District’s schoolchildren say buy less to tackle climate change

Schoolchildren across the Harrogate district have submitted their ideas to tackle climate change, including reducing our consumption of goods.

Children were invited to share their ideas, either as posters, poems or digital entries, for a competition that was part of the Climate Action Festival. The festival has been running throughout October and has been coordinated by Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition.

There were over 250 entries from children aged 7 – 16. Children won gift vouchers for local shops including Imagined Things bookshop and Games Arcade. Schools won National Book Token to buy environment-themed books.

Many children said we should walk and cycle more and generate more renewable energy.

Buying fewer things was also a common theme, including the following poem from Edward, a 14-year-old pupil at Ashville College. 

One more road,

one more factory,

the smog of traffic chokes our cities.

Plates piled high,

the latest model,

last season’s clothes cast aside.

 

A world away; the ice caps melt,

wildfires burn our depleted forests,

floods drive people from their homes.

 

When will we listen,

hear our world screaming.

When will we stop asking for..

just one more.

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 Competition co-ordinator, Kirsty Hallett, said:

“The high quality and emotional intensity of our local children’s creations showed that they understand there are actions we can take now that will limit the damage which climate change will inevitably cause.

 “For example, many children said we need to walk or cycle instead of taking the car, and many drew wind turbines and solar panels. Younger generations will be those most badly affected by environmental damage if we do not act now, so we should listen to them and follow their climate friendly suggestions.”

 12 prizes awarded to young people, with a prize also going to their 8 schools:

 Nidderdale High School, Pateley Bridge

Aspin Park Primary Academy, Knaresborough

Holy Trinity Junior School, Ripon

St Robert’s Primary

Oatlands Junior School

Starbeck Primary 

Ashville College

Highfield Prep School

Prizes were sponsored by Enviva and were awarded by Professor Piers Forster, member of the UK Climate Change Committee and lead author of IPCC reports.

In Depth: To BID or not to BID? Divided opinion in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon

Business improvement districts (BIDs) were first introduced in the USA to revive economically depressed areas and they came to the UK in the early 2000s.

They have become increasingly popular over the past 10 years, in part due to declining high streets and government cuts to local authorities.

Businesses within a defined area pay an annual fee, called a levy, on top of their usual business rates.

This pooled money then goes directly towards the BID which funds improvements for the area.

Harrogate was the first town in the district to form a BID in 2019. Almost 500 businesses pay 1.5% of their rateable value each year.

It’s estimated that the Harrogate BID brings in around £500,000 from levy payers annually.

But before a BID is set up, businesses in the area must vote in a ballot on whether they want one or not, as Ripon and Knaresborough have done this year.

Once a BID vote has passed, all businesses within the area are obliged to pay the levy or face potential legal action. BIDs last for five years, before businesses are balloted again.

What do BIDs do, and are they value for money?

Harrogate BID has three full-time staff, including BID manager Matthew Chapman who is paid a salary of £45,000.

It has an elected board of 15 directors, which mainly includes business people but also has an officer each from Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council.

Harrogate’s BID had a difficult first couple of years. In 2020, four directors walked out in protest at the way the organisation was being run, citing accusations of undue council interference. The conservative council leader, Richard Cooper, later resigned as a board member.

It now appears to be on a more steady footing and recent initiatives include power washing 80,000 square metres of the town centre, painting drab walls with colourful murals and buying over 500 pieces of outdoor furniture for businesses to use.

But is it delivering value for money to its levy payers? How is that measured?

Mr Chapman told the Stray Ferret:

“This can be achieved via a number of different methods, including increased footfall, increased bookings, satisfaction surveys, regular conversations with our Levy Payers, positive media coverage, and even good old-fashioned word of mouth.”

Why do some businesses criticise them?

BIDs are private limited companies which critics say means a lack of financial transparency and accountability.

BIDs have been criticised for doing jobs that have traditionally been under the remit of local councils, effectively taxing businesses twice.

An example might be buying 200 hanging baskets for Harrogate town centre, which could be argued should be done by Harrogate Borough Council through business rates.

They have also been criticised for being anti-democratic, controlled by a small group of influential directors.

