No trains will operate in the Harrogate district today due to the latest rail strike.

The strike will cause disruption for people travelling to the final day of the Ebor Festival at York Racecourse.

Today’s Sky Bet Ebor is the richest flat handicap in Europe and always attracts huge crowds.

A spokesman for the racecourse told the Stray Ferret

“It’s not our dispute – it’s frustrating and disappointing for lots of people that the two parties don’t seem to have reached a resolution.

“We will leave the car parks open and unlocked so people can leave their cars and come back to collect them on Sunday.”

The spokesman said Harrogate had good bus connections with York and racegoers from the town faced fewer travel problems than those from many other places.

He added free shuttle buses operated throughout the day between York train station and the racecourse on Knavesmire Road.

Today’s national strike is the second in three days. The Rail, Maritime and Transport union also called a one-day strike on the underground in London yesterday over jobs and pensions.

Transport Secretary Grants Shapps has threatened to limit union power and force through legislation for changes to the railways if the strikes are not settled.

Machines are Harrogate station urging people not to travel today.

Hundreds of vintage tractors are set to go under the hammer in Harrogate this weekend.

East Anglian-based auctioneer Cheffins will bring more than 900 lots to the Great Yorkshire Showground for the annual Harrogate Vintage Sale on Saturday.

It is the largest sale of its kind in the north of England, attracting visitors from the UK and Europe.

There will be 130 classic and vintage tractors on offer, with highlights including a 1919 International Titan 10-20 tractor estimated at £12,000 to £15,000.

The vehicle has been part of several renowned collections, including one at Toddington Manor, and was also once in the ownership of major collector Paul Rackham.

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Also on offer is a 1948 Field Marshall Series II, which is in immaculate condition and previously won Best in Show at the Carrington Rally and Best Series II at the Marshall Golden Jubilee. It has an estimate of £10,000 to £12,000.

There will also be several restored Massey Ferguson 135s, and a 1956 Porsche A133, which has also been renovated, and is expected to fetch between £9,500 and £10,500.

A 1948 Field Marshall Series II

Oliver Godfrey, head of the machinery department at Cheffins, said:

“The Harrogate sale has always been a key date in the vintage and classic calendar and attracts enthusiasts from all over Europe.

“Whilst offering collectors a mid-show season opportunity to pick up new kit, the sale also provides a fantastic day out.

“We expect buyers to be particularly interested in the Titan tractor, as it is a rare and fabulously maintained example, which has been in the hands of some of the most well-known collectors on the circuit.”

The sale will take place on Saturday, August 20 from 10.30am at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

To view the catalogue, click here

North Yorkshire Police will be tweeting about every incident handled by its control room in 12 hours from this afternoon.

The “tweetathon” is designed to give the public a taste of the calls that come in to the force and will begin at 2pm today, running through to the early hours of tomorrow.

It is designed to show the public the number and variety of calls made to police via 999 and the non-emergency 101 number.

Posting about the tweetathon, the force said:

The turnover of Harrogate Borough Council staff has been described as “uncomfortably high” as the authority enters its final months.

A combination of uncertainty over jobs and rising living costs resulting in staff leaving for higher salaries has led to a turnover rate of 16% at the council, which will be abolished in April.

The rate is calculated from the number of leavers as a percentage of total staff – and is up from 10% in 2020/21.

It comes as the council is preparing to hand over all of its responsibilities to a new unitary authority covering the whole of North Yorkshire in what will mark the biggest change to local government in the county in almost 50 years.

Cllr Graham Swift, deputy leader of Harrogate Borough Council, told a meeting on Wednesday that it was “no surprise” staff were looking for new opportunities – despite them being given reassurances about their roles.

He said:

“Sixteen percent is starting to get uncomfortably high.

“Although all eight councils involved in the local government reforms have made it very clear about the plans and TUPE needs for staff in the future, uncertainty is one of the few things humans manage poorly.

“It is not a surprise therefore that you see some people are not necessarily comfortable in an uncertain world.”

The council has over 1,000 staff – and a total of 146 have left over the past 12 months.

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The departments which have seen the highest percentage of leavers include organisational development and improvement, Harrogate Convention Centre, and place-shaping and economic growth.

ICT, legal and finance perform the best at staff retention.

As well as the high turnover, the council has struggled to recruit staff because of competition from the private sector.

This has been the case since the start of the covid outbreak in 2020 when the council introduced a recruitment freeze to keep costs down during the pandemic.

Pay concerns

Union officials have also complained that council jobs are unattractive because of pay.

David Houlgate, secretary at the Harrogate branch of Unison, previously said: 

“Local government pay must be increased to match the cost of living squeeze our members are now experiencing on the back of year-on-year below inflation pay increases.

“Without a decent above inflation pay rise to help workers meet soaring costs, vital council services will struggle to hang on to skilled staff which could put some services at risk.

“Indeed this is already happening.”

Almost all council workers except some senior staff have been told they will transfer across to the new North Yorkshire Council under Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment (TUPE) regulations.

Those which won’t include the current eight chief executives whose roles will be subsumed into one. That top job is to be taken on by Richard Flinton who was appointed into the role this week.

Mr Flinton, who is the current chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council, will receive a salary of between £180,000 to £197,000 and have responsibility for an annual budget of £1.4 billion and a workforce of 10,500 staff.

Four men have been arrested after a BT cable was stolen last week near Green Hammerton.

North Yorkshire Police said the men, aged 21, 38, 43 and 52 were arrested in connection with the theft at 11.11pm on August 8.

The cable was stolen from a BT cable junction box on the B6265 between Little Ouseburn and Green Hammerton.

Phone cable theft, which disrupts services for customers, has increased because of the value of copper wires.

The four men were arrested when officers pulled over their white van, which was displaying the false registration plates YT16 YTS and had been stolen.

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The 21-year-old man has been charged with driving while disqualified and driving without insurance. He remains on bail.

The three other men have been released under investigation while police enquiries continue.

A police statement added:

“Officers are urging anyone who saw the van, or saw anything suspicious, in the area at the time of the incident to get in touch. Dial 101, press 2 and ask to speak to PC 1362 David Kaye, or email David.Kaye@northyorkshire.police.uk

“Please quote the reference number 12220140263 when passing on any information.”

Richard Flinton was this morning appointed as the first chief executive of the new North Yorkshire Council.

Mr Flinton will take up the £180,000 to £197,000 a year role when the new authority comes into existence in April 2023.

An extraordinary meeting this morning ratified his appointment. Sixteen applications for the role were received.

Mr Flinton is the current chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council. Carl Les, the current leader of the county council, will be the new leader of North Yorkshire County Council.

Cllr John McCartney, an Independent councillor for Osgoldcross, told the meeting people had been assured North Yorkshire devolution would not amount to a “power grab” by the county council but that appeared to be the case now that it had been named the continuing authority and there was a continuing chief executive.

He added:

“The perception of this is absolutely appalling out there. It’s just a disgraceful perception.

“People do not understand why they did not get a vote on the governance of their local councils and their local services and they do not get a vote on how their council tax will be used.”

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Cllr McCartney went onto add that there was a “disconnect” between the council and the county, which would be “as big as the Humber estuary” when the unitary council comes into force.

He said:

“Residents who vote Conservative in the main at General Elections are irked and discombobulated and feel like they have been treated with contempt.

“I don’t take much from the USA, but government of the people, for the people and by the people is a pretty good recipe for democracy. But that is not what North Yorkshire County Council is going to be.”

In response, Cllr Carl Les, leader of the council, said the process for choosing Mr Flinton was “well done” and attended by all political groups within the council.

