Bid to bring Harrogate district empty homes back into use

A senior Harrogate councillor has agreed to offer taxpayers’ cash to buy three empty homes and bring them back into use.

Councillor Mike Chambers, cabinet member for housing and safer communities at Harrogate Borough Council, signed off a decision at a meeting yesterday to make offers for the homes on Greenfields Drive and Electric Avenue in Harrogate, and Beech Lane in Spofforth.

If agreed by the owners, the council will appoint an independent valuer to provide a market valuation of the properties before selling them on the open market.

But if the offers are ignored or refused, enforcement action will be taken through compulsory purchase orders.

Councillor Chambers said:

“Empty properties are a blight for communities and the council will use all available power to bring them back into use, including assistance and enforcement action when necessary.

“Enforcement is the last choice and we have a range of options available to homeowners to assist them in returning their property to use.

“This includes the Empty Homes Loan made available last month. Owners with a property that has been empty for six months or longer can apply for a loan to undertake essential works on a property to return it to use.”

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811 empty properties in Harrogate district

There are currently 811 properties across the district that have been empty for more than six months – a figure which has risen from 774 in May.

Of the latest figure, 215 have been empty and unfurnished for over two years, while 31 have been empty for over ten years.

The council has previously admitted there is a “desperate” lack of affordable homes in the district and said it was working hard to bring empty properties back into use.

It has also set aside around £2.5m to purchase these properties from their owners.

There are numerous reasons properties can lie empty. In some instances, landlords cannot afford to renovate their property to sell or rent out.

Properties may also have been inherited and the new owners don’t know what to do with them, while others can also fall below safety standards which means they sit vacant until the problems are fixed.

As well as carrying out compulsory purchase orders, councils also have powers to charge an additional 100% council tax on properties that have been empty for two years.

Empty dwelling management orders can also be issued for long term empty properties that are attracting vandalism and causing a nuisance to the community.

‘Dispose batteries safely’ warning after bin wagon catches fire in Knaresborough

Harrogate Borough Council has warned people to be careful disposing their household waste after a bin wagon caught fire in Knaresborough.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue responded to reports of smoke coming from the refuse collection vehicle on Manse Lane at 9.24am yesterday.

Firefighters from Harrogate and Knaresborough rushed to the scene where they worked with the binmen to tip out the waste in a safe location and extinguish the fire. Nobody is believed to have been hurt.

An investigation by the fire crews determined the cause was likely to be a chemical reaction.

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A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council said:

“Our crew responded effectively to the event and our thanks go to them and the fire crews for their quick actions to ensure the fire was safely contained.

“Can we remind businesses and residents to think carefully about what they are disposing of in their general waste.

“Please ensure substances and in particular batteries are disposed of safely, not in with their general waste.”

Lib Dems ‘angry about loss of Harrogate funfair and Christmas market’

The leader of the Liberal Democrats on Harrogate Borough Council has expressed anger at the loss of the Harrogate Christmas Market and the annual funfair on the Stray.

In a statement sent to the Stray Ferret, Cllr Pat Marsh asked why the council couldn’t have been more supportive of the events and pro-active in making them happen.

She also said there was a danger of the Harrogate district acquiring a “reputation of not welcoming and not being supportive of special events”.

She said:

“The Lib Dems on Harrogate Borough Council are very angry at the way that annual events are being cancelled.

“First it was the local Christmas market. That meant local artisans won’t be able to sell their products to residents.

“Now we have the annual funfair being cancelled. That is something thousands of young people have enjoyed over many, many years.

“Why has this been allowed to happen? Why couldn’t the council be more supportive?”

Cllr Marsh also said the decision to prevent the events from going ahead was not one made by all councillors. She was not allowed to attend talks between council officers and the former Christmas market organisers. She said:

“We need to ensure that all councillors are kept informed and have a chance to have an input, we are all elected by the residents to act on their behalf.”

We sent Cllr Marsh’s statement to Harrogate Borough Council for a response but did not receive a reply by the time of publication.

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What happened to the annual Harrogate funfair?

The family that stages the funfair told the Stray Ferret the event would not go ahead because Harrogate Borough Council hiked the charge for using Stray land.

Ruby Wilson, who has taken over organising the fair on behalf of her dad John Jameson, said the council had doubled the price from £5,000 to £10,000.

With additional costs on top, including VAT and a £2,000 deposit in case the Stray is damaged, Ms Wilson said the event was no longer viable. The council disputes the claims.

