A parking warden fined a pensioner with a bladder problem who says he parked in Harrogate for four minutes to use the toilet.

Lee Chadwick, 78, has medication for an overactive bladder so when he feels the urge to use the toilet he has to act quickly.

Mr Chadwick, who lives in Markington, parked at the back of the taxi rank on Station Parade to use the public toilet, leaving his wife in the passenger seat.

When he returned his wife was explaining the situation to the parking warden. Mr Chadwick also talked to the warden but he still issued a fine.

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The pensioner then contacted Harrogate Borough Council to appeal. However, the council replied today to say it cannot uphold his appeal without more evidence.

A council parking administrator wrote to Mr Chadwick saying he could either settle in the next 14 days at the discounted rate of £35 or pay £70 if he waited longer. Alternatively, Mr Chadwick could ask his doctor to send a letter about his condition.

But he told the Stray Ferret he did not wish to bother his doctor about such a request. He added:

“It was our first trip out to Harrogate in a long time but we will not be going back again after this incident.

“I do think it is unreasonable. I have tried to appeal and I will continue to fight it. If I need to I will take it to the magistrates’ court. I have faith in the magistrates.

“If the council continues to insist on this fine then I think it is quite cruel and unjust.”

A spokeswoman for Harrogate Borough Council said:

“Mr Chadwick is appealing the ticket and we are awaiting further information from him to confirm the circumstances and his medical condition.”

A controversial 200-home development at the former police training centre in Pannal Ash looks set to be approved.

Harrogate Borough Council previously approved plans to build 161 homes on the Yew Tree Lane site in 2018.

But a new proposal, submitted in November, aims to increase the number of homes to 200 despite concerns about “unjustifiable planning creep”.

Homes England, a non-departmental public body that funds new affordable housing, submitted the latest plans.

The council’s planning committee will next week decide whether to accept the latest plans.

Housing plan is “planning creep”

The application has proved controversial because of the increase in the number of homes from 161 to 200 and the loss of playing fields.

Read more:

• ‘Unjustifiable planning creep’ at 200-home Pannal Ash development

• Football club’s fury at plans to axe Harrogate sports pitch for housing

Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association has described the plan as “yet another example of unjustifiable planning creep”.

The site boundary of the development on Yew Tree Lane.

A letter to the council from the Harrogate Civic Society said:

“The principle of development of this brownfield site for housing is acceptable. However, there are reasons why this application is not acceptable, either at 180 dwellings or even more so at 200 dwellings.

“There is no current need for a huge increase above housing provision figures in the Local Plan as allocations and commitments plus other housing proposals coming forward are more than sufficient.”

A report due before councillors next week recommends approving the development.

The report says the council recognises concern over the 24% uplift in houses proposed. However, it said this does not mean suitable housing “should be resisted” on brownfield sites.

It says:

“The council can currently demonstrate more than five years housing land supply, but this does not mean that additional housing can, or should be resisted on suitable non-green belt sites.”

Concerns have also been raised about the loss of three football pitches and a cricket pitch as part of the latest plan to build more homes.

However, Homes England has offered the council £595,000 in mitigation for the loss of the pitches in Pannal after discussions with Sport England.

The sum will be paid as a section 106 agreement, which developers pay to councils to mitigate the impact of their developments on the local community and infrastructure.

According to planning documents, Sport England and the Football Foundation said they consider it “unlikely” that the pitch would be actively used. Instead they advised Homes England to consider using the pitch for more housing.

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.

Does Marilyn not know about climate change?

Does Marilyn Stowe really not understand? The growth in cycling provision in Leeds or Harrogate is not to provide for the few people that already cycle.

The intention is to persuade a lot more people to cycle. Does she not know about climate change and melting polar ice?

Her article on Stray Ferret is just so incredible.

Andrew Willoughby, Knaresborough

Why prioritise cyclists when Harrogate needs parking?

I wrote to North Yorkshire County Council twice last year about the experiences of towns that have installed harmful, counter-productive cycling lanes and low-traffic neighbourhoods.

I wrote that the planners of those towns might be forgiven for not anticipating how damaging the reality of their schemes was going to be – because there were no precedents. Our councils here have no such excuse, not with the evidence from other towns writ large since 2017.

Throughout five different journeys by car, in and out of town, Monday to Friday last week, I counted 12 cyclists — in mild and sunny weather. We really don’t have many homegrown cyclists – for good reason.

The hills on Harrogate’s town-centre access routes, together with wet and windy weather, discourage cycling for local residents. Dedicated cycling lanes will never change that.

It is different for hobby cyclists. They are mostly the ones to be seen on high days and holidays, often grouped on the roads, identifiable by their distinctive apparel and indifferent to bad weather. They are rarely spotted using our shops and cafes or services.

Are we really going to make changes that prioritise cyclists over our entire population, when our town is in dire need of footfall, residents and visitors to shop and pile goods into their cars, or to drive into town to enjoy cafes and restaurants again? Surely we should be welcoming all comers and that means providing plentiful parking if we are to support the prestigious services and the famous retail heart of Harrogate.

On account of working-from-home there are already fewer cars coming into town, and perhaps fewer cyclists – a trend that may progress. Changes are coming and I think we should wait and see.

Jacky Little, Harrogate

Ripon people have chips on both shoulders

The attitudes expressed by both Harrogate borough councillors Swift and McHardy are insulting to the Scottish Nationalist Party, which exists to promote and advance the people of Scotland, and have nothing at all to do with Harrogate or Ripon.

Councillor McHardy’s response is quite typical of the constant whinging from people in Ripon, which is completely unwilling to accept that in 1974 Ripon was absorbed into the Harrogate district. We fail to see any similar grouses from other towns in the district, such as Knaresborough, Boroughbridge or Pateley Bridge, who seem prepared to work with Harrogate Borough Council to get the best deal for their locality.

Ripon seems to live in the past and many Ripon city councillors, who incidentally are often Harrogate borough councillors and North Yorkshire county councillors too, seem to regularly be elected on the basis of their anti-Harrogate Borough Council attitudes.

It’s often said that Ripon people are well-balanced because they have a chip on both shoulders.

John Edmonstone, Ripon

Read more: 

• Marilyn Stowe: They’ve made a dog’s breakfast of cycle lanes in Leeds
• Ripon grievances ‘like listening to the SNP’, says councillor

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 Town have been given the go-ahead for a new ticket office and turnstiles at the EnviroVent Stadium.

The proposals, which were submitted last December, will see the current ticket office demolished and replaced with a new two-storey facility.

New turnstiles would also be in place at the north and wes of Wetherby Road.

Now, Harrogate Borough Council has given the club permission for the development to go-ahead.

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It comes as Town have had a successful past year on the pitch with a historic promotion to the English Football League.

As a result, the club have had to put measures in place to abide by the EFL admission criteria. They include a new pitch and increased capacity at the ground.

The current view of The Envirovent Stadium, Wetherby Road.

In documents submitted to the council, the club said the new planning application was necessary because of an increase in office staff and the need for a better flow of supporters on match days.

The club has also submitted plans for a new two-storey club house and corporate suite.

Meanwhile, Town are set for another Wembley appearance on Monday in the FA Trophy Final against Concord Rangers.

The club have announced a new all-black kit which the players will wear for the game. It will also be used as a third kit for the 2021/22 League Two season.

The Stray Ferret social media accounts will not be posting any updates this weekend about the FA Trophy Final in solidarity with football clubs withdrawing from platforms in protest against online racial abuse.

Harrogate Borough Council has begun making preparations for the live streaming of meetings to continue when councillors return to the chamber next month.

Emergency regulations which allowed local authorities to meet remotely – where councillors tune in from different locations – were introduced in March last year and most meetings have since been broadcast online.

The rules will expire on May 6 when meetings must return in person but there is a government expectation that they must still be live streamed for members of the public.

Harrogate Borough Council has ordered live streaming equipment to install at its headquarters in what marks a major change from when councillors voted against any live streaming in January 2020 before the pandemic struck.

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• ‘Mistake’ to return to in-person meetings, says council leader

They voted against the idea because of claims it would have been too expensive – and it is not yet known how much the new equipment will cost.

Conservative Cllr Ed Darling told a meeting on Thursday that the council was now waiting for the installation of equipment to begin.

He said:

“Remote meetings have become commonplace over the past year – I personally think they have been rather positive.

“A solution has now been ordered and we are awaiting its installation. Once it is installed and tested, the members ICT working group will meet to review the system.”

It comes as the High Court has this week rejected a challenge by local government lawyers and Hertfordshire County Council for online council meetings to continue after May 6.

He also argued councils should be given a choice whether to hold meetings remotely or in-person in the future.

Announcing the end of the emergency regulations last month, Luke Hall, minister for regional growth and local government, said in a letter to councils that he recognised safety concerns but the vaccine rollout and fewer covid cases “should result in significant reduction in risk for local authority members meeting in-person”.

Liberal Democrat councillor Trevor Chapman has tonight been virtually voted in as the new Harrogate district mayor.

He takes over from Conservative councillor Stuart Martin, who held the role since 2019 and served an extended term due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Speaking at a virtual annual meeting tonight, cllr Chapman said:

“Let’s hope we can return to some form of normality following events over the last year so that I can fulfil the role fully.

“I would like to express my sincere thanks to the outgoing mayor Stuart for not only carrying out his year of office but also standing in as caretaker during this unprecedented year.

“Stuart, you and April have carried out your duties in an exemplary manner for which I thank you very much.”

Cllr Chapman, who represents the Bilton Grange ward, was chosen to take on the role in March last year before the handover was cancelled because of the pandemic.

It has meant cllr Martin has stayed in the post for an extra 12 months during the same year that his wife, mayoress April Martin, became critically ill with covid.

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After tonight’s meeting, councillor Martin said in a statement:

“As my time as Harrogate district mayor comes to an end this evening, I’d like to say thank you to everyone for their help and support over the past two years.

“Both April and I have thoroughly enjoyed being mayor and mayoress, and we have met some truly incredible organisations and charities during that time.

“I am delighted to be able to pass on the chain of office to councillor Trevor Chapman, who I know will make an excellent mayor. It has been a great pleasure and I will leave with many happy memories of my two years in office.”

The role of the mayor is to chair full council meetings and represent the borough at ceremonies and events.

The mayor also raises money for charities and is required to put his or her political affiliations aside to be impartial.

Councillor Chapman has selected Supporting Older People, Citizens Advice and Friends of Harrogate Hospital as his chosen charities.

Christine Willoughby elected deputy mayor

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat councillor Christine Willoughby, who represents Knaresborough Eastfield and served as mayor for the town, was also elected as deputy mayor for the Harrogate district at tonight’s meeting.

She takes over from Conservative councillor Zoe Metcalfe, who represents the Claro ward.

Conservative council leader Richard Cooper also announced at tonight’s meeting that no changes have been made to the cabinet, while a raft of committee chairs, vice-chairs and members were also voted in.

An inquiry has been launched after emails revealed a Harrogate council officer “massaged” a key report on now-approved plans for a controversial motorway service station on the A1(M) near Kirby Hill.

Emails seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service show that Barrie Gannon, former principal landscape architect at Harrogate Borough Council, made changes to a landscape report in 2019 when the council’s planning department went against three previous refusals to recommend approval.

Mr Gannon said he hoped the changes would make the report “read better” – although it is not yet known what was amended.

What is clear though are the report’s conclusions. It said the landscape impact of the service station was “not substantive” in what campaigners have described as a “complete U-turn” from a previous council assessment, which warned it would cause “significant harm”.

The revelations have sparked questions over why a change of stance was taken, as well as concerns over impartiality within the planning department.

Gareth Owens, chair of Kirby Hill Residents Against Motorway Services, said:

“It is a mystery to us how officers made a complete U-turn on the landscape assessment. Landscape harm has been the main reason for refusal of a motorway service area at this site for 25 years.

“We do not understand how or why this position changed.”

The proposals put forward by Applegreen were most recently rejected by councillors in 2019.

However, that decision was overturned at an appeal this month as the developers won approval at the fourth time of asking.

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Mr Owens, who gave evidence during the appeal, said the landscape report played a key part in the planning inspector’s decision to grant approval, which made it even more important to understand why the council had changed its conclusions.

