The former McColl’s store ravaged by fire in Starbeck could be turned into housing.
Built on High Street as a Harper’s grocery, the building was later used as a McColl’s but closed and was derelict when fire struck in 2018.
Since then, the building has frequently been described as an eyesore, although it was brightened this year when volunteers painted it in the colours of the Ukrainian flag.
An agent for the owners of the building said today there are plans for a “residential-led development”.
Pete Gleave, from Zerum Consulting, told the Stray Ferret:
“Our client is looking to progress proposals with the local planning authority and has entered into pre-application discussions with planning officers.
“This will be a residential-led development and we will shortly be commencing work on a formal planning application.
“Our client recognises the importance of bringing the site forward for redevelopment and we will now look to do so in a timely manner.”
Mr Gleave would not reveal who owned the building. He said he was “unable to pass on client details without their approval”.
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Andrew Hart, founder of Starbeck Community Group and owner of Starbeck Post Office, said the building was “just rotting away” and urgently needed attention. He added:
“Anything is better than nothing — it can’t stay as it is. The building is dangerous. We know it has asbestos problems inside and is an eyesore.
“But I’ll be disappointed if they don’t put some kind of retail function in on the ground floor.
“If we can get a prestigious restaurant, bar or shop in there then we can get other businesses in. There can be housing upstairs.”
In February, Harrogate Borough Council granted an application by Leeds-based developer Bates & Hemingborough to demolish the building.
The plans had been put on hold in December after the council asked for safety documents, which were later provided, addressing how the demolition would impact the adjacent St Andrew’s Church.
Could Harrogate’s ‘little temple’ be moved to ‘neglected’ Starbeck?A Starbeck community group has offered to find a new home for the ‘little temple’ that looks set to be moved from Harrogate.
North Yorkshire County Council said yesterday it had submitted a planning application to remove the tempietto in Station Square.
It plans to sell or recycle the construction so it can open up the area and use the space to host events, as part of the £11.9 million Harrogate Station Gateway scheme.
Postmaster Andrew Hart has written to the council offering to donate £1,000 towards bringing the little temple to Starbeck.
Mr Hart, who founded Starbeck Community Group, which has 1,800 members, wrote in his letter:
“Starbeck is very much the poor relative of Harrogate and Knaresborough and has suffered badly due to a depleted High Street, covid and the economy.
“We noticed with interest that you are planning to recycle or sell the tempietto from Harrogate. Could we please have first claim on it as either a gift or as a purchase?
“The community would be so proud to have this in Starbeck, it would not only enhance our community but it would lift spirits. I would happily start a community fund with a donation of £1000 towards the purchase if necessary.”
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Mr Hart was behind a successful bid last year to relocate eight planters from Harrogate to Starbeck when Harrogate Borough Council decided to get rid of them.
He said “these things help poor neglected Starbeck” and told the Stray Ferret the idea of Belmont Park hosting the little temple had been well received by locals:
Starbeck groups call truce and promise to work ‘positively together’“Everyone is working hard in Starbeck to make it look more colourful and this would give us a sense of pride.
“I saw the story and thought ‘this is a great opportunity for us’.”
Two rival community groups in Starbeck have called a truce and are promising to work together.
Starbeck Residents Association, chaired by Chris Watt, was formed in the 1990s and awards grants and campaigns to safeguard local facilities in Starbeck.
Starbeck Community Group was launched by Starbeck Post Office owner Andrew Hart in 2020 and has been involved in several local campaigns including painting a giant Ukraine flag on the former McColl’s supermarket building.
But the group’s two leaders have history — there was public acrimony when Mr Watt was appointed chair last year at the residents association’s annual general meeting.
In May this year, Mr Hart then said it was “an insult to the community” that Labour Party member Mr Watt was standing for a political party in local elections and called on him to step down from his role as chair.
There have also been unpleasant comments on social media.
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Mr Watt, alongside SRA secretary Geoff Foxhall, met Mr Hart and SCG member Lucky Hubbard over the weekend and they agreed to put their differences aside and work together.
Mr Watt and Mr Hart issued a joint statement that said “public attacks and criticism of other local groups only create division and foster a negative impression of Starbeck”.
The statement said:
Children at Starbeck school plant new community garden“Starbeck is a wonderful area, where we are proud to live and work. The Starbeck Residents’ Association and Starbeck Community Group have been working hard, in our respective ways, to support the area. We complement the many other groups and organisations who put so much into Starbeck and we are proud to support them as well.
“For the good of our area, it is important that we work together. Public attacks and criticism of other local groups only create division and foster a negative impression of Starbeck among people who live here and are considering moving to or investing in our area. It also discourages people from contributing their time and energy into local groups and organisations.
“For the good of Starbeck, we are promising to work constructively and positively together.”
Children at Springwater School in Starbeck have been busy planting fruit trees, edible herbs and wildflowers in a new community garden.
The special needs school on Starbeck High Street offers a modified curriculum for young people aged two to 19 with special needs.
The community garden was the brainchild of Life Destiny Church and Starbeck Community Group, which wanted to collaborate on a new green space in Starbeck where produce can be enjoyed by the local community.
The herbs and fruit trees that were planted will be used in the school’s curriculum cooking sessions. Food will also be donated to the food bank that takes place at the church.
Around 80 students spent a day working on the area last week along with Andrew Hart from Starbeck Community Group and Jeremy Fennings from the church.
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Kelly Tomlinson, RE lead at Springwater School, said:
“It will create a wonderful area of greenery in Starbeck that can be enjoyed into the future. All students shared the common goal of supporting the community in a project that cares for our planet.
“Andrew and Jeremy were fantastic at guiding students throughout the day and we continue to work with them, developing the area further. “
Andrew Hart added:
Harrogate council charge police over £110,000 for CCTV since 2016“A smaller group of Springwater students are now attending the garden weekly with Life Destiny Church and Starbeck Community Group to bring this garden to fruition. The produce will all go to Springwater School and the vulnerable in the community. It’s another great example of the community working together in Starbeck.”
Harrogate Borough Council has charged North Yorkshire Police over £110,000 to check and supply its CCTV footage since 2016, the Stray Ferret can reveal.
The council has a network of 212 CCTV cameras across the district to help prevent and detect crime. It has a manned control room that operates 24/7.
But it does not supply footage to the police for free and last month the Stray Ferret reported it asks the force to pay a fee of £57 per hour for the service.
We submitted a freedom of information request to the council that asked how much it has charged North Yorkshire Police in total since 2016.
The answer revealed a total bill of £114,005, which amounts to about £20,000 a year on average. The sum fell noticeably during covid lockdowns in 2021/22.
The annual breakdown is below:
- 2016/17 £23,410
- 2017/18 £19,598
- 2018/19 £20,251
- 2019/20 £18,992
- 2020/21 £13,400
- 2021/22 £18,354
Crime prevention
Ripon has been plagued by well-documented anti-social behaviour and crime in recent years.
The council operates 10 CCTV cameras in the city but Andrew Williams, the leader of Ripon City Council and the North Yorkshire county councillor for Ripon Minster and Moorside, said the charge deters police from following up crime reports.
He said:
“It is ironic that Harrogate Borough Council’s homes and safer communities team appears more interested in making commercial charges to the police, rather than working in partnership with them to help in the detection and arrest of criminals.”
Cllr Andrew Williams
Cllr Williams calculated that the £18,354 charge for the last financial year worked out at less than one hour of CCTV footage a day.
He suggested this means NYP is being selective in which footage it requests and could be missing out on catching criminals.
He added:
“When considering the size of the Harrogate district and the number of CCTV cameras installed across it, that indicates that police, with pressure on their budgets, are having to be selective in their purchasing of footage and only calling on the services of the HBC CCTV monitoring team for the most serious incidents that they are investigating.”
“At a public meeting in Ripon last month, police admitted that nobody had been arrested for the vandal attacks, in part because they could not pinpoint the exact time of each incident and would have to go through hours of footage, which would not necessarily provide the quality of footage required to identify an individual or individuals.”
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‘Shameful’ charges
Business owner Andrew Hart, who owns the Red Box post offices in Bilton and Starbeck, has previously raised concerns about anti-social behaviour in both areas.
Mr Hart has two private CCTV cameras in his post offices. He said he supplies any footage to the police for free if they ask for it and called the council’s decision to charge “shameful”.
The council currently operates one CCTV camera in Starbeck.
Andrew Hart
He said:
“We are often needing to refer back to our two CCTV systems on both police and private request. It is something we do out of a sense of duty to both the community and in our joint responsibility to fight anti-social behaviour.
“Yes, it takes time and costs us money but we all have to do our bit, surely. I think it is shameful that any council should charge our grossly overstretched police for this service.”
Council’s response
A council spokesperson said:
“CCTV across the Harrogate district, which is owned and managed by Harrogate Borough Council, has ongoing infrastructure and running costs.
“As well as the costs to maintain the service, there are also costs associated with a CCTV control room, staffing and the on-going safe storage of footage.
“Should anyone wish to obtain a copy of any footage, this would require an appropriate individual reviewing it first, followed by providing the footage securely along with a witness statement. All while adhering to the Data Protection Act 1998.
“Therefore, any third-party that wishes to view and use any CCTV footage – such as an insurance company, enforcement agency or the police – is charged to do so.”
North Yorkshire Police declined to comment.