Harrogate Borough Council swam against the tide in 2019 when it refused to declare a “Climate Emergency” — instead opting for a carbon reduction strategy that sets out how the authority aims to cut emissions over the next two decades.

But with the UK government saying a green-based recovery will be key to how we bounce back from Covid-19, the opposition Liberal Democrats are again putting pressure on HBC to make the pledge — but would it amount to anything meaningful?

What does declaring a “Climate Emergency” mean?

“Climate Emergency” was the Oxford English Dictionary word of last year and over two-thirds of all UK councils have now made the declaration.

It comes from the green movement created by Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion and the pledge has been used as a line in the sand for organisations wanting to improve their environmental footprint.

It’s largely a symbolic gesture but councils have declared climate emergencies to drive environmental policy and give some green momentum to issues from housing, energy and education.

Climate emergencies have been declared across the political spectrum, including by 42 Conservative district authorities, but it has meant different things in different places.

For example, as part of the Conservative-led Gloucester City Council’s declaration, they aim to use 100% renewable energy across the council’s operations by 2030.

The Labour-led Warwick District Council included a pledge to build all new council homes to the UK Green Building Council definition net zero carbon buildings, which is housebuilding to the strictest environmental standards

Some councils including Bath and North Somerset, even have a cabinet member for climate emergency who has a specific brief to drive the agenda.

A political manoeuvre?

In 2019 the Liberal Democrats tabled a motion to HBC calling on them to declare a climate emergency, which was knocked back by Conservative council leader Richard Cooper.

As reported at the time by the BBC’s Local Democracy Service, he suggested the motion was a political manoeuvre.

He said:

“We shouldn’t actually be voting on whether there is a climate emergency or not. To have a vote is to say climate change is a matter of opinion – it is not, it is a fact.”

Instead, HBC set up what it boldly called the “most radical environmental manifesto put forward by a borough council ever”, including a carbon reduction strategy that aims to make Harrogate a net-zero carbon economy by 2038. This means Harrogate would balance the number of greenhouse gases emitted with the equivalent emissions that are offset.

Harrogate’s Climate Coalition was also created that brings together councillors as well as green groups and local businesses with the aim of working together in the name of sustainability and helping the environment.

Read more:

• Council “disappointed” over emergency cash for cycle lanes

• 26 cyclists a year injured in collisions in Harrogate

Progress so far

Last month, environmental campaigner Malcolm Margolis quit Harrogate’s Climate Coalition, citing a “lack of action” around sustainable travel.

ClientEarth, the environmental lawyers who beat the UK government in court over illegal levels of air pollution in 2015, say climate action at a local level can “transform” people’s quality of life.

But they warned councils they need to be bold and not wait for policy from central government.

ClientEarth climate lawyer Sam Hunter Jones said:

“There is a collective failure by local authorities across England to plan adequately for climate change. Too often climate change is perceived to be just a national or international issue and therefore solely the responsibility of central government.”

According to the local Liberal Democrats at Harrogate’s current rate of reducing CO2 emissions, it is way off reaching its 2038 target for net-zero and would struggle to achieve it by 2050.

Lib Dem Cllr Pat Marsh said she has written to Conservative cabinet member for sustainable transport, Cllr Phil Ireland, calling on HBC to declare a climate emergency and improve the way the Climate Change Coalition is run.

Cllr Marsh said:

“To effectively play our part in addressing this environmental crisis, it is imperative that we declare a Climate Emergency and commit to becoming net zero carbon by 2030 at the very latest.”

Caroline Linford set up the green group Sustainably Harrogate and told the Stray Ferret that it’s essential HBC makes the pledge.

She said:

“It’s essential that HBC understand the likely impact of the changing climate on the Harrogate district, as well as explore practical solutions which are available to them. I believe declaring a Climate Emergency would focus the council on this mission and help engage the wider public to take the action.”

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson said:

“As agreed by the council in the Notice of Motion last year, the council supports measures to address the climate emergency as outlined by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

“Our carbon reduction strategy outlines an action plan for a number of priorities with an overall vision of having net-zero carbon emissions by 2038. Further information is available on our website.

“We have also launched the Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition, a group of businesses, public sector organisations and voluntary groups, which promotes and implements carbon reduction activities throughout the Harrogate district.”

North Yorkshire Police is growing increasingly concerned for the welfare of a 16 year-old girl from Harrogate who has been missing for three days.

Casey Ackerley has been missing since Sunday, August 2.

She is believed to have travelled to the Leeds area over the last few days and stayed in a number of hotels.

Casey has been described as white, approximately 5ft 6in tall and a slim build. She has very long, light, brown hair and was last seen wearing a salmon pink tracksuit and white trainers.

Read more:

• The police are warning Harrogate residents of a scammer impersonating a police officer over the phone.
• A Harrogate street has been a target for criminals for the second time as a resident’s two cars were stolen. 

The police are appealing for anyone with information to call 101. Information of previous sightings can also be emailed to john.hobson@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk.

To share information anonymously, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 – quoting 12200132258 as the police reference number.

An Independent  Ripon councillor is urging fellow councillors representing outlying areas of the Harrogate district, to vote against plans for a £47m redevelopment of Harrogate’s conference and exhibition facilities.

Councillor Pauline McHardy claimed:

“If this gets the go-ahead, it will be a financial burden around the district’s neck for years to come.”

The three-times Mayor of Ripon added:

“I think it’s totally wrong for Harrogate Borough Council to even be considering spending money of this magnitude, while there are so many other things that need support in places such as Boroughbridge, Knaresborough, Pateley Bridge, Spofforth and here in this city.”

Councillor Pauline McHardy

Cllr McHardy said many areas require more council investment such as  social housing, particularly for the elderly, more town centre parking provision to accommodate the increase in cars brought by new housing developments and community bus services for those in rural areas who do not have alternative transport.

Read more:

• No confirmation on Nightingale Hospital’s future
• Air ambulance called to medical emergency in Ripon

She pointed out:

“We keep being told that the Harrogate Convention Centre brings economic benefit across the whole of the district, but I don’t see evidence of that and people I speak with here and in Knaresborough feel the same.

“It’s time for councillors of all political colours, particularly in the outlying areas, to think first about the people who elected them, before putting their hands up for more spending on the convention centre.”

The proposals for Harrogate Convention Centre were set out at a virtual extraordinary meeting of the Harrogate Borough Council cabinet last Wednesday, when centre director Paula Lorimer said:

“We need this redevelopment not only to drive more conferences, but for the district and the community. We run school events, remembrance events, entertainment, orchestras and community groups.

“We do a great deal to support the community and the revenue we provide goes back into the council. What comes into us ripples out into the district. We need a successful HCC.”

This evening, a virtual extraordinary meeting of the full Harrogate Borough Council will be held at which elected members from across the district will vote on the HCC spending plans.

A new bus service will set off from Harrogate to Leeds Bradford Airport from the end of this month.

The ‘Flyer’ bus from Transdev will replace the current 747 ‘Flying Tiger’ service from August 30.

An airport return ticket, valid for 28 days, will cost £8 for a single adult and it will cost £15 for a group. A 7-day ticket costs £24 and a 28-day ticket costs £77.

Read more:

• Council receives £389,000 grant to transport key workers
• Fears for school transport as 95 drivers protest in Ripon

People working at the airport will be able to get a 50% discount on their single, return tickets and weekly tickets for £10.

The Harrogate route will set off on an hourly basis from Harrogate bus station and will take roughly 30 minutes to get to the airport.

It will start at 5.45am from the bus station on weekdays. The last service from the airport sets off at 9.12pm.

Whichever way you look at it, a devolution deal for North Yorkshire will include a mayor.

Below the mayor, there is an ongoing debate over whether the county should have one single unitary council or a few large authorities.

But what does devolution actually mean and why should we care? Here are the reasons why.

What is a mayor?

The devolved authority would have a mayor which is directly elected by the public.

They would be elected in 2022 and would normally serve for four years as part of an election cycle.

The mayor would hold significant power and influence over areas such as bus services, transport and setting up development corporations to buy and sell land.

Read more:

• Council leaders prepare for North Yorkshire devolution
• Districts to launch alternative council reorganisation bid
• County to draw up plans for single North Yorkshire council

A new mayoral tax

When the government introduced more directly-elected mayors in 2016, it also gave them powers to introduce precepts to pay for the functions of the office.

Different mayors have different powers, but all of them can charge extra on top of council tax bills to fund what they do.

What about council tax?

Council tax would still be paid to the local authority, which would continue to run daily services such as bins and filling potholes.

However, some powers would be taken on by the elected mayor, such as public transport and buying land for employment developments.

The powers of the devolved mayor are focused on employment and boosting the economy.

Why should I care?

A mayor of North Yorkshire would be accountable to residents across the entire county.

Any changes of services in their remit or use of public money would be answerable to those who elected them.

For example, the mayor would have new powers over bus routes, timetables and fares in Harrogate and elsewhere.

Mayors also have the power to set up development corporations to buy and sell land, as demonstrated in the Tees Valley where the former Redcar steelworks has been bought by the authority’s corporation.

How close are we to a deal?

It is early days, but government has already set its sights on resolving the issue of devolution by 2022 to coincide with mayoral elections.

At the moment, the county council and its seven districts are voting on a list of “asks” which outline their proposal for devolved powers. Government will take those requests and propose a devolution deal to the county which will then be voted and consulted on.

A mother, daughter, and son who all worked at Gambaru Fitness in Harrogate have been left devastated by its closure.

Emily Yeates, along with her brother Ben, followed in the footsteps of her mum Janelle who has worked at the gym for over 20 years before it became Gambaru and was widely known as the ‘mum of the gym’.

It was particularly painful for the Yeates family when they found out that the gym company had gone into liquidation four weeks ago.

The Harrogate gym did not reopen on July 25 when the government gave gyms the green light. At the time, the gym owners Jonathan Walker and John Walker said the announcement came with “challenging guidelines”.

Read more:

• Harrogate gym in liquidation after ‘economic challenge’ of lockdown
• Harrogate restaurant reopens in time for Yorkshire Day
• Appleton’s Butchers comes to Knaresborough

Both Janelle and Ben are now looking for full-time work. Emily, who did sports massages and beauty treatments at Gambaru for 10 years, has managed to get a part-time job to support her young baby.

Emily Yeates told the Stray Ferret:

“It’s been a big part of our lives. It was really hard to find out that Gambaru had gone into liquidation. This is particuarly difficult for me because I am having to start all over again with my treatments at a time when I have a baby to support.”

The Stray Ferret attempted to contact Gambaru Fitness yesterday but received no reply.

In the gym’s most recent Facebook post on July 23, it said:

“Due to ongoing negotiations, and business restructuring, at this present time we do not have an official opening date.”

Despite the gym’s closure Diveshack UK, which had a shop at Gambaru, is still open for business and will continue to trade remotely while discussions with the landlords continue.

A scammer pretending to be a police officer has targeted households in the Harrogate area.

Several residents in the town have reported calls from a ‘DC Mason Greenwood’ who claims to work for West Yorkshire Police or the Metropolitan Police.

He goes on to tell the residents that their nephew or grandson is in custody and has their bank cards as well as other stolen bank cards.

Read more:

• Air ambulance called to medical emergency in Ripon
• Police appeal for witnesses after fatal accident near Ripon
• £100 fines for not wearing face masks ‘a last resort’, say police

North Yorkshire Police has recorded 12 incidents in the past week and is currently attempting to identify the caller.

Andy Fox, North Yorkshire Police financial abuse safeguarding officer, said:

“This is yet another example of a scam call designed to obtain full bank account details from an unsuspecting victim. You can protect yourself from scam calls by fitting a call blocker or speak to your phone provider as to what call blocking options they offer.”

The police have issued a warning today and said that they will never ask someone for their account details over the phone.

Mr Fox continued: “If you are in any doubt about who you are speaking to, terminate the call immediately and call 101 from a different phone.”

The leader of Harrogate Borough Council has resigned from Harrogate BID.

Cllr Richard Cooper is still listed as a board member on the organisation’s website, but information on Companies House reveals he stepped down in June.

He was replaced on the same date by Trevor Watson, HBC’s director of economy and culture. Neither the council nor the BID has given a reason for the change.

Harrogate BID Acting Chair Sara Ferguson said:

“On behalf of Harrogate BID, its Board and members, I would like to thank Richard for his valuable contribution.

“Richard’s place on the BID board has been filled by Trevor Watson from Harrogate Borough Council’s economic development team, who has already attended a number of board meetings.

“Additionally, we have also co-opted two additional advisors, Lesley Wild, the former Chair of Bettys and Taylors Tea, and Jim Mossman, co-owner of Cold Bath Brewing Company.”

‘Strong influence’

Cllr Cooper’s resignation came six weeks after four board members – including the chairman – stepped down, citing the undue influence of the council in the organisation.

In their joint resignation letter, outgoing chairman Bob Kennedy and board members Chris Bentley, Robert Ogden and Rob Spencer said:

“Without a consensus view on the board of the dire state of the town’s economy, particularly its retail heart, and its causes, addressing the key issues cannot be achieved.

“The strong influence of Borough and County Council on the board of an organisation that according to government guidance is supposed to be a ‘business-led’ partnership means that any initiative that addresses the councils’ input is endlessly debated, and sensible options resisted. It has not even been possible to garner cross-board agreement that the current aesthetic state of Harrogate town centre is not adequate, something that is self-evident to business leaders and residents alike but is constantly denied or excused by councils.”

Mr Spencer, of Townhouse Design, told the Stray Ferret at the time that the council members on the board were “very defensive” about what others felt were problems in the town, such as the level of cleanliness and the overall appearance. The letter also said additional confidentiality restrictions imposed on board members were a threat to the organisation’s transparency and were incompatible with the function of a public body.

Read more:

• Council leader: ‘some Harrogate businesses will not survive’
• Ex-MP Phil Willis on how Harrogate can thrive again

Harrogate BID is funded by a compulsory rates levy on businesses in the centre of Harrogate. It was voted in at the end of 2018 and began operating the following year, with a five-year term before rate payers will have to vote on whether it should continue.

As lockdown was eased, the BID announced it would fund additional street cleaning in early June to make the town centre attractive to returning shoppers. It also offered small grants to businesses to fund social distancing measures to enable them to open safely, and sent out packs of signage for levy payers to use around their premises.

David Bowe, director of North Yorkshire County Council, remains on the BID board, along with representatives of local businesses across sectors including independent retailers, chain stores, hospitality and service companies.

Harrogate Borough Council did not respond to the Stray Ferret’s request for a comment.

Harrogate Theatre has announced it will not reopen until 2021, saying that introducing social distancing in the auditorium would not be financially viable.

The theatre has also warned that 60% of permanent roles may have to be made redundant. It has said this decision is a direct result of the pandemic and the loss of income it has caused.

A theatre spokesperson said:

“We look forward to the day we raise our safety curtain and once again share the magic that live performance in our building brings. Whilst we understand the impact of this decision, as custodians of our organisations we will do everything in our power to safeguard the company to be able to entertain, educate and inspire for the next 120 years.

“We are extremely grateful for the funding received from Arts Council England and Harrogate Borough Council to cover losses incurred from March through to September.”

The social distancing requirements would be too detrimental for the theatre’s finances.

The theatre is heavily reliant on its annual pantomime which is performed over two months in the festive period. Its business model requires 90% of the seats to be sold over the two months, but with social distancing in place only 20% of seats can be used.

The spokesman said the theatre is cautious to invest in any shows this season in case of further lockdowns. It has moved most of its shows for the autumn season into next year and this winter’s pantomime, Cinderella, will go ahead in 2021.

The theatre’s emergency funding campaign, launched during lockdown, will continue.

Read more:

• Knaresborough’s Frazer theatre has to remain closed due to the restrictions inside the auditorium. 
• Harrogate Theatre welcomed further funding but insisted that more support is needed to help the theatre.

Councillors have refused 149 new homes on Kingsley Road near Harrogate High School because they said it would make already clogged roads in the area even worse.

Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee had previously blocked the development twice this year due to concerns over the number of homes, traffic congestion and the environment.

Since the plans were last put before HBC in June, developer Richborough Estates reduced the number of homes from 155 to 149 and included a new transport assessment saying residents could use a bus stop in Bilton 1km away.

The site is designated for development within HBC’s Local Plan and HBC’s solicitor has previously warned councillors that refusing the plans could leave them open to a legal challenge by the developer.

However, meeting this afternoon via Zoom, councillors voted by 10 to 1 to refuse the application.

Read more:

• 95 homes at Granby Farm will destroy ‘green corridor’

• Major Harrogate housing scheme blocked for second time

There are several developments in the Kingsley area of Harrogate — which could see over 650 homes eventually built.

John Hansard from the Kingsley Ward Action Group spoke to the committee and called the transport assessment produced by the developer “a work of fiction”.

He said:

“There are still serious issues and walking over 1km to public transport makes a mockery of HBC’s carbon reduction strategy.

“Once this natural oasis is lost it’s gone forever and this area of Harrogate will be so much poorer for it.”

Dean Knight, technical director from Richborough, said the developer “has listened” after previous planning committees, but he faced a grilling from Cllr Pat Marsh who asked whether a 1km walk to the nearest bus stop was practical for elderly people or families carrying shopping.

Cllr Marsh called the traffic implications for the development “wrong, very wrong”.

Mr Knight said bus operator Transdev told the developer it was not possible to add a bus stop nearer to the site but said the 1km distance was not an “insurmountable” distance for people to walk.