Harrogate council’s biggest moments: The council forms and the conference centre opens under a cloud

With Harrogate Borough Council in its final days, the Local Democracy Reporting Service looked at five major moments that defined it.

From controversy over the Harrogate conference centre to the move from Crescent Gardens to the Civic Centre — the council has played a major role in the look, feel and development of the district for the last 49 years.

As well as searching the archives of the Harrogate Advertiser, we spoke to some of the people who were involved at the time to give a picture of how these five events unfolded.

1974: Dawn of a new council

Harrogate Borough Council was new and shiny once.

Its creation followed years of wrangling over boundaries. At one point, it looked like Harrogate and Knaresborough was even going to be incorporated into a Leeds council.

But the new two-tier system was launched at midnight on April 12, 1974 and it saw North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council share responsibilities in the newly-created Harrogate district.

Old rural councils as well as the councils for Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough were brought together to form Harrogate Borough Council and it put the town of Harrogate at the heart of decision-making in the district.

On April 6, 1974, the Harrogate Advertiser described “the great changeover”:

“At midnight on Sunday, local government old-style ended and the new style has given Harrogate and a huge surrounding area of 515 square miles a new district council, by which the council of the borough of Harrogate came into full operation and responsibility.”

When the council launched, it owned 7,000 council houses, almost double what it owns today, and it served a population of 135,000 residents.

Conservative councillor for Burton Leonard, Graham Bott, became the first mayor of the borough at a ceremony at the Royal Hall that month.

Cllr Bott described becoming mayor as one of the proudest moments of his life.

He said he hoped Harrogate Borough Council would abide by the motto of the Three Musketeers — “one for all and all for one.”

Crescent Gardens.

Crescent Gardens.

Sixty councillors were elected to serve on the first council and they were paid £10 to attend meetings that lasted over 4 hours, which dropped to £5 for shorter ones.

The council’s first chief executive was Neville Knox. He said the council’s size meant it would still be in touch with residents.

Mr Knox said:

“We are still small enough not to have lost contact with the rate payers. We have experienced officers in the branch who know the people of their areas.”

But even in the council’s formative days, questions were being asked about how the council in Harrogate would look upon the rest of the district.

A Harrogate Advertiser columnist from Ripon asked, “Is big brother Harrogate going to grab all the goodies for itself?”

It said: 

“One fear is that the natural and historic assets of Harrogate’s neighbours will be used not so much to their own advantage but primarily as additional bait to enhance the attraction of the main centre and Harrogate as a tourist, trade fair and conference centre.”

This received a firm rebuttal from Tony Bryant, the council’s director of conference and resort services, whose comments draw parallels with what is being said by officials at North Yorkshire Council 49 years later.

Mr Bryant said: 

“We shall no longer be a collection of small authorities trying with limited resources to sell itself, but a large body in which finance will be combined for the common good.”

There was much work to be done and the Harrogate Advertiser wrote in an editorial that the council “cannot afford the luxury of taking time to settle in” as there were huge traffic problems, car parks and the construction of new roads that had to be dealt with.

But a squabble over ceremonial robes dominated the council’s first meeting.

Councillors who had served on the old Ripon and Harrogate councils had the right to continue to wear their ceremonial robes at meetings on the new council.

However, Knaresborough councillor W Macintyre wanted to restrict this to just the mayor and deputy mayor as he said wearing robes would be “anachronistic” in the context of the newly formed council. His proposal failed by 18 votes to 29.

Although Liberal councillor for Granby, John Marshall, said that just because members in Ripon and Harrogate wore robes it did not mean they liked the custom.

He said he found the practice “acutely embarrasing”.

1982: the conference centre opens under a cloud

The story of Harrogate Borough Council will be forever bound to the town’s conference centre.

The venture was undoubtably the council’s boldest move but it’s fair to say that controversy has dogged what is now the Harrogate Convention Centre ever since the council decided to build it in the 1970s.

Harrogate was already known as a conference destination but the council hoped a new state-of-the-art facility in the centre of town would attract business and leisure visitors to the district for decades to come.

Harrogate Borough Council part-funded the investment through selling land it owned off Skipton Road to housebuilders. This would eventually lead to the building of much-needed new homes for Harrogate and the creation of the sprawling Jennyfields estate.

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However, in 1979 when construction on the conference centre was underway, the UK was in the grip of a deep recession and Margaret Thatcher’s newly elected Conservative government raised the interest rate to 17%, in a bid to bring down inflation that was running at 13%.

Tim Flanagan was chief reporter at the Harrogate Advertiser during the 1970s and 1980s. He remembers the conference centre was rarely off the front pages during that time.

Mr Flanagan said costs for the conference centre spiralled from an initial £8m to £34m, which shocked the Harrogate public and led to a hike in council tax.

He said:

“Against the backdrop of recession, inflation and high interest rates, the council’s finances were stretched to the limit.

“This led it to it to make the decision to levy a supplementary rate to balance the books – a move that proved highly unpopular with ratepayers across the district.”

Harrogate Borough Council was bailed out by a £16m loan from the government to pay off the conference centre. It reduced what residents would have been asked to pay in council tax by 25%.

If the 40-year terms of the loan were followed, it means the council only finished paying back the government for the bailout last year.

Resident John Wynne would write to the Advertiser in 1982 that the conference centre saga had sullied his once-romantic view of Harrogate.

“I’m afraid the fiasco over the conference centre and sucessive high rate increases to pay for the thing have completely killed all the feelings I had for this town.”

Problems at the conference centre would mount throughout the 1980s as the hotel group originally chosen to be part of the development pulled out and it took until 1985 for what is now the Crown Plaza to be occupied.

The conference centre had become such a drain on resources that the council struggled to maintain prized assets such as the Sun Pavilion and Harrogate Theatre as they fell into disprepair.

Binmen were even asked to reduce their hours to save costs.

Eurovision 1982

Eurovision 1982 held in Harrogate.

However, despite the controversies, what is now known as the Harrogate Convention Centre has been a cornerstone of the town’s economy for the last 40 years.

It will also always have its place in UK pop culture history after it hosted the Eurovision song contest in the venue’s first year.

The contest was eventually won by German singer Nicole and saw Harrogate showcased to hundreds of millions across the world.

Although a furious letter in the Harrogate Advertiser by resident JR Myers criticised the council for not selling tickets to the Harrogate public. He said instead, it gave them away to dignitaries and officials.

Mr Myers said this “reflects the cavalier way in which the ratepayers are treated” by the council.

Although in the same letter he also described the song contest as a “nauseating and mindless spectacle”, casting doubt on his claim that he really wanted a ticket in the first place.

We will feature the second part of this article on the Stray Ferret tomorrow

County council rejects claim it is watching on as small schools close

Senior county councillors have rejected accusations that the authority is failing to prevent classroom closures as it pushed forward moves to axe two village primaries.

A meeting of North Yorkshire County Council’s executive saw members express sympathy with those wanting to maintain Skelton Newby Hall, near Boroughbridge, and Hovingham, near York.

But they said extremely low school rolls had left them with few options.

The accusations levelled by Skelton Cum Newby Parish Council’s chairman Guy Critchlow follow those from numerous other community leaders, including Hovingham, as a succession of small rural schools across North Yorkshire have been closed in recent years.

They include Kell Bank Church of England Primary School near Masham.

Urging the council to consider alternatives to simply closing the school, Cllr Critchlow said the school was “viable and valuable to the surrounding areas” and the fact that pupil numbers had fallen to a single child was “not organically driven”.

He said a policy was developing “on the side of closing small schools”.

Cllr Critchlow said while Skelton Newby Hall school had been failed by its federation with Sharow school, while it had been run by the council it not been marketed appropriately to attract new pupils.

He added: 

“The community feel this was a consultation in name only. We are a canary in the mine for the very essence of rural communities in North Yorkshire and for the new North Yorkshire Council.”

The meeting heard despite parents of children attending Skelton school being advised to find places for their children elsewhere several months before a consultation to close it, neither the Sharow school or the county council had discussed the matter with the Skelton community.

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Cllr Nick Brown, a Conservative representing Wathvale and Bishop Monkton division, said: 

“I would like to think in future that whenever a school is in danger of closing, because of the pattern of warning signs from falling school numbers, then this information should be shared with North Yorkshire councillors and parish and town councils, much much earlier, so they can help with any ideas that would help prevent closure.”

However, the meeting heard “sharing early information” about school concerns on other occasions had seen parents vote with their feet.

‘Stark reality’

Cllr Janet Sanderson, executive member for children and families, said the council was frustrated with the small school closures situation and the restrictions of the closure process that had been handed down to it by government.

Cllr Annabel Wilkinson, executive member for education, said no applications had been received for pupils wanting to attend Hovingham as their first choice school from September, and that as a long-standing institution in the village near Malton it would be greatly missed.

She said North Yorkshire had about 50 schools and academies with fewer than 50 pupils, which was a sign of the council’s commitment to provide education in deeply rural communities.

Cllr Wilkinson said:

“The stark reality is that many of our schools, particularly those in rural areas, are seeing pupil numbers reduce year on year.

“Low numbers not only make the school unviable to keep running, but it is not always possible to provide children with a broad curriculum and high quality education.”

Conservative councillor says Harrogate district alderman row ‘deeply disappointing’

Conservative councillor Nick Brown has told the Stray Ferret he was left deeply disappointed by the dispute over making him an Honorary Alderman of the Borough of Harrogate.

This week many Conservative councillors voted in favour of giving him the civic title, going against a motion put forward by Harrogate Borough Council‘s Conservative leader Richard Cooper.

The title is being bestowed on councillors who have given over 15 years of good service to the authority, which is being abolished next week after 49 years.

Cllr Brown said:

“I am honoured that most of my Conservative colleagues voted for me to become an honorary alderman despite the attempts of the council leader to block my nomination.”

Cllr Cooper’s motion proposed blocking any councillor from becoming an honorary alderman or alderwoman if they refused to take actions recommended by the council’s standards panel.

The row over Cllr Brown’s Alderman status centred on the outcome of a standards investigation into comments he made about Cllr Cooper.

Following the investigation, Cllr Brown issued an apology to the council leader, which he shared with all Conservative councillors.

But his apology was not accepted by Cllr Cooper, who said advice from the council’s Independent Person deemed the apology “not acceptable”.

Cllr Brown said:

“Although I made an apology, in the final decision by the external, independent, deputy monitoring officer appointed by the council, there was no necessity for an apology, or for it to be agreed by the council’s Independent Person.

“Many Conservative members of the public supported me and feel the whole issue created unnecessary division in the party locally on what should have been a harmonious final council meeting.

“I hope Cllr Cooper reflects on this.”

Cllr Brown said he now wished to put the matter behind him and focus on his new role as the councillor for Wathvale and Bishop Monkton on the new North Yorkshire Council.

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Honorary alderman row overshadows final Harrogate council meeting

A row over standards in politics overshadowed the final full meeting of Harrogate Borough Council.

Councillors past and present, dignitaries and families members came to the Harrogate Convention Centre to watch the council bestow the title of honorary alderman or honorary alderwoman to councillors who have given over 15 years of good service to the authority, which is being abolished next week after 49 years.

Hookstone councillor and leader of the Liberal Democrat group, Pat Marsh, was eligible as she was first elected 33 years ago.

But last year a council standards panel ruled that Cllr Marsh breached its code of conduct after she made comments to a resident, that were secretly recorded, about Conservative council leader Richard Cooper, council officers and Cllr Cooper’s employer, Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough Andrew Jones.

The panel asked Cllr Marsh to make a public apology but she refused, citing the political make-up of the panel and her right to free speech.

At a meeting in December, Cllr Cooper put forward a successful motion to effectively ban a councillor from becoming an honorary alderman or alderwoman if they refuse to take recommended actions such as apologise to members.

However, Cllr Cooper revealed last night that Cllr Marsh had emailed him an apology over the affair, which he has accepted. He said:

“It would be wrong to claim that Pat Marsh and I have had a relationship of outstanding friendship over the last nine years of my leadership and her leadership. We’ve had our ups and downs.

“We’re talking about the recovery from a down. I was very pleased to receive your email. I wish you all the luck in the world with the new council.”

Cllr Cooper then proposed an amendment that would see Cllr Marsh become an honorary alderwomen.

‘Theft, corruption, lies and bullying’

But during the debate, Cllr Cooper’s deputy, Conservative councillor for Duchy, Graham Swift, spoke out against the wishes of his leader before demanding that Cllr Marsh made a public apology to the room.

Cllr Swift said:

“Theft, corruption, lies and bullying — these are all serious issues and there is no space for partisan politics in such things.

“The Liberal Democrats have form. I’ve been accused twice for very serious offences. I know what it’s like to have lies spread about you.

“Four of the Lib Dems here today signed a complaint against me even though they were not in the meeting. That’s how serious they are about throwing mud.

“In my own personal case, the complaints were dismissed but I never got an apology despite being accused of a very serious offence.

“Why has the apology come so late and why now? I suspect it would never have come out at all if the distinguished title of alderman was not available.”

But despite Cllr Swift’s intervention, councillors voted to approve Cllr Cooper’s amendment and Cllr Marsh was made an honorary alderwoman of the borough.

After accepting the title later in the evening, Cllr Marsh said:

“This is quite a surprise. If you can see a few tears, I’m sorry. I’ve represented the people of Hookstone ward for 33 years and it’s been such a privilege to do that.”

‘Stand up and be counted’

Nick Brown, Conservative councillor for Bishop Monkton and Newby, has been a borough councillor for 15 years so he was also eligible to become an honorary alderman.

Like Cllr Marsh, he had been the subject of a standards investigation following comments he made about Cllr Cooper but there has been a disagreement over whether Cllr Brown took the recommended action following the investigation.

Cllr Sam Green, Conservative councillor for Wathvale, proposed an amendment that would see Cllr Brown awarded the title of honorary alderman due to his length of service and because of a “misunderstanding” over the apology.

He said Cllr Brown believed he had no outstanding course of action to take but added he still issued a “comprehensive and sincere” apology to Cllr Cooper and other councillors through email.

Cllr Green, who was elected last year in a by-election and is the youngest member on the council, called on councillors to have the “courage of your convictions” and “stand up and be counted” to award Cllr Brown the title. He said:

“Let us end this council united so the minutes of this meeting will be looked back on in years to come that a clear wrong against one of the best of our own was righted.”

However, Cllr Cooper said he would still not be accepting Cllr Brown’s apology. He said advice from the council’s Independent Person deemed it as “not acceptable”.

Cllr Cooper said:

“Nick has given stertling service to borough for a great many years, that’s not an issue.

“But on the standards complaint I can’t let that quite stand. It is a closed matter, there are no further actions to take, but it is not a resolved matter. It was drawn to a close without an apology. The independent person who is our sounding board deemed the apology was not acceptable.

“That principle isn’t something that I’m able to get over.”

Councillors eventually voted to approve each individual honorary alderman and alderwoman nomination, including Cllr Brown by 21 votes to eight with four abstentions.

Cllr Cooper has dominated local politics in Harrogate for the last decade but will retire as a councillor next week.

In a sign that his power has now waned, those who voted to award Cllr Brown the title included a large group of Conservative councillors. The four councillors who abstained on the vote were members of his cabinet.

Cllr Cooper was entitled to the honorary alderman title, but turned it down in January. The full list of councillors put forward for the title and how long they have served is:

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Residents to protest against 73-home plan in Harrogate district village

Residents in Staveley are set to hold a demonstration over a 73-home plan near a nature reserve.

Thomas Alexander Homes, which is based in Leeds, has tabled the proposal to Harrogate Borough Council for land off Minskip Road near to Staveley Nature Reserve.

The plan would see a mixture of one, two, three, four and five-bedroom houses built in the village, which is between Knaresborough and Boroughbridge. The developer has also earmarked 40% of the homes as affordable.

The site is allocated for housing in the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-2035, which details where development can take place.

However, residents in the village say the move would be “utter madness”.

Graham Bowland, from the Staveley Residents Action Group, said a demonstration will be held on the village green at 11am on Saturday (March 25).

He said:

“It’s utter madness to bolt on 35% increase in houses to a village with no shops, no infrastructure, no bus service of use to those working a normal five day week in the major towns.”

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The move comes as residents raised their objection to the plan at a village hall meeting earlier this month.

The developer said in its plans that the site represented a “logical extension” to the village.

It said:

“The proposal forms a logical extension to Staveley, the local authority concurred with this assessment by allocating the site for residential development to the scale of approximately 72 dwellings.”

Audi driver pleads guilty after 140mph police pursuit in Harrogate

A man has admitted dangerous driving in Harrogate after leading police on a 140mph pursuit.

Jason Ryder, 45, of Wellgarth, Bishop Auckland, appeared before York Magistrates Court yesterday.

Ryder was charged with dangerous driving on York Place in Harrogate, on Wetherby Road, on the A658 John Metcalf Way, on the A1(M) and on the A6055 on Monday (March 20).

He was also charged with driving his Audi A3 while disqualified and driving without insurance.

Ryder, who was eventually halted by a police stinger, pleaded guilty to all the offences.

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He appeared in court just a day after being disqualified from driving for 12 months for drug driving at junction 47 of the A1(M) near Knaresborough.

He was pursued by North Yorkshire Police immediately after leaving Harrogate Magistrates Court on March 20.

Officers described him as “weaving dangerously in and out of traffic” while reaching speeds of 140mph.

Paul Cording, a roads policing sergeant for the force, said he had shown “a complete disregard for road safety and the judicial system”.

Ryder will appear before York Crown Court to be sentenced on April 11.

Residents frustrated after Harrogate district planning portal goes down

Residents have raised frustration over Harrogate Borough Council’s planning portal being down for more than a week.

The portal allows people to check and comment on pending planning applications in the district.

The council advertised planned maintenance would be carried out on the site from Monday, March 13 to Wednesday, March 15 and then from Monday, March 20 to Wednesday, March 22.

However, residents have reported the portal has been inaccessible since March 13.

Graham Bowland, from Staveley, told the Stray Ferret the matter had been frustrating for locals in the village.

Some have been trying to comment on a pending proposal for 73 homes on land off Minskip Road near Staveley Nature Reserve.

Mr Bowland said:

“How are we expected to view documents relating to the application?

“This issue has galvanised the residents into submitting letters of objection which we are batching up and delivering by hand.”

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Other residents raised concern they may miss the deadline for comments on applications due to the portal being down.

The Stray Ferret asked the council why the maintenance was needed.

A spokesperson for the council said:

“Our online register of planning applications (public access) is currently unavailable due to essential maintenance.

“Comments on planning applications will be accepted after the end of any formal consultation periods. Applications will also be considered on a case-by-case basis when they are ready for determination and, where they may have been affected by the downtime, we will make individual assessments as to whether members of the public have been given sufficient time to comment.

“We anticipate the system returning later today, but anyone with any concerns or has an urgent need to view plans and/or make comments can email dmst@harrogate.gov.uk.”

Advertise your Coronation event on the Stray Ferret for free

Events or street parties being held over the bank holiday weekend can be advertised on our What’s On page for free, using the code King. 

Charles III’s coronation will take place on Saturday 6 May at Westminster Abbey, in London. He will be crowned alongside the Queen Consort.

In February 2023, North Yorkshire County Council confirmed fees for street parties held in the Harrogate district to celebrate the coronation will be waived.

The standard street closure fee of £300 is being waived from Saturday 6 May to Monday 8 May for residential streets.

Various events will be held around the Harrogate district to celebrate the royally momentous occasion.

Submissions to the Stray Ferret What’s On can be made until Friday 5 May using the discount code.

The code can only be used on Standard Listings and only for events in aid of the coronation.

Submissions will be approved before posting.

Harrogate council’s Tory leaders take parting swipe at Gary Lineker and BBC

Harrogate Borough Council‘s Conservative leaders took a parting swipe at the BBC, Gary Lineker and local media at the final cabinet meeting last night.

The council will be abolished in just over a week’s time to make way for the new North Yorkshire Council.

The cabinet met to accept a £2.5 million grant from central government to help buy 21 homes for Afghan and Ukrainian refugees, as reported last week.

Graham Swift, deputy leader of the council, said:

“One of the frustrating things about being a councillor in Harrogate is the amazing good things that are done by the Conservative government.

“This is another example, £100 million putting into the aid of people who really need it most and yet is ignored by the Gary Linekers of the world, the BBC of the world and media organisations in Harrogate who aspire to operate under the same principles of the BBC.”

Cllr Swift, who lost to Liberal Democrat Peter Lacey in his bid to represent Coppice Valley and Duchy division on North Yorkshire Council, added:

“I think it’s just fantastic that these sort of things are carried out. “

Council leader Richard Cooper, who did not stand for election to the new council, nodded in support of Cllr Swift’s comments and replied by saying what the government does “dun’t fit with the narrative sometime”.

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Cllr Mike Chambers, the cabinet member for housing and safer communities, added:

“It’s well known that Harrogate Borough Council over the years has always stood by those people who are in greater need than many of us.”

The money will come from the government’s Local Authority Housing Fund, which is a £500 million grant fund launched enabling English councils to provide housing for those unable to find accommodation.

In the Harrogate district, just over £2 million will go towards buying 19 homes for Ukrainians and just under £500,000 will help buy two larger four-bedroom homes for Afghan families currently in temporary accommodation.

‘Good’ Ofsted rating for Boroughbridge nursery and out-of-school club

A Boroughbridge nursery helps children to feel “safe and secure” and “eager and ready to learn”, according to its latest Ofsted report.

Stepping Stones Day Nursery and Out of School Club on York Road has maintained its ‘good’ rating in the latest report, with inspector Janet Fairhurst praising the way children are helped to develop skills and independence.

She said:

“The manager has developed a curriculum that focuses on promoting children’s communication and language, and independence. Staff gain good information from parents about children’s starting points and create activities to build on these skills.

“Staff know the children well. They speak confidently about what children already know. Staff take account of this information to plan activities and provide targeted support that helps children make progress in their learning.”

Ms Fairhurst said energetic play outdoors, nutritious meals and good hygiene routines all helped to teach children the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

She praised the way staff used songs, rhymes and questions to promote children’s language development. The report said children were encouraged to stop their activities and listen at appropriate points in the daily routine, and that they were able to maintain their concentration for sustained periods.

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Looking at areas for improvement, Ms Fairhurst said the nursery could do more to help children learn about other cultures and ways of life. She added:

“The provider, manager and staff build strong relationships with families. They establish effective communication with parents to inform them of their children’s learning and the next steps in their learning.

“Parents appreciate the online system for sharing information, and say they are ‘impressed’ with how much progress their children make.

“However, staff have not yet established effective working relationships with other settings that some children also attend. This means that relevant information to support continuity of children’s learning and development is not shared.”

Stepping Stones has welcomed the latest report and rating. Owner Nadine Blakey said:

“We are really delighted with the outcome of our recent Ofsted inspection, the inspector was particularly impressed with our children’s behaviour, manners and independence.

“I am really proud of all our staff team who work really hard to give all our children the best start in life.”