Harrogate Town submits plan for new ticket office and turnstiles

Harrogate Town have submitted plans for a new ticket office and turnstiles at the club’s ground on Wetherby Road.

A planning application sent to Harrogate Borough Council outlines proposals to demolish the current ticket office and replace it with a new two-storey facility.

New turnstiles would also be in place at the eastern and western end of Wetherby Road.

The club, which plays Tranmere Rovers tonight, was promoted to the English Football League for the first time in its history last year. 

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As a result, Town have had to put measures in place to abide by the EFL admission criteria. They include a new pitch and increased capacity at the ground.

In documents submitted to the council, the club said the new planning application was necessary because of an increase in office staff and the need for a better flow of supporters on match days.

The application says:

“The proposals will improve the club’s match day offer, the experience for both home and away fans and the playing facilities.

“They will assist in the club’s continued success and growth. Works are programmed to start at the end of the current football season from May 1, 2021.”

The club has also submitted plans for a new two-storey club house and corporate suite.

Harrogate district bucks UK unemployment trend

The number of people claiming out-of-work benefits in the Harrogate district has fallen slightly — bucking the national trend.

Office for National Statistics data published today reveals 3,540 people in the Harrogate district were claiming out-of-work benefits on December 10.

This is down by 85 on the November figure of 3,625.

At 3.7%, Harrogate is considerably below the UK figure of 6.3% for people claiming the benefits, which include Job Seekers’ Allowance and Universal Credit.

Universal Credit is available for some people in work as well as the unemployed.

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Figures in the district have remained stable throughout the pandemic, which suggests the government furlough scheme has protected many staff from redundancy.

Today’s ONS figures reveal 5% of the UK population is unemployed, which is the highest rate for more than four years.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said:

“This crisis has gone on far longer than any of us hoped – and every job lost as a result is a tragedy,”

“Whilst the NHS is working hard to protect people with the vaccine, we’re throwing everything we’ve got at supporting businesses, individuals and families.”

Harrogate M&S faces complaints about non-essential sales

Harrogate’s central Marks and Spencer store is facing complaints from residents and traders about its non-essential sales.

The store has closed off a large section of the store and the upper floor. But it still has some clothing, beauty and homeware on sale.

Parts of the menswear section is now on the Cambridge Street floor, which has traditionally been solely for womenswear.

The store only has parts of the store open which customers need to use to get down to the food section on the lower floor.

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This has been a national debate during the three lockdowns. Supermarkets can sell non-essential goods alongside food.

Welsh supermarkets came under scrutiny after some sectioned off parts they deemed non-essential, including women’s sanitary products.

Some residents and sole-traders believe it is unfair for any stores to sell non-essential goods while small independent stores cannot – especially a store in the town centre.

Local David Andrews wrote a letter to the chief executive of M&S and shared the letter with the Stray Ferret. He said:

“I believe this [is] contrary to the guidelines and has given [M&S] an unfair advantage over competitors.

“It was permitted to open because of the food hall on the lower ground floor, served by its primary access from Oxford Street.

“Why does M&S need to open the Cambridge Street entrance at all when the Oxford Street entrance accesses the food hall directly?

“One might say it wants to continue trading in clothes and this loophole about secondary access allows them to do so.”

A sole trader based in Harrogate, who wanted to remain anonymous, also told the Stray Ferret:

“Somebody must be able to as this is so unfair. I am sole trader and this inconsistency is driving me mad.

“Why can you not get them to follow the guidance which suits this store to a tee as it’s actually states non-essential floors should be closed.

“What’s the point of having guidance if it can’t be used. I’m sure it was written for a reason.”

M&S disputes any allegations that it is not following the rules. A spokesperson said in response:

“Our M&S Foodhalls remain open to provide our customers with the essential items they require during this time.

“In line with Government guidelines, we’ve closed our non-food floors except where they provide access to our Foodhalls.”

What next for Debenhams building in Harrogate?

For generations, the Debenhams building on Parliament Street has been one of the major retail landmarks in Harrogate.

