The story is sponsored by Kempston-Parkes Chartered Surveyors.
A firm of chartered surveyors founded in a back bedroom 12 years ago is on track to break through the £1 million turnover barrier this year, its founder has revealed.
Kempston-Parkes has grown its client base and turnover every year for over a decade, and is now the foremost Harrogate firm in its sector, with nine professionally qualified members of staff and six administrators.
The landmark turnover figure comes as a welcome milestone for Andrew Kempston-Parkes, who founded the firm in 2011.
Having started his working life at the Valuation Office Agency – part of the Inland Revenue – he received his professional qualifications from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in 1997. He started carrying out residential valuations and survey work in 1999, and worked for over a decade at a national firm of chartered surveyors in Leeds and then Harrogate before branching out on his own. He said:
“Working for such a large company, I’d progressively moved further away from the client; in fact, I was encouraged to have as little communication with the client as possible, which I felt flew in the face of professionalism.
“Setting up on my own was the right decision. There is a healthy market for honest, personal service with clear communication and a human touch.”
Kempston-Parkes Chartered Surveyors focuses on pre-purchase surveys (RICS Level 2 HomeBuyerReport and RICS Level 3 Survey), along with valuations for all purposes: purchase, inheritance tax, capital gains tax and matrimonial assessments, as well as Party Wall Act boundary disputes and Land Registry plans.
Mr Kempston-Parkes said a lot had changed since he first entered the profession, including the approach to customer service:
“There’s a lot more diversity in the workforce now, which is great, and the technology’s developed beyond all recognition – we have iPads, laser measurers, drones, thermal imaging equipment, telescopic poles – lots of technology to help us see things that are out of reach.
“And as an industry, we’re concentrating more and more on what clients need. We’re a lot more responsive. If you have a problem with land or property in the Harrogate area, we’re the people to come to.”
Find out more:
Kempston-Parkes Chartered Surveyors provide surveys and valuations for all purposes, including purchase, inheritance tax, capital gains tax, matrimonial assessments, boundary disputes and Land Registry plans.
For more information, go to www.kempston-parkes.co.uk, or for a confidential conversation about your requirements, call 01423 789111.
‘Grim’ future predicted for Harrogate cycling after funding snub
Cyclists have expressed concern about the future of active travel in the Harrogate district after funding for two schemes was rejected.
The Department for Transport’s active travel fund last month turned down North Yorkshire County Council’s bid for £3.19 million.
It would have paid for segregated cycle routes on Victoria Avenue in Harrogate and on the A59 in Knaresborough between Mother Shipton’s Cave and Harrogate Golf Club.
Coming on the back of the county council’s decision to scrap phase two of the Otley Road cycle route, it has left plans for a connected, segregated cycle route between Harrogate train station and Cardale Park in tatters.
It has also raised questions about whether the council can deliver on active travel schemes despite the rhetoric.
Harrogate cycling campaigner Malcolm Margolis said
“The future for investment in cycling in Harrogate is clearly grim if the council is unable to attract government funding.
“It will only do that if it shows that it can deliver, which it has repeatedly failed to do for many years.
“That’s one of the reasons why the Station Gateway project must go ahead, not only that it would greatly improve the town centre, but that it shows the council has the capacity to turn successful bids to improve the public realm into successful changes on the ground.”
Cycleways on Station Parade are a key feature of the Station Gateway.
Read more:
- Cycling signs on Otley Road are ‘temporary measure’
- Government rejects cycling schemes in Harrogate and Knaresborough
Kevin Douglas, chairman of Harrogate District Cycle Action, agreed next month’s expected gateway decision was now of even greater significance given the legacy of failed cycling schemes. He said:
“If the council can’t attract government funding then it isn’t looking good for cycling.
“The government is reducing funding for active travel so it will be more difficult to succeed with bids and without a track record it will be doubly difficult.”
The Conservative-run North Yorkshire Council, which has replaced the county council, has said it will abide by its Liberal Democrat-controlled Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee’s gateway decision on May 30.
‘Immense challenges’
Cllr Keane Duncan, the Conservative executive member for highways and transportation on North Yorkshire Council, said the local authority remained determined to “rebalance transport” in the town and would “not be dispirited” by Active Travel England’s rejection.
He said:
“We know the immense challenges the town is facing in terms of congestion, air quality and road safety. Unless the new North Yorkshire Council takes action to address these problems, they will only get worse.
