Unison in Harrogate ballots council staff over ‘derisory’ pay offer

The Harrogate Borough Council branch of Unison is holding a consultative ballot with members in local government over whether to accept a “derisory” pay offer.

The trade union is recommending members reject the offer, which could lead to another ballot on whether to take industrial action.

Unison is balloting members at Harrogate Borough Council, its new council-owned leisure company Brimhams Active and Ripon City Council.

School staff will be balloted separately by the North Yorkshire Local Government branch of Unison.

Dave Houlgate, Unison’s Harrogate branch secretary,  said:

“Council and school workers have been offered a 1.75% pay rise with those on the very lowest pay point being offered 2.75%.

“This is yet another derisory offer which will only compound the local government recruitment and retention crisis and increase the demand for in-work benefit support.

“The fact is that with inflation at 3.8% this is another real-terms pay cut and comes on the back of local government pay having fallen by a quarter since 2010.

“This is a shocking way to treat staff who went above and beyond during the pandemic, kept communities safe, supported businesses, cared for the most vulnerable and ensured schools remained open throughout successive lockdowns.”

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Mr Houlgate added women make up the majority of local government employees, and were among the lowest paid in the country. He added:

“It’s time they and the services they provide were properly recognised. Pats on the back and the occasional well done don’t pay bills or feed families.”

“No one wants to take industrial action but sometimes it does become necessary and that may be the case this time.”

The consultation ballot ends on 24th September.

Harrogate Borough Council has been approached for comment.

Drivers defy new ‘no parking’ signs on Harrogate Stray

Drivers have already defied the new “no parking” signs on the Stray despite warnings from Harrogate Borough Council that they risk a £100 fine or being towed away.

Within days of the council erecting the signs on Oatlands Drive at a cost of £63, pictures of vehicles parked right next to them have emerged.

The lack of compliance will add to the frustration of cyclists who are blocked from using the cycle lane when vehicles park on the Stray. This usually happens when activities, such as football matches, take place.

One side of Oatlands Drive has double yellow lines but the other side — where cars park — does not.

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We asked the council whether it has fined or towed any vehicles away since putting up the signs but we have not yet received a response.

A council spokeswoman said previously it was working with North Yorkshire County Council to find a “more permanent solution” to the parking problem.

She added that parking on the Stray breached the Stray Act 1985:

“A breach of the act allows the borough council — as custodians of the Stray — to issue a £100 fine to anyone caught parking on the Stray, or to have their vehicle towed away.

“We hope that the signage will make people think twice about parking on Oatlands Drive and allow cyclists to use the cycle path as intended.”

New signs will ‘make people think twice’ about parking on Stray, says council

New signs on Oatlands Drive in Harrogate will “make people think twice about parking” on the Stray, according to Harrogate Borough Council.

Cyclists have long been frustrated by vehicles parking on the Stray and blocking the cycle lane along the busy road.

It often happens when activities, such as football, take place on the Stray at weekends.

The signs that appeared this week warn that parking on Stray land is an offence and could lead to a £100 fine or the vehicle being removed.

Oatlands Drive

Cars parked on Oatlands Drive.

A council spokeswoman said:

“We continue to work with the county council to try and find a more permanent solution to the parking situation on Oatlands Drive in Harrogate.

“Until this time we have installed signage to advice people, that by parking on the Stray, they are breaching the Stray Act.

“A breach of the act allows the borough council — as custodians of the Stray — to issue a £100 fine to anyone caught parking on the Stray, or to have their vehicle towed away.

“We hope that the signage will make people think twice about parking on Oatlands Drive and allow cyclists to use the cycle path as intended.”

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Former Harrogate Advertiser editor set to be given freedom of the borough

The former editor of the Harrogate Advertiser looks set to be made an honorary freeman of the borough.

Harrogate Borough Council will next week consider giving the title, which was last given in in 2012, to Jean MacQuarrie.

The accolade recognises people of distinction and “in the opinion of the council rendered eminent services to the district”.

The last time the council bestowed the freedom of the borough was in 2012 when former chairman and chief executive of Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate, Jonathan Wild, was given the title.

There were calls this summer for Harrogate district resident Gareth Southgate, the England manager, to receive it.

Ms MacQuarrie retired this year after 41 years in local journalism. She was appointed editor of the Harrogate Advertiser in 1988.

She was also involved in local organisations, including Yorkshire Agricultural Society, Harrogate Theatre and the Army Foundation College.

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In a report due before the council’s general purposes committee next week, the authority said Ms MacQuarrie “worked hard to promote and support the town and district during her 33 years as editor”.

If approved, an extraordinary council meeting will be called to confer the title on Ms MacQuarrie.

She will be invited to the meeting to sign the Roll of Honorary Freemen following the council’s approval.

 

Harrogate district to resettle three more Afghan families

The leader of Harrogate Borough Council has said Afghan refugees are “settling in well” in the district and that three more families are on the way.

The district has so far welcomed four families under a government scheme targeted at Afghans who worked for the UK military and are fleeing the country because they are under serious threat from the Taliban.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, council leader Richard Cooper said: 

“Four families have arrived under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), one in Knaresborough and three in Harrogate. They are settling in well.

“We have been asked to accommodate three more families under ARAP. ”

British troops left Afghanistan over the weekend, bringing an end to the UK’s 20-year military involvement in the country, which is now under the control of the Taliban.

Taliban leaders have pledged not to allow Afghanistan to become a base for terrorists who could threaten the West.

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But questions are already being asked about how they will govern the country, and what this will mean for women, human rights, and political freedoms.

There are also questions over what will happen to Afghans who are eligible to come to the UK but have been left behind in the evacuation programme.

Speaking on Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he couldn’t give a “definitive” figure for how many of those remained in the country.

Government pledge to resettle 20,000 refugees

Under another scheme for refugees, the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), the government has pledged to take in up to 20,000 refugees over the coming years, with a focus on women and children, as well as religious and other minorities.

The scheme is still being developed and local councils which have pledged their support are now awaiting information on how they can help.

Cllr Cooper previously said Harrogate would take in “more than our quota” of refugees who are “in need of and deserve our assistance”.

He has now added: 

“The details of the long-term Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme have not been released by the government.

“When they are, we will work with North Yorkshire County Council and Migration Yorkshire on the programme.”

Cycle group welcomes new ‘no parking’ signs on Harrogate’s Oatlands Drive

A cycling group has welcomed new signs on the Oatlands Drive section of the Stray in Harrogate saying it is an offence to park on the land.

Cars frequently mount the kerb to park when activities take place on the Stray, blocking one of the cycle lanes — much to the fury of cyclists.

One side of Oatlands Drive has double yellow lines but the side where vehicles park does not.

Oatlands Drive

Cars mounting the kerb and blocking the cycle lane on Oatlands Drive.

The issue became a particularly sore point this year when proposals to make Oatlands Drive one-way for traffic and improve the cycle lanes were rejected after protests by residents.

So the newly-installed signs, warning that parking on the Stray could lead to a fine or vehicles being removed, has been hailed as a “step forward” by Kevin Douglas, chairman of Harrogate District Cycle Action, which promotes cycling.

He said:

“The principle of putting signs up is a step forward.

“It’s something that we have been asking them to do for some time. People parking there is forcing cyclists into the middle of the road.

“We support any action which helps improve cycling.”

The Stray Ferret has approached Harrogate Borough Council, which erected the signs, for further details.

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Approval for 420 solar panels to be installed at Harrogate Hydro

Harrogate Borough Council has given approval for 420 solar panels to be installed on the town’s Hydro leisure centre.

The move is part of a wider decarbonisation initiative, which could also see 1,000 solar panels installed at Harrogate Convention Centre.

Council officials said in planning documents that the panels will help to improve energy efficiency and cut emissions at the ageing facility, which replaced the old Coppice Valley pool when it opened in 1999.

It added that the scheme could reduced the council’s annual Co2 emissions by 577 tonnes.

The council successfully bid this year for funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy‘s public sector decarbonisation scheme, which will help fund the panels.

The bid saw the council granted £2.4 million for projects at the Hydro and convention centre.

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A total of £1.8 million will be spent at The Hydro to install the solar panels as well as replace gas boilers with air source heat pumps and put in place new energy monitoring and control systems.

Kathryn Daly, head of place-shaping and economic growth at the council, previously said:

“We have ambitious plans to ensure our own operations and buildings will be clean, efficient and have a net zero carbon economy by 2038.

“This government funding provides a significant step to allow us to achieve this.”

Traffic fears over plans for 560 homes on Harrogate’s Otley Road

A proposed 560-home development on Harrogate’s Otley Road has sparked fears over traffic.

Homes England, which is the government’s housing agency, wants to build the homes at Bluecoat Wood Nurseries, which is where the charity Horticap is based.

Homes England has submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Report to Harrogate Borough Council for the 26-hectare site, which is required ahead of a formal planning application.

The report proposes building 560 homes on the site — 25 per cent more than is allocated in Harrogate District Local Plan 2014-35, which outlines development in the district until 2035.

Council officials consulted a range of bodies on the environmental impact of the development and what would be needed to be addressed, such as traffic and infrastructure.

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Henry Pankhurst, of Harrogate Civic Society, which was among those consulted, said it objected to the plan on the grounds of traffic, encroachment onto greenfield land and adverse affect on the landscape.

Mr Pankhurst told the council in a letter:

“It seems logical that a much more intensive use of the land must have adverse consequences. The increase in dwellings, 110 units, from 450 to 560, is very significant – almost a quarter more.

“Traffic will increase, any buffer zones at the boundaries may well be reduced and amenity space both private and public may be compromised. Intensification in these and other ways will harm the special landscape area and harm the setting of the green belt.”

Meanwhile, the Harrogate Group of the Ramblers Association said the site had no recorded public right of ways or bridleways.

It said:

“With a site of this considerable size we would like to see a number of footpaths created through the site, and incorporated within natural green spaces.

“These should be of generous width, with a suitable surface, and routed logically. The routes should fulfil anticipated need.”

Homes England projects in Harrogate district

The proposed development is one of three sites in the district that Homes England has purchased for housing.

One of the other sites is the former Police Training Centre on Yew Tree Lane, which is earmarked for 200 homes. That site is in the Local Plan for 161 homes and faced similar criticism for “unjustifiable planning creep”.

The government agency has also submitted final plans for 390 homes at a site in Littlethorpe.

Homes England said previously that the environmental impact assessment for the Bluecoat site was an “early stage of the planning process” and that further consultation will be required for a formal planning application.

Plans to install 1,000 solar panels on roof of Harrogate Convention Centre

Harrogate Borough Council has submitted plans to install 1,077 solar panels on the roofs of several buildings at Harrogate Convention Centre.

The council, which owns the centre, applied for planning permission last week. It’s unclear when the application will be heard or when construction could start.

According to planning documents, the scheme will be fully funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy‘s public sector decarbonisation scheme.

The scheme provides grants for public sector bodies to fund heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures.

The council has appointed French utility company Engie as contractor for the project.

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How the solar panels will look at the top of the Harrogate Convention Centre.

It follows a similar planning application by the council to install 420 solar panels at the Hydro in Harrogate, which was also funded by the public sector decarbonisation scheme.

At the time the council said that it had “ambitious plans” to make sure its operations and buildings were clean, efficient and had a net zero carbon economy by 2038.

Unison awaiting answers over Harrogate council staff using public toilets

The trade union Unison is still in talks with Harrogate Borough Council over some staff having to use public toilets during office hours.

The union first raised concerns in April when plans to move Knaresborough Tourist Information Centre into the Courthouse Museum got underway.

As part of the move, roles are set to be amalgamated — tourist information officers and museum assistants will become ‘visitor experience assistants’ and become part of the council’s new Destination Management Organisation led by Gemma Rio to coordinate tourism.

The museum site doesn’t have adequate on-site toilet facilities, forcing staff to use public toilets on Cheapside.

Unison has argued the situation was never ideal and is now no longer viable as more staff join them.

The council and union representatives have met in recent weeks to discuss alternatives. The union is now waiting for the council to respond.

David Houlgate, Unison Harrogate branch secretary, said:

“We’ve asked them [the council] to identify somewhere for staff to have decent welfare facilities. We both agree Portakabins wouldn’t be suitable.”

The union has said it is also making contact with local organisations to see if it’s possible for staff to share facilities.

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Mr Houlgate added:

“The union understands there won’t be any compulsory redundancies but there may be some voluntary redundancies. We want to avoid any compulsory redundancies.”

‘Not possible to install toilets at museum’

A council spokeswoman said

“The Knaresborough Tourist Information Centre has relocated into the Courthouse Museum at Knaresborough Castle as planned. This coincided with the castle’s reopening following lockdown on July 19.

“The decision to relocate the tourist information centre into the courthouse museum pre-dates the creation of the Destination Management Organisation and the restructure that is currently being undertaken.

“There is no toilet available on site at Knaresborough castle and museum and due to the historic nature of the site it is not possible for us to install one.

“For this reason the staff at the castle are required to use the public toilets in the adjacent car park which are owned, managed and cleaned by Harrogate Borough Council.

“Staff at the Castle have used these public toilets for as long as the site has been staffed. However, we are continuing to explore alternative arrangements within the vicinity”.