Watch: Volunteers plant wild flowers on Harrogate’s Stray

Harrogate Borough Council is working with volunteers to plant more than 5,500 wild flower plugs on the Stray.

The flowers will be planted between the Empress and Prince of Wales roundabouts on the Stray.

Volunteers from the Bilton Conservation Group and the Rotary Club of Harrogate are helping to plant the bulbs over this weekend and next.

The council hopes that by September the flowers will be in full bloom.

Ripon Spa Baths opens after more than a year closed

Ripon Spa Baths has reopened today (May 14) after more than a year of closures caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

It was forced to close in March 2020 when the first lockdown came into force and has stayed shut until today due to its staff supporting frontline council services stretched by the pandemic.

All swimming pools, leisure centres and gyms were allowed to reopen last month when other Harrogate Borough Council-run sites including the Hydro, Nidderdale Pool and Ripon Leisure Centre made a return.

However, Knaresborough Pool and Starbeck Baths are still shut, and it remains unclear when they will reopen.

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This is because maintenance works at Knaresborough Pool due to be carried out by specialist engineers from Spain have been halted by travel restrictions, the council previously said, although it added it was trying to find a UK-based firm to fix the problem.

Cllr Stanley Lumley, the council’s cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, previously said it was hoped Starbeck Baths would reopen shortly after Ripon Spa Baths but a date has yet to be announced.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:

“I’m delighted we have now been able to reopen Ripon Spa Baths and we are keen to get every other site open as soon as possible.

“With the challenge of staff being redeployed into frontline services, we are now getting our leisure services back up and running slowly but surely. We are running a strong recruitment campaign to fill the shortfall of staff and that is well on its way.

“We have also now ordered the equipment needed for the repairs at Knaresborough Pool and while reopening will be longer than we had hoped, we are keenly progressing.”

The return of Ripon Spa Baths will be welcome news for swimmers but the building’s future is shrouded in uncertainty.

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Harrogate council has put the 116-year-old baths up for sale despite protests that it could lose its community use if snapped up by a private developer.

Groups including Ripon City Council, Ripon Civic Society and Ripon Together have called for the sale to be suspended to allow more time for proposals to be brought forward, but their protests have been rejected.

A spokesperson for Harrogate council previously said:

“We have no plans to withdraw the sale of Ripon Spa Baths.

“The building will soon become surplus to our requirements and we do not have the resources to maintain it.

“Selling the baths for redevelopment, subject to planning permission and listed building consents, would allow this local asset to be given a new lease of life, retain its key features and remain as a city landmark.

“Ripon City Council, or another interested party, is welcome to submit a bid.”

The spokesperson also said the building is being sold because it will no longer be needed by the authority when the refurbishment of Ripon Leisure Centre is completed later this year.

The multi-million-pound upgrades were due to be completed earlier in 2021 but have been hit by construction and Covid delays.

The spokesperson added:

“Our strategy of disposing of assets no longer required means we have been able to invest more than £10 million in Ripon.

“The city’s new state-of-the-art, bigger, and better swimming pool and refurbished leisure centre will open at the end of this year.”

Wetherby Road residents call for expert help to fight Starbucks plan

Residents fighting a plan for a drive-thru Starbucks on Wetherby Road have called for expert help ahead of an appeal hearing.

Harrogate Borough Council decided to drop its objection earlier this week, warning the cost of the hearing could be £50,000.

Euro Garages, the retail firm behind the proposal, is taking the council to appeal over a decision tor refuse the plan for a drive-thru coffee shop on the former 1st Dental Surgery site.

Residents have decided to defend the council’s refusal themselves at the inquiry on June 15.

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After a meeting on Wednesday, Cllr Pat Marsh, who represents the area, called for support from experts for residents to help with their case.

She said:

“As the council will not defend the council planning committee’s original decision it is now up to local residents and myself to attend the appeal to defend the council’s decision and make the case on why this is the wrong site for a drive-thru coffee shop. 

“The council said it could not find any experts to defend the refusal but I am sure that there must be experts out there who would be able to help and guide the residents in this very important case. 

“If anyone can and will help, please do contact pat.marsh@harrogate.gov.uk. The residents would also like help and support from their local MP Andrew Jones.”