It has also been one of the biggest stores, so news that is will not reopen has raised questions about the site’s future.

With many High Street stores struggling even before the lockdown, it won’t be easy finding a retailer for such a large unit.

Developers may scent an opportunity to apply for planning permission to convert some or all of the premises into flats, as has happened with the nearby former post office.

Stuart Holland, co-chair of Harrogate Civic Society, said the site had redevelopment potential but the sloping ground level made this challenging and demolition should be considered.

He hoped any new building would have shops on the ground floor to encourage footfall between Parliament Street and Oxford Street, adding:

“There is not a strong feeling, at this early stage of discussion, for retention of the building and a complete re-build may be welcome.

“A rebuild would give an opportunity to widen the footpath along the first section of Oxford Street and thus encourage the linking of retail areas – particularly as we see Oxford Street becoming home to new independent shops.

“There would also be an opportunity to improve the street scene along Union Street and to allow what is described as the rear entrance to Westminster Arcade to stand out more clearly than at present.”

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Mr Holland said the upper floors were more suitable for residential use, adding:

“The size of the site lends itself to some creative design whilst ensuring that traffic pollution is not an issue. Car parking is available close by.

“There is a unanimous feeling that the new design should incorporate glazed canopies – taking reference from the many distinctive canopies in the town centre.”

Tom Snook

Tom Snook, managing director of Harrogate chartered surveyors Pantera Property, said the site should adapt to the “major shift” in retailing that is happening throughout the country. He added:

“The decline of bricks and mortar retail, which has been aggravated by the pandemic and the ensuing surge in online shopping, has meant that footfall is extremely low and it’s become difficult for retailers and restaurants to get a secure position in the market.

“The Debenhams building has always been something of a retail icon in Harrogate, which does also mean that it has great potential for change of use.

“I could certainly foresee it being redeveloped as residential apartments on the upper floors, perhaps with some form of boutique retail or serviced offices below.

“In the hands of an imaginative developer it would be great to see the building remain as an asset to Harrogate, albeit with a new identity.”

Look out for an article on the history of the Debenhams building in Harrogate by historian Malcolm Neesam this weekend on the Stray Ferret.

Police warning after spate of thefts from cars in Harrogate

North Yorkshire Police has urged motorists to ensure their cars are secure after a spate of thefts in Harrogate during the last week.

Five cars in the Rossett area were broken into over two nights.

According to police, the cars were broken into despite being locked and no damage occurred to them.

Cash, sunglasses, a handbag and jewellery were amongst the stolen items.

Police said high-value vehicles such as BMWs and Audis have been particularly targeted. Enquiries into the thefts are ongoing.

Three cars were entered on Thursday night last week in Rossett.

A handbag containing numerous items, including bank cards was stolen from inside one. Jewellery and coins were taken from another. Nothing was stolen and no damage was caused to a third, but items had been moved around.

Two more cars in the area were targeted on Friday night. An iPod was stolen from one and cash was taken from the other.

Kent Road thefts

Earlier last week, sunglasses and cash were stolen from cars parked at houses in the Kent Road area between Sunday and Wednesday.

The Woodlands area of Harrogate was also affected when a car was broken into on Wednesday or Thursday last week. Items were moved about but nothing is believed to have been stolen.

A similar report was received from a car parked in The Oval. Sunglasses and a few other items were reported stolen on Wednesday or Thursday.

Anyone with information can phone North Yorkshire Police on 101, quoting reference number 12210034761. To remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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The police have issued the following advice:

Ripley dog groomer calls on council to offer covid financial support

A dog groomer in Ripley has urged Harrogate Borough Council to offer financial support for dog grooming businesses affected by the lockdown.

The government says dog grooming services can stay open but pets can only be groomed if it’s absolutely necessary for the animal’s welfare.

This has put businesses like Sirius Dog Grooming Parlour in Ripley in a difficult position. Owner Catherine Cowling says she is technically open but has lost 95% of her customers.

It means she could be ineligible for support grants for businesses that have had to close due to the current lockdown.

Ms Cowling said some councils have decided to include dog grooming businesses but others haven’t. Harrogate Borough Council is yet to launch the scheme.

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She told the Stray Ferret her current situation “isn’t financially viable” with barely any money coming in.

She said:

“This is causing total chaos in the industry. A lot of groomers are being forced back to work, against the guidelines, simply to pay their rent. Whereas business like mine remain closed as I’m wanting to do what I can to stop the movement of the virus, but I am now living off thin air.”

She said the industry is asking for clarity from the government to ensure businesses can receive the support they need.

“As an industry we need uniformity and fairness. Either we can remain open and carry on our business as normal or we are classed as ‘closed’ by the government so we all have access to the appropriate grants.”

Following publication of this story, HBC issued the following statement:

“Dog groomers will be able to apply for Additional Restrictions Grant (applications set to open at the end of the month) as a business not legally required to close but may be negatively impacted by restrictions in place.”

Costly appeal could await council if Harrogate Spring Water plans refused

Councillors considering voting against Harrogate Spring Water’s controversial plans to expand its bottling plant risk a costly appeals process if it’s refused.

One Conservative councillor told the Stray Ferret a potential appeal will be weighing on councillors’ minds, with members of the planning committee trying to avoid leaving taxpayers with a hefty bill that could be as much as £250,000.

In recent days, public pressure has ramped up for councillors to vote against the proposal which campaigners say will harm the local environment. It’s become one of the most emotive planning applications to hit Harrogate in years, yet emotion does not factor into planning policy and the law.

A report from Harrogate Borough Council’s case officer Mark Williams recommends the plans for approval, subject to conditions, citing Local Plan policies that councillors overwhelmingly voted to adopt.

It means for the planning committee to refuse the application they would need a convincing reason or risk the council being taken to appeal by Danone, which has deep pockets.

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Economic growth

Another Conservative councillor told the Stray Ferret the planning committee should be focusing on the business benefits of the proposals.

HBC’s report also cites the government’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that states that planning decisions should help create the conditions in which businesses can invest, expand and adapt.

It says “significant weight” should be placed on the need to support economic growth and productivity, taking into account both local business needs and wider opportunities for development.

However, HBC’s Mark Williams’ report concedes that the loss of trees “does weigh against the proposed development.”

Political risk

Whilst the local Liberal Democrats and Conservatives have not publicly voiced support or opposition for the plans, political parties who don’t hold seats on Harrogate Borough Council have been more vocal.

Harrogate & District Green Party has long campaigned against the bottling plant and the local Labour Party also criticised the proposals, saying protection of woodland is “even more key at a time when we are facing a climate emergency”.

But the silence of the Conservatives and Lib Dems reflects the political risk involved in the decision tomorrow.

Conservative councillor for Harrogate Harlow, Jim Clark, who also sits on the planning committee, would not be drawn on which way he’ll be voting.

Conservative councillor for Harrogate Valley Gardens, Sam Gibbs, did not respond to our email.

Local Conservative MP Andrew Jones, who has commented on other controversial local issues in recent years such as the closure of the Harrogate Post Office and the rebranding of Stray FM, neither of which directly involved Harrogate Borough Council, has refused to make any public comment on the application.

Council to recommend Wetherby Road land for Stray swap

A plot of land at Wetherby Road has been recommended to be exchanged for grass verges on Otley Road and designated as Stray land.

Harrogate Borough Council carried out a 12-week consultation over three plots of land to replace the verges, which will be removed for a new cycle route.

A majority of those who responded backed the council’s preferred option to designate land on Wetherby Road next to the war memorial as Stray land in exchange.

As part of the Stray Act, a suitable plot of land must be offered in exchange. It follows lengthy discussions between the council and the Duchy of Lancaster over land to designate to the Stray.

The responses to the consultation are due to go before the General Purposes Committee this week. Councillors will be asked to recommend that the authority’s cabinet approves the land proposals.

In total, the authority received 443 responses to its consultation.

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Of that number, 214 respondents (49%) strongly agreed with the proposal to exchange the Otley Road verges to one of the three options outlined by the council.

However, 161 (36%) strongly disagreed with the plan.

Some agreed with the options, but felt the proposal “should be put back to residents once a decision has been made”. Others said they supported the move “as long as there is still enough pavement to walk down with a pushchair”.

As part of the exchange, the council outlined three plots of land for the exchange:

The area of land outlined in Harrogate Borough Council documents earmarked to be exchanged as part of the Otley Road cycle route.

In the responses, 246 (81%) agreed with the council’s preferred option of land at Wetherby Road next to the war memorial.

Those who agreed with the Wetherby Road plot felt it was “the most logical reason to form a continuous community resources” and “seems already part of the Stray”.

However, 14 agreed with the second option of verges at St James Drive and 45 supported the verges at Arthurs Avenue.

Some disagreed with the options outlined and said they did not want the Otley Road verges removed. Others said “the Stray should not be disrupted for cyclists” and questioned the need for a cycle route.

Residents were also asked whether they agreed with the council’s plan to amend the Stray bylaws to permit cycling on the Otley Road route.

A total of 235 strongly agreed (54%), while 162 (36%) strongly disagreed.

Councillors on the committee have been recommended to submit the proposed bylaw change to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

It comes as North Yorkshire County Council looks to press ahead with the cycle route on the stretch of road between Harlow Moor Road and Beech Grove.

The project has already been delayed and the negotiations over the Stray land have been a further stumbling block for the second phase of the scheme.

Harrogate teenager raises money for wild Canadian adventure

A teenager from Harrogate is raising £3000 for the British Exploring Society so she can go on a three week expedition to the Canadian Yukon.

Ellie Bestington has a passion for the natural world and hopes to one day to find a career that helps protect it.

Not only will this trip push her out of her comfort zone, mentally and physically, Ellie will also be working side-by-side with experts.

The Canadian Yukon is a wild territory in northwest Canada. The 17 year old will be hiking up mountains, sleeping in a tent and digging her own toilet!

Ellie is hoping to get valuable experience from this educational trip and will be making media projects as she goes.

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Ellie has to cover the costs of her flights and kit. The £3000 is money for the British Exploring Society to continue offering these trips for young people.

Ellie said:

“I wanted to push myself in a harsh environment, it’ll be good to see how I may be tested. I will be learning and helping experts understand more about the area. In the future I want to help find ways to manage climate change but I need to know how and why it’s happened first so I want to fully immerse myself.”

Ellie and Simon Bestington

Ellie with her dad, Simon, enjoying one of their favourite hobbies together, walking.

To help raise the funds Ellie and her dad, Simon Bestington, will attempt the three Yorkshire Peaks in the summer wearing pink tutus. Ellie is determined to get to Canada and says her dad will do all he can to help her raise the money, even if it does mean a pink tutu is involved.

The British Exploring Society is a youth development charity which offers young people the opportunity to challenge themselves in new environments.

To support Ellie’s fundraiser, click here.

Strayside Sunday: Global brand presents global dilemma

Strayside Sunday is our weekly political opinion column. It is written by Paul Baverstock, former Director of Communications for the Conservative Party. 

“Thousands have lived without love.  None without water.”

So said the great poet and York’s own W.H. Auden in his poem ‘First Things First.’

Water is elemental, an essential building block for life on earth.  The human body comprises up to 60% water and global water security is, in my view, one of the most under-reported threats faced by contemporary civilisation.  The World Health Organisation reports that 1 in 3 humans in the world today have no access to an improved water supply, which is to say they have no access to clean and drinkable water.  And at current rates of global climate change the United Nations predicts that 6 billion of us will face water scarcity by 2050.

All of this to inject some context and perspective into the debate raging in this parish between Harrogate Spring Water, the council and a coalition of locals and environmental campaigners over the future of Rotary Wood, a publicly accessible green oasis planted in 2005 by Harrogate residents.  French consumer goods and yogurt giant Danone (revenues €25 billion or thereabouts) has asked Harrogate Borough Council (revenues a great deal less) to consider an application to expand its Pinewoods spring water bottling plant, create a few new jobs and level some much cherished woodland.

