Landslide win for Reform in North Yorkshire by-electionBid for Ripon council by-election rejected due to errorReaders’ Letters: Of course the Lib Dems won the Harrogate by-election – the candidate wore a tie!

Readers’ Letters 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. 

This letter followed news of the Liberal Democrats winning the Stray, Woodlands & Hookstone by-election in Harrogate earlier this month.

It is not surprising that the Lib Dems won the local by-election.

Their candidate was the only person dressed smartly, despite being a bit inarticulate when thanking everyone. The shock I suppose.

The Conservative candidate looked very sour. Who would want to vote for someone like that?

Let the lesson be learnt by everyone: dress smartly with a tie if you want to be seen as a good candidate, no matter which party you represent.

Who wants to vote for someone who looks as if they are just going down to the pub?

Valerie Cooke, Harrogate

Could Harrogate’s Conference Centre house spa facilities instead?

This letter responds to uncertainty over the future of Harrogate’s Convention Centre. In an exclusive, the Stray Ferret recently revealed North Yorkshire Council spent £1.9 million on consultants for now-scrapped plans for the site. 

The fate of the conference centre is too important for there to be any discord.

What do you think of the idea of Harrogate having spa facilities based in the conference centre? We were once so important as a spa town.

In 2024 we are losing our way – what are we now? What do we have to offer visitors?

In 1984 I set up Friends of the Valley Gardens to save the Sun Pavilion and Colonnade from being demolished. I knew Geoffrey Smith, James Herriot and David Bellamy and asked them to be presidents, to which they agreed.

We have the Valley Gardens and all it contains, as well as the Royal Hall, the Turkish Baths and the Royal Baths. Could the conference centre be used to house spa facilities, plus hairdressers, beauticians, physiotherapists, chiropractors and osteopaths etc? Essentially, everything to do with wellbeing all under the one roof, with easy parking too.

I am a golfer and walker and have often heard ladies saying it would be nice to have somewhere easy to park to go and be “pampered”. Not forgetting the gentlemen and all their needs.

It could also have a nice tea rooms with staff in uniform. I have lived here 60 years and can remember how genteel Harrogate was. As I said, now what is it?

It has really lost its way with thousands of houses being built – it seems that’s all the “powers that be” can think of.  They may as well hand it over to the developers and just build with no infrastructure.

Please no one give them the idea of turning the conference centre into flats – they would love that.

Anne Smith, Pannal

It’s ‘potluck’ if a Knaresborough bus actually turns up

This letter is in response to a story about North Yorkshire Council accepting £3.5 million of additional funding from the Department of Transport. The money, which is being used to support a one-year pilot scheme, will go towards expanding timetables, £1 bus fares for young people and improvements to bus shelters.

I read with interest your article about money to improve bus services in the Harrogate district, especially about the number 1 service from Harrogate to Knaresborough via Starbeck.

You mentioned buses to Aspin, Carmires and the Pastures, but there was no mention of the 1B to Aldi and Eastfield.

Sadly, since the X1B Connections bus ceased running, it is now potluck if – and when – a bus turns up at the Eastfield stop.

Are there any plans to improve the 1B service?

Paul Smith, Knaresborough

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

Read more:

By-election suggests tactical voting may topple Tories in Harrogate and Knaresborough

It may only have been a council by-election but this week’s Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone vote in Harrogate provided some fascinating insights into the local political landscape at a crucial time.

Andrew Timothy won the seat vacated by the resignation of fellow Liberal Democrat Pat Marsh.

His 44% share of the vote was down on the 52% achieved by Ms Marsh in 2022 after a bruising campaign in which the Lib Dems were reported to the police for wrongly stating the Green Party was not fielding a candidate.

But the 326-vote margin of victory over Conservative runner-up John Ennis was comfortable enough and brought relief to the Lib Dems, who were in danger of losing control of the council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee in a difficult by-election triggered by Ms Marsh’s anti-semitic comments.

Cllr Timothy left the count at Woodlands Methodist Church without giving interviews but Tom Gordon, the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said in a statement afterwards the result “proves elections here in Harrogate and Knaresborough are a two-horse race between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives”.

He added:

“We will take the new members, new deliverers, new activists, new councillor and momentum forward into the general election to win back the parliamentary seat from the Conservatives.”

‘Labour supporters voted tactically’

Labour candidate Geoff Foxall did little to challenge Mr Gordon’s view that Harrogate and Knaresborough was shaping up to be a straight fight between the Tories and Labour — and hinted tactical voting was the way to go.

Despite his party riding high in the national polls, Mr Foxhall finished last with just 116 votes yet he appeared far from downbeat.

He said:

“The Liberal Democrats should be thankful for the many Labour voters who have voted tactically. I hope Lib Dem voters reciprocate in the mayoral election.”

Mr Foxall said “voters in Harrogate are sophisticated” and frequently voted tactically. He highlighted how Labour did “particularly badly” in Harrogate and Knaresborough in 1997 when Barbara Boyce polled just 9% despite Tony Blair securing a national landslide, paving the way for Phil Willis to win locally for the Lib Dems.

Mr Foxall said Labour was “used to getting squeezed” locally and even suggested it would be open to a coalition with the Lib Dems and Greens at county level, where he said the parties were “akin on most issues”, and together could end the Conservatives’ dominance.

Asked what voting advice he would give Labour supporters in Harrogate and Knaresborough at the next general election, he said:

“Vote according to your conscience.”

For the Conservatives, so long the dominant force in North Yorkshire, it was a disappointing night.

During the campaign Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, wrote to Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey urging him to take action against local party members following the police complaint.

The ill feeling was apparent on the night when the Lib Dems complained to election officials about the number of Tories witnessing the count.

Mr Ennis and local activists campaigned hard in Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone but he still finished a distant second with 31%. The party polled 35% in 2022.

Speaking straight after the result, Mr Ennis said he had “campaigned in good faith on local issues, offering a positive message”.

He acknowledged “the national situation hasn’t helped” but added it was “difficult to extrapolate” conclusions from a by-election and he remained “confident we can hold the parliamentary seat”.

He also said the situation in next month’s mayoral election was “looking hopeful”.

Some Green Party members had hoped to claim second place but Gilly Charters still finished well ahead of Reform UK and Labour in third.

Ms Charters was upbeat afterwards, saying “a Green vote was a hopeful vote”, adding:

“The Greens will be back — and we hope we won’t have to call the police in next time.”

As for Reform UK, its 6% was below its national polling but it still finished above Labour. John Swales, its candidate, said:

“From a standing start and around four weeks to prepare we are building our presence in Harrogate and further progress will come in time.

“It was a good experience for us and we learnt a lot, performing with integrity and honour during the campaign and we would like to thank all the voters who supported us this time and we look forward to future campaigns with confidence.”

Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone by-election result

The turnout was 41%.

Read more:

Editor’s Pick of the Week: Costly consultants, a bad tempered by-election and Brian Deane

Some stories seem to go on forever, achieving little beyond years of work for consultants and council officers.

Take the Harrogate Convention Centre refurbishment. A response to a Stray Ferret freedom of information request asking how much has been spent on consultants discovered the sum was £1.9 million since 2016.

The vast majority went on a firm whose plans were recently scrapped. The solution? Hire new consultants to come up with a fresh vision!

An in-depth article by my colleague John Grainger this weekend looks at the refurbishment options. Convention centre director Paula Lorimer, who was named in the annual Taxpayers’ Alliance Town Hall Rich List this year for her £121,828 salary, declined to speak to us for the article.

It’s been a big political week with the Liberal Democrats winning the Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone by-election. The ill-feeling between local Lib Dems and Conservatives was palpable at Thursday night’s count. On the previous night, the Stray Ferret chaired a mayoral hustings event in York.

Brew York announced it was coming to Knaresborough but my personal highlight this week was news of a Beatles exhibition coming to Harrogate. Not so much because it’s the Fab Four but because sharp elbowed former footballer Brian Deane, who often pops up in Harrogate, retweeted our post on X about it.

Read more:

Lib Dems win Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone by-election

The Liberal Democrats have won the Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone by-election on North Yorkshire Council.

Lib Dem candidate Andrew Timothy finished first with 1,094 votes, ahead of Conservative John Ennis with 768.

It means the Liberal Democrats have retained control of the council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee. They have seven councillors, while the Conservatives have four and there are two Independents.

The Conservatives remain in control of North Yorkshire Council, with 44 of the 90 councillors. Three Independents who formed a Conservatives and Independents group helped maintain the Tories’ grip on power.

Yesterday’s by-election was called following the resignation of Lib Dem councillor Pat Marsh.

The result, which was declared at Woodlands Methodist Church on Wetherby Road just before midnight, was:

The turnout was 41%.

Mr Timothy left as soon as the count had concluded, declining to be interviewed.

Read more:

Voters head to the polls for Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone by-election

Voters head to the polls this morning as a by-election is held in Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone division on North Yorkshire Council.

Five candidates will contest the seat, which became available after former councillor Pat Marsh resigned in February after she posted anti-semitic comments on social media.

Voting will take place from 7am to 10pm with the election count taking place in the evening after the close of polling.

Polling stations will be open in St Aelred’s Church Hall, Woodlands Methodist Church and Oatlands Community Centre.

The candidates are:

Voters attending a polling station will need to bring photo ID to be able to vote.

This could include a UK or Northern Ireland photocard driving licence, full or provisional; a UK passport or a passport issued by the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, the Isle of Man, or any of the Channel Islands; and some concessionary travel passes, such as an older person’s bus pass or blue badge.

Voters will be able to use expired ID if they are still recognisable from the photo.

Read more:

 

By-election candidates support Harrogate active travel proposals

Candidates standing in next week’s Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone by-election have backed proposed new measures to encourage walking and cycling in Harrogate.

North Yorkshire Council is consulting on plans to introduce crossings at the junctions of Slingsby Walk and Oatlands Drive Slingsby Walk and Wetherby Road.

It hopes the move will encourage fewer journeys by car in a part of town densely populated by schoolchildren.

The Stray Ferret asked the five candidates standing in Thursday’s by-election for a seat on North Yorkshire Council for their views on the proposal.

Liberal Democrat candidate Andrew Timothy, who will be defending the seat for the Lib Dems following Pat Marsh’s resignation in February, was the only one not to respond.

The Conservative, Labour, Green and Reform UK candidates all, however, supported the proposal.

John Ennis, who finished runner-up for the Tories when the seat was last contested in 2022, said:

“Having myself campaigned over several years for pedestrian / cyclist crossings at these two points on Slingsby Walk, I very much welcome the fact the council is bringing these proposals forward, and would encourage local residents to respond to the consultation.

“Regarding the council’s reference to possible further traffic changes in the Oatlands Drive area, I am supportive in principle of 20mph, but opposed to any introduction of local one-way systems.”

Labour candidate Geoff Foxall, a former Harrogate borough councillor, said:

“I agree to both of these as necessary safety precautions: for school pupils on Oatlands Drive and residents and school pupils on Wetherby Road. Hopefully, these measures will encourage school pupils to walk or cycle to school rather than be driven there by parents.”

The Slingsby Walk and Wetherby Road junction.

Gilly Charters, who is representing the Green Party, said many residents in the Saints area were worried about child safety  and the crossings would address this and support active travel.

She added:

“The local Greens have led the way at North Yorkshire to address speed limits and road safety issues in particular around schools and presented a pilot scheme to Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee which paved the way for campaign groups to get safety measures in place on the roads around schools on the western side of Harrogate.

Reform UK candidate John Swales said he supported the crossings but “with a number of concerns, or reservations”.

He said it wasn’t clear how the pre-consultation was undertaken, and why motorists were not included, or why the cost of the schemes had appeared to increase since they were first mooted.

Mr Swales added:

“Also, I wouldn’t support a 20mph speed limits or junctions being made one-way, without a clear understanding of the benefits and drawbacks.”

The deadline for comments is Sunday, April 14. For more information and to view the plans, click here

Any comments should be emailed to Area6.Boroughbridge@northyorks.gov.uk using ‘Oatlands Drive/Wetherby Road crossing consultation’ in the email title.

Read more:

Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone by-election preview: Andrew Timothy, Liberal Democrats

Andrew Timothy says North Yorkshire Council needs more enthusiasm in its ranks.

He believes he can offer that if elected as councillor for Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone on April 11. He’d be the youngest member of North Yorkshire Council at 25.

Originally from the West Midlands, he moved to Harrogate a few years ago to work in a science lab. He lives just outside the division on Leeds Road.

The nature of being on the council where meetings are held during the day means younger people can be put off from standing due to work commitments. Mr Timothy says his employer will allow him to go part-time so he can fulfil his duties.

He believes his age helps him better understand the challenges facing young people in Harrogate and points to the often-heard complaints that there’s not much for them to do here.

He said:

“It’s difficult for young people. We’ve seen youth services cut and teenagers have nowhere to go in Harrogate.”

Mr Timothy believes transport is a big issue for residents in the division and he says they have been let down by the Conservative administration in Northallerton.

He said:

“Their record on transport has been really poor. We’ve seen how the Station Gateway has got to a point where it now just looks like a face-saving exercise. It’s not worth the £12m quid spent on it.

“The roads are full of potholes too, patched up on the cheap.”

With his scientific background, he’s looked into a Scottish company that fills in potholes using recycled plastic. He believes it’s the sort of innovative approach needed to get the roads in a better condition.

The Lib Dems have had some bad press lately due to their leader Sir Ed Davey getting dragged into the Post Office scandal and the shock resignation of Pat Marsh, which led to the by-election.

If he’s going to be elected, he’ll need to win over the supporters of the long-serving councillor.

Mr Timothy said “it was right she was suspended and resigned” but that she also “did a lot of good over 30 years”.

Voters go to the polls on April 11 and Mr Timothy wants to be a forensic presence on North Yorkshire Council. He said:

“It’s an asset that I’m coming in from a scientific background. I have the literacy to scrutinise the administration properly.”

The by-election will take place on Thursday April 11. For more information visit the council’s website.

A full list of candidates is below:

Read more:

Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone by-election preview: Geoff Foxall, Labour

Labour are predicted to win a landslide at the next general election and Geoff Foxall is hoping some of that optimism will rub off on his campaign to become the new councillor for Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone.

He believes John Ennis and the Conservatives “don’t stand a chance” so he hopes people who typically vote tactically for the Lib Dems will feel confident enough to vote Labour this time.

Mr Foxall said:

“We have to try and persuade voters in the division it’s worth voting Labour in this by-election. I would say in Harrogate voters are pretty smart.”

Born and raised in Harrogate, he was a councillor for Labour on Harrogate Borough Council for eight years in the 1990s.

He’s also a former teacher in the town and has been saddened at how council finances and public services have been squeezed.

He said:

“The changes have accelerated over the last 14 years since the coalition. I’ve never witnessed so much diminishing of the budgets coming from central government. It’s had an impact on all services. As the Labour group on North Yorkshire Council, we’ve got to try and increase that funding.”

Mr Foxall was a campaigner against the relief road through the Nidd Gorge and is a board member of Long Lands Common, the community woodland between Harrogate and Knaresborough.

He also organises weekly walks for elderly residents and says improving social care and helping people to live independently is an issue he’s passionate about.

He said traffic and congestion are a huge issue in the division, particularly around Wetherby Road, and would like to see a park-and-ride scheme introduced for Harrogate and improvements to buses.

He added:

“Harrogate has already started operating electric buses but we would aim to require all public transport road vehicles to be electric by 2030 as well as all the council’s own vehicles.”

Mr Foxall is optimistic about his chances and hopes he can be a bold voice for Harrogate on North Yorkshire Council. He said:

“Harrogate has been controlled by Conservatives and Lib Dems for years with little growth or progress. Just look at the mess they have made of the Station Gateway project. Labour in Harrogate can provide the change that is needed.”

The by-election will take place on Thursday April 11. For more information visit the council’s website.

A full list of candidates is below:

Read more: