Boroughbridge news from the Boroughbridge district - Page 97 of 186

North Yorkshire’s Levelling Up failure blamed on ‘too many bids for too small a pot’

North Yorkshire County Council‘s leader has blamed the county’s failure in securing Levelling Up funding on “too many bids” across the country for “too small a pot”.

Last month the government revealed the winners of the second Levelling Up Fund round that saw £2.1bn up for grabs.

Several district councils in the county made bids for funding, including £20m to redevelop Harrogate Convention Centre. North Yorkshire County Council also submitted a £39.3m bid to upgrade Thirsk, Seamer and Scarborough stations.

In total, bids worth £118.4m were made for projects in the county but only Richmondshire District Council received funding, which will see £19m spent regenerating Catterick town centre in prime minister Rishi Sunak’s constituency.

At a full meeting of the county council in Northallerton this week, Cllr Bryn Griffiths, Liberal Democrat member for Stokesley division, asked council leader Carl Les why most of the bids in North Yorkshire had failed.

He said:

“We don’t seem to be very good at obtaining Levelling Up money, do we? Do we know why? What are the reasons? Are our processes wrong or is central government not listening to us?”

Cllr Lindsay Burr, independent member for the Malton division, said the rejections were both “concerning and disappointing” for the county. She added:

“Levelling Up was announced with great fanfare and the majority of residents felt it was a given that Yorkshire would be levelled up. Could our leader press central government to ensure Yorkshire can get its fair share?”

‘Too small a pot’

Cllr Les said NYCC had received feedback from government on why bids failed but added that he believes not enough money was available for all the bids to be successful. He said:

“We do ask civil servants for feedback and we get that. The issue with the fund was there was too many bids for too small a pot.

“I use my powers to urge government to give us more in North Yorkshire, I do that all the time but other leaders around the country do that as well. We’ll always bang the drum for North Yorkshire and try to get our fair share.”

During the first two rounds of the Levelling Up Fund, 834 bids were submitted but only 216 were successful.

The government scored each bid out of 100 with criteria including deliverability and the characteristics of each place.

It will be opening a third round of funding with a further £1bn available to councils.

Earlier this month, the Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed that Harrogate Borough Council spent £45,000 on consultants to help prepare its failed Levelling Up bid.

Liberal Democrat member for the Kingsley division, Cllr Chris Aldred, asked Cllr Les how much was spent in total in North Yorkshire for consultants to help with bids.

Cllr Les promised to answer his question before the district councils are abolished in just over a month.

Work to create Harrogate district’s first mosque continues after asbestos delay

Work on turning Harrogate’s former Home Guard Club into the district’s first mosque is finally going ahead after a delay caused by the discovery of asbestos.

Harrogate Islamic Association bought the premises at the corner of Tower Street and Belford Road last April and has since been focusing on fixing the roof and making it weather-proof.

But repair work uncovered unknown quantities of asbestos, which is carcinogenic but had not been identified by any survey at the time of purchase.

The substance has had to be carefully removed and disposed of by licensed professionals before further work on the building could progress.

Reda Djamaa, trustee and spokesperson for Harrogate Islamic Association, said:

“We’ve dealt with that problem and now we can carry on with refurbishing the building. Our main aim is to get the ground floor ready for use.”

Harrogate Islamic Association raised half a million pounds to purchase the building, which stands next to St Peter’s CE Primary School, and must now raise a further £200,000 to gut the building and replace all its timbers.

Phase three will see a complete refit of the interior, including a new staircase, plasterwork, doors, windows and wiring, as well as new toilets and ablution areas, all at a cost of £250,000.

The final phase, costing another £50,000, will add a kitchen, outdoor bollards and railings, and security and lighting systems.

Mr Djamaa said:

“We have weekly prayer and we pass round a bucket, and we get some funds from other mosques, but it’s a mosque for the community here in Harrogate, and so most of the money will be coming from the community here too.

“We hope we’ll be able to get to the next stage within the year, but we’re doing it bit by bit. We’re not in a hurry.”

In the meantime, the 100-plus members of Harrogate’s Muslim community will continue to meet at in the Quakers’ Friends Meeting House on Queen Parade.

Picture of the front door of the former Home Guard Club in Harrogate.

The mosque premises have served the community in various ways over the last one-and-a-half centuries.

The former Home Guard Club has served the community in various capacities over the last 150 years. Originally built around 1870 as two cottages, it was converted shortly afterwards into Harrogate’s first cottage hospital until 1883, before serving as Harrogate’s Masonic Hall from 1884 to about 1930.

At the end of the Second World War it became the home of the 5th West Riding Battalion (Home Guard) Old Comrades Association and Club.

Local cabbies predict ‘disaster’ as new single taxi zone created

Senior county councillors have backed creating a single taxi zone for North Yorkshire, despite concern from local drivers.

North Yorkshire County Council will introduce a single hackney carriage and private hire licensing policy from the spring.

The existing seven district councils, including Harrogate, currently have their own hackney carriage and private hire licensing policies. However, under the new policy, drivers will be able to operate in any area of the county.

At an executive meeting yesterday, senior county councillors approved the move towards a single licensing policy.

Councillors also backed a move to carry out a review of how it could increase the number of wheelchair accessible vehicles within the county.

Cllr Simon Myers, executive councillor for growth at the authority, told the meeting said:

“What North Yorkshire wants to have is the best, safest and most accessible taxi service for its residents.

“I recognise, as the trade points out to us, that they are an essential part of accessible travel in a rural county.”

Meanwhile, Cllr David Chance, executive councillor for corporate services, proposed waiving licence fees for new wheelchair-accessible vehicles and for renewals in order to incentivise more drivers to come forward.

He said:

“Given that we wish to demonstrate the council’s commitment to increasing the number of wheelchair accessible vehicles in both the short and longer term, I’m going to suggest that we consider waiving the licence fee for new wheelchair accessible vehicles and relicensed wheelchair accessible vehicles in the lead up to finalising our policy on the matter.

“That would be done through the inclusive service plan. This would incentivise the retention of existing wheelchair accessible vehicles by the trade, but also offer an immediate incentive to those considering the purchase of new vehicles.”

‘A disaster’

However, the policy has come under criticism from local drivers who said the move was not supported by the trade during a consultation.

Fifty-two per cent of respondents disagreed with the key proposal of introducing a single zone for North Yorkshire, which would allow cabbies to operate across the county rather than only in their districts. However, the idea still looks set to go ahead.

Richard Fieldman, who owns Ripon firm A1 Cars and runs a Facebook group that includes 52 taxi drivers in Ripon and Harrogate, said:

“Making it one zone will mean that at peak times drivers will target hotspots, such as Harrogate on a Saturday night, and leave rural areas with no taxis. It’s common sense that people will drive to maximise their earning potential.

“It will be a disaster for us and a disaster for people who live in quieter areas because they won’t be able to get a taxi at busy times.

“The same policy has been tried in other areas and it just leads to some streets being swamped with taxis so it’s bad for other road users as well.”

Harrogate district organisations invited to bid for slice of new £16.9m fund

Businesses and voluntary organisations in North Yorkshire are being invited to apply for a share of £16.9 million made available this week.

The government has allocated £2.6 billion nationally to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which is part of its levelling up agenda that aims to tackle inequality. It replaces the old EU structural funds.

A total of £16.9 million of the sum has gone to North Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire County Council, which is distributing the funding, this week invited expressions of interest from organisations that may wish to bid.

It said in a press release the fund “covers a wide range of activities and investments and is available to almost all formally constituted organisations and businesses for projects ranging from small community-based initiatives to larger capital projects”.

The North Yorkshire funding will be delivered against five themes designed to tackle challenges and priorities identified across the county. These are: addressing rurality and inequality; building pride in our places; boosting productivity; decarbonising communities and businesses; and supporting an active labour market.

Groups in Knaresborough will be submitting a bid covering a number of local priorities identified in the recent Knaresborough Voice initiative.

Peter Lacey, chair of community support organisation Knaresborough Connectors, said:

“It is being put together as a single collaborative set of proposals by a number of local groups including Renaissance Knaresborough, the Knaresborough Museum Association, Knaresborough Connectors, the civic society and Chain Lane Community Centre.

