Harrogate set for ‘greatest investment in town centre in decades’

County councillors have today voted to give the green light to Harrogate’s £10.9 million Station Gateway scheme.

The project, along with similar schemes in Selby and Skipton, will now move onto the detailed design stage.

The decision comes despite widespread opposition to the initiative from businesses and residents.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive county councillor for access, told a meeting of North Yorkshire County Council’s executive today that the schemes were the “greatest investment into three of our town centres in decades”.

Read more:

He added that the council had “a mandate” to carry out the gateway scheme after residents responded to its 2019 Harrogate Congestion Study.

Cllr Mackenzie said:

“They [residents] gave a clear message to us. In order to combat congestion they did not want new highways, they wanted better measures for walking and cycling.

“The gateway schemes do exactly that.”

Business and residents criticism

However, the scheme has long been criticised by Harrogate business groups and residents.

A joint letter signed by Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, Harrogate Business Improvement District and Independent Harrogate warned that work on the scheme would create ‘another 12 months of major disruption and misery’ for businesses already struggling to get over covid.

David Simister, chief executive of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, told councillors today:

“Sadly, the views of the business community have been continually ignored. As have those of other key organisations, in particular Harrogate Civic Society and residents’ organisations who believe what is being proposed will not bring the benefits being espoused.”

In response, Cllr Mackenzie said he and the authority had spent “a great deal of time” listening to businesses in the town.

Meanwhile, Harrogate Residents Association called on senior county councillors to “look long and hard” at the objections made against the project.

The county council’s executive voted unanimously to approve the scheme.

What happens now?

The gateway project will now move onto the detailed design stage before being submitted to West Yorkshire Combined Authority as a final business case.

From there, the combined authority will draw on government funding to begin implementing the Harrogate scheme and others, including Skipton and Selby.

County council officials said in a report that they expect to submit a business case for the Harrogate project by May 2022.

A press release issued by North Yorkshire County Council after today’s meeting said work was likely to start ‘later this year’. It added:

“Although the Department for Transport set an initial completion date of March 2023, the department has advised that completion could extend into 2024.”

 

Three teens arrested after missiles thrown from Harrogate Theatre roof

Police have arrested three youths after reports that building materials were thrown off the roof of Harrogate Theatre.

The incident happened at around 4am this morning. A resident who lives nearby sent a video to the Stray Ferret of what appears to be broken tiles littering Cheltenham Parade.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue sent a crew from the Harrogate station to the scene. They managed to get the youths down from the six-storey building before leaving them with the police.

A £1 million refurbishment of the 120-year-old roof of the theatre is due to be completed in March. It is unclear whether this incident will affect the timescale.

Read more:

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said:

“Shortly before 4am Tuesday 25 January 2022, police were called to reports of young people on the roof of Harrogate Theatre on Cheltenham Parade, Harrogate.

“The group were believed to be throwing projectiles from the roof.

“Officers attended with colleagues from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue and the young people were brought safely to the ground.

“Three teenagers have been arrested in connection with this incident.”

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said:

“A crew from Harrogate were mobilised to assist police with searching a six-storey property following reports of youths on the roof possibly stealing roof materials.

“Crews set up the aerial ladder platform to be used as a lighting platform to assist with the search. The youths were left in the care of the police.”

Traffic and Travel Alert: Heavy traffic in Killinghall near roadworks

There is already heavy traffic in Killinghall this morning near the construction works on Ripon Road.

Work started yesterday and is due to finish on February 4. Northern Powergrid is laying cable for an electric vehicle charger outside the new Tesco Express.

Three-way traffic lights have been installed at the junction with Otley Road. Buses and lorries are unable to turn in and out of Otley Road from Ripon Road.

The Stray Ferret has changed the way it offers Traffic and Travel alerts.

We will now notify you instantly through app notifications and flash tweets when there is an urgent alert. This could include heavy traffic, dangerous weather and long delays or cancellations of public transport.

The alerts are sponsored by The HACS Group.

Harrogate Tap and Taco bar closes pop-up with sights set on permanent home

Paradise Tap and Taco Bar is to close — but the owners have said they are determined to find a permanent home for the pop-up shop in Harrogate.

The Mexican-themed bar initially opened as a three-month pop-up next door to Cold Bath Brewery Co in October 2020. It has survived 16 months but the tenancy is now coming to an end.

Co-owners Ellie Stott and Josh Molloy said Paradise would now go “on tour” as they hatched plans for kitchen pop-ups over the coming months. Paradise is taking over Rooster’s kitchen from Tuesdays to Thursdays until easter.

Ms Stott said:

“After 10 years each in hospitality we’ve made the bar we would want to drink in and I think that’s why we love it here so much. It was a bit of weird timing but we’ve learnt so much doing it through this period, we’re just winging it everyday but it’s going well so far.”

The bar’s current home on King’s Road.

End of a “golden era”

The Harrogate-born entrepreneurs said the pop-up was a “golden era” for them but they are now focusing on finding a permanent home in the town.

The pair say they hope to open a new venue by summer and will spend the time until then developing their menu and hosting pop-ups. Ms Stott said:

“We’re going for a big, long lease, 10 years ideally. We definitely will open this year, ideally summer, it’s just finding the right space. We have regulars that have become friends.”

Read more:

The bar serves a variety of Mexican foods such as tacos, burritos and enchiladas as well as craft beers and spirits.

Ms Stott added:

“This is just the beginning. It’s been a really good way to see if this plan works, and it really does. People do like what we’re doing, it can be really overwhelming hearing people’s compliments.”

The bar will close for good on Sunday, February 6 and will hold a closing party the night before.

Infrastructure plan for 4,000 homes in west Harrogate ‘a missed opportunity’

A long-awaited plan to solve how the west of Harrogate’s roads, schools, and health services will cope with 4,000 extra homes has been branded a “missed opportunity”.

The comments have come from The Western Arc Coordination Group and Zero Carbon Harrogate, which had a meeting with council officers on Thursday to discuss  a draft version of the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan.

The Western Arc Coordination Group includes Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association (Hapara), Duchy Residents’ Association, Hampsthwaite Action Group, North Rigton Parish Council and Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council.

Proposed housing schemes in the area include the 1,000-home Windmill Farm development on Otley Road and 560 homes at Blue Coat Wood. The plan was written with input from developers, including Homes England and Gladman Developments.

It includes proposals for two new primary schools and a possible new GP surgery — which have been previously announced. The plan has yet to be released to the general public.

‘Almost as if no problems exist’

Rene Dziabas, chair of Hapara, told the Stray Ferret the plan “totally avoids the heart of the problem”.

At over 100 pages long, he said it lacked a summary at the start clearly explaining its purpose to address the area’s current “weak infrastructure”, such as roads.

He said:

“The purpose of this document is not made clear and totally avoids the heart of the problem in that an urban expansion is being proposed in a part of Harrogate with a weak infrastructure.

“There is no attempt at clearly stating what the problems are, and no attempt at associated analysis. HAPARA, as well as Pannal and Burn Bridge, North Rigton and Beckwithshaw Parish councils have been arguing this case for many years and there is no recognition within this document of their concerns. It is almost as if no problems exist. There needs to be a far clearer `entire West of Harrogate` context for this report.”

Mr Dziabas said that the WACG was disappointed the plan does not address how key arteries into the town, such as Otley Road, as well as country lanes around Pannal, Beckwithshaw and North Rigton, will cope with the inevitable increase in traffic.

Over 1,000 homes are set to be built on both sides of this section of Otley Road.

Mr Dziabas added:

“[Over the last eight years] there has been no improvement to the road system, many of which are country lanes, no real betterment of public transport, and little has happened on the active travel front which will only ever be a very small part of any overall solution”.

He added there needed to be “far more” in the plan about improvements to bus services.

Read more:

Secondary school places

The Stray Ferret reported this month that nearly 700 secondary school places will be needed in Harrogate and Knaresborough by 2025/26 to keep up with demand caused by new housing.

Mr Dziabas said the new homes would put further pressure on Harrogate Grammar School and Rossett School in particular.

He said:

“Whilst primary schools are covered in this document, little mention is made of secondary school places. The west of Harrogate has two busy secondary schools, and both are at or above capacity.”

Car culture

Jemima Parker, chair of Zero Carbon Harrogate, told the Stray Ferret the plan contained a “major omission” around energy for new homes, with no mention of onsite renewable energy, solar panels, small wind turbines or ground source heat pumps.

With spiralling energy costs, Ms Parker said greener homes would make people more resilient to the volatile market.

She said:

“There are pages and pages about design, but not a single mention of building design for energy-efficient homes, like passive houses. This ignores the council’s own planning policy guidance as set out in the Local Plan. We want residents’ homes to be built to zero-carbon standards now, not needing to be retrofitted later, and for low-carbon construction materials to be used.”

A passive house on Bogs Lane in Harrogate

Ms Parker believes the plan focuses too heavily on car-friendly developments.

“We are saddened to see that the plan still has a car culture, reliant on private ownership rather than shared transport and active travel. Given the location on the West of Harrogate we would like to see an imaginative ‘work from home’ settlement, picking up on the 15-minute neighbourhoods seen in other UK towns with plenty of access to car clubs.

“Overall it is disappointing the west of Harrogate may miss out on the opportunity to be designed appropriately both to reduce its carbon footprint and to be resilient to our changing climate.”

Council’s response

The draft plan is still to be ratified by the council.

A council spokesperson said:

“The development of west Harrogate provides an exciting opportunity to deliver quality place-making, a wide-range of private and affordable homes to meet the current housing demand, while also ensuring we have the necessary infrastructure to support these future communities.

“Once approved, the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan will create clear goals and objectives by identifying what infrastructure is required. For example, first-class community facilities, school provision, green infrastructure and sustainable travel opportunities.

“A number of suggestions have already helped shaped the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan and I’d like to thank those local residents groups and parish councils for their valuable feedback.”

Police case on missing Harrogate woman ‘remains open’

North Yorkshire Police issued a statement today saying its investigation into missing Harrogate woman Marsha Wray remains open, 25 years to the day since her disappearance.

Marsha, 38, went missing after dropping off her two children at Hookstone Chase primary school on Friday, January 24 1997.

A few days after her disappearance, her red Metro Quest car was seen parked at Nidd Gorge. It was later recovered in Headingley, although who moved it there remains a mystery.

There have been no sightings since and no body has ever been found.

Read more:

Adam Harland, of North Yorkshire Police’s cold case review team, said:

“The case surrounding the death of Marsha Wray has been reviewed on previous occasions.

“Despite extensive investigations and appeals, the case remains open.

“We are open to any new information leading to evidence in relation to the case.”

Marsha worked as a nurse at Harrogate District Hospital. Her husband of 17 years, Colin, said she had told him she was going away for a few days.

Harrogate district businesses urged to apply for £6,000 covid grants

Harrogate district businesses most impacted by the Omicron variant are being urged to apply for one-off grants of up to £6,000.

Firms in the district’s key hospitality, leisure and accommodation sectors – many of which have been hit by cancellations and a drop in footfall during the latest Covid wave – can apply to Harrogate Borough Council for the cash support until February 14.

The Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant scheme is for eligible businesses that are registered and is based on the rateable value of premises.

Those with a rateable value of up to £15,000 will receive £2,667, while those with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000 will get £4,000.

Businesses with a rateable value above £51,000 will get the maximum amount of £6,000.

Read more:

There has also been extra funding announced through the Additional Restrictions Grant scheme to support covid-hit businesses, including those that are not eligible for the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant.

This funding requires local councils to design and adopt their own scheme – and Harrogate Borough Council said applications will open by January 27 and close on February 14.

Cllr Graham Swift, deputy leader and cabinet member for resources, enterprise and economic development at the council, said: 

“To date, we’ve distributed more than £94 million to some 1,500 businesses to support them throughout the covid-19 pandemic. Often at a time when the funds provide an important relief during a very stressful period.

“I’d urge eligible businesses to apply for the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant before the closing date of February 14.

“Applications for the Additional Restrictions Grant – to support other businesses most impacted by the Omicron variant – will also open by the end of the week and again will close on February 14.

“We will be working hard to process each application as quickly as possible and will make every effort within the government guidance to support as many businesses as possible.”

For more information on how to apply go to the Harrogate Borough Council website.

Crunch vote tomorrow on £10.9m Harrogate Station Gateway

A key decision on progressing the £10.9 million Station Gateway scheme in Harrogate is set to be made tomorrow.

Senior North Yorkshire county councillors have been recommended to approve the plans and move them on to the detailed design stage at a meeting at 11am.

The move could mean that work on the project starts in the spring or summer.

The decision comes despite widespread opposition to the scheme from businesses and residents.

The results of the second phase of consultation, published last month, revealed that of 1,320 people who replied to an online survey, 55% feel negatively, 39% positively and five per cent neutral towards the scheme. One per cent said they didn’t know.

Read more:

Nevertheless the scheme is expected to proceed with only minor amendments.

However, Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive county councillor for access, said last week that the project represented a major investment in Harrogate town centre. Similar schemes are in the pipeline for Selby and Skipton.

He said:

“These proposals represent the biggest investment in Harrogate, Selby and Skipton town centres in decades and aim to increase productivity by making it quicker, easier and safer for people to travel around and connect with economic opportunities.”

Calls for a delay

Despite the recommendation, business groups in Harrogate criticised the project and called for a delay to the vote.

In a joint letter to members of the county council’s executive, Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, Harrogate Business Improvement District and Independent Harrogate warned that work on the scheme would create ‘another 12 months of major disruption and misery’ for businesses already struggling to get over covid.

The letter added:

“Sadly, the views of the business community have been continually ignored. As have those of other key organisations, in particular Harrogate Civic Society and residents’ organisations who believe what is being proposed will not bring the benefits being espoused.

“The Conservative Party, of which you are a member, prided itself on being the party of business. Sadly, this doesn’t appear to be the case anymore.”

The groups also criticised the county council for publishing an economic case for the project just days before the vote.

They said they have had no opportunity to comment on the paper and called for a vote on the scheme to be delayed until they have had chance to scrutinise it.

The executive meeting can be watched tomorrow on the North Yorkshire County Council website.

Bilton man cleans graffiti from mural bridge again

A community-spirited Bilton man is determined to keep a mural looking its best after another attack by vandals.

Chris Knight was spurred into action today after the iron bridge, which connects Woodfield Drive and Claro Road, was defaced.

It is not the first time Mr Knight has cleaned the mural: he also cleaned the bridge when vandals painted a swastika and anti-Pakistani messages on it last year.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“Plenty of people were quite happy to see me cleaning the bridge today. It gives me quite the sense of achievement to do these things for the area.

“It did not take quite as long as last time, they must have used quite cheap paint. I am not one to wait around for other people to take action.

“The words of my old boss really stuck with me. There are three types of people — those who do things, those who watch people do things and those who wonder what happened.

“I have always wanted to be the type of person who can step-up.”

Read more:

Emma Garness, the artist who created the mural, used special paint to protect it from graffiti, which enables Mr Knight to clean it without damaging the artwork.

The mural, which was designed to become a beacon of positivity in the area, was well received by local residents.

Harrogate’s first street ranger given licence to ‘fight grime’

Harrogate Business Improvement District has given its new street ranger a licence to fight grime.

It may not be as glamorous a role as James Bond’s, but street ranger Chris Ashby is set to become a familiar figure in the town centre.

Mr Ashby’s job is to give visitors a better first impression of Harrogate by cleaning, painting and pointing out anti-social behaviour.

His work is in addition to Harrogate BID’s four major deep-cleans in a year and Harrogate Borough Council’s usual street cleaning work.

Harrogate BID manager Matthew Chapman said the role was a key part of the organisation’s ambition to create a ‘safe, clean and welcoming’  town centre. He added:

“Harrogate is the jewel in Yorkshire’s crown, and Chris will be there to give it an extra sparkle.

“The council already does a great job in terms of ridding pavements of litter, and Chris will be building on their day-to-day work.

“His battery-powered vehicle will carry a variety of tools including brushes, bin bags and a power washer allowing him to quickly react to any unsightly or hazardous incident that businesses might report, and what and he sees with his own eyes.”

Read more:

Mr Ashby said:

“Living in Harrogate, I’m aware of a what a very special town it is.

“I’m really looking forward to taking on this new role with Harrogate BID and getting to know business owners and levy payers as I carry out my grime fighting duties.”