Woodlands pub to keep its name after £200,000 refurb

Heineken hopes to complete a £200,000 refurbishment of the Woodlands pub by Christmas — and the name will stay the same.

Star Pubs and Bars, who’s parent company is the Dutch brewing giant, first unveiled plans to give the pub a facelift in December 2020 that included a new outdoor seating area.

But it planned to give the pub a controversial new name, West Riding Harrogate, which didn’t go down well with some local residents.

Pat Marsh, the Liberal Democrat borough councillor for Harrogate Hookstone, said local people were attached to the Woodlands name and she hoped the owners would rethink plans to change it.

Cllr Marsh believed there had been a pub called the Woodlands on the site since at least the 1940s.

The name will stay

Last week Heineken announced it has earmarked £2.3m for investment into some of its venues in Yorkshire and Humber.

Jez Scott, North East investment manager at Star Bar and Inns, told the Stray Ferret he expects £200,000 of this will be spent on the Woodlands.

But he said the refurb will only begin once they have found a new landlord for the pub. It has been advertising the role for the last 18 months.

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Mr Scott said:

“We are in talks with a couple of interested parties, it does take time to find the right operator and to align our shared ambition for investment of our tenanted public houses and agree terms.

“We are hoping to be able to agree terms, get board approval and re-launch the site in time for Christmas.

He confirmed that the company no longer plans to call the pub West Riding Harrogate.

Mr Scott added:

“We are looking at incorporating the Woodlands name into the final scheme, the feedback from the local community was appreciated and we listened.”

Labour admits ‘challenging’ elections in Harrogate district

Harrogate’s Labour Party has admitted last week’s local elections were “challenging” after failing to elect any councillors in the district.

Labour failed to finish better than third in any divisions in the Harrogate district.

Chris Watt, acting chair of the local party and candidate for Fairfax and Starbeck, said the party was still proud of its “positive campaign” despite the results for the new North Yorkshire Council.

He said: 

“Our message of positive change has resonated, with many saying they were voting Labour for the first time and others strengthening their support for their local Labour candidate.

“Whilst we were disappointed not to make any gains, people clearly decided to kick the Tories by voting Liberal Democrat.”

There was success for Labour elsewhere in North Yorkshire as the party trebled the number of councillors it has serving the county.

Overall, the Conservatives narrowly maintained their control of North Yorkshire by electing just one more than the minimum number of councillors required for a majority.

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The Tories won 47 seats, while Labour and the Liberal Democrats took 12 each as five Green councillors were also elected.

Thirteen independents were also voted in, as well as one Liberal Party councillor.

Mr Watt added: 

“We are delighted that Labour made gains across the new North Yorkshire Council.

“We meet regularly with North Yorkshire’s Labour councillors and will ensure that the important voice of Harrogate and Knaresborough is not ignored.”

Meanwhile, the Yorkshire Party had five candidates – including two in Harrogate – but did not see success in the May 5 vote.

The party’s leader Bob Buxton said: 

“John Hall’s result in Spofforth with Lower Wharfedale and Tockwith was encouraging, so that’s clearly an area in which to build the party.

“It seems likely that there will be a North Yorkshire mayor next year. While the Yorkshire Party views mayors as largely powerless and budget-less, it is slightly better than no devolution at all.

“We finished third in both the South Yorkshire mayor election this year and West Yorkshire mayor election last year – people like our ideas on devolution and our demand for real powers and fair funding.

“In the meantime, there’s a parliamentary by-election in Wakefield, an area where we’re strong, giving us another opportunity to grow the Yorkshire Party.”

Plan to convert former Harrogate taxi office into flat

Plans have been lodged to convert the former Airline Taxis office in Harrogate into a one bedroom flat.

The ground floor offices on East Parade are currently vacant after a liquidator was appointed to wind up the company in June last year.

A directors report to creditors, signed by Airline’s sole director Mohammad Suleman, said the company experienced a “significant decline” in turnover due to lack of travel during the first covid lockdown.

Now, plans have been submitted by developer Mr T Halliday to Harrogate Borough Council to convert the offices into a one-bedroom flat.

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Documents lodged to the authority say that the building would retain its existing features and the same floor area as the taxi company office.

Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

North Yorkshire devolution deal could be done by summer

A devolution deal for North Yorkshire that includes a directly elected mayor could be reached by summer, according to the leader of the county council.

County council officials have met with senior civil servants after the government included a deal for the county as part of its levelling up white paper in February.

Cllr Carl Les, Conservative leader of North Yorkshire County Council, and Cllr Keith Aspden, Liberal Democrat leader of City of York Council, have also met with ministers to discuss devolution in North Yorkshire and York.

Council officials submitted a list of requests for devolved powers to government in December 2020 but negotiations were delayed by covid and the publication of the levelling up white paper.

In a statement to a full council meeting next week, Cllr Les will say that it is possible a deal could be reached by the parliamentary summer recess in July.

He says:

“What is clear is that all asks will need to be negotiated with vigour – the principle of devolution has been agreed, there is no automatic right of passage.

“Myself and the leader of City of York Council have had a first meeting with the responsible minister where he observed that we were first in the queue and he hoped we would maintain that position.

“There is a possibility that a deal can be done before the parliamentary summer recess.”

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Ministers made it a requirement that a unitary council for North Yorkshire be established before any negotiations about a devolution deal could proceed. Last week’s elections for the new North Yorkshire Council brought that to fruition.

In December 2020, council bosses submitted to government a 140-page document which outlined £2.4 billion worth of spending and proposals to take back further powers from Westminster.

More powers over transport, skills, regeneration and energy were included in the submission, as well as a mayoral funding pot worth £750 million over 25 years.

Richard Flinton, chief executive of the county council, said previously that the timetable for devolution negotiations could see an elected mayor in place by May 2024.

The mayor could have powers over areas such as transport and economic development. They could also take on the role as police and crime commissioner.

The negotiations come as the Conservatives retained control on the county council following the local elections last week, but with a smaller majority.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret, Cllr Les said he was willing to work with any party over the issue of devolution and local government reorganisation.

He said:

“It has always been my policy in the county council to reach out to other groups and to talk with them.

“I will continue to do that.”

Harrogate man charged with supplying cocaine and assaulting police

Harrogate man Ermal Biba has been charged with supplying cocaine and cannabis and assaulting two police officers.

Mr Biba, 37, of Trafalgar Court, is accused of supplying cocaine and cannabis in Harrogate and supplying cannabis in Rochdale, Greater Manchester on or before May 5.

He is also accused of assaulting a female police officer at Ashfield Road, Harrogate on Thursday last week and of assaulting a male police officer at Nydd Vale Road on the same date.

On Saturday, North Yorkshire magistrates sent Mr Biba for trial at York Crown Court on June 6. He was remanded in custody.

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Traffic and Travel alert: Temporary York Place lights causing delays

Drivers are warned to expect long queues on York Place in Harrogate due to three-way temporary traffic lights.

The lights are in place at the junction with Queen Parade and are causing tailbacks at busy times.

CityFibre has put the temporary lights in place as part of maintenance work. The lights are expected to be in place until Thursday, May 12.

Three-way traffic lights on York Place are causing long queues at busy times.

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Redevelopment of former Harrogate council headquarters approved

Plans to transform Harrogate Borough Council’s former headquarters with a two-storey extension and rooftop restaurant have been approved five years after the authority vacated the building.

The proposals for Crescent Gardens – which has sat empty since 2017 – also include a gym and new office space.

Harrogate-based property developers Impala Estates bought the building for £4 million in 2020 and are behind the plans after previous proposals for luxury apartments and an art gallery fell through.

Speaking at a council meeting today, David Hartley, director at Impala Estates, said the latest plans would bring “significant public benefits” to the town.

He said:

“Unusually for an application of this size, there have only been five letters of complaint from members of the public.

“The small number of complaints is perhaps testament to the level of pre-application public consultation we undertook and that the final design has, where possible, taken this into account.

“This scheme brings significant public benefits which include bringing an empty building back into use and creating quality office space.”

Knapping Mount

Crescent Gardens was vacated by the council when it moved into its new Knapping Mount headquarters in 2017.

At the time, the council announced it would sell the building to property developer Adam Thorpe who had plans for a £75 million redevelopment including luxury apartments, an art gallery, underground car park, swimming pool and restaurant.

However, Mr Thorpe’s company ATP Ltd then fell into administration with debts of almost £11 million, including £24,394 owed to the council.

The latest proposals from Impala Estates had attracted objections from Historic England which questioned the public benefits and said the roof extension should not exceed one storey.

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Some residents living on Swan Road raised further concerns over their privacy and how else the rooftop terrace could be used if the restaurant failed.

Speaking at today’s meeting, resident Jackie Davis said:

“Mr primary concern is the roof terrace – this must have adequate screening, preferably trees behind the roof glass balustrade to try to protect our privacy.

“As we already know, many restaurant spaces are empty in Harrogate. The Royal Baths directly opposite the building has recently failed.

“I worry that this venue will follow the same fate over the years, leading to the possibility of a bar or perhaps a nightclub ending up there.”

In response, council officers said licensing restrictions would be put on the building’s use.

It was also agreed that extra screening would be installed on the rooftop terrace.

Furthermore, Mr Hartley said double-yellow lines would be introduced on the nearby Swan Lane to reduce disruption from parking and deliveries which he added would be “significantly less” than when the council occupied the building.

Long-running saga

Today’s decision to grant approval will have felt like a big weight off the shoulders of the council which is keen to see the long-running saga of Crescent Gardens come to an end.

But attention will soon turn to the future of its new Knapping Mount headquarters which has been brought into question ever since last year’s announcement that the council will be abolished in April 2023.

The council said the building cost £13 million. However, the Stray Ferret investigated the overall cost of the move from Crescent Gardens and put the figure closer to £17 million.

A decision on how the site is used in the future could well fall into the hands of the newly-elected members of the forthcoming North Yorkshire Council.

Harrogate business man praises ‘amazing’ charity following £2m aid convoy into Ukraine

A top Harrogate businessman has praised the “amazing efforts” of a Yorkshire charity after returning from an aid mission to Ukraine.

James Rycroft, managing director of Vida Healthcare, was part of a team that drove eight wagons containing aid worth about £2 million for Ukrainian soldiers and citizens who intend to stay in the country.

The five-day mission, which featured a number of volunteers from Harrogate, was organised by Yorkshire Aid Convoy, a charity which has been running overseas aid expeditions for more than 30 years.

‘Really proud’

Mr Rycroft, whose company owns several specialist dementia care homes around Harrogate, said:

“We did it, it was successful and I am really proud of what we have done.

“Yorkshire Aid convoy is an incredible charity and Mark Murphy, who heads it up, lives in Harrogate. He has done it for years and is one of these silent heroes that does amazing things.

“The charity has already delivered 16 wagons. They ran a mission about four weeks before we went.

“It’s really hard work as you drive for 12 to 14 hours a day. It’s a proper mission.”

James Rycroft. MD Vida Healthcare

James Rycroft.

The convoy carried around 100 tonnes of items, including medical equipment, beds and hygiene products.

It is also took a mobile classroom, which was donated by the Knaresborough-based business, Training and Testing Services.

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Mr Rycroft said:

“A man called Dave Wood came with us. He and his company donated a mobile classroom.

“We filled it with aid and they drove it over and then it got put on a train and taken straight to the front line.

“It is now being used as a wounded soldier hospital. It was named after Dave’s late mother Trish.”

‘Trish’, the mobile classroom, is being used a wounded soldier hospital in Ukraine.

The volunteers met Ukrainian military administrators at the border, where they were escorted to a secure hub inside the border to deposit the goods. They then immediately turned round and headed home.

Their 3,000-mile journey saw them travel by ferry from Hull to Holland, then to Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and into Ukraine and back.

‘So welcoming’

Mr Rycroft said:

“It was just organised so well. It’s so amazing what the charity does.

“I just went along and did my bit because I wanted to feel like I was contributing something tangible.

“The Ukrainian people were so welcoming and grateful for what we did. It was ace. It is a a really great thing we feel we have achieved.

“But I’m a tiny part of it, really it’s the Yorkshire Aid Convoy that has been leading this.”

Mark and Felix Murphy Yorkshire Aid Convoy

Mark and Felix Murphy of Yorkshire Aid Convoy.

Mr Rycroft said the experience made the war in Ukraine feel “very real”.

He added:

“People are defiant and life is going on as normal and it almost becomes very normal very quickly when you are amongst it. It’s very strange.

“We felt safe and we were looked after really well.

“It went as smoothly as it possibly could. There are lots of people to be praised for it.

“We feel we’ve made a valid achievement to the effort.”

Badgers delay approval of 133 homes at Kingsley Road

Final approval for 133 homes on Kingsley Road in Harrogate has been delayed whilst more badger surveys are undertaken in the area.

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

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 and captures the movement of animals.

They claim their investigation found evidence of 11 badger setts, six of which are still active.

Badger activity

Badgers and their setts are protected by law.

Developers must have a licence from Natural England to remove or modify a badger sett.

This afternoon, councillors on the council’s planning committee met to discuss a reserved matters application that dealt with the appearance and layout of the homes.

However, the four-legged mammals dominated the debate.

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To the north of the proposed site are train tracks owned by Network Rail.

Dan McAndrew, the council’s principal ecologist, said most of the badger setts are more than 30m away from the site on land owned by the rail body.

Mr McAndrew said he was satisfied the developer had put measures in place to protect the badgers.

He said:

“Badgers actually do well in urban fringe areas, they are able to adapt to those conditions. The key issue is, where are the setts located and can they be maintained?

“The main sett will not be affected and will be left in place.”

However, John Hansard from KWAG said his group’s badger surveys were at odds with the developer’s surveys. He criticised the 2019 survey.

He said:

“If you know what you’re looking for, signs of badger activity were plentiful, clear and unmissable, so why were they missed or ignored?”

‘Somebody has got to speak for the badgers’

Both Sue Lumby, Conservative member for Coppice Valley, and Victoria Oldham, Conservative member for Washburn, cast doubt on the developer’s claims that badgers would not be harmed by the development.

Cllr Lumby said:

“Somebody has got to speak for the badgers and that’s what we are trying to do.

“This population of badgers would have lived here for generations. I’m very, very concerned why the 2019 survey didn’t find any badgers.”

Cllr Oldham added:

“On the assumption you do get licence from Natural England, what mitigation are you prepared to offer for remaining badgers to forage? You are going to put tarmac, concrete where they like to dig for worms, for setts. What are you offering? What wildlife enhancement will there be on this estate?”

In response, Mike Ashworth, on behalf of Redrow Homes, said

“A significant area of site will be undeveloped and landscaped, 30% of the site, a lot more than a normal housing estate. In there you’d have a combination of planting of trees, wildflower, shrubs.”

An unimpressed Cllr Oldham responded:

“Badgers don’t eat pretty flowers, they like to eat worms.”

Further surveys

Mr Ashworth revealed the developer received permission from Network Rail last week to survey the land above the site for badgers.

After councillors rejected the council’s recommendation to approve the scheme, committee chair Cllr John Mann proposed deferment pending the publication of the badger survey, which councillors agreed to unanimously.

Jonathan Dyson set to be North Yorkshire’s new chief fire officer

North Yorkshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has selected her preferred candidate to be the county’s chief fire officer.

Zoe Metcalfe has chosen Jonathan Dyson for the role. Mr Dyson is currently the interim deputy chief fire officer at North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Jon Foster, who is the current interim chief fire officer, will retire from the service after 38 years.

Mr Dyson started his career in South Yorkshire, where he held roles as head of training and head of service delivery.

He joined the North Yorkshire service in 2020 as director of assurance, leading and delivering organisational change, and was appointed interim deputy chief fire officer last year.

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Mr Dyson will be recommended to the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel for appointment.

Ms Metcalfe said:

“I’m delighted to choose Jonathan Dyson as my preferred candidate for the role of chief fire officer, who I believe will be excellent at leading the service into the future and continue to keep people safe and feeling safe in North Yorkshire and York.

“Having worked within our service for the past two years, and most recently as interim deputy chief fire officer, Jonathan is someone who knows our community, has the respect of his colleagues, and is committed to creating an even stronger and more sustainable service.

“I look forward to Jonathan’s suitability being approved at the upcoming Police, Fire and Crime Panel’s confirmation hearing later this month, and from there working with him to deliver a modern, inclusive, responsive, and respected organisation that protects people and property, and saves lives.”

Mr Dyson said:

“I feel truly honoured to be the preferred candidate for the role of chief fire officer and privileged to continue serving the public of North Yorkshire and York. I will build on the outstanding contribution Jon Foster has made on behalf of the Service, and I wish him the very best on his next venture.

“I want to ensure North Yorkshire remains one of the safest places in the country to live, work, or visit. My desire is to continue building an inclusive, sustainable organisation by transforming our service delivery. A key priority is to develop our partnerships, ensuring our staff, volunteers and partners feel valued and able to be their very best for our communities.”