Harrogate Borough Council has estimated its energy bills are set to cost £1.2 million above budget by the end of the financial year.

In a quarter three financial report due before councillors next week, Gillian Morland, service finance manager, said the authority has an estimated overall overspend of £1.4 million.

The overspend is largely due to soaring utility costs and a higher than expected staff pay award. It budgeted for a 2.5% pay increase but the actual increase was 6.7%.

In her quarter two update in October, Ms Morland forecast the council faced a “sizeable overspend” by the end of the financial year.

She told councillors:

“As things stand we are looking at a sizeable overspend this year.

“We are hoping overspend will come down but we do have sufficient funds to cover it.”

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But the economic situation remains difficult, mainly due to rising energy bills.

In quarter three, an overspend of £170,000 is predicted in housing and property, an increase of £121,000 from quarter two. The report explains:

“There is now a forecast overspend on homelessness of £112,000. This is primarily down to an overspend on B&B accommodation.

“There is a forecast £51,000 overspend on street lighting primarily due to energy costs and street nameplates.”

Parks and environmental services is forecasting an overspend of £739,000, largely due to temporary staff costs.

Harrogate Convention Centre is forecasting a net overspend of £264,000 — the reasons are exempt from the public and media.

But a £166,000 underspend is expected in legal and governance and underspends are also forecast in ICT and organisational development and Improvement.

Support from government

The report comes after senior county councillors warned that soaring energy costs meant local authorities needed support from government.

Cllr Simon Myers, executive councillor for growth, culture, leisure, sport and housing at North Yorkshire County Council, told a meeting in September:

“You can imagine that the extra costs in heating schools, leisure facilities and other council buildings are going to be enormous.

“And it is unlikely that there will be any ability to recoup that cost from residents. Indeed, it would be wrong to, given the economic circumstances that our residents are facing.

“We are going to need help from central government if we are not going to cut back on essential services.”

Plans have been approved to convert a part of a town centre estate agents into a two-bedroom flat.

The premises on Albert Street is occupied by North Residential, previously Knight Frank, but under the proposals part of the first floor and all of the second floor will be changed to residential.

Now, Harrogate Borough Council has approved the proposal.

The application states:

“The upper floors of the premises were ceased to be part of the commercial use following the refurbishment of the building at the rear 18 months ago.

“The ground floor floorspace was considered more convenient and offered a high quality meeting room. Since that time, the first and second floors have remained vacant in excess of the three month requirement.”

North Residential began trading last year after a management buy-out of the Harrogate branch of Knight Frank, having been operating it in Harrogate for 15 years.

The business will continue in the ground floor of the Albert Street building, along with a first-floor meeting room to the rear.

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The Stray Ferret Business Awards will be held on March 9 at the Pavilions of Harrogate. The event will be a celebratory night with prize draw and afterparty. Richard Flinton, the chief executive of the new North Yorkshire Council is the guest speaker. Early bird ticket prices are available until February 9 and available to buy here. Bring your team, network and have fun. 

Harrogate’s Windsor House has opened a dedicated yoga and pilates studio for tenants.

Towards the end of last year, Boultbee Brookes – owners of the former Grand Hotel which is now home to more than 115 businesses – trialled lunchtime yoga classes..

As a result, the company has now created a dedicated yoga and Pilates studio, where two instructors are offering morning, lunchtime and evening classes, four times a week to its tenants.

Karen Winspear, Boultbee Brooks’ building manager for Windsor House, said: 

“When we introduced a weekly yoga class, we weren’t sure just how popular it would be.

“It proved to be a great success, and that led to us taking the step to not only increase the number of yoga classes, but to also introduce Pilates classes.

“We have created our own studio, and I’m delighted to announce that regular classes, led by Jess Barnard, for yoga, and Fern Summerton, for Pilates are now in full swing.”

Further information about Windsor House can be found at its website here.

New Harrogate business group launched to support women

Pictured from left are Carol Beeley and Sarah Shaw from LWL Harrogate and Jan Moxham of Lilypad Restaurant.

A new business group has been launched in Harrogate aimed at offering professional support and friendship to women working in the area.

Part of the nationwide Ladies Who Latte (LWL) network, the group is free to attend and open to all women who are in employment, own a business or are starting a business.

The group will meet at Lilypad restaurant on King’s Road between 9.30am and 11.30am on the second Wednesday of every month, with the first event on February 8. 

It is being led by Carol Beeley, director of On The Spot Accountants, and Sarah Shaw, a European strategy consultant with WEConnect International.

Ms Shaw said:

“If you’ve always been nervous about networking, or are looking to meet like-minded working women in an open and relaxed setting, please do come along.

“Even if you can only spare half an hour to drop by for a quick coffee, you’ll be given a warm welcome.”

LWL is for women who want to build a professional, local support network and feel part of a business community. It offers them the opportunity to promote themselves while sharing their knowledge and passion with others, gaining inspiration and confidence to drive their ambitions and business forward.

For more information on Ladies Who Latte, visit the group’s website here.

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Harrogate Town captain Josh Falkingham has signed a two-year contract extension.

The 32-year-old, who joined from Darlington in 2017, has made more than 150 appearances for the club in three separate divisions.

The deal will see Falkingham lead Town until the end of the 2024/25 season.

Falkingham said:

“I am absolutely delighted to have extended my stay for another two years. I really want to play my part in pushing the club forward in that time and together hopefully we can keep improving and pushing up the table.

“For me, it has always been about working hard and constantly trying to improve. I always push myself to give everything for this club and I will continue to do that.” 

The 32-year-old has led Town to two promotions in his five-year stint.

Famously, Falkingham captained the side to a 3-1 play-off final victory over Notts County in 2020 which saw the club promoted to the English Football League for the first time in its history.

Town manager Simon Weaver said:

“Josh has played an instrumental part in the climb the club has been on in recent years. We are delighted that he has signed this extension.

“Players, teammates, staff and supporters can all see how much this club means to him and that passion and determination is a great attribute to have in any dressing room.”

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Harrogate Borough Council wants to introduce stricter light pollution rules to ensure Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty remains home to some of the darkest skies in the country.

Astronomers commissioned by Nidderdale AONB in spring last year found the night skies in the north west of the area, including Upper Nidderdale and moorland near Masham, are some of the least affected by light pollution in England.

Countryside charity CPRE says clear dark skies reduce stress and increase a sense of peace. But in the wildlife-rich Nidderdale AONB, artificial light can also disturb how animals perceive the transition between day and night.

This disrupts their sleep and results in reduced foraging or hunting periods for nocturnal species such as bats.

Light pollution can even affect plants whose flowering is linked to day length.

To help combat the problem, the authority has drawn up a Nidderdale AONB-specific supplementary planning document for its Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which outlines where development can occur.

If approved by Conservative cabinet member for planning Tim Myatt today, the document will go out for public consultation.

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It says light pollution from farm and commercial buildings is “the most obvious source” of light pollution in the darkest zone of the AONB.

It adds that all new outside lights in this zone should comply with the latest design standards and be fully shielded and include a lighting plan prepared by a lighting professional.

All external lighting should be fitted with a system to ensure lights are automatically switched off when they are not needed.

All external lights should be also positioned so that the light shines downwards.

The document recommends that external lights in the darkest zone, which includes Upper Nidderdale, should only have 500 lumens, which is a measurement of visible light to the human eye.

A council report that accompanies the document says:

“Protecting dark skies is important as light pollution has potential to disrupt wildlife, adversely affect human health and erode tranquillity. Poor lighting choices can also waste energy and contribute to climate change.

“The Nidderdale AONB contains some of the darkest skies in England as well as a diverse range of wildlife and habitats, making it particularly important to ensure that light pollution is reduced in this area.”

