Stray Views: Lib Dems should reconsider proportional representation stance

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.

In reference to the story on changing voting systems, has Cllr Chris Aldred seriously considered the implications of proportional representation? 

I realise the aim is to try and reduce political conflicts, but parties all have different policy aims making agreement difficult. Compromises often are the worst of both. He forgets in countries with proportional representation it can take months for a government to be formed, Germany being an ideal example.

I believe it should be mandatory to vote in elections, also postal votes should be an exception and not the norm

There is no perfect solution and no doubt whatever changes are made there will still be dissenters.

Catherine Alderson, Harrogate

Councillor should be allowed alderman status

From the reports of the council meeting on December 14th it is clear to me that the councillors attending had not been apprised of all the facts and they were not interested in questioning the report or hearing the real facts.

I have observed at numerous planning committee meetings of over a period of 28 years, that Cllr Pat Marsh always read and assessed accurately plans put before her. 

She addressed persons present in planning meetings to ask necessary questions, courteously and to the point, at very many planning committee hearings at which I was present. 

She has served the residents in her ward without fear or favour for some 32 years and should therefore be eligible to become an alderman. 

In fact, there is no limit to the number of long serving councillors who are eligible to become Aldermen.

Rosemary Carnaghan, Harrogate

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Harrogate council leader: ‘I will be leaving representative politics’

The Conservative leader of Harrogate Borough Council has said he will be “leaving representative politics” after turning down honorary alderman status.

Cllr Richard Cooper told a meeting of the council’s general purposes committee that the civic side of the authority has “never been for me”.

Harrogate Borough Council has the power to bestow the title of honorary alderman or honorary alderwomen to past members who have given over 15 years of good service.

Cllr Cooper confirmed in October 2021 he would stand down as a councillor when Harrogate Borough Council is abolished and the new North Yorkshire Council comes into force on April 1.

He told councillors on Thursday he was “leaving representative politics” and would not accept a civic role at the authority.

Cllr Cooper said:

“The civic side of the council has never been for me. I’ve never accepted nomination for mayor and I’ve made it clear I’m going to be leaving representative politics.

“I think if you’re leaving something you can’t have one foot in the door and one foot out of the door, even if it’s only a tiny toe over the threshold.

“I think it’s time for me to make absolutely clear that I shall not be at civic dos, civic meetings and what have you in the capacity given to me by the council, sharing my wisdom and thoughts on how things should go forward.

“There’s nothing so ex as an ex. I don’t want to be that person writing letters to the paper pontificating on this, that and the other.”

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Cllr Cooper was first elected when he took the Liberal Democrat seat of West Central in 1999 and has since held several cabinet positions, as well as being deputy leader and serving on North Yorkshire County Council.

He was elected as leader of Harrogate Borough Council in 2014 and is the longest-serving holder of the position.

Eleven councillors were put forward for honorary alderman status, including four Liberal Democrats, six Conservatives and one Ripon Independent.

However, Cllr Nick Brown, a Conservative, and Liberal Democrat Cllr Pat Marsh were both denied being recommended for the status by fellow councillors.

Councillor says ‘morally wrong’ to dispute allowances recommendation

A senior county councillor has said It would be morally wrong for a council’s leadership to dispute the findings of an independent panel recommending how much elected members of a new unitary local authority should be paid.

A full meeting of North Yorkshire County Council next month will decide whether to accept setting annual allowances for the 90 elected members of the new council at £15,500.

However, the figure would be a fall for those dual councillors who currently sit on both the county council and district authorities.

The decision follows the county council’s executive supporting the findings of the five-member panel which concluded the workload of councillors would increase by about 25% in serving the unitary authority compared to the county council, which last year paid councillors a basic allowance of £10,316.

The panel, members of which have no connection to the council, said it had also taken inflation and allowances paid in comparable unitary authorities into account when making the recommendation.

The panel said it recognised the economic challenges being faced within the community and had been guided by and taken into consideration the average pay awards in the public sector of four to five per cent.

The panel’s report states: 

“Councillors volunteer for their roles. They are not remunerated at a commercial rate for their time, as if they were employees. However, the allowances should not be set at a level which acts as a disincentive to conscientious performance of duties, or which does not reflect the considerable time commitment required for the role.

“It is important that the council feels able to attract high quality candidates to stand as councillors, from a wide variety of backgrounds.

“There should also be no financial barrier to anyone who wishes to stand for election.”

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As the total cost of basic allowances paid over the last year to the county’s 319 county and district councillors is about £2m, the panel’s recommendation represents a saving of £636,000.

The issue is often among the most contentious decisions councillors are faced with and Cllr David Chance, executive member for corporate services, called for allowances to be set nationally in future.

Cllr Gareth Dadd, the authority’s deputy leader, told the meeting the panel had made its recommendation after taking evidence from elected members as well as from comparable local authorities across the country.

He said: 

“I don’t think it is morally right for us to set an independent panel up and not accept its recommendations.”

Cllr Dadd said elected members would not have to take their full allowances.

He said while people may have a view on how much of an allowance councillors should be given, in approving the panel’s recommendation for consideration by the full council, executive members had to decide whether what was being proposed was “clearly absurd”.

The Thirsk councillor added the panel’s recommendation was “within the realms of reasonableness” and that it would be a dangerous move for the executive effectively to suggest their own pay rates.

Hot Seat: the youthful councillor leading transport in North Yorkshire

Keane Duncan is only 28 but he has already packed a lot into his political career.

At 19 he was selected as a Conservative candidate for election on to Ryedale District Council. The following year he was elected and at 24 he became council leader.

At 22, he became the youngest ever North Yorkshire county councillor and after being re-elected in May last year he was appointed executive member for highways and transportation — the most high profile role on the executive besides the leader. Criticism — often fierce — is part of the brief.

He says:

“The role I have got right now has been the biggest political challenge I’ve had. We cover an area five times the size of Greater London.

“Everybody has got an opinion on transport and everybody wants to express it. It is difficult to switch off because I feel very heavily the weight of responsibility that I’ve got.

“But it’s my home area. North Yorkshire is where I’m born and bred and an area that I want to do everything I can to improve.”

The role includes oversight of major schemes including the £11.2 million Harrogate Station Gateway, the £70 million realignment of the A59 at Kex Gill, introducing a Harrogate park and ride and the headache-inducing Otley Road cycle route.

Keane Duncan

He became the youngest ever North Yorkshire county councillor at the age of 22.

Cllr Duncan, who was born in Malton in Ryedale, has also got six other districts besides Harrogate to worry about, not to mention countywide problems such as potholes and trying to prevent a mass cull of bus services at the end of March.

Councillors aren’t paid but they do receive allowances. Cllr Duncan currently receives a basic allowance of £10,316 per year plus £15,939 for his executive portfolio. These sums are set to rise to £15,500 and £19,554 respectively when North Yorkshire County Council is replaced by North Yorkshire Council on April 1.

When he isn’t on council duty he works as deputy news editor of the Daily Star, writing recently about everything from a monster python attacking a child to the death of former Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev — who left power before Cllr Duncan was born.

He says:

“I work full-time in my journalism role and I would say I work full-time plus in my executive role so there is a lot of pressure. It does take a lot of time but I’m committed to my council duties.”

‘I believe in Conservative principles’

Cllr Duncan, a keen gym-goer, was the most eye-catching appointment to leader Carl Les’ 10-person executive, which is effectively his Cabinet, not least because he was 45 years younger than his predecessor Don Mackenzie.

During our interview, Cllr Duncan gave updates on the Otley Road cycle route and the gateway but we also wanted to know what has driven him since his teens to pursue politics so vigorously and what kind of Conservative he is. Even his degree is in politics. He says:

“Fundamentally I believe in Conservative principles — that is people taking responsibility, low taxes, everything you would expect from a Conservative.

“I do think I look at things slightly differently to some of my colleagues. That is maybe a result of being from a younger generation but I have always been prepared to make my own mind up on things. That isn’t always easy but I have done this for eight years through university and all my working life so far.

“I enjoy being a councillor and serving the public and for people who aren’t involved in local politics that’s difficult to explain and articulate. But it’s something I can’t imagine not having in my life.”

Cllr Keane Duncan, executive councillor for access at North Yorkshire County Council.

Pictured in Harrogate

Here’s what he had to say on the key local transport issues.

Kex Gill start ‘imminent’

Realigning the landslip-hit A59 at Kex Gill is “the most ambitious highways capital project that the county council has ever embarked on”, says Cllr Duncan.

