Harrogate homebuyers frustrated by land search delays

People buying and selling property in the Harrogate district have expressed frustration over delays for land searches to be completed.

A buoyant local property market has increased the workload on Harrogate Borough Council.

The Stray Ferret understands searches in Harrogate are taking several weeks longer than in neighbouring authorities Leeds and York.

Local authority searches, which check there are no hidden surprises for buyers, are an essential part of the home-buying process.

HBC’s local land charges team charges £103.95 for a search, which reveals information on issues relating to the property such as previous planning applications, roads, utilities and the environment.

According to HBC’s website, the average search time in August 2020 was just over three weeks. However, the Stray Ferret has spoken to someone selling a house, an estate agent, and a solicitor who all say the process is now taking much longer.

‘Banging your head against a brick wall’

Robert Ash and his wife are currently selling a property in the village of Grantley, near Ripon. Their buyer’s solicitor asked HBC to undertake a search of the property at the end of August and he has now been told the result will be ready on November 8 — 10 weeks later.

Mr Ash suggested it could be taking longer because “everyone is trying to sell a house in Harrogate” at the moment.

He said he’d tried to ask the council why it was taking so much longer than expected but said “it’s like banging your head against a brick wall”. He added:

“It does seem ridiculous because everyone is anxious to get on with these things.”

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Estate agent Jak Cavanagh from Knight Frank in Harrogate said the delays were too long.

Knight Frank has offices across the country and Mr Cavanagh said Harrogate was known nationally for taking a long time to process searches.

He said searches were now taking 10-12 weeks, around twice as long as they were pre-covid.

“It would be great if they were a bit quicker. It’s delaying things a bit too much.

“From a seller’s point of view, it can be frustrating, but Harrogate is known all over the country for this, I’m afraid.”

Leeds and York quicker

The estate agent’s experience was echoed by local property solicitor Mike Sheldon, from the law firm Wilson Bramwell.

Mr Sheldon said searches were taking far longer in Harrogate compared to other local authorities, such as York and Leeds.

He said:

“The council are taking longer, there’s no question about that, but it’s just the volume of conveyancing that’s going on. It’s slowing things down. Each council is different but Leeds and York seem to be a lot quicker.”

In a statement released to the Stray Ferret, HBC said the current processing timescales for searches was approximately 28 working days.

It said July, August and September were the busiest three months for local land charges team in “a number of years”.

The council added that increased pressures related to covid meant it was unable to provide the team with additional resources. It also said two experienced staff from the team had recently retired.

The council added it had made overtime available for staff to clear some of the backlog.

A council spokesperson said:

“We appreciate how stressful buying a house can be and we are doing everything we can to reduce the processing times for local land charge searches.

“There have been a number of issues that have meant we are dealing with an unprecedented level of demand so we are asking people to be mindful of the current timescales and advise them to carry out searches as early as possible in their housing buying process.”

Harrogate shoplifter jailed after being arrested with meat cleaver

A Harrogate shoplifter who was caught in possession of a meat cleaver has been jailed for 11 months.

Colin Bradley, 33, of Hargrove Road, had been carrying the lethal weapon at Asda in Harrogate where he stole two bottles of Jack Daniel’s whisky, York Crown Court heard today.

The fresh-produce manager stopped Bradley as he was leaving the store with the whisky bottles. Bradley was at first co-operative, said prosecutor Martin Bosomworth.

But when the male employee noticed more items in his jacket and pockets and asked him if he had stolen anything else, Bradley became aggressive and a “stand-off” ensued.

Mr Bosomworth told the court:

“(Bradley) put his hand in his pockets (where the blade was) and said, ‘Do you want it then?’”

“The (named manager) formed the impression that the defendant had some kind of knife.”

Fearing for his safety, the manager got out of Bradley’s way and let him leave the store.

Shortly after, police stopped Bradley and asked him if he was carrying a weapon. He pulled out a meat cleaver and handed it over.

Numerous thefts

Bradley, who was drunk and possibly high on drugs, was arrested and brought in for questioning. He refused to answer police questions about the incident on March 3.

He was released on bail pending further enquiries.

During this time, local shops and supermarkets provided CCTV evidence showing the convicted thief had targeted other stores since the beginning of February.

In one incident on February 10 he stole four packs of Stella Artois, food items and ready meals from the Co-op store on Knaresborough Road. He returned to the same shop later in the day to steal a multi-pack of tuna and a pack of Foster’s lager.

