Housing developers in the Harrogate district will have to pay more money for schools, doctors surgeries and roads after the council identified a £98m infrastructure shortfall.

Harrogate Borough Council will introduce a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) in October to complement Section 106 agreements that are agreed between the authority and developers.

Both are designed to pay for infrastructure that might be affected by new housing. For example, as part of a recent planning application for 170 homes on Kingsley Road, Harrogate High School asked for a Section 106 contribution of £307,435.

Unlike Section 106, CIL contributions will be calculated by floor space, meaning a housing development in central Harrogate, Knaresborough or Ripon would be charged up to £50 per square metre. Developments outside of town centres will not be subject to CIL charges.

Retail developments would also be subject to CIL contributions of up to £120 per square metre.

Read more:

• Burton Leonard residents ‘about to erupt’ over housing development

• Harrogate loses ‘feel good factor’ due to new housing

Harrogate Borough Council published its long-awaited Local Plan in March that includes a pipeline of over 13,000 new homes from 2014 to 2035 across the district.

To introduce the CIL, HBC has to demonstrate to central government there is a shortfall in funding between the cost of infrastructure needed to support development – which the council has estimated is over £98m over the next 15 years, including £42m for schools.

HBC will publish a list of infrastructure it intends to fund via CIL before the end of 2020.

A parish or town council with an adopted neighbourhood development plan will be eligible to receive 25% of the CIL receipts generated.

Harrogate could become a haven for renewable energy and some villages could even come off the grid and power themselves, according to the managing director of a local energy firm.

Mike Kaye, managing director of Energy Oasis, said the Harrogate district could make greater use of solar panels and wind turbines.

Read more:

• When Extinction Rebellion held demo on a Harrogate roundabout
• How the call for a climate emergency fell on deaf ears

Renewable energy is a big issue at the moment: Harrogate Borough Council aims to have a net zero-carbon economy by 2038. Pressure groups, such as Extinction Rebellion, have been campaigning locally for more to be done to combat the climate emergency.

Reducing wasted energy will be essential to achieving these aims.

Small villages, such as Marton-cum-Grafton, are ideally placed to come off the grid completely, according to Mr Kaye.

“It would be difficult to take the whole of Harrogate off grid but there are some small villages which could power themselves quite easily. It just takes some solar panels and wind turbines. That way you have power generating all year round. I think that with enough political will the whole of Yorkshire could become carbon neutral in a few years.”

Mr Kaye added that more energy-efficient council buildings would save the taxpayer millions of pounds each year.

His firm has already replaced the lighting at the council’s Springfield Avenue car park, which Mr Kaye claimed saved £14,000 a year.

Six weeks of roadworks began this morning on the Leeds Road roundabout, leaving the area gridlocked throughout the day.

The works will be in place until August 28 to allow Northern Powergrid to carry out cable overlay works.

Two of the roundabout’s six exits on Langcliffe Avenue and Park Drive have been closed and traffic lights are in place on the others. This left many commuters stuck in traffic or having to take long diversions.

The roadworks are set to stay along Leeds Road for six weeks.

Similar works are taking place along Skipton Road over a 12-week period. Those works are in order for Northern Gas Networks to replace the old metal pipes running along the road. Richard White, business operations lead for Northern Gas Networks, said:

“This investment will ensure residents and businesses in Harrogate continue to receive a safe and reliable gas supply for decades to come.

“We appreciate that no one likes roadworks, but we will be doing everything possible to complete this work as quickly as possible, while maintaining safe working practices.”

Read more:

• Whinney Lane will be closed for seven months to allow for two construction sites to be worked on.
• A ‘green’ car club has launched in Harrogate where you can hire low-emission vehicles by the hour.

The works come following several quieter months on the roads as many people worked from home. Following the Prime Minister’s announcements suggesting that people can return to work, the next six weeks are likely to involve much longer commutes.

The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire County Council for a comment on the works, but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, has praised the new rainbow tribute to key workers above the Stray’s cabman’s shelters.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Jones revealed a private donor and local electrical firm had paid for the tribute.

He then called for a debate on how to celebrate the efforts of key workers.

“Our key workers have kept the nation going throughout lockdown and I want to see local and national celebration of that,” he said on Thursday.

Read more:

• How local bus companies can transport key workers with a government grant
• When the Harrogate district commemorated the work of key workers
• 8,000 Easter eggs donated to children of key workers in Harrogate district

The tribute to key workers in Harrogate.

In response, Harrogate & Knaresborough Liberal Democrats tweeted the MP had “made a career out of refusing our key workers the pay rise they deserve”.

They added: “Many feel unwelcome in the country they call home. But sure, we all love rainbow lights.”

Players at Harrogate RUFC say it is “great” to finally be able to get back on the pitch.

The club is having to train in much smaller groups with the players focusing specifically on their fitness and ball skills. Despite not being able to play competitively yet, the players are getting match fit for when the time finally comes.

The players have enjoyed getting back into the swing of things.

Director of Rugby at Harrogate RUFC, David Doherty, told The Stray Ferret:

“It’s brilliant to have the players back. It’s obviously challenging given the government guidelines, but the boys have embraced it.”

Read more:

• Harrogate Rugby Club opens its clubhouse doors 
• WATCH: Harrogate gymnasts move training outdoors. 

Training takes place on Tuesday and Thursday evenings with both the men and women playing in small ‘pods’ with no contact.

North Yorkshire County Council says a controversial seven-month road closure at Whinney Lane won’t be reduced, despite pleas from the manager of the Squinting Cat that it could put his pub out of business.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret, Don Mackenzie, executive member for highways at North Yorkshire County Council, called the delay unfortunate but said the seven-month timeframe agreed with the housing developer Mulgrave is “reasonable”.

The Stray Ferret reported earlier this week that the road will be closed to build two access points for the Castle Hill Farm housing development as well as a new roundabout.

The roundabout will have four exits, including one into another site on Whinney Lane which is earmarked for development in Harrogate Borough Council’s Local Plan. However, planning permission is yet to be granted for the site and residents say North Yorkshire County Council should not allow the roundabout to be built.

Cllr Mackenzie said the authority is entitled to plan ahead for highways improvements.

He said:

“When one designs highways and roundabouts one has to have a certain amount of foresight to look ahead.

“We’d be criticised if we constructed the roundabout then it has to be completely redone. We’d be accused of wasting tax payers money.

“NYCC gets criticism that we don’t put infrastructure in place before development happens. In this case we are, even though permission has not been granted.”

Read more:

• Squinting Cat pub says seven-month road closure ‘could kill us’
• Whinney Lane in Harrogate to be closed for seven months

Several residents have contacted the Stray Ferret this week to voice their complaints about the closure, with one calling it “absolute madness”.

Cllr Mackenzie sought to reassure residents and the Squinting Cat, saying access will be maintained.

He added:

“It’s unfortunate but residents needn’t worry. Their access will be maintained as will access to the Squinting Cat.

“But I cannot deny that large scale residential of this nature will cause disruption. Whinney Lane is not alone in that.”

Harrogate’s “puppy boom” during lockdown has seen local people set up new businesses to capitalise on the new market.

More dogs and the needs of new pet owners has been the driving force for several new start-ups in Harrogate.

With more people working from home the number of puppy sales has increased. This is good news for local entrepreneurs who have been able to set up new businesses to work with the new dogs in the district.

New puppies increases the need for training, grooming and accessories – this has given a boost to business for three local business owners.

Holly Hamp has opened up Dog Spa Harrogate:

“I was working in a kennels and a lot of people aren’t going on holiday so it turned into the right time right place. There are a lot of people doing the same thing. People have been getting dogs over lockdown but there are concerns with that too. There has been a puppy boom which means people need their dogs grooming and walking especially as they return to work.”

Charlotte Wilson has put her work as a makeup artist on pause so instead set up a business making personalised dog accessories. She said:

“Its all based around personalisation anything from dog treats, bowls, treat baskets. It has been really successful, I didn’t think it would go that well. I am wanting to grow it with staff, eventually we hope to sell more each day to employ people that had lost their jobs. A lot of people have just got a new dog so want to spoil it with new products. People are just mad about them! I’d never tried it before but I have three dogs and I thought what do I love and that was dogs, so I ordered the printer and set it all up.”

Katie Bell has resumed her career as a dog trainer after seeing a niche for owners with new puppies over lockdown.

Read more:

• Harrogate pet shop says they missed out on puppy boom because people purchased online goods instead. 
• Police have reported a rise in people being scammed when trying to buy puppies online.

Katie Bell has trained as a dog behaviouralist but worked as a dog walker until lockdown when she saw a niche for new owners needing to train their dogs. She said:

“Since lockdown I knew there would be a lot of dogs needing help specifically with separation anxiety as their owners return to work. I am getting another dog soon so I have set up a facebook group to provide regular training videos for people to follow at home. My enquiries have massively increased, I think since people have been at home more they have realised their dog or new puppy has behavioural issues. Now the rules have eased I am able to do training in people’s gardens or indoors and I think that will only increase.”

Holly Hamp has set up a dog groomers in Harrogate after seeing the need for dog services grow.

News of this latest reported death on July 15th comes after eleven consecutive days without any coronavirus fatalities at the Hospital. It brings the total number of coronavirus deaths at the hospital to 82.

A further 8 people, who tested positive for the coronavirus have died in England, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals to 29,181. 2 of those patients were from Yorkshire and the North East.

The hospital trust said on Thursday that it had discharged a further two patients, taking the total up to 141.

Read more:

• New North Yorkshire coronavirus cases ‘remain low’
• Government should pay compensation for HCC Nightingale extension

Patients were aged between 61 and 91 years old.   All patients had known underlying health conditions.

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

This week, Harrogate Borough Council was on the receiving end of the Stray Ferret’s interest in its sparkling, circular, glass-fronted, council headquarters at Knapping Mount.  This to replace the down at heel Victorian jewel at Crescent Gardens that served as the council’s home between the 1930’s and 2017.  At question, both the decision-making rationale and the economic fundamentals of the move.  Given the usually somnolent nature of the council’s communications in response to our publication, it has been with some surprise that the investigation has provoked a series of carefully written council Tweets and a special edition of its “Resident’s News” email to issues its denials.

It seems the investigation struck a nerve; not least the claim, based on assessments made by local estate agents, architects and quantity surveyors, that the land value of the site at Knapping Mount can be estimated at £4.5 million.  Given that the adjacent Springfield Court parcel of land (which is roughly half the Knapping Mount acreage) sold with planning permission to developers for £4.8 million just a couple of years ago, this does not seem an unreasonable estimate.

In one of its Tweets the council said: “The land at civic centre did not cost the council £4.5million. We already owned it, so the cost was £0.”  This is an answer to a question the Stray Ferret did not pose.  The point made was that the council had a duty to maximise taxpayer value as it explored its relocation options, including an assessment of the value of the Knapping Mount plot, both with and without planning consents.  Saying that Knapping Mount cost £0 is either voodoo economics or commercially illiterate.  Neither is good enough.  Further, a Tweet like the one published is silly and, in my view, serves only to mislead Harrogate’s good burghers.

It leads one to the unavoidable conclusion that the council ‘did decree’ they were going to have their stately pleasure dome come what may. Close to town, nuzzled into a leafy hillside, shaped around a consensus building demi-sphere, this was to be their Xanadu.  At a time when, even pre-Covid, the council was facing real financial challenges, it was (and remains) their duty to mangle every last drop of value from the council’s estate – which they hold on trust for the public – and that should include being live to the economic potential of all its land assets.  National campaign group The Taxpayer’s Alliance agrees.

I accept that being a modern public servant is a hiding to nothing; everyone is a critic.  But when decisions are made that place a premium on vanity and status, and disregard utility, service, and cost effectiveness, they need to be called out.  The great days of building neo-gothic municipal town halls as palaces of leadership are long gone; I would argue that in contemporary society we don’t much care what the council building looks like; we care whether the services we receive for the council tax we pay feels like a fair deal.  I’m not sure Harrogate Borough Council gets it.

When Covid struck and Harrogate Convention Centre was named as one of the Government’s Nightingale Hospitals, I confess I felt pride.  And it seemed morally right that the council gave use of the facility to the NHS free of charge.  Now we know that the HCC will remain a Nightingale until at least March 2021, left in place – take your pick – either to provide specialist care, NHS Winter Pressures cover, or Covid second (or third) wave capacity.  I’ve written here before that diverting HCC away from conference use deprives Harrogate’s economy of up to £57 million per annum.  That’s a huge fiscal hole to fill, particularly in “new normal” circumstances. And now it seems the HCC may well be out of commission for two years, which has come as a bitter blow to local businesses already on their knees and (I suspect) to the chagrin of the council.  Its ‘greater good’ decision has come back to haunt it – even when it does the right thing, Harrogate Borough Council is unlucky.

Talking of which, word reaches that Boris Johnson aims to fast track his plans for regional devolution for implementation in 2022.  If brought into effect, this will mean that Harrogate Borough Council would be subsumed into a newly empowered and funded North Yorkshire unitary authority, with a directly elected Mayor.  What this will mean for the political careers of local politicians like HBC leader Richard Cooper, one can only speculate.  It wouldn’t comfort me if he were catapulted onto a larger political stage before he can demonstrate he has mastered the footlights at the local rep.  Still, if devolution does go ahead, and Harrogate Council ceases to exist, we might yet be able to realise the true value of Knapping Mount.

That’s my Strayside Sunday.

Read More:

• Strayside Sunday: Is Harrogate too dependent on its hospitality industry?
• Column: Not all of Rishi Sunak’s measures will help Harrogate’s hospitality industry

A Harrogate manufacturing firm has worked with 1st Pannal Cubs to offer a remote lesson in furniture design and building.

The Harrogate cubs troop teamed up with Create CNC to learn via Zoom how to build their own piece of birch plywood furniture. Each of the 24 members were supplied with all the materials needed to make a wooden stool with guidance from instructors.

During covid, the cub sessions have been run remotely every Friday over zoom. This task enabled them to assemble the stool with instructions and tips from Create CNC.

The cubs have had to adjust to their new virtual meetings.