Details of Harrogate summer roadworksAutism school in Harrogate delayed until 2025

North Yorkshire Council has confirmed that the planned opening date for a new school in Harrogate for children with autism has been pushed back until 2025.

The council’s Conservative-run executive approved the creation of the school last year which will be at the former Woodfield Community Primary School in Bilton.

It had pledged the new school would be open in time for the September 2024 term however in an update this morning, a council spokesperson said this will no longer be possible.

They did not give a reason for the delay but said the authority is committed to securing more special educational needs (SEN) provision in Harrogate.

Since 2016, the number of children in North Yorkshire with identified special educational needs and disability and a legally-binding education, health and care plan has increased by more than 110%, leading to a shortage of special school places and numerous children being taught by independent providers.

Independent day sector placements typically cost the public purse up to £70,000 annually and the average cost of a special school placement is about £23,000.

The results of a consultation revealed considerable support for the creation of the school in Harrogate with 86% of 105 responses in favour.

The council has pledged a £3.5 million investment into creating the school.

Amanda Newbold, the council’s assistant director for education and skills, said:

“We are committed to securing more special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision in North Yorkshire. The target opening date has been revised to next year.”

Cllr Paul Haslam (Independent, Bilton and Nidd Gorge) told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he was monitoring developments at the new school.

Woodfield school, which closed in 2022, had large playing fields and Cllr Haslam is urging the council to make it available to the public once the new school is created.

He added:

“I’ve put in a proposal for dual access to sports grounds so it can be used by the local community. That would be a good use of space.”

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Concern as school suspensions rise by 40% in Harrogate and Knaresborough

Concerns have been raised after the number of children suspended in Harrogate and Knaresborough schools rose by more than 40% in the last year.

Figures recently published by North Yorkshire Council revealed there were 459 suspensions in 2022/23 — a rise from 314 in the previous year.

The most common reason for suspensions was “persistent disruptive behaviour”, according to a report.

The chief inspector of Ofsted has said that behaviour in schools has deteriorated since the covid pandemic, with some pupils refusing to comply with rules, talking back to teachers and walking out of class mid-lesson.

The topic was raised at a meeting of local councillors in Harrogate on Thursday.

Cllr Paul Haslam, an independent representing Bilton and Nidd Gorge, said he was “concerned” at the level of suspensions in the area.

He said:

“What we’ve got is a symptom and not a cause. I’m keen to understand the causes of suspensions. I do not underestimate the commitment of teachers.

“As a past school governor and trustee, I know how hard they work but how can we best support them? Can we catch [poor behaviour] at primary school so it doesn’t happen in secondary school?”

Last week, youth education charity Impetus published research that found children suspended from school see their exam results suffer.

It suggested some children were found to be lagging a year behind their peers with some unable to achieve a standard pass in GCSE maths and English.

 

Amanda Newbold, assistant director for education and skills at North Yorkshire Council, responded to Cllr Haslam and said the rise in suspensions reflected a national trend.

She also said the figures were “linked disproportionately” to children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Ms Newbold said:

“What we’ve seen is an increase in suspensions and exclusions across the county. Those numbers have risen over the last few years. We can link it back to wider issues in families rather than school-specific issues.

“We’ve focused on all things inclusion this academic year and are offering support around suspension and exclusions. We’ve had headteacher workshops to make sure we can do as much preventative work as possible but it will take time to see outcomes.”

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Councillors recommend civic honour for Harrogate’s Rachel Daly

Councillors today voted to recommend awarding a civic honour to Harrogate-born England footballer Rachel Daly.

Rachel’s first club — Killinghall Nomads Junior Football Club — launched a petition this year in conjunction with the Stray Ferret calling on North Yorkshire Council to officially recognise their former player.

The council has done nothing to mark Rachel’s achievements, which include winning Euro 2022, playing in the World Cup final and winning the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award this year.

The petition received more than the required 500 signatures to make it eligible for debate at the council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee, which met today.

The petition was introduced by John Plummer, the editor of the Stray Ferret, who said:

“It’s difficult to think of anyone in North Yorkshire who has achieved more in recent years or done more to put Harrogate on the map.

“It is time for the council to wake up and realise Rachel Daly is a local superstar who should be celebrated — and honour our home-grown Lioness.”

Mr Plummer said it was “inconceivable that the council would not be falling over backwards to honour, say, Harry Kane if he was from Harrogate”, and it would “raise uncomfortable questions about the council, whose ruling executive is 80% male” if it denied recognition for Rachel, particularly as councillors had set a precedent by renaming Ripon leisure centre after Olympic diving champion Jack Laugher, who grew up in the city.