“Rebalancing transport and promoting more sustainable travel is essential, but with limited financial resources and often vocal opposition, this is not always easy to deliver in practical terms.”
The Otley Road cycleway
Cllr Duncan added:
“The Otley Road corridor remains a challenge, but I stand by the decision to step back from phase two of the cycleway to allow local councillors to consider alternative options.
“And of course, it will be local councillors who will determine the hot topic of gateway once and for all. They will give their verdict and I will respect this. I feel this is the fairest possible approach.
The Stray Ferret asked Active Travel England why it rejected North Yorkshire County Council’s bid.
A spokesman said it couldn’t go into detail until the successful applicants were notified after next month’s local elections. They added:
“Each bid we have received has undergone a robust assessment process that considered a range of criteria. Feedback is being provided to authorities with unsuccessful bids over the next few weeks.
“Active Travel England will support local authorities in designing and delivering schemes that meet national standards for safety and accessibility.”
Calls for tougher parking enforcement in Harrogate district
Councillors have called for tougher parking enforcement in towns and villages in North Yorkshire.
North Yorkshire Council’s transport, economy, environment and enterprise scrutiny committee heard yesterday some visitor hotspot villages were examining how parking restrictions could be introduced as it was impacting on residents’ quality of life.
One elected member claimed “nothing seems to be done about people parking on pavements”, while others highlighted issues resulting from people parking in residential areas to avoid payments.
The meeting heard North Yorkshire has a forecast £3m annual parking enforcement surplus.
It also heard claims that an unfair proportion of the resources generated had been pumped into Harrogate-based projects in recent years.
An officer’s report to councillors revealed how the the lion’s share of the surplus had been used to reimburse bus operators for pensioners’ concessionary fares, boost the road repairs budget and improve the A1(M) junction 47 between Harrogate and York.
Councillors expressed concerns that while parking enforcement surpluses in some areas had been used to bolster general council “rainy day” funds, Harrogate Borough Council had put forward a lengthy wish list of transport and road projects for its area.
Committee chairman, Cllr David Staveley, a Conservative who represents Settle & Penyghent, said:
“It does feel slightly inequitable to other areas that have possibly contributed quite substantially to that fund. It does some of our areas are getting slightly short-changed.
“I think going forward we are one council. All residents should get a fair crack of the whip.”
Labour Cllr Melanie Ann Davis, who represents Selby West, said enforcement in Selby, which had received a “derisory” three per cent of the parking enforcement income, was “very poor” due to a lack of wardens.
She said:
“I think we need an assurance that there is going to be a new look at this to see that there is a much more uniform service.”
The meeting heard although the parking enforcement surplus had been collected from across the county, there had been an agreement that Harrogate and Scarborough councils be consulted on how it was spent.
Councillors were told while the authority’s position would remain focused on encouraging off-street parking to reduce congestion, the launch of the unitary authority and the unification of off-street and street parking responsibilities at the new council presented an opportunity to review policies and investment priorities.
The authority’s corporate director, Karl Battersby, said the surplus was currently being spent on an “eclectic mix” of legally permissable projects.
He added the review would examine the county’s “mixed bag of charges, policies, enforcement”, and links between parking and active travel. He said:
North Yorkshire Council bans TikTok from staff phones“Going forward we are going to have a proper look at what this budget should and shouldn’t fund.”
North Yorkshire Council has banned the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok from staff devices over security fears.
The move means people working for the new council are not be allowed to use the app on any work devices.
Staff have also been “strongly discouraged” from using the app on personal devices that are also used for work purposes.
It follows the lead of parliament, which banned the app last month.
A council spokesperson said the ban came into effect from April 1, which was the council’s first day of existence.
TikTok has over 1.5 billion users around the world and allows people to create and share short-form videos.
However, there have been growing fears over what the company does with the personal data it collects from users.
TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has strongly denied allegations that it shares data with the Chinese government.
Assistant director of technology for North Yorkshire Council, Madeline Hoskin, said:
“North Yorkshire Council does not allow the media sharing app TikTok on any of its corporate devices and it is not approved to be used for any work purpose.
“In addition to this, we would strongly discourage any use of the app or website on personal devices that are also being used for work purposes.
“We have made this decision because both the TikTok app and the website collect a lot of personal and very detailed information that is stored outside of the UK, and though currently this data is predominantly used for targeted advertising, the volume and depth of the data being captured and stored poses a potential risk we do not believe is acceptable.”
‘Fundamental misconceptions’
A TikTok spokesperson said:
“We believe recent bans are based on fundamental misconceptions and driven by wider geopolitics, in which TikTok and our community around the world play no part.
“We remain committed to working with governments and partners to address any security concerns, but ask to be judged on facts, not fears, and treated equally to our competitors.
“We have already begun implementing a comprehensive plan to further protect our US and European user data, building on the principles of local data storage and introducing third-party independent oversight of our approach.”
Read more:
Landmark Harrogate business put up for sale
A Harrogate family business has been put up for sale after 26 years of trading from its landmark location.
Motorhouse has been selling used cars from its premises on Ripon Road between New Park and Killinghall since 1998, but now owner John Steele has decided to sell up.
The property, called Harrogate View Grange, includes Motorhouse’s showroom with garage and workshop, a 25-car forecourt, and a three-bedroom house with undercroft garaging.
An aerial view. Pic: Myrings
It is being sold via online auction by Harrogate estate agent Myrings, with a starting bid of £800,000. The auction is due to close at 2pm on Thursday, April 27.
Myrings’ description says:
“Motorhouse is a successful family business since 1967, and offers a unique and rare opportunity to acquire a prime car supermarket site and adjoining period three-bedroom house with undercroft garaging.”
Mr Steele started out in the motor trade in 1967, with a van-for-sale advert in his local newspaper. As his business expanded, he acquired sites in Leeds and Wakefield, before eventually moving to the current premises in 1998.
Read more:
- Used car dealership launches in Harrogate as second hand market booms
- Safety audit to be carried out at Killinghall junction
- Killinghall awnings company wins national business award
Starbeck Baths to be closed until late May
Starbeck Baths looks set to be closed for several weeks due to an “unforeseen mechanical failure”.
The Victorian swimming pool closed on Thursday last week. Its website says an air leak in the pool plant equipment caused poor water clarity.
The timing was unfortunate because of the ongoing Easter school holidays as well as the long-term closure of The Hydro in nearby Harrogate for a delayed £11.8 million upgrade.
Brimhams Active, which was set up by Harrogate Borough Council but is now run by North Yorkshire Council, manages leisure facilities in the Harrogate district.
North Yorkshire Council’s assistant director for culture, arts and leisure, Jo Ireland, said:
“We are working with Brimhams Active to resolve an unforeseen mechanical failure.
“The situation requires the expertise of specialist contractors, and a work schedule has been set to address the issue.
“During the downtime, other important planned maintenance work will also be carried out to ensure the facilities are in top condition when the baths reopen.
“Although we regret any inconvenience this may have caused, we anticipate that Starbeck swimming baths will be back in operation by late May.”
Read more:
- ‘No plan or intention’ to sell Starbeck Baths, says council
- Sneak Peek: New Starbeck pub aims to bring ‘community feel’ back
£3m from parking fines won’t be spent on Harrogate Station Gateway if costs rise
Up to £3m collected from parking fines will not be spent on the Harrogate Station Gateway should costs rise — despite calls from the outgoing Harrogate Borough Council.
The £11.2 million project has been in development for three years after funding was won from the government’s Transforming Cities Fund to make the town centre more accessible to cyclists and pedestrians.
However, the rising cost of building materials and high inflation has led to concerns that the project, if approved, could go over-budget.
When the gateway scheme was first announced it had an anticipated cost of £7.9m.
North Yorkshire County Council had responsibility for on-street parking in the Harrogate district until April 1.
According to a report that went before councillors on the new North Yorkshire Council today, it has a parking enforcement surplus for the new financial year of £3m, which includes £2m collected in the Harrogate district.
As part of local government reorganisation, the outgoing borough councils, including Harrogate, were invited to suggest what it should be spent on.
The report includes a letter sent by Trevor Watson, Harrogate Borough Council’s director of economy, environment and housing to Barrie Mason, assistant director of highways at North Yorkshire County Council.
How Station Parade would look
Dated April 2022, the letter says some of the surplus should be put aside for contingency if Station Gateway costs rise.
Mr Watson said:
“With inflation rising it would be prudent to budget for additional match funding from civil parking enforcement surplus expenditure.”
However, the report pours cold water on this request and says match funding through the surplus “would not be possible.”
Instead, it lists projects such as the Whitby and Scarborough park-and-ride schemes, the A1 (M) junction 47 changes and other highways improvements as beneficiaries.
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Council said “it’s too early to speculate about final costs” of the Station Gateway.
Next steps
A final decision on the scheme will be made in the summer before a full business case is submitted to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which made the original bid for government funding.
The council hopes work, if approved, could begin by the end of this year.
Conservative councillor Keane Duncan, who has responsibility for highways on the council’s decision-making executive, has in recent months twice spoken to business leaders at Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce about the controversial scheme.
In September last year, he discussed what impact inflation might have on its overall budget.
Cllr Duncan said:
“My aspiration is that we will have a high quality scheme.
“The last thing I would want to happen is us compromising on the public realm because that is a key part of the scheme and what we are wanting to deliver.
“If there are inflationary pressures with this particular scheme, then we are going to have to look at potentially what we can do around those costings. But that is not something we have discussed or are expecting at this point in time.”
But in March he said a £500,000 water feature planned for Station Square had been scrapped from the scheme “due to practical and cost constraints”.
Harrogate hospital to remove parking barriers to ease traffic queuesA new parking system is set to be introduced in a bid to ease queues outside Harrogate District Hospital.
Residents and visitors have reported long lines of traffic approaching the hospital on Lancaster Park Road, particularly at visiting times in the afternoon.
Now, the hospital said it will remove parking barriers and introduce a new system to help traffic move more freely around the car park and its approaches.
A Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said:
“We are aware that at certain periods of the day, such as during visiting hours, Lancaster Park Road can become congested with traffic due to an increase in the number of drivers wanting to park at our hospital.
“We understand that this is not ideal for patients and visitors, especially at peak times, and we have been looking at how we can improve the flow of traffic onto our site to ease congestion.
“Entry to our car park is currently controlled by a barrier, however, later this year this will be removed in favour of an alternative parking system, which will help with flow into the car park.”
One nearby resident who contacted the Stray Ferret said it was a daily problem for visitors to the hospital.
Bill Shaw told the Stray Ferret:
“It’s total gridlock and the hospital car park is full! people who have appointments or just visiting have nowhere to park – a weekly day fiasco.
“The ambulances on blue lights have to negotiate this time wasting problem.”
The hospital spokesperson said Yorkshire Ambulance Service had not raised any concerns about delays or access problems caused by traffic.
He added:
“Due to the limited space on our hospital site we are currently unable to increase our car parking capacity and we would encourage visitors to consider other means of visiting if they are able to do so, such as by public transport or walking.”
Read more:
- Harrogate hospital: Patients will be safe during junior doctors’ four-day strike
- Harrogate hospital reports improved A&E waiting times
History group to show archive footage of Ripon and Harrogate
Rare archive footage of the Ripon and Harrogate areas will be shown on a big screen this month.
The event is being jointly staged by Yorkshire Film Archive and Bishop Monkton Local History Group.
A professional film archivist will introduce a series of locally produced films as well as footage from other parts of Yorkshire.
Some were professionally shot, others were amateur home movies but all give an insight into how people lived around here in years gone by.
Work, holidays, leisure, sports, home life, transport and war are among the subjects featured in the films.
Some content was included in four recent sell-out events at the Odeon in Harrogate organised by Yorkshire Film Archive in conjunction with Harrogate’s Civic Society and FIlm Society.
The event will be held at Bishop Monkton Village Hall on April 27 at 7pm.
Clips from some of the films that will be shown can be viewed here.
Tickets are free to Bishop Monkton Local History Group members and £10 to non-members.
They are available from Annabel Alton on 01765 676538 or via email annabel@annabelalton.com
There will be a cash bar selling wine and soft drinks before the event and during the interval.
Read more:
- Odeon packed for 90-minute archive film of Harrogate district
- Knaresborough to host free big screen broadcast of coronation
Harrogate man jailed for assaulting three police officers in Ripon
A man from a village near Harrogate has been jailed for six months for assaulting police officers.
James Ashley Gibb, 34, initially denied attacking three police officers in Ripon Market Place on October 28 last year.
But Gibb, of Ripon Road, Killinghall, changed his plea and was sentenced at Harrogate Magistrates Court last week.
Court documents say he was jailed due to the seriousness of the offence and also “because of different kinds of assaults including biting, kicking and threat of spitting and committed whilst on post-sentence supervision”.
The offence was aggravated by the defendant’s record of previous offending, the documents added.
The incident in Ripon Market Place last year
Gibb also pleaded guilty to using racially aggravated threatening or abusive words.
He was also given a concurrent four-month prison sentence for threatening a person on Station Parade in Harrogate on January 14 this year.
Besides being jailed, he was fined £275.