Senior North Yorkshire councillors have rejected criticism after no members of the public attended a meeting of its top committee, which was held 55 miles from its headquarters.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive meeting at Selby Civic Centre lasted less than 10 minutes before the Tory-led authority’s leader Cllr Carl Les closed proceedings to the public to discuss the confidential terms of a deal to sell four hectares of land at Gatherley Road, Brompton-on-Swale, near Richmond.

Following a furore over Scarborough council’s confidential deal over the Alpamare water park in 2013, which could cost its successor council £8m, opposition councillors said the meeting should have been better advertised and more transparent.

Cllr Les told the meeting it was intended to hold more executive meetings away from County Hall in Northallerton and while two Selby-specific items had been moved from the meeting’s agenda, it was “felt it was still important to come on our peripatetic journey”.

After rubber-stamping Department for Education childcare funding, the meeting, which had seen several senior Northallerton-based council officers travel to Selby specifically for the meeting, was closed to the public just nine minutes and 40 seconds after it was opened.

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Following the meeting, opposition councillors questioned how the meeting had been advertised, with Selby councillor and Labour group leader Steve Shaw Wright stating even the town council had been unaware of the meeting.

Liberal Democrat group leader Cllt Bryn Griffiths said having no members of the public attending was “very disappointing” given the resources used staging the meeting in Selby.

Richmond councillor Stuart Parsons, leader of the council’s Independent group, questioned whether the meeting had displayed democracy in action and if there could have been more transparency over the land deal.

He said: 

“Why is it top secret? 

“There are commercial issues attached to it, but you can write a report without referring to named businesses, so at least the public know what is likely to happen to their property and what the risks are.”

Responding to the concerns, Cllr Les said the meeting had been advertised to members and the session in private had only involved the confidential terms of the deal.

He said: 

“I would have preferred to do it openly but with commercial matters you can’t.

“We are doing the right thing moving the executive meeting around the county. We will be doing one at least every two months to make sure we get round all the six previous areas in a calendar year.”

A decision on whether to proceed with the £11.2 million Harrogate Station Gateway could depend on a Liberal Democrat-controlled committee of councillors.

The gateway scheme, which would radically transform the area opposite Harrogate train station, has proved highly divisive and controversial.

It would see James Street partly pedestrianised and a section of Station Parade reduced to single lane traffic to make way for cycle lanes.

Funding for the scheme was secured in March 2020 but nearly three years later, and despite three consultations, North Yorkshire County Council has yet to make a final decision on whether to proceed.

Part of James Street would be pedestrianised.

The council’s Conservative-controlled executive has now said the scheme will come before its Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee before a final decision is made. Eight of the committee’s 14 members are Liberal Democrats.

The committee is currently only an advisory body but Cllr Keane Duncan, the executive member for highways and transportation at the council, suggested its views will be crucial. He said:

“It would be very difficult for us to proceed with the scheme if local elected councillors were opposed.

“The people of Harrogate and Knaresborough have elected councillors. The majority of those are not Conservative, they are of a different political persuasion to the executive. We want to listen to what those councillors say.”

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Asked whether the Conservatives had passed the buck on such a political hot potato, Cllr Duncan replied:

“It is a hot potato but with great power comes great responsibility. Local people in Harrogate and Knaresborough have elected their councillors and we have all stood on a platform to make difficult decisions.

“The executive of the county council believes very strongly in localism. We want to ask local councillors for their views and we will pay very due attention to their views. That’s the right thing to do.”

Cllr Keane Duncan in Harrogate

Cllr Duncan, who lives in Ryedale, said he had no vested interest in the scheme, which he inherited when he took up his role in May last year. But he added:

“Having looked at it as an outsider, I feel there are great advantages in terms of improving the pedestrian and cycle links and making this corner of the town centre easier to access and a better place to spend time, so on balance I’m supportive.”

Consultation was ‘never a referendum’

The third consultation revealed once again more people feel negatively than possibly towards the scheme, albeit by a slender margin of 46% to 45%, with nine per cent neutral.