What happened to Harrogate Christmas Market?

Harrogate Borough Council refused a licence for the Harrogate Christmas Market due to concerns about coronavirus, overcrowding and terrorism.

After three weeks of wrangling with the council, co-organiser Brian Dunsby admitted defeat in his battle to hold the event on Montpellier Hill.

It later emerged the council had been engaged in talks with Manchester-based organisers Market Place Europe in March and has now ramped up those discussions about staging an alternative Christmas market in December.

Council blames covid for barring group from Knaresborough House

Harrogate Borough Council has blamed government advice on coronavirus for preventing a community group from meeting at Knaresborough House.

Knaresborough & District Men’s Forum has used Knaresborough House since 1970, so members consider it to be their home.

However, with just under a month to go until they plan to meet again the group has nowhere to go.

Even though the government dropped all legal social distancing measures in July, the council still considers coronavirus restrictions as part of its risk assessment.

With such restrictions in place the Knaresborough & District Men’s Forum, which attracts around 80 people, would not be able to use the council-owned Knaresborough House.

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The forum offers entertainment and company during winter for retired and semi-retired men in the Knaresborough area.

It usually meets every Tuesday morning and hosts speakers on all kinds of subjects except politics and religion. The £2 entry fee includes a hot drink and a biscuit.

Peter Cresswell, press officer for the forum, told the Stray Ferret:

“If we have to adhere by social distancing measures then we would not be able to use Knaresborough House.

“We do not want to find a new place to meet. The forum has met there every year for the past 50 years.

“It is just hard to understand when thousands of people can mix in football stadiums and at music festivals.”

Knaresborough House is the home of the group. Photo: Habiloid/Geograph

A council spokesman said:

“Whilst we appreciate the law governing social distancing may have changed, our risk assessment still contains certain measures in line with government advice.”

The guidance the council refers to states people “should limit the close contact with those you do not usually live with, and increase close contact gradually.”

The council spokesman added:

“The virus is still in circulation, and with public meetings often involving a number of different people who don’t normally come into contact with each other, particularly as it’s indoors, we’re continuing to apply a degree of caution to help keep everyone safe.

“To be clear on the social distancing point, we recognise that two metres isn’t always possible so have advised “one metre plus mitigating measures” under those circumstances.

“This is our current position, but we will of course continue to review our risk assessment and make changes as and when we deem it necessary.”

Harrogate council began talks with new Christmas market organiser in March

Harrogate Borough Council began talks with MarketPlace Europe about staging a new Christmas market in March — four months before it dropped the original organisers.

The council has said it refused a licence to Harrogate Christmas Market Ltd, the previous organisers, because the emergency services had raised safety concerns about the site on Montpellier Hill.

However, Brian Dunsby, one of the previous organisers that set-up the market in 2012, has been suspicious of the reasons given and last week accused the council of “having their own agenda”.

The council, which promotes a ‘Buy Local’ message, said yesterday it began “low-level” talks with the Manchester-based events firm in March.

It said this was to ensure a contingency option was in place “in case the Montpellier Hill option was not able to proceed”.

Last week, Conservative council leader Richard Cooper said he expected the new company, which will operate a 10-day Christmas market in December, would bring a “first-class offering” to Harrogate.

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A council spokesperson told the Stray Ferret yesterday:

“Harrogate Borough Council departments speak to external organisations about various service provision matters day-in day-out. It is important to do so to ensure if events or services suffer delivery issues then a contingency option is in place.

“Therefore it should not surprise anyone that we have spoken to MarketPlace Europe, a nationally recognised market provider, as a contingency option in case the Montpellier Hill Christmas market option was not able to proceed.  This has been happening at a low level since March but has, following the refusal of the licence for the Montpellier Hill event, stepped up considerably in recent weeks.

“Bearing in mind the response from our partners to the application for the use of Montpellier Hill it is as well we do have these discussions.  Had we not done so there would be no chance to have a Christmas Market at all.  The fact that we had an open discussion with MarketPlace Europe gives us the chance to put in place an alternative now that the former organisers have decided not to proceed with this year’s Christmas market. The emphasis is on having a brilliant event that pulls people into our town.

“No officers, councillors or departments discussing the licence with the former Christmas Market organisers were involved in any early discussions about markets with MarketPlace Europe.”

The Stray Ferret has contacted MarketPlace Europe about its plans for the Harrogate Christmas market but has not received a response.

Harrogate district to get solar farm powering 15,000 homes

Harrogate councillors have today backed plans to build a large solar farm between Harrogate and Ripon.