Rachel Daly on the pitch named after her.

Rachel Daly on the pitch named after her at Killinghall Moor Community Park.

The petition suggested renaming Harrogate Leisure and Wellness Centre but Mr Plummer said the council was welcome to come up with an alternative “but it has to be meaningful and on a scale befitting her accomplishments”.

Cllr Michael Schofield, an Independent who represents Harlow and St George’s, said he had spoken to Rachel, who used to visit the Shepherd’s Dog pub he runs, and she had indicated that although she appreciated the support she didn’t feel naming the leisure centre after her was appropriate.

Cllr Paul Haslam, a Conservative who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge, said he felt others, including Harrogate’s Paralympic powerlifter Charlotte McGuinness, had an equal right to be recognised.

The council currently has nothing in place for bestowing civic honours.

The 13-person Liberal Democrat-controlled committee voted in favour of recommending the council “develops a civic honours-type scheme for the council and that Rachel Daly’s achievements are recognised through the new scheme”.

Cllr Peter Lacey, a Liberal Democrat who represents Coppice Valley and Duchy, said he hoped the matter could be dealt with swiftly.

Area constituency committees are advisory bodies to the council. It is now up to the council’s Conservative-controlled executive to decide whether to act on its recommendations.

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Harrogate autism school could save £4m a year

A proposal to convert a former Harrogate primary school into a secondary school for 80 autistic children could save up to £4 million over five years, it has emerged.

North Yorkshire Council’s ruling executive will next week discuss the findings of a six-week consultation into proposals to spend £3.5 million repurposing Woodfield Community Primary School.

A report on the consultation, published before the meeting, revealed considerable support for the scheme, with 86 per cent of 105 responses in favour.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Councillor Paul Haslam, a Conservative who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge, said the proposal was a good outcome.

He said:

“The community was severely disappointed when the primary school closed, however we are delighted a new school will be here to provide provision for children with special educational needs.

“It’s a great green location with good air quality and facilities and as the primary school had 50 per cent special needs pupils, the area is used to providing that type of care.”

Special needs rocketing

Since 2016, the number of children in North Yorkshire with identified special educational needs and disability and a legally-binding education, health and care plan has increased by more than 110 per cent, leading to a shortage of special school places and numerous children being taught by independent providers.

As independent day sector placements typically cost the public purse up to £70,000 annually and the average cost of a special school placement is about £23,000.

The council is therefore forecasting savings of up to £4 million over the first five years of the new school.

Woodfield School

Woodfield school closed in December.

Woodfield school closed at the end of last year, with the council claiming it had “exhausted all options” after years of falling pupil numbers and an inadequate Ofsted rating. It is hoped the new school will open in September next year.

Numerous consultation respondents said the specialist school was “desperately” needed in the area, with one parent highlighting how their child had to travel to Darlington for autism provision.

Respondents said many children with autism failed to do as well as they could because they were not in the correct setting to flourish.

A headteacher of a local primary school, who is not named, told the consultation:

“This is very good news indeed, especially when we consider the number of pupils attending private placements alongside the skyrocketing levels of need. It is very good to feel heard by the local authority.”

Some respondents questioned whether the funding should have been focused on improving or extending other specialist schools, including Springwater School in Starbeck and the Forest School in Knaresborough, with one claiming it was “too little too late for the academic autistic community”.

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Councillor outlines plans for new train station in Harrogate

A Harrogate councillor has outlined plans to open a train station at Claro Road.

Cllr Paul Haslam, a Conservative who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge on North Yorkshire Council, said the station would service up to 700 commuters daily and remove thousands of car journeys on Skipton Road each week.

Besides the environmental benefits, Cllr Haslam said it would also bring economic and social benefits to the relatively deprived Bilton and Woodfield area.

The train line at Bilton

He said the station, which would be situated somewhere near the iron bridge that links Claro and Bilton, should be accompanied by cycle storage and a small supermarket.

With the new North Yorkshire Council unlikely to be able to fund such a major scheme, Cllr Haslam suggested it could apply to the UK government for funding from a public transport decarbonisation programme or an economic development grant.

Cllr Paul Haslam

He likened it to the Harrogate Station Gateway, which is being funded with £10.6 million from a Department for Transport active travel scheme.

Cllr Haslam acknowledged the scheme was more of a “vision rather than a mapped out idea” but added:

“This simple intervention could bring massive benefits to the area both economic and wellbeing, improve local public transport, as well as do a great deal towards modal shift from car to train and reduce the volume of traffic especially on Skipton road and the A61 to Leeds.

“To me it’s a no-brainer. A lot of people who live in the Claro, Bilton and Woodfield area work in Leeds. Wouldn’t it make their lives better if they could get there by train?”

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He added the station would link to the Nidderdale greenway, which would encourage cycling and walking, boost the nearby business park and benefit two nearby schools — Harrogate High School and St Robert’s Catholic Primary School.

Cllr Haslam added:

“I have already approached a provider of supermarkets about putting a small supermarket alongside and they are keen – there are no shops on Claro Road so anyone living there has to travel onto Skipton Road to access a food shop.”

Cllr Haslam was appointed as North Yorkshire climate champion last week.

£30,000 cycle priority crossing planned in Harrogate

North Yorkshire Council has proposed constructing a cycle priority crossing in Harrogate.

The £30,000 scheme where Bilton Lane dissects Nidderdale Greenway would give cyclists and pedestrians crossing the road priority over vehicles.

The road would be raised to make the crossing more visible to motorists.

The council has sent letters to Bilton residents to get their views. The letter says there has been an increase in the number of cyclists and pedestrians using the Nidderdale Greenway cycle network. It adds:

“As part of the council’s efforts to improve accessibility and promoting active travel, we are proposing to construct a cycle priority crossing on Bilton Lane at the crossing of Nidderdale Greenway.

“The crossing is designed with a raised table making it more visible to drivers and helping to slow them down. Priority will be given to cyclists and pedestrians to cross safely without having to compete with drivers on the road.

“People with mobility issues such as those using wheelchairs or mobility scooters can cross more easily with the crossing being at the same level as the footway. Apart from improved safety, other benefits include increased accessibility, better health outcomes and environmental benefits.”

The crossing would be 7 metres long, 6.6 metres wide and 75 millimetres high.

Paul Haslam, a Conservative who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge on the council, said he supported the idea in principle.

But he added the Bilton Lane speed limit needed to be reduced from 30mph to 20mph and parking arrangements improved so the crossing was more visible to motorists.

Cllr Haslam also called on farmers, who often drive vehicles on Bilton Lane, to be consulted and for the car park next to the greenway and Bilton Lane to be resurfaced.

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Commissioner rules out Harrogate fire engine rethink despite faulty data

North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoë Metcalfe has ruled out reconsidering plans to reduce the number of nighttime fire engines based in Harrogate.

Ms Metcalfe’s three-year fire service blueprint last year decided the number of overnight appliances at the Skipton Road fire station would be cut from two to one.

One of the main concerns during consultation was this could lead to life-threatening delays at Starbeck level crossing if a second fire engine were required in an emergency.

Ms Metcalfe allayed fears by telling councillors firefighters knew the train times and could ring ahead to Network Rail if they needed to cross urgently.

But her office admitted last month this information, which it said had been “relayed in good faith by the commissioner”, was incorrect, which heightened concerns.

Ms Metcalfe, a Conservative, responded by saying concerns about Starbeck level crossing had been “the subject of limited media coverage”.

She added there was “misunderstanding on the part of the media and therefore also local stakeholders and the public” about the significance of Starbeck level crossing in her Risk and Resource Model 2022 to 2025, which outlines how fire service resources should be deployed.

She added:

“I want to reiterate that the Risk and Resource Model proposals were subject of a detailed modelling and consultation process undertaken in support of the review of North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service provision.

“The nature of the misunderstanding does not warrant a reconsideration of the resource proposals and statutory planning process that is now complete.”

But Ms Metcalfe added:

“Nonetheless, I recognise that local concerns about this misunderstanding should be addressed and I propose to offer a meeting with myself and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, should any local councillor wish to avail themselves of that opportunity.”

‘Gates down for five minutes’

Cllr Pat Marsh, a Liberal Democrat on North Yorkshire Council who raised concerns about Starbeck level crossing with Ms Metcalfe last year, said the issue “cannot be batted away” and called for a meeting at the level crossing. She added:

“I have major concerns when the gates are down for a long period of time and ambulances and fire engines are waiting it can make the difference between life and death as it did in my family.

“The gates are down on some occasions for at least five minutes. If you are having a heart attack or your house is on fire every minute is precious.”

Cllr Paul Haslam, a Conservative on North Yorkshire Council, said he was willing to meet Ms Metcalfe in the hope of putting pressure on Network Rail. He said:

“We have been working round this issue for a long time.”