Euro Garages has spent almost a decade trying to win permission to open the coffee shop on Wetherby Road, Harrogate but has been refused three times by councillors and once by a government inspector.

Earlier this week, John Worthington, the council’s executive officer for development management, said officers could not stand successfully at appeal because their previous recommendation would “undermine” their case and that losing also risked legal costs of more than £50,000.

After the meeting, a council spokesman told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that not contesting the appeal “hasn’t been an easy decision to make” but was “the best way forward in this instance”. 

Council described as ‘inward looking’ after Stray Ferret secrecy investigation

Political parties in the Harrogate district have criticised the borough council after an investigation into secrecy by the Stray Ferret.

The Liberal Democrats in Harrogate have described the authority as “inward looking”, while Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour Party said they were “disturbed” by the findings.

Our research found that Harrogate Borough Council had a shocking record of withholding information from the public on key issues such as contracts and the Harrogate Convention Centre.

The findings showed the borough council had three times more restricted papers than the second highest comparable council and nearly 25 times as many as the lowest.

Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition on the council, said the authority was fast becoming an organisation where information is not always available.

She said:

“I have been on the council for 31 years and when I got elected all councillors made the decisions at various committees, the cabinet system has brought about an elite hierarchy who are kept updated, make most of the decisions, whilst the rest of us often learn things from local press releases rather than the council.

“There are legitimate reasons for some pink papers especially when commercial confidentiality is needed and personal details of officers and members need protecting but beyond that then the public, whose money it is, should always be made aware.”

Cllr Marsh added:

“It is in inward looking council who appear to want to exclude most people and are afraid of allowing others to make decisions.

“I tried to get the committee system reinstated but all the Conservatives voted against it. The committee system would open the council up to everyone and that can only be of benefit to us all and the council should not shy away from criticism and re-thinks.”

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Meanwhile, the Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour Party said it was disturbed at the number of restricted papers.

A spokesperson said:

“Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour Party finds that it is disturbing to note that a number of significant contracts have been awarded apparently without recourse to a competitive/open tendering process, especially in view of the current national issues around the awarding of Government contracts and lobbying by former ministers.

“Such a large number of council and cabinet papers have been restricted and are not in the public domain. It is surprising that the Liberal Democrats appear not to have held the administration to account over these matters.

“We look forward to an informative response from the council. After all, it’s important that local taxpayers know how their money is being spent by the Tory council.”

Our findings also showed that the borough council has an inconsistent approach to disclosing information to the press and public.

On two significant occasions, the council decided to withhold information where thousands of pounds of public money was spent – only to later publish it when challenged.

Cllr Pauline McHardy, who represents Ripon Independents on the borough council, said she found it “bizarre” that information was withheld.

She said:

“This is public money that we are talking about and the public have a right to know what it is being spent on.

“It seems they are being economical with the information. I cannot understand why they put it straight out onto Twitter, not everybody uses social media.”

The Stray Ferret approached both the Conservative leader of the council, Richard Cooper, and Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, Andrew Jones, for comment but did not receive a response.

In response to our investigation, a spokeswoman for Harrogate Borough Council said:

“We are an ambitious council with several multi-million pound and major projects underway, including new sport and leisure facilities and investment in Harrogate Convention Centre.

“This is for the benefit of our residents and for the district to be known as the best place to work, live and visit.

“This means, compared to other councils, we probably have more than the average number of commercial contracts being tendered.

“In 2020/21 we dealt with 822 requests under the Freedom of Information Act of 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations of 2004.

“Both make provision for keeping some information, which is commercially sensitive and may prejudice our commercial or contractual interests, exempt from disclosure.  The same applies to personal information.

“We apply exemptions only when we need to, and if the legislation permits, but sometimes we take the view that keeping information exempt is outweighed by the public interest in disclosing it.

“This means, in certain circumstances, we may decide there is a good reason for releasing otherwise confidential or commercially sensitive information.

“We pride ourselves on being and open and transparent council.

“We publish all spending over £250, agendas, reports and papers can be found on our website and anyone is welcome to attend one of our various committee and council meetings – most recently virtually – and from this week in person.”

“We are committed to explaining how council taxpayers’ money is spent.

“More information is available on our website: https://www.harrogate.gov.uk/data-protection-freedom-information/data-transparency.”

Bilton car park could be converted into council houses

Plans to convert a car park in Bilton into council housing have been sent back to the drawing board.

Harrogate Borough Council’s housing team wants to build the two-bed properties near Dene Park and Woodfield Road to provide what it described as “much-needed” accommodation for some of the hundreds of people on the social housing waiting list.

Planning assistant Arthama Lakhanpall told a meeting on Tuesday that 1,700 households are currently in the queue for council homes, with 316 specifically requesting two-bed properties.

He asked councillors to approve the plans but was told to take another look at the layout and designs.

Conservative councillor Nigel Simms, who represents Masham and Kirkby Malzeard, said the proposals were “just not right yet” and “completely at odds” with existing properties in the area:

“I would like to see something that represents the vernacular that surrounds it, not something that looks as if it has just been brought out of a design brief.

“This needs to go away and come back with something that reflects the local distinctiveness.”

There were also questions over why seven car parking spaces – including three disabled bays – were needed in the plans, with councillors suggesting that more or larger homes could be built.

They also said eco-friendly methods of heating, such as air source heat pumps and solar panels, should be installed instead of gas.

Conservative councillor Andrew Paraskos, who represents Spofforth with Lower Wharfedale, said:

“We could make better use of the land that is there. Whether it is more houses or bigger houses I’m not sure, but it should be sent back for reworking for a scheme that we actually need and is more fitting.”

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A report to councillors said the homes would provide a “modest addition” to the council’s housing stock and that the loss of 12 ‘underused’ car parking spaces would not have a negative impact on the area.

It said:

“The design of the dwellings would respect local distinctiveness and there would be no significant harm to local residential amenity.

“The development would provide off-street parking and additional tree planting. It is considered that the housing development would provide a more efficient use of the site.”

Councillors unanimously voted to defer a decision on the plans at Tuesday’s meeting.

Harrogate district groups can bid for grants up to £3,000

Voluntary organisations can apply from today for grants of between £200 and £3,000 from the Local Fund for the Harrogate District.

The fund, which has opened for its second funding round, will award about £30,000 to £40,000 in total.

Not-for-profit groups in the Harrogate district running projects or wanting to restart their activities and services after covid are eligible to apply.

Applications need to be received by June 21 and grants will be awarded in late July.

The fund, which is a partnership between Harrogate Borough Council, Harrogate and District Community Action and Two Ridings Community Foundation, was established in 2018 to provide grant funding to local voluntary organisations.

Harrogate firm Full Circle Funerals has boosted the amount available in this funding round by contributing £10,000.

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Sarah Jones, chief executive of Full Circle Funerals, said:

“We have been very keen to do something positive to help activities and projects resume after covid and the Local Fund seemed like the perfect opportunity to offer far-reaching support where it is most needed.”

Jan Garrill, chief executive of Two Ridings Community Foundation, said:

“The Local Fund in this round will focus on supporting community-inspired and led projects, activities and events.

“We know many local groups are keen to re-start activities once the current covid restrictions are lifted and we want to be able to support them with grants.”

Councillor Sam Gibbs, chair of Harrogate Borough Council’s voluntary and community sector liaison group and Local Fund grants panel member, said:

“The Local Fund provides continuous support for our local voluntary and community sector organisations and charities across the Harrogate district and the residents they support.

“It has been an incredibly tough year for them. And now, more than ever, it is critical these charities can access funds for projects.

Further details are available on the Two Ridings Community Foundation website and the HADCA website.

Investigation: Council’s ‘inconsistent’ approach to disclosing information

Yesterday we reported on how the council’s has a shocking record of withholding information compared with similar councils.

Today, we are looking Harrogate Borough Council’s response to public and the press who use the Freedom of Information act and other means to force the council to reveal information they have kept secret.

Over the past year, the Stray Ferret has investigated and published stories scrutinising the use of Harrogate taxpayers’ money.

To do this, we have submitted Freedom of Information requests to the borough council to get information or asked direct questions on matters of public interest.

As a taxpayer, it is your right to know what the local authority does with your money, how it is spent and what it is spent on.

What we have found is an inconsistent approach to responding to freedom of information requests, suspicion of the press and members of the public who feel the council has a defensive attitude to requests for information.

On two significant occasions, the council has decided to withhold information where thousands of pounds of public money has been spent – only to later publish it when challenged.

Today, we will focus on two FOI requests from ourselves and two from residents:

On two of these occasions the council refused the FOI and then, inexplicably, posted the information on Twitter.

Jacob Bailey and Visit Harrogate

When the borough council decided to bypass its own procurement rules to hand a contract to revamp the Visit Harrogate website, it posed serious questions of public interest as to whether the contract was value for money.

The decision was taken by the Cabinet Member for Culture, Tourism and Sport, Cllr Stan Lumley in November 2020.

While the council published a public report on what it wanted to do with the website and that it was going to hand the contract to a Suffolk-based company, Jacob Bailey, it also contained information that was confidential.

The public parts of the report did not include any reference to how much the contract cost.

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The Stray Ferret asked the borough council what the value of the contract was, while a member of the public submitted a freedom of information request with the same question.

We also asked why the authority had not dealt with the matter sooner and what market research had led it to select the Jacob Bailey Group over local companies.

The council refused to answer our questions and refused the FOI – citing grounds of commercial confidentiality.

Yet, two months later in January, the council did publish the cost – which was £165,000 over four years – on Twitter.

The matter raises questions once again as to why that information was not public in the first place and why it was not given at the point of request – to either journalists or the member of the public.

Flaxby Park legal costs

In October, the borough council appeared at the High Court as part of a judicial review over a decision to choose Green Hammerton over Flaxby for a new settlement.

The authority hired Paul Brown QC, joint head of Landmark Chambers in London.

Despite the costs being paid through public money, the council refused an FOI request from the Stray Ferret to reveal the sum paid to Mr Brown.

It said the information was exempt from disclosure because its lawyers’ legal fees should remain private.  We challenged that by requesting an internal review.

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In January the borough council revealed on social media that the legal costs were £57,360. But instead of giving to us, it published it on Twitter first.

We later found that the authority paid Mr Brown on five separate occasions and published his name on its publicly available expenses.

It begs the question why was the information denied to us in the first place when it was already available publicly?

Live streaming costs

One request last year dragged on for six months before the council decided to hand over the information.

In January 2020, the ruling Conservative group, led by leader Cllr Richard Cooper, rejected a proposal to stream meetings live.

At the time, Cllr Cooper said there was “not enough public interest” in the idea and added it would “cost tens of thousands of pounds”.

As a result, Jerry Diccox, a local resident, submitted a freedom of information request asking for the details of the council’s cost analysis of live streaming meetings.

Mr Diccox documented his e-mail exchange with the council on the website WhatDoTheyKnow. It lasted for six months until finally the authority released the information.

Initially, HBC rejected the FOI request due to “commercial confidentiality”. Mr Diccox asked for an internal review but the council’s chief solicitor upheld the original decision.

He argued that the cost analysis related to a “potential expenditure of public money”.

After taking his complaint to the Information Commissioner, Mr Diccox finally received his information.

Six months after his initial request, the council said it had reconsidered his request after being advised of the complaint.

The analysis showed indicative cost of live streaming meetings over one year and three years.

It showed that streaming meetings could cost £5,377.20 or £25,185.80 for one year. Meanwhile, three years could range from £5,377.20 to £40,623.80.

Mr Diccox said at the time that the council’s attempts to “hide behind the public interest” exemption was “nothing short of shameful”.

He said:

“This whole exercise has been a huge waste of time and effort, and as such I very much hope (but very much doubt) that the council has learnt lessons about attempting to hide information from the public.

“In future, HBC should try to follow its own stated aims of being more open and democratic and should stop trying to behave like a secret state.”

The council later denied that there was any attempt to avoid accountability.

Turkish Baths

In the midst of the council taking a major decision to set up a new company to run leisure services, the Stray Ferret decided to look at how much each facility cost to run.

As well as setting up an arms-length company, the authority was planning to borrow £26 million to revamp two of its pools.

We sent a Freedom of Information request to the council asking for the running cost of each leisure facility.

The request was answered in part- however the council refused to reveal the costs of the Turkish Baths on “commercial” grounds.

A source who used to work for the council, but did not wish to be named, told the Stray Ferret that there was no reason why that information could not have been handed over.

