‘I will not close Starbeck Baths’, vows council leader

The leader of Harrogate Borough Council has said he will not close Starbeck Baths after approving a shake-up of the district’s leisure services.

Residents in Starbeck vowed to fight any future threat to the 150-year-old baths after a council officer report suggested the facility’s future “would need to be considered”.

But council leader Richard Cooper said he has made it clear that it will not close under his leadership.

It comes as the borough council’s cabinet voted to set up a new company to run services, including Starbeck, as part of an overhaul of leisure and sport.

The council said the move would help to save around £400,000 a year on services. Starbeck Baths were among the facilities which increased in cost year on year.

Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet addressed the fears over Starbeck Baths at a virtual meeting on YouTube last night.

A Freedom of Information request by The Stray Ferret showed the bill for running the baths increased from £234,193 in 2018/19 to an estimated £239,370 last year.

In a report before cabinet, the council estimated that it would save around £191,000 a year without Starbeck following investment and redevelopment of its other leisure facilities.

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Cllr Cooper said at the meeting streamed live on YouTube that he would not close the facility and the authority was being open with the costs of the baths:

“While I sit here, we are not closing Starbeck Baths and in any case it is not part of the plans. 

“It is just telling people how much things cost because we want people to know.”

Meanwhile, Michael Constantine, head of culture, tourism and sport, said the move was not a “stalking horse” and that any closure would need a separate council decision.

But Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said the she would rather Cllr Cooper had made a whole council commitment to Starbeck:

“I am pleased to hear the comments and to give the people that reassurance, but are we still going to have him as leader in a few years’ time?

“It would have been better if he had said: ‘This council will not close Starbeck Baths’.”

Last night, senior councillors voted to set up Brimham’s Active to run its leisure services which cost the taxpayer £3.5 million in the last financial year.

The authority will also borrow £26 million from the government’s Public Works Loans Board to fund an investment strategy into the Harrogate Hydro and a new leisure centre in Knaresborough.

The new company is expected to be operating by August 2021 and will cost the council £300,000 to set up.

Harrogate Council approves leisure services overhaul

Harrogate Borough Council will set up a new company to run leisure in the district as part of a shake-up of the service and press ahead with borrowing £26 million to invest in facilities.

Senior councillors on the authority’s cabinet last night voted to create the company, called Brimham’s Active, to run services such as the Harrogate Hydro.

The authority will also look to approach the government’s Public Works Loans Board to borrow £26 million to fund two capital projects, which include a refurbishment of the Hydro and a new leisure centre in Knaresborough.

It follows a council consultation which saw nearly half of respondents disagree with the move and residents in Starbeck vowing to fight any future threat to the area’s 150-year-old baths.

Councillors said the investment strategy and the new company go “hand in hand” and will help to reduce costs on maintenances and running leisure and sport.

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Stan Lumley, cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport at the authority, described the decision to set up the company as a “major decision” for the council.

He said: “It is the biggest financial decision for the council for many years and the investment strategy is crucial to enhance services.

“The company does what it says on the tin. It is not a privatised company, It is something I have been pushing for these past two years to make clear that it is administered by the council.”

Harrogate Hydro is among the facilities which will be run by the new leisure company.

Among the facilities that will be run by Brimham’s Active will be the Harrogate Hydro, Ripon Leisure Centre and Nidderdale Leisure Centre.

Leisure services in the district currently run at a loss of £3.5 million a year and some facilities have increased in cost year on year.

The council will spend £300,000 to set up the company through project start up costs and it is expected to operate from August 2021.

The decision will now go to a full council meeting to be rubber stamped.

Harrogate driving instructors fearful of returning to work

Harrogate driving instructors are worried about the health risks of returning to work after struggling financially during lockdown.

Tam Gallagher, chairman of the Harrogate Association of Approved Driving Instructors (HAADI), said that instructors have been told to expect to go back to work on July 6. That’s alongside other professions that can’t work with the two-metre social distancing rule, such as hairdressers. But they are aware of the ongoing risks involved with working in an enclosed space.

He said:

“Some instructors who have underlying health issues are fearful of going back. They are going to go back to work with the hope that they don’t catch anything, but if they don’t work then they don’t make money.”

A handful of instructors of Harrogate have been teaching key workers how to drive during the lockdown but most have had to cancel or postpone lessons.

Mr Gallagher estimated that each instructor will miss out on £15,000 to £20,000 this year, even after the government’s self-employment grant of £6,000 is paid out.

All instructors in Harrogate are self-employed but some are attached to franchises, such as Bill Plant, which provides instructors with pupils and a car.

However, some instructors didn’t qualify for the grant because last year they were employed and only recently qualified recently to be an instructor.

Mr Gallagher said one instructor in the town has had to take drastic measures to balance the books.

He said:

“I know one who said he had to sell his caravan in Harrogate. He can’t afford to pay his rent so had to sell the caravan to offset the losses. He doesn’t get anything.”

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On Monday, the government issued guidance on driving tests which ended three months of uncertainty for HAADI’s 28 driving instructors. This included how instructors can protect themselves and their students with PPE.

Mr Gallagher said:

“It was a long time coming. We just didn’t know what was happening. The government wouldn’t even say all tests were cancelled. We were sitting and waiting. They didn’t tell us soon enough.”

Shops outside Harrogate town centre feel “left out”

A number of shops that aren’t in the centre of Harrogate have told The Stray Ferret they lack a voice because of their location.

Retail shops on Skipton Road and Kings Road in Harrogate say they get no publicity compared with the stores in the centre of town – and worry that people don’t know they’re now open.

Anne-Marie Hall, the owner of Little Darlings, a children’s clothes and accessories shop on Church Avenue told The Stray Ferret:

“Now is make or break, especially if you aren’t in the town centre and you don’t get the natural footfall of customers. I just want people to know we are here.”

The shops in the centre of town who pay a levy to the BID, received free social distancing floor markings and posters. The shops owners further out were able to print posters made available by the council but said they had to buy stickers for floor markings.

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Inside Victoria Lane on Kings Road

Similarly, Victoria Lane, the owner of her shop on King’s Road said:

“I don’t think people know about this road, it’s an interesting parade of shops. We feel a bit left out. People can do a lot of shopping here, but they don’t know about it.”

No plans to close Henshaws College as charity cuts services

There are no plans to close Henshaws College despite the charity cutting back some of its services to balance the books.

Henshaws has cut the Arts and Crafts Centre as well as its supported living services but the college is safe for the foreseeable future.

The charity told The Stray Ferret that the college is a regulated service with different contractual responsibilities and different funding.

It has been open during lockdown with just over half of its pupils attending. The rest are either off because their parents are keeping them away or because the college does not have enough room.

Whether preparing for employment, making friends, or learning to live more independently, the college offers flexible courses for disabled young people.

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Henshaws College is still accepting applications for the next academic year and is planning to hold a virtual open day in July.

The charity says it is proud of the work it has done in the lockdown and has also won praise from the Department for Education and the CQC.

Second Black Lives Matter demo in Harrogate hopes to gather momentum

Organisers are expecting a big crowd to turn up to a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Harrogate this weekend.

The demonstration starts on Saturday at 2pm on Montpellier Hill. They will advise people to keep their distance and speakers will talk about their experiences of racism.

Josephine Mary decided to set up the event in response to the death of George Floyd and because she felt like she had not done enough to stand up to racism.

It will be the second Black Lives Matter protest after people gathered to take a knee by the war memorial at the start of the month.

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Since setting up the demonstration Josephine has been subject to a backlash. She said people are worried that there will be clashes with the far-right.

That’s something she does not see happening in Harrogate. North Yorkshire Police are aware of the demonstration and will be attending.

Ahead of the demonstration, Josephine Mary told The Stray Ferret:

“I still see some racist comments from people in Harrogate, they struggle to understand institutional racism and that’s part of why we are doing this. We have ignored for too long the violence and abuse BAME people suffer. We can’t be quiet anymore, this isn’t going away until racism stops.”

No further coronavirus deaths at Harrogate hospital

Harrogate District Hospital has reported no further deaths from patients who tested positive for coronavirus, according to NHS figures today.

It means that the covid-19 death toll remains at 78 for people who have died in hospital in the district.

Meanwhile, a further 77 patients who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospitals across England. Eight of those were in North East and Yorkshire.

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NHS England said the patients were aged between 29 and 98 years old. Two patients, aged 62 and 98, had no known underlying health conditions.

It brings the death toll nationally in the country’s hospitals to 28,138.

Yesterday, it was revealed that care homes in Harrogate had reported 83 coronavirus deaths.

Harrogate Stonefall recycling centre to open after traffic review

Harrogate Stonefall household waste recycling centre will reopen tomorrow after a council review into traffic and safety around the site.

North Yorkshire County Council closed all of its centres as part of the national lockdown back in March but did not open Stonefall along with others in May.

Stonefall will reopen tomorrow from 8.30am to 5pm and will be operating the usual six days a week – every day except for Wednesdays.

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Staff will be unable to help unload so only take items you can handle yourself and make sure you keep two metres apart.

They will not accept any hardcore, rubble, plasterboard, tyres and wastes from charities along with the other recycling centres.

Cllr Andrew Lee, North Yorkshire County Council’s Executive Member for Waste Management, said:

“We are really pleased to be able to re-open this very popular site. It is one of the busiest sites in the county, so it has taken a little bit longer to be able to open it safely. We have worked hard with our contractors, Yorwaste, to be able to reopen this site to ensure the safety of staff and the public.”

Hand sanitising facilities at sites are limited, so people are advised to wear gloves on-site and are reminded to wash their hands before and after attending.

Family feels ‘let down’ by Henshaws senior management

The family of a person with disabilities living in a Henshaws’ home said they felt let down and upset when they found out that the service will stop – four months after the original decision was made.

Henshaws announced publicly yesterday that it’s to close supported living services in October – affecting about 21 residents. The charity had told North Yorkshire County Council back in March that it was unable to continue the service.

The Stray Ferret spoke to two families today – one who currently has a family member in assisted living at Henshaws, the other whose child was previously a resident.

Both were deeply critical of the charity’s management of finances. They also said that upper management rarely met with the people who used the service.

The family member whose loved one is currently in care said they were kept in the dark about the decision to close the service and they are now very worried about what happens next.

“The impact of this is on vulnerable adults who don’t have a voice. I feel sorry for the service users and for the staff who work hard and they have been working even harder during coronavirus. We don’t know what will happen next but if there are big changes then it will be hugely traumatic for the disabled people living in Henshaws. The management should be ashamed for letting the finances get to this point.”

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The latest financial account for Henshaws details how in the year up to August 2018, the charity spent £12.3 million – a £1 million more than its income.

Another person who had their child in one of Henshaws’ homes for several years echoed those frustrations:

“I am not surprised that Henshaws has decided to stop its support living service. The staff in charge had tried their best to run a good service but they had not been supported adequately by the head office.”

The charity is also closing its Arts and Crafts service in Knaresborough, which caters to about 160 people.

Henshaws had previously been running a fundraising appeal ‘Art is the Start’ to update the centre to suit the people who use it. But has now concluded the centre is no longer economically viable.

The comments from family members follows a statement yesterday from the charity’s CEO Nick Marr:

“Henshaws Home Support service was on a knife edge financially and the pressure on local authorities funding these and other places has increased. We are not able to sustain these services so we intend to transition out of providing them, at the latest, in October, to ensure the best continuity can be arranged for the service users. We will be consulting with staff in the service about the future of their roles.”

Nearly half disagree with council’s leisure service shake-up

As senior Harrogate councillors decide on setting up a new leisure company to run services across the district, the responses from the public have not all been positive.

Nearly half of the 433 respondents to the council’s consultation on the future of leisure and sport said they either strongly disagreed or disagreed with the plan to set up an arms length company.

The authority is to vote tonight on whether or not to set up the company owned by the council, called Brimham’s Active, to run services such as the Harrogate Hydro and Ripon Leisure Centre.

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Within the consultation document there are a number of reasons why people don’t agree with the proposal.

One person said they were concerned that the move was the first step toward higher prices.

“Although it will be a Local Authority Controlled Company, I see this as the first step to handing over the company to a private company for profit and this would lead to higher charges in the long run.”

Another said the authority should retain control of the service.

“Given the anticipated savings are not proportionally huge, I would rather the council stayed in full control.”

Others said it should serve the interest of the wider public.

Giving over control of our wonderful leisure services to a private company (even a LACC), whose primary aim will be to generate a profit rather than serve the best interests of the society, seems a very bad idea.

Around 27% neither agreed or disagreed with the proposal, 19% agreed and 8% strongly agreed.

If given the go-ahead, the company would run services in Harrogate, Ripon, Knaresborough and Nidderdale.

The council said the company and future investment would help to save money on leisure services which currently operate at a £3.5 million loss.

But the plans have been met by opposition from both residents in Starbeck, where the local baths future would be considered by the council, and unions which expressed concern at the consultation process.