A new council-backed tourism body for North Yorkshire is expected to launch by spring next year, despite continuing uncertainty about what its functions will be.

A meeting of local authority leaders in North Yorkshire and York heard council officers’ discussions with regional tourism firms were set to conclude this month, the outcomes of which would shape what type of organisation could be developed and its funding structure.

The meeting was told the development of a proposal for a replacement organisation to Welcome to Yorkshire remained at a very early stage, four months after it was placed in administration following years of financial and reputational issues.

However, council chiefs for York and Harrogate highlighted their areas already had well-established tourism marketing and management services and were looking for a strategic regional body to support.

Harrogate Borough Council chief executive Wallace Sampson told the meeting it was important that organisations such as its tourism body, Destination Harrogate, did not lose their identity. He said:

“What we’d be keen to see is some integration with a region-wide body. We feel there are some strong benefits to marketing the Yorkshire region as a whole because it has a strong brand. ”

After the meeting, North Yorkshire County Council leader Councillor Carl Les said:

“What we’re looking at as leaders is more about destination management, not just destination marketing.

“It was always thought to have the proper conversations with people in the industry and the councils that it would take until the autumn before an option could be put before the leaders.”

Read more:

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• Praise for A1 junction 47 upgrade – but overspend remains unknown

While some council leaders say the collapse of Welcome to Yorkshire has seen the loss of potential significant interventions in the tourism economy this year,  some councils have used their own staff to take on tasks previously undertaken by the tourism body.

The meeting heard it remained far from clear what type of publicly-backed tourism organisation was wanted across York and North Yorkshire, let alone Yorkshire as a whole, with different areas seeking a body with different functions.

Complications in deciding the way forward, the meeting heard, included agreeing potential deals with Wensleydale entrepreneur Robin Scott’s Silicone Dales, who bought Welcome to Yorkshire’s assets, including the rights to the Tour de Yorkshire, in April.

North Yorkshire County Council chief executive Richard Flinton said following further discussions between the council and the tourism sector a decision on the new organisation’s structure was scheduled to made before Christmas in the hope that the new tourism body could be launched by April next year.

He described the timescale as being “tight and ambitious”.

The region’s official tourism agency was placed into administration at the start of March after council leaders pulled the plug on public funding after years of reputational and financial problems.

Mr Flinton said while Welcome to Yorkshire’s assets had not been bought by a local government body, there was still “a lot of appetite” amongst councils for a body established to protect tourism, promote the brand of Yorkshire and pick up some of Welcome to Yorkshire’s work.

There is queueing traffic due to a closure of the A1(M) southbound between Dishforth and Boroughbridge this morning.

There are also roadworks in Harrogate and cancellations on buses.

Roads

Traffic is backing up in Boroughbridge, Topcliffe and Ripon this morning after part of the A1(M) southbound was closed.

The road was closed between junction 49 at Dishforth and junction 48 at Boroughbridge earlier this morning due to planned roadworks going over there pre-agreed time, according to National Highways Yorkshire.

All lanes have now reopened, but there is some congestion on the A1(M) and in Boroughbridge and Topcliffe due to the closure.

Drivers are advised to allow for extra time for there journeys.

All lanes have now reopened on the #A1M southbound between J49 (#Dishforth) and J48 (#Boroughbridge) following completion of the overnight roadworks. There is approx. 3 miles of congestion on approach, please allow extra time for these delays to clear. Thank you for your patience pic.twitter.com/uZeamTTOmc

— National Highways: Yorkshire (@HighwaysYORKS) July 5, 2022

As usual, drivers should be aware of the normal rush hour traffic on Harrogate’s Wetherby Road, Skipton Road and Knaresborough Road.

According to North Yorkshire County Council’s roadworks map, Yorkshire Water is due to start planned work Leeds Road this morning.

These works will be finished today.

Trains and buses

Train services between Harrogate and Knaresborough going to York and Leeds are scheduled to run as normal this morning.

Meanwhile, the Harrogate Bus Company is reporting cancellations on the 36 bus from Leeds to Harrogate at 8.55am this morning.

There are also cancellations on the 1A, 1B and 1C services.

You can find out more on the disruption to services here.