Cllr Duncan said the consultation “was never meant to be a referendum” and there was “significant support” for key elements of the scheme, including changes to the public realm and better walking and cycling infrastructure. He added:

“If you look at the actual figures there were just 17 more negative responses than positive responses. And if you factor in the nine percent neutral responses, actually that’s a long way away from the universal negativity that many people would suggest, because most people are positive or neutral towards it.

“With all that support that’s been expressed by the public, it would be a shame not to bring this project that’s been ongoing for a very long time to a decision point for councillors to be able to make a decision one way or another.”

Cllr Duncan also suggested scrapping the scheme could damage Harrogate and North Yorkshire’s chances of future funding.

“More than £11 million would be spent elsewhere in North Yorkshire or returned to government. I think that would be a great shame for Harrogate but also it would rock government’s confidence in North Yorkshire and that would be a great shame for Harrogate and the county.”

Cllr Keane Duncan will talk about other Harrogate transport issues, such as the A59 Kex Gill realignment, the proposed park and ride and the threat to bus services in an interview on Saturday.

North Yorkshire County Council’s leadership has defended itself amid claims that its largely older male membership has not experienced the impacts of motorists speeding through market towns and villages.

Knaresborough councillor Hannah Gostlow and Selby member Melanie Ann Davis told a meeting of the authority’s transport scrutiny committee action to tackle road safety in built-up areas was being limited due to the executive having different experiences to those of women, people with pushchairs and young people.

The council’s 10-member executive features two women and the majority of its members are aged above 50.

The meeting examining road safety and the introduction of 20mph zones in built-up areas also heard claims North Yorkshire Police were routinely failing to tackle motorcyclists as well as refusing to enforce 20mph zones.

The meeting heard while road incidents in the county had seen 36 people killed in 2020 and 37 the year before, motorcyclists had accounted for seven of the deaths in 2020 and 11 in 2019, which represented a far higher proportion than the volume of motorbikes on North Yorkshire’s roads.

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Councillors heard the council had been examining the decision to make Wales one of the first countries in the world to introduce legislation to have a 20mph speed limit on roads where cars mix with pedestrians and cyclists.

Cllr Gostlow told the committee the majority of people supporting the Welsh move had been women and those with young families and that North Yorkshire’s executive lacked the experience of walking on narrow paths beside busy roads.

She said the executive needed to listen to grass roots views rather than “deal down from the top”, adding: 

“I am worried that the executive do not represent the people who are going to benefit.”

Cllr Davis agreed, saying the “car was king because it represents economic power” and that the views of women and young people were being overlooked.

After the meeting, the authority’s leader, Cllr Carl Les said he did his best to balance the executive in terms of gender, between retired people and those in work and in terms of geographical coverage.

He said: 

“I think we are all road users and represent those people in our communities and I wouldn’t say it has any adverse effect on our decisions.”

Mobile cameras ‘effective’

A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said its mobile safety cameras were effective when used on any vehicle, including motorbikes.

The force said it had publicised a significant amount of prosecutions involving motorcyclists, including riders who have been recorded exceeding 120mph and riders who have been prosecuted for various dangerous driving offences.

The spokesperson added: 

“Independent research by Newcastle University has found that North Yorkshire Police’s mobile safety cameras have reduced casualties by 20 per cent in the areas they’ve been deployed to.

“The force decides where to deploy cameras based on lots of different factors around risk and safety. These include data about previous collisions, demand from communities and even the weather.

“We never consider locations based on the revenue they could generate. This is a common misconception, but finances are made publicly available every year. The figures clearly show that some years the service costs slightly more to run than it generates, and other years vice versa.

“Residents frequently raise concerns about speeding in their communities specifically request mobile safety cameras, which we’ve deployed on a wide range of roads including village high streets, outside schools, suburban routes, main roads and rural roads.”

The introduction of online meetings due to covid saved North Yorkshire County Council £4 million.

An officer’s report to a meeting of the authority’s executive tomorrow reveals the huge amount of money saved as well as environmental benefits.

The staff mileage bill fell by more than £1.7 million In the year to April 2021 compared with the previous 12 months.

Staff drove 4,117,062 fewer miles to meetings than in 2019/20.

The introduction of online meetings by the authority, which employs 15,000 staff, saw a total saving of almost £4 million, the equivalent to more than 2,700 average annual council tax bills.

The report estimates over the two years it saved 369,500 hours, or 49,200 working days, the equivalent to some 233 full-time staff.
It states:

“Over 2,000 employees had moved quickly to work from home at the start of the pandemic and the way in which teams can work remotely and virtually has been transformational.

“There has been a carefully considered approach to developing future ways of working post-covid following whole organisation engagement in 2021.

“Hybrid working has been welcomed by council staff. This new approach provides great flexibility for many roles.”

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The authority, which aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030, reduced carbon emissions by 2,710 tonnes over the two years because of the reduced mileage.

The council aims to generate further post-pandemic savings by rationalising its extensive property portfolio as more work is completed virtually and demand for physical meeting spaces has been reduced.

The officer’s report states:

“It should also be noted these savings are just in terms of travelling to and from meetings.

“The savings to individual members of staff working from home, fuel cost and time, and to the environment, will be significantly bigger.

“Although some of these figures will start to increase again as staff return to the office on a more frequent basis, there will be many other benefits that new ways of working have brought us that can be retained.”

7m fewer documents printed

The report highlights other benefits of changed working practices, including improved attendance at multi-agency meetings, the ability to attend more meetings and arrange meetings sooner than if relying on getting people together at the same place.

With many staff working from home and attending meetings online, there has been a sharp reduction in the number of documents being printed.

In the year before the pandemic the council’s staff printed some 14.5 million sheets of paper compared to 7.6 million last year. Over the last two years the reduction in printing has saved the equivalent of 1,800 trees.

The authority’s deputy leader, Councillor Gareth Dadd, said while it remained unclear as to the level of savings that the work practice changes would produce in the coming years, how technology could be used to cut travel would “feature very heavily in our thinking moving forward”.

Switalskis, a group of three specialist law firms, has appointed Julie Guest as its head of people.

Julie Guest gained experience as a HR professional at CNG  She has also worked in positions with Morrisons, Pinsent Masons and William Hill.

The recruitment is a part of the group’s growth strategy, which has already seen an expansion with the investment of firms Atherton Godfrey and Pryers Solicitors.

Ms Guest said:

“It’s great to join a firm with such a strong focus on its people, culture and values.

“My role will involve further integration of people and systems following the acquisition of Atherton Godfrey and Pryers. I aim to enhance Switalskis’ already strong talent development and create an environment and culture in which everyone is able to flourish.”

John Durkan, managing director of Switalskis group, said:

“Julie brings a wide range of valuable experience to this role along with a proven HR leadership track record.

“She has been responsible for a number of successful change and development programmes within professional services businesses, and I’m delighted she has joined us as our first head of people.”

Julie has 28 years’ HR experience and will take on developing Switalskis’ talent, leadership and inclusion strategies.

Harrogate business leaders encouraged to sleep rough for charity

Business leaders in Harrogate will be joining a ‘sleepout’ challenge to help raise money for charity.

CEO Sleepout UK has organised the event, which will see business execs, directors and CEOs from across North Yorkshire sleeping out to raise money for local charities.

The event will take place on May 19th at Harrogate RUFC.

It is expected that around 40 businesses will participate in this years event.

Ison Harrison Solicitors, Cairns Hotel Group and Harrogate Borough Council are just among a few who will take part.

In previous years, the sleepout raised over £23,000.

Harrogate CEO sleepout at the RUFC launch

This year, the funds raised from the sleepout will be sent to YMCA Ripon, Harrogate RUFC community projects, Trussell Trust Harrogate, Walking With The Wounded and CEO Sleepout with 10% of all funds raised going to the DEC Ukraine appeal.

Bianca Robinson, chief executive of CEO Sleepout, said:

“Harrogate isn’t particularly associated with rough sleepers, but this doesn’t mean that homelessness doesn’t exist. We see people sleeping in cars with their children, on friends’ sofas, or worse; risking exploitation in exchange for a roof over their heads.

“The event is a chance for local people to learn about hidden homelessness in the area and what’s been done to help those at risk.”

CEO Sleepout UK was started in 2013 by Andy Preston, now the mayor of Middlesbrough, and has raised over £2.7m to combat homelessness and poverty.

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