Harrogate Borough Council is spending £25,000 a month on temporary hotels and bed and breakfasts for homeless people, a freedom of information request has revealed.

The council, which has a statutory duty to prevent homelessness, is paying individual hotels up to £126 a night because its hostels are full.

The figures highlight how acute and costly the issue of homelessness is in the Harrogate district.

The Stray Ferret submitted a freedom of information request after a well-placed source revealed some of the town’s best-known hotels were being paid to put up homeless people.

The council confirmed at the time it used hotels “as a last resort” but declined to reveal costs.

Following the FoI request it has now released details of the monthly amounts paid to each of the hotel and B&B accounts used to provide temporary accommodation for homeless people in the six months from April to September last year.

The names of the individual establishments have not been released to protect the identity of vulnerable people but the sums for each one range from £30 to £126 a night.

Two hotels each received more than £10,000 from the council in August and one received more than £13,000 in July. Payments are subsidised through housing benefits.

‘No one should ever sleep on the streets’

The Stray Ferret asked the council about the sums and the amount of accommodation it had for homeless people in the district.

A council spokesperson said:

“We believe no one should ever be sleeping on the streets, and should an individual or a family become homeless we have a statutory responsibility to prevent this and several options available.

“This includes working with families, landlords or mortgage providers to help people stay in their homes, provide financial support to cover arrears or identify alternative private rental accommodation.

“Additional to this, when all other options have been exhausted, is our temporary accommodation – including hostels in Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough – to ensure residents have somewhere safe to stay and not end up sleeping on the streets.

“If we have no availability in our hostels, or they are not suitable for the individual or family, then we may need to place them in a B&B or a hotel temporarily.

“We use a variety, depending on availability and any specific needs that may be required. For example, to support a family and/or individual with additional needs that may require an accessible room. As such, this will naturally cost more than accommodation for a single adult who requires no additional support.

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The spokesperson added:

“The cost of using B&Bs or hotels will understandably vary throughout the year but on average in the last 12 months, it has cost around £25,000 per month and is subsidised through housing benefits.

“During this time, a dedicated housing options officer works with each household, alongside partner organisations, to ensure the correct support is provided. This includes health and well-being support, budget advice and independent living skills.

“This is a short-term arrangement until either a vacancy within our hostel accommodation becomes available or a more permanent housing solution is found.

“We are committed to providing decent and quality homes for everyone in the Harrogate district. To achieve this, we have a number of plans in place; such as requiring developers to provide a specific amount of affordable housing (40 per cent or 30 per cent depending on location), building our own stock through our housing company Bracewell Homes, as well as encouraging private landlords to return empty properties back into use.

“Tackling homelessness is something that all local authorities face but we are determined to meet these challenges and ensure no one ends up sleeping on the streets.”

The first “knife drop bin” to be installed in North Yorkshire has been set up in Harrogate.

North Yorkshire Police and Harrogate Borough Council worked together to install the orange bin between Asda car park and Dragon Road car park near to the recycling bins.

The facility is designed for people to dispose safely of knives, blades or sharp tools in a safe, anonymous way.

People wishing to deposit a knife are advised to wrap the blade in either thick paper or cardboard and secure with tape as a safety precaution. Once secure, take the knife directly to the bin location and deposit it safely by dropping it through the hatch.

Nicola Colboure, North Yorkshire Police inspector in Harrogate, said:

“While knife crime in North Yorkshire is very low compared to many surrounding areas, we do see the awful injuries knives and other bladed items can inflict if they fall into the wrong hands.

“This is an excellent way to ensure they’re permanently taken out of circulation, which in turn helps us ensure North Yorkshire remains officially England’s safest county.”

The force said the purpose of the bin is to give reassurance to the public that knives are disposed of, but also to reduce knife crime and violence.

A police press release said those who use the knife bin for its intended purpose of disposing of weapons will be granted amnesty to do so and will therefore not face prosecution for disposing of their knives.

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It added:

“Discarding knives by handing them directly into police stations can be a daunting prospect, which is why introducing this simple and discrete method of disposal will hopefully encourage people to utilise the knife drop bin, particularly when coming across old surplus kitchen knives or sharp work tools such as Stanley knives.

“Under the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 it is now also illegal to possess certain weapons in private places. Items that could have previously been considered as decorative, collectable or antique pieces are now unlawful to own and you will face prosecution if weapons such as samurai swords, shurikens and flick knives are found in your home.

“Many of these weapons are held in innocence or lack of knowledge of their illegality. We therefore want to urge those in possession of such items to take advantage of the knife drop bin.”

North Yorkshire County Council’s leadership has defended itself amid claims that its largely older male membership has not experienced the impacts of motorists speeding through market towns and villages.

Knaresborough councillor Hannah Gostlow and Selby member Melanie Ann Davis told a meeting of the authority’s transport scrutiny committee action to tackle road safety in built-up areas was being limited due to the executive having different experiences to those of women, people with pushchairs and young people.

The council’s 10-member executive features two women and the majority of its members are aged above 50.

The meeting examining road safety and the introduction of 20mph zones in built-up areas also heard claims North Yorkshire Police were routinely failing to tackle motorcyclists as well as refusing to enforce 20mph zones.

The meeting heard while road incidents in the county had seen 36 people killed in 2020 and 37 the year before, motorcyclists had accounted for seven of the deaths in 2020 and 11 in 2019, which represented a far higher proportion than the volume of motorbikes on North Yorkshire’s roads.

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Councillors heard the council had been examining the decision to make Wales one of the first countries in the world to introduce legislation to have a 20mph speed limit on roads where cars mix with pedestrians and cyclists.

Cllr Gostlow told the committee the majority of people supporting the Welsh move had been women and those with young families and that North Yorkshire’s executive lacked the experience of walking on narrow paths beside busy roads.

She said the executive needed to listen to grass roots views rather than “deal down from the top”, adding: 

“I am worried that the executive do not represent the people who are going to benefit.”

Cllr Davis agreed, saying the “car was king because it represents economic power” and that the views of women and young people were being overlooked.

After the meeting, the authority’s leader, Cllr Carl Les said he did his best to balance the executive in terms of gender, between retired people and those in work and in terms of geographical coverage.

He said: 

“I think we are all road users and represent those people in our communities and I wouldn’t say it has any adverse effect on our decisions.”

Mobile cameras ‘effective’

A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said its mobile safety cameras were effective when used on any vehicle, including motorbikes.

The force said it had publicised a significant amount of prosecutions involving motorcyclists, including riders who have been recorded exceeding 120mph and riders who have been prosecuted for various dangerous driving offences.

The spokesperson added: 

“Independent research by Newcastle University has found that North Yorkshire Police’s mobile safety cameras have reduced casualties by 20 per cent in the areas they’ve been deployed to.

“The force decides where to deploy cameras based on lots of different factors around risk and safety. These include data about previous collisions, demand from communities and even the weather.

“We never consider locations based on the revenue they could generate. This is a common misconception, but finances are made publicly available every year. The figures clearly show that some years the service costs slightly more to run than it generates, and other years vice versa.

“Residents frequently raise concerns about speeding in their communities specifically request mobile safety cameras, which we’ve deployed on a wide range of roads including village high streets, outside schools, suburban routes, main roads and rural roads.”

A 25-metre telecommunications tower could be installed at Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground to improve WiFi.

The showground attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year but many often struggle to get online.

A planning application has been submitted to Harrogate Borough Council by telecommunications company EE to erect a lattice tower that will host three antennae, two dishes and several cabinets.

