people visiting Aldi, B&Q and Pets at Home on the Oak Beck retail park.

Works are set to take place from January 2022 until July 2022 and temporary traffic lights will be used throughout. The road will remain open to single-way traffic.

A council spokesperson said it would be able to say how much the works will cost once it has appointed a contractor.

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The bridge is close to where a new Tesco supermarket is proposed at the site of the old gas works.

Plans for the new store include a petrol station, 200 parking spaces and a new roundabout on Skipton Road.

A public consultation on the plans ended in October. A full planning application is expected to be submitted before the end of the year.

118 positive covid cases in Harrogate district

The Harrogate district has reported 118 cases of covid, according to Public Health England figures.

The district’s 7 day average case rate is 451 per 100,000 people, which is the third-highest rate in North Yorkshire.

Across the county, the average rate is 413 and the England average is 339.

No further deaths from patients who tested positive for coronavirus have been recorded at Harrogate District Hospital, according to NHS England figures.

However, two further covid deaths were reported on November 3 and 6. It brings the total since the pandemic began to 197.

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Review launched into council’s handling of Dunlopillo housing plans

A review has been launched into where lessons can be learned from Harrogate Borough Council’s handling of controversial housing plans for the derelict Dunlopillo building in Pannal.

The council’s recent approval of the plans submitted under permitted development rights was met with anger from residents and MP Andrew Jones who called for the scheme to be decided by a vote from councillors and not at officer level.

Permitted development rights are rules which fast-track the conversion of empty buildings into homes, however, there has been criticism over how much of a say residents and councillors have in the process.

A review into this has now been launched by the council’s cabinet member for planning, cllr Tim Myatt, with the lessons learned to be reported back at a later date.

A council spokesperson said:

“We acknowledge the concerns raised by the parish council and MP Andrew Jones and have written to them both to explain that as the local planning authority we have followed the rules that are set for us by national government.

“Proposals received under permitted development are different to applications made to us under the Planning Act.

“We receive notification from the developer and then have 56 days to check the submission and assess it against a defined list of criteria. If we do not determine the application within 56 days, the proposal is deemed to have been given consent.”

Dunlopillo – which makes pillows and bedding – moved out of its Station Road site 13 years ago and the plans approved this October will see the building demolished and replaced with a taller, six-storey apartment block.

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MP Andrew Jones previously said the proposals should not have been lodged under permitted development rights and he also criticised the council for its “mistake” in approving the plans without a vote from councillors.

Cllr Howard West, chairman of Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council, also said it was “clear” planning officers “made errors” and that the parish council has now written to the government asking for a change in the laws around appeals.

He said:

“It is evident that all was not in order, otherwise councillor Tim Myatt would not have instigated a lessons learned review.

“The parish council has written to the Housing Minister Michael Gove and the Prime Minister suggesting that a change in the planning legislation be made so that bodies like parish councils may challenge decisions by borough, town or unitary authorities without their only recourse being prohibitively expensive judicial review.

“Developers with deep pockets can challenge councils with impunity but parishes don’t have the financial backing to enter into that arena.

“This impasse is undemocratic and in our opinion should not be permitted in law.”

The plans from Otley-based Quattro Property Group include 48 flats for the Dunlopillo site where the new apartments will be split into two blocks – one with four storeys and another with six.

Residents had complained that the development will have a major visual impact on the area which has no other buildings of this type, with the parish council also describing the new building as “hideous and obtrusive”.

The parish council added: “The residents of Pannal will now have to put up with an even bigger monstrosity than exists at present.”

Sicklinghall cricket club plans new clubhouse after arson attack

Sicklinghall Cricket Club has submitted plans to build a new clubhouse and scoreboard after an arson attack destroyed their previous building.

The club has been using temporary shipping containers since the fire in 2016 while fundraising for a replacement clubhouse. A JustGiving campaign raised over £6,500.

The club, which is between Wetherby and Kirkby Overblow, has played in the village since 1925 and is currently in the top tier of the Leeds and Wetherby Cricket League.

It has submitted plans to Harrogate Borough Council for a clubhouse with home and away changing rooms, kitchen, storage facility, toilet and scorer’s box. The club says it could be used for other community or sports events.

The club is within walking distance of Sicklinghall and the application could provide sports facilities for local children.

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An image of the fire in 2016

 

Harrogate’s addiction to SUVs contributing to climate crisis

Stray Ferret research has found that Harrogate’s is one of the SUV capitals in the North of England — and our addiction to the bulky gas guzzlers will make it harder to reduce transport emissions.

Sports Utility Vehicles have exploded in popularity over the past twenty years. They’ve been blamed for a global rise in carbon dioxide emissions that is contributing to extreme weather events around the world.

Whilst SUVs such as the Range Rover, BMW X5, and the Kia Sorento might make comfortable family cars, they emit 14% more CO2 than smaller passenger cars due to their size.

The ‘Chelsea Tractor’ has a reputation as one of the ultimate four-wheeled status symbols, but are motorists in Harrogate pricing in their significant carbon cost?

The James Street Tractor

Harrogate’s affluent population might mean its position as an SUV stronghold is not a surprise.

Data obtained by the Stray Ferret found that 18% of all new private vehicles registrations in the last three years in Harrogate were large SUVs.

This means that in the North and Midlands, the district is the 3rd highest English council area for a percentage of vehicles sold being large SUVs.

The Department for Transport data was shared with us by environmental charity Possible.

When the figures are broken down further into a percentage of Range Rovers sold, Harrogate is the 7th highest for the whole of the UK. Number 1 is the home of the “Chelsea Tractor”, Kensington & Chelsea.

Transport emissions account for 49% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the Harrogate district, which is higher than the national average.

To make a serious dent in reducing this number, both North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council are attempting to change driving habits through schemes such as the Station Gateway, yet the district’s appetite for SUVs appears healthier than ever.

‘We deserve some luxury’

For many residents in the villages around the district, four-wheel-drive SUVs are a lifeline in snowy weather.

During last winter’s cold snap, SUVs comfortably drove past smaller cars that were stranded by the side of the road.

One Harrogate car dealer, who has worked at several dealerships across the district over the past decade, said SUV sales went up massively around six or seven years ago and there is now a far greater range of SUVs to choose from.

He believes the emissions from an SUV are not massively different from a typical passenger car, as they are built with many of the same components.

But he conceded that many SUVs are bought in Harrogate for “fashion” reasons.

We also asked some Stray Ferret readers why they think SUVs are so popular in Harrogate.

Charles Haines said people drive them for image and not for practical needs.

He added:

“I’ve seen three people on Facebook buy themselves SUV’s and the post about “treating themselves” or “we deserve some luxury”. The reality is they clog up the roads and they are now being blamed for an increase in CO2.

“The USA has seen a 28-year-high in pedestrian fatalities, which is now being linked to the numbers of SUV’s.”

Robbie Burns said people in Harrogate “have too much money”:

“What a waste in my opinion. I hate them, they are an aggressive vehicle, as a pedestrian I find them very threatening to walk and cross in front of.”

Daniel Ayres said that whilst there are negatives to SUVs they are useful for rural residents.

“There are obviously a bunch of bad reasons but also we are in the countryside and do get hefty snow and rain and have a lot of hills. Four-wheel drive does have uses at those times.”

They are damaging the environment

The International Energy Agency published a report that found around the world SUVs are producing more emissions than the entire aviation industry.

SUVs even produce more emissions globally than heavy trucks.

Many hope the shift towards electric vehicles will help reduce emissions from transport, but Rod Beardshall, transport lead at Harrogate green charity Zero Carbon Harrogate believes it’s not that simple.

He told the Stray Ferret that electric SUVs are not a silver bullet for the environment due to the high amount of CO2 emissions that are created during manufacturing.

There are also ethical questions about how minerals for the batteries are procured, with some concerning reports about cobalt and lithium mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mr Beardshall said the world will “hurtle off a cliff” unless we all drive less.

He said:

“I don’t know whether [SUV drivers] don’t realise or simply think one person is not going to make a difference to the planet.

“But we need to get the message out there that SUVs are damaging the environment.”

 

Fears Nidderdale could become ‘barren’ unless more affordable homes are built

A lack of affordable homes in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is forcing young and low-paid families to move away, a meeting has heard.

Members of Harrogate Borough Council’s overview and scrutiny commission last night called for greater action to bring forward more affordable homes in the area, which has seen average property prices climb to around £320,000, according to Zoopla.

The AONB covers around two-thirds of the Harrogate district but only has 9% of its population and councillor Tom Watson, who represents the Nidd Valley ward, expressed fears that it could become “barren”.

He said:

“If we don’t have small developments in the area, village schools are going to close, pubs are already on the way out and village shops are also going to go.

“The AONB is there to protect the countryside, but we have got to make sure the area is a living one and not barren.”

227 households on waiting list

Created in 1994, the AONB was introduced to conserve the countryside with levels of protection from developments.

A total of 253 homes were recently proposed at sites in Darley, Dacre, Summerbridge and Pateley Bridge under the council’s Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35. But government planning inspector ruled that they would have had too great an impact.

Since then, a growing number of residents have struggled to get a footing on the property ladder with 227 households currently on the council’s waiting list for social housing in Upper Nidderdale.

And with an average of just 20 vacancies becoming available each year, the waiting list would take around 10 years to clear if no more households came forward.

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Councillor Pat Marsh, leader of the council’s Liberal Democrats, described the situation as “really sad” and said efforts to build affordable homes on small plots of council-owned land were only a “tiny drop in the ocean”.

Council planners said they were also demanding affordable homes be built at developments of more than 10 properties to try tackle the problem.

Smaller profits

However, Jenny Kerfoot, executive officer for housing growth at the council, said landowners were often reluctant to bring forward plans for affordable housing because of the smaller profits involved.

She added the council was hopeful these landowners have “given up hope that their land is worth a lot of money” now that the Local Plan has been adopted and any large developments have been ruled out.

She said:

“There won’t be any of these big sites in the AONB or predominantly for market housing so it’s our intention now to approach those landowners.”

Councillor Victoria Oldham, a Conservative who represents the Washburn ward, said another possible solution would be the conversion of disused farm buildings, but she added any new developments were often met with opposition from locals.

She said:

“We all know little pockets of land in the area where a pair of semis could easily go, but half of the problem would be the negativity from parish councils or people in the immediate vicinity.

“I’m pretty much against large developments in the AONB because we haven’t got the transport facilities. A lot of places don’t even have shops or post offices – and you can forget banking.

“But one or two houses in areas would be of benefit as something needs to be done.”

 

22 affordable homes proposed for Staveley

A total of 22 affordable homes have been proposed to be built in Staveley by developer Jack Lunn Properties.

The company hopes to build three one-bedroom, 13 two-bedroom and six three-bedroom homes in the village, which has a population of 430 and is between Boroughbridge and Knaresborough,

The rural site is not allocated for development in the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which outlines where planning will take place.

But the application has been brought forward through a rural exception scheme, which allows councils to grant planning permission for affordable housing in the open countryside if a developer can prove there is a need for it.

A planning document lodged with Harrogate Borough Council cites affordable housing figures that show a shortfall in the number of new affordable houses built over the last five years.

It says:

“The only sustainable way of making housing more affordable in the long term is to build more homes in the right places. High house prices can prevent people from living near the best job opportunities for them, limiting the productivity of companies that might have employed them.”

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Plans submitted to demolish burned-out Starbeck building

An application has been submitted to demolish the former McColl’s building on Starbeck High Street.

A fire ripped through the supermarket in July 2018, but more than three years later, the Victorian-era building is still a burned-out shell with much of its roof missing.

In recent months discussions have taken place between owner Bates & Hemingborough and Harrogate Borough Council over the future of the building. Planning officers have focused on whether the existing building, which is not listed, can be retained and refurbished.

However, the owner is moving forward with plans to demolish it ahead of a full planning application that will include new retail and housing units.

The application to demolish the building has been submitted to HBC under Permitted Development rules, which allows the demolition of a building if it is a safety risk or uninhabitable.

Liberal Democrat Starbeck councillor Philip Broadbank welcomed the proposal. He said:

“I’m glad the application has gone in. I’m hoping the developer will put an exhibition of their plans in St Andrew’s Church so people can see what they want to do. They need to get on with it.”

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Ripon Spa Baths closes after 116 years

It was opened by royalty in 1905 and has seen generations of spa-goers and swimmers spend countless happy hours there. But Ripon Spa Bath’s long history as a leisure venue has come to an end.

The Grade II listed building – which was the last of its kind to open in England – closed on Sunday.

Staff are being transferred to a new swimming pool set to open at Ripon Leisure Centre on 8 December.

If and for what use the baths will reopen to the public will depend on the outcome of a sale by Harrogate Borough Council, which recently announced it had found an unnamed bidder for the building.

However, the sale has not been a straightforward one so far with concerns being raised that the venue could lose its community use before Ripon City Council successfully applied for it to be nominated as an asset of community value.

This protected status means any sale has been put on hold for six months to allow time for community bids to come forward.

Councillor Andrew Williams, leader of Ripon City Council, said the authority was exploring a “number of options” for the baths which he shared his favourite memories of.

He said:

“My mum used to swim in the spa baths as a child in the 1940s and has happy memories of being able to swim all afternoon on a Saturday for 4 pence.

“She has less happy memories of jumping off the top diving board onto the head of one of her friends.

“I remember learning to swim at the spa baths in the 1970s and many local residents will I am sure have memories of the spa baths.

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“We must now ensure that happy memories can be created in a new era of swimming in Ripon at our new pool.

“Ripon City Council are continuing to explore and evaluate a number of options regarding the future use of the spa baths site and we remain committed to working to ensure that the site continues to provide facilities for local residents.

“We want to ensure that the listed front of the spa baths is returned to its former glory as part of any new use for the site.”

Listed status

Councillor Williams previously said he held positive talks with the unnamed bidder but added the city council wanted to “keep all of our options open” and had asked to be considered as a potential bidder itself.

Harrogate Borough Council has always insisted it has been open to any offers for the venue which was opened as a spa by Princess Henry of Battenberg in 1905.

It was more than 30 years later when the swimming pool was built to the rear of the building, which is known for its terracotta-clad frontage and gained listed status in 1980.

The new swimming pool and upgrades at Ripon Leisure Centre were due to be completed earlier this year but are now facing further delays after the discovery of an underground void revealed the need for further groundworks.

These works are likely to lead to a six-month closure of part of the venue, although the opening of the new swimming pool will not be affected.