Read more:

• Fresh concerns over Knaresborough’s ‘most dangerous junction’
• Fresh concerns over Knaresborough’s ‘most dangerous junction’

Almost 70 objections have been submitted in two weeks after plans were put forward to build 35 homes in the Crimple Valley.

The outline proposal for Almsford Bank Stables includes 14 affordable homes, seven first homes and 14 self or custom build (SCB) plots.

However, 69 public comments have been received since Monday, June 20, all of which oppose the plans.

Among them, nearby resident Jules Sibson said:

“This application is ludicrous. There is no way the access here would be safe.

“Only a few weeks ago the road was closed for some period of time to a major road traffic accident. The traffic is stacked back on a regular basis, and if it’s not then people speed up and down the hill. A junction here would surely lead to disaster.

“As a local who also regularly enjoys the beautiful walks along here with my children I am literally dumbfounded this planning would even be re-considered.”

The proposed site, outlined in red, lies in the Crimple Valley

Another from Judith Hooper said:

“In the time we have been resident in Harrogate there have been numerous car accidents on Almsford bank, the most recent very serious one being only a few weeks ago.

“Cars accelerate down the bank on reaching the 50mph sign and already have to contend with traffic coming out of Crimple Hall.

“Putting access at the bottom of such a busy section of road, on a bend, seems to invite accidents. At night there are many cars clearly speeding on this stretch. At busy periods traffic is queuing both up and down the hill.”

Campaign group Save Crimple Valley has urged the public to submit objections to the new proposals.

It is the third application for the site site since 2018, when plans for 65 homes were put forward but withdrawn. The following year, a reduced proposal of 35 homes was submitted, but again withdrawn in the face of extensive objections.

The site is not included in Harrogate Borough Council’s local plan, which guides where development can take place in the district.

One objection to the latest proposal by the same applicant said the repeated applications were a “waste of everyone’s time”.

However, the application argues that the district does not have a sufficient supply of SCB sites to meet its obligations.

Read more:

• New plans submitted for 35 homes in Harrogate’s Crimple Valley
• Consultation on bid to join bridleways in Harrogate’s Crimple Valley

Consultees have also submitted their responses, with National Highways (formerly Highways England) saying it had no objections to the proposals.

However, some have opposed the plans. The Harrogate branch of the Ramblers’ Association said:

“We object strongly to this latest outline application to develop this site. Any housing development here would seriously damage public amenity…

“We object to the building of houses in this special landscape. We object to this area of countryside being urbanised.

“The indicative layout shows the bridleway diverted onto a new estate road for part of its length. We object because there has been no provision made for the bridleway to be kept separate from the proposed access road to the houses.

“We do not accept a right of way being incorporated into a vehicular access road for a housing development. There is no provision to keep the non-motorised route separate from the housing estate road, but it is unlikely this can be achieved on this site.”

The plans have been submitted by Square Feet Ltd, whose registered address is on nearby Fulwith Mill Lane, and Antela Developments Ltd, two of whose three directors also live on Fulwith Mill Lane.

To view or comment on the plans, visit the Harrogate Borough Council planning website and use reference 22/02233/OUTMAJ.

The consultation ends on Sunday, July 10. A date for the application to be decided by the council has yet to be set.

Doubt has been cast on a murder suspect’s claim that he was not involved in the death of Gracijus Balciauskas at a flat on Mayfield Grove in Harrogate last year.

Jaroslaw Rutowicz, 39, and Vitalijus Koreiva, 36, are accused of murdering Mr Balciauskas at a flat on Mayfield Grove in Harrogate on December 20 last year.

The trial at Leeds Crown Court began two weeks ago with the prosecution giving evidence.  The court heard how Mr Balciauskas’s body was found wrapped in a rug.

Mr Rutowicz took the stand last week to begin his defence. He claimed Mr Koreiva violently killed Gracijus Balciauskas after a drunken game of chess turned ugly — and then threatened to do the same to him if he dialled 999 for help.

Today Mr Rutowicz was cross-examined by Mr Koreiva’s barrister, Peter Moulson QC, who suggested his version of events was “simply a lie”.

‘In shock’

Much of Mr Moulson’s questioning focused on why Mr Rutowicz did not call the police until almost 18 hours after the alleged murder took place.

The court had previously been shown CCTV footage of Mr Rutowicz leaving the flat and returning several times to buy alcohol in the hours after Mr Balciauskas died.

Mr Moulson QC said:

“For almost 18 hours after your friend sustained his injuries, you went backwards and forwards to the flat voluntarily. You were never being threatened by Mr Koreiva, that is simply a lie.”

Read more:

• Harrogate murder suspect claims he feared for his own life after ‘brutal’ assault

• Harrogate murder trial hears that body was found in a rug

During today’s hearing, Mr Rutowicz repeatedly said that he was in shock after witnessing the death of Mr Balciauskas.

Mr Rutowicz repeated his previous claim that he had been threatened by Mr Koreiva with his life if he called the police. He said Mr Koreiva’s nickname in Harrogate was the “crazy Russian” and he had an unpredictable character.

He said:

“It was that fear. Nobody had threatened me before in my life like that, that he would find me and kill me. As long as that aggression was there I kept coming back.”

Harrowing images

The court was again shown harrowing video images, filmed on Mr Rutowicz’s phone, of Mr Balciauskas bloodied and barely conscious after being assaulted at the flat on Mayfield Grove.

Mr Moulson QC suggested the reason he filmed the encounter was to use it as a threat against Mr Balciauskas if he “crossed” the pair again, which Mr Rutowicz denied.

He said:

“[I filmed it] so I could report to police what Vitalijus had done. I didn’t kill him. I didn’t beat him.”

The afternoon finished with Mr Koreiva on the stand beginning his evidence. The trial continues tomorrow.

A children’s nursery in Harrogate has urged parents to voice their opposition to government proposals which could see fewer staff caring for young children.

Rachel Wilkinson, proprietor of Green Gables Montessori Nursery on the Great Yorkshire Showground, said the plans to allow one member of staff to care for five two-year-olds were “not safe”.

“My main concern is that it’s OK saying you can have one member of staff to five toddlers, but the reality is you can’t keep them safe. It’s wholly inappropriate.

“We still operate one-to-three for that age range because we don’t think the one-to-four is safe.”

In childcare settings in England, each member of staff can currently care for up to four children aged two. The government today said it will consult with childcare professionals and parents over whether to increase that to five.

Meanwhile, the number of children with additional needs who require extra support has grown significantly since covid. Ms Wilkinson said it was down to children having much less social interaction during lockdowns – and those born since March 2020 were at the greatest risk, she said.

“Children at two are most likely to be diagnosed with additional needs and need as much support as children under the age of two, as well as all the learning opportunities. You can’t do that with one member of staff to five children.”

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• Calls for action over ‘overwhelmed’ North Yorkshire children’s mental health services
• Fraction of free school meals children accessing school holidays scheme

The government said its proposal would help childcare providers to reduce costs and they could then pass savings on to parents, to enable them to access more affordable childcare as the cost of living rises.

However, Ms Wilkinson said the approach is completely wrong and there are better ways to address the challenges in the sector, such as increasing funding.

Children aged three and above receive funding for up to 30 hours’ childcare per week in term time in England.

Ms Wilkinson said the amount paid to the nursery for those hours was inadequate – it costs her £1.64 per hour more than she receives to care for each child.

Nurseries are not allowed to charge top-up fees and can only increase their prices so far. If rates rise too far, she said, providers would price themselves out of the market as parents would choose not to work.

Instead, she said she would like to see a range of measures to tackle the problems facing parents and childcare professionals.

“What would help the situation would be to stop business rates, to allow us to claim VAT back on investments – I have just bought £15,000 of equipment and paid 20% on it. That money that’s going to the government would have been reinvested in the nursery and come off the top line.

“I would like to pay my staff more than just above minimum rate. And the funding needs to actually be a viable amount. I think the calculation was done about 2016 and a lot has changed since then.

“Funding went up 6p per hour this time. Minimum wage went up by 60p per hour, plus you’ve got pensions and national insurance to pay. It just doesn’t add up.”

Children aged two would be affected by the proposed changes to childcare settings

Since covid, she said, nurseries have struggled to recruit, along with other relatively low-paying sectors, such as hospitality and social care.

Ms Wilkinson said she has managed not to need to close any of its rooms when staff are off sick, but other childcare settings have not been as fortunate.

Parents of children at other nurseries have told the Stray Ferret about last-minute cancellation of their childcare when too many staff have called in sick and there have not been enough agency workers to cover for them.

Combined with the increasing costs of fuel, food and other day-to-day expenses, Ms Wilkinson said it is no surprise that many nurseries are closing their doors.

Having established her nursery 27 years ago, she said she is increasingly concerned about the state of the sector.

“I think the profession was in crisis before the pandemic and that has just made it worse. It’s a perfect storm.”

The full extent of the multi-million pound overspend on the upgrade to junction 47 on the A1(M) has still not been revealed, months after the delayed scheme was finally completed.

The project, which had an original budget cost of £7.7m, finished in April — seven months later than planned.

North Yorkshire County Council revealed 10 months ago the costs had spiralled to £10m and has not given an updated figure since.

The council issued a press release today in which business leaders praised the initiative, at Flaxby, for improving traffic flow and attracting enterprise.

It said the junction was “already having huge benefits for commuters, residents and holiday-makers amid the summer tourism season”.

Cllr Keane Duncan, the council’s executive member for highways, said:

“The upgrades to junction 47 have made a significant difference, reducing congestion and improving road safety.

“The scheme unlocks future growth in and around Harrogate, with the changes helping to manage significant residential and commercial development anticipated along the A59 corridor.”

David Simister, chief executive of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce said:

“Having used it on a number of occasions since its completion, it is not only benefitting commuters exiting the A1(M), but also those accessing it as well as those travelling along the A59.

“Improving transport links to and from the Harrogate district will benefit business too.”

(from left) Y&NY LEP board member Jan Garill, NYCC project manager Richard Binks, Farrans operations director Jonny Kerr, National Highways head of service delivery Kate Wood, Farrans project manager Shane Daly, AECOM site supervisor Kevin Atkinson and Cllr Keane Duncan.

The scheme involved widening three of the four slip roads onto and off the roundabout to increase capacity, as well as a number of junction improvements.

Traffic signals have been installed on the roundabout to improve traffic flow and added to the T-junction between the A168 and the A59 a short distance from Junction 47 on the York side to benefit drivers turning onto the A59 and to improve safety.

To the west of Junction 47, between the A1 and the Flaxby roundabout, a lane has been added for traffic travelling east, so there is two lanes in each direction between those two roundabouts.

‘Bring more events to Harrogate’

Paula Lorimer, director at Harrogate Convention Centre, said:

“We welcome the upgrade as it has significantly reduced congestion and improved road safety for our visitors.

“The shortened travel time strengthens our competitive advantage and will help us bring more large-scale events to Harrogate.”

Delays were blamed on the discovery of a protected species, great crested newts, which legally had to be relocated, as well as poor ground conditions on the southbound slip road.

Asked why it was taking so long for the final costs of the project to be revealed, a council spokeswoman said:

“The latest estimated costs are the subject of detailed discussions with the county council’s contractor and will be publicly available once they have been agreed.”

Plans to build 133 homes on Kingsley Road in Harrogate look set to be approved after being delayed due to badger surveys.

Redrow Homes won outline planning permission to build the development on appeal in August 2020 after it was initially refused by Harrogate Borough Council.

The company’s reserved matters application, which considers issues such as access and appearance, came before the council’s planning committee last month.

But the council delayed a decision after residents claimed there were more badger setts in the area than developers had surveyed.

As part of the application, the developer submitted two ecology studies that found there were four badger setts in the area but only one or two were still actively used.

A previous ecological study undertaken in 2019 by a different developer found no evidence of badgers.

Members of Kingsley Ward Action Group (KWAG) bought a trail cam, which is a camera that is left outside to capture the movement of animals.

Read more:

• Harrogate residents hope badgers will thwart housing scheme

• Badgers delay approval of 133 homes at Kingsley Road

They claimed their investigation found evidence of 11 badger setts, six of which were still active.

A report due before councillors at a meeting next week refers to a study on badger setts undertaken by Dan McAndrew, the council’s principal ecologist. It says:

“The report provided is comprehensive, thoroughly assesses the current position and provides acceptable mitigation. 

“There are no badger setts on the site and the development will not cause loss or disturbance to the main sett and will only involve the temporary closure under licence of a small number of outlier setts.”

It added that mitigation measures were already in place as part of the outline approval.

Council officials have recommended that the committee approve the application at a meeting on July 12.

The proposal will see 133 homes built on the site, of which 53 would be allocated as affordable.

The Liberal Democrats would win Harrogate and Knaresborough if a general election was held tomorrow, according to polling firm YouGov.

The company has published modelling based on 64 ‘blue wall’ Conservative-Liberal Democrat battleground seats.

The seats were chosen because they were won by the Conservatives at the 2019 general election but the Liberal Democrats received above 20% of the vote.

YouGov predicts the Conservatives would retain 38 seats, the Liberal Democrats would win 24 and Labour would win two.

Among those forecast to fall is Andrew Jones’ seat, which he won with a majority of 9,675 in 2019, relegating the Liberal Democrats to second.

YouGov predicts the Liberal Democrats would get 43% of the vote in Harrogate and Knaresborough, compared with 39% for the Conservatives and 9% for Labour.

It comes days after Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey pledged to make Harrogate and Knaresborough a target seat during a visit to Harrogate.

The polling says the Conservatives would also lose seats belonging to deputy prime minister Dominic Raab and former leadership contender Jeremy Hunt to the Liberal Democrats.

The company said in a statement:

“Although constituencies would fall to the Liberal Democrats all across the country, including Harrogate and Knaresborough in the north and South Cambridgeshire in the east, perhaps the most striking losses come in the south west, where we estimate that the Conservative vote share is down by over 16 points on 2019.

“Many more Conservative seats are close to being flipped: no fewer than 11 of the 38 predicted holds would be retained by a margin of less than five points. “

Read more:

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• Sir Ed Davey: Lib Dems will target Harrogate and Knaresborough as key seat

The only Con-Lib Dem battlegrounds region where Labour have increased their vote share on 2019 is in London, where they are up by three points.

In all other regions their vote share in these battleground seats is down – despite Labour’s vote intention being around six to nine points higher than the 32% they managed at the last election.

A man who was arrested in connection with an incident in Bilton has been released with no further action taken.

Police were called to a property on Byland Road on Thursday, June 23, where a woman was found with serious injuries.

A man in his 40s was arrested following the incident. Clare Bailey, 44, was also arrested.

The man was initially arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder and bailed pending investigation.

Read more:

• Harrogate murder suspect claims he feared for his own life after ‘brutal’ assault
• Woman charged with Harrogate attempted murder enters no plea

However, North Yorkshire Police has confirmed over the weekend he has been released from bail and no further action is being taken against him.

Ms Bailey, 44, was charged with attempted murder.

She appeared before York Magistrates Court on June 27, but entered no plea.

Ms Bailey, who is from Dudley, will now appear before Leeds Crown Court on July 25.

Harrogate Spring Water is to hold a public consultation event next week for its plans to expand in the Pinewoods.

The company announced today it would stage the event at Harrogate’s Crown Hotel from 4pm to 7pm on July 13.

Local residents are invited to attend and find out more about the proposals and to share their views.

The event takes place in the Byron suite of the hotel on Crown Place in Harrogate town centre.

Since 2017, Harrogate Spring Water has had outline planning permission to expand its production facilities on its site on Harlow Moor Road.

The company is now putting together a ‘reserved matters’ application which will detail how the new building will look and how the surrounding area will be landscaped.

The controversial plan would involve felling trees in a section of the Pinewoods known as Rotary Wood.

Next week’s is part of a series of consultation meetings with the local community and stakeholder groups allowing people to have their say on the design and landscaping of the proposed extension and surrounding land.

Read more:

• Pinewoods charity to meet Harrogate Spring Water to discuss expansion
• Rotary Wood campaigners stage demo in Valley Gardens

A final application will then go on public display before being submitted to the council.

Richard Hall, managing director of Harrogate Spring Water, said:

“As we look to grow, create further job opportunities and continue to support the local and regional economy, it is important that we listen to the local community.

“That’s why we would encourage people to engage with us on this process by coming along to the meeting on July 13, to give us the benefit of their views and to help shape the future of the company.”

Anyone who cannot come along on the day can have their say via a dedicated webpage here.