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13
Jun
‘Fair and just’ or political stunt? Tory and Lib Dems clash over Harrogate Spring Water money
A Conservative councillor has accused Liberal Democrats of running a “deliberately misleading” campaign to reallocate money from Harrogate Spring Water to the town.
Harrogate Spring Water, which is part of French-owned Danone, pays a 0.5% levy on profits each year to Tory-run North Yorkshire Council. The sum was £176,806 in the financial year ending March 2024.
The levy was previously paid to Harrogate Borough Council until it was abolished in 2023, and Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrats say it should now go to the newly created Harrogate Town Council, which it has political control of.
They say funding could be used to pay for projects or reduce the council tax precept.
Cllr Mark Crane, North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for open to business, rejected the idea in April on the grounds that “all monies received by North Yorkshire Council are spent across North Yorkshire and we are not ringfencing any of them”.
But the issue flared up again at the second full meeting of Harrogate Town Council last night (June 11), when Lib Dem Cllr Andrew Timothy proposed a motion calling on North Yorkshire Council “to pass the contract with Harrogate Spring Water regarding the name of Harrogate to Harrogate Town Council, allowing the proceeds to be used for the benefit of those resident in the chartered town of Harrogate”.
Harrogate Spring Water's headquarters
Cllr Andrew Timothy, who represents Hookstone, said “it’s only right that this pot is transferred to Harrogate” as the levy was for the use of the Harrogate name, which now belonged to the town council.
'Deliberately misleading nonsense'
But the motion sparked the town council’s first political spat as Cllr Michael Harrison, a Conservative who represents Saltergate, said the issue threatened the council's credibility.
He said:
This proposal is, quite frankly, nonsense, and I would urge members not to be fooled into taking the action proposed.
Firstly, the supporting information is deliberately misleading. The Harrogate Spring Water levy is a commercial levy that was negotiated by Harrogate Borough Council, that has passed to North Yorkshire Council after reorganisation. It is entirely misleading to link the name and Royal Charter of Harrogate passing to the new town council with these funds.
The wording deliberately gives the casual reader the impression that North Yorkshire Council has somehow retained the levy as part of the creation of the town council. There is no link. The two are unrelated. Just as any income or expenditure of any North Yorkshire Council operations have nothing directly to do with the town council.
Secondly, the Liberal Democrats have already had a response from North Yorkshire Council on this subject, and I’m directing this at members of the Liberal Democrat group: if this hasn’t been shared with you then you are deliberately being kept in the dark. The response from North Yorkshire Council is quite clear.
This week's town council meeting.
Cllr Harrison said it was “an entirely political motion”, adding: “If you want to have a constructive relationship with North Yorkshire Council, this is the wrong way to go about it.”
'Potentially transformative'
Several Liberal Democrats, who hold 15 of the 19 seats on the town council, spoke to reject Cllr Harrison’s claims.
Stray ward Cllr Patrick Milne said every person he spoke to while campaigning for May’s town council election “felt this money should be under the control of Harrogate Town Council”.
Cllr Graham Dixon, whose Harlow ward includes Harrogate Spring Water’s headquarters, said “the residents of Harlow felt this money should be made to the new town council” and accused Cllr Harrison of being “slightly out of touch”.
Valley Gardens Cllr Edward Metcalfe said the sum was a “drop in the ocean” for North Yorkshire Council but “potentially transformative” for Harrogate Town Council, whose first-year budget is £362,000.
He added: “We are protectors of the Harrogate name and this money should come to us”.
(from left) Cllrs Timothy, Harrison and Milne
Cllr Austin Wildmore, who represents Coppice Valley, agreed, saying it was “fair and just that it comes to this town”.
Fifteen of the 17 councillors present supported the motion. Cllr Harrison opposed it and Cllr David Goodall, of Reform, abstained.
It means the town council will now seek more information on the nature of the contract between North Yorkshire Council and Harrogate Spring Water and legal advice through its membership of the Yorkshire Local Councils Association.
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