He said:

“The officer’s report was not only presented to the planning committee. It was relied on by Applegreen at the public inquiry, who told the inspector that he should accept the view of the council’s professional planning officers, which he duly did.

“The planning inspector went along with the planning officer’s conclusions on landscape, so we think it is important to understand how they were arrived at.”

In the email dated November 2019, Mr Gannon said to a colleague: “I’ve massaged the landscape section 9.56 – 9.69 which hopefully reads better.”

Robert Windass, the Conservative councillor for Boroughbridge and one of the planning committee members who previously rejected the service station, said he had “serious concerns” about the email after he made calls for the inquiry last week.

Speaking at a full council meeting, he asked the council’s cabinet member for planning councillor Tim Myatt:

“Will you undertake a full inquiry into this matter to ensure that all reports presented to the planning committee in future are factual, truthful and unbiased?”

In a statement, councillor Myatt later said he was “confident” that officers always made “fair and impartial” assessments of planning applications.

He said:

“Officer recommendations are formed based on their assessment of information available about the application, including information submitted by the applicant, internal and statutory consultees, and the public.

“I am confident that officer recommendations are based on a fair and impartial assessment of that information.

“Together with officers, I have met with councillor Windass to discuss his concerns regarding the landscape assessment included in the officer’s report to committee.

“I agree with councillor Windass that there is a need to provide residents with reassurance that our planning processes were followed correctly, and I have agreed with councillor Windass that we will look into the specific concerns he has raised before providing a report to councillors.”

The leader of the Liberal Democrats on Harrogate Borough Council has said the authority needs to look urgently at its payout packages to staff after auditors recommended a rethink on how they are agreed.

It was revealed in the council’s statement of accounts that it had paid out £632,000 in exit packages in the past two years.

A report from independent auditors Mazars recommended a review on how payments, including redundancy cash and compensation for loss of office, are agreed for departing members of staff.

The borough council said it would carry out a review but added that the current process already ensured there is a “clear rationale” for the payments which are “properly authorised”.

Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition on the borough council, said the authority needed to look “urgently” at its process.

She said:

“The council needs to address this urgently.

“It is public money and I think members should understand and leaders of groups should understand about the payments and how they are made.

“It is a lot of money for us to pay out.”

Read more:

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• Senior Harrogate council officer who left suddenly paid £55,000
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Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour Party said:

“Compensation for loss of office or employment payments are complex.

“I am sure the proposed review by the council will look into any of  these type of payments made recently. I would suggest that In future for such cases, at least two signatories are required within the structure and that one is the chief executive, if the suggested payment is a five figure sum or above.”

It comes after figures published in the council’s annual statement of accounts showed £354,000 was paid out to 19 former employees in 2019/2020 – an increase from the previous financial year when £278,000 was agreed for 15 staff.

Among the payments was £55,065 to Paul Campbell, the council’s former director of community who left suddenly last March.

Mazars has warned the current process, which sees payments signed off by a monitoring officer, risks a lack of balance between “inappropriate expenditure” and “allowing ineffective employment relationships to continue”.

In its report, auditors recommended that any payment should be signed off by elected councillors.

In a statement to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a spokesperson for the authority said:

“The council’s constitution currently provides for delegated approval by the monitoring officer for settlement agreements.

“Although the number of cases are relatively small, we will review the process in line with the audit recommendation.”

Alexa Guest House in Harrogate has received planning permission to be converted into a house.

Sandra Doherty, who sold the hotel for an undisclosed sum in March, had applied to Harrogate Borough Council for permission to convert it in February.

The council has now given consent, saying in a planning document:

“Due to the presence of a large number of residential properties located within the surrounding area, the proposal would not introduce an out of character use.”

Read more:

• Harrogate’s Alexa House guest house sold

• Plan to convert Harrogate guest house to flats

Ms Doherty, who owned the site for 15 years, had a previous proposal to convert the hotel into seven apartments refused.

It was sold last month after being on the market for just five days. Ms Doherty said she planned to move to Northumberland to retire.

Alexa House was built in 1896 by the renowned art collector Baron Conrad Adolphus du Bois de Ferrieres.

It was built as a hunting lodge for its London-based owners to spend time enjoying Harrogate’s spa and riding in the nearby countryside.