North Yorkshire’s Police Fire and Crime Commissioner has declined to respond to a call for her to resign after a government watchdog found some vulnerable children “remain at risk unnecessarily” due to delays in police investigations.
Zoe Metcalfe, who is aiming to be the Tory candidate to be the first North Yorkshire and York elected mayor, said she would not be commenting on a notice of motion lodged by North Yorkshire Council’s opposition leader, Cllr Bryn Griffiths, which is tabled to be considered at a full meeting on Wednesday.
However, rather than debate the issue at the meeting, one option for the council’s chairman would be to refer the notice of motion to one of the authority’s scrutiny committees for consideration.
The critical Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary report followed its assessment last year which found the force was “not effectively safeguarding children”.
Last week, at a public accountability meeting Ms Metcalfe said the information she had been provided about the force’s progress over its failings was bogus.
She said:
“We were led to believe that North Yorkshire Police were in a better position than they ultimately were and we accept this.
“And as a result, we have entirely overhauled our scrutiny and assurance process, I have clearly set out how I will hold North Yorkshire Police to account for delivery.”
Read more:
- Crime commissioner’s office to move to Harrogate Police Station
- North Yorkshire Police ‘still needs to improve’ on child safeguarding, say inspectors
- Crime commissioner Zoe Metcalfe under pressure following critical report
Cllr Griffiths called for Ms Metcalfe’s resignation to be debated at the meeting.
He said the second report, published earlier this month, had examined 33 child protection cases, of which 11 were found to be good, eight required improvement and 14 were inadequate.
He said:
“For so many cases to be found inadequate is a damning entitlement not only on the police, but also on the overall management of the force by the police and fire commissioner.
“The police, fire and crime commissioner is elected to be responsible for generally overseeing both police forces and fire services. Clearly has failed and is continuing to fail to hold the North Yorkshire Police force to account and keep the public and in particular children safe.
“Urgent action is therefore needed to remove the existing commissioner immediately and replace with a far more effective manager.”
In response, a spokeswoman for Ms Metcalfe said the motion was being put to the council “for discussion only, and so we will not be commenting at this time”.
Some of Ms Metcalfe’s Conservative former colleagues on the authority said they believed the notice of motion was “political” and that they would not be supporting the call for her to resign.
The Tories said those behind calls for her resignation had misunderstood the situation as the reports referred to a time before she was the commissioner.
Harrogate Bus Company fares to increase tomorrow
Bus fares in the Harrogate district are set to increase from tomorrow.
Transdev, which runs Harrogate Bus Company, has an announced an increase in prices on some of its tickets from Sunday, May 14.
It will effect services in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Boroughbridge.
However, tickets for single fares will remain at the £2 cap until the end of June – but will return to original prices with no increase as of July 1.
A statement from the bus firm said:
“Unfortunately due to the rate of inflation we are seeing the cost of running our buses increasing.
“We’ve been able to freeze many of our fares – our single and return fares will not change, including the £2 maximum single fare.
“We still think these fares offer excellent value for money, especially compared to the cost of driving and parking.”
The price increases will be as follows:
- Harrogate one-day – £5 to £5.70
- Harrogate one-day (under 19) – £3.40 to £3.80
- Harrogate seven days – £15.50 to £18
- Harrogate seven-days (under 19) – £10.30 to £12
- Harrogate 28 days – £58 to £66
- Harrogate 28 days (under 19) – £40 to £44
- Boroughbridge – £32 to £36
- Boroughbridge (under 19) – £16 to £18
- Transdev Gold ticket (7 days) – £40 to £45
- Transdev Gold (under 19) – £26.50 to £30
- Transdev Gold ticket (28 days) – £130 to £150
- Transdev Gold ticket (28 days, under 19) – £86 to £100
- Daytripper – £12 to £14
- Daytripper (under 19) – £8 to £9.50
- Daytripper group (up to five) – £22 to £25
Read more:
- Ripon’s new city-wide bus service launches with guaranteed funding
- Harrogate Station Gateway: What happens now?