He said:

“I don’t know what to say to John McCartney. I don’t think much of what you have said has anything to do with what we are discussing today which is the appointment of a chief executive.”

Cllr Les added Mr Flinton had “grown through the ranks of this organisation and grown into every role we have given him. I am sure he will continue to do so.”

Following the meeting, Mr Flinton said:

“I am honoured to have been chosen to become the chief executive of the new council at a time of huge change and opportunity in North Yorkshire.

“We are faced with some unprecedented challenges that have arisen from rising inflation as well as pressures on social care and also the issues which all local authorities are facing in recruiting and retaining staff to their workforces.

“But with those challenges come immense opportunities, while working with colleagues in North Yorkshire’s district and borough councils to introduce the new unitary authority.”

Concerns have been raised over a “perfect storm” of homelessness in Harrogate due to the cost of living crisis and a lack of accommodation.

Harrogate Borough Council recently revealed a “huge” 60% increase in requests for housing help, which has led to more homeless people staying in bed and breakfasts for longer.

The council also said it has had difficulties in moving hostel tenants into permanent housing as cases have been “more complex than normal”.

Speaking at a meeting on Monday, Trevor Watson, director of economy and culture at the council, said these issues combined with a lack of private rental properties in the district were creating a “perfect storm”.

A total of 370 people accessed housing help in the first quarter 2022 – up from 334 the same time in the previous year.

The increase comes amid big rises in the cost of living with soaring prices putting a squeeze on people’s finances.

Harrogate Fairfax Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Aldred urged the council to not “lose sight” of the worsening situation as he also raised concerns over long delays in the licensing of multiple occupancy houses.

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The council is currently taking an average of 323 days to licence these properties against a target of 60.

Mr Watson blamed the backlog on the covid pandemic which he said has had a “huge impact” on staff being able to process applications.

A report to Monday’s overview and scrutiny meeting said councils across the country are facing similar issues and that finding accommodation for homeless people “isn’t always easy due to complicating factors like mental health or debts”.

It said: 

“Following a huge increase in the number of families approaching the service, the homelessness indicators performance have worsened.

“Our homelessness performance indicators, though off target, unfortunately reflect broader national trends around homelessness.

“Housing teams across the country have been dealing with higher case loads.

“In Harrogate, cases are about 60% higher than previous years.”

Harrogate Borough Council could be forced to use cash reserves after forecasting a £700,000 overspend on this year’s budget due to soaring energy and fuel costs.

The authority has proposed to set aside half-a-million pounds in emergency money in case it is unable to balance the books at the end of its final year.

With sharp rises in energy prices expected in autumn, the council has forecast to spend an extra £1 million on gas, £750,000 on electricity and £366,000 on fuel to keep its buildings and services running this year.

Paul Foster, head of finance at the council, told an overview and scrutiny meeting on Monday that it would be a “worst case scenario” if cash reserves were used and that it was still “early days” in predicting how the year would pan out.

He said: 

“There is an overspend position which is not something we have experienced – even during covid we managed to out-turn on budget.

“Hopefully the position on utilities may improve.

“We haven’t had any bills yet and this will be updated as the year progresses.”

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Mr Foster added increased energy costs were expected to be partially offset by extra recycling income.

He also said money was being saved due to staff vacancies and that these savings were expected to rise further as the council is currently experiencing a high turnover of workers.

Yet the forecast is still a cause for concern for the authority, which this time last year was predicting an underspend of £32,000 for 2022/23.

Household energy bills could top £4,000

The news comes as households have been warned annual energy bills could hit £4,266 next year.

The estimate from consultancy firm Cornwall Insight means the average household would be paying £355 a month, instead of £164 a month currently.

The government has already announced all households will receive £400 off their fuel bills this autumn when eight million of the poorest will get an additional £325.

There will be a separate £300 payment to help pensioners – also expected to assist eight million households.

But Labour has called on the government to go further, with party leader Keir Starmer set to call for a freeze on the energy price cap which determines the maximum amount suppliers can charge customers.

