Knox Lane housing refusal has ‘strengthened community spirit’

Residents on Knox Lane in Bilton have said community spirit has been “strengthened” after a plan to build 53-homes in the area was rejected.

The proposal, which was tabled by north east developer Jomast, was refused by councillors on North Yorkshire Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency planning committee yesterday.

It followed concerns about land contamination and the lack of a travel plan for the site, which is alongside a narrow road at the edge of Bilton and not close to a bus route.

The current road serving the site.

The refusal of the plan has been welcomed by residents in the area.

Sue Wrightson, of Keep Knox Natural campaign group, said local people had worked hard to make the council listen to their concerns.

She said:

“Local residents have worked very hard over the last three years to ensure that council officers were aware of the many valid reasons why this development is entirely inappropriate. 

“We have struggled to make them listen and we are very grateful to those planning committee members who have supported our case. 

“Its been a learning curve as far as planning regulations are concerned but we have enjoyed the collaboration of several local experts.

“This whole episode has really strengthened local community spirit and resolve.”

Knox Lane in Harrogate.

Councillors questioned the plans at a lengthy meeting at Harrogate’s Civic Centre yesterday.

Cllr Paul Haslam, a Conservative who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge, spoke on behalf of residents at the meeting. He said:

“There have been over 500 objections to this application from residents. Not because they are ‘nimbys’, but because they believe the council is making a mistake.”

Read more:

Liberal Democrats Cllr Chris Aldred and Cllr Hannah Gostlow raised concern that no travel plan had been submitted as part of the application.

Cllr Aldred said “insufficient information” was submitted in regards to a travel plan for councillors to make a decision.

Prior to the meeting, a report by council case officer Andy Hough said the plan was “considered to now be in compliance with development plan policy” and should be approved.

It added that the reasons for deferral at the last meeting would “not form reasonable reasons for refusal”, which indicated Jormast might successfully appeal the decision.

The Stray Ferret has approached Jomast to ask whether it is considering an appeal but had not received a response by the time of publication.

Police appeal for missing teenager who could be in Harrogate

Police have appealed for information about a missing teenager who may be in Harrogate.

Lucas Harwood, 15, was reported missing at 4.30pm on September 21.

West Yorkshire Police said he was last seen on a football pitch near Toller Lane in Bradford.

Officers say he has links to Harrogate, Leeds and Bradford.

He is described as mixed race, around 5ft 9ins tall, slim build, with short black hair and a slight moustache.

He was last seen wearing a blue tracksuit, long sleeved top and trousers in navy blue with a white stripe, he also had a black Adidas bag with him. 

A West Yorkshire Police statement added:

“Anyone with information is asked to contact police via 101 or use the Live Chat facility at
www.westyorkshire.police.uk/contactus, quoting log 1268 of 21 September.”

Read more:

 

Concern over number of York ambulances diverted to Harrogate hospital

Hospital managers in Harrogate have raised concern over the sustainability of taking in ambulance patients from York.

In a report due before a Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust board meeting, Jonathan Coulter, chief executive of the trust, said the issue was having an impact on both patient safety and staff at Harrogate District Hospital.

Mr Coulter said Harrogate had taken in more than 1,500 ambulances from York over the last 18 months.

He said:

“In the spirit of challenge and improvement, we have raised our concerns about the sustainability of the current situation, in particular the impact on patient safety and the impact on colleagues.”

Under a previous agreement, the hospital took in ambulances which had been diverted away from York Hospital during times when the organisation’s emergency department was under pressure.

Harrogate took in patients in an “ad-hoc” manner, meaning that ambulances would request support from hospitals which had the capacity at any given time.

Read more:

The trust agreed with Yorkshire Ambulance Service and York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to amend the agreement in May 2023 and redraw the boundaries between the two hospitals and to take patients in a “planned way”.

However, in a statement to the Stray Ferret, the trust said it still receives ad-hoc requests from ambulances some four months later.

A spokesperson said:

“Following a constructive review with both Yorkshire Ambulance Service and York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, in May 2023 we agreed to redraw the geographical boundaries between hospitals in Harrogate and York. Ambulances that previously would have gone to York now come to Harrogate, but in a planned, rather than ad-hoc way.

“Despite this new arrangement, there is still significant pressure across our health system and we continue to receive ad-hoc requests to divert ambulances to Harrogate.

“Providing the best possible healthcare for people who need our help is our main priority and we are in discussions with system partners to see what solutions can be introduced to alleviate pressures before we enter the winter period.”

Members of the hospital trust board will discuss the report at a meeting on Wednesday (September 27).

Ofsted upgrades Woodlands Day Nursery to ‘good’

Woodlands Day Nursery in Harrogate has been rated ‘good’ by Ofsted.

The findings were published in a report on Friday following an inspection in August.

The assessment means the nursery on Wetherby Road has been upgraded from its previous ‘requires improvement’ grading last year.

Government inspectors said the nursery, which was registered in 2000, was ‘good’ in all four categories: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management.

They described it as a warm and welcoming place where children are eager to join their friends. They added that children make good progress and are supported by dedicated and nurturing staff.

The report said:

“Play and learning in the nursery is led by children. The varied curriculum focuses on their interests, next steps, and experiences from home.

“Children settle quickly and soon form strong bonds with staff and other children. They behave very well.

“With clear guidance from patient staff, they learn to understand and manage their emotions.”

Children learn sign language and Spanish, and have excellent communication skills and a broad vocabulary, the report added.

Inspectors also found children “develop their independence from an early age and are fully prepared for the eventual move on to school.”

The management team was praised for its “passionate and ambitious” attitude. The report said:

“The management team works extremely hard to drive improvements in this nursery.

“This is reflected in the enthusiasm of their staff team. Together, they have created a culture of teamwork and support that values each member of staff and promotes a strong culture of continual improvement.”

The report also praised the level of communication between parents and staff and found “parents share a wealth of positive experiences that clearly depict the dedication, enthusiasm and care provided by the staff team.”

Read more:

Area to improve

However, inspectors did report sometimes “staff are not perceptive to children’s curiosity during their play and do not help them make connections in their learning.”

They added:

“Children play in the garden every day. Staff plan some activities for children here. However, these are not well thought out, and staff do not provide a good range of resources that interest children and motivate them to explore.

“Consequently, children do not benefit from the same rich learning experiences as they do in their rooms, and some children wander around with little focus for their play.”

Ofsted said to improve, staff should be “more perceptive to children’s curiosity and emerging lines of enquiry during their play”, as well as consider “children’s interests so that they are engaged and motivated to explore and build on what they already know and can do.”

‘Positive direction’

 Nursery manager Suzie Wighton said in response to the report:

“We are absolutely thrilled to have received a ‘good’ rating following our recent Ofsted inspection.

“It’s a testament to the dedication and hard work of our amazing team, who work tirelessly to provide a safe, nurturing, and enriching environment for the children in our care.

“Moving forward, we are very excited about the positive direction we are heading. We will keep building on this success and remain fully committed to providing the best care for our children.”

Woodlands Day Nursery is part of Just Childcare – a group of day nurseries with branches across the north west, Yorkshire and the south west of England.

Bleak future forecast for many small, local rural schools

The succession of rural primary school closures across England’s largest county are “only likely to get worse”, a meeting has heard.

Andrew Smith, the Diocese of York’s director of education, issued the bleak warning facing many communities in North Yorkshire as councillors were told some 16 primary schools had closed in the last six years.

The list includes five in the Harrogate district: Woodfield Community Primary School in Harrogate, Burnt Yates Church of England Primary School, Kell Bank Church of England Primary School near Masham, Baldersby St James Church of England Primary School and Skelton Newby Hall Church of England Primary School.

Woodfield Community Primary School in Harrogate, which is at risk of closure.

Woodfield Community Primary School closed last year.

The other 11 were at Drax, Horton in Ribblesdale, Rathmell, Ingleby Arncliffe, Swainb, Ings, Arkengarthdale, Clapham, Whitby,  Weaverthorpe and Hovingham.

Mr Smith told a meeting of North Yorkshire Council’s children and families scrutiny committee the diocese was keenly aware of the vulnerability of many rural schools. Dozens of Church of England schools co-run by North Yorkshire Council have fewer than 100 pupils and many have declining pupil numbers.

Councillors heard financial pressures on the county’s smaller schools were rising, with the average school deficit soaring from £16,400 in 2015 to £57,900 this year. Also, the number of primary school age pupils was set to fall in every area of the county except the Selby and Craven areas.

The meeting heard, governors and headteachers were  often forced to make cutbacks to balance the books. This led to decisions that could result in an ‘inadequate’ rating from Ofsted, which automatically triggers moves to convert schools into academies.

Mr Smith said:

“We have known for some time we are going to be facing an oversupply of places and therefore there needs to be a planned way of working to think what happens to schools going forward where we have got over-capacity.

“Over-capacity brings its own financial challenges and that begins a downward spiral with regards to finances.”

Read more:

He said as academies legally could not underpin their budgets with deficits as the council could, they were reluctant to take on smaller schools.

Mr Smith said:

“We are in a position where we have to have a closure process for schools because there is no other alternative.

“We are highly reactive in the system and don’t necessarily have a plan for it.

“I think it is only likely to get worse because where the financial projections are going it is likely we are going to face more school closures.

“It is a strategic, systemic problem in a fragmented system.”

Council officers then told the meeting Mr Smith had summed up the situation excellently.

They said the council was examining how it could encourage schools to work together to create “strength in numbers” to prevent the most vulnerable ones finding themselves without an academy sponsor.

Councillors urged the authority to give struggling schools more back office support.

After councillors also called on the authority to intervene earlier, such as when a school was seen to be making cutbacks on spending such as music lessons, officers said they were holding “a series of quite challenging discussions with governing boards over this autumn term where there are financial challenges”.

An officer told members:

“We are having those early discussions so governors are aware of what the risks are.”

 

Business Breakfast: Harrogate business meeting to focus on inflation

A Harrogate business group will focus on inflation and economic growth at its next monthly meeting.

Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce will host its next meeting on Monday, October 9, at the Crown Hotel.

Guest speakers will include Paul Mount, the Bank of England’s deputy agent for Yorkshire and the Humber.

He will be setting out the bank’s view on the future path of inflation, economic growth and employment in the UK.

The meeting will also hear from David Denton, technical consultant for Quilter, who will discuss practical tax and financial planning information resulting from the budget and the current climate.

The event begins with networking at 5.30pm and ends at 8pm. For more information and to book a place, visit the Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce website here.

Growth hub to launch peer-to-peer business support scheme

A peer-to-peer support programme for businesses in Harrogate and Ripon is set to launch next week.

Organised by the York and North Yorkshire Growth Hub, the scheme aims to help local entrepreneurs with insightful discussions on their business’s challenges and successes.

The sessions will be run by Next Step and is funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Participants will receive one hour of one-on-one discussions before the program to assess their business’s needs and two hours of bespoke one-on-one support

The events will take place over six weeks in Harrogate and Ripon from October 3.

For more information and to express an interest in the scheme, visit the York and North Yorkshire Growth Hub website here.

Read more:

 

Councillors reject plans for 53 homes on Knox Lane

Councillors have rejected controversial plans to build 53 homes on Knox Lane in Harrogate.

The proposal, by north-east property developer Jomast, was deferred by councillors at the end of May for a third time.

Today’s decision follows concerns about land contamination and the lack of a travel plan for the site, which is alongside a narrow road at the edge of Bilton and not close to a bus route.

A 45-page report published before the meeting by case officer Andy Hough said the plan was “considered to now be in compliance with development plan policy” and should be approved.

It added that the reasons for deferral at the last meeting would “not form reasonable reasons for refusal”, which indicated Jormast might successfully appeal the decision.

The report also said approval would be subject to conditions and the developer paying a section 106 agreement to compensate for the impact of the scheme on local infrastructure.

But elected councillors on North Yorkshire Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency planning committee today voted against Mr Hough’s recommendation.

Council officers said they were “satisfied” with land contamination sampling which was carried out by the developer.

However, residents still raised concern over the plan regarding land contamination and the absence of a travel plan.

Cllr Paul Haslam, a Conservative who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge, spoke on behalf of residents at the meeting. He said:

“There have been over 500 objections to this application from residents. Not because they are ‘nimbys’, but because they believe the council is making a mistake.”

Cllr Haslam added if there was no Local Plan and suitable land supply, this application “would have been turned down”.

Meanwhile, Cllr Hannah Goslow, a Liberal Democrat who represents East, said:

“I would not be able to support this without seeing a travel plan.”

Read more:

Nick Turpin, the council’s planning case officer, said a condition could be added to the approval of the application that a travel plan is submitted.

Cllr Robert Windass, a member of the planning committee, said he felt councillors had delayed a decision on the proposal and “kicked it down the road three times already”.

He added:

“With this site, we stand to gain quite a number of affordable homes and social housing.”

However, councillors voted against the proposal by five votes and one abstention.

Cllr Chris Aldred, who was among those who rejected the plan, said “insufficient information” was submitted in regards to a travel plan for councillors to make a decision.

He also raised concern over the impact on an area of special landscape and the loss of biodiversity.

Seven weeks of roadworks set to begin in Harrogate town centre

Roadworks are to begin next week on some of Harrogate town centre’s busiest routes.

The work, which is due to start on Monday and last for seven weeks, will see traffic lights on key routes including Parliament Street, Ripon Road, King’s Road and Cold Bath Road.

The disruption will enable gas distributor Northern Gas Networks to replace metal pipes with plastic pipes.

Cold Bath Road could be the worst affected route, with “multiple lights” operating for five weeks.

It is the continuation of road works that were “paused” a year ago following delays.

Northern Gas Networks said last week it would be digging up Skipton Road in a separate scheme over half-term.

Here’s what the company said is involved with the latest work starting next week.

Crescent Road lane closure and traffic lights 

A lane closure will be introduced on Crescent Road and Ripon Road along with four-way lights at the junction of Crescent Road, Parliament Street, Ripon Road and Kings Road for two weeks. The existing lights will be bagged, and temporary traffic lights will be in operation from 7am to 7pm.

Traffic on Parliament Street is likely to be affected.

Montpellier Road (roundabout) & Montpellier Hill Lane closure

A lane closure will be implemented on Montpellier Road (roundabout) and Montpellier Hill Lane for two weeks.

Cold Bath Road traffic lights and parking suspensions

Multiple two and three-way lights will be introduced on Cold Bath Road for five weeks starting from Monday.

Multiple traffic lights will be on Cold Bath Road.

Wellington Square Road closure

A road closure will be implemented on Wellington Square for two weeks.

Northern Gas Networks said traffic lights will be manned seven days a week between 7am and 7pm “to ensure a smooth flow of traffic”.

Scott Kitchingman, business operations lead for Northern Gas Networks, said the work was vital “to continue to maintain a safe and reliable gas supply to the residents of Harrogate” and apologised for any inconvenienced.

He added:

“We completed phase one of this project in autumn 2022. It was a complex scheme during which we faced multiple engineering challenges because of the depth of the gas main.

“This caused a delay to our timescales and meant we were unable to complete the following phase within a reasonable timeframe without impacting customers and businesses during the busy Christmas period.

“Collaborating closely with North Yorkshire County Council, we’ve worked hard to review the remaining work and plan this final phase in a way that minimises impact to residents and local businesses as much as possible.”

Read more:

 

Harrogate recycling project celebrates 20th anniversary

A community project run by Harrogate’s Bettys & Taylors celebrated its 20th anniversary last week.

The Cone Exchange marked two decades of recycling on Friday.

The idea was sparked by Chris Powell who worked in the Taylors tea production hall at the time.

He was showing a group of children around the factory, when one child saw a cardboard cone being put into a recycling bin and requested to take it home to make a Christmas angel.

From there, the Cone Exchange was born and has since dedicated itself to recycling waste, raising money for charities and bringing the community together.

The project, which is based on the Bettys & Taylors Harrogate site, collects waste from businesses and the wider community to raise money, which is then donated to local charities, including Horticap and Henshaws.

It has also worked with a range of local initiatives, including planting trees with the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, as well as providing work experience for people with additional needs.

Mr Powell is now the events and education co-ordinator for the project and has helped over 200 schools, playgroups and community groups teach young people about recycling.

He said:

“From that first spark of the idea for the Cone Exchange, our aim has always been to release the potential of things that others might see as waste, and seeing the ability, not disability, in people.

“By encouraging the reuse and repurposing of items that some might consider ‘trash’ into treasure, we try to capture people’s imaginations and show them how they can make a difference to protect the planet and raise funds for local good causes.

“I don’t think any of us ever imagined how far-reaching our impact would be so it’s lovely to celebrate and thank so many of our key partners and supporters from the last two decades.”

The Cone Exchange has raised over £200,000 in the last decade from talks, events and sales of recycled materials.

Sarah Wells, community manager at Bettys & Taylors, added:

“We have long-standing partnerships with some brilliant local charities and groups and by working together, we create a wider-reaching impact. Not to mention our team of community volunteers who give their time, crafty skills, and ideas, and without whom we couldn’t run the project.

“And finally, this special occasion offers us the opportunity to recognise and thank Chris. His dedication and creative vision for this project, along with his commitment to supporting our local community has been enduring for 20 years and we are delighted to be able to recognise these achievements today.”

Read more:

 

Harrogate police officer receives British Empire Medal

A Harrogate police officer was awarded a British Empire Medal today in recognition of his services to policing and charity.

Sergeant Paul Cording was honoured in the king’s birthday honours list in June.

Today, Sgt Cording received his medal from the Lord-Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, Jo Ropner at her Camp Hill Estate near Bedale.

Sgt Cording joined North Yorkshire Police in 2001 and moved to the roads policing department in 2010.

He has since been called to over 100 fatal road traffic collisions and become well-known for tweeting about life as a roads policing sergeant in North Yorkshire.  He has also featured on Channel 5’s Traffic Cops.

Sgt Cording was nominated for the award by the chief constable’s office.

In a social media post, Sgt Cording said:

“What an amazing and humbling experience to be in a room with such incredible people.

“My thanks to North Yorkshire Lieutenancy and Jo Ropner for presenting my award and thank you to everyone that has and continues to support me.”

In another post on X, Sgt Cording described his anticipation for the awards ceremony as:

“Proud moment in the Cording household if not a little bit overwhelmed by it all.”

Besides his police work, Sgt Cording frequently supports charities.

He visits local schools to educate young people and children on road traffic safety, and this year ran 325km in a week to honour the 325 people killed or seriously injured on North Yorkshire’s roads in 2021.

Read more: