Homeowners encouraged to apply for energy efficient upgrades as council receives £6 millionHarrogate BID relaunches match funding scheme for shop-front improvements23 Harrogate district community groups awarded £55,000Twenty three community organisations have shared £55,000 in the latest round of grants awarded by The Local Fund for the Harrogate District.
The successful applicants are small organisations that can use the funding to make a big difference on a range of initiatives, including helping older people participate in activities and addressing loneliness.
They include fortnightly lunch club Lifeline Harrogate, Knaresborough Museum Association, Jennyruth Workshops in Ripon and Boroughbridge and District Community Care.
The Local Fund was created in 2017 to fund local voluntary organisations.
It is supported by North Yorkshire Council, Harrogate and District Community Action and Two Ridings Community Foundation. It also receives at least 10p from every ticket sold by the Local Lotto.
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Celia McKeon, chief executive of Two Ridings Community Foundation, said the grants would “make a huge impact on the wellbeing of local people all over the district”. She added:
“This round of funding has been really interesting and far reaching, distributing grants to address rural isolation alongside activities and support in the local towns.”
Ms McKeon urged local people and businesses who wanted their charitable giving to benefit the communities they live in to invest in the fund.
Here are details of the successful applicants.
‘Inspiring’ new £85,000 vision for Ripon remains unpublished — two years on
A report outlining a new “inspiring and innovative” vision for regenerating Ripon has not been published — more than two years after it was announced.
Harrogate Borough Council advertised a 12-month contract to draw up a masterplan for the city in December 2020.
But Ripon city councillors have discovered through a Freedom of Information request that no formal report for the Ripon renewal project has been produced yet.
The Stray Ferret reported in August that work on the masterplan had been paused due to negotiations over the £85,000 contract awarded by Harrogate Borough Council to Bauman Lyons Architects.
At that time, Trevor Watson, Harrogate Borough Council’s director of economy and culture, said he did not know when the project — originally scheduled for completion last February — would be finalised.
But he added the aim was to finish it before the launch of the replacement North Yorkshire Council, which comes into being on April 1.
He said:
“We are in dialogue with the consultants and it is very difficult to say when that conversation will be concluded.
“But it will be our intention to bring the project forward in that timeframe.”
At Monday’s full meeting of Ripon City Council, leader Andrew Williams, said:
“Both ourselves and Ripon BID, have been trying to obtain a copy of the consultants’ report and now we have discovered through a response to the FOI request we submitted to Harrogate Borough Council that no formal report has been produced.
“As we don’t want the work carried out to be a waste of time and money I propose that we ask Harrogate to report on where the consultants had got to, as this could be helpful for the future in areas such as seeking grant funding.”
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Councillors agreed unanimously for the request to be sent to Harrogate Borough Council and for it to be copied to Councillor Carl Les, the leader of North Yorkshire County Council and North Yorkshire County Council chief executive Richard Flinton.
North Yorkshire County Council and the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership were, along with Harrogate Borough Council, co-funders of the project. which aimed to create a vision for the future of Ripon that would help the city to win funding for infrastructure, planning and community projects.
A consultation was held in 2021 with residents, businesses and community groups which highlighted problems in the city.
These included not enough things for young people to do, traffic in the market place and a lack of affordable housing.
There were also calls for better traffic management on Low Skellgate and Westgate, and a new green route linking the Workhouse Museum and Ripon Cathedral.
Study grants open to Harrogate district studentsStudents in the Harrogate district are being invited to apply for grants to fund study equipment and travel.
The grants have been made available by Haywra Crescent Educational Trust, which has around £1,000 to share, and are available to those taking post-16 education courses.
The money is available through the proceeds of the sale of a former education property in Haywra Crescent, Harrogate.
As part of the scheme, eligible students can apply for a small sum to go towards books, equipment or fund travel that relates to study.
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The fund, which is administered by North Yorkshire County Council, is available to those who are who are studying at schools, colleges and universities outside the Harrogate borough.
Further information and application forms are available by emailing post16@northyorks.gov.uk
The closing date for applications is January 31, 2023.
Grants up to £3,000 available to Harrogate district community groupsCommunity groups in the Harrogate district are being invited to apply for grants of up to £3,000.
The Local Fund for the Harrogate District opened today for applications to its latest round of awards.
The fund is a three-way partnership between Harrogate Borough Council, Harrogate & District Community Action and Two Ridings Community Foundation.
it focuses on small organisations with charitable aims where a small amount of money can make a significant difference.
The guidance notes say:
“Local groups can apply for activities and services that support people, keeping them connected to their community and with each other.
“This may be particularly important during the cost-of-living crisis, you may want to run more activities throughout the winter months, so people have a warm space to access.
“We cannot support overheads alone but encourage you to include them as part of your application and our commitment to full cost recovery.”
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A total of 14 groups received a total of £40,688 in the last funding round, which was celebrated at an event at West Park Hotel in Harrogate last night.
Successful applicants included Boroughbridge and District Community Care, Nidderdale and Pateley Bridge Men’s Shed, St. Andrew’s Church in Burnt Yates, Pannal Ash Junior Football Club and Harrogate District of Sanctuary.
A total of £84,681 was given to 29 groups in the previous year.
The deadline for the new funding round is January 9. Decisions will be made by mid-February.
Grants from £200 to £3,000 are available.
Applicants must be based in and/or working in the area served by Harrogate Borough Council.
Further details are available here.
Jan Garrill, chief executive of Two Ridings Community Foundation, said:
“It is five years since The Local Fund was launched and since 2018, 88 projects have been supported and £237,266 paid out in grants.
“These grants have supported activities around mental health, inequality, hidden poverty and loneliness. More recently they have assisted in the response to and recovery from covid and now the impact of increases in the cost of living.
“Despite the local government changes in 2023 the fund will remain for the long term, supporting local grass roots community action across the whole of the district and with local people involved in decisions about the awards.”
Pic shows: Harrogate borough mayor, Councillor Victoria Oldham (centre), with voluntary sector representatives at last night’s event.
Harrogate law firm opens new office in LondonA Harrogate-based employment law firm has expanded its offices to London.
Boardside in London is close to St Paul’s Cathedral and the Bank of England. The location will mean it is easily accessible for clients in the city.
The company now has branches in three different regions, with its headquarters in Harrogate.
The firm wrote in its newsletter:
“Almost five years after launching our niche employment law practice in Yorkshire, we are delighted to announce that we now have a presence in the capital.
“We believe that by having offices in the two biggest legal centres (Leeds and London) in the country, it will be easier for us to meet clients from across the UK.”
Boardside is run by owners Richard Port and Nadine Martson.
Support for Ripon businesses
Ripon’s Business Improvement District has appointed the Place Support Partnership to help firm in Ripon save on running costs.
PSP will visit BID businesses to support and advise them on reducing costs associated with utility and trading bills.
Lilla Bathurst, manager of the BID, said:
“The Place Support Partnership offers various services and acts as a savings scheme to support businesses.
“During the consultation process, businesses identified that they would like 10% of their levy to go on business support.”
Ripon BID says it has also worked to make businesses aware of the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant.
OHLG grants totally £141,342 were distributed to hospitality businesses in Ripon which were negatively affected by the pandemic.
Harrogate BID provided a business grant of up to £750 last month, for qualifying businesses to improve paintwork, signage and accessibility.
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£5,000 grants available to schools and parish councilsBettys and Taylors Family Fund is inviting parish councils and schools to apply for grants of up to £5,000.
The fund supports Yorkshire-based groups working to improve the lives of local children and young people through food.
Cookery courses, healthy eating initiatives and food hygiene are examples of the kind of schemes eligible for funding.
Grants range from £500 to £5,000 and must benefit people living in Yorkshire.
Parish councils and schools are eligible to apply providing the grant is used for purposes outside their usual remit.
As Bettys and Taylors is a food and hospitality business, the fund aims to support local food-based projects.
The fund opened for applications this week and closes on April 28. Groups will find out by mid-June if they have been successful.
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£1,000 grants available for Harrogate district platinum jubilee celebrationsHarrogate district residents can apply for grants of up to £1,000 for events that celebrate the Queen’s platinum jubilee.
Harrogate Borough Council announced today it has launched a £15,000 community grants scheme to help people enjoy the extended bank holiday from June 2 to 5.
Applications can be made for grants of between £200 and £1,000 for events and activities taking place over the Jubilee bank holiday.
Organisations can also apply for up to £2,000 for legacy projects that must be completed by September 30.
Council leader Richard Cooper said:
“I’m delighted that we can offer grants to help celebrate the Her Majesty The Queen’s platinum jubilee.
“We’re looking for some really creative ideas that will remember the impact this momentous event has across the country. Whether that’s an art project, street decoration or legacy project, we want you to apply before the closing date in April.”
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A council press release said applicants must be able to show a clear link to the jubilee celebrations. It added:
“Proposals are welcome from parish and town councils, voluntary and community groups and schools that are wanting to host a community activity or legacy project that benefits the wider community.”
Guidance notes and an online application form are available here.
The closing date for all applications is noon on Friday April 8. Applicants will be notified of the decision the week commencing April 25.
Harrogate hospitality businesses call on council to release £6,000 covid grantsHospitality business owners have called on Harrogate Borough Council to release government grants of up to £6,000 that were created to help them through the Omicron wave.
The Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant scheme was announced in December to help businesses that faced cancelled bookings and staff isolating over winter.
But almost two months later, some businesses in Harrogate are still waiting to be paid.
Two hospitality business owners, who asked not to be named, told the Stray Ferret they were unhappy that the council had not released the funds yet.
The Times published an article this week that said UK councils were sitting on over £850m of funds intended for businesses.
The Stray Ferret has seen an email from the council to one of the business owners dated a month ago. It said a decision on its application for the grant would be assessed within 10 days. The business owner called the delay “a joke”.
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David Simister, chair of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce said “it’s simply not good enough” that the council has not distributed the grant yet to all eligible businesses.
However, he said some members of the chamber had received their grant.
Mr Simister said:
“From speaking to chamber members in the hospitality sector, some have received grants whilst others are still waiting.
“The announcement of Plan B dealt the leisure and hospitality sector a huge blow, just as businesses were gearing up for an extremely busy Christmas and New Year, and were relying on these takings to help them through the lean months of January and February.
“This grant was to go some way to recompense for the loss of trade and earnings, and if businesses are still awaiting payment it’s simply not good enough.”
A council spokesperson said:
“On December 30 initial guidance and eligibility criteria for the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant scheme was provided to local authorities.
“Following this date, we have been carrying out the necessary work to make applications available, which went live on our website on January 17.
“We are now processing applications in the order in which they were received, ensuring applicants meet the necessary verification and audit requirements, in accordance with government guidelines.
“We are currently allocating grants to eligible businesses – who have provided a full and accurate application – within 20 working days.”