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Why Knaresborough BID ended in acrimony

Both Ripon and Knaresborough followed in Harrogate’s footsteps by balloting businesses about creating their own BIDs this year.

But the outcomes were acutely different.

Ripon’s ballot sailed through, receiving 70 votes in favour, out of 87 cast.

Whereas in Knaresborough there has been bitterness and acrimony after businesses voted to reject setting up a BID by 80 votes to 73.

In the fallout from the vote, Knaresborough chamber of commerce leader Steve Teggin resigned and said he had “failed” the town by not delivering the BID.

However, some businesses in Knaresborough believe the town is doing fine without a BID. Harrogate Borough Council had a block vote of 29, and those against the BID said this meant the vote wasn’t as close as it appeared.

Knaresborough Liberal Democrat county councillor David Goode told the Stray Ferret he was “extremely disappointed” at the result, which he said will put the town at a disadvantage against Harrogate, Ripon and York, who all have BIDs.

He blamed a national pressure group called Against BID for whipping up anti-BID sentiment among businesses.

He said:

“There was an extremely negative campaign against it that was strongly influenced by a national group who has ideological reasons to campaign against BIDs wherever. Certain local businesses were misguided by what this national group was pedalling.”

A spokesperson for Against BID responded:

“It’s disappointing how a councillor along with the BID proposers are still putting blame on everyone else except themselves, for their failure to deliver the result they wanted. This again demonstrates the contempt with which the great businesses of Knaresborough have been treated throughout the BID development process.

“The Knaresborough business owners are intelligent enough to have made up their own voting decision based on the strength of the BID proposal put before them”.

Why Ripon is excited about its BID

Whereas in Ripon, there was a more unified feeling that a BID would be able to tie together the various tourist attractions such as the ancient Market Square, Fountains Abbey and Newby Hall to benefit the wider local economy.

Some businesses in Ripon have previously complained that Harrogate Borough Council has prioritised its crown jewel of Harrogate over their city.  A BID would, in theory, give more power and money to local businesses to control their own destiny.

Ripon BID will have an annual budget of £160,000 over the next five years.

Ripon BID chair Richard Compton, who owns Newby Hall, told the Stray Ferret he believes the BID will give the city a big boost :

“The aim is to promote and make Ripon more attractive as a retail and tourism destination and the BID can help in a number of ways.

“The signs are looking good and I’m feeling confident about the future.”

Harrogate new build owner defends development after negative publicity

A resident has defended a new build housing estate on Harlow Hill following claims that it was built with poor energy efficiency.

Dan Waters lives in a house on Taylor Wimpey‘s Harlow Green development with his wife and daughter. He told the Stray Ferret that around 100 homeowners were unhappy with how the development was portrayed on Channel 4 News and in our subsequent article, and that they could damage the value of properties.

An energy-efficiency consultant claimed on Channel 4 that one of the homes was badly insulated, cold and a potential fire risk.

The daughter of an 82-year-old woman who bought the home claimed she was so cold due to draughts that she was forced to wrap up in warm clothes.

Mr Waters said that when he moved into his home in 2019 there was a draught, but this was quickly rectified by Taylor Wimpey, which tightened the windows. He said the report “doesn’t stack up” with his experience of living there.

He said:

“Heating bills are low. It’s so warm now it’s untrue.”

Mr Waters is concerned the negative publicity surrounding the report could affect house prices for residents in the future.

“It’s an exclusive site, we spent years worth of money to be here. They are our dream houses.

“In that instance [on Channel 4 News] it was draughty and she was elderly, it wasn’t ideal but it was very much an isolated incident.

“But Taylor Wimpey do jump on things quickly. If there’s a problem, they fix it.”

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Mr Waters was disappointed by social media comments on the Stray Ferret article and said new builds had an unfair reputation for poor quality.

“Blanket statements were attached to the article, such as ‘new builds are all shoddily built’ or ‘they are drafty and will fall to bits in 10 years’.

“It’s farcical. Every house was once a new build.

“With new builds you are always going to get the odd niggle. They haven’t had 100 years of settling down.

“These were stone-built to a high level, and the price tag reflects that.”

Taylor Wimpey told the Stray Ferret it was working with the homeowner featured in the Channel 4 News report for a “fair outcome”.

A spokesperson said:

“At Taylor Wimpey we take sustainability incredibly seriously with a clear environmental strategy including ambitious science-based targets covering our business activity and the efficiency of the homes we build.

“We design our homes to be energy efficient and to accord with the energy requirements as set out in the building regulations. These afford a necessary level of air movement within the home and its structure for the purpose of adequate ventilation and air quality whilst ensuring they remain as energy efficient as possible.

“A permeability test was undertaken on the property by an independent consultant, the results of which demonstrated the home is outperforming the intended design criteria.” “We are committed to delivering high-quality homes and providing excellent service to our customers.

“We acknowledge that sometimes we get this wrong and recognise that in this instance, aspects of the customer’s experience did not meet the high standards we expect. We are guided by the principle of doing the right thing and continue to engage with the customer to gain access to the property to investigate certain outstanding queries in order to reach a fair outcome.”

Harrogate council chief receives OBE medal at Windsor Castle

Harrogate Borough Council chief executive Wallace Sampson collected his OBE medal yesterday from Prince Charles.

Mr Sampson was awarded the OBE in the 2019 New Year’s Honours list for services to business and the community in Yorkshire, but he had been unable to receive the award in person due to covid restrictions.

He was presented with a medal by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle.

Mr Sampson has worked in local government for over 35 years and became chief executive of Harrogate Borough Council in 2008. He was previously a director at Bradford Council for eight years where he helped to support regeneration programmes in some of the city’s most deprived communities.

Mr Sampson said the day was made “extra special” as he was accompanied by his proud mum.

“I was honoured to attend the investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle to receive the OBE award from HRH the Prince of Wales. It was an occasion that will live with me for the rest of my life, made extra special by the fact that I was accompanied by my very proud mother.”

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New Harrogate Facebook group to promote community spirit not negativity

Bilton resident Ben Rothery has set up Harrogate Community Group to offer a platform for local people to look for recommendations, ask for advice and discuss where they live.

Community Facebook groups are loved and loathed. They can be a good source of local information but can also polarise opinion.

Mr Rothery said he wants his new group to be an inclusive space where can discuss living in Harrogate without fear of being criticised.

In January, he helped set up Bilton Community Group, which has fostered community spirit in the Harrogate suburb.

Mr Rothery said:

“The current Harrogate groups that exist serve a very different purpose to the Harrogate Community Group. Some of the groups allow conspiracy theories and breed a very hostile, bullying culture. Others are plagued by single issues like cycling. None of the groups are bad, they serve a purpose to a number of people that enjoy the content on them.”

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He said businesses will be allowed to advertise on the page on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Mr Rothery added:

“What I see is a gap in the Harrogate online community for a proper community page. Where residents can ask for help, whether that be collecting some shopping or asking someone to collect a poorly cat its medication, but also where businesses can feel comfortable in advertising and promoting their own content to a wide audience.”

Mr Rothery wants the group to be a Harrogate-wide version of what he has created for Bilton.

“What we have done with Bilton Community Group has had huge effects on our area. People have never been as passionate and as active. Anyone who uses it knows it’s a welcoming, helpful and friendly environment for people to come onto and trust they won’t have 20 different people abusing them because they asked for a recommendation.”

Warning for dog walkers after four sheep killed near Pinewoods

Dog walkers in the Pinewoods have been warned to keep their dogs on leads after a spate of attacks left four sheep dead.

The attacks took place in a field behind RHS Harlow Carr.

The charity Pinewoods Conservation Group, which promotes the maintenance and conservation of the Pinewoods, is to put up temporary signs reminding dog walkers to keep their animals under control.

A spokesperson said:

“We are very disappointed to hear about the killing of four sheep adjacent to the Pinewoods. We would remind all dog walkers to keep their animals under control at all times.

“This does not only protect these sheep, but also our many visitors and varied wildlife. Temporary signage will be erected on the main path from RHS Harlow Carr to Harlow Moor Road to enforce this message.”

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Dogs can kill or injure sheep, even if they don’t catch them, because the stress can cause sheep to die or miscarry lambs.

Sheep fleeing from dogs are often killed or seriously injured by their panicked attempts to escape, causing damage to fences and field boundaries in the process.

Figures from farming organisation the NFU said that the cost of farm animals killed by dogs rose by over 10% last year to an estimated £1.3m.

Rebecca Davidson, rural affairs specialist at NFU Mutual, said:

“Dog attacks are easily preventable if owners keep their pets under control and on a lead when livestock may be nearby. Doing so keeps sheep and their lambs safe from harm and stops a country walk turning into carnage.”

Taylor Wimpey responds to TV report of “nightmare” Harrogate new build

Taylor Wimpey has promised to work with a Harrogate homeowner who says her dream home turned into a “nightmare” due to draughts and poor insulation at a new build housing estate on Harlow Hill.

Channel 4 News featured a report on whether the government’s Build Back Better agenda is good for the environment.

They filmed part of it at the 124-home Harlow Green development that is opposite RHS Harlow Carr off Crag Lane. It was built by Taylor Wimpey, one of the UK’s largest housebuilders.

The development was initially refused by Harrogate Borough Council which said in 2014 the homes would score poorly against the council’s environmental objectives and would have a “detrimental and incongruous” impact on the rural landscape. The council’s decision was overturned on appeal in 2015.

Homes have been sold there for over £600,000 and the reporter questioned whether this price tag means they are built to the highest environmental standards.

But an energy-efficiency consultant showed one of the homes was badly insulated, cold, and potentially a fire risk.

‘A nightmare’

Marion, 82, bought a home on the estate hoping it would be her “dream place” but it turned out to be a “nightmare”.

Her daughter said the house was so badly insulated that she was forced to wrap up warm with extra clothes.

She said:

“She had to reach for hat and gloves because of so many draughts. She was freezing cold.”

The energy consultant used smoke to show viewers how heat seeps out of the house under the windowsills.

The consultant also used a heat-seeking device that showed heat leaking out of the lining of the walls.

Marion’s daughter said she was so concerned about the potential of fire spread due to the airflow, she bought her mother a fire blanket that she slept beside.

She then moved out and is currently asking Taylor Wimpey to buy the home back off her.

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‘Clear environmental strategy’

Taylor Wimpey told the Stray Ferret it is working with the homeowner featured in the Channel 4 News report for a “fair outcome”.

A spokesperson said:

“At Taylor Wimpey we take sustainability incredibly seriously with a clear environmental strategy including ambitious science-based targets covering our business activity and the efficiency of the homes we build.

“We design our homes to be energy efficient and to accord with the energy requirements as set out in the building regulations. These afford a necessary level of air movement within the home and its structure for the purpose of adequate ventilation and air quality whilst ensuring they remain as energy efficient as possible.

“A permeability test was undertaken on the property by an independent consultant, the results of which demonstrated the home is outperforming the intended design criteria.” “We are committed to delivering high-quality homes and providing excellent service to our customers.

“We acknowledge that sometimes we get this wrong and recognise that in this instance, aspects of the customer’s experience did not meet the high standards we expect. We are guided by the principle of doing the right thing and continue to engage with the customer to gain access to the property to investigate certain outstanding queries in order to reach a fair outcome.”

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson said its Conservative councillor and cabinet member for planning Tim Myatt, is writing to Housing Secretary, Michael Gove to ask that carbon reduction is considered in future national planning and building regulation changes.

Net-zero

Environmental charity Zero Carbon Harrogate has published a roadmap to 2030 outlining, among other things, how housebuilding needs to be improved in the district.

It proposes all homes are built to innovative Passivhaus standards and are heated with air or ground-source heat pumps. 

In May, the Stray Ferret visited a Passivhaus on Bogs Lane.

Developed in Germany in the 1990s, Passivhaus is seen as a game-changer for low-carbon housing.

It’s an innovative design code that prioritises insulation so that a home doesn’t need any heating or cooling at all, resulting in minimal energy bills. 

Homeowner Tim Larner said:

“We wanted to do the right thing environmentally. That was our main motivation for doing it.”

“It’s incredibly comfortable, really quiet and probably a lot healthier place to live. It’s a very controlled environment. You are never sitting in a draft. It’s lovely.”

Bilton’s McColl’s to rebrand as Morrisons Daily

McColl’s convenience store on King Edward’s Drive in Bilton will rebrand as a Morrisons Daily later this month.

The store will close today and reopen on Thursday next week following a refit.

It will still be owned and operated by McColl’s but will include Morrisons items.

In March, Morrisons announced it had extended its wholesale partnership with McColl’s as part of an agreement to convert more of its stores to the Morrisons Daily format.

Under the deal, 300 McColl’s branches will be converted to Morrisons Daily stores by 2027.

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McColl’s chief executive Jonathan Miller said:

“I am delighted to extend our partnership with Morrisons, ensuring the continued supply of a supermarket-quality offer across our entire estate, as well as the planned conversion of additional Morrisons Daily stores.

“In Morrisons we retain a long-term partner with best-in-class sourcing and manufacturing capabilities and a leading convenience offer for the local neighbourhood communities we serve across the country.”

 

Philip Allott’s successor to be elected on November 25

Philip Allott’s successor as North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner will be elected on Thursday November 25.

Selby District Council, which is running the election, announced the date today.

Candidates must be nominated by October 29 and the their names will be published on November 1.

A briefing for prospective candidates and agents will take place at 4pm on Monday next week.

Voters will go to the polls just six months after Mr Allott, from Knaresborough, was elected to the £74,000-a-year role.

He resigned on Thursday following comments about the Sarah Everard kidnap, rape and murder by a serving Met Police officer.

Councillors passed a motion of no confidence in his leadership and fellow Conservative politicians, including Ripon MP Julian Smith, called for him to resign.

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In May’s election, the Conservative Mr Allott received 84,737 first and second preference votes.

Labour’s Alison Hume, who received 53,442 total votes, was runner-up.

Ms Hume said on Twitter last week she was “relieved” Mr Allott had resigned but it is not known yet if she will be the Labour candidate again.

The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are also yet to announce their candidates.

Independent Keith Tordoff, who also stood in May’s election and received 22,338 first preference votes, told the Stray Ferret he intends to stand again.

Green Shoots: Knaresborough mum sells eco alternative to clingfilm

Knaresborough mum Jade Lapsley has set up her own eco-business selling an environmentally-friendly and homemade alternative to clingfilm.

Mamas Eco Journal Wax Wraps are made using plant wax, coconut oil and pine resin, which Ms Lapsley melts and then paints onto pieces onto colourful pieces of cotton.

She said her product has two key environmental benefits: it helps food to last longer, which cuts down on food waste, and it stops single-use plastic from ending up in landfill.

She said:

“They’re designed to be used instead of clingfilm, which isn’t reusable, doesn’t biodegrade and will be sat in landfills for thousands of years.”

Parents can go through cling film extremely quickly when trying to preserve their children’s food, and Ms Lapsley decided to launch her business after she had her first child just before lockdown.

She was inspired after taking classes in how to make wraps out of beeswax, and learnt more about how to live a more sustainable lifestyle.

“I thought, I can do that as a business.

“I started living an environmental lifestyle, using less plastic and shopping consciously.”

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For her own product she decided to not use beeswax and make it vegan friendly. She was surprised at how easy the process was.

She said:

“I found that amazing, it’s so simple. People think it can be really hard to be eco, but it’s easy.

“The ingredients are all completely natural. They are compostable, too. Nothing goes to waste.”

This dinosaur wax wrap costs £3 for 15cm.

Ms Lapsley sells her products through the crafts website Etsy as well as at an artisan market in Alwoodley in Leeds.

She hopes one day to get a stall on Knaresborough Market or open her own eco-shop, similar to the Refilling Station on Cold Bath Road in Harrogate.

Major Harrogate district companies such as Taylors of Harrogate or Harrogate Bus Company often shout loud about their green credentials, but Ms Lapsley says smaller businesses trying to improve the environment deserve support too.

“You need to support small business, even a ‘like’ and sharing a comment is the way it can survive.”