Previously, the level of the cap was only reviewed every six months, but UK energy regulator Ofgem changed the rules this year, meaning that it is expected to rise in both October and again in January.

Economic growth in the Harrogate district has been slower than regional and national averages since the district took a £438 million hit during covid.

Gross Value Added (GVA) data published by Harrogate Borough Council shows the local economy contracted by 10% – or £438 million – during 2020 and that growth has lagged behind Yorkshire and the Humber and the UK.

GVA measures the value of goods and services produced in an area, and Harrogate’s figure was set to reach £4.3 billion before the pandemic struck.

It now stands at £3.87 billion – down from £4.26 billion in 2017/18.

A council report said economic performance has been “positive” given the impacts of covid and Brexit, but added there are “continuing challenges that need to be addressed” as experts forecast a gloomy outlook with a UK recession on the horizon.

The report said:

“Overall the performance has been positive but key factors that must be taken into account are that of the UK’s exit from the European Union and the covid-19 pandemic.

“Covid-19 in particular has had a significant impact on GVA with the district seeing a 10% reduction in the economy.

“Looking forward post pandemic, forecasts show that job numbers will not return to pre-covid levels and therefore increasing productivity becomes more of a priority than ever.”

Other figures show the total number of businesses registered in Harrogate increased by 4% between 2016 and 2021 – below both the regional and national averages of 8% and 13%.

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In more positive figures, unemployment is low at 3.1% and the council has been keen to highlight its support for businesses during covid when it handed out more than £96 million to firms which were severely impacted by lockdown restrictions.

The report to a cabinet meeting on Wednesday has recommended “closing down” the council’s covid recovery plan, whilst also providing a review of its economic growth strategy which was adopted in 2017.

At the time it was adopted, the strategy identified a low wage economy and high house prices leading to a “brain drain” of people moving out of Harrogate as key problems facing the district.

These issues are still very much prevalent with average salaries of £25,000 below the UK figure of £30,000 and Harrogate house prices averaging £338,786 this year.

The report added:

“Whilst positive progress has been made since the adoption of the economic growth strategy in 2017, there are continuing challenges that need to be addressed.

“In line with national and local strategies, the council will therefore continue to prioritise and support ‘good growth’ in the district, with an aim of embedding a more sustainable and resilient economy.”

Members of a military re-enactment group sweltered in 31 degree heat in Boroughbridge on Saturday.

The arming the knight display was part of the launch of the Battle of Boroughbridge battlefield trail.

It was the final event of a programme celebrating the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322.

3 Swords re-enactment group demonstrated how mediaeval knights equipped themselves for battle.

Group members took 45 minutes to put on layer upon layer of clothing, maille armour, leather padding, steel plate and helmets, which were almost too hot to handle.

The new battlefield trail has information boards erected at key sites around the town to explain what happened when rebel barons led by Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, fought across the River Ure with King Edward II’s forces led by Sir Andrew de Harclay.

Mayor Sean Hynes with the 3 Swords team and Chris Rock and Louise Whittaker, of the Battlefields Trust.

The battle ended in victory for the king’s army after one of the rebel’s leaders, the Earl of Hereford, was killed when a pikeman thrust his spear from beneath the narrow timber bridge across the Ure and Sir Roger de Clifford, of Skipton, was seriously injured.

After an overnight truce, the king’s army entered Boroughbridge and arrested Lancaster, who was taken to his castle at Pontefract for a show trial. He was sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered, but received a merciful death by beheading.

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The anniversary celebrations were organised by the Battlefields Trust, Boroughbridge and District Historical Society and Boroughbridge Town Council, with support from developer Miller Homes.

The information boards were illustrated by Chris Rock, Yorkshire region chair of the Battlefields Trust.

Sean Hynes, the Mayor of Boroughbridge, paid to everyone involved during Saturday’s events.