“The proposals will seek to develop the town’s museum offer in collaboration with the new North Yorkshire Council; work to improve town connectivity in both the short and long term; and to build on the economic dashboard that will both steer and evidence the impact from any investment into the town and the surrounding area.”

‘Town connectivity’ could include examining the idea of setting up a road train that would help people navigate the steep slope between the town centre and Waterside.

Open webinars for all interested parties will be held at noon on Thursday, February 23, and at 3.30pm on Tuesday, February 28.

Details of how to join will be online here along with a copy of the prospectus, investment plan and expression of interest form. All enquiries should be submitted to ukspf@northyorks.gov.uk

Cllr Carl Les

Councillor Carl Les, the Conservative leader of North Yorkshire County Council, said:

“Communities across our county face diverse challenges, and each also presents its unique opportunities. This funding application invitation offers a chance for local organisations who understand and live with the challenges facing their towns and villages to come forward with solutions.

“We want to see this fund used to maximum effect to enable communities to build the foundations for their own economic development, to help businesses to thrive and to reduce the barriers people of any age might face in entering and progressing in work or education.”

New Harrogate district henge could be ‘nationally significant’

A previously undiscovered prehistoric henge may lie under a Harrogate district village, a packed meeting was told this week.

The massive earthwork, 170 metres in diameter and thousands of years old, was revealed beneath the village of Kirk Hammerton using state-of-the-art multispectral drone imagery techniques by Tony Hunt, who said the find could be “nationally significant”.

He presented his findings, along with community archaeologist Jon Kenny, at a public meeting of local residents and amateur archaeologists in Kirk Hammerton village hall on Monday. Mr Hunt said:

“The meeting was absolutely astounding. Usually, these things attract maybe 20-30 people, but we had 120 – there were people sitting on the floor, and there were 30-40 who couldn’t make it on the night but want to get involved.

“Everybody seems to be very enthusiastic about it being a new henge. I’m healthily sceptical, but it’s definitely worth a look. If this is confirmed, it will be nationally significant.”

A henge is a ring-shaped bank and ditch, usually built around 4,500 years ago for purposes that remain unclear, although experts speculate that they probably had religious or spiritual meaning for ancient communities.

A black-and-white image of the suspected henge, taken from a drone by Yorkshire Archaeological Aerial Mapping.

There are currently known to be 10 henges in Yorkshire, six of them aligned along a northwest-southeast axis, including the group of three at Thornborough, north of Ripon. The latest discovery, a possible 11th, lies in alignment with these.

Mr Hunt said:

“Whether these henges are aligned intentionally is up for debate, since for that to hold up you have to disregard quite a few of the others. It may just be that they are positioned along river valleys.

“They may have been tribal centres, or where the gods live – no people lived in them. They may have represented the border between life and death – at sunset, someone the height of the average Neolithic person standing in the centre of one of these henges casts a shadow pretty much exactly the same length as its radius.”

A map showing how the most recently discovered henge lines up with several of the others in North Yorkshire, including the three at Thornborough.

Mr Hunt and fellow enthusiasts now plan to explore further at Kirk Hammerton, using geophysical mapping and ground-coring techniques. He said:

“In a henge, the ditch is on the inside of the earth bank, so we’ll see if we can spot that. If we see something that looks like one, we’ll probably put in a huge long trench from the centre out, through the ditch and earthwork to create a cross-section.”

Mr Hunt has a degree in archaeological sciences from Bradford University and is currently managing director of DJ Assembly, a York-based micro-electronics company. He also runs Yorkshire Aerial Archaeological Mapping, whose thermal and infrared imaging technology revealed the henge. He said:

“Ten years ago, we thought there were only five henges here in Yorkshire. Now we know there are at least 10. There will be more, I guarantee it.”

Using his drones, Mr Hunt has recently discovered lost Bronze Age burial mounds and two new Roman marching camps, both in the Vale of York, as well as mass graves at the site near Northallerton of the Battle of the Standard between England and Scotland in 1138.

Earlier this month, it was announced that two sections of the Thornborough henges, which lie 30 miles to the north-west of Kirk Hammerton, have been donated to the public body Historic England.

Dog owners urged to keep dogs on leads after sheep attacks

Dog owners in the Harrogate district are being urged to keep their pets on leads by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust following two attacks on sheep at nature reserves last week.

The trust looks after more than 100 nature reserves across Yorkshire, including sites in Burton Leonard, Staveley, Bishop Monkton, Ripon and Upper Dunsforth, near Boroughbridge.

At a reserve in Huddersfield, an attack from a dog left one of the trust’s Hebridean grazing sheep with deep bite wounds.

Meanwhile, at Kilnsea Wetlands in East Yorkshire, pregnant ewes were chased by dogs, angering the local grazier.

As well as posing risks to livestock, dogs have also been trampling rare plants and bird nests.

The majority of ground-nesting birds are in decline in the UK, including curlews, woodcocks and skylarks. If dogs scare birds away from their nests, they leave chicks at risk.

A Skylark, one of the vulnerable ground-nesting birds.

Increasing instances of dogs disturbing wildlife has led the charity to issue the plea for owners to keep dogs on leads.

Rachael Bice, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s chief executive said:;

“Dog walking is one of the best reasons to get outdoors, feel great and enjoy our beautiful countryside – and we thank every responsible dog owner who keeps their dog on a lead and encourages others to do the same.

“Wildlife is suffering huge declines and dogs in wild places can cause problems, especially when many species are breeding and resting close to the ground.”

Jenna Kiddie, head of canine behaviour at the charity Dogs Trust, added:

“Dogs [should be] kept on a short lead, and close to their owners, whenever livestock are nearby, within seeing, hearing or smelling distance or whenever their presence is likely to be expected.

“It is important to remember that chasing is normal dog behaviour, and that any dog is capable of chasing, irrelevant of breed, type, age or size.”

You can find more info about being a nature-friendly pet owner here.

Harrogate district councils object to Allerton Park asphalt plant plan

Parish councils near a waste incinerator near Knaresborough have questioned whether a decision over setting up an asphalt manufacturing facility on the site should be taken out of a council’s hands.

The parish councils represent numerous villages surrounding the Allerton Waste Recovery Park off the A1(M).

They claim North Yorkshire County Council lied to them about the impact of the incinerator, and that its councillors had pledged the rural area would not see further industrial-type developments.

The comments follow numerous communities across the county accusing the Conservative-run authority of putting big business interests above those of residents.

They have been lodged in response to Tynedale Roadstone’s application to the county council to create an asphalt manufacturing plant across a 2.1-hectare grass and scrubland site at the waste recovery park.

The site, which is an existing and partially complete and restored landfill, features other uses such as a concrete batching plant and the processing of 320,000 tonnes of waste a year from York and North Yorkshire councils.

The firm said the site had been chosen because plastic from the waste recovery plant would be used in the production of the final asphalt road surfaces product, cutting transportation, while its proximity to the A1(M) meant vehicles could enter and exit the site without having to pass through villages.

Planning documents submitted by the firm said the site is “extremely well screened from view” and locating the plant there would “protect” other employment sites in the area.

It said:

“The application proposes a land use that is wholly in-keeping with the nature of this site and complements those existing land uses currently operating on the park.”

However, some residents have said they are as concerned about the impact of the proposed asphalt plant, particularly due to the potential of dust unintentionally spilling from the site, while mixing of hot bitumen could allow the release of a pungent, acrid smell.

‘A one-off isolated proposal’

In objections to the scheme, parish councils said when the incinerator had been approved in 2014 they had been assured by the county council that it was “a one-off isolated industrial proposal” in what was acknowledged as a rural location.

In its response, Arkendale Coneythorpe and Clareton Parish Council has highlighted how councillors went on record to say the incinerator would not be the stimulus for further industrial ribbon development along the A1(M) corridor.

A parish spokesman said:

“If this development is allowed to proceed what the county council promised these local communities will have been proven to be false and we would be right to feel let down by the democratic process.”

In its objection, Goldsborough and Flaxby Parish Council said as the county council had past and present interests in the site, an independent consultant with no specific interest in the plant should be commissioned to assess its impacts.

The parish council’s objection said it questioned “the legitimacy of this planning application being reviewed and considered by North Yorkshire County Council planning authority”.

The parish council said:

“North Yorkshire County Council officers made a big thing about how little the nearby incinerator would impact visually, with it being located in a quarry.

“Plainly that was a lie or at the very least a highly optimistic assessment. The incinerator can be seen from miles away including the east side of Harrogate and up the Yorkshire Dales.”

In response, Cllr Derek Bastiman, whose executive portfolio includes waste disposal, said:

“The application for the Allerton Waste Recovery Park was thoroughly debated at the time and the planning process was rigorously followed. Full consideration was given to any environmental impact on nearby residents and the surrounding landscape.

“The application now submitted by Tynedale Roadstone is entirely separate and relates to an area of land separate to the AWRP lease area. Like any planning application, it will be considered in accordance with planning policy.”

Pet crematorium opens today in Harrogate

A pet crematorium opened in Harrogate today.

The crematorium, run by Harrogate Borough Council, gives pet owners the chance to say farewell to their cats, dogs and small animals.

Prices start at £72 for small animals and from £85 for cats and from £115 for dogs.

The ashes will be placed in a scatter tube, which owners can collect, along with a memorial certificate.

The crematorium is located at Stonefall Cemetery and Crematorium on Wetherby Road.

The crematorium is at Stonefall on Wetherby Road.

Councillor Sam Gibbs, the council’s cabinet member for environment, waste reduction and recycling, said:

“Pets are like part of the family and they deserve an ending with dignity and respect, just like humans.

“The new pet crematorium will provide the most sympathetic setting for people to say goodbye to their pets.

“This service will also provide people, as well as veterinary surgeries, a local, trusted and reliable pet cremation service – operated by experts in bereavements.”

The Stray Ferret revealed last year the council was set to award a £40,000 contract to create a pet crematorium at Stonefall.

Further information on the facility is available here.

Inside the crematorium

Harrogate bus operators confirm £2 fare cap extension

Bus companies in the Harrogate district have confirmed they will take part in an extension to the £2 fare cap.

The move comes in line with a government announcement that it had extended the cap until on single tickets until June this year.

The scheme was introduced at the start of January and was due to finish at the end of March.

But the Department for Transport announced last Friday that it was providing £75 million to extend the initiative.

Paul Turner, commercial director at Transdev, said Harrogate Bus Company would take part in the extension.

He said:

“We’re delighted to see to see that the Department for Transport has announced that the £2 fare cap will be extended until the end of June.

“So far during the fare cap, we have seen 11% extra customers on some of our routes, compared to customer numbers in November, and we’ve also seen the busiest day in the history of our company.

“The three month extension to the cap is bound to be good news for our existing customers, and we hope it will continue to encourage new customers out of the car and onto the bus.”

Meanwhile, Craig Temple, managing director at Connexions Buses, said the operator would also continue with a £2 cap on fares.

The £2 cap has reduced the cost of a 29-mile journey from Ripon to Leeds on the 36 bus by 73 per cent from £7.50 to £2, while the cost of a ticket from Harrogate to Bradford on the Flyer A2 has fallen by 63 per cent from £5.40 to £2.

Ministers hope the initiative will reinvigorate bus services amid fears many routes will be cut when funding runs out.

Ambulance workers in Harrogate district on strike again today

Ambulance workers in the Harrogate district are staging another one-day strike today.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service staff who are members of the GMB union have set-up another picket line outside the ambulance station on Lancaster Park Road in Harrogate, close to the hospital.

Paramedics, emergency care assistants, call handlers and other staff are among those taking part in the industrial action, although ambulance workers will continue to respond to the most serious incidents.

Further ambulance strikes are planned on March 6 and 20 and Harrogate District Hospital will be hit by a two-day nurses’ strike beginning on March 1.

GMB national secretary Rachel Harrison urged the government to “talk pay now” and claimed ministers were unwilling to solve the dispute.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the strikes “only cause further disruption for patients” and he remained “keen to keep talking to unions about what is fair and affordable”.

‘Too small a pot’

Read more:

Read more:

Read more:

‘A disaster’

Read more:

Read more:

Read More:

Read more:

‘A one-off isolated proposal’

Read more:

Read more:

Read more: