Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning and welcome back to our updates every 15 minutes and a list of all the temporary traffic lights that could delay you today.

It’s Leah here today. If you see anything, and it is safe to do so, please give me a call on 01423 276197 or get in touch on social media.

These blogs, brought to you by The HACS Group, are keeping you updated as the district’s roads get busier.

9am – Full Update 

That is it from me today, I will be back with you from 6.30am on Monday for updates every 15 minutes. Have a lovely weekend!

Roads

The roads are getting busier this morning. However there are plenty of temporary lights to watch out for.

Hot Spots:

Traffic is building:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

8.45am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are getting busier this morning. However there are plenty of temporary lights to watch out for.

Hot Spots:

Traffic is building:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

8.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are getting busier this morning. However there are plenty of temporary lights to watch out for.

Hot Spots:

Traffic is building:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

8.15am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are getting busier this morning. However there are plenty of temporary lights to watch out for.

Hot Spots:

Traffic is building:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

8am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking clear so far this morning without any traffic hotspots to report. However there are plenty of temporary lights to watch out for.

Traffic is building:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

7.45am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking clear so far this morning without any traffic hotspots to report. However there are plenty of temporary lights to watch out for.

Traffic is building:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

7.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking clear so far this morning without any traffic hotspots to report. However there are plenty of temporary lights to watch out for.

Traffic is building:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

7.15am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking clear so far this morning without any traffic hotspots to report. However there are plenty of temporary lights to watch out for.

Traffic is building:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

7am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking clear so far this morning without any traffic hotspots to report. However there are plenty of temporary lights to watch out for.

Traffic is building:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

6.45am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking clear so far this morning without any traffic hotspots to report. However there are plenty of temporary lights to watch out for.

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

6.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking clear so far this morning without any traffic hotspots to report. However there are plenty of temporary lights to watch out for.

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

Vicious control freak jailed for military-like control of ex-partner

A vicious control freak has been jailed after preventing his pregnant partner from getting pain relief during labour and assuming military-like command of her day-to-day life, which included having to text him for permission to use the toilet.

During a 17-month period, the Harrogate woman was told when she could go out and with whom, was banned from speaking to family members and forced to make a daily list of “promises” to “obey his instructions”, York Crown Court heard.

The woman, who was 17 at the time, was also made to seek permission to use the toilet or have a drink and forced to record herself inside the lavatory to prove “that was what she was doing”, said prosecutor Matthew Collins.

Her partner’s cruelty came to a head when she became pregnant and he denied her midwifery care and pain relief for the birth of their baby daughter.

The tyrannical military man, who is in his 20s, even assaulted her during her labour at Harrogate District Hospital, added Mr Collins.

On other occasions, he forced her to hit herself and threatened to harm or kill her and the baby if she went to the police.

He was ultimately arrested and charged with assault and coercive or controlling behaviour. He admitted the offences and appeared for sentence yesterday.

Mr Collins told the court:

“During the course of that relationship she was subject to a number of degrading, offensive, aggressive and even physically violent behaviour.

“She was forced to write lists of promises to the defendant on a regular basis – promises which included…how she would behave towards him, obey his instructions and treat him in a manner to which he felt he deserved.

“She was forced to buy him clothing, car parts and spend her money on him in other ways. She could not use the toilet without texting him for permission and then recording herself going to the toilet…to prove that that was what she was doing.

“During the course of their relationship, they had a child. During her labour, the defendant refused, or attempted to refuse, the victim from having pain relief, including gas and air. He also refused to allow her to have (intimate) examinations by midwives.

“He also cut the victim off from her family, including her mother, brother and sister. When…she managed to escape from his presence, he would constantly phone the victim so as to monitor her movements and what she was saying and doing.”

Read more:

Grabbed her throat during labour

In December last year, he assaulted her while she was in labour by grabbing her by the throat.

Mr Collins added:

“The statements collected in the course of the investigation against this defendant, in particular statements from the midwives, make frankly for shocking reading.”

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she was “always on edge (around her now ex-partner), scared I would do the wrong thing”. She added:

“I felt controlled in the relationship and didn’t know how to stop it,

“I felt I couldn’t be a mother properly and he wouldn’t let me. It really started to affect my mental health. I wasn’t sleeping and when I did, I was sleeping too much, and my mother would have to take care of (my) daughter.

“My anxiety got worse. I was scared of seeing him and feel like I’m suffering depression because of his behaviour. I’ve lost confidence in myself and others; I feel I can’t trust people.”

She said she was now in the habit of asking people “for things I shouldn’t have to ask for because I’ve always had to ask (her ex-partner) to do simple things, like, ‘Can I go to the toilet?’, or ‘Can I have a drink?’”.

Intended to humiliate and degrade

Just before his arrest while he was under investigation, she even bought herself a self-defence kit in case he came looking for her.

Mr Collins said:

“His conduct was intended to humiliate and degrade the victim, in particular those orders that she needed to ask permission to use the toilet and then record herself actively using the toilet.”

He said the woman had had to endure the “fear and trauma” of her child potentially being removed from her care due to her ex-partner’s behaviour and social services becoming involved. The child is still under the woman’s care. He added:

“This is a victim who is frankly scarred and it is a mean and disgraceful case.”

Her ex-partner had a previous conviction for domestic violence and abuse from 2013.

Disgraced soldier

Kevin Blount, for the defendant, whose name cannot be revealed to protect the victim, said his client was an enlisted soldier and was remorseful for his “intimidatory” behaviour. He added:

“That (military) career is (now) at an end.

“Dismissal proceedings have begun (due to the offences).”

Judge Simon Hickey criticised the disgraced soldier for “refusing hospital staff the chance to examine your victim” during her labour. He said:

“You refused her pain relief when she was in labour.

“You wouldn’t allow her to get proper care for her baby and got her to hit herself and injure herself. At times you threatened to hit or kill the baby should she speak to police, and she wasn’t allowed to go anywhere or do anything without your permission.

“This was physically violent, degrading, humiliating behaviour towards that woman. You threatened her (with violence) if she disobeyed your instructions, and steps were taken to stop this young lady reporting (the matters).

“There couldn’t be a more vulnerable position for a woman to be in when you assaulted her (during childbirth).”

Jailing him for 18 months, Mr Hickey told the defendant:

“Sadly, you were a valued member of the British army and you have thrown that all away.”

The judge also made a 10-year restraining order banning the defendant contacting or approaching the victim.

 

 

Wildflower planting starts on the Stray tomorrow

Wildflowers will be planted on the Stray tomorrow in an effort to boost biodiversity and bring colour to busy roadsides.

In recent history wildflower meadows have slipped into a dramatic decline as the species-rich grasslands are ploughed up for housing, farming and roads.

This has prompted a push from campaigners for the young wildflowers called “plugs” to be planted and grasslands left to blossom.

Last year members of the Harrogate and District Green Party called on Harrogate Borough Council to take action.

Now, with the help of volunteers from Bilton Conservation Group, 5,500 wildflower plugs will be planted on two areas of the Stray near Leeds Road and York Place.

The trial could see more areas across the district transformed to support the return of insects from bees to butterflies.

Green Party campaigner Rebecca Maunder said:

“This is a really welcome move that we have been encouraging – it can make a big impact in improving local habitats for our declining wildlife.

“There does also need to be a joined up approach required to increase biodiversity locally and we should cease every opportunity we can.”

Planting will now take place across four days in May with the plugs, hopefully, blooming in September.

Read more:

Sue Wood, horticultural officer at Harrogate Borough Council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that there are other ways the authority hopes to bring back biodiversity. For example, some churchyards in the district have been left untouched by lawnmowers so they can blossom into meadows.

She also said the planting of plugs elsewhere would depend on the success of the Stray scheme:

“Climate problems and the loss of habitats have had an impact on insects and pollinators so we hope by planting wildflowers we can increase biodiversity.

“It will be a trial to start with but we hope to expand it elsewhere in the future.”

Horticultural Strategy 

In September, Harrogate council revealed its new horticultural strategy which set out how the authority will manage its almost 1,000-acres of green space over the next decade.

The strategy included the planting of wildflowers and extra measures to make sure dogs are kept on leads, but was criticised by Green Party members who welcomed some schemes but called for greater ambition and public involvement.

This forced the council’s cabinet member for environment, councillor Andrew Paraskos, on the defensive with him previously saying “it is in our power to make positive change but we can’t do everything overnight”.

Also included in the strategy are plans for a sensory garden, a review of grass cutting and research into whether parks could be used for bee-keeping.

The wildflower planting comes during a week where the council has faced intense criticism for  replacing raised flowerbeds in the town centre with astroturf .

The fake grass created a hugely negative response on social media and the local branch of Extinction Rebellion took action and removed it from one bed and put in its own plants.

Love is in the air as marriage proposal seen above Harrogate skies

A romantic offer of marriage was spotted above the skies of Harrogate earlier today.

The words, “Chloe will you marry me? Luke”, were seen tied to the back of an aeroplane flying over the Great Yorkshire Showground at around midday.

After Luke popped the question it seemed to brighten up an overcast day in the district for those who saw it and it received warm comments on a local Facebook group.

One person said:

“Aww I love this … every lady deserves a Luke.”

Another person asked the important question:

“Do we all need to buy a new hat?”

The question is …did Chloe say yes? 

Are you Chloe or Luke? Get in touch contact@thestrayferret.co.uk

Read more:

 

Council described as ‘inward looking’ after Stray Ferret secrecy investigation

Political parties in the Harrogate district have criticised the borough council after an investigation into secrecy by the Stray Ferret.

The Liberal Democrats in Harrogate have described the authority as “inward looking”, while Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour Party said they were “disturbed” by the findings.

Our research found that Harrogate Borough Council had a shocking record of withholding information from the public on key issues such as contracts and the Harrogate Convention Centre.

The findings showed the borough council had three times more restricted papers than the second highest comparable council and nearly 25 times as many as the lowest.

Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition on the council, said the authority was fast becoming an organisation where information is not always available.

She said:

“I have been on the council for 31 years and when I got elected all councillors made the decisions at various committees, the cabinet system has brought about an elite hierarchy who are kept updated, make most of the decisions, whilst the rest of us often learn things from local press releases rather than the council.

“There are legitimate reasons for some pink papers especially when commercial confidentiality is needed and personal details of officers and members need protecting but beyond that then the public, whose money it is, should always be made aware.”

Cllr Marsh added:

“It is in inward looking council who appear to want to exclude most people and are afraid of allowing others to make decisions.

“I tried to get the committee system reinstated but all the Conservatives voted against it. The committee system would open the council up to everyone and that can only be of benefit to us all and the council should not shy away from criticism and re-thinks.”

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Meanwhile, the Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour Party said it was disturbed at the number of restricted papers.

A spokesperson said:

“Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour Party finds that it is disturbing to note that a number of significant contracts have been awarded apparently without recourse to a competitive/open tendering process, especially in view of the current national issues around the awarding of Government contracts and lobbying by former ministers.

“Such a large number of council and cabinet papers have been restricted and are not in the public domain. It is surprising that the Liberal Democrats appear not to have held the administration to account over these matters.

“We look forward to an informative response from the council. After all, it’s important that local taxpayers know how their money is being spent by the Tory council.”

Our findings also showed that the borough council has an inconsistent approach to disclosing information to the press and public.

On two significant occasions, the council decided to withhold information where thousands of pounds of public money was spent – only to later publish it when challenged.

Cllr Pauline McHardy, who represents Ripon Independents on the borough council, said she found it “bizarre” that information was withheld.

She said:

“This is public money that we are talking about and the public have a right to know what it is being spent on.

“It seems they are being economical with the information. I cannot understand why they put it straight out onto Twitter, not everybody uses social media.”

The Stray Ferret approached both the Conservative leader of the council, Richard Cooper, and Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, Andrew Jones, for comment but did not receive a response.

In response to our investigation, a spokeswoman for Harrogate Borough Council said:

“We are an ambitious council with several multi-million pound and major projects underway, including new sport and leisure facilities and investment in Harrogate Convention Centre.

“This is for the benefit of our residents and for the district to be known as the best place to work, live and visit.

“This means, compared to other councils, we probably have more than the average number of commercial contracts being tendered.

“In 2020/21 we dealt with 822 requests under the Freedom of Information Act of 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations of 2004.

“Both make provision for keeping some information, which is commercially sensitive and may prejudice our commercial or contractual interests, exempt from disclosure.  The same applies to personal information.

“We apply exemptions only when we need to, and if the legislation permits, but sometimes we take the view that keeping information exempt is outweighed by the public interest in disclosing it.

“This means, in certain circumstances, we may decide there is a good reason for releasing otherwise confidential or commercially sensitive information.

“We pride ourselves on being and open and transparent council.

“We publish all spending over £250, agendas, reports and papers can be found on our website and anyone is welcome to attend one of our various committee and council meetings – most recently virtually – and from this week in person.”

“We are committed to explaining how council taxpayers’ money is spent.

“More information is available on our website: https://www.harrogate.gov.uk/data-protection-freedom-information/data-transparency.”

Turf War: Extinction Rebellion return fake grass to Harrogate council

Extinction Rebellion has handed back to the council the plastic grass they took from a raised bed on Cambridge Street.

The controversial plastic grass was removed on Tuesday as a protest and replaced by shade-loving plants taken from activists’ gardens.

Today Extinction Rebellion met at the council offices on King’s Road to return the grass and nails that had held it down. They also had a letter which explained their reasoning to the council, along with annotated extracts from the council’s own environmental policies.

The group asked to hand the grass and their letter over to councillor Andrew Paraskos, the cabinet member for environment, waste reduction and recycling.

However, they were informed that he was not in the building. A council employee took the letter and assured the group he would pass it on to Cllr Paraskos. He also took the grass and a black bag full of assorted material into the council offices.

Read more:

Extinction Rebellion activist Sarah Gibbs criticised the council’s handling of the saga, saying:

“The general public feel cautious about taking action. Everyone should feel empowered to take community action, and the council should facilitate that.”

She suggested that given the overwhelmingly negative reaction to the plastic grass, the council should have asked the public what they wanted beforehand:

“If they had done that in the first place, they would have saved a lot of time and money. There’s such a disconnect from nature and community.”

Harrogate Borough Council has faced widespread criticism on social media for installing the plastic grass. On Tuesday it released a statement apologising for the lack of communication with the public.

Bilton car park could be converted into council houses

Plans to convert a car park in Bilton into council housing have been sent back to the drawing board.

Harrogate Borough Council’s housing team wants to build the two-bed properties near Dene Park and Woodfield Road to provide what it described as “much-needed” accommodation for some of the hundreds of people on the social housing waiting list.

Planning assistant Arthama Lakhanpall told a meeting on Tuesday that 1,700 households are currently in the queue for council homes, with 316 specifically requesting two-bed properties.

He asked councillors to approve the plans but was told to take another look at the layout and designs.

Conservative councillor Nigel Simms, who represents Masham and Kirkby Malzeard, said the proposals were “just not right yet” and “completely at odds” with existing properties in the area:

“I would like to see something that represents the vernacular that surrounds it, not something that looks as if it has just been brought out of a design brief.

“This needs to go away and come back with something that reflects the local distinctiveness.”

There were also questions over why seven car parking spaces – including three disabled bays – were needed in the plans, with councillors suggesting that more or larger homes could be built.

They also said eco-friendly methods of heating, such as air source heat pumps and solar panels, should be installed instead of gas.

Conservative councillor Andrew Paraskos, who represents Spofforth with Lower Wharfedale, said:

“We could make better use of the land that is there. Whether it is more houses or bigger houses I’m not sure, but it should be sent back for reworking for a scheme that we actually need and is more fitting.”

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A report to councillors said the homes would provide a “modest addition” to the council’s housing stock and that the loss of 12 ‘underused’ car parking spaces would not have a negative impact on the area.

It said:

“The design of the dwellings would respect local distinctiveness and there would be no significant harm to local residential amenity.

“The development would provide off-street parking and additional tree planting. It is considered that the housing development would provide a more efficient use of the site.”

Councillors unanimously voted to defer a decision on the plans at Tuesday’s meeting.

Damn Yankee restaurant to return to Harrogate

The Damn Yankee on Station Parade in Harrogate is set to return with new owners.

Thanos Xhallo and Natasha Farmer are behind plans to reopen the popular American diner, which was a mainstay in Harrogate from 1972 until it closed in 2017.

It then became Burgers and More @ Original Damn Yankee in 2019 before the current owners took charge.

Thanos moved to Harrogate from his native Albania in 2014 and has worked in the kitchen and front-of-house at several restaurants in the town, including the Damn Yankee under its previous owners.

He said it’s been his dream to open a restaurant of his own since he began life in the UK.

The couple has bought the name of the business, which Thanos said means a lot to the people of Harrogate.

“It’s been all hands on deck getting the place ready.

“One women in her 60s walked past and said she used to come here as a child with her dad who has now passed away.”

Read More: 

Thanos said the menu will offer what people expect from the Damn Yankee and will include steaks, pizzas, burgers and many different options for kids.

It will also offer Mexican fare, including burritos, house chilli, chimichanga and quesadillas.

Thanos said he might even bring back some of the old food challenges, where customers race against the clock to eat a giant burger or steak for the chance to get a picture on a wall of fame.

He said:

“We are going to do our best to give quality and for it to be affordable.”

Natasha added:

“This was my family’s favourite restaurant growing up, so when it became available we thought, we have to do this.”

“It isn’t just any American diner, it’s the American diner.”

The couple hope to have the restaurant open within the next few weeks.

Investigation: Council’s ‘inconsistent’ approach to disclosing information

Yesterday we reported on how the council’s has a shocking record of withholding information compared with similar councils.

Today, we are looking Harrogate Borough Council’s response to public and the press who use the Freedom of Information act and other means to force the council to reveal information they have kept secret.

Over the past year, the Stray Ferret has investigated and published stories scrutinising the use of Harrogate taxpayers’ money.

To do this, we have submitted Freedom of Information requests to the borough council to get information or asked direct questions on matters of public interest.

As a taxpayer, it is your right to know what the local authority does with your money, how it is spent and what it is spent on.

What we have found is an inconsistent approach to responding to freedom of information requests, suspicion of the press and members of the public who feel the council has a defensive attitude to requests for information.

On two significant occasions, the council has decided to withhold information where thousands of pounds of public money has been spent – only to later publish it when challenged.

Today, we will focus on two FOI requests from ourselves and two from residents:

On two of these occasions the council refused the FOI and then, inexplicably, posted the information on Twitter.

Jacob Bailey and Visit Harrogate

When the borough council decided to bypass its own procurement rules to hand a contract to revamp the Visit Harrogate website, it posed serious questions of public interest as to whether the contract was value for money.

The decision was taken by the Cabinet Member for Culture, Tourism and Sport, Cllr Stan Lumley in November 2020.

While the council published a public report on what it wanted to do with the website and that it was going to hand the contract to a Suffolk-based company, Jacob Bailey, it also contained information that was confidential.

The public parts of the report did not include any reference to how much the contract cost.

Read more:

The Stray Ferret asked the borough council what the value of the contract was, while a member of the public submitted a freedom of information request with the same question.

We also asked why the authority had not dealt with the matter sooner and what market research had led it to select the Jacob Bailey Group over local companies.

The council refused to answer our questions and refused the FOI – citing grounds of commercial confidentiality.

Yet, two months later in January, the council did publish the cost – which was £165,000 over four years – on Twitter.

The matter raises questions once again as to why that information was not public in the first place and why it was not given at the point of request – to either journalists or the member of the public.

Flaxby Park legal costs

In October, the borough council appeared at the High Court as part of a judicial review over a decision to choose Green Hammerton over Flaxby for a new settlement.

The authority hired Paul Brown QC, joint head of Landmark Chambers in London.

Despite the costs being paid through public money, the council refused an FOI request from the Stray Ferret to reveal the sum paid to Mr Brown.

It said the information was exempt from disclosure because its lawyers’ legal fees should remain private.  We challenged that by requesting an internal review.

Read more:

In January the borough council revealed on social media that the legal costs were £57,360. But instead of giving to us, it published it on Twitter first.

We later found that the authority paid Mr Brown on five separate occasions and published his name on its publicly available expenses.

It begs the question why was the information denied to us in the first place when it was already available publicly?

Live streaming costs

One request last year dragged on for six months before the council decided to hand over the information.

In January 2020, the ruling Conservative group, led by leader Cllr Richard Cooper, rejected a proposal to stream meetings live.

At the time, Cllr Cooper said there was “not enough public interest” in the idea and added it would “cost tens of thousands of pounds”.

As a result, Jerry Diccox, a local resident, submitted a freedom of information request asking for the details of the council’s cost analysis of live streaming meetings.

Mr Diccox documented his e-mail exchange with the council on the website WhatDoTheyKnow. It lasted for six months until finally the authority released the information.

Initially, HBC rejected the FOI request due to “commercial confidentiality”. Mr Diccox asked for an internal review but the council’s chief solicitor upheld the original decision.

He argued that the cost analysis related to a “potential expenditure of public money”.

After taking his complaint to the Information Commissioner, Mr Diccox finally received his information.

Six months after his initial request, the council said it had reconsidered his request after being advised of the complaint.

The analysis showed indicative cost of live streaming meetings over one year and three years.

It showed that streaming meetings could cost £5,377.20 or £25,185.80 for one year. Meanwhile, three years could range from £5,377.20 to £40,623.80.

Mr Diccox said at the time that the council’s attempts to “hide behind the public interest” exemption was “nothing short of shameful”.

He said:

“This whole exercise has been a huge waste of time and effort, and as such I very much hope (but very much doubt) that the council has learnt lessons about attempting to hide information from the public.

“In future, HBC should try to follow its own stated aims of being more open and democratic and should stop trying to behave like a secret state.”

The council later denied that there was any attempt to avoid accountability.

Turkish Baths

In the midst of the council taking a major decision to set up a new company to run leisure services, the Stray Ferret decided to look at how much each facility cost to run.

As well as setting up an arms-length company, the authority was planning to borrow £26 million to revamp two of its pools.

We sent a Freedom of Information request to the council asking for the running cost of each leisure facility.

The request was answered in part- however the council refused to reveal the costs of the Turkish Baths on “commercial” grounds.

A source who used to work for the council, but did not wish to be named, told the Stray Ferret that there was no reason why that information could not have been handed over.

Read more:

The Turkish Baths is owned and run by the council. It is the public’s right to know how much it costs to run.

To date we still do not know how much it cost the public to run the Turkish Baths. We do not know if it makes a profit or a loss for the taxpayer.

An Inconsistent Approach

The frustration of getting information from the authority is echoed by campaigners.

Alex Smith, a local resident, has submitted FOI requests over section 106 agreements and asked the council to update its transparency data several times over the years.

Under the Transparency Code 2015, the council is required to publish a range of data for the public such as expenses, grants and parking income.

Mr Smith said he found it difficult to get the council to update its information.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“They will not really come clean and their instinct is to be defensive.”

Our examples give rise to public accusations that the council is deliberately avoiding scrutiny- that decisions are taken behind closed doors, with the public and press not party to crucial information and that it only publishes that information when it is forced to do so and, in some cases, never.

Our findings show that Harrogate Borough Council has been inconsistent when it comes to providing information to the public and journalists – despite saying it is committed to be open and transparent.

We put our findings to the borough council. A spokeswoman said:

“In 2020/21 we dealt with 822 requests under the Freedom of Information Act of 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations of 2004.

“Both make provision for keeping some information, which is commercially sensitive and may prejudice our commercial or contractual interests, exempt from disclosure. The same applies to personal information.

“We apply exemptions only when we need to, and if the legislation permits, but sometimes we take the view that keeping information exempt is outweighed by the public interest in disclosing it.

“This means, in certain circumstances, we may decide there is a good reason for releasing otherwise confidential or commercially sensitive information.

“We pride ourselves on being and open and transparent council.

“We publish all spending over £250, agendas, reports and papers can be found on our website and anyone is welcome to attend one of our various committee and council meetings – most recently virtually – and from this week in person.

“We are committed to explaining how council taxpayers’ money is spent.

“More information is available on our website: https://www.harrogate.gov.uk/data-protection-freedom-information/data-transparency.”

Tomorrow we will be reporting on the political reaction to our investigation of secrecy at Harrogate Borough Council.

Majestic murder-suicide: one week on, questions remain

The Harrogate district was shocked last week when two guests from London lost their lives in an apparent murder-suicide at the DoubleTree by Hilton Harrogate Majestic Hotel.

Eight days on, the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Chenise Gregory and Michael McGibbon, who were both aged 29, remain unclear.

Staff found the pair dead with stab wounds on the Tuesday night at 10.20pm. North Yorkshire Police said it believed Ms Gregory was murdered by Mr McGibbon, who then killed himself.

But the police and the hotel have said little since.

One of the key unanswered questions is why and how the pair booked their room or rooms. Under current coronavirus rules, hotels can only allow guests if the hotel is their main address or if their visit is essential for work, education or training purposes.

The family of Ms Gregory has said she was a childcare specialist. It is unclear what Mr McGibbon did for a living. The reason for their booking has not been revealed.

Devante Gravesande-Smith, a barrister from London who was a cousin of Ms Gregory, described her as a “loving and caring person, whose smile would light up a room”.

He claimed she was “lured to her death at the hands of her controlling and manipulative ex-boyfriend”.

We asked the hotel the purpose of the two people’s stay and how it verified the reasons.

A spokesman for the DoubleTree by Hilton Harrogate Majestic Hotel told the Stray Ferret:

“We are deeply shocked and saddened by the incident and our thoughts are with all of those affected.

“The hotel complies with the government guidelines in respect of who can stay. We are unable to comment further on the specific guests.”

The Stray Ferret has also asked North Yorkshire Police for an update on the case. It did not reply by the time of publication and, eight days after the tragic incident, many questions remain unanswered.

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Temporary detective chief inspector Jonathan Sygrove of North Yorkshire Police’s major investigation team said when the deaths were announced:

“We are treating Ms Gregory’s death as murder and we are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.

“An investigation into the circumstances around the deaths is ongoing, but the evidence we have gathered at this stage suggests it was a suspected murder-suicide.”

There have been no police updates since.