On January 18th Harrogate Borough Council published a report recommending conditional approval for Danone’s expansion plans; on the grounds that  Harrogate Spring Water is a ‘global brand’ and a ‘strategic employer.’  This in the face of 328 planning objections (only 28 in support) and a weekly Friday protest at the town hall by local primary school teacher Sarah Gibbs, dressed like a tree for the occasion.  It should be noted that not only do the council already benefit from an annual ground rent of £13,000 – they also own the land on which the bottling plant sits – and therefore benefit from what is known as a ‘turnover rent’ (a share of turnover), cannily negotiated when the plant first opened.

I have some sympathy with the council’s dilemma.  Harrogate Spring Water is globally known; the company promote our town’s name from Tokyo to Toronto.  Indeed, to his astonishment, a good friend of mine was once served Harrogate Spring Water at a restaurant in Moscow.  Spasiba!  The council is in a tough spot; the global (let alone local) economy is on its knees and their books are short close to £5m as a result of Covid-19.  Apparently the council won’t (or can’t) reveal the full extent of what we stand to gain from our share of any increased turnover resulting from the expansion.

As regular readers of this column will know, I don’t believe, as a matter of principle, that commercial dealings between government and business should be kept private in any circumstances.  Transparency means accountability.  In this case if we knew how much the council stood to gain financially from Harrogate Spring Water’s expansion then we could take a more informed and nuanced view of whether or not to lend our support.  As it stands all we know is that we must lose a significant slice of nature and public access to it for a meagre 12 new jobs.  I’m not convinced it’s worth the sacrifice, even with Danone’s Section 106 agreement requiring them to plant replacement trees and promote biodiversity on another site.

I am convinced however that, in a world where so many don’t have access to clean drinking water, it is the height of wasteful and selfish consumerism to drink bottled spring water when we in the developed world have a perfectly good alternative from the tap.  I’m convinced too that the production of even one more single-use plastic bottle, recyclable or not, is one too many.  Is my own conscience clean in this matter?  Of course not: Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners now etc.  Indeed, only if all those who oppose the expansion at Pinewoods so vehemently, can look one another in the eye and say in truth that they don’t drink bottled water from plastic bottles, are they entitled to vent anger. As Auden says in ‘First Things First’:

“Misinformed and thoroughly fleeced by their guides,

And gentle hearts are extinct like Hegelian Bishops.”

I can’t let the week pass without mentioning the inauguration of President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr, which I watched with a mixture of relief and wonder on Wednesday.  I found the ceremony deeply moving; for me it represented a return to the United States in which I spent 11 of my most formative years – idealistic, international, aspirational.  Neither Lincoln nor JFK in his rhetorical skills, Biden’s speech was nonetheless gripping.  I thought its best passage was “Through civil war, the Great Depression, world war, 9/11, through struggle, sacrifices and setbacks, our better angels have always prevailed. In each of these moments, enough of us — ENOUGH OF US — have come together to carry all of us forward, and we can do that now,”

On his first day in office Biden signed Executive Orders that returned the US to the Paris Climate Change Agreement (in time for the COP21 conference in Glasgow at the end of November) and to the World Health Organisation.  Thank goodness.  Globally, in the United States and here at home in Harrogate, if we are to slow and reverse global warming and its awful effects – melting ice caps, famine and, yes, drought – it will take enough of us to come together and act for the common good.  The number of people on the planet without access to safe drinking water or indeed any water at all grows every day.  For the people of Harrogate, water, tap or bottled spring, is not a matter of life and death.  For 2.2 billion people around the world it is.  We should remember that when we make decisions in the narrow and parochial economic interest, rather than in the global interests of the environment.

That’s my Strayside Sunday.

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Do you have a view on this column or is there a political issue you’d like Paul to write about? Get in touch on paul@thestrayferret.co.uk