Harrogate Borough Council has seen a ‘significant’ fall in the number of planning applications submitted this year — resulting in a shortfall of £320,000 for the authority.

Councillors met this week to discuss a quarter three financial report that provides a summary of how different departments are performing in line with the overall budget for 2022/23.

The council is the district’s planning authority and therefore has the final say over developments ranging from a kitchen extension to major housing schemes with hundreds of homes.

When a planning application is submitted the council asks for a fee. For an outline planning application where the site is bigger than 2.5 hectares, the fee is £11,432 plus an additional £138 for every 0.1 hectare.

For a single house extension, the fee is £206.

The council, which will be abolished at the end of next month, also offers a pre-application service where anyone can get advice on the likelihood of a proposal receiving planning permission.

Fees range from £90 for advice on an extension to £3,000 for developments with more than 50 homes.

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But after a spike in applications during the covid pandemic, the council says there has been a slowdown in the number of both large-scale and smaller applications.

It is anticipating a shortfall of £270,000 in planning application income and £50,000 in pre-planning application income.

The cost of building materials has also sky-rocketed in the last two years and the report says the council expects the number of smaller applications submitted to remain lower than expected as the national cost-of living crisis impacts on household spending.

The trend in the Harrogate district is in line with the national picture, where planning application submissions have dropped by an average of 15% over the last year.

Harrogate Borough Council is set to spend £55,000 on consultants and other professionals to help develop a new horticultural nursery to the north-west of the town.

In December, the council revealed it had identified an unspecified site in the Hampsthwaite and Killinghall ward to build a new nursery, which will pave the way for its current site in Harlow Hill to be sold for housing.

A report that will go before Conservative councillor Graham Swift, the council’s cabinet member for resources enterprise and economic development, next week, says the council now needs professional consultation and site investigations to complete the next phase of the project.

It asks Cllr Swift to approve £20,000 being spent on a consultant partner and £35,000 to undertake initial site surveys, investigations, planning fees and other works.

The council, which will be abolished at the end of next month, has said the construction of a new nursery will be financed through capital investment funding, money raised from the sale Harlow Hill nursery and income generated from the nursery.

The project will transfer to the new North Yorkshire Council after April 1.

Why does the council want to move from Harlow Hill?

Harlow Hill nursery is where Harrogate Borough Council grows flowers for its award-winning displays across the district. It also sells plants to members of the public to bring in revenue.

The nursery is a significant earner for the council with its 2020/21 annual report saying it brought in income of £153,477.

However, the council says it the facility is “no longer fit for purpose” and is unsuitable for redevelopment.

Read more:

• Harlow Hill and Pannal Ash residents bracing themselves for ’15 years of disruption’
• Losing horticultural nursery will be ‘big, sad loss’ for Harlow Hill, says councillor
• 62 homes set to be built at council’s Harlow Nursery

The land is accessed off either Otley Road or Harlow Moor Road. The council’s Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which sets out where development can take place, says 40 homes can be built there.

A council report published last year recommended 62 “high-quality, carbon efficient” homes are built.

The authority is currently inviting expressions of interest in the land prior to a sale.

An emotional move for residents

Liberal Democrat member for Harlow & St Georges Division on North Yorkshire County Council, Michael Schofield, previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the move away from Harlow Hill will be keenly felt by residents as many have walked there to buy plants for decades.

He said people enjoyed visiting and walking through the Pinewoods and Valley Gardens afterwards.

He added the nursery also served as part of a horticultural trail as it connects with RHS Garden Harlow Carr and the charity nursery Horticap.

Cllr Schofield said:

“I understand what people may call progress but we have three fantastic horticultural sites all within walking distance of each other. That inspires people. Residents living here will be very sad to see it go.”

Rudding Park‘s 10k multi-terrain trail race is to return in May after a successful inaugural event last year.

Olympic triathlon gold medallist Jonny Brownlee started last year’s Rudding ParkRace, in which more than 300 runners navigated their way through 18th century parkland at the privately-owned Harrogate resort.

This year’s event, which will be held on May 9, will raise money in support of former Leeds Rhinos player Rob Burrow’s Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Appeal.

There are 450 places available and the entry fee is £25 for affiliated runners and £27 for non-affiliated runner.

Jonny Brownlee at last year’s event.

Nuno César de Sá, Rudding Park hotel manager, said the 2022 race had a “great vibe”, adding:

“Rudding House made the perfect backdrop for the finish line where the prize giving took place as guests enjoyed music, hog roast and refreshments as the sun set.

“We were thrilled to raise over £4,000 for the Queen’s Green Canopy and this year we are super excited to be supporting Rob Burrow and his family whose tireless campaign to raise awareness and funds to support families living with MND is inspiring.”

The start of last year’s race.

Last year’s winner was Nathan Edmonson from Ilkley Harriers, who recorded a time of 34 mins 25 secs. The fastest female was Charlotte Mason from City of York AC in a time of 41 mins 29 secs.

More information is available here.

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A disabled Harrogate man has won a settlement against Nuffield Health after the gym allegedly discriminated against him when trying to renew his membership.

Andrew Gray, a lawyer and founder of Truth Legal, was a member of his local Nuffield health and fitness centre until his health deteriorated.

Mr Gray was a keen marathon runner and played football until April 2021.

Side effects attributed to treatment following a prescribed course of the antibiotic fluoroquinolone led to him developing chronic fatigue, fainting episodes and numerous other symptoms due to heart, blood pressure and prostate problems.

Now disabled, he enquired with his local gym in Harrogate in February last year about reduced rates due to being physically unable to use the equipment and attend the facilities.

He was a keen user of the swimming pool, sauna and jacuzzi which helped relieve muscle and joint pain resulting from his condition.

However, Mr Gray was told that no adjustments in the membership pricing structure for disabled people were available.

Mr Gray argued that as his health condition varies unpredictably, sometimes he would not be well enough to use the pool and jacuzzi despite his desire to do so for the benefits it would afford him, further justifying his request for a reasonably lowered membership fee. 

He said:

“All I wanted to do was to enhance my chance to get well again. Many disabled people would benefit from fairer access to such facilities.

“People with chronic conditions are put off joining such places because of the unfair pricing.”

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Acting on behalf of Mr Gray, Katherine Swinn, a senior associate solicitor at Truth Legal also based in Harrogate, issued a disability discrimination claim for breach of the 2010 Equality Act. 

The outcome saw Nuffield agreeing to settle the claim, establishing an independent committee, comprising a team of medical experts to look at all future memberships for disabled members. 

Moving forward, people with disabilities will be able to apply for reduced membership rates after submitting medical evidence of their disability. The committee will consider applications on a case by case basis.

‘Positive outcome for disabled people’

Ms Swinn said:

“This is a very positive outcome for Mr Gray and for disabled people in general, who have been unfairly discriminated against purely for wanting to go to the gym and only pay for the equipment and facilities that they are physically capable of using.

“As this was already in place for pensioners using this particular gym, there was no fair or reasonable explanation why a similar reduced fee membership policy didn’t exist for people with disabilities who also wanted to attend.

“It is completely pointless to have legislation in place such as the Equality Act 2010 if nobody really uses it outside of the workplace. It is applicable to services, as well as employment.

“We are fully supportive of Nuffield’s decision to provide people with disabilities with an opportunity to apply for a reduced fee and hopefully this will establish a fair precedent for other similar leisure facilities to introduce policies that will include rather than exclude disabled members.”

Mr Gray welcomed the settlement and said he hoped other gym chains would follow suit and implement similar membership policies.

He said:

“My hope is that other gym chains follow suit. If they did, they would be opening themselves up to many with disabilities who are put off by the unfair pricing policies. And use of gym facilities could help hundreds of thousands of people to improve their health.”

A spokesperson for Nuffield Health said:

“We are committed to improving the health and wellbeing of the nation and are always looking at ways to widen access to our services.

“As part of this we continually consider new ways to support people with different needs.”

Details, including a timeframe, for the introduction of the policy has yet to be confirmed.

A man has been jailed for a year after being found guilty of theft from a shop in Harrogate town centre.

Jason Mark Johnson, 24, of no fixed address, was charged with trespassing at VPZ vape shop on Beulah Street and stealing property worth £685 on November 11 last year.

He denied the charge but was found guilty at Harrogate Magistrates Court last week and sentenced to 12 months in prison.

Court documents said Johnson was given a custodial sentence because of the seriousness of the crime and also because the offence was aggravated by his previous record of offending.

He was also ordered to pay £685 compensation.

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Teachers in the Harrogate district will go on strike today — and firefighters could be next.

The district has seen a wave of industrial action in recent weeks involving rail, postal, nursing and ambulance workers.

Members of the National Education Union, Britain’s largest teaching union, are on strike today in a move that will affect many local schools. Today will also see no Northern train services operate on the Harrogate and Knaresborough line.

Gary McVeigh-Kaye, branch secretary of the NEU North Yorkshire, said picket lines were being organised at Grove Road Community Primary School in Harrogate and King James’s School in Knaresborough.

There is also the prospect of Harrogate district firefighters walking out after the results of a strike ballot this week revealed 88% of Fire Brigades Union members voted yes on a 73% turnout.

The FBU has given the government and employers until February 9 to come forward with an improved pay offer to avert what would be the first nationwide fire strike since 2003.

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• Why are Harrogate district teachers going on strike?
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Harrogate is the only fire station crewed 24 hours in the Harrogate district and is likely to be affected by any action.