The proposal, submitted by Elgin Energy EsCo Limited, would see Cayton Solar Farm built near the village of South Stainley.

The company says the site could generate 50 megawatts of electricity during peak operation and potentially power 15,000 homes in Harrogate with green energy. It will operate for 30 years.

A report before today’s planning committee said the farm, which will take up the equivalent size of 150 football pitches, would bring “significant renewable energy benefits” to the district and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

A total of 58 people wrote to the council to object to the application but 85 people wrote supporting it.

Councillors on Harrogate Borough Council voted unanimously to defer the plan to officers for approval at a planning committee meeting today.

Global warming

Cllr Pat Marsh, member of the planning committee, said:

“I can see the concerns of those who live close by, if it gets its permission. But, if you go down the A30 into Cornwall, there are solar panels all the way down virtually. It’s there and it exists.

“If you go into the centre of Spain, coming down the mountains into the very middle of Spain there are huge solar farms. I do not hear anybody shouting and screaming and the reason is because we have seen the impact of global warming.

“For once this district is becoming proactive.”

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Andrew Mott, agent for the developer, told the committee:

“Considerable care has been taken in the design of the development to ensure that the environmental considerations are protected and biodiversity promoted.

“There are economic benefits in terms of employment opportunities during the construction and operation phases of the proposal. There is approximately £120,000 per year in business rates.”

Sterile landscape fears

Residents that oppose the application are upset about the loss of green fields and agricultural land.

In its submission the council, South Stainley Parish Council objected to the perceived negative impact on the environment. It said:

“The area would become sterilised from an agricultural, environmental and recreational point of view.

“While maintenance staff in white transit vans will prosper, what happens to the farm workers and rural lifestyles which depend on local agriculture?”

Court approves emergency closure of ‘filthy’ Ripon takeaway

A court has approved the emergency closure of a Chinese takeaway in Ripon which hygiene officers found to be filthy.

Harrogate Borough Council served the Dragon Inn Chinese Restaurant with a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Order last week and took the owners to court.

Leeds Magistrates Court has now approved the closure and ordered the takeaway to pay the council’s costs of £1967.10 within 28 days.

The court heard how the council’s environmental health team found a series of potentially dangerous hygiene issues.

Officers found the Dragon Inn was filthy throughout, had very poor structural conditions, with the kitchen and other food preparation areas in a dirty state.

The basement with toilets was also dirty with no handwashing facilities. Staff were also seen to not wash their hands after handling raw food.

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We tried to contact the owner but found a notice at the door which said the business is closed until September 8 at the earliest.

The takeaway will only be allowed to reopen once the council is satisfied it no longer poses a risk to public health.

Dragon Inn has received ‘good’ four out of five food hygiene ratings in the past five years from the council with the last inspection in January 2020.

It is the second food venue to be closed by the council under a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Order in as many weeks.

Harrogate Borough Council believes that standards at some businesses have dropped since the UK has come out of the coronavirus lockdown.

Cllr Mike Chambers, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for housing and safer communities, said:

“Since we came out of the lockdown periods the council is finding that hygiene standards have deteriorated significantly in some premises.

“It is imperative that food businesses maintain hygiene and food safety at all times, even more so during the currently covid-19 pandemic.

“Council offers work hard to provide guidance and advice for businesses so that they can operate safely.

“Any businesses who fail to act upon this advice, and the resulting inspection identifies a risk to public health, then we have no option but to consider formal action.”

Harrogate council ends recruitment freeze but hiring staff now a ‘real challenge’

Harrogate Borough Council has ended a recruitment freeze more than a year after it was introduced to keep costs down during the covid pandemic.

After halting hiring in May 2020, the council has now begun recruiting again for vacant roles including lifeguards and receptionists as the freeze is “no longer sustainable”.

However, some non-critical posts will still be kept on hold as services continue to make a gradual return from lockdown.

Cllr Graham Swift, deputy leader and cabinet member for resources, enterprise and economic development, said it is “encouraging” that recruitment is now underway but he admitted it will be challenging due to local government reforms which will mean the council is abolished by April 2023.

Speaking at a meeting on Wednesday, he said: 

“Throughout coronavirus the council has made enormous sacrifices in taking salary and recruitment freezes, leaving significant shortfalls in key roles.

“I’m very encouraged now that as we come out of coronavirus we will start to see more services restoring to normal levels.

“We have a number of vacancies, some of them senior positions and critical, and as we go out to advertise we need to be sensitive to the fact that local government reform will put pressure on filling those.”

Under the reforms, North Yorkshire’s district councils and the county council will be scrapped to make way for a new unitary authority which will take over control of all council services.

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There are questions over what the major changes will mean for the 10,000 local government staff across North Yorkshire but until then recruitment will remain a challenge as councils try to fill posts which could soon cease to exist.

As well as the recruitment freeze, the borough council also shrunk its workforce by around 60 jobs and redeployed staff into under-pressure services as part of its Covid response.

Leisure centres were particularly affected by this with staff numbers at one stage being a third down earlier during the pandemic and services yet to make a full return due to ongoing staffing shortages.

Cllr Stanley Lumley, cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, said recruitment was now a “real challenge” with leisure centres currently having around 27 vacancies as a result of the recruitment problems which span across the country.

He said:

“We have struggled at times to open all our venues at the same time but as we increase the number of staff we will get back to normal services as soon as we can.

“It is something which we are working extremely hard to address and we are looking at recruiting from all avenues.”

At Wednesday’s meeting, council leader Richard Cooper also repeated warnings that services including leisure centres and bin collections could face disruptions due to staff self-isolating as covid cases remain high across the district.

He said: 

“A few weeks ago we notified the public that like lots of other local and national companies we are having recruitment issues with the so-called pingdemic.

“That warning we gave still stands because we are not out of the woods yet.”

Ripon takeaway forced to close after hygiene inspection

A Chinese takeaway in Ripon has been forced to close its doors after a routine inspection found serious food hygiene concerns.

Harrogate Borough Council has served the owner of the Dragon Inn Chinese Restaurant with a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Order.

A council officer found poor food hygiene controls, waste issues and insufficient hand washing facilities so closed the takeaway down on Tuesday.

We tried to contact the owner but found a notice at the door which said the business is closed until September 8 at the earliest.

The council will present the prohibition notice and its evidence to the magistrates court at a date to be confirmed.

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If the courts rule in favour of the council then the takeaway owner will likely need to pay costs, rectify the issues raised and then apply for a reinspection.

However, if the courts rule in favour of Dragon Inn then it will be able to apply for costs for the time it was forced to close.

Dragon Inn has received ‘good’ four out of five food hygiene ratings in the past five years from the council with the last inspection in January 2020.

A Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Order entitles the council to prevent the premises trading in any food-related activity immediately.

Such orders are usually granted when an environmental health officer believes serious breaches of standards are putting customers or staff at risk.

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson said:

“The Dragon Inn was served with a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice due to poor food hygiene, waste issues and insufficient hand washing facilities.

“This Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice will now be presented to the magistrates court.”

Harrogate council pledges to resettle Afghan refugees under new government scheme

The leader of Harrogate council has pledged that the borough will help house Afghan refugees who are fleeing the country following the Taliban takeover.

Conservative Cllr Richard Cooper said the refugees are “in need of and deserve our assistance” as he pledged his support to a new government scheme to welcome up to 20,000 Afghans over the next few years.

His pledge comes after the council offered resettlement to 19 Afghans in June under a similar scheme which targeted former translators and others who worked for the UK military during the two decades that it has been fighting in Afghanistan.

Speaking at a meeting on Wednesday, Cllr Cooper said this was the “right, humane and just thing to do”.

He said: 

“Back in June, Harrogate Borough Council pledged to take its fair share of the quota of Afghan interpreters who were seeking relocation to this country.

“We not only did that – we pledged to take more than our quota and we have done so.

“The government will now be coming forward with a new scheme for relocating Afghan refugees and on behalf of the council I want to make that pledge again that we will not only take our quota that the government suggests, but we will take more.

“Harrogate is a welcoming, tolerant and diverse place and these people are in need of our assistance and deserve our assistance.”

In June, senior Harrogate borough councillors agreed to offer resettlement to 19 Afghans, which amounts to four families.

The Harrogate district has previously taken part in other resettlement programmes, including welcoming 13 Syrian families between 2016 and 2017.

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Cllr Mike Chambers, cabinet member for housing and safer communities at the council, said the families are not only offered a place to live, but also given opportunities to go to school, learn English and find employment.

He added that the authority would be prepared to resettle more families if it was required to do so.

Meanwhile, eight families are expected to be resettled across North Yorkshire under the same scheme.

Nationally, more than 3,000 Afghans are expected to be allowed to settle in the UK, joining 1,300 who have already done so.