Tory councillors on North Yorkshire County Council have told the Conservative Party leadership candidates that direct targeted help will be needed to support residents through the energy cost crisis.

Senior members of the party in the traditional Conservative stronghold of North Yorkshire say they are becoming increasingly concerned about how the most vulnerable members of the community will cope financially ahead of Ofgem confirming October’s energy price cap tomorrow.

They have pointed towards demand for North Yorkshire County Council’s Local Assistance Fund, which provides support for vulnerable people needing help with essential living costs, doubling in recent months.

Energy bills are forecast to top £5,300 annually in April next year, representing a huge increase from previous predictions.

Prime ministerial candidate frontrunner Liz Truss has promised an emergency budget if she is selected, saying she would reverse National Insurance rises and stop business tax hikes.

She has also suggested extra cash support may be available for families struggling with energy bills.

Meanwhile Rishi Sunak said he would prioritise tackling inflation and introduce more targeted support for households, pledging to reduce VAT on domestic energy bills.

Read more:

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• MPs warned energy bills are pushing Harrogate district businesses to ‘tipping point’

A meeting of North Yorkshire County Council’s executive this week heard its finance boss and deputy leader, Councillor Gareth Dadd, say while he remained confident the authority could rise to the challenge of tackling inflationary pressures, some residents would struggle.

Cllr Dadd (pictured above) said:

“If I can just give one message to either one of the, well one in particular, of the prime ministerial candidates, call it hand-outs, call it what you want, there is no two ways, given the rising price cap that we are expecting in a few days’ time, direct support will be needed to those most in need.

“A pound a week saving via a tax cut will not make the cut as far as I am concerned across the most vulnerable residents in North Yorkshire.

“It’s about time we got real and recognised this and it’s direct support that’s needed as there’s an impact on our services and our costs. I think we’ve already seen evidence of that through the Local Assistance Fund.

“The plea is direct target help with those energy bills will go a long way to seeing off some of the demand rises that we’ve seen lately.”

Drivers face 10 weeks of roadworks in Harrogate starting from Tuesday.

Work is being carried out by Northern Gas Networks to replace ageing pipework with plastic pipes.

It will see road closures and temporary traffic lights on many of the main routes into town, including Ripon Road, Kings Road and Cold Bath Road just as children return to school.

Work will take 10 weeks from August 30.

Northern Gas Networks said in a statement that although most work will be carried out on the road, engineers will need access to customer properties to complete the project and ensure the continued safe and reliable supply of gas.

The work will include:

• A lane closure will be introduced on Crescent Road between Montpellier Road and Parliament Street along with four-way lights on Crescent Road, Parliament Street, Ripon Road and Kings Road from Monday September 5 for two weeks.
• A road closure will be implemented on Montpellier Road between Crescent Road and The Ginnel from Monday September 19 for two weeks.
• Two-way and three-way lights on Cold Bath Road from Monday October 3 for five weeks, manned between 7am and 7pm.
• A road closure will be introduced on Wellington Square from Monday October 17, in place for two weeks.

Russ Kaye, business operations lead for Northern Gas Networks, said: 

“We would like to apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused during these essential works. However, it is vital we complete them in order to continue to maintain a safe and reliable gas supply to the residents of Harrogate.

“We want to assure residents and road users that we will be working hard to complete this essential scheme as safely and as quickly as possible.”

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New figures show that North Yorkshire Police is now the worst police force for responding to 999 calls.

Forces are expected to meet the Home Office target of answering 90% of emergency calls within 10 seconds.

Home Office data showed that, in July, North Yorkshire only managed this 39.9% of the time.

The best performing force was Nottinghamshire Police, which achieved 87% – still below the 90% target.

North Yorkshire Police has often been close to the foot of the table but this was the second month in a row when it was actually last.

The force’s own statistics show its latest average 999 response time for the month of July was 20 seconds. This was higher than its 36-month average of 18.84 seconds.

The figures will come under the spotlight at the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s monthly public accountability meeting next Tuesday, August 30.

Data published by the commissioner’s office in advance of the meeting revealed the number of 999 calls increased by 8% in July 2022 compared with the same month last year.

Zoe Metcalfe, North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

‘A huge increase’

The North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s office was approached for comment on the slow response times but a spokesman said the issue would be discussed at next week’s meeting.

Commissioner Zoë Metcalfe told the Stray Ferret in June that she was working to reduce delays in answering 101 and 999 calls in the police control room.

She said there had been a “huge increase” in 999 and non-emergency 101 calls.

Ms Metcalfe has pledged £140,000 to increase the number of staff working in the force control room.

North Yorkshire is set to receive 140 new chargepoints for electric vehicles under a scheme announced today by the Department for Transport.

The county’s seven districts, including Harrogate, will each get 20 chargers.

The chargepoints will installed at on-street locations and at larger petrol-station charging hubs.

It is hoped the move will give drivers without home chargers more confidence to switch to electric, and reduce ‘range anxiety’ among existing electric vehicle users by helping to ensure motorists are never far from a chargepoint.

North Yorkshire County Council was awarded the funding today.

The council previously suggested that Markington, Pateley Bridge and Conyngham Hall in Knaresborough could receive new chargepoints in the Harrogate district. But it has yet to confirm the locations after today’s news.

Councillor Greg White, the council’s executive member for climate change, welcomed the funding. He said:

“The switch to electric vehicles is necessary as North Yorkshire moves towards becoming carbon zero, but the rural nature of the county presents some significant challenges.

“We worked hard to come up with an innovate scheme which will begin to provide the answers motorists need if they are to have the confidence to go electric.”

The chargers are part of the new Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) pilot scheme where the council and industry work in partnership.

Companies are putting £200,000 towards the scheme.

The council will install more electric chargers (photo: Andrew Roberts/Unsplash)

Harrogate currently has six public charging points – though the type and number of charging points varies between each station.

Knaresborough currently has two charging points whilst Ripon has four.

National plans

North Yorkshire is one of the first nine areas to receive funding.

A total of £20 million has been allocated for the pilot scheme nationally.

The government plans to eventually invest £450 million into the scheme nationwide.

It intends to grow the network of charging points around the country with more than 1,000 new charging stations set to be installed.

Decarbonisation minister Trudy Harrison said:

“We want to expand and grow our world-leading network of EV chargepoints, working closely with industry and local government, making it even easier for those without driveways to charge their electric vehicles and support the switch to cleaner travel.”

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

Boroughbridge-based online women’s fashion retailer and brand Kit and Kaboodal is set to expand into the United States and Australia.

The company, founded in 2013, has posted a 48% increase in revenue on the same period the previous year, 20% ahead of target.

It’s now on track to surpass its annual target of £8m for the full 2022/23 financial year.

The retailer has now made the decision to trial international expansion and, from this autumn, it will launch specific sites and products in the US and Australia.

Helen Marsden, co-founder and buying director, said:

“We’re a family-run and family-owned business that began by making all our decisions around the kitchen table. Now we’re watching the orders grow daily and we’re reaching entirely new markets and customers.

“We’ve focused on building strong relationships with suppliers and customers and that has helped us navigate some of the most disruptive years in history and come out the other side with a strong business that’s fit for the future.”

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Harrogate district nursery supplies plants to luxury resort

Johnsons of Whixley are supplying plants to The Springs.

Johnsons of Whixley has supplied plants worth £135,000 for a multi-million-pound renovation at the 133-acre The Springs Resort & Golf Club in Oxfordshire.

The plants have been used to enhance the grounds of the Tudor-style hotel building, clubhouse, golf course and spa grounds and most recently used to landscape the modern lodges which include private outdoor areas with hot tubs and landscaped decking.

Johnsons has supplied a large number of hedging, shrubs, herbaceous, trees and grasses with varieties including mixed native hedging elements, Choisya, Geraniums, Heleniums, Hebes, Hydrangeas, Heucheras, Ilex, Lavender, Magnolia, Prunus, Stipa, Taxus, Viburnum and more.

Eleanor Richardson, marketing manager at Johnsons, said:

“We are pleased to be working with Darwin Escapes once again, and are honoured to be their principal plant supplier. It’s great to see our plants adding the finishing touches to this ambitious project, the grounds look fantastic and will certainly entice people to stay.”

A leading civil liberties group has said it is ‘deeply alarming’ that Harrogate Borough Council uses CCTV cameras supplied by a company controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, and with links to the Uyghur ‘genocide’ in Xinjiang.

HIKVision CCTV cameras have already been banned in the United States over security concerns.

But a report from Big Brother Watch this year revealed almost three-quarters of local authorities use CCTV manufactured by the company, as do many NHS trusts, police forces and schools.

The council has 212 CCTV cameras in total across the district. They are in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon town centres as well as at leisure centres such as the Hydro and Ripon’s new Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre.

The Stray Ferret sent a freedom of information request to the council asking how many of these cameras were made by HIKVision and was told the number is 86.

HIKVision cameras come at the cheaper end of the market, making them a popular choice for cash-strapped local authorities but critics say they come with other, more sinister, costs.

As well as being used in Uyghur detention camps, software flaws have connected the CCTV cameras back to servers in China leading to fears about spying by the repressive state.

A CCTV camera — one of 212 in the district — overlooking the Royal Hall.

Detention camps

The Uyghurs are a predominantly Muslim ethnic group in north west China who face persecution and oppression by the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have published reports that accused China of crimes against humanity. A UK-based independent tribunal last year ruled Beijing was guilty of genocide.

The BBC has captured evidence of HIKVision CCTV cameras being used to monitor the Uyghur population in the Xinjiang region, as well as in so-called ‘detention camps’ where it’s estimated over a million Uyghurs have been locked up.

Last year, MPs on the foreign affairs committee published a report that said cameras made by Hikvision “have been deployed throughout Xinjiang, and provide the primary camera technology used in the internment camps”.

Madeleine Stone, legal and policy officer at civil liberties group Big Brother Watch said:

“It is deeply alarming that Harrogate Borough Council is purchasing and using Hikvision cameras to monitor members of the public.

“Taxpayers’ money should not be funding a company so closely linked to the Uyghur genocide in Xinjiang. Chinese state-owned CCTV companies have no place in the UK and the government should act now to ban them.”

China has denied all allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang. 

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Security concerns

As well as the ethical question marks around HIKVision cameras, there are also fears that the cameras could compromise security and be used for spying.

Whilst there is no direct evidence of HIKVision providing data gathered from CCTV cameras to the Chinese state, there was an instance in Italy last year where hundreds of HIKVision cameras suddenly started connecting to a server in China.

The incident in Italy was rare but Big Brother Watch has also reported other “security holes” in one of the company’s main remote viewing software tools that could connect directly to servers in the country.

A CCTV camera on Cambridge Street – one of 212 in the district.

Chris Aldred, Liberal Democrat councillor for Fairfax and chair of the council’s overview and scrutiny commission, said the security implications were potentially “very worrying” for the district. He said:

“It would be very worrying if our cameras in Harrogate district suddenly started transmitting their images anywhere else, not just China.

“I know from my own personal CCTV training within the security Industry that there are, quite rightly, very strict regulations as to who can view CCTV images and for what purpose, even the police have to apply for permission and follow strict guidelines.”

The council publishes an annual report about its use of CCTV but it does not mention who manufactures the cameras.

Cllr Aldred added:

“What is happening in the Uyghur detention camps is truly appalling and it is disappointing that Harrogate Borough Council has ultimately bought our cameras from the same company whose technology is undoubtedly aiding what is happening there”.

Cllr Aldred said he will ask the council if it has concerns about HIKVision, and if it has plans to remove the cameras.

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson said:

“HIKVision CCTV cameras are used extensively by local authorities across the UK, as they are known for capturing high-quality footage that can prove invaluable when a crime is committed.

“Like all other organisations that use CCTV, we follow a code of practice, comply with the Data Protection Act, and our system is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

“We await further guidance from central government on any future use of HIKVision cameras.”

The Stray Ferret approached HIKVision for comment but we did not receive a response.

A Harrogate man is on the verge of completing an 800-mile trek in aide of dementia.

James Calvert is walking the mammoth hike from John o’Groats to Land’s End, which spans 812 miles.

He undertook the challenge in aide of Dementia UK and has so far raised £4,848.

He said:

“My grandma has dementia and therefore I understand and appreciate all help that dementia carers give.”

James expects to arrive at Land’s End tomorrow (August 25) after starting his campaign on July 14.

He has aimed to walk 25 miles a day, with his longest day being 46 miles.

He has been wild camping along the way and received support from complete strangers, including monetary donations and gifts of food and drinks to keep him going.

To donate to James’ cause, visit his JustGiving page here.

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Travellers have pitched up on the Stray in Harrogate for a second time this summer.

An encampment has appeared on a section of the parkland between Oatlands Drive and Stray Rein. Several vehicles are on site,

Harrogate Borough Council is the legal protector of the Stray. Asked if it was aware of the Travellers’ arrival, a council spokesman said:

“We are indeed and will be following the normal procedure to ensure they are moved on swiftly.”

The scene on the Stray today,

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A recent spate of arrivals by Travellers in the Harrogate district has led to calls to provide more designated temporary sites.

Six caravans and several cars arrived near to Oatlands Drive on the Stray in the week leading up to Appleby Horse Fair in Cumbria.

Last month Travellers also pitched up on Oatlands Park, off Hookstone Road,

On both occasions, the council instigated legal proceedings and the Travellers moved on quickly.

But more friction occurred when Travellers parked on the old rugby field at Knaresborough this summer.

It prompted Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, to write to Home Secretary Priti Patel complaining of “disorder and anti-social behaviour completely off the scale compared to that associated with previous traveller encampments in our area”.

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has defended the government’s response to the energy crisis, saying there are “no easy short-term fixes” to reduce the nation’s dependency on gas and oil.

Business leaders wrote to Mr Jones this week with warnings that many firms face closure due to soaring energy prices.

In response, Mr Jones said long-term progress had been made in the move away from fossil fuels and that the government was providing support for businesses and households during the current crisis.

He said in a letter: 

“Renewable capacity in the electricity market has increased from 2.3% in 1996 to 49.7% today, according to the UK Energy Brief 2022.

“Even though renewable energy is supplying more of the market, its cost is linked to wholesale gas prices.

“What the above shows is that there are no easy short-term fixes to reduce our dependency on gas and oil. But the long-term decisions that have been taken are beginning to bear fruit.”

Mr Jones was writing in a letter to the Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, which also contacted Skipton and Ripon MP Julian Smith and Selby and Ainsty MP Nigel Adams about its “grave concerns”.

Chamber chief executive David Simister urged the Conservative MPs to put pressure on the government to “act now” and help businesses before they reach “tipping point”.

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• Harrogate council could dip into reserves to cover soaring energy costs
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In response, Mr Smith said in a statement he was “extremely concerned” about energy costs and that he would “put pressure on ministers to do more”.

Meanwhile, Mr Jones also highlighted the support already being provided to businesses and families, including a £400 grant for all UK households from October.

Homes in council tax bands A to D should have also received £150, while eight million low income households will get £650 on top of this. There are also £300 payments promised for eight million pensioners.

For businesses, Mr Jones said a new rates relief will support investment in property upgrades from 2023 when a separate small profits rate will also mean around 1.4 million businesses continue to pay corporation tax at 19% or none at all.

Mr Jones added: 

“Business owners, those who work for them and their customers are also domestic gas and electricity users and you will know that a lot has been done in respect of shielding everybody from rising prices.

“I wanted to highlight that support for businesses and employees is already of scale.”

His comments come as the government has previously said there would be no new policies before a new Prime Minister is in place. 

The new Conservative Party leader – and Prime Minister – is set to be announced on September 5.

Liz Truss is the current favourite to replace Boris Johnson. She has promised tax cuts and recently hinted at direct financial help for hard-hit households.

Her rival, Rishi Sunak, has vowed to introduce more targeted support for households, including a reduction in VAT on domestic energy bills from 5% to zero.

Harrogate’s Rachel Daly has been called up to the England Lionesses’ squad ahead of the World Cup qualifiers.

Daly, who recently joined Aston Villa, is among the 23-player squad which will take on Austria and Luxembourg next month.

The Lionesses will be hoping to build on their Euro 2022 triumph by booking a place at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next year.

England manager Sarina Wiegman said:

“It only feels like yesterday since we were celebrating at Wembley, but we have to get straight back to business. 

“We have a big target in front of us this month to book our place at the World Cup, and we have to set aside our amazing memories of this summer for the moment.”

Daly, who attended Saltergate and Rossett schools, has seen a lot of success on the pitch in the past few months.

After helping the Lionesses win the Euros at Wembley against Germany last month, she signed for Women’s Super League side Aston Villa from Houston Dash in the USA. She now has almost 300,000 followers on Instagram.

The 30-year-old said it was a big decision to move to Villa, but added that it was right to come home as “family is the most important thing”.

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