Creation of Harrogate Town Council ‘inevitable’ if reorganisation happens

The leader of Harrogate Borough Council has said it is “inevitable” that a new town council will be created under plans for local government reorganisation across North Yorkshire.

Conservative councillor Richard Cooper made the statement after members of the opposition Liberal Democrat party called for commitments to ensure residents’ voices are not “lost” if the current two-tier structure of county and district councils is scrapped and replaced with unitary authorities.

Harrogate and Scarborough are the only areas in North Yorkshire currently not served by a town or parish council and a review of how services are run would be required if the Government decides to press ahead with reorganisation later this month.

Speaking at a meeting on Wednesday, councillor Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said Harrogate would be “woefully underrepresented” if the town was not given a chance to retain control over some services such as parks, markets and sports pitches.

She said:

“We owe it to the people of Harrogate town to be able to make a strong statement that this council supports the parishing of Harrogate.

“Even with 75,000 residents’ voices, those voices would be lost in some large unitary authority. It would leave Harrogate residents adrift and very under-represented.

“We as the locally elected members for those 75,000 residents need to ensure their voices are not lost and that true devolution occurs, bringing decision-making and accountability down to the people.”

In response, councillor Cooper said he had previously offered assurances that a Harrogate Town Council would most likely be created and that a review of services would be carried at “the correct time, in the correct way and by the correct people.”

Under the reorganisation plans, the current two-tier system could be replaced with either a single authority for all of North Yorkshire or two bodies split on an east/west basis in what would mark the biggest shake-up of local government in the county since the 1970s.

The government will also decide whether the City of York should be engulfed in the east/west proposal or be left as unitary authority.

The aim of the reforms is to unlock the door to a devolution deal and save cash by streamlining services.

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Currently, North Yorkshire County Council is responsible for services including social care, education and highways, while district and borough councils look after the likes of planning, licensing and bin collections.

If approved, the reforms would see almost all services brought under the control of a unitary structure with some likely to be left in the control of a Harrogate Town Council.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Liberal Democrat councillor Matthew Webber received the backing of all members after presenting a notice of motion which called on the borough council to “strongly recommend” the creation of a town council.

He said:

“We are facing reorganisation and the announcement is due later this month. Harrogate will not become the centre of the world, it will probably be Northallerton so the influence Harrogate has got across its district is likely to be lessened.

“What we are asking through this notice of motion is that Harrogate is given a voice.”

Harrogate Borough Council, along with Scarborough, Ryedale, Craven, Selby and Richmondshire councils, is behind the proposals to split North Yorkshire on an east/west basis, while North Yorkshire County Council has proposed a single authority for the whole county.

Each rival bids have boasted multi-million pound savings and better ways of working – and it is MP Luke Hall, minister for regional growth and local government, who will have the final say on which path to take later this month.

Harrogate council awarded £204,000 to reduce rough sleeping

Harrogate Borough Council has been awarded £204,269 by the government to help people living on the streets find accommodation.

The funding is part of the £203m Rough Sleeping Initiative allocated to councils by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson said the funds will be spent on providing short-term support for rough sleepers, including accommodation and support worker staffing.

According to the government, the Rough Sleeping Initiative, which was launched in 2018, has reduced rough sleeping by almost a third compared to areas that have not taken part in the programme.

Eddie Hughes, the minister for rough sleeping, said:

“This is part of an unprecedented £750 million of government investment this year to help us reach our goal of ending rough sleeping by the end of this parliament.”

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Harrogate and homelessness

Last month, the council opened a new 19-bed homeless centre in Starbeck called Fern House. The site, on Spa Lane, cost £2.3 million to build and provides accommodation as well as support for homeless people.

The council erected temporary winter accommodation units for homeless people on Tower Street last winter. The units were removed in March without being used.

The Stray Ferret revealed in March that the council spent more than £350,000 on bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless people from the start of the first lockdown until the end of last year.

Harrogate council: zero fines for littering or dog fouling in 12 months

Harrogate Borough Council has revealed it hasn’t issued any fines in the last year to people who drop litter or allow their dogs to foul in public.

The two issues have been hot topics recently.

The Stray has been a litter hotspot over the past year with takeaway boxes, leftover food, beer bottles and cans frequently discarded.

The Pinewoods Conservation Group has also highlighted on social media the problem of empty plastic bottles and other waste being left in the woodland.

Meanwhile, people have complained about an increase in dog owners leaving poo bags tied to trees, dumped in bushes or even thrown into private gardens.

Pateley Bridge Town Council is due to consider on Tuesday what action it can take against dog fouling at the play area.

A spokesperson from Pinewoods Conservation Group said:

“Litter has always been a major issue for us but seems to have worsened over the last 12 months.

“We often report specific areas of concern to the council but also have a number of volunteers who continue to work hard collecting litter from within and around The Pinewoods.

“Seeing large number dog waste left in plastic bags is specifically disappointing but a regular sight along the main footpaths. We would certainly encourage more enforcement of the rules with fines being applied where necessary. Without this it is difficult to see the situation improving.”

The council can issue fixed penalty notices of £100 for littering and up to £80 for dog fouling.

But a council spokeswoman told the Stray Ferret littering and dog fouling were “not a major problem” in the district.

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Yorkshire Live reported last week that Harrogate Borough Council was one of two councils in North Yorkshire that had not issued any fines for littering in two years.

A council spokeswoman said:

“The fact we’ve not issued any fines in the last 12 months is because littering and dog fouling is not a major problem and we have dedicated teams of people who keep the Harrogate district clean and tidy.

“Dedicating officers to deal with this issue is very resource intensive, and requires us having people in the right place at the right time to catch someone committing an offence within the 505 square miles of the district.

“We are very fortunate that the vast majority of people who live here or come to visit take considerable pride in the appearance of the area. Because of this they do the right thing and pick up after their dog, don’t drop litter and dispose of their waste responsibly.”

Five Harrogate council officers earning over £100,000 named in rich list

Five Harrogate Borough Council officers earning over £100,000 a year have been named in an annual rich list by the TaxPayers’ Alliance.

The pressure group, which claims to speak for ‘ordinary taxpayers fed up with government waste’, published its Town Hall Rich List 2021 report this morning.

It includes details of every council officer in the UK earning over six figures in 2019/20.

Chief executive Wallace Sampson topped the list for Harrogate Borough Council, earning over £125,000.

Paula Lorimer, who runs the Harrogate Convention Centre for the council, was second, earning over £120,000.

The final figure includes salary, pension payments and expenses.

The Harrogate officers in the report are:

The Stray Ferret revealed yesterday that Mr Campbell was paid £55,065 in compensation after he left the role suddenly in March last year.

The report found that at least 2,802 people employed by local authorities in 2019-20 each received total remuneration packages in excess of £100,000.

The average number of people paid over the sum per local authority is seven.

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The report links officer salaries with council tax rises. From this month taxpayers in Harrogate will see a 3% increase in council tax compared with last year.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:

“While councils were plunged into tackling the pandemic, many staff will have more than earned their keep, but households have nevertheless struggled with enormous and unpopular council tax rises.”

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesman said:

“We have always published our senior salaries and our pay policy on our website and have nothing to hide.

“These salaries are in line with those paid by comparable local authorities and are regularly reviewed.”

History: Harrogate’s Battle of the Flowerbeds

This article is written by Historian Malcolm Neesam. Malcolm is a much-published author. In 1996 Harrogate Borough Council awarded Malcolm the Freedom of the Borough for his services as the town’s historian.

 

 

The rows about the effect on the Stray of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) cycling event in 2019, and more recent proposals to construct cycle routes and extra outdoor space for bars, emphasise the high importance it has for many people.

This is nothing new, and modern readers may be interested to learn of one of the biggest rows in the history of 20th-century Harrogate which – as ever – was fought between the council and the public, with the result that the council was thrown out of office. Known as the “battle of the flowerbeds”, the issue achieved national press coverage.

It was in November 1932 that the council took up the suggestion of J G Besant, the parks superintendent, that the approaches to the town centre would be made more attractive by the construction of flower beds on West Park Stray between Otley Road and Montpellier Hill. The idea had come to Mr Besant while on holiday at another British resort, which had a similar feature.

Although this was a nice concept, Mr Besant did not seem to understand that the Stray did not belong to the council but was protected by Acts of Parliament for the main purpose of keeping its 220-odd acres intact and free from “incroachment” – any enclosure that hindered public access other than those allowed by the Acts, such as public lavatories.

It is a mystery why town clerk J Turner Taylor did not warn the council that the Besant proposal entailed a breach of the Harrogate Corporation Act 1893. Mr Turner Taylor, who was possibly the best town clerk or chief official ever to work for Harrogate, had come to office in 1897, the year of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, and worked devotedly for Harrogate, wearing himself out in the process. He had wanted to retire after the First World War, but remained in office at the urging of the council and by the 1930s was exhausted and also ill with the malady that would kill him barely a year after his 1935 retirement.

The 1893 Act, 56 & 57 Victoria, section 10, stated that the corporation “must keep the Stray unenclosed and unbuilt as an open space for the recreation and enjoyment of the public” , with section 11 adding “the Corporation shall at all times… preserve the natural aspect and state of the Stray… and protect the trees, shrubs, plants, turf and herbages growing on the same and shall prevent all persons from felling, cutting, lopping or injuring the same and from digging clay, loam and soil therefrom”.

As the proposed flowerbeds would require removing the surface herbage and disturbing the sub-soil, with the public subsequently being unable to use those areas, a breach of the Act was clear. But for whatever reason, Mr Taylor Turner never appears to have advised the council of this. On the contrary, on December 23 1932 the Yorkshire Post noted that not only had the clerk advised that the proposal was legal, but his opinion was backed by the chairman of the Stray Committee, the lawyer Mr S Barber. Consequently, the council’s pursuance of its parks superintendent’s scheme resulted in disaster.

One and a quarter acres of the Stray were dug up and turned into flowerbeds in 1933, to the anger of residents

Even before the council’s fateful decision, the owner and editor of the Harrogate Advertiser W H Breare wrote a blistering statement warning that the action was illegal. Nevertheless, at a full council meeting on December 12, approval was given to spend £40 on the preparation of the beds, and £70 on labour.

Work on clearing the Stray’s surface then began. The Besant plan called for two rows of variously shaped beds to be carved out between the junction of West Park and Otley Road. The outer row nearest to the highway consisted of 27 beds for flowers between Otley Road and Beech Grove, with a further row of 11 single beds for shrubs between Beech Grove and the footpath that ran from lower Montpellier Hill to Victoria Road and Esplanade.

In all, some one and a quarter acres were lost, with one third of the replacements being filled with shrubs, and two thirds with flowers, for which three plantings per annum were envisaged, requiring about 18,000 plants per planting.

Public reaction was instant and hostile, with strong opposition being expressed to individual councillors as well as to the press. One councillor, Mr J C Topham, tried to have the minutes of December 12 1932 rescinded on January 9 1933, but voting went against this with five in favour, and 20 against. The council now set itself to resist firmly the public opposition, but it miscalculated the degree of resentment towards its intransigence. The battle was only beginning.

Backed with increasing signs of public disquiet, at the February council meeting Cllr Topham introduced a further resolution to rescind the resolution of December 12. Again the resolution failed with five in favour, and 23 against – and the town clerk again stating that the Besant plan was legal.

At this second failure, public opinion exploded, and on February 9 one of the largest public gatherings ever held in Harrogate was held in the Spa Rooms, with the press reporting that hundreds of townspeople had to be turned away.

A satirical cartoon from 1934 shows Old Mother Harrogate haranguing councillors

This meeting, which was chaired by Mr Tyack Bake, included a reference to a 1923 scheme of the council to build 20 tennis courts on West Park Stray, which was abandoned after vociferous public protest. The meeting, which included several members of Harrogate’s legal profession, ended with resolutions to oppose the council’s scheme and to test its legality. A meeting held by the Chamber of Trade expressed similar reservations.

Public fury increased substantially when on May 8 1933 the council gave approval to the Stray Committee to remove 5,000 square yards of turf at Stray Rein for re-laying on the new terraces in Valley Gardens outside the Sun Pavilion. As the turf had already been removed, any objections were a bit late!

Residents of Beech Grove sent their butlers to protest outside the council’s new Crescent Gardens offices. Another wealthy resident threatening to drive his Rolls Royce over the illicit “inclosures”. But by far the greater number of protests came from less affluent members of Harrogate’s citizenry.

By spring 1933, it was clear to the public that the council would not be moved, and so the obvious solution was to remove the council instead. A new organisation, named the “Stray Defence Association” (SDA), was born. As the summer of 1933 progressed, and opinions hardened, the press – both regional and national – was filled with heated correspondence relating to Harrogate’s “Battle of the Flowerbeds”, whose supporters received a considerable boost from a remark attributed to the visiting Queen Mary that the new flowerbeds “looked very nice”.

Due to uncertainty over the legal situation because of a section of the 1893 Act, which empowered the corporation to plant trees and shrubs on the Stray, the new defence association decided not to embroil the town in an expensive legal wrangle, but to oppose at the coming November’s elections those councillors known to support the Besant plan. In September, the SDA sent councillors a letter stating its objective in restoring the Stray and asking for their support.

When in the majority of cases this was not forthcoming, the SDA resolved to stand for election against individual Stray desecration supporters. Mr R Ernest Wood and Arthur Pearson put their names forward. Both were returned as councillors.

With this success behind them, the SDA again asked to remove the beds, which was met with a curt refusal during the council meeting of January 8 1934. So many people tried to gain admission that the council was forced to move the proceedings to the Winter Gardens, where several outbursts of public anger drowned out councillors. However, the opponents of the Besant plan on the council had now increased from five to 12, one of whom was the youthful Harry Bolland, who showed his political sensitivity by admitting the council had got it wrong.

As for the 18 who still remained in support, the SDA announced they would be opposed by its members when the elections came around again later that year. In November 1934, all four association candidates were returned on the policy of restoring the Stray.

It was at a lively meeting on November 9, complete with interruptions and much booing from the public, that the new council debated whether to remove the Besant beds. The motion from Alderman Bolland that it be a matter of urgency that the Stray be restored was supported by 18 votes for against 13 die-hards who opposed it. The motion passed, and work began immediately to restore the Stray, with the sites laid down to grass.

A mock tombstone for Harrogate councillors over the Stray flowerbeds battle in the 1930s.

Throughout the “battle of the flowerbeds”, a hard core of councillors remained oblivious to public feeling, the mayor in particular exhibiting a furious contempt towards his opponents. All this did nothing to maintain respect towards elected representatives. More dangerously, the sudden re-formation of the council on a one-issue basis (i.e. the restoration of the Stray) meant that the council faltered with its three-part plan for the Valley Gardens, until the issue of treatment accommodation at the Royal Baths became of pressing importance towards the end of the decade.

It has been because Harrogate’s history is not taught to councillors that the battle of the Stray has to be re-fought on average once a decade. Invariably, these are the result of the council attempting to foist on the public alterations to the Stray “for the good of the town” or to placate some noisy action group. Most dangerous of all is when the council decides some pet scheme requires new legislation to change the law prohibiting inclosure.

Some examples of these pressures were the suggestions to build tennis courts on the Stray in the 1920s, a boating lake in the 1930s, a hula-hoop park in the 1950s, a conference centre in the 1960s, or an underground car park in the 1970s. But the Stray has survived because the public wanted its Stray to remain untouched. Long may this be true.

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Rotary Wood ‘remains at risk’, say Pinewoods group

Campaigners say Harrogate’s Rotary Wood “remains at risk” after a senior Harrogate borough councillor said it would be “premature” to comment on a future sale of the site.

There have been calls to protect the wood after Harrogate Borough Council’s 12-person planning committee voted to refuse Harrogate Spring Water’s controversial plans to expand its bottling plant, which would have involved the loss of more trees at the woodland.

The company already has outline planning permission to expand into the wood, but applied for a revised application for a bottling plant that was 22% larger than originally agreed.

HBC owns the Harrogate Spring Water site on Harlow Moor Road and leases it back to them.

At last night’s full council meeting, Neil Hind, chair of the Pinewoods Conservation Group, asked Cllr Graham Swift, cabinet member for economic development, if HBC would commit to retaining Rotary Wood  “with no plan to lease or sell it” in the future.

Cllr Graham Swift responding to the Pinewoods Conservation Group last night.

Cllr Graham Swift responding to the Pinewoods Conservation Group last night.

In response, Cllr Swift said he was “personally surprised” by the committee’s decision to refuse the extension, but added that the reserved matters application still had to be determined.

He said:

“A key component about the council making any decision about a potential disposal of land is to ensure that we have access to the full facts so that all the relevant considerations can be taken into account.

“The planning status of the site is one of these considerations. Therefore, as the reserved matters application is still to be determined by planning committee it would be premature at this stage to comment on a potential future disposal.

“Equally, it would be wrong of me to interfere with planning matters or attempt to override planning decisions by causing obstruction to their decisions.

“Our committee has already taken a decision to approve one application from a significant local business and although reserved matters are still to be dealt with, I’m not prepared to interfere with the planning process or limit it in its powers.”

He added that should the council decide to lease or sell the site it would “abide by proper procedures”, including considering an asset of community value status.

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Following the meeting, a spokesperson for Pinewoods Conservation Group said:

“The fact the response was via the cabinet member for resources, enterprise and economic development is a clear indication of the council’s priorities and intent here.

“We were obviously very disappointed by the reply from Cllr Swift who is obviously very supportive of the development plans.

“This was an opportunity for the council to confirm once and for all its green intentions and it unfortunately failed to do so. As such it is unfortunate that Rotary Wood, planted by the community, remains at risk.“

What happens next?

Harrogate Spring Water has already said it will consider its options following last month’s decision.

The company could choose to appeal the decision, submit another application or stick with the original outline planning permission obtained in 2016.

If they decide to proceed with the original outline planning permission they need to submit a full application before May, which would again be considered by HBC’s planning committee.

In 2015 the Pinewoods was registered as an Asset of Community Value. This would give the local community a chance to buy or lease the site if the council decided they wanted to dispose of it.

Council moves forward with controversial plans for Harlow Nurseries housing

Harrogate Borough Council has appointed three different consultancy firms to help prepare for a potentially controversial 40-home housing development at Harlow Nurseries.

Harlow Nurseries is currently used by the council to sell plants, pots and compost to the public. It would be relocated to another site if the housing went ahead.

The group of consultants will be led by architects BDP who will work with global investment management company Colliers and construction consultants RPP.

Plans to redevelop the site could be unpopular. In 2020, HBC asked residents their views about Harlow Nurseries, with one respondent saying “it would be a very, very sad day if the site was sold off for housing”.

A spokesperson for Pinewoods Conservation Group called on the council to work on an “environmentally conscientious” development.

“We suspect the development of the council nurseries into a possible 40 home development will be another controversial planning application with likely impact on the Pinewoods. We know the Nursery Lane access is well used by many residents and this development could impact on the borders of the woods.

“However, we welcome the early engagement as a key stakeholder and hope that the council continues to engage openly on their plans. This could be a unique opportunity for the council to look at the most environmentally conscientious development within the district.”

The three firms will also work with council officers to develop a masterplan for housing and business space on Dragon Road car park near Asda, which is currently being used as Harrogate’s covid-19 testing centre.

They will also bring forward a plan for 12.7 hectares of land south of Almsford Bridge in Pannal, which could be used for offices or storage.

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All three sites have been designated within the council’s Local Plan, which says where development can happen in the district over the next 14 years.

The consultants will be paid with funding secured by the council in 2018.

The council received £200,000 from the Leeds City Region Business Rates Pool and £36,000 from the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

A report with a draft programme for the three sites is expected in September 2021.

Donate laptops at Harrogate district libraries to help children

North Yorkshire County Council is offering to refurbish donated laptops and give them to needy children and adults during lockdown.

The Reboot North Yorkshire scheme, which was announced today, will enable children without digital devices to study from home.

It will also connect socially isolated adults to family and friends.

Businesses and people can bring devices to drop-off points in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Ripon, Masham Community Office or Nidderdale Plus libraries.

Laptop donations have been received already from Harrogate firm Bettys & Taylors and social housing provider Beyond Housing.

Cllr David Chance, North Yorkshire’s executive member for stronger communities, said:

“Perhaps you have an old laptop collecting dust, or an unused tablet hiding in the bottom of a drawer? Or maybe you received a new device for Christmas and you don’t know what to do with your old device.

“Donating any unwanted devices in good working order will make a huge difference to people in our communities who may not be fortunate to have sufficient IT access.”

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Last month, Howard Conrad Apple repair shop in Harrogate launched a similar appeal for faulty iPads that will be refurbished and given to local school children.

Tom James, owner of the shop on Leeds Road, was spurred to act after reading news reports about parents not having the technology for children to study from home during lockdown.

The shop has an agreement to donate iPads to Red Kite Learning Trust, a charity that operates several schools in the district, including Harrogate Grammar School, Western Primary School and Rossett Acre Primary School.

Council warns against driving to Harrogate district beauty spots

Harrogate Borough Council has told residents not to drive to beauty spots for exercise in a bid to reduce coronavirus infection rates.

The council said in its latest newsletter that driving to Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), Fewston and Swinsty reservoirs, and Stainburn Woods “is not acceptable.”

All are popular spots for district residents to visit, with many likely to drive there over this coming weekend.

However, those that do are running the risk of a fine according to the borough council.

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North Yorkshire Police is also actively approaching people in the car parks and asking them where they are from.

Graham Hebblethwaite, chair of Washburn Parish Council, told the Stray Ferret:

“It has calmed down quite a bit now. The police are going into the car park, talking to people and finding out how far they have driven.

“I do fear that when the better weather returns that people will be back in their droves.”

The council’s newsletter, under a section called ‘exercising within the rules’, said:

“The lockdown laws do allow you to get out for daily exercise, but you must stay local to where you live. Please start and end your exercise from home.

“In the context of the lockdown, “local” means staying inside the boundaries of your village or town and not travelling somewhere to take a stroll or walk the dog.

“Driving to the other side of the district, into the Nidderdale AONB or to either of the national parks is not acceptable. If you do, you run the risk of a fine.”

We also requested clarification from North Yorkshire Police, which can hand out fines, and were sent a comment from Superintendent Mike Walker:

“If someone has travelled multiple miles to exercise, an officer has the option to encourage adherence or enforce the regulations.

“We do not expect people to travel multiple miles in a car to exercise in North Yorkshire.”

Social media campaign to defy lockdown raises concern

Harrogate district businesses will be fined if they defy the national lockdown to take part in the ‘Great Reopening’.

Those leading North Yorkshire’s coronavirus response have picked up on a growing movement on social media. Organisers encourage people to approach shops and restaurants in their area with posters.

They are concerned of the impact on coronavirus infection rates and the NHS if people take part this Saturday.

Ten thousand people have joined the national group called the ‘Great Reopening’ on messaging app Telegram.

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Richard Webb, director of adult care at North Yorkshire County Council, told a North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum meeting that the council, police and other agencies would not hesitate to take action.

He said:

“Yesterday we were made aware of a campaign doing the rounds across the north of England which urges business to have what they’ve called a great reopening on January 30.

“First of all, can I thank all North Yorkshire businesses for complying with the closure requirements during lockdown. I know how tough it is for so many businesses both economically and on your health and wellbeing.

“My plea to all businesses is to ignore this campaign. There will be no great reopening on January 30. I would ask that you continue to act as you have been doing throughout this lockdown and before that and that we fight together this deadly virus.

“My warning to those who choose to take part in this campaign, the enforcement authorities the police, trading standards, environmental health and others will have no choice but to take enforcement action against you.”