North Yorkshire councillors voice frustration at 20 year delay to food waste collection service
North Yorkshire Councillors have voiced frustration at proposals to delay the introduction of a separate food waste collection service for another 20 years.
The delay has happened due to the government’s failure to state how much funding it would give the service.
Several members of the council’s executive underlined that the recommendation to delay the service until up to 2043 did not reflect their determination to rapidly reduce carbon emissions.
The urgent calls for government action appear to mark a significant shift in policy for the authority. Four years ago its leadership stated it was opposed to the introduction of a separate food waste collection service.
In 2019 the council stated it did not support the separate collections as it already recovered organic matter from residual waste at the county’s Allerton Park energy-from-waste plant in a “very cost-effective way”.
When a year later, the government committed to rolling out separate household food waste collection across the country by 2023, 51% of local authorities already collected food waste separately.
A meeting of the council’s current executive heard how separate collections could realise up to a 3,300-tonne reduction in carbon emissions a year compared to the current arrangements.
By collecting food waste separately, the council could increase the amount that can be converted into green electricity using an anaerobic digester. The delay would mean the carbon equivalent of an extra 18 million kilometres of diesel car emissions every year.
Although the council has effectively been given consent by Whitehall mandarins to delay implementing one of its flagship carbon cutting schemes due to its waste disposal contract running until 2043, the authority’s executive members said they wanted the service launched long before that “backstop position”.
Read more:
- Weekly food waste collections in Harrogate district to be delayed over costs
- ‘Few teething issues’ with North Yorkshire Council launch, say political leaders
However, officers told the meeting the council had received “no further clarity” over government funding for introducing the new food waste collection service, saying the authority faced a bill of anything up to £6.4m annually.
Climate change boss Cllr Greg White said while council wanted to launch the separate collections with a county-wide overhaul of bin collections in 2027, it faced “very significant additional costs” over the separate food waste service.
He said:
“Three thousand tonnes of carbon dioxide saved is huge, significant and something we want to do, but we can’t do that – with the best will in the world – if we don’t know what it’s going to cost us and at the moment we haven’t got sufficient clarity from the government.”
Other executive members said the authority, which is already facing having to cut a 30m annual deficit, needed “crystal clear” figures from the government before it could launch separate food collections and emphasised they had been left facing a choice of cutting carbon or funding other council services.
Cllr Simon Myers said:
Body recovered from River Nidd at Bilton“As a responsible executive what we can’t do is take a decision when we don’t know the financial consequences for our residents at a time when there are financial pressures anyway.”
Police have recovered the body of a local woman from the River Nidd, near Bilton viaduct.
Concerns were raised about the woman, who is aged in her 40s, this morning.
An urgent missing person investigation was launched which included searches in and around the River Nidd at the location.
The woman’s body was recovered by the Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Marine and Underwater Search Unit at around 1.20pm. She has not been named.
The bridge was closed while the body was recovered. A North Yorkshire Police statement said:
“There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and a report will be submitted to the coroner in due course.
“The woman’s family are being supported by the police.”
Read more:
Ofsted praises ‘positive role models’ at Pannal nursery
A village nursery near Harrogate has received praise from Ofsted for the way it encourages children to develop their independence.
The School House Nursery in Pannal was also found to be a “welcoming” environment where children felt “safe and secure” when inspector Jennifer Cowton visited.
Rating the nursery ‘good’ in all areas in a report published this week, she said:
“Children know what is expected of them and follow the boundaries and routines of the setting well. They enjoy playing alongside each other and understand the importance of sharing and taking turns.
“Staff act as positive role models and encourage children to be kind. They speak to children in a calming manner, and carefully consider and respect children’s views and opinions.”
During the inspection, which took place at the end of March, Ms Cowton said children were “well prepared for their next stage in learning”, being encouraged to do as much as possible for themselves.
Children benefitted from learning about the natural world through growing flowers and feeding wildlife, she found.
Read more:
- ‘Good’ Ofsted rating for ‘happy and welcoming’ Starbeck nursery
- ‘Good’ Ofsted rating for Boroughbridge nursery and out-of-school club
The report said the nursery, which is part of Kids at Heart based near Knaresborough, helped children to learn about good health, as well as offering a menu of freshly-cooked, healthy meals and snacks.
Ms Cowton said:
“Parents speak highly of the nursery. They say that their children love attending and arrive happy and smiling.
“Staff share information with parents about their children’s learning experiences through daily conversations. In addition, they share photographs of children’s activities using an online application.
“Parents are encouraged to contribute to their children’s learning and support their learning at home. Staff provide parents with activity ideas.”
The report found that, while staff understood how to support children’s language development, they could do more to model language to younger children while playing.
It also recommended the nursery manager could make better use of observation and supervision to help staff develop their teaching.
Responding to the report, Julie Shaw, owner of Kids at Heart, said:
Harrogate Town release three players“I would like to say how delighted I am with our Ofsted report. I feel it truly reflects the hard work, dedication, and commitment of the staff team at The School House Nursery, Pannal.
“I would also like to say a massive thank you to the wonderful children (who are amazing) and their parents for all their supportive comments, not only on the inspection day, but on an on-going basis.”
Harrogate Town has revealed it is letting go of three players following the conclusion of the 2022/23 League Two season.
Dior Angus, Max Wright and Alex Pattison will be leaving the club.
Attacking midfielder Alex Pattison spent two seasons with the Sulphurites, making a total of 86 appearances after arriving from Wycombe.
He scored 19 goals and registered 14 assists at Town.
Angus and Wright arrived at the club last summer and made a combined 12 appearances for the club.
Simon Weaver’s side finished the season 19th in League Two.
Eighteen players remain under contract for the 2023/24 season.
Read more:
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- Harrogate Town secure English Football League status
In addition, negotiations are underway with midfielder George Horbury on the academy graduate’s future.
Matty Foulds, Tom Eastman, Kazeem Olaigbe, Matty Daly and Danny Grant have all left following the expiry of their loan deals and Rory McArdle has retired after a 19-year playing career that included 39 appearances with Town.
The contracted players are:
Mark Oxley
Pete Jameson
Joe Mattock
Warren Burrell
Toby Sims
Anthony O’Connor
Kayne Ramsay
Josh Falkingham
George Thomson
Levi Sutton
Stephen Dooley
Sam Folarin
Jack Muldoon
Emmanuel Ilesanmi
Luke Armstrong
Miles Welch-Hayes
Kyle Ferguson
Will Smith
Yemi’s Food Stories: a porky discovery at Crimple
Yemi Adelekan is a food writer and blogger who was a semi-finalist in last year’s BBC TV’s Masterchef competition. Every Saturday Yemi will be writing on the Stray Ferret about her love of the district’s food – please get in touch with her if you want her to review a restaurant, visit your farm, taste the produce you sell or even share a recipe.
Living in Harrogate means I am surrounded by amazing shops selling the wonderful produces of Yorkshire; but quite often I find myself falling into the habit of going to the same places which means I end up missing out on what might be available in other places or the experience of new sights and surprises.
The last time I went into Crimple in Harrogate was years before their renovation. Every week, I drive past it on my work commute and make a mental note to check it out.
It was a lovely surprise when I eventually went into the food hall a few weeks ago to discover an array of local Yorkshire produces from chutneys, cured meats and bakes to fresh meat.
I only went in to have a quick look but came out with fresh sourdough bread, Portobello mushrooms, eggs, and smoked salmon for brunch. I also found a gem in a balsamic reduction glaze and fresh beetroots that I needed for my next food event, and a tiny gadget that would be great for dipping strawberries into chocolate sauce.
As I continued my wander around the food hall, I spotted a cut of pork that had the kidney attached which really fascinated me. The butcher wasn’t at the kiosk, but my curiosity made me hang around until he came out from the back room.
I told him I had never seen a cut of meat that intentionally had offal attached and he explained that this was an historic way of cutting pork chops and that only a few chops would benefit from having a cross section of the kidney attached.
He said he was on a mission to bring back old butcher traditions; that is noble from a sustainability point of view and considering the ‘nose to tail’ revolution that many chefs are championing.
I grew up in Nigeria on ‘nose to tail’ eating and we never wasted any parts of an animal with the skin of larger animals used by local artisans to make leather products.
Anyone who knows me well would correctly guess that I walked out of Crimple with some Pork and Kidney chops. I figured it would go well with a honey mustard sauce served with creamy mashed potatoes and some purple broccoli.
I ended up serving it with a gravy alongside potatoes finished with a chilli and herby mustard seed coating which went down a treat. See below.
On my way out I wandered into the garden section, but I didn’t get to really explore it because my arms were filled with my food hall shopping, and I was in a bit of rush. I am going back to the garden centre, with plans to sample food from their bar and kitchen.
If you haven’t visited Crimple, it is worth a visit -there’s so much to love.
I would love to hear about your visit and any exciting food, produce or interesting garden gnomes that you find, so drop me a comment.
Yemi: Out and About
I am in Pateley Bridge today, (Saturday 13 May) to sample Chocolate at Cocoa Joe’s and Kendall’s pies from 12 noon. You can read about it next Saturday on The Stray Ferret.
Next on my list is The Café at the Himalayan Garden, Grewelthorpe which I will visit on Saturday 27 of May from 12.30pm.
Read More:
Hard up Harrogate hospital staff sell back 2,000 days off in six months
Staff at Harrogate District Hospital sold back almost 2,000 days off that they were entitled to in just six months, figures reveal.
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, introduced a policy last year where staff could ‘sell’ time off they had accrued back to the trust in order to receive extra money in their pay packets.
It was hoped the move would ease the financial burden that many staff have been under throughout winter as the cost-of-living crisis deepened.
At the time, chief executive Jonathan Coulter even said the finances of some people working for the trust were putting them under more stress than the benefit of having a holiday.
The policy, which has now closed, was capped at a maximum of five days off sold per employee.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service sent a freedom of information request to the trust, which employs around 3,500 people, asking how many staff had taken the trust up on its offer.
The figures show that between September 2022 and March 2023, 492 employees sold back 14,480 hours.
If this were divided into seven-and-a-half hour shifts, it equates to around 1,800 individual days off sold.
Since the policy was introduced in September, members of health unions have gone on strike over low pay, which they argue is compromising patient safety and leading to an exodus of trained professionals from the NHS.
Ben Kirkham, GMB Union regional organiser, said the move by the trust to let staff sell days off is exacerbating staff burnout and sickness. He added:
“The NHS is suffering from chronic underfunding and a major crisis in staffing, resulting in huge appointment and operation back logs.
“For both staff and patients its vital that the NHS is funded properly and that means urgent investment.”
A Royal College of Nursing spokesperson said:
“RCN members are caught between twin crises. The cost-of-living crisis in which selling annual leave is one method of making ends meet and the staffing crisis. Nursing staff are already required to work significant levels of unpaid overtime to support increasingly unsafe levels of staffing across many health and care settings.”
‘Help staff with their money worries’
A Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said:
8 takeaways from the Harrogate Station Gateway meeting“Last year, as a consequence of the cost of living crisis and the pressures faced by our staff due to spiralling day-to-day costs, we introduced a cost of living package providing a wide range of support to help colleagues who were struggling.
“The support included financial aid in the form of a hardship grant, general help, advice and resources on financial and mental wellbeing, and for the first time, the opportunity for staff to sell up to five days of their holiday entitlement during 2022/23 financial year.
“Whilst we encourage colleagues to take their annual leave as it enables our minds and bodies to rest and recuperate, we felt that the option for staff to sell some of their annual leave would be appreciated as it would provide a further opportunity to help them with their money worries.
“The scheme ran until the end of March this year and we were pleased to support 492 colleagues who chose to sell some of their annual leave.
“Our staff are our greatest asset and it is important that we support them in these challenging times. Our range of support for staff continues to develop and we will look at introducing further means of support for our staff in the future.”
Councillors voted by 10 to 3 in favour of proceeding with the £11.2 million Harrogate Station Gateway last week.
The heated three-hour meeting saw members of the public and North Yorkshire councillors speak for and against the scheme.
It would see the biggest change to the town centre for decades, including traffic on a 300-metre stretch of Station Parade being reduced to single lane so cycle lanes can be built and part of James Street pedestrianised.
But the meeting revealed far more than that. Here are eight key takeaways.
1 The project looks certain to go-ahead
North Yorkshire Council is expected to ratify the decision to proceed with the gateway when its ruling executive meets on May 30.
The Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee, which met last week, is only an advisory body to the executive but the council’s Conservative transport chief Cllr Keane Duncan pledged in advance of the meeting to abide by its decision. The 10-3 vote in favour appears to have sealed its fate.
Cllr Duncan told the meeting the council was “up against it” if it didn’t want to lose the £10.9 million pledged by the Department for Transport towards the £11.2 million scheme. He said:
“We will have to make a decision as an executive on May 30 if we want to ensure we deliver this scheme in line with DfT requirements.”
He added the “majority of spend” must take place in 2023/24 budgets, so expect roadworks this winter.
Station Square is many visitors’ first impression of Harrogate.
2 Supporters say it will halt town centre decline
Although the gateway is mainly regarded as a transport scheme, supporters are keen to portray its potential for regenerating Lower Station Parade and the area around the bus and train stations.
Matthew Roberts, economic development officer at the council, displayed a slide at the committee meeting showing the number of shops in Harrogate declined from 539 in September 2013 to 474 in September 2021. The meeting also heard evidence that pedestrianisation often led to an increase in spending.
Mr Roberts concluded his presentation by saying:
“Change is often daunting but in Harrogate’s case, much needed.”
3 Otley Road cycle route has undermined confidence
The spectre of the Otley Road cycle route loomed over the meeting.
Liberal Democrat Cllr Monika Slater, who represents Bilton Grange and New Park, told officers the much-criticised cycle route had “taken away the public confidence” in the council’s ability to deliver infrastructure schemes.
The prospect of a part-pedestrianised James Street also raised concerns that Harrogate’s premier retail street could become a soulless shopping experience, as some feel Cambridge Street has become, rather than the pleasant oasis portrayed in council designs.
Cambridge Street – bland?
4 Divided Lib Dems enabled the go-ahead
The Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee, which advises North Yorkshire Council, consists of eight Lib Dems and five Conservatives — so the Lib Dems could have halted the scheme.
But there was no party whip and a wide range of views emerged. Committee chair and Harrogate and Knaresborough Lib Dem leader Pat Marsh, who represents Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone, was scathing:
“I’m totally against this scheme – it’s the wrong scheme. We need to get around the table and look at a more connected plan.”
Fellow Lib Dem Matt Walker, who represents Knaresborough West, and Michael Schofield, who represents Harlow and St Georges, described it as a “vanity project”. But the other five Lib Dems voted in favour, as did all five Conservatives, after receiving vague assurances the committee would be involved in the scheme going forward.
5 There are fears of Harrogate turning into Peterborough or Milton Keynes
Former Harrogate borough mayor Caroline Bayliss was one of many anti-gateway speakers at the start of the meeting. She said the project was “bland enough to suit Peterborough, Milton Keynes or Croydon”, adding:
“It takes away more of our distinct character to be replaced by concrete.”
Former architect Barry Adams, who handed out details of an alternative approach, described it as a “blinkered and contrived highways-led solution”.
By contrast, gateway supporters say it will breathe new life into a run-down part of town that provides the first impression for visitors by bus and train.
There are fears land near the train and bus stations will be developed.
6 Tower block fears
There are fears that the gateway could pave the way for other developments in the vicinity.
Martin Mann, acting chief executive of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, even said:
“There are also concerns about the development of the land next to the station, potentially into a tower block, which may overshadow Station Parade and this redevelopment to the public realm.”
Businesses recovering from covid are also more concerned about the disruption caused by months, or years, of roadworks rather than long-term vision of improvement presented by gateway supporters.
Harrogate has 7,000 parking spaces
7 Just 0.6% of parking spaces will be lost
The loss of parking spaces on James Street is one of the gateway’s most controversial aspects.
Richard Binks, head of major projects and development at the council, said 40 parking spaces would be lost in total because of the scheme
He said Harrogate had more than 7,000 parking spaces, if Asda and Waitrose are included, and therefore only 0.6% of spaces would be lost.
8 Cheltenham Parade bus lane scrapped
Mr Binks revealed plans to introduce a bus lane on Cheltenham Parade had been removed from the scheme.
But he added a bus lane on Lower Station Parade remained part of the plans. He said 44 buses an hour used that stretch of road and “each bus would gain 17 to 20 seconds” because of the lane.
Mr Binks added the project had been amended to allay business fears about unloading on Lower Station Parade after the owner of Party Fever raised concerns the business and customers would no longer be able to park outside. He said:
“We are proposing to truncate the length of the lead in the taper to the bus lane over the length of Bower House and make that double yellow line like it is now. That would avail you the opportunity to load as you do now, It would avail customers 30-minute pick up and drop off time.”
“You have a very valid point, we will take it on board and adjust the project to suit.”
Read more:
- Council in discussions with Harrogate Station Gateway contractor
- Station Gateway: Highways boss welcomes ‘positive’ backing from councillors
- As it happened: Councillors vote to SUPPORT Harrogate Station Gateway scheme
Ramshackle phone box transformed into Stray information point
A ramshackle red phone box in Harrogate has been moved and transformed into a history of the Stray.
The disused phone box on the Stray, just off Otley Road, had fallen into a dilapidated state.
So the Stray Defence Association, which safeguards the 200 acres of parkland against building and encroachment, hired a specialist renovation company to uplift it on March 16.
It was restored to its original bright scarlet and moved to a more prominent town centre spot on West Park Stray, where it stood beneath a white cover for several days.
Two children removed the covers at an unveiling ceremony this afternoon to reveal the new-look phone box with panels displaying the history of Harrogate’s Stray and the Stray Defence Association.
Its old position on the Stray, next to Otley Road, has been restored and reseeded to return it to Stray land.
Stray Defence Association chairman Judy d’Arcy Thompson and committee member Syd Bell
Judy D’Arcy Thompson, chairman of the Stray Defence Association, said:
“It is the Stray Defence Association’s hope that it will become a valued part of the West Park street scene and an intriguing and iconic information source for both local people and visitors to Harrogate.”
Today’s unveiling, which was attended by members of the Stray Defence Association, Harrogate In Bloom and Harrogate Civic Society, coincided with the 90th anniversary of the Stray Defence Association, which was formed on May 12, 1933
Cordelia, 7, and Harry, 5, performed the opening by cutting a ribbon to highlight how children are the future custodians of the Stray.
A Stray Defence Association donor paid for the renovation, which was approved by the Duchy of Lancaster and both Harrogate Borough Council and the new North Yorkshire Council.
The phone box being uplifted
Panels on the restored phone box tell the story of the Stray.
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