Work has been delayed many times but the scheme is due to start any day. He said it was a deceptively complex project:

“On a map it looks very simple but we know there are all the engineering challenges this scheme presents. But we are committed to delivering this scheme.”

‘More comprehensive’ active travel schemes

The council’s commitment to active travel has been questioned by Harrogate District Cycle Action after Cllr Duncan indicated the second phase of the Otley Road cycle route won’t proceed.

Other cycling schemes on Beech Grove and Victoria Avenue in Harrogate have failed to progress, along with another scheme for Harrogate Road in Knaresborough.

It seems they may now be shelved too as wider, more ambitious plans are drawn up after the council submits a bid to the fourth round of funding by Active Travel England, which funded the schemes.

He said:

“We are progressing on those schemes but there’s the prospect of further funding in active travel round four and there might be a case for using funding we have already secured and funding we might secure in that round to deliver much more comprehensive active travel schemes in the future. So we are really just waiting to see the outcomes of that.

“We are looking to improve those corridors but there might be more comprehensive things we can do in those locations but they would require further funding so we are working closely with Active Travel England, discussing our plans and proposals, and they are saying ‘don’t deliver a scheme just because you have funding for that element of a scheme, take a step back and look at the bigger picture and if you need further funding to deliver a more comprehensive scheme then we want to work with you to provide that’.”

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Keane Duncan

Speaking at County Hall in Northallerton

Park and ride location uncertain

The council previously said it had identified two possible sites for a park and ride in Pannal on land near Pannal Golf Club and the Buttersyke Bar roundabout south of the village.

These were identified as they connect to the 36 bus service which runs between Harrogate, Ripon and Leeds on the A61.

But it seems this too is under review. Asked about the Pannal options, Cllr Duncan said:

“As far as I’m concerned that is one of many sites that have been explored so I wouldn’t want to rule anything in or out at this stage but certainly work is ongoing at this stage in the hope that we can get a positive outcome from it.

“I’m open minded about that and want to wait and see the outcomes of the analysis we are doing. I have not yet had confirmation as to when this is expected to conclude.”

Buses face ‘cliff edge’

Although funding for the 24 service between Pateley Bridge and Harrogate was secured for another year this week, Cllr Duncan says 79 services in North Yorkshire are at risk of reduced frequency of service or ceasing altogether.

D-Day is fast approaching. He says:

“Passenger numbers are 80% of where they were before the covid pandemic on average.

“Operating costs and staffing costs have increased significantly and that has created this perfect storm. The scale of that challenge will far exceed the £1.6m of subsidy we set aside every year which has been the case since 2016.

“The cliff edge moment is going to be March when the central government funding comes to an end. But when the people of North Yorkshire are for whatever reason not using buses, it wouldn’t be right to then ask the public to pay more to subsidise services they are not using. That is not sustainable.

“The only real way forward is passengers. Passengers are the key to this problem and we need people to use buses.”

Fewer than half of 999 calls in North Yorkshire being answered on time

Just 44% of 999 calls in North Yorkshire are being answered on time, according to figures in a new report.

The report by the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner‘s office said the national target is for 90% of 999 calls to be answered in under 10 seconds.

But between November 2021 and November 2022, only 44% were answered within this time in the county.

The document also revealed that between February and December 2022, the average non-emergency 101 call answer time ranged from 4 minutes and 3 seconds to 10 minutes and 17 seconds. Unlike for 999 calls, nationally there is no imposed target for answering 101 calls.

Police, fire and crime commissioner Zoe Metcalfe has described the figures as “unacceptable”.

Her office has awarded the force control room  a £1.8 million a year to improve the times.

The report, which will be debated by North Yorkshire County Council‘s police, fire and crime panel on February 6, said:

“This investment will enable the Chief Constable to fund 36 additional communications officers, 12 additional dispatchers, six established trainers and two additional police inspectors.”

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The document highlights how call volume has increased, saying:

“Nationally there has been a 16% increase in 999 calls to the police, and 2022 saw the highest number of emergency calls to North Yorkshire Police ever in one month (over 10,000 in July and August).”

The report also said the commissioner “wants the force to explore how they could deliver a long-term programme of public education and awareness about when to contact the police, and the most appropriate method for doing so”.

North Yorkshire Police usually receives over 10,000 emergency 999 calls a month.

 

Harrogate councillors block fellow Conservative from civic title as standards row continues

Six Conservative councillors have denied a councillor from the same party the chance to receive a prestigious civic title.

Harrogate Borough Council has the power to bestow the title of honorary alderman or honorary alderwomen to past members who have given over 15 years of good service.

The impending abolition of the council on March 31 to make way for the new North Yorkshire unitary council means a host of councillors can be considered.

The list includes Nick Brown, Conservative councillor for Bishop Monkton and Newby, who has been a borough councillor for 15 years but had been the subject of a standards investigation following comments he made.

During a meeting last month, Conservative council leader Richard Cooper proposed a successful motion to change the council’s constitution and effectively ban councillors from becoming an honorary alderman or alderwoman if they have fallen foul of the council’s code of conduct but have then refused to take any of the recommended actions such as apologise to members.

The authority’s general purposes committee met yesterday evening and voted on which councillors would be recommended for the title.

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Before voting on Cllr Brown, head of legal and governance Jennifer Norton read out a statement on his behalf that said the councillor believed he had no outstanding course of action to take following his investigation.

Ms Norton said:

“The decision notice identifies two actions, the first one being to draw the process to a close as it’s not been possible to reach a satisfactory conclusion or an apology — and the second one is to recommend to Cllr Brown that he reflects on the concerns raised and considers whether the points he was trying to make in a submission were well served by his style of presentation or use of injudicious language.

“Cllr Brown advises me that he’s reflected on the concerns raised and has also informed me that on September 24, 2021, he sent an email to all his colleagues with an informal apology. In this way he feels there are no outstanding courses of action for him to take when you assess that against the decision notice.”

However, six Conservative councillors on the committee — Richard Cooper, Tim Myatt, Rebecca Burnett, Matt Scott, Ed Darling and Sam Gibbs — all voted against recommending Cllr Brown for the honorary alderman title.

Ripon independent, Pauline McHardy, Liberal Democrat, Philip Broadbank and Cllr Brown himself voted in favour.

Longest serving female also excluded

By six votes to three, the committee also voted against recommending Liberal Democrat member for Hookstone, Pat Marsh, who is the longest-serving female councillor on the authority with 33 years’ service.

Cllr Marsh was found to have breached the council’s code of conduct after she made comments to a resident, that were secretly recorded, about council leader Richard Cooper, council officers and Cllr Cooper’s employer, Conservative MP for Harrogate & Knaresborough Andrew Jones.

A standards panel at HBC asked Cllr Marsh to make a public apology but she refused, citing her right to free speech and accusing the panel of not being politically balanced, having two Conservatives and one independent councillor.

By five votes to four, councillors voted against former Ripon councillor and current county councillor Andrew Williams from becoming an honorary alderman despite his 20 years of service.

The full list of councillors put forward for the title and how long they have served is below:

Philip Broadbank, Liberal Democrat councillor for Starbeck (44 years)
Nigel Simms, Conservative councillor for Masham and Kirkby Malzeard (24 years)
Margaret Atkinson, former Conservative councillor for Fountains and Ripley (23 years)
Jim Clark, former Conservative councillor for Harlow (22 years)
Trevor Chapman, Liberal Democrat councillor for Bilton Grange (19 years)
Michael Harrison, Conservative councillor for Killinghall and Hampsthwaite (19 years)
Sid Hawke, Ripon Independents councillor for Ripon Ure Bank (18 years)
Stuart Martin, Conservative councillor for Ripon Moorside (18 years)
Christine Willoughby, Liberal Democrats councillor for Knaresborough Eastfield (17 years)
Matthew Webber, Liberal Democrat councillor for New Park (16 years)
Robert Windass, Conservative councillor for Boroughbridge (15 years)

North Yorkshire has lowest IOPC complaints rate of all police forces

North Yorkshire Police has the lowest number of complaints against its staff and officers of any police force across the country.

The latest figures, for 2021-22, reveal 282 complaints were made to the Independent Office for Police Complaints (IOPC) about the force.

The second lowest figure for complaints was 372, made against Suffolk Police.

North Yorkshire also had the lowest number of complaints when taking into account the size of each force, with 90 complaints per 1,000 staff. Norfolk and Suffolk were next, with rates of 145 and 146 respectively.

The Metropolitan Police had the most complaints of all forces, with 7,216 during that year. However, it also has the highest number of staff, at almost 47,000, giving it a rate per 1,000 employees of 155.

The force with the highest rate of complaints per 1,000 employees was Cleveland, at 697.

Last week, the force revealed it had received 740 complaints about its officers and staff in 2021-22. Today’s statistics relate to complaints raised to the IOPC.

The numbers have been revealed as complaints against police are in the spotlight, following the case of Met Police officer David Carrick who admitted a series of sexual offences against women over a period of two decades in the force.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said:

“The force has recently led a national pilot scheme that checks all vetted staff against the Police National Database (PND) every month.

“This process was implemented to ensure that any police contact outside of North Yorkshire is brought to the attention of our vetting unit and professional standards department. This covers both police officers and police staff.

“A recent report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Fire and Rescue Service following an inspection of vetting, misconduct, and misogyny in the police service, highlighted the good work by North Yorkshire Police and recommended that all forces make routine use of the PND as a tool for revealing any unreported adverse information about police officers and staff. It was announced last week that all forces in England and Wales will be adopting this approach.

“The vast majority of our officers and staff are honest, hardworking and act with integrity. But we are not complacent and know that there will be a number within our force who are not. When misconduct is found, we will take action. We encourage anyone who has any concerns about an officer or staff member they have come into contact with, to please report it to us.”

Allegations

In the statistics, published by the IOPC,  North Yorkshire Police also had the second lowest rate of allegations made against its employees, at 280, behind British Transport Police’s 208.

The IOPC said the number of allegations could be higher than the number of complaints because each complaint could contain more than one allegation. In North Yorkshire’s case, the total number of allegations against its 3,122 employees was 874, from 282 complaints.

Of those, 370 allegations were about the level of service provided by the police, and 260 were about the use of power, such as to make arrests or to carry out searches.

There were 160 allegations about individual conduct, such as being unprofessional or lacking impartiality.

Thirteen allegations were made about discriminatory behaviour and two complaints were about sexual misconduct.

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However, North Yorkshire Police took the longest of all forces in England and Wales to finalise its complaints. On average, it took 190 days for each complaint, while the next highest were the Metropolitan Police at 157 days and West Midlands Police at 148 days.

The Local Policing Body (LPB) received 61 requests for reviews of the way complaints had been handled and it investigated 39% of these – the fifth highest rate of investigations of decisions by forces around the country.

It found, in 61% of cases, the action taken by the force was “not reasonable and proportionate” after a complaint.

North Yorkshire Police using lie detector tests to target sex offenders

North Yorkshire Police is using lie detector tests to target suspected and convicted sex offenders across the county.

At a public accountability meeting of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner this afternoon, the force’s head of safeguarding, Heather Whorriskey, revealed officers have used a polygraph test 87 times since it first started using the equipment in October 2020.

The tests work by measuring how a person responds to certain questions, such as if their blood pressure rises or if they get sweaty palms, to detect traits associated with lying.

However, the tests are controversial as they are not 100% accurate and the results can’t be used as evidence in the courts.

After a guest on ITV’s Jeremy Kyle Show died after reportedly failing a lie detector test, MPs in 2019 criticised the producers after they admitted they did not know how reliable their lie detector tests were.

Detective Superintendent Whorriskey said NYP uses the tests before a suspect is charged to investigate if they have been in communication with children using a device.

The tests are also used on “lower-level” people on the sexual offenders register to understand the risk they might pose to the public.

However, Det Supt Whorriskey said many people about to take these test reveal things before it starts as they “realise their answers are likely to give away some untruths.”

She said:

“It’s used quite significantly whenever offenders are using communication devices to assess whether or not they have engaged in further communication with children. We’re able to use that to prioritise those devices for examination within our digital forensic unit.”

Det Supt Whorriskey said the use of polygraph tests is increasing and will be used 13 times in the next three weeks alone. She added:

“It identifies unknown risks and offences we would not have known about without having used the equipment. It’s absolutely value for money.”

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Campaigners call for North Yorkshire Council to embrace proportional representation

Campaigners are calling on North Yorkshire Council to become the first local authority in England to reject the first-past-the-post electoral system.

Cllr Chris Aldred, a Liberal Democrat representing High Harrogate, has proposed a notice of motion calling on the council to press the UK government to enable proportional representation to be used for general, local and mayoral elections.

Executive members of the unitary council’s forerunner, North Yorkshire County Council, will consider Cllr Aldred’s proposal next month.

The move comes two months after Richmondshire District Council resolved to lobby the government to “end minority rule” after members highlighted how proportional representation systems were already being used to elect the parliaments and assemblies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

North Yorkshire-based campaign groups, including Compass, say while the first-past-the-post system originated when land-owning aristocrats dominated parliament and voting was restricted to property-owning men, proportional representation would ensure all votes count, have equal value, and those seats won match votes cast.

They say with MPs and councillors better reflecting their communities, there would be improved decision-making, wider participation and increased levels of ownership of decisions taken.

Electoral campaigners say given the volume of votes which have effectively been ignored at County Hall, the “relatively weak electoral accountability” of the authority has an impact on public procurement, as, without sufficient critical oversight, costs can spiral out of control.

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Campaigners highlight that at the last general election just 41% of the votes in North Yorkshire constituencies were for Conservative candidates but under the first-past-the-post system the Tories secured all seven seats.

Campaigner Georgie Sale said while numerous councils were considering the issue, North Yorkshire’s council should show leadership and embrace a fair and modern voting system.

She said: 

“People are looking for their politicians to do things that are honest, right and fair and we have got a new unitary council and the opportunity to do something different.

“The bigger the variety of people you have got thinking about a problem, the better the solution you come to. People from different perspectives can bring a fresh set of eyes and new ideas to the table, so it has got to be for the good of us all.

“You could have knocked me down with a feather when it was approved by Richmondshire council and I am optimistic we might get this through at North Yorkshire, but even if we don’t this time, I feel that door is now ready to be pushed.”

Councillor ‘absolutely amazed’ Maltkiln landowner able to pull out

A councillor whose division could be transformed by thousands of new homes says he is “absolutely amazed” that a landowner was able to pull out of the Maltkiln scheme at the 11th hour.

Last week, Harrogate Borough Council revealed a landowner had decided against selling a parcel of land that would have formed part of a 3,000 to 4,000-home settlement called Maltkiln.

The potential town, which includes two primary schools, would be built off the A59 towards York near the villages of Cattal, Green Hammerton and Kirk Hammerton.

The news came as a blow to Wetherby-based Caddick Group, which has been developing plans for several years.

The developer called the decision by the landowner “regrettable” but said it was confident the scheme would continue.

The broad location for Maltkiln is allocated for development in the council’s Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which maps out where housebuilding can take place.

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Planning permission for Maltkiln is yet to be granted but a development plan document has been painstakingly prepared by the council over the last two years and was close to being submitted to the government for approval.

The council has said work on the development plan has now been “paused”.

Cllr Arnold Warneken, Green Party councillor for Ouseburn division on North Yorkshire County Council, described the situation as “a bit of a mess”.

Cllr Warneken told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:

“How did Harrogate Borough Council and the developer not tie-up people to legal agreements for the sale of land? I’m absolutely amazed they didn’t tie-up all these options.

“They are back to the drawing board and I wouldn’t want to be paying for this. The development plan document goes back on hold and will need to be redrafted. It almost starts again.”

Cllr Warneken said he understood the parcel of land formed a significant part of the overall masterplan.

He described an initial celebratory mood in the affected villages after the council released its statement, with residents hoping it could throw the whole project into doubt.

Now the dust has settled, he fears it could mean the developer will have to reduce its ambitions for the scheme in order to make it financially viable. 

He said:

“The viability will have to be adjusted and could mean a change in the nature of properties. There might be higher density, bigger properties, and they could build one primary school instead of two. I wanted this to be an ecologically exemplar development but I’m concerned they will chip away at that.”

Responding, a spokesperson for Caddick Group said:

“It is usual for landowners to want differing terms when entering into agreements to sell their land and all such agreements are only for a specific period. In this particular case, the family concerned were previously willing to sell but wished to limit their legal agreement to a shorter period of time than the other landowners and subsequently decided not to extend or renew their agreement.

“Our proposals include innovative approaches to reducing both energy and vehicle use which will still apply to an updated new settlement boundary, which will also now incorporate a significant element of renewable energy generation.

“We are now in the early stages of reviewing our draft masterplan for Maltkiln in consultation with Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council, both of which will need to decide how best to advance the new settlement from this point on.

“Once we know how the councils wish to approach the change in land area, and we have explored how our proposals could be best aligned with their intended process, we will engage with the community and key stakeholders once again.”