The Green Party has selected North Yorkshire councillor Kevin Foster as its candidate for Mayor of York and North Yorkshire.

Mr Foster currently represents the Hipswell and Colburn division on North Yorkshire Council.

Before being elected a councillor, he worked in the civil service for 30 years.

The mayor will oversee a significant budget for York and North Yorkshire covering areas such as transport, education and housing.

The role will also take on the powers of police and crime commissioner. An election is expected to be held for the position in May 2024.

Following his selection, Mr Foster said:

“Your mayor cannot wave a magic wand and solve every problem but they can stand up and fight for the issues that matter in this region.  In the reserve forces I learned to work with and on behalf of others and I will use this knowledge and experience to do my best for people in this area.  

“Being mayor will be my one and only job and I will devote myself to it, representing residents and businesses to the best of my ability.”

The Conservatives Party has selected North Yorkshire councillor Keane Duncan as its candidate for the position. Cllr Duncan is also the executive councillor for highways on the authority.

Meanwhile, Pateley Bridge businessman Keith Tordoff has announced he will stand as an independent candidate for mayor.

Read more:

• Conservatives select highways councillor Keane Duncan to stand for North Yorkshire mayor
• Yorkshire Party mayoral candidate promises free chickens if elected

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Although it may be a tad disappointing not to have a formal switch on of the Christmas lights, it’s reassuring to hear that the BID are listening to members and thinking about return on investment. They don’t have money to waste.[No Christmas lights switch-on event in Harrogate this year]

It may be a “nice to do” but does it actually help local businesses? Perhaps not. Whereas street cleaning, murals, lighting, flowers, window dressing and advertising does feel (and look) as though the BID is doing a good job.

I don’t run a local business but as a resident, I can see the impact and it does feel notably better than the lacklustre efforts from whatever was being done (or not) several years ago.

So if ever businesses are questioning their investment in the BID, please be assured that from someone who lives in the town centre, it’s making a positive impact.

But FYI – please sort the dangling lights that have been brought down by the recent weather (especially Montpellier Hill), before some morons decide to vandalise them instead. Thank you!!

Mark Fuller, Harrogate

I note that the cost of the garden waste collection will rise next year to £46.50 and that a member of the Council stated that those people who do not use the service should not be expected to pay towards it.  [Harrogate district garden waste fees set to increase by 7%]

I can think of many service’s I pay towards that I do not use but am happy to pay for.

Wetherby Services has submitted plans for a solar farm on land next to the A1 (M) service station — with the renewable energy it generates used to power the site’s electric vehicle (EV) charging points.

The land north of the service station, which is currently used for agricultural purposes, spans more than five hectares but it would be turned over to solar panels under plans submitted by Moto Services to North Yorkshire Council this month.

According to planning documents, the proposal forms part of Moto’s strategy to bring forward solar farms on land next to Moto’s existing service stations.

Moto Services is the UK’s largest motorway service station operator with 59 sites.

It is expected the solar panels would be able to generate up to 7MW of renewable energy.

The screening opinion application asks the council if an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) should be submitted for a future full planning application for the solar farm.

The majority of the site is in a zone with a low flood zone risk. However, as part of it is also located in areas with medium to high risk of flooding, North Yorkshire Council has recommended that its flooding department is consulted on the proposal.

The solar farm application follows the launch of 12 EV charging points at Wetherby Services last year.

Planning documents state: 

“The proposed development is deemed crucial for the ongoing functionality of the associated Wetherby MSA. Electric vehicles will play a big part in the transition to zero emission transport, but to achieve these targets, it is imperative that suitable infrastructure is provided to support electric vehicles.

“The proposed development forms part of Moto’s wider strategy to bring forward solar farms on land adjacent to Moto’s existing MSAs, which will generate much needed electricity to power the EV Chargers at their services.”

In May, neighbouring authority Leeds City Council approved plans for 762 homes just 600m south of the site.

However, Moto says considering the “scale and nature” of the proposed solar farm development it would “unlikely lead to significant adverse effects” on the housing development.

Read more:

• Plan to create 200 HGV parking bays at Wetherby Services
• Knaresborough traders set to escalate electric vehicle parking row
• Plans to install 12 electric vehicle charging points at Wetherby Services

Tickets for next year’s Great Yorkshire Show will be available to buy from Wednesday, November 1.

Since 2021 tickets are only sold in advance with visitor numbers capped at 35,000 a day.

Next year’s 165th show will run from Tuesday, July 9, to Friday, July 12.  Last year tickets sold out a week before the event started.

The Great Yorkshire Show 2024 will be the final one for current show director, Charles Mills, as he comes to the end of his tenure.

Mr Mills said:

“This will be a very special show for me personally as it will be my ninth and final show as show director.

“Be sure, it will be full of entertainment, superb competition and the best animals in the UK coming together to celebrate farming, food and agriculture.”

Ticket prices for 2024 have risen for adults from £32 this year, to £35, children’s tickets remain at £13 – a family ticket has risen from £80 to £86. Under 5’s are free.