A design and access statement submitted by telecommunications technology company Harlequin Group on behalf of EE to the council said the proposal would not only boost WiFi at the showground but also provide “much improved and upgraded coverage to surrounding businesses and residents who currently see limited indoor coverage”. It added:

“It should be noted there is no 5G coverage within the immediate or surrounding area whatsoever.

“The area, in particular the Great Yorkshire Showground, has been subject to coverage supplied by way of a temporary emergency solution during events.

“The proposal will be tucked within a building corner, meaning that the equipment will be obscured on two of the four sides.”

The proposed location, according to planning documents.

EE claimed the enhanced network “should be considered critical infrastructure within the UK to support the local community in perpetuity”. It said:

“At present, a temporary mast is brought out during events such as the Great Yorkshire Show that take place within the showground. Whilst this has been a solution that has worked adequately in the past, currently there is an ever-growing demand to find a more permanent solution.

“Local residents and businesses who currently experience little to no coverage, as well as visitors to the showground, have been pushing for a fixed solution that would consistently meet the demands of the surrounding area.”

‘Vital to ensure latest connectivity’

Allister Nixon

Allister Nixon, chief executive of the Great Yorkshire Showground told the Stray Ferret:

“The Great Yorkshire Showground is an intrinsic part of the local community that hosts numerous events throughout the year and brings significant employment and money to the area.

“To ensure that we can continue to develop and evolve with the changing demands of customers and business, it is vital to ensure that the latest connectivity is present; the proposed lattice tower is centrally located and has been designed to allow multiple operators to host on the same infrastructure.

“The public benefit goes beyond the Great Yorkshire Showground, with the proposal able to provide upgraded coverage and capacity to the surrounding residential properties, commercial properties, visitors and businesses in the locale. It is therefore believed that this proposal enables the provision of future connectivity for numerous individuals and companies.”

Councillors will decide whether to approve the planning application.

A leading Harrogate district arts festival has launched a nationwide search to find and reward talented young classical singers.

The Northern Aldborough Festival’s New Voices Singing Competition offers a prize fund of £7,000.

The winners will also receive performance opportunities at leading UK music festivals, including Leeds Lieder, Newbury Spring Festival, Ryedale Festival and Music@Malling, as well as the Northern Aldborough Festival itself.

The judging panel includes Dame Felicity Lott, one of Britain’s leading sopranos,

Robert Ogden, the festival’s artistic director, said:

“Hundreds of young singers graduate every year with dreams and aspirations to become professionals, but the majority have to seek temporary work while they build their careers.

“A competition success can be a turning point for a young artist. Our festival has, from its inception, strived to support and nurture young talent.”

The winner will receive The Seastock Trust Prize of £5,000, with a second prize of £1,500 from The Yorkshire Music Future Fund, and a third, audience prize of £500.

St Andrew’s Church in Aldborough hosts many of the festival events.

The competition is open to solo singers and ensembles of up to eight performers, and celebrates classical vocalism in all its forms. It is open to vocalists aged 21-32 years-old. Deadline for entries is Friday 14 April, 2023.

Mr Ogden, who is also an opera singer, said:

“At a time when the arts sector — particularly opera — has faced funding cuts, we feel a competition to help launch singing careers is of its time. What’s more, there are very few significant open vocal competitions north of London.”

The judging panel also includes the artistic director of The Early Opera Company, Christian Curnyn, director of Leeds Lieder, Joseph Middleton, and artistic director of the Northern Aldborough Festival, Robert Ogden. The panel is chaired by Sir Andrew Lawson-Tancred, chairman of the Northern Aldborough Festival.

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The semi-final and grand-final will be performed live to audiences at the end of this year’s Northern Aldborough Festival, which is hosted in the North Yorkshire village from Thursday 15 to Saturday 24 June 2023.

It will be the 29th festival and highlights include trumpet star and winner of BBC Young Musician of the Year, 26-year-old Matilda Lloyd and the youngest winner of the Leeds International Piano Competition for 40 years, Sunwook Kim.