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The Turkish Baths is owned and run by the council. It is the public’s right to know how much it costs to run.

To date we still do not know how much it cost the public to run the Turkish Baths. We do not know if it makes a profit or a loss for the taxpayer.

An Inconsistent Approach

The frustration of getting information from the authority is echoed by campaigners.

Alex Smith, a local resident, has submitted FOI requests over section 106 agreements and asked the council to update its transparency data several times over the years.

Under the Transparency Code 2015, the council is required to publish a range of data for the public such as expenses, grants and parking income.

Mr Smith said he found it difficult to get the council to update its information.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“They will not really come clean and their instinct is to be defensive.”

Our examples give rise to public accusations that the council is deliberately avoiding scrutiny- that decisions are taken behind closed doors, with the public and press not party to crucial information and that it only publishes that information when it is forced to do so and, in some cases, never.

Our findings show that Harrogate Borough Council has been inconsistent when it comes to providing information to the public and journalists – despite saying it is committed to be open and transparent.

We put our findings to the borough council. A spokeswoman said:

“In 2020/21 we dealt with 822 requests under the Freedom of Information Act of 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations of 2004.

“Both make provision for keeping some information, which is commercially sensitive and may prejudice our commercial or contractual interests, exempt from disclosure. The same applies to personal information.

“We apply exemptions only when we need to, and if the legislation permits, but sometimes we take the view that keeping information exempt is outweighed by the public interest in disclosing it.

“This means, in certain circumstances, we may decide there is a good reason for releasing otherwise confidential or commercially sensitive information.

“We pride ourselves on being and open and transparent council.

“We publish all spending over £250, agendas, reports and papers can be found on our website and anyone is welcome to attend one of our various committee and council meetings – most recently virtually – and from this week in person.

“We are committed to explaining how council taxpayers’ money is spent.

“More information is available on our website: https://www.harrogate.gov.uk/data-protection-freedom-information/data-transparency.”

Tomorrow we will be reporting on the political reaction to our investigation of secrecy at Harrogate Borough Council.

Angry residents to fight controversial Wetherby Road Starbucks plan at appeal

Residents will fight controversial plans for a Starbucks on Wetherby Road at a public inquiry after Harrogate Borough Council decided not to risk a costly legal battle.

The council decided to withdraw its objection yesterday ahead of an appeal hearing on June 15, warning it could cost £50,000.

But residents will appear at the inquiry and make a case against the application.

Retail firm Euro Garages has spent almost a decade trying to win permission to open the coffee shop at the former 1st Dental surgery on Wetherby Road, Harrogate but has been refused three times by councillors and once by a government inspector.

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Although the council decided yesterday not to put up a defence, residents will still contest the refusal as a third party.

Cllr Pat Marsh, a Liberal Democrat whose Harrogate Hookstone ward includes the site, is to meet residents tonight to devise a strategy for the hearing.

She said:

“We have decided to do this. We are going to fight this to the bitter end.

“There is a lot of anger here about this application.”

Designs of the Starbucks as included in the planning documents to Harrogate Borough Council.

Designs of the proposed Starbucks included in planning documents to Harrogate Borough Council.

Cllr Marsh added that the application was another example of “big companies pushing for planning applications” to be put through.

The council rejected the proposal on grounds of air quality and traffic flow concerns in December 2019. It also raised concerns over a loss of amenity to those living next to the Starbucks due to noise and light pollution

Council drops defence

The council’s decision not to defend its objection was made at a planning committee meeting yesterday.

Speaking at the committee, Cllr John Mann, chair of the planning committee, said councillors did not have the legal expertise or experience to fight the appeal, which would see them “batted for six by the professional lawyers of the applicants”.

John Worthington, the council’s executive officer for development management, said officers could not stand successfully at appeal because their previous recommendation would “undermine” their case and that losing also risked legal costs of over £50,000.

After the meeting, a council spokesman told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that not contesting the appeal “hasn’t been an easy decision to make” but was “the best way forward in this instance.” 

He said:

“Officer recommendations are always taken with a balanced approach and are based on careful consideration of a wide range of issues, including local and national planning policy, case law, consultation responses and anything else considered to be ‘material’ to the decision, including the comments of local residents.

“In this case, the officer recommendation of approval was overturned by the planning committee and permission was refused, which has led to an appeal by the applicant.