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• Lofthouse Moor owner fined for illegally burning peat
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North Yorkshire’s police and fire service headquarters was evacuated when a member of the public handed in a box of grenades yesterday.

The unnamed person is believed to have found the grenades while clearing their house, North Yorkshire Police said in a brief statement today.

When they were handed in to reception, staff were told to leave the Alverton Court building at Northallerton and bomb disposal experts called in.

The statement does not give further details on how the mix-up occurred other than to say they believed the grenades were handed in “in good faith”.

Staff returned to their desks more than two hours later.

Between 400 and 500 staff from North Yorkshire Police transferred from the previous headquarters at Newby Wiske Hall to Alverton Court in 2017 in a £7 million move. The building was previously home to the Rural Payments Agency.

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Here is the police statement in full.

“The headquarters of North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service in Northallerton was evacuated at around 1.50pm on the afternoon of Friday 27 October.

“In good faith, a member of the public handed a box of what were believed to be grenades, found during a house clearance, into the police station reception.

“North Yorkshire Police evacuated the building, put a cordon in place to protect staff and members of the public, and contacted the army’s explosive ordnance disposal team.

“The EOD team arrived and removed the items, and staff were able to return to the building. No-one was injured during the incident that concluded at around 3.45pm.”

Campaigners in Kirby Hill have claimed North Yorkshire Council has threatened high legal costs to dissuade them from proceeding with a judicial review over a new motorway services near the village.

Kirby Hill Residents Against Motorway Services told the authority they intend to press ahead with legal action over a move to grant permission for a service station between junctions 48 and 49 of the A1(M) northbound, near Boroughbridge and Ripon.

Councillors on the authority’s planning committee granted approval for the scheme on September 12, which would see a Welcome Break built at the site, as well a filling station and 364 car parking spaces created.

However, campaigners say the decision was flawed and that they intend to challenge the approval.

In a letter to Kirby Hill RAMS, the council said the decision was lawful and that it would contest any claim.

It added that it reserved the right to apply to the court to raise the claimant cost cap, which is set at £5,000 under the Aarhus Convention.

The convention, which is an international agreement, grants the public rights in accessing information and participation in government decision making on environmental matters, such as planning decisions.

The council’s letter said:

“We note that your pre-action letter does not address the claimant’s position on costs and the Aarhus Convention.

“Any such application will require the disclosure of the claimant’s finances and the defendant reserves the right, on consideration of said information, to apply to the court to raise the claimant’s Aarhus costs cap above the starting limit of £5,000.”

Read more:

• Government approves A1 service station after fourth appeal in 25 years

• Plans for motorway services between Ripon and Boroughbridge approved
• Campaigners threaten judicial review to halt motorway services near Ripon

Gareth Owens, chair of Kirby Hill RAMS, said the authority was using a threat of high costs to dissuade residents from challenging its decision.

He said:

“It feels like the council doesn’t want its decision to be challenged in the High Court and is saying ‘try it and we’ll have your house if you lose’.

“This is the reality of our new council, which told communities that it would listen to and work with them in the way it makes decisions and improves its delivery of services.

“In practice, at the first sign of a challenge, the council is prepared to ask the court to set aside the rights of residents to environmental democracy, to protect its decisions from proper scrutiny.” 

Mr Owens added that campaigners have responded to the council calling for a dialogue with the authority “to resolve the matter without recourse to legal proceedings”.

The Stray Ferret asked the council whether it had a response to the suggestion that it was threatening high costs to dissuade legal action over its decision.

Barry Khan, assistant chief executive for legal and democratic services at North Yorkshire Council, said:

“We have responded to the letter we received setting out our position. This asserts that the decision was lawfully made and we will contest any claim that is made.

“The section regarding the cost cap is a standard response, simply reserving our position in case a claim is issued as we need to protect taxpayers’ money at all times.”

Plans have been submitted to expand Wetherby Services to create 200 new heavy goods vehicle parking spaces.

Rapleys LLP which has tabled a screening application on behalf of services operator Moto Hospitality Ltd for the site off junction 46 of the A1(M).

It would see the site expand to create 200 HGV parking spaces, while the current HGV parking facilities would be replaced with 118 electric vehicle charging bays.

In documents submitted to the council, the developer said the extension was required to meet demand at the services.

It said:

“The proposed circa 200 new HGV parking spaces form part of an urgently required extension to the existing motorway service area.

“This proposal arises from the need for increased HGV parking capacity at the existing motorway service area.”

The planned layout for the parking spaces at Wetherby Services.

It added that its plan to include 118 electric vehicle charging spaces would align with Moto’s strategy to increase infrastructure at its sites.

The document said:

“Electric vehicles will play a big part in the transition to zero emission transport, but to achieve these targets, it is imperative that suitable infrastructure is provided to support electric vehicles. 

“The proposed development forms part of Moto’s wider strategy to bring EV infrastructure at their services.”

The move comes as Gridserve, a sustainable energy firm in Kirk Deighton, also applied to North Yorkshire Council to install 12 charging bays within the existing services car park.

North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on both proposals at a later date.

Read more:

• Contractor sought for £3m electric vehicle charging rollout in North Yorkshire
• Knaresborough traders set to escalate electric vehicle parking row
• Plans to install 12 electric vehicle charging points at Wetherby Services

North Yorkshire Council looks set to increase garden waste collection charges in the Harrogate district by almost 7% next year.

A report to a meeting of the council’s environment executive members meeting on Monday proposes charging £46.50 for garden waste subscription across the county.

People in the Harrogate district paid £43.50 this year, which means they are in line for a 6.89% price hike.

Charges for the often fortnightly roadside collections of 240-litre bins had been frozen for several years for most district and borough authorities and earlier this year council officers said the average cost in Yorkshire and Humber region for garden waste was around £44.

When challenged over the charges, the authority has emphasised the collections are a non-statutory service, and that it is not considered fair “for people who do not use the service to have to subsidise it”.

The officers’ report states the total number of garden waste licences bought in 2023/24 is forecast to be 126,750, generating an annual income of £4.996m, which is £302,000 above the income forecast for the year.

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The report states the extra income is due to Selby district area achieving “an impressive participation rate” of 43% since introducing charges in July with total subscriptions at 18,500, compared to the target of 6,900.

The council has previously warned of the potential to lose some subscribers as a result of its increase in charges.

Nevertheless, the report to the meeting states there has been no impact on the level of subscriptions as a result of harmonising the garden waste subscription charge in any of the former district and boroughs which already charged for the service.

The report states:

“If people choose not to subscribe to the garden waste collection service, experience from other authorities shows that residents tend to compost at home instead as there is no corresponding rise in residual waste tonnages to match the reduction in garden waste tonnages, therefore there is little impact on the environment.”

The owners of Yolk Farm and Minskip Farm Shop have resubmitted plans to build a children’s nursery after North Yorkshire Council refused a previous bid in May.

Ben and Emma Mosey hope to create 74 full-day places for pre-school age children in a setting at the farm based around the curiosity and forest school approaches, which encourage independence through outdoor learning.

The Minskip Farm site, near Boroughbridge, is already a diversified agricultural operation and the owners now hope to create a family-friendly visitor experience which is “safe, fun and educational for children”, according to planning documents.

According to the application, there is a high demand for early years places in the area because there are 229 nursery-aged children in Boroughbridge but only 85 spaces.

However, the council previously listed four reasons for refusal, including the site being outside of development limits and the applicants failing to show how the nursery would diversify their farming business.

The fresh application submitted to the council attempts to address the reasons the council opposed the plan.

It includes more details on the local need for a new nursery, accessibility, sustainable design and how it will diversify the farming business.

The design has also been scaled back to reduce its impact on the landscape and now features reduced parking and hardstanding.

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Documents state:

“Overall, the resubmission demonstrates that the proposed children’s nursery will meet an acute need in the area, and will provide a high quality and unique play and learning environment for children which aligns with and makes the most of the existing family-friendly diversified activities at this small farm, and is suitably accessible given its farm location.

“The visual impact of the amended scheme will not be adverse in the context of the extant access and parking consent, existing built up farm and diversified activities. In addition technical concerns relating to highways and sustainable design have been addressed.”

North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the plans at a later date.

Council leaders have defended funding allocations for net zero projects in York amid claims they received a disproportionate amount of money to North Yorkshire.

A joint meeting of the Conservative-run North Yorkshire and Labour-run City of York councils to discuss the expected creation of a mayoral combined authority in January heard while the councils had agreed on how to split the first significant tranche of government devolution funding, uncertainty still surrounds the transfer of powers from Westminster.

Ahead of the meeting opposition councillors in North Yorkshire claimed the proposed division of the funds for net zero schemes would see York receive 47% of £6.2m being spent on capital schemes, despite having a population of about a third the size of North Yorkshire.

A total of 23 schemes will receive a share of the funding unlocked by the region’s proposed devolution deal, subject to devolution progressing for York and North Yorkshire.

They include street and building LED lighting schemes in York as well as innovation in energy generation, including The Electric Cow Project at Askham Bryan College in the city.

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The farming scheme will fund slurry-fuelled conversion equipment for dairy farms across the region to generate electricity from cow manure.

Other projects approved aim to tackle a decline of biodiversity, such as the project at the Denton Park Estate, on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, where funds will support moorland restoration.

Critics of the proposed net zero programme have claimed York residents will benefit from millions of pounds of extra funding at the expense of communities across the vast rural county.

However, York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership boss James Farrar told the meeting the schemes which were being funded represented “a good spread” across the area, including ones in York and every constituency in North Yorkshire.

Countering the criticism, leaders of both councils heralded the investment as a milestone for the region, with North Yorkshire Council leader Cllr Carl Les saying it was “a very exciting time”.

City of York Council’s leader Cllr Claire Douglas said addressing climate change was becoming increasingly important and the proposals represented the first cross-region thinking, rather than for York or for North Yorkshire as entities.

She said: 

“It’s really fantastic to see there’s such a wide coverage of the region.

“I think it’s also fantastic to see that this is the first significant investment that the combined authority is able to commit to.”