Local Harrogate News & Views around the district - Page 371 of 1066

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.

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.”

£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 queues

A 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.”

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.

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.

Harrogate’s Parliament House to be converted to flats and shops

Plans have been approved to convert a building in Harrogate’s Montpellier Quarter into eight flats and two retail units.

Parliament House on Montpellier Street is currently home to Harrogate Wines shop and a vacant gym and is spread across three floors.

North Yorkshire Council approved an application to convert the building last week.

Developer ATC Properties said the flats will be aimed specifically at young professionals and key workers who are looking to get onto the property ladder.

Each flat will have an ensuite double bedroom with an open plan kitchen, dining and living area.

Documents attached to the application described the site as an “intrusive utilitarian building” at odds with one of Harrogate’s most architecturally-appealing areas.

They added the conversion provided an opportunity to “significantly refurbish a prominent building of poor architectural quality and detailing”.

Civic society objection

A third floor extension was removed following concerns from Harrogate Civic Society, which objected to the plans.

The conservation group said the remodelling of the building “does not reflect the local historic style of the conservation area.”

Other prominent town centre buildings, including the former post office on Cambridge Street, have seen applications to convert them into flats approved in recent months. However, the civic society’s objection letter raised concerns about the trend. It said:

“In principle we are keen to see sustainable town centre living but
are always concerned that local commercial uses will not make for a low standard of residential amenity.”

Concerns were also raised by local residents and business owners about parking.

However, the council wrote in its decision report that the site
was in an accessible town centre location, close to shops, facilities and public transport connections, and secure cycle storage would be provided within the building.

The plans were ultimately approved by the new council as one of its first acts as the new planning authority for Harrogate, replacing Harrogate Borough Council.

Business Breakfast: New chef and manager at Provenance inn

Provenance Collection has appointed two new senior staff at the Punch Bowl Inn in Marton-cum-Grafton.

Brian Furey is to be the new general manager and Ian Matfin has been appointed head chef.

Provenance Collection has nine sites across North Yorkshire and employs more than 150 people. Last year, The Punch Bowl Inn was awarded Best Food Offer in the Publican Awards.

Brian Furey commented:

“This is an exciting opportunity to work within a team so committed to offering the best in hospitality. Our chefs work with nature, creating seasonal menus, sourcing from local and regional suppliers, this is a family that has a set of values to deliver exceptional customer experience, which is something I live by, too.”

New head chef, Ian Matfin has worked at some of the UK’s leading restaurants including Le Manoir aux Quat’Saison, Claridge’s, and more recently at North Yorkshire’s Devonshire Arms.

Mr Matfin said:

“I have worked in kitchens large and small and with all manner of teams and have seen success at its best. Having the skillset in the kitchen is one thing but having the drive and the values of this group is something I am relishing. The field to fork mentality, the access to our own kitchen garden at Mount St. John, the incredible local artisans I get to work with make every day a new opportunity.”

Fat Badger named county’s best pub

The Fat Badger in Harrogate been named as the best pub in North Yorkshire at the National Pub & Bar Awards.

A total of 94 pubs and bars were recognised as county winners in the awards which aim to highlight the positive and inspiring work being carried out across the UK’s hospitality sector.

General manager of the Fat Badger, Chris Clarke said,

“We’re delighted to have been considered for this amazing award, but to go on and win our county category is just wonderful and a real testament to the hard work all of my team put in to making the Fat Badger the friendly and welcoming place it is.

“The team are buzzing from the announcement and can’t wait until the overall national winner is announced as we really feel we deserve a shot at it!”

Simon Cotton, managing director of the HRH Group, which owns the Fat Badger added,

“I’m so proud that the Fat Badger has been recognised like this. Whilst I’m probably biased, I do believe we deliver something special in our pub and have made the brand a well known one in recent years with people travelling from far and wide to experience the first class food, ales and of course service that we offer.

“We can’t wait to find out who will pick up the national pub of the year in June, but in the meantime, are delighted to be the overall North Yorkshire winner”.

Pateley Bridge paramedic took his own life after being dismissed from job

A paramedic who lived in Pateley Bridge took his own life the day after he lost his job with the NHS, an inquest has heard.

Andrew Pickering was 57 when he was told he had committed gross misconduct at work, leading to his immediate dismissal from Yorkshire Ambulance Service on February 2 last year.

The inquest held today heard Mr Pickering had attempted to take his own life at home the same day, but was unsuccessful. He had gone to Harrogate District Hospital by ambulance, where he was assessed by the mental health crisis team in the early hours of February 3.

Senior crisis clinician Glen Wilson, from the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, which provides mental health services in the Harrogate district, told the inquest:

“He openly engaged with us. He was happy to talk to us. He answered questions about himself.

“Although he had [tried to take his own life], he then alerted someone to his actions. He agreed to come to the [emergency] department to be checked over. He agreed to be seen. He agreed to talk about the events leading up to it.”

Mr Wilson said Mr Pickering, a former RAF serviceman, agreed to follow-up appointments over the next few days and went home at around 6am.

Today’s inquest heard the loss of his job followed a six-month investigation, during which he could have been placed on other duties that would not have involved dealing with the public.

However, the inquest heard Mr Pickering was “embarrassed” by this and was instead signed off work sick. He had not told his family about the problems he faced.

‘Desperate person’

It had also been a stressful period in his personal life, including the breakdown of his 27-year marriage, which saw him move out of the family home he shared with his wife and two teenage children.

His former wife questioned why someone who had attempted suicide was sent home alone. She added:

“A desperate person was left to go home on his own in a taxi in the early hours of the morning to an empty home.”

Mr Wilson said follow-up phone calls were due to be made that day, and Mr Pickering would have been visited daily for at least three days by someone from the crisis team. He said:

“He was saying to me he worked in this field, he can see the devastation on families when people end their lives. He said he would never do that to his family and he was happy to engage with us.”

Staff at the crisis service called Mr Pickering four times between 9.30am and 1.15pm on February 3. They received no answer but, knowing he had been in hospital through the night, thought he must be catching up on sleep.

A friend and colleague, Jonathan Mellor, who knew Mr Pickering had gone to hospital the previous night, called by his house at 10.30am. Seeing Mr Pickering was not yet dressed, he suggested the pair go for a walk later and said he would return in a couple of hours.

When Mr Mellor returned at 12.50pm, he found Mr Pickering had taken his own life. Coroner Jonathan Heath today concluded he had died by suicide.

The inquest, held at the Coroner’s Court in Northallerton, heard Mr Pickering had been an “extremely popular and hard-working” paramedic but had struggled to deal with difficult family circumstances, leading to the situation that saw him put through the disciplinary process – which had lasted six months instead of the recommended four.

At one point, the inquest heard, comparisons were drawn between Mr Pickering and Wayne Couzens, the police officer who murdered Sarah Everard.

Prior to joining YAS in 2009, he had been in the RAF and served in Afghanistan soon after the birth of his son in 2007. His former wife said:

“He came back a very different person. Things were never quite the same.

“Over the years, I asked him to talk to someone, but he didn’t. He wasn’t abusive or violent, but he was more withdrawn.”

The inquest heard Yorkshire Ambulance Service had undertaken a ‘lessons learnt’ review following Mr Pickering’s death.

His brother Richard questioned the way the investigation following the death had been carried out. He said the family felt they had not been listened to and were not trusted to be part of the process.

YAS head of employee relations Alison Cockerill said:

“It was decided it should be internal. We were aware Andrew had deliberately kept some of what was happening from his family and we were still trying to navigate what that meant for us in terms of respecting Andrew’s wishes.”

Mr Heath said in future, the trust should consider adopting a policy of explaining the process to the family at the outset and showing them the findings at the end.

Mrs Cockerill said, following the review, YAS had put in place new measures to support people who were going through disciplinary processes, including assessing the impact on the individual alongside the risk to the public.

All managers and supervisors would now receive skills training to help them support people subject to disciplinary investigations, she added.

Residents rally against new Crimple Valley housing plans

Residents on the south side of Harrogate are rallying against another application to build housing on the edge of a treasured stretch of countryside.

The Save Crimple Valley group is urging people to object to plans for 17 homes at the bottom of Almsford Bank, just off Leeds Road.

A message put out by the group said:

“If you have already commented on this application in the past, please reaffirm your objections to this development by commenting again.

“This site has already been turned down and applications withdrawn or refused on multiple occasions – but the developers are persistent and will get their way if not stopped. Because this is a new application all previous comments are disregarded.”

Residents say access to and from the site via the A61 would be dangerous, while the housing itself would spoil the area.

The application site includes an area that has been used as stables for many years, but it is not included in the local plan, which guides development across the Harrogate district.

The development boundary in red and housing areas in orange, with the owners’ land outlined in blue

Since plans were published at the end of March, 22 objections have been submitted to North Yorkshire Council. Nearby resident Penny Robinson said:

“It is sad that I find myself having to object to this building plan again. This area has been repeatedly refused planning permission to build on, so it is not clear why this application is even being considered.

“All the reasons stated in the last rejection in November 2022 have not changed… The local plan doesn’t need these houses, they are just a money making venture. The same objections stand as they did since the first application to build several years ago.”

The current application by Antela Developments Ltd and Square Feet Ltd is significantly reduced compared to the first, submitted in 2018, for 65 homes. That plan was withdrawn by the applicants, along with an application for 35 homes submitted the following year.

In 2022, a proposal for 35 homes, including self-build plots, was turned down by Harrogate Borough Council.

‘High standard housing’

The latest application is for 10 self-build homes and seven affordable homes. In documents submitted as part of the application, the developers said:

“The form and massing of the new houses will be designed in response to the topography of the site, taking influence from the surrounding context.

“The introduction of self and custom build homes will allow each house to be individually designed but each plot will be set out in response to the natural landform.”

They added:

“The houses will be built to a high standard with quality natural local materials to help integrate within the landscape. It is proposed that traditional principles of rural design will be adopted within the design, with the addition of subtle contemporary details in order to distinguish the new development from earlier buildings within the surrounding context.

“This will ensure continuity of the local vernacular and harmonious integration into the existing setting.”

However, many of those objecting have said they would not accept any number of homes on the site, which they argue is unsuitable for development.

Another local resident, Victoria Draper, wrote:

“We do not want our beautiful, local countryside ripping up to make way for unnecessary, expensive, unsightly houses. We bought our house in the local vicinity so we could enjoy family walks and explore nature with our young daughter.

“The increase in traffic and subsequent danger with additional junctions, on an already extremely busy main road, cannot go ahead. We are such a depleted country in terms of wildlife, we should be trying to increase our natural areas, not reduce them. This cannot go ahead.”

To view or comment on the plans before the deadline of April 23, visit the planning pages of North Yorkshire Council’s website and use reference 23/01082/OUTMAJ.

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Next steps

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Civic society objection

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Fat Badger named county’s best pub

‘Desperate person’

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‘High standard housing’