Ripon’s 25 taxi drivers have had a plea for grants to make their vehicles covid-secure rejected by Harrogate Borough Council.
The drivers approached the council for help towards measures such as installing screens and hand sanitiser units.
Richard Fieldman, a former chair of the Ripon Taxi Association, said:
“Our business has been hammered by the coronavirus pandemic, but the council is unwilling to help us to make our vehicles covid-secure.
“I am currently earning just 25 per cent of what I would make in a normal year and all drivers on the Ripon rank are in a similar situation. We believe we are a forgotten part of the economy and the council doesn’t want to know.
“For them, we are an afterthought, while other local authorities across the UK, including Middlesbrough, have helped their licensed taxi operators.”
The taxi rank in Ripon
The council has also refused to let drivers reduce their overhead costs while they were unable to operate during covid by changing the category of insurance on their vehicles from business to private and leisure use.
Mr Fieldman said:
“Other local authorities allowed their taxi drivers to do this, but Harrogate said we would lose our licence if we changed our insurance while our cars were parked up and earning us nothing.”
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Middlesbrough Council’s small grants scheme has provided up to £100 for nearly 500 taxi drivers to help make their vehicles covid-secure.
A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council said:
“As a district authority we have limited funds available, but will always offer advice and support where we can to businesses.
“For those drivers who chose not to operate, and subsequently cancelled their business insurance, we temporarily suspended their licence. Once insured, we are more than happy to reinstate their licence.
“We have also allocated around £20,000 to the ring-fenced private hire vehicle and operator’s licence account. This meant that we will not raise licence fees at all next year.”
District’s market traders receive urgent payments this week
Market stallholders in Ripon and Knaresborough who were unable to trade for 11 weeks because of coronavirus, will receive discretionary grant payments from Harrogate Borough Council (HBC) this week.
Weeks after other local authorities in Yorkshire made the urgent payments to traders, HBC has still to make payment of the £2,000 grants it agreed to pay to qualifying applicants.
In response to the question about the delay in payments of the grants compared with other local authorities, a Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson, said:
“Payments to successful applicants will be made this week.”
The spokesperson went on to point out that evidence is required from the applicant to ensure they meet the national eligibility criteria, as well as an assessment and pre-payment assurance check. The grant is primarily to support businesses with high ongoing fixed property costs, such as rent.
Traders who were classed as selling ‘non-essential’ goods were not allowed a stand for almost three months and many lost tens of thousands of pounds.
In a bid to assist them and other businesses, the government introduced the Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund on May 29, saying that grants up to £10,000 could be made – with the discretion on what applicants could receive, being in the hands of local authorities across the country.
Peter and Pat Yates who signed the petition at Ripon Market
The closing date for applications from market traders was June 28 and Andrew Sutcliffe, who sells women’s clothing on both Knaresborough and Ripon markets, told the Stray Ferret:
“We have been told that we are going to receive £2,000 apiece, which is smaller than grants paid to market stallholders in East Yorkshire who have received £7,500 and Hambleton, who have received £5,000 apiece.”
Mr Sutcliffe pointed out:
“If you stand at markets in two council areas, you could only apply for assistance from one local authority and those of us who applied to Harrogate, have not only received what appears to be the barest minimum grants, but they are even dragging their heels on paying them out.”
Sonya Johnson, who sells handbags, scarves and other women’s accessories, said:
“I’ve had an email from the council saying that I will receive payment shortly, but feel that we always come last.”
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The wait for the government grants that the council is administering, comes days after it increased the cost for market stall provision and assembly, adding more than 25 percent to the cost of renting a stall.
A joint ‘Save our Markets Petition’ calling upon the council to reverse its decision, has already attracted hundreds of signatures at Ripon and Knaresborough markets and online.