Residents are growing increasingly concerned that Starbeck Pool will not re-open as uncertainty surrounding its future drags on.

Other Harrogate Borough Council-run pools in the district have re-opened but the local authority is still unable to say when Starbeck Baths will do so.

Starbeck Liberal Democrat councillor Philip Broadbank and local resident Chris Watt are growing increasingly frustrated.

Both question why Ripon Spa Baths has reopened but Starbeck hasn’t when they argue both have similar space restrictions.

Mr Watt says he and other residents fear the council is “planning to break its promises to keep the pool in use”. He added:

“The council’s silence around the future of Starbeck Baths is very worrying. People are increasingly concerned.

“Facilities have re-opened in Ripon, which is in a similarly sized building to Starbeck. A great deal has been spent on repairs at Knaresborough Pool and staff have been found for every other pool in the area.

“Why is the council treating Starbeck people like the poor relations?”

Cllr Philip Broadbank and local resident Chris Watt at Starbeck Baths.

The pool has been closed since December despite the government allowing pools to reopen on April 12.

Harrogate Hydro and Nidderdale Leisure Centre in Pateley Bridge opened on April 12. Ripon Spa Baths opened a month later.

Knaresborough Pool has had new filters installed but is due to reopen this month.

Cllr Philip Broadbank said he did think Starbeck Baths would reopen but added:

“I can’t understand or accept that it’s remained closed when Ripon has reopened. The layouts are very similar.

“I get frustrated and keep raising it but the council tries to reassure me that the layouts are totally different. I’m not convinced.”

Read more:

• Ripon paddling pool to get toilets this summer after unanimous vote by city councillors
• Two men taken to hospital after car crash on Starbeck High Street

The Stray Ferret asked the council when Starbeck Baths will reopen. A council spokeswoman said:

“Starbeck Baths remains an important facility amongst the leisure services we provide.

“Due to the unique layout of the building, and the government’s existing social distancing measures, we are currently unable to open the baths.

“We will have further news in the coming weeks of when the baths will reopen.”

Liberal Democrat councillors will next week call for a parish council to be created in Harrogate after Harrogate Borough Council is scrapped.

Cllr Matthew Webber, who represents Harrogate New Park, will table a motion at a full council meeting on Wednesday.

The motion calls for Harrogate Borough Council to “strongly recommend” whatever council succeeds it reviews its governance and considers establishing a parish council for the town.

The motion says:

“That this council strongly recommends to any successor unitary authority in North Yorkshire that a community governance review for the town of Harrogate is initiated and the creation of a parish for the town is considered.”

As part of its devolution agenda, the UK government plans to scrap North Yorkshire’s seven district councils and its county council and replace them with either one or two unitary authorities.

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• MPs watch: Fish and chips in Batley and Spen
• ‘The roads around Ripon’s Market Square are unfit and unsafe’

Currently, Scarborough and Harrogate are the only areas without a town or parish council in the county.

Cllr Carl Les, Conservative leader of the county council, said if the authority’s plan to have one council for the entire of North Yorkshire was accepted, it would listen to any proposal.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“It is part of our proposals to offer powers to parish councils should communities request that review.

“It will not be done to them. This will be delegation, not abdication.”

What would a town or parish council do?

Town and parish councils run services such as community centres and play areas, as well as maintaining bus shelters. Councillors are elected to serve on them.

The councils can also charge a precept as part of council tax bills to fund the services provided.

Under its plans, the county council has promised further powers for towns and parishes in a move it describes as ‘double devolution’.

The districts’ plan for an east/west model has also pledged to hand further powers to parishes, if they want it.

It would see the councils able to run services and take on additional responsibilities.

Harrogate Borough Council officers have given final approval for 145 homes in Ripon.

Harron Homes will build the homes at Bishop’s Glade, off Bellman Walk.

The developer already had outline permission for 131 homes, which was granted by the council in 2017. But the company sought approval for a further 14 last year.

Read more:

• Ripon student wins coveted National Youth Theatre place
• Quarry plan near Masham ‘could boost ecology’, says study

The council’s planning committee deferred the application to the council’s chief planner to approve in June last year.

Now, the development has been given final permission to go-ahead.

The proposal will include a mixture of three, four and five-bed homes. The developer has also agreed to allocate 58 homes as affordable housing.

Harron Homes describes the development as “a hidden gem which borders picturesque woodlands and open fields easily accessible for a morning walk to set you up for the rest of your day”.

An £827,100 contract is set to be awarded to undertake work on the first phase of the delayed Otley Road cycle route in Harrogate.

North Yorkshire County Council is advertising the contract, known as the West Harrogate Scheme, with the start date given as September 6.

A total of £3.2 million was set aside to build the route in 2018 but the plans have been beset by delays that have frustrated Harrogate’s cycling community.

Read more

• Criticism over 560 homes plan for Otley Road in Harrogate
• Land on Wetherby Road set to become part of the Stray

Tenders for the contract are due to be submitted by July 16.

Work will include widening Otley Road on the approach to Harlow Moor Road as well as the creation of a designated left turn lane on the western approach to Harlow Moor Road and designated right turn lane on the eastern approach.

An off-road cycle route would also be created between Harlow Moor Road and Cold Bath Road as part of the contract.

Traffic light junctions would also be upgraded.

The county council confirmed that the final two phases of the scheme would also be awarded via open tender.

The second phase of the cycle route will link Arthurs Avenue to Beech Grove and the third will connect Cardale Park to Harlow Hill.

Negotiations with the Duchy of Lancaster over the exchange of Stray land have caused delays.

Harrogate Borough Council agreed in March to designate a plot of land on Wetherby Road as Stray land in exchange for the loss of grass verges on Otley Road for the new cycle path.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive county councillor for access, told the Stray Ferret a fortnight ago that the authority expected work on the first phase to be completed “within a few months”.

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. See below for details on how to contribute.

Wetherby Road recycling queue is dangerous

Nick Bentley, Knaresborough

Council pay rises would be a joke

Your piece on Harrogate Borough Council pay rises is an insult to the people who live in the town.

Harrogate Borough Council is the worst council for spending money on its ‘vanity project’ council buildings. It is a joke.

The council ignores important issues that its council tax payers have. The people sitting in their ivory tower don’t deserve anything.

Susan Mitchell, Harrogate

Stop these proposed changes to Harrogate

My husband and I enjoy the articles from the Stray Ferret: they are accurate, to the point, and echo the views of people like myself who have lived most of my life within a five-to-seven mile radius of Harrogate town centre.

We have, nevertheless, travelled abroad many times during our 52 years of married life living in close proximity to this lovely town. Some of the proposed changes to the town are just not appropriate – if only Councillor Mackenzie would listen to the views of residents of Harrogate and its outskirts. Surely, the government cannot allow them to go ahead?

Pat Perry, Kirkby Overblow

The great rewilding debate: grass-cutting or cost-cutting?

I love the long and lovely wild verges – they don’t need to be cut at all, except at junctions to let drivers exit side roads safely.

Helen Barclay, Harrogate

Do you really believe that this is anything to do with being eco friendly? It’s about cost-cutting.

The grass verges where l live are prime dumping ground for dog excrement. The verges are unsightly and the result looks like we live in a dump.

Jen Dent, Harrogate

I love the council’s efforts to allow biodiversity to gain ground on the Stray! Keep it up!

Ann Broderick, Harrogate

Deliberately planting colourful wildflowers brings the Stray to life. Looks fabulous.

Leaving roadside verges uncut and scruffy is just another lazy wheeze to short-change council taxpayers.

If you park your car next to them you get wet trying to get into your car in the morning. Several residents on Coppice Drive have taken the obvious action.

Tim Emmott, Harrogate

Wild verges looks amazing, nature always needs more help these days.

Perhaps a few wildflower seeds added will give it a lift for those who think it is just a scruffy look.

Encouraging wildlife in the centre of town is is very uplifting.

Jen Mackay, Harrogate

Read more:

• Harrogate district’s wild grass verges continue to divide opinion
• ‘Victory for the people!’: Harrogate’s plastic grass removed this morning

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

Harrogate Borough Council has told a grandmother that she needs to remove her trampoline after a noise complaint.

Angela Hutchinson, who lives on a council estate in the Jennyfields area of town, has until the end of today to take it down.

The trampoline is in the communal garden. Ms Hutchinson believes all the neighbours who share the garden are OK with it.

But a council officer has told her that it has received a noise complaint so she needs to remove the trampoline.

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• Wetherby Road in Harrogate closed in both directions

A rather upset Ms Hutchinson told the Stray Ferret:

“So it’s really sad that we have to take this down, just because one person does not like the noise.

“It’s not that it’s every day, but I’ve got to take it down. This is a shame, I wanted to resolve it peacefully.

“I would happily have a conversation with the person who has complained, to make sure it is not used when they are sleeping or anything like that.”

Harrogate Borough Council has confirmed that it has asked Ms Hutchinson to take down the trampoline and said the noise levels are “not acceptable”.

“A trampoline, placed on a communal garden area that is owned by the council, is being used by a number of individuals not associated with the residential property in question.

“It is being used for extended periods of the day, both during the week and at weekends. The noise levels created are also not acceptable.

“Therefore, we have requested that the owner of the trampoline needs to remove it.”

The date for a by-election has been set following the resignation of Harrogate district councillor Samantha Mearns.

Cllr Mearns announced at the weekend that she was stepping away from her Knaresborough Scriven Park ward due to family reasons after holding the seat as a member of the Conservative party since 2018.

A by-election has now been officially called by Harrogate Borough Council which, if contested, will be held on July 29.

The by-election is being run by the council and nomination papers are available during normal office hours from the Returning Officer at the Harrogate Civic Centre on St Lukes Avenue.

Completed nomination papers must be delivered by hand to the same address between 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, before July 2.

Announcing her resignation in a letter to residents, Cllr Mearns said she was moving to Wales to be closer to her family after her younger brother died and her mother was diagnosed with cancer.

She said it had been a “great honour” to serve the area where she had lived for more than 18 years.

Read more:

• Harrogate councillor resigns for ‘family reasons’
• Harrogate council staff review highlights bullying and harassment claims

Cllr Mearns said:

“In many people’s lives things happen that change the direction of their lives. This is the same with me. Not too long before the pandemic struck, my younger brother – my only sibling – died after a relatively short but terrible illness.

“Shortly after, and during the pandemic, my mother was diagnosed with cancer.

“Having lost my brother and faced with potentially losing my mother in a short time made me look at what I needed to do with my life to do the right thing by my family.”

A new footbridge at RHS Harlow Carr has been given council approval.

Harrogate Borough Council gave the go-ahead to the proposal, which will see the wooden bridge cross over Queen Mother’s Lake.

It forms part of proposals to improve the visitor experience at the attraction.

Liz Thwaite, head of site, said:

“The new bridge is part of our overall masterplan for the RHS Harlow Carr site, and will improve the flow of people and the overall visitor experience.”

Meanwhile, RHS Harlow Carr has partnered with illustrator and children’s author, Chris Riddell, to transform the gardens with an Alice in Wonderland theme this summer.

Read more:

• Outdoor Shakespeare theatre returns to Harrogate’s Harlow Carr next month
• Sculpture trail heads to Harrogate’s RHS Harlow Carr

It will offer families the chance to view the gardens through the eyes of Alice, encountering topsy-turvy installations along the way.

The event, which is being held in partnership with charity Macmillian Publishers, celebrates 150 years of the classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There stories by Lewis Carroll.

RHS Harlow Carr is also set to open a sculpture exhibition at the gardens this summer.

The Four Seasons, a collection of busts by contemporary American artist and filmmaker Philip Haas, will go on display from July 7 until summer 2022.

The 15ft tall fibreglass heads are three-dimensional interpretations of Renaissance paintings created by Italian artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo in the late 16th century.

Paul Cook ,RHS Garden Harlow Carr Curator,  said:

“These sculptures feel as though they’re made for garden lovers, and we’re looking forward to hearing what our visitors think as they encounter them around the garden. 

“The locations of the Four Seasons have been carefully chosen with the artist to interact with the planting schemes.

“Summer is set in a woodland glade surrounded by meadow flowers, whilst Winter in the woodland echoes the mature trees around the sculpture. 

“Autumn will be a talking point as the real-life fruit and vegetables in our kitchen garden mature through the growing season and the spotlight will be on Spring, also in the woodland, next year, as new foliage emerges once again.”

Harrogate Borough Council paid more than £45,000 in legal fees to defend a decision to refuse a controversial service station near Kirby Hill.

According to the council’s own public record of expenses, the authority paid Stephen Whale QC £45,491 in counsel fees for the inquiry.

The figures show the council made three payments of £43,000, £750 and £1,741 between January and March this year.

Harrogate Borough Council said the fees also included a successful defence of a decision to refuse a proposal for a service station on the A1(M) near Ripon at the same hearing.

The Stray Ferret asked the council whether the sum was the total paid to Mr Whale and if it wished to comment on the fees.

A council spokesman said:

“The legal fees for Stephen Whale QC were for two appeals; Kirby Hill and Melmerby. The latter was successfully defended by the council following its decision to refuse.

“When an appeal is to be heard at a public inquiry, it is appropriate and expected for a local authority to make use of highly rated and specialist legal counsel to run its case.”

Read more:

• A1 service station decision ‘flies in the face of localism’, say campaigners

• ‘There is a need’ for A1 service station near Kirby Hill, inquiry told

• Kirby Hill campaigners call for review of service station decision

Mr Whale, of London-based Landmark Chambers, appeared at the hearing in February.

The hearing lasted two weeks and included multiple testimonies to defend the council’s refusal of the proposal. 

But it resulted in the service station between junction 48 and 49 on the A1(M) northbound being approved after 25 years of public inquiries and planning battles.

However, a separate appeal from Moto Hospitality Ltd for a motorway service station on the A1 near Ripon at junction 50 was rejected.

David Rose, the government’s planning inspector who oversaw the inquiry, said the benefits of the service station near Kirby Hill would outweigh the harm.

Campaigners call for review

Since the approval, campaigners in Kirby Hill have called on the government to review the inspector’s decision.

They have questioned one of the policies used in the inspector’s report to approve the site, which says that the distance between motorway service areas should be “no more than 28 miles, but it can be shorter”.

Gareth Owens, chair of Kirby Hill Residents Against Motorway Services, said the decision made in April “does not make sense”.

Mr Owens said the policy “appears to have been plucked out of thin air” and called for a review of the decision.

He told the Stray Ferret earlier this week:

“The government should admit that it made a mistake in approving the Vale of York motorway services and should announce a review of this controversial decision.”

A senior Harrogate borough councillor has said the district will be prepared to rehome more Afghan families after the authority agreed to take part in a resettlement scheme.

Up to four families totalling 19 people will be flown to the district in the coming months as fears for their safety grows, with international troops preparing to leave the country.

On the flight will be mostly former translators, their families and others whose lives are under threat because they worked for the British government during the two decades that the UK military has been fighting in Afghanistan.

A decision to welcome the families was agreed by Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet last night when Madeleine Bell, head of housing and property, said the authority had asked to take part in the relocation scheme which is now being accelerated as the security situation in Afghanistan worsens.

She said:

“Since 2013 the government has had a programme of resettling locally employed Afghans who have worked with British armed forces.

‘Due to changes in the international presence in Afghanistan, this programme has now been accelerated and it has become urgent that Afghans who have worked with our armed forces together with their families are brought to this country for their own safety.

“We have asked to be part of this scheme and have provisionally agreed to accept three or four families, although of course we stand ready to accept larger numbers if we are asked to do so.”

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

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• Harrogate council staff review highlights bullying and harassment claims

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.

‘We will take more if necessary’

Cllr Chambers said:

“This district has a long and proud history of taking in people who are in need, people who are in distress and people who need shelter.

“It is clear that we need to play a part in ensuring that these people are brought to a place of safety and given every opportunity to move on.

“We initially looked to take about 19 people in total and should we be required to take further, then we will do so, because this is what we do in this district. We are known as places of sanctuary. My own city of Ripon is a city of sanctuary.

“It means a great deal to people that we show compassion and care, and that we play our part in ensuring these people are given every opportunity to live in a place of safety.”

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

A large number of translators were not eligible under a previous relocation scheme, which considered an applicant’s role and length of service.

But now any current or former locally-employed staff deemed to be under serious threat will be offered priority, regardless of their employment status, role, rank or length of service.

Announcing the acceleration of the scheme last month, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:

“As we withdraw our armed forces, it is only right we accelerate the relocation of those who may be at risk of reprisals. Nobody’s life should be put at risk because they supported the UK government to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan.”