After being released on bail, he stole four cases of Jack Daniel’s and two packs of lager from the Co-op store on King Edward Drive on May 5.

Just over two weeks later, he targeted Sainsbury’s supermarket in Knaresborough where he stole cases of San Miguel beer. He returned to the store in June when he stole chicken breasts and pasta sauce.

Knuckle duster

Bradley was sentenced today after pleading guilty to possessing a bladed article in public and seven counts of theft.

The court heard he had 10 previous convictions for offences including possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence in 2014. His other convictions included carrying a knuckle duster, serious violence and drug offences.

Defence barrister Ashleigh Metcalfe said that Bradley had been binge-drinking and homeless during his four-month thieving spree.

Since the meat-cleaver incident, he had been trying to curb his drinking and drug-taking, which had been exacerbated by family bereavements.

But judge Simon Hickey said carrying a meat cleaver in public was such a serious offence that it had to be immediate custody.

The judge added that Bradley’s previous conviction for possessing a blade or offensive weapon meant he was liable to a minimum jail term as a “second-striker”.

Jailing Bradley for 11 months, Mr Hickey added:

“Anybody who carries a meat cleaver (must expect) an immediate custodial sentence, even though one was never taken out (of the defendant’s pocket).”

Bradley will serve half of the sentence behind bars before being released on prison licence.

Consultation opens over plans to extend former council offices

A consultation is being launched this week over plans to redevelop Harrogate Borough Council’s former headquarters.

Impala Estates Ltd bought Crescent Gardens for £4m in January and is preparing to submit a planning application to bring the building back into use.

As well as refurbishing the existing building to deliver modern offices for up to 400 people, the company proposes adding a second and third floor to provide space for a restaurant and terrace, which would be open to the public. James Hartley, asset manager and surveyor at Impala, said:

“Our aim is to bring the building back into use by developing it in a sensitive way that fits in with the diverse architecture in the surrounding area. We hope to create flexible office and public space in a central part of town.”

The refurbishment includes the creation of offices for multiple occupancy, along with meeting rooms, a gym and shower facilities. Historic rooms, including the former council chamber and mayor’s parlour, will be used as meeting space, which will also be available for public use.

Impala said the additional floors will be set back from the front and rear elevations of the existing building. The site will also be made energy efficient as part of the refurbishment project.

The plans have been drawn up by Harrogate-based S&SA Architects. The developers are inviting feedback from the public via their website from Thursday, before a planning application is submitted within the next couple of months.

Sale of Crescent Gardens

Crescent Gardens has been out of use for three years after Harrogate Borough Council first agreed to sell it and build a new headquarters in 2015. A preferred bidder was chosen, but the sale fell through later that year.

In March 2017, local developer Adam Thorpe was confirmed as the new buyer, through ATP (Crescent Gardens) Ltd, with contracts exchanged that year and completion dependent upon a planning application being submitted to redevelop the building.

The agreed sale price was £6.31 million, with a 25% uplift due to HBC if planning permission was achieved and implemented for a change of use to anything other than predominantly office space within five years of the sale.

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Mr Thorpe said his plans included luxury apartments and an art gallery and, in February 2019, said he had agreed sales on 10 of the 12 apartments including one “comfortably above” £10 million.

When the sale collapsed a few months later, Mr Thorpe owed the council more than £30,000 in unpaid rent for the years in which he had used the building following exchange of contracts. The council had also paid legal fees of more than £11,000 in pursuing completion.

Meanwhile, HBC staff moved into the new headquarters at Knapping Mount in late 2017.

Impala was announced as the new buyer in early 2020, with an agreed price of £4m. A 25% uplift will again apply should planning permission for residential use be achieved and implemented within five years.

Sneak peek: Colourful charity crafts store opens in Harrogate

With a story behind each and every product on the shelves, a colourful new charity shop is preparing to open its doors in Harrogate tomorrow.

Artizan International’s debut store on Oxford Street will sell crafts made by disabled people from the UK, Peru and Ecuador.

The charity, which was previously known as Craft Aid International, was founded by Susie Hart when she returned to Harrogate from Tanzania 10 years ago.

The shop sells bright cushions, lampshades, jewellery, headbands and more made by disabled people. The charity trains them in crafts and gives them a living through the sales.

A new shop in Harrogate on Oxford Street in the former Harrogate Hub.

Picking up a pair of pink earrings off the shelf, Ms Hart explained to the Stray Ferret how the charity changes lives:

“They were made by a young man in Peru called Steven who uses a wheelchair. He had never had a job before and had never been able to support his girlfriend. Things were really desperate for him before he joined us.”

The pink earrings made by Steven.

The new shop on Oxford Street is the former home of Harrogate Hub, which no longer needed the space so offered it to Artizan at half the price.

When an anonymous donor heard about this, they stepped in with £200,000 to help Artizan buy the building.

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Juggling the new shop with the charity’s existing work has been a huge challenge over the last few months.

The coronavirus lockdown meant all of the craft sessions and tutorials abroad and at home needed to stop or move online.

Bright and colourful headbands on the shelves.

It also meant all of the Artizan teams in Peru and Ecuador had to stop production. They still have some stock leftover from before the pandemic but Harrogate Scrubbers also stepped in to help fill the shelves.

Artizan plans to open a cafe in the building at the start of next year staffed solely by people with hearing disabilities.

Would you like to spread the word about your shop opening? No matter how small the shop get in touch with the Stray Ferret.

Harlow Carr set to open new Friendship Bridge

A new bridge will be unveiled at RHS Garden Harlow Carr on Monday.

The bridge, which was built by Harrogate dry stone waller Neil Beasley in four months over lockdown, has been named the Friendship Bridge.

The name is in recognition of a £10,000 donation from the Friends of Harlow Carr, which paid for half of the £20,000 costs.

The Royal Horticultural Society, which is the gardening charity that owns RHS Garden Harlow Carr, paid for the other half.

The centerpiece of the design, which was drawn up by Leeds master craftsman David Griffiths, represents the head of a flower, with stone petals surrounding a central stonework arch,

The Geoffrey Smith memorial stone is positioned at one end of the bridge wall as a lasting testament to the former garden curator, who died in 2009.

Paul Cook, curator at RHS Garden Harlow Carr, said: 

“We now have a beautiful new piece of artwork, which has been handcrafted in Yorkshire stone using traditional dry stone walling techniques.

“As well as being a thing of beauty in itself, the work will help to alleviate surface flooding problems.”

The new bridge was built with freshly quarried Yorkshire stone along with stone from the structure that it replaced.

Mr Beasley previously created Harlow Carr’s garden entrance feature and monoliths on the corner of Crag Lane and Otley Road, which were also designed by David Griffiths. 

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Harrogate Town appoints first club chaplain

Harrogate Town has appointed its first ever club chaplain to provide pastoral and spiritual help to players and their families.

Rob Brett, who is a Christian but not ordained, said he would offer a friendly face and a listening ear to everyone at the club, regardless of faith.

Most professional football clubs have chaplains but this voluntary role is a first for Town, which was promoted to the English Football League for the first time this year.

Mr Brett, who has lived in Harrogate for more than 20 years and is regulated by Sports Chaplaincy UK, said:

“I will be available to listen, without judging, to whatever it is that people want to share, including family and relationship difficulties, mental health issues and financial problems.

“What I’m told will be in strictest confidence. I won’t necessarily come up with solutions, but rather help people to work out for themselves how to ease or resolve their anxiety.”

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Town manager Simon Weaver welcomed the appointment. He said:

“We are an extended family at Harrogate Town and we look out for each other.”

“Having Rob around gives us someone else to share our personal problems, which we may not want to do with team mates, bosses or colleagues or even our nearest and dearest.”

The club’s newly appointed support liaison officer Phill Holdsworth (left) and an associate director of the club, Mike Partridge.

The club also announced today it had appointed Phill Holdsworth as supporters’ liaison officer.

Mr Holdsworth is a club volunteer and season ticket holder.

Managing director Garry Plant said:

“Phil is very well qualified to deal with off-field suggestions or issues supporters may have.”

 

Unemployment claims fall slightly in Harrogate district

There was a slight fall in the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits in the Harrogate district in September.

A total of 3,875 people claimed out-of-work benefits during the month, down slightly from 3,970 in August. Of those, 2,210 were men and 1,665 were women.

The figures, which were published today by the Office for National Statistics, revealed 4.1% of the district’s population claimed out-of-work benefits — down from 4.2% in the previous month.

Harrogate is below the UK-wide figure of 6.5% for people claiming the benefits, which include Jobseeker’s Allowance and Universal Credit.

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The number of benefit claims in the district has remained stable since May, with the government’s furlough scheme used to protect more than 15,000 jobs in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

The scheme ends this month and will be replaced by the Job Support Scheme, which is designed to protect viable jobs.

Under the new scheme, an employee who works a minimum of 33% of their normal hours a week will be guaranteed 77% of their weekly wage.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said financial support on offer to employees must “adapt and evolve”.

Hampsthwaite coffee shop to reopen after covid deep clean

A coffee shop in Hampsthwaite will reopen this weekend after being forced to close due to covid.

Sophie’s Coffee Shop and Bistro closed on Sunday after a relative of a member of staff tested positive for the virus.

But the shop announced on its Facebook page yesterday that all staff concerned had tested negative.

It added that although the results were negative, it had decided to hire a professional deep cleaning team to deep clean the entire inside and outside of the building.

The clean will also include a new marquee, which has been purchased to allow more space for customers. The cafe had to halve its capacity to follow social distancing rules and said the marquee would allow it to seat more customers safely.

Sophie Jacob, owner of the shop, said:

“We’re excited to reopen, we have taken all the necessary precautions. On Wednesday a cleaning company will come and spray the marquee and inside to disinfect the premises. We chose to do this.

“This week we’re setting up the new marquee. We had people waiting in their cars sometimes to come in so we wanted to set this up to have more space.”

The team is hopeful that its measures will ensure customers feel confident to return this weekend.

Harrogate survey: Nearly 80% want to keep alfresco dining

Nearly 80% of Harrogate residents want the town centre to keep alfresco dining on a permanent basis.

The Stray Ferret worked with Your Poll by Judge Service to survey nearly 1,500 people in Harrogate.

All surveys with more than 1,000 respondents are statistically valid. Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill it out.

Should alfresco dining become permanent in Harrogate?

More than 1,100 of respondents (77%) said they want the relaxed rules around alfresco dining to be made permanent.

The other 300 votes were split between “not sure” at 13% and “no” at 9% – giving “yes” the clear majority.

“The pleasure of visiting the town comes from its small size, ease of access and facility for short trips. More alfresco dining gives the town a good atmosphere.” – anon.

“Alfresco dining is the way forward more outdoor spaces should be used. Take a look at the Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells a great example.” – anon.

North Yorkshire County Council has already said it would be “happy to review any requests for longer term use of the public highway” for alfresco dining.

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David Bowe, the corporate director for business and environmental services at the county council, previously said the authority has received “really positive feedback”.

Should alfresco dining become permanent?

“Create a park & ride facility to allow residents to park outside homes and encourage visitors to use buses into town and encourage alfresco dining and drinking.” – anon.

“I believe Harrogate should embrace the alfresco cafes and bars, also thinking about disabled access and access for people with prams.” – anon.

There seems to be a real strength of feeling from Harrogate residents about alfresco dining. That was clearly reflected when the Blues Bar and The Empress faced the threat of losing all their tables and chairs.

The Blues Bar eventually needed to remove their tables and chairs but not before it got 3000 people to back their fight in an online petition.

We will publish the full results of our survey on Wednesday. 

Harrogate Town: Project Big Picture should be ‘seriously considered’

Harrogate Town managing director Garry Plant has said proposals that could see the club potentially receive millions of pounds in funding from the Premier League should be “seriously considered”.

Details of Project Big Picture, which would radically overhaul the way finances are distributed down the football pyramid, were leaked to the media over the weekend.

Under the proposals, put forward by Liverpool and Manchester United, the top nine clubs in the Premier League would get more control in return for giving an immediate £350m rescue fund to the English Football League, plus 25% of revenue from future deals.

This would give EFL clubs, who have struggled financially since the lockdown, a much-needed cash windfall. Currently, each EFL club receives £430,000 a season from the Premier League as a “solidarity payment”.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret yesterday, Mr Plant said:

“Any assistance that the clubs can get has to be seriously considered otherwise there might not be some clubs in the EFL for much longer.

“The club is being guided by and trusts the EFL to arrive at the very best solution for the football family.”

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The proposals would also see the League Cup scrapped, which Mr Plant suggested would be a small price to pay if it guaranteed the survival of EFL clubs.

Mr Plant warned if communities lost their football clubs it would have a lasting impact that would run deeper than purely sport.

He added:

“The key important thing is the survival of football.

“Bury and Macclesfield have already closed and it would have a massive impact on local communities.”