Boroughbridge news from the Boroughbridge district - Page 127 of 195

Parents in Harrogate district urged to get their children vaccinated against flu

Hospital officials in Harrogate said today they are concerned by a lack of take up for flu vaccines in children aged five to 11.

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust runs the School Age Immunisation Service, which covers vaccinations for children across North Yorkshire and the North East.

However, officials are now urging parents to get their child vaccinated against the flu this winter to help prevent its spread.

Carly Dodsworth, from the School Age Immunisation Service at the trust, said:

“Whilst flu often has mild symptoms it can also be extremely serious.

“We would encourage parents to have their children vaccinated at the earliest opportunity to protect them and anyone they meet who could be vulnerable to the flu.

“Parents who missed the chance to have their child vaccinated in school and who are still keen for them to have the vaccine, can take advantage of the additional clinics that we have organised over the next few weeks.”

All primary school children are eligible for the free flu vaccination, which is usually a nasal spray that is given in school.

The School Age Immunisation Service is yet to visit all primary schools in the region and parents of children whose primary school has yet to be visited are being asked to look out for an email from their school with details of when flu vaccinations will be taking place.

Children who have missed their opportunity to have their vaccination at their school will be able to take advantage of additional drop-in clinics and appointment only clinics which are being held across the region in December.

You can find out more about drop-in and appointment clinics here.

Councillors give backing to Harrogate council chief executive’s £101,000 redundancy pay-out

Councillors have backed a package worth £101,274 for outgoing Harrogate Borough Council chief executive Wallace Sampson.

The five councillors on the authority’s chief officer’s employment committee, which includes four Conservatives and one Liberal Democrat, met yesterday to discuss a report written by HBC’s head of legal & governance Jennifer Norton.

The report recommends Mr Sampson is paid a settlement due to the impending abolition of HBC.

HBC will cease to exist along with six other district councils and North Yorkshire County Council from April 1, 2023. A new unitary authority called North Yorkshire Council will replace them to run services across the county.

Mr Sampson’s settlement is made up of a contractual £71,633 redundancy payment and £29,641 for a 12 week notice period that he will not have to work as his job will end on March 31.

He is paid a salary of £118,447.

After HBC is abolished, his employment would automatically transfer to North Yorkshire Council.

However, the report says because the new council is “likely to refuse to recognise” Mr Sampson as an employee he would be “effectively stranded” and it could lead to an unfair dismissal claim.

A redundancy package offered now would therefore reduce the “risk of the risk of costly legal proceedings that will be picked up by the public purse”.

Ms Norton summarised the report and described the settlement as a “practical and pragmatic” solution.

Conservative deputy council leader Graham Swift chaired the meeting in place of council leader Richard Cooper, who was absent.

Cllr Swift said HBC had been “disciplined” in preparing the settlement for Mr Sampson.

Hambleton District Council has faced criticism after offering a £225,000 pay-off for outgoing chief executive Justin Ives.

Cllr Swift praised Mr Sampson for his commitment to the role as staff prepare to move to the new council.

He said:

“We’re fortunate that we have a chief executive that is not just hanging around but ensuring employees are protected into the new organisation, that’s very important for staff to see leadership taking place.

“My experience is the chief executive role is one that nobody wants to do but everyone thinks they can do it better. As Wallace steps down we’re in great shape. At full council we’ll express our sincere thanks for his commitment.”

A full meeting of the council will take next Wednesday where councillors will have a final vote on Mr Sampson’s redundancy package.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, leader of the Liberal Democrats on the council, Pat Marsh, said she will be asking her colleagues to approve the package next week.

Cllr Marsh said:

“Looking at what some other district and borough councils are proposing for their chief executives, I welcome what is being recommended.

“I will be urging my group to support the package being offered to Wallace Sampson.”

Current North Yorkshire County Council chief executive Richard Flinton has already been announced as the chief executive of North Yorkshire Council.

He will earn a salary of up to £197,000 a year with responsibility for an annual budget of £1.4 billion and a workforce of 10,500 staff.

Inquest opens into death of Minskip man who went missing

An inquest has opened into the death of a Minskip man who went missing in June.

Luke Earnshaw, 31, was reported missing after leaving home on Prospect Terrace in the village on Saturday, June 13, just before 2.30pm.

His body was later found in a field off Thorndikes Lane on June 16.

He was reported dead by North Yorkshire Police.

A coroner opened an inquest into Mr Earnshaw’s death at County Hall in Northallerton yesterday.

She said the 31-year-old died as a result of wound injuries to his arm. A knife was found at the scene.

The hearing was adjourned and a full inquest will be held at a later date.

Boroughbridge all set for late-night Christmas shopping tonight

Festive spirit will be flowing in Boroughbridge tonight as the town hosts its annual late-night shopping, Christmas tree lights switch-on and a visit from Santa.

The event, organised Boroughbridge and District Chamber of Trade, will see shops stay open until 8pm.

The night will begin with the official Christmas tree lights switch-on in Hall Square at 5.30pm, followed by carols from three school choirs — Boroughbridge Primary and High School and Roecliffe Primary.

Boroughbridge Lions will host Santa and his sleigh and there will be community stalls, children’s rides and a donkey and miniature horse.

Festive food and drink will include the Scouts’ roast chestnuts and Brighter Boroughbridge’s mulled wine and mince pies stall. There will also be a hog roast.

The shop window display competition theme this year is A Christmas Panto, with entries to be judged tonight,

The lights on the Christmas tree will be switched on by BBC Radio York’s Georgey Spanswick and the Mayor, Sean Hynes.

Chamber president Derek Hufton said:

“Anyone coming along will find the town buzzing.

“There will be lots of great independent shops to browse and buy Christmas gifts from.

“Santa and his sleigh, along with the kids’ rides, will be big attractions to the younger generation. But wrap up warm!”

Union issues warning about directors’ redundancy pay at Harrogate Borough Council

Unison is to write to Harrogate Borough Council today warning them not to offer senior managers more favourable redundancy terms than other staff when it is abolished.

Seven district councils, including Harrogate, and North Yorkshire County Council will cease to exist on April 1, when they will be replaced by the new North Yorkshire Council.

All staff, except the chief executives, are due to transfer to the North Yorkshire Council under TUPE regulations.

But Hambleton District Council has agreed to pay £767,065 to four senior officers who decided they do not wish to work for the unitary North Yorkshire Council after April 1.

The payments were agreed even though the four directors had been assured they would be offered “suitable roles” at no financial loss to themselves when they transferred to North Yorkshire Council .

This has prompted trade union Unison to write to all the councils demands all staff be treated the same.

A spokesman for the North Yorkshire branch of Unison said:

“We will be writing to all the district/borough councils later today to advise them that if they are minded to follow Hambleton we will expect them to offer packages to all staff and not just those on big salaries.”

Harrogate Borough Council’s chief officer employment committee is due to meet tonight to discuss awarding chief executive Wallace Sampson a £101,274 redundancy package.

Mr Sampson would receive a contractual redundancy payment of £71,633 plus £29,641 for a 12-week notice period he will not have to work.

Mr Sampson’s exit package is considerably less than that announced so far for other chief executives who will leave their jobs on March 31.

Selby District Council chief executive Janet Waggot is to receive a redundancy package worth £210,000 and Hambleton District Council’s chief executive, Justin Ives, is to receive a £225,000 settlement.

New Harrogate district housing plan should not be ‘tickbox exercise’, says councillor

A new plan for housing across the Harrogate district should not be treated as “a tickbox exercise”, says a local councillor.

Senior councillors are set to back drawing up a new county-wide Local Plan ahead of the creation of North Yorkshire Council on April 1.

The blueprint would look ahead for a minimum of 15 years, and at least 30 years in relation to any larger scale developments, such as new settlements or significant urban extensions. It would encompass all areas of the county outside the national parks.

Cllr Arnold Warneken, a Green Party councillor on North Yorkshire County Council, told the Stray Ferret that the document had to look at the “bigger picture”.

He said the county council was in a position to be able to use the plan as a means of promoting sustainable homes, solar panels and affordable housing which is energy efficient.

Cllr Warneken said:

“We are not ticking boxes with this.

“We have to think of this as a bigger picture. It’s not just a case of putting this plan in place, it needs to be at the forefront of it all.”

Meanwhile, Cllr Stuart Parsons, leader of the North Yorkshire Independent group on the county council, said the plan should also include a ban on fracking.

He added that the blueprint needs to take into account rural areas and health inequalities.

North Yorkshire County Council will be recommended to approve creating a new county-wide strategy at a meeting of its executive on December 13.

Cllr Matt Walker, Liberal Democrat councillor for Knaresborough West, said the move to create one plan was “common sense”.

He said:

“It is just common sense that we would think again about how and where we develop now we are part of the new North Yorkshire authority.

“Harrogate and Knaresborough has seen a huge amount of building in recent years. It has put too much strain on our roads and health services. We do need good affordable local housing, but we have to have the infrastructure to go with it. Now we are one authority, we need one local plan that addresses these issues.”

Harrogate Town Council should oversee planning

Chris Watt, vice-chair of Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour party, said a Harrogate Town Council should be set up to oversee such planning matters.

He said:

“We need more genuinely affordable and sustainable homes, with proper provision of social housing and decent infrastructure.

“With more empty business premises due to the Tories crashing the economy, we should also be looking to see if any of those can be turned into affordable accommodation for people struggling with the cost of living crisis.

“We are concerned that without a new Harrogate Town Council in charge of these matters, decisions taken by the new North Yorkshire Council in Northallerton will ignore the needs of Harrogate and Knaresborough.”

ConservatIve Cllr Simon Myers, executive member for housing and growth on the council, said the plan would help towards the council’s “ambitious targets” on climate change.

He said:

“The plan will be vital to the new North Yorkshire Council’s ambitions to deliver sustainable economic growth, through good homes and jobs, as well as the best facilities and infrastructure for everyone who lives or works in the county.

“Planning guidance will also play a key role in meeting our ambitious targets to tackle climate change. In addition, it can support other services in meeting the needs of our many communities at a local level, taking into account everything from transport and education to housing, health and social care.”

Harrogate district Local Plan set to be scrapped

Harrogate Borough Council currently has its own Local Plan which outlines where development can take place across the district until 2035.

It is due to be reviewed by 2025 but this looks set to be scrapped because of the creation of a new unitary authority North Yorkshire Council and the abolition of Harrogate Borough Council on April 1.

However, a report to councillors who will decide whether to accept the recommendation says a review of the proposed Maltkiln development, which could see up to 4,000 homes built near Cattal, will continue as planned.

Retrospective plans refused after Harrogate district firm builds larger warehouse than agreed

Councillors have refused a retrospective planning application after a bathroom manufacturer in the Harrogate district built a warehouse larger than originally agreed.

Abacus Ltd was formed in 1989 and is a manufacturer and distributor of bathroom products to companies including Villeroy & Boch and Wickes.

It employs 85 people and is based at Jubilee Court on the outskirts of Copgrove, near Boroughbridge, alongside 10 other businesses.

In 2019, Abacus won permission from Harrogate Borough Council to build an extension that would see a steel warehouse erected to support the growing business.

However, the company ended up building a bigger structure than what was approved after securing two large commercial deals.

Abacus’ extension in Copgrove

The council’s planning committee met yesterday to consider a retrospective application for the larger extension as well as for a pallet store that had to be relocated elsewhere on the premises.

The application was recommended for approval by officers.

Speaking to councillors, Ian Patterson from Abacus conceded the company should have submitted new plans before starting construction but said the early months of the covid pandemic made this difficult. He said:

“We accept as bathroom manufacturers we are definitely not planning experts. We acknowledge that a material change should have been sought prior to works commencing, but timings due to the lockdown and the pressures of business didn’t enable this.”

High Court quashing

The application to retrospectively build the larger extension was originally approved by the council in October 2021 before being overturned in the High Court in February 2022 after Copgrove resident Justin Appleyard requested a judicial review of the decision.

The High Court overturned the decision because it found the council did not take into account the relocation of the pallet store in its approval.

A different retrospective permission had previously been sought for the pallet store, however, it was refused in January 2021 by the council because it said it was not adequately screened by trees.

Abacus’ plans received 51 objections with no submissions of support.

Nick Stringer, from Staveley & Copgrove Parish Council, told councillors that the company had on more than one occasion sought planning permission retrospectively after building work had already been done. He added:

“The site is in open countryside close to a beautiful medieval church and overlooks Staveley Nature Reserve which has an abundance of floral and fauna. I suggest the impact on the countryside is severe and unacceptable.”

‘Pimple on a pig’s backside’

Councillors were unconvinced by the application, in part, due to the relocation of the pallet store and its visual impact. Conservative member for Masham and Kirkby Malzeard, Nigel Simms, described it as standing out like a “pimple on a pig’s backside.” He added:

“I have no objection to the storage building being built, what I’m objecting to is the pallet store being stuck out in the middle of nowhere. The screening is not sufficient.”

The committee voted to refuse the application by 9 votes to 3. Abacus Ltd can appeal the decision.

North Yorkshire Police needs £12m to meet rising costs, says commissioner

North Yorkshire Police needs £12 million extra funding to tackle rising costs, says the county’s crime commissioner.

Zoe Metcalfe, the Conservative North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, is currently consulting on her budget plans for police and fire services for 2023.

The commissioner’s office says the force has a budget of £191 million — 45% of which comes from council tax payers.

However, amid soaring inflation, the force requires an additional £12 million to meet salary increases and the rising cost of fuel and utilities.

Ms Metcalfe said she expects the government to allow her to increase the police’s share of council tax by £10 a year — a 3.6% rise for a band D property.

But she warned that this would only raise £3.1 million and “would likely lead to reductions in current levels of service delivery unless savings could be delivered”.

Ms Metcalfe said:

“One of my roles is to set the precepts for North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, something every commissioner has to do every year.

“It is never easy asking for more money, and I know that many individuals and families are facing financial pressures, but our emergency services are also dealing with rising costs as they continue their vital work to keep us all safe.

“This year is particularly challenging as I have to balance the burden on taxpayers and the growing demands for services from our police and fire and rescue services, so it’s vital that I hear your views.

“Please go online, take just a few minutes to have your say and I will ensure your views are reflected when decisions are made.”

Meanwhile, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue would require an additional £2 million for next year, the commissioner’s office estimates.

Ms Metcalfe said she expects the government will allow her to raise the fire precept by 3% – which would raise £700,000.

However, the commissioner’s office said this would be “significantly below inflation and would likely lead to reductions in current levels of service delivery”.

Ms Metcalfe is expected to outline her budget plans for fire and police services in February 2023.

The consultation into police and fire precepts closes on January 16, 2023. You can take part in the survey here.

Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal: ‘It’s our privilege to care for each other’

This year’s Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal is for Resurrected Bites in Harrogate and Knaresborough. Today, community grocery manager Carolyn Aitken tells us why working with people who rely on the groceries has been such an uplifting experience. Please give generously to support local people who are struggling this Christmas. They need your help.

When I took on the role of community grocery manager a year ago, I had never imagined what a privilege it would be.

That I would meet some of the most amazing people I’ve ever known, that this would be a role in which I would see such a broad spectrum of life and experience such a wide range of emotions, often all in one day.

From the heart-breaking revelation of a recently widowed wife or a bereaved parent, to the overwhelming kindness and generosity of a young couple who have given up their weekly takeaway to buy food to help others.

From the dad with a family to support, who lost everything including his home and business during the pandemic, or the beautiful young mother fighting long covid whilst caring for a newborn, to a group of elderly residents in shared accommodation giving a jar or packet or tin each week to help us to fill our shelves.

Volunteers who daily go above and beyond, collecting food from supermarkets late at night in all weathers or early mornings before most of us are awake, or who give up mornings or afternoons week after week to restock shelves and ensure everything’s displayed beautifully or to run the stores or cafes, always with a caring smile and a kind word for each customer.

We all wish we weren’t needed – everyone who plays a part in the life of Resurrected Bites agrees that there shouldn’t be the food waste that we collect each week – that we are a society that wilfully throws away perfectly good produce, because it’s not quite the right shape or size or has just passed its best, or there’s just been too much produced, and that such waste is wrong.

We agree that community groceries and foodbanks shouldn’t be needed in the UK in 2022, but we are moved by the needs of so many and so we try to make life just a little better for those in our community who are struggling.

Every day we wish we could do more – we can signpost our customers to other agencies and organisations who may also be able to help, with needs such as debt management, fuel vouchers, benefits advice or simply where to access clothes or furniture, but our hope is that one day, it won’t be like this.

That is the hope of our founder and director Michelle, who tirelessly works long hours, securing grants, arranging fundraisers, co-ordinating a plethora of supporters and volunteers, juggling a small team running the cafes, the community groceries, the pay-as-you-can tables and the warehouse. Resurrected Bites was her vision, one that was so inspirational that it has been caught by the communities of Harrogate and Knaresborough and grown into the amazing work it is today.

And it’s that word ‘community’ that shines out of all that we do and all that we’re a part of. Our tiny, beautiful corner of Yorkshire is incredibly community focused, people have told me that’s why they moved here to live.

As a community they care for one another, and as a community, it will be our privilege to continue to care for them, while we can.

Nobody in the Harrogate district should go hungry this Christmas.

It costs £300 to run the community grocery for one day. Please help to keep it open for everyone who relies on it.

Click here to contribute now. Thank you.

Weather warning for Harrogate district as icy snap looms

A weather warning for ice has been issued for the Harrogate district as sub-zero temperatures loom.

The warning is in force from 6pm tomorrow until noon on Thursday.

The Met Office has warned “some disruption is likely due to icy surfaces” on untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths.

The district has had remarkably little ice so far this winter.

Temperatures are expected to fall slightly below freezing tonight and then plunge to minus three degrees centigrade on the next few nights. They will struggle to rise much above freezing even during the day and light snow could fall on Friday and Saturday.

Temperatures could fall even lower in more rural areas, such as Greenhow Hill, which is the highest place in the Harrogate district.

Gritters, which operated last night, will be back out on key routes again tonight.

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Harrogate Town Council should oversee planning

Harrogate district Local Plan set to be scrapped

High Court quashing

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‘Pimple on a pig’s backside’

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