Harrogate Fire Station on Skipton Road

It is not known to what extent other local fire stations would be involved. Ripon is crewed from 8am to 6pm each day and on call outside these hours. There are 24-hour on call stations at Boroughbridge, Knaresborough, Masham and Summerbridge plus a volunteer station at Lofthouse.

Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said:

“This is an absolute last resort for our members. The responsibility for any disruption to services lies squarely with fire service employers and government ministers.

The Stray Ferret Business Awards, sponsored by Prosperis, will be held on March 9 at the Pavilions of Harrogate. Early bird tickets are available until February 9. The event will celebrate success and business excellence across the Harrogate district. It’s a night not to be missed! There’ll be a fabulous prize draw for all attending and Richard Flinton, the incoming Chief Executive of North Yorkshire Council, is guest speaker. 

Members of Knaresborough’s Chamber of Commerce will discuss plans for a road train in the town at tonight’s monthly meeting.

On the agenda this evening is a discussion about vacant shops in the town, the changes to local government with the incoming unitary authority and the land train.

The train is likely to run from Conyngham Hall car park to York Place car park, which would also ease pressure on town centre parking.

In recent weeks the Knaresborough Chamber of Trade and Commerce and Knaresborough Town Council have agreed to work together to build a business case for a road train.

The meeting at the Mitre starts at 7pm.

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Review website award

Dacre, Son & Hartley estate agent has won Feefo’s prestigious Platinum Trusted Service Award for the second year running.

The award recognises exceptional customer service ratings and reviews posted on the Feefo review website. Feefo is the world’s largest provider of verified reviews.

Dacres, which has 20 offices across West and North Yorkshire including Harrogate, Wetherby, Knaresborough, and Pateley Bridge, secured Feefo’s highest platinum award for the first time last year, which followed the company winning gold awards for the three previous consecutive years.

Last year clients reviewed Dacres more than 250 times on Feefo, with an average rating of 4.9 out of 5, which was up from 4.8 in 2021.

Patrick McCutcheon, head of residential at Dacres said:

“Receiving this award, which crucially is based on genuine client reviews, and pushing our average rating up to 4.9 is a major achievement and speaks volumes about our exceptional standards of customer service and care.

“It also demonstrates the ability of our whole team to always respond to current market conditions and combine unrivalled marketing advice with a completely personal service, in order to deliver the best possible results for buyers and sellers alike.

his is one of the key reasons why we’ve been so successful in Yorkshire’s property market for more than 200 years and continually work with generations of the same families time and time again.”

A young Harrogate man died when his car left the A59 as he drove home after drinking heavily, an inquest has heard.

Samuel Ronald Gibson, known as Sam, was 24 when the fatal collision occurred in the early hours of March 13 last year.

His Peugeot 208 spun off the road, collided with a tree, lifted up and landed in a ditch close near Poppleton at around 3.30am, today’s inquest was told by a police investigator.

A toxicology report after his death found he had 201mg of alcohol in his blood, against the legal limit of 80mg.

A statement from his colleague and friend Sophie Rothwell was read at the inquest held at the Coroner’s Court in Northallerton this afternoon. She said:

“When Sam was sober, he knew drink driving was wrong. However, when he went out it was like there was no controlling or stopping him and it wasn’t possible to reason with him…

“I would describe [Sam] as an unsafe driver [even when sober]. He drove very fast, exceeding the speed limit and I didn’t feel safe as a passenger.”

The court heard a statement from Sam’s mother, Jennifer Perkins, who said he had “always had a strong work ethic”, beginning with a paper round in his teens. He later moved into hospitality, working at Revolucion de Cuba and then Sainsbury’s in Harrogate.

The former Rossett School student had been manager at the Cosy Club bar in York for three-and-a-half years before moving to the Ivy in early 2022.

After passing his driving test at 18, Sam lost his licence aged 20 when he was convicted of drink-driving. When he had his licence back, Ms Perkins said he was “always very careful and cautious about not driving when he knew he would be drinking”.

However, in the few months prior to his death, she said there had been a couple of occasions when he had driven home after drinking.

Friends also said Sam was known to drive after drinking. Some had tried to hide his car keys to prevent him doing so, and others had stopped socialising with him.

Read more:

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In statements, colleague Sophie Rothwell and her boyfriend Max Bradford said they had been out with Sam in York on the night he died.

They said he had drunk lager, prosecco, wine, beer and spirits between around 8pm on Saturday, March 12 and 1.30am the following day.

Ms Rothwell said:

“He was so drunk that, at one bar, he couldn’t stand up properly and kept falling down.”

Sam stayed out after his friends went home, and he went to a nearby food van for something to eat.

Sam’s car was discovered in a ditch by the A59 around 7am the next morning.

The inquest heard he had suffered a “catastrophic” brain and spinal cord injury, described by the doctor performing the post-mortem as “an entirely unsurvivable event” which would have killed him almost instantly.

Forensic collision investigator PC Richard Barker said Sam had been wearing a seatbelt but the airbags in the car had not deployed, showing signs that they had previously activated and not been properly repaired.

Although he could not say for certain how fast the car was travelling, PC Barker believed it was in excess of the maximum speed at which the car could navigate the bends of the road.

North Yorkshire coroner Jonathan Leach concluded Sam had died as a result of the collision, saying:

“It would appear that Sam was driving along the A59 at speed and, I suspect as a result of the alcohol he had drunk, his concentration and his ability to drive properly was impaired.

“I suspect he over-reacted, left the road and struck a tree, and died at the scene.”

‘Devastation’

In their statements, both Ms Rothwell and Mr Bradford described Sam as a reliable friend and a good colleague who was the “life and soul” of both his workplace and any party.

Ms Rothwell added:

“Sam was the most reliable friend you could have asked for. He was the person you could call at any time and losing him has left a massive hole in my heart.”

Ms Perkins’ statement said Sam was a “nice young man” who had looked after her when she lost her sight and had taken gifts to an elderly neighbour who had moved into a care home. She added:

“While Sam made bad judgements and mistakes in relation to driving, this is the kind of loving, caring person Sam was and how I wish for him to be remembered.”

She added:

“I can’t express in words just how much devastation losing Sam has left behind. The whole family are suffering as a result. I can’t believe he has gone.”

A person was taken to hospital today after a two-vehicle collision on the A59 at Blubberhouses.

Harrogate firefighters responded to the incident at 3.13pm this afternoon.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident log said one person was trapped in their vehicle.

It added:

“Crews made both vehicles safe and removed the door of one vehicle to allow paramedics access to the trapped casualty.

“Crews assisted in extricating the casualty, who was suffering head injuries, before handing them into the care of ambulance crews to be transported to hospital.”

The incident led to delays on the main route between Harrogate and Skipton.

Read more:

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A Ripon cabbie has said new rules governing local taxi drivers will be a “disaster” for drivers and people relying on the service in rural areas.

North Yorkshire County Council is next week expected to introduce a single hackney carriage and private hire licensing policy from the spring.

The existing seven district councils, including Harrogate, currently have their own hackney carriage and private hire licensing policies.

But their looming abolition on April 1 prompted councillors to run a consultation between October 25 and January 16 on a new policy that would harmonise the rules across North Yorkshire.

Fifty-two per cent of respondents disagreed with the key proposal of introducing a single zone for North Yorkshire, which would allow cabbies to operate across the county rather than only in their districts. However, the idea still looks set to go ahead.

Richard Fieldman, who owns Ripon firm A1 Cars and runs a Facebook group that includes 52 taxi drivers in Ripon and Harrogate, said:

“Making it one zone will mean that at peak times drivers will target hotspots, such as Harrogate on a Saturday night, and leave rural areas with no taxis. It’s common sense that people will drive to maximise their earning potential.

“It will be a disaster for us and a disaster for people who live in quieter areas because they won’t be able to get a taxi at busy times.

“The same policy has been tried in other areas and it just leads to some streets being swamped with taxis so it’s bad for other road users as well.”

Mr Fieldman also criticised the council’s proposal to end the current restrictions on the number of hackney carriages — even though 45% of consultees opposed this. The Harrogate district limit is currently 148.

He said this would encourage private hire taxi drivers to switch to hackney carriages to avoid their £132 a year operator’s licence, which would “flood the limited space there is already”.

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Mr Fieldman also hit out at draft new rules that would mean hackney carriage licence holders have to get three MOTs a year on cars that are more than seven years old. Currently vehicles up between five and nine-years-old have to have two MOTs a year.

A council spokesman said the new policy incorporated Department for Transport’s taxi and private hire vehicle best practice guidance and allowed the market to determine the level of supply.

He added:

“Despite a fear from the trade of ‘hotspot’ areas, evidence from other authorities that have followed a similar approach has indicated that any negative impacts tend to level out over time.”

Cllr Carl Les

The Conservative leader of North Yorkshire County Council, Cllr Carl Les, said:

“The hackney carriage and private hire licensing policy for North Yorkshire plays an integral part in demonstrating the new council’s commitment to ensuring that the public is provided with safe and accessible hackney carriages and private hire vehicles.

“As a single local authority for North Yorkshire, it also ensures hackney carriage and private hire licence holders and taxi operators across the county are treated equally.

If approved by the county council’s executive next week, the new policy will be adopted from April 1, along with a single set of licensing fees for both hackney carriage and private hire vehicles and a maximum set of fares for hackney carriages.