James Street pedestrianisation would be welcomed, says charity

A Harrogate-based disability charity has said disabled people would welcome a temporary pedestrianisation of James Street in the town.

Disability Action Yorkshire said the move would help to create more space for shoppers, particularly those who use wheelchairs, but added that parking would be an issue.

It comes as Harrogate Borough Council made a request to North Yorkshire County Council to temporarily close to street, which it said would help with social distancing and safety.

The proposals to pedestrianise the street have long being opposed by some traders in the town.

Jackie Snape, chief executive at Disability Action Yorkshire.

But, Jackie Snape, chief executive at Disability Action Yorkshire, said she believed the move would help disabled shoppers.

She said:

“I think it would be welcomed. James Street has quite narrow pavements and for wheelchair users there is more space because it is hard to manoeuvre two metres for social distancing.

“But I think parking would be an issue if you need to park close to the shops.”

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Meanwhile, Scope, a national charity which campaigns to change negative attitudes towards disability, said disabled people should not be left behind in any changes for social distancing.

James Taylor, executive director for strategy, impact and social change at the charity, said:

“We cannot allow disabled people to be forgotten. Local authorities must engage with disabled people about the changes they are making in their communities and fully understand the potential impact before they happen.

“At a national level, the government must factor disabled people’s needs into every step of its coronavirus recovery plan.”

Any closure of James Street would be made by North Yorkshire County Council and Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive county councillor for access, said the authority would respond to the borough council’s request shortly.

It comes as James Street already has suspended parking spaces in order to widen the pavement for social distancing, which were put in place by the county council in May.

But the plan to pedestrianise the street fits into a wider strategy for Harrogate drawn up by the borough council in its 2016 Town Centre Strategy and Masterplan.

Regulator shuts down Harrogate and Ripon law firm Ray Nixon Brown

A law firm with offices in Harrogate and Ripon has been closed down by the regulator over concerns about the way it was operating.

Kingly solicitors, which was trading as Ray Nixon Brown from offices on Victoria Avenue in Harrogate and Duck Hill in Ripon, was shut by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

The organisation has intervened in the firm, part of national company Kingly Solicitors, as well as the practice of its three directors, Simon Hutcheson, Simon Peacock, and Champitka Ratnayake.

A spokesman for the SRA said:

“The grounds of intervention are a failure by Mr Hutcheson, Mr Peacock and Ms Ratnayake to comply with SRA rules, and a reason to suspect dishonesty on behalf of Nural Miah, who is a manager of Kingly Solicitors.

“The practising certificate of Mr Hutcheson, Mr Peacock and Ms Ratnayake have been automatically suspended, so they cannot practice as a solicitor. Mr Miah is not a solicitor.

“An intervention means the SRA has closed a firm with immediate effect. It will stop the firm from operating, take possession of all documents and papers held by the firm, and take possession of all money held by the firm (including clients’ money). It is not responsible towards employees or trade creditors of firms that it has intervened in.”

The spokesman said all current clients of Ray Nixon Brown and Kingly solicitors will be contacted by two agents – James Dunn of Devonshires Solicitors LLP and John Owen of Gordons LLP – about their cases. However, anyone concerned can contact Mr Dunn at intervention-team@devonshires.co.uk, or call 0207 065 1830, or Mr Owen at kingly@gordonsllp.com, or call 0113 227 0360.

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‘Significant increase’ in requests for Harrogate council tax reductions

Harrogate Borough Council has seen a 400% increase in the number of caseloads for council tax reduction amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In a performance report, council officers said the caseloads had “increased significantly” in the first quarter of the year along with cases of housing benefit.

A report before senior councillors this week put the increase down to more people applying for reductions to the council.

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It said:

“Time taken to process new council tax reduction and housing benefit claims have been included in this exception report as caseloads for both performance indicators have increased significantly as a result of the pandemic and people seeking ways to help their situations. 

“For example, the case load for new council tax reduction increased by 400%”

It comes as the council received £863,157 from government this June to help reduce bills for vulnerable people by £150.

As part of the support package, those who already qualify for the council tax reduction scheme would see their bills reduced.

At the time, Wallace Sampson, chief executive of the authority, said the council was supporting those who are the most vulnerable.

Harrogate microbrewery signs petition against tax increase

Over 17,000 microbreweries have signed a petition to stop government plans on a tax increase. Harrogate Brewing Co. is one of many to object.

In July, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, announced plans to remove a 50% tax relief on the general beer duty rate for microbreweries.

Currently the Small Brewers Relief (SBR) is given to all microbreweries making up to 5000 hectolitres (880,000 pints) a year. Under his new proposal only much smaller microbreweries will continue to get relief.

Joe Joyce, owner of family-run Harrogate Brewing Co. said:

“There’s a tranche of microbreweries that are going to lose out on this and that’s not fair. We’re currently producing below the proposed amount but anything that adds more burden to the microbrewery is not where we want to be.”

First set up in 2002, the purpose of SBR was to help newer breweries become profitable and compete against big breweries. Now, there’s risk it could become a lot harder to even enter the beer-making industry.

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The idea was announced as part of July’s fiscal statement. It could come into affect from October when the government’s Autumn budget is announced.

Mr Joyce said:

“For a lot of microbreweries this is our lifestyle, this is our business, we are putting our houses and mortgages on the line because this is what we do. I will be surprised if other local brewers haven’t signed it.”

Grassroots organisation Campaign for Pubs, run by leading pub campaigners and publicans, is heavily endorsing the petition which can be found on the government website.

A new era for social housing in Harrogate?

An uncertain economic climate for housebuilders could mean Harrogate Borough Council will buy more social housing like its unprecedented £4.5m spend on 52 homes on Whinney Lane.

HBC’s cabinet gave the green light for 36 of the homes to be made available for social rent with 16 transferred to HBC’s housing company, Bracewell Homes, to be sold under shared ownership.

The developer Stonebridge would not tell the Stray Ferret why it is selling the homes to HBC, but there have been signs locally that housebuilders are expressing caution in a market that has been thrown up in the air by coronavirus.

HBC’s planned purchase at Whinney Lane has been called its biggest investment into social housing in over a decade and could open the door to similar investments that will help people living in the district pay rent at a genuinely affordable price.

Waiting lists

The council has 1,523 households on its waiting list  — but in Harrogate, less than one in ten applicants are likely to be allocated a property each year.

This waiting list has swelled as Right to Buy sales have depleted HBC of its housing stock.

Introduced by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, Right to Buy gives council tenants the option to buy the property they live in for a discounted rate.

But critics say it has trapped people into expensive and often poor quality private rented accommodation and has stripped councils like Harrogate of a vital revenue stream.

Affordable housing

HBC says that to create socially diverse communities, every large development in the district must include 40% “affordable” housing, which means homes sold at 80% of the market rate.

However, in a high-value town like Harrogate, an “affordable” home still costs over £300,000.

HBC’s own Draft Housing Strategy 2019-24 concedes that the town is one of the most unaffordable places to live in England, with average house prices around 11 times the median annual income of people who work in the town.

This means people earning a modest salary will never be able to get on Harrogate’s unforgiving housing ladder and could be trapped paying high rents forever, unable to save for a deposit.

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Liberal Democrat county councillor Geoff Webber told the Stray Ferret that he’s “ecstatic” HBC looks set to make the Whinney Lane purchase, and hopes there will be more to come.

He called on the council to usher in a “comprehensive programme of council house building”, where the homes are protected from Right to Buy and are available in perpetuity at a social rent.

Winds of change

Council estates have at times gained a reputation for bad behaviour which Mr Webber blamed on austerity and the closure of local housing offices.

Planners have avoided placing large concentrations of social housing together over fears of creating so-called “ghettos”.

But where once social housing was seen as politically difficult, it’s now firmly on the agenda. In each of the major political parties’ manifestos there were commitments on building more social housing.

After the second world war, the UK rebuilt itself with a massive programme of social housing and it’s been suggested that we should do the same to recover from coronavirus and deal with the housing crisis.

Locally, the mood music is also positive and at the cabinet meeting both council leader Richard Cooper and cabinet member for housing Mike Chambers enthusiastically backed the Whinney Lane purchase.

While the 32 homes at Whinney Lane will only represent a small dent into the council’s waiting list, Geoff Webber said building more social housing is a win-win for Harrogate.

He said:

“People living in council homes are no different to anybody else, they might have a little less money but they are no different. Some of them are absolutely essential to Harrogate’s economy.”

Strayside Sunday: The Yorkshire district councils need a clear devolution vision

Strayside Sunday is our weekly political opinion column. It is written by Paul Baverstock, former Director of Communications for the Conservative Party. 

I was in Westminster this week and senior sources close to Simon Clarke, the Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government, tell me he is committed to regional devolution – ‘it will happen.’  Devolution is seen by the government as a central pillar of its “levelling up” agenda, targeting economic growth, social inclusion and community engagement in the territories north of Watford Gap.

The theory is that elected Mayors, given new powers to form ‘development corporations’ specific to their region, supported by a single tier of regional unitary authorities of scale, will be much more agile and responsive to the economic and social needs of their local population than national politicians will ever be.  Almost total relaxation of existing planning rules look set to become a centrepiece of these new arrangements, opening the way for mixed use town centres.  The policy white paper outlining these plans in detail will land within the next week or two.

This is to be celebrated and offers the tantalising prospect of a £2 billion plus funding settlement for the region if, and it is a big if, our local leaders at borough and county council level can set aside their differences and agree on a devolution blueprint.  At the moment, this seems like a distant prospect, with the leaders of North Yorkshire County and Harrogate Borough Council engaged in a public relations ‘air war’ over their respective devolution plans.  NYCC leader Councillor Carl Les wants to lead a single large unitary council to include Harrogate and its districts (population 600,000 plus), while HBC leader Councillor Cooper proposes 2 smaller unitary authorities, with Harrogate leading 6 other local districts in one of them (population 400,000 plus).

In a press release on Tuesday, Councillor Les set out his pitch for unitary status: Clear accountability for service provision, millions of pounds of savings for the taxpayer by removing service duplication, the empowerment of town and parish councils and the creation of meaningful community networks.

In response, in a letter to local businesses this week, Councillor Cooper laid out his opposition to such a plan.  He contends that the devolved authority would create a ‘massive’ and remote bureaucracy; that employers would have less contact and influence on decisions affecting their future and that North Yorkshire risks spending its time in conflict with its government neighbour the City of York.  Let’s consider each of these contentions in turn.

First, some argue that although tiny, Harrogate itself is a remote bureaucracy.  And, as North Yorkshire pointed out in a press release on Tuesday, size isn’t everything.  Indeed, Labour-led Durham, which became a unitary authority 12 years ago, is consistently ranked among the best councils in the land.  This notwithstanding that it serves a population of well over half a million.  Setting aside the fact that Durham and North Yorkshire are neighbours and share a great many characteristics, if this is what a “mega” council delivers, then yes please, I’d like some of that.

Second, I’d like to hear why a smaller catchment for a devolved authority would be better for business and better for residents?  What is the substance behind the argument that cosy and intimate delivers more effective and cost-efficient government?  I challenge HBC to set out how its actions to date, demonstrate its responsiveness to local business and make it fit to sit atop a unitary authority.  What matters, surely, is vision, imaginative policies that give life to the vision, and local politicians with the competence and courage to behave properly and get things done.

Third, rejecting a course of action because of the possible risk of bad blood and behaviour between politicians  (for that is what it would be) must surely be wrong.  It’s up to us, the electorate, to expect and demand more from our elected representatives.

For my part I am fully persuaded (for now) of the merits of a single, devolved North Yorkshire unitary authority on the grounds that the North Yorkshire County Council bid has a positive and expansive vision for what it might do for residents and community.  This, rather than a myopic ‘not invented here’ perspective, that, absent a vibrant and fleshed out alternative vision for devolution, seems designed only to maintain a self-interested grip on the levers of power.

And time is running short for Harrogate Borough Council and its supporters to lay out a positive alternative vision for a smaller unitary authority.  If it is able to come up with a plan that places people and their wellbeing demonstrably at the heart of its thinking, invigorates business, fundamentally reimagines how services are delivered and reimagines our town centre, then I’m all ears.

Finally, in last week’s column I criticised Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrats on Harrogate Council, for following the Conservative lead in warning her team that they would be suspended, were they to be identified as the culprit who leaked the council’s confidential report into the dire financial state of Harrogate Convention Centre and the £46 million plans for its renovation.

I want to make clear that my criticism of her action was and is from first principles: the report should never have been marked confidential; neither the council nor the convention centre are private businesses, they are in fact funded with taxpayer money.  As such, reports into their performance should be made public, by definition, in my opinion.  The report was marked confidential to hide the dreadful financial performance it revealed.  Councillor Marsh should be calling this poor performance out, even if, as I accept, she felt her actions were constrained by the National Code of Conduct for councillors in respect of the leak.

That’s my Strayside Sunday.

 

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What do you think of Paul’s column – contact him on paul@thestrayferret.co.uk

 

Harrogate district MPs silent on government planning reforms

Harrogate District MPs are remaining tight-lipped about the government’s planning proposals as a storm brews within the Conservative party over the reforms.

If passed, the proposals would have a big impact locally and could see Harrogate Borough Council’s Local Plan redrawn so land would fall into one of three categories: growth, renewal or protected.

The government could also set a fresh housing needs requirement for Harrogate if they think more homes should be built on brownfield sites within the district.

The Stray Ferret asked Conservative MPs Andrew Jones, Julian Smith and Nigel Adams whether they backed the proposals but none responded at the time of publication.

The BBC reported last week that one Tory MP is predicting “quite a battle” in the Conservative party over the issue.

Conservative MP for the Cotswolds Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said he is worried the reforms will lead to “the slums of tomorrow” due to lower quality housing being built in affluent areas.

On the Today Programme this morning, Conservative MP for the Isle of Wight Bob Seely even suggested that a large amount of new homes being built on the island could affect his majority at the next General Election.

James Jamieson, the Local Government Association’s chairman and a Conservative councillor also said a loss of local control over developments “would be a concern.”

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The government wants to see 300,000 homes built a year in the UK and housing minister Robert Jenrick said the proposals will “cut red tape” to deliver housebuilding on a faster scale.

But it’s been criticised by Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) who called the proposals “disgrace” and the Labour Party who called it a “developers’ charter”.

Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrats on Harrogate Borough Council, said the government’s planning reforms won’t do enough for affordable or social housing in the district.

She said:

“Yet again, we are witnessing a Conservative-run government who are completely unwilling to understand what people need. Reforming planning laws will not aid those who are either stuck on waiting lists or struggling to get the funds together to buy their own home.”

Independent café opens in Harrogate Next store

An Italian independent café has opened on the top floor of Next in Harrogate town centre.

Caffe Masserella opened to the public for the first time on Wednesday. Next Harrogate is the fourth retail shop Caffe Masserella has moved into in Yorkshire.

Jake Earnshaw, Store Manager at Next, Harrogate said:

“Next were looking for some independents, mostly it’s chains in Next stores so they thought in Harrogate it would be nice to have an independent. It has been really busy, they exceeded what they needed to take on Wednesday. It has been buzzing.”

Caffe Masserella has a history dating back over 150 years when Giovanni Massarella and his brothers arrived in the UK from Italy.

Giovanni’s family downline used their Italian heritage to start an ice cream business in the 1950s before opening cafés across the UK.

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Aiden Gambles, Manager at Harrogate’s Caffe Massarella said:

“The opening was meant to happen post-lockdown but now the ball’s rolling. I like to make everybody happy spending time in my cafe. It’s slightly different with covid procedures but we’re getting used to it. It’s an exciting time for me and the team I have here.”

Caffe Masserella’s menu includes a variety of artisan sandwiches, sweet treats and hot drinks.

Services held across the district to commemorate VJ Day

People from across the district came together today to commemorate VJ Day on its 75th anniversary.

Today commemorates Victory over Japan which led to the end of World War Two.

Services were held in Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough to remember all of those who served and sacrificed their lives in the Far East to bring an end to the war. A two minute silence took place at 11am to remember the fallen.

Similar to VE Day in May, celebrations had to be reduced to allow for social distancing.

In Harrogate, members of the public, local dignitaries and members of the armed forces gathered to pay their respects at the war memorial. The Mayor of Harrogate, Councillor Stuart Martin, said it was an “honour” to lay a wreath this morning.

Harrogate Mayor lays a wreath on VJ Day

Harrogate’s Mayor, Councillor Stuart Martin, lay a wreath this morning to commemorate the 75th anniversary of VJ Day. Credit: Ernesto Regatta.

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Members of the Knaresborough branch of the Royal British Legion arranged a service at the town’s war memorial in the castle grounds. During the service the newly refurbished commemoration bench was unveiled.

In Ripon, a small service was held within Spa Gardens with local representatives placing a wreath on the war memorial.

Ripon’s Mayor Councillor Eamon Parkin, said:

“On landmark days like these, we take a few minutes to remember what the men and women of the armed forces have done for us in every theatre of war and continue to do for us in keeping the peace.”

County council chair urges residents to commemorate VJ Day

North Yorkshire County Council’s chairman has encouraged residents to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Victory in Japan today.

Today commemorates the surrender of Imperial Japan on August 15, 1945, which led to the end of the Second World War.

Nationally, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall will lead a two-minute silence from 11am at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire and the Red Arrows will perform a fly past over Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff and London.

The BBC will also broadcast VJ Day 75: A Nation’s Tribute and screens in locations across the country will show a photo montage showcasing living Second World War veterans.

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It will include the Duke of Edinburgh who was present on board HMS Whelp in Tokyo Bay for the signing of the Japanese surrender.

Cllr Jim Clark has called on residents in North Yorkshire to also commemorate the anniversary.

He said:

“Whatever the reason for perhaps not marking it in the past, for this 75th anniversary I would like each and every one of us to take time to remember the events of 75 years ago in whatever way you feel appropriate.

“Remember all the brave service men and women who made great sacrifices, some the ultimate sacrifice, including those of our great county, so that we enjoy the freedoms we value so much today. Remember also the large number of innocent civilians, including many children, who died because they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Finally, I would like to thank all of you who have gone the extra mile over the last few months, both paid staff and volunteers. It has been North Yorkshire communities at their best and once again I invite you to stand together in remembrance and thanksgiving; against hate and prejudice; and to build stronger communities.

“This will allow us all to face an uncertain future with hope and confidence.”