“Following this recommendation, along with feedback from relevant consultees and comments made by an independent inspector – who considered a previous appeal at the site for a similar proposal – we believe the most sensible and cost-effective approach would be to not defend the appeal.”

‘Disappointment’ as Stray dining and drinking hopes dashed

Harrogate councillors have expressed disappointment after hopes that hospitality businesses could use the Stray this summer were dashed by legal complications.

There was widespread optimism that reopening restaurants, pubs and cafes could be given outdoor dining space when Harrogate Borough Council revealed the plans in March but historic laws protecting the parkland have since thrown up a series of challenges.

As landowners by law, the Duchy of Lancaster is guided by the Stray Act to ensure access to all residents and visitors.

The body had entered into negotiations with the council but took a firm stance that use of the Stray for commercial purposes, except for some large events, was not permitted by the Act.

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While the debate rumbled on as Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones intervened with calls for further flexibility, the bad news for businesses was all but confirmed until a meeting on Monday when a senior council official said the authority had stopped pursuing the plans.

Trevor Watson, director of economy and culture at Harrogate Borough Council, said:

“I certainly share the view that the Stray potentially provides a fantastic opportunity to help businesses come out of a very difficult period.

“But our custodian role for the Stray is to ensure it is maintained free and open for the use of all rather than what appears to be the use of all but effectively is for the use of individuals visiting an individual commercial premises.”

Cllr Pat Marsh said she was “very disappointed” by the decision.

She said:

“The Stray is for the people and we must remember that.”.

Cllr Chris Aldred added:

“At the start of lockdown everybody seemed to be in favour of this happening and then suddenly it got lost in bureaucracy somewhere.

“We really do need to look at how we use the Stray in the future. As a council that should be one of our priorities to see it developed for everyone.”

Mr Watson responded:

“Whilst I share some of the frustrations, it is not bureaucracy, it is legislation. The terms of the legislation we have got to work with are very restrictive.

“It is essentially what is wrapped up in the Stray Act that has led to the view that we should encourage its use for open and regular enjoyment but not perhaps for the benefit of individual businesses.”

The idea of businesses using the Stray was put forward to help those with little or no room for outdoor dining under the current lockdown restrictions.

The Duchy of Lancaster said in a statement that while it was keen to support the economic recovery, the Stray “exists for the benefit of all the people of Harrogate,” not just certain businesses.

It said:

“Harrogate Borough Council is responsible for the management of the Stray in accordance with the Stray Act.

“The Duchy has no legal grounds to object to management proposals permitted by the Act.

“It is not the role of the Duchy to act as arbitrator in what should be a local discussion among the affected stakeholders.”

Harrogate turf war: residents offer to swap fake grass for flowers

Harrogate Borough Council has rejected an offer from a residents group to remove the fake grass in town and plant flowers instead.

Lucy Gardiner, co-founder of the original Harrogate Residents Association group, wrote to council leader Richard Cooper offering to carry out the work with local schoolchildren.

Her offer follows yesterday’s direct action by Extinction Rebellion Harrogate in which. the plastic grass in one of the raised beds was removed and replaced by shrubs.

Yesterday’s direct action by Extinction Rebellion Harrogate.

Harrogate Residents Association’s offer is the latest twist in the turf war saga that has provoked a fierce backlash by residents concerned about the environmental impact as well as the damage to Harrogate’s reputation as an upmarket, floral town.

Ms Gardiner’s letter, seen by the Stray Ferret, said:

“We have quite a few volunteers who would like to remove the Astro turf in the centre of town and plant up the beds with flowers/shrubs that survive in shaded conditions.

“Do we have the permission from you as the head of the Harrogate Borough council to do this please?

“We thought we could also engage with some of the primary schools to encourage the children to help plant them up, supporting a greener future and community spirit for their future town.”

Cllr Cooper declined her offer and in his reply copied yesterday’s council statement, which apologised for not explaining its actions better.

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The statement, which can be read in full in this article, said the artificial grass would serve as a base for planters that will sit on top of the beds, resulting in “a vibrant display of colour all year round”.

It added the scheme was a trial and if it didn’t make the town look better “we will remove them and try something else”.

Ms Gardiner said the group would pursue the matter with Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones.