Plan to convert Ripon office block into 16 flats approvedA plan to convert the Athelstan Court office block in Ripon into 16 flats has been approved.
Site owners Athelstan Court Ltd proposed the scheme to convert the building, which has stood empty for 10 years.
The building on Kearsley Road lies within the College Business Park. It was previously used as offices by the Inland Revenue.
Now, Harrogate Borough Council has approved the scheme.
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The developer said the proposal to convert the site into housing would regenerate the current building.
It said:
“It is considered that the proposal would complement the area, and significantly enhance the character and visual amenities of the surrounding area, by regenerating a vacant building.”
Explained: What happens to bin collections in Harrogate after devolution?A new council is set to take over in the Harrogate district in four weeks’ time.
Both Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council will make way for North Yorkshire Council on April 1.
While the move throws up questions over council tax and economic development, perhaps the first thought on residents’ minds is who is going to collect the bins?
In this article, we will explain what this means for waste collection and disposal in the district.
Who currently collects my bins?
At the moment, Harrogate Borough Council collects household bins across the district.
Waste collection staff employed by the borough council collect bins on a weekly basis.
This includes garden, general and recycling bins.
What about waste disposal?
Disposal of waste is currently a responsibility for North Yorkshire County Council.
It is responsible for household waste recycling centres, including those on Wetherby Road and Pennypot Lane in Harrogate and Dallamires Lane in Ripon.
The county council also oversees the Allerton Waste Recovery Park near Knaresborough, which recycles and converts biodegradable waste to biogas.
What will happen on April 1?
On April 1, the borough council will no longer be responsible for waste collections as it will not exist.
Instead, North Yorkshire Council will take over the responsibility and bins will be collected as normal.
Staff who currently work for the borough council on waste collection will move over to the new authority.
The new council will also be responsible for the running of household waste recycling centres in the district, as well as Allerton Waste Recovery Park.
Residents may not notice much change in their collections. However, for council bosses, the idea is that the transition to the new authority is smooth.
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Council-backed Masham project to show how rural towns can keep young peopleA group behind an ambitious project in Masham hopes it will become an example in how to keep young people living in rural communities.
MPs published a report last year found that rural economies can struggle due to a lack of affordable housing for young people.
It said the government’s definition of affordable housing was misleading with new builds often out of reach for many.
According to the report, this has resulted in young people moving away in their droves from the places they grew up in — taking their money with them, too.
To help tackle the problem, a not-for-profit company called Peacock and Verity Community Spaces (P&VCS) hopes to offer four genuinely affordable homes that will only be available to people with links to Masham.
However, housing is just one element of the unique project. It will also include an Edwardian-style tea room, a grocery, a post office and a heritage centre.
P&VCS has already secured full planning permission to refurbish 15 Silver Street, a building with a long and storied history.
As reported in January, the project has won £222,000 in funding from Harrogate Borough Council and has also been supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund with a £71,000 grant.
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The group’s chair Alan Hodges told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the project will have many benefits for Masham.
He said:
“[If housing is unaffordable] it means you lose young labour out of the rural community but by providing four low-cost self-contained units we will be able to keep people in.”
P&VCS’ mission statement states the homes in Masham will only be available to people with family, work or historic links to the area.
This means there’s no chance that the apartments could be rented out as holiday homes or be sold on for a profit.
Mr Hodges added:
“Our housing association, Karbon, will control the allocation policy. We’re very clear. The homes will go to local people who are already here. It’s something we’ll guard against.”
Storied history
Mr Hodges said the project will provide six full-time jobs and learning opportunities for residents and visitors.
The ground floor will be restored into a Victorian grocers from when the building was in its heyday and there will be an Edwardian-style tearoom inspired by the cafe that was part of the building in the 1900s.
An Illustration Of What Peacock & Verity Will Look Like Once Complete C Peacock & Verity.
It will also bring a Post Office counter back to Masham and create a new heritage centre celebrating the story of the town and the area.
It’s a back-to-the-future approach to development that Mr Hodges believes will show similar towns how community-led projects can grow rural economies.
And to give the project an even more local touch, it will tap into Masham’s rich sheep-farming heritage by using wool to insulate the building with help from Leeds Beckett University.
Mr Hodges added:
“Local farmers get less for sheep wool than it costs to shear. This creates an alternative use that’s both ecological and effective.
“We’re looking to the future and hope it will be seen as an exemplar project of how to do things.”
Harrogate council defends new ‘oversized’ binsHarrogate Borough Council has defended installing new bins in Burton Leonard after concerns it is “oversized”.
The council installed the bin on the village green last month as part of changes to waste collection.
More than 250 of the facilities have been put in place across the district, with a further 450 to come.
Council officials said the new bins are able to be collected by waste vehicles, which means more time can be spent on litter picking.
However, residents have said the bins are not wheelchair accessible, are “eight to 10 times” bigger than normal bins and appear unsightly.
Burton Leonard Parish Council objected to the plan to install the bin.
It said:
“The parish council objected on the grounds that the proposed bins would appear incongruous in a conversation area. Other parishes objected on similar-grounds.”
A borough council spokesperson said:
“We want to ensure litter is kept to a minimum across the Harrogate district.
“The new litter bin infrastructure allows street bins to be emptied by our waste vehicles so reducing resource requirements, miles travelled and the associated carbon emissions.
“Meaning we can spend more time litter picking and keeping the district clean and looking its best.
“There are ongoing discussions with the parish council on the final location of one of the bins installed and we will work with them to find a satisfactory solution.”
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Historic Ripon clock to undergo specialist repair
Almost 125 years after being unveiled, it’s time for specialist repair work on Ripon’s most prominent and, of late, least reliable civic clock.
The hands on the four-faced timepiece housed in the ornate Victoria Clock Tower at the busy junction of North Road, Palace Road and Princess Road, have stood still on either 12 noon or 12 midnight for many weeks.
But Ripon city councillor and former mayor Eamon Parkin has good news.
He told the Stray Ferret:
“The pendulum of the clock will be undergoing specialist repair and we hope to have it back working again as soon as possible.”
The clock tower was commissioned to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897 and in the following June, the classically styled stone tower — paid for by sisters Frances and Constance Cross of Coney Garth — was gifted by them to the city of Ripon in a ceremonial civic opening event attended by a huge crowd.
The grade II listed building passed into the ownership of Harrogate Borough Council with the reorganisation of local government in 1974, but will change hands once more when the new North Yorkshire unitary authority comes into being on April 1.
In recent years the clock has required attention because of its erratic performance, which at times have seen it running fast or slow on numerous occasions.
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Harrogate district CCTV control room not manned due to staff shortagesA control room monitoring more than 200 CCTV cameras in the Harrogate district has not been manned at times over the last year due to staff shortages.
The control room, run by Harrogate Borough Council, oversees cameras operating 24 hours a day in Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough.
Control room staff are able to respond to police reports and track suspicious activity. Police can buy the footage to use as evidence in pursuing crimes.
Julia Stack, community safety and CCTV manager at the council, was asked by Councillor Victoria Oldham at a meeting of the council’s overview and scrutiny commission this week whether the room needed to be staffed.
Ms Stack replied the priority was to “man that service for 24 hours a day”, adding:
“I will be honest,. We have had some challenging issues in terms of recruitment within the last 12 months so there have been times when we have been unable to have the staff there but the cameras will be recording.”
Ms Stack added the team was now “almost at full complement of staff”.
Cllr Oldham, a Conservative who represents Washburn, replied:
“I’m aware of two incidents last week when it wasn’t manned and one of them could have been very embarrassing.”
Julia Stack speaking at the meeting
Ms Stack said the service worked closely with police but added:
“There’s always the risk we may be dealing with one location and there may be something happening in another one. That is down unfortunately to consistent funding cuts to the service.”
The long-term future of the service when Harrogate Borough Council is abolished at the end of this month and North Yorkshire Council takes over is unclear.
Scarborough and Northallerton also have CCTV control rooms in the county and Ms Stack the service overall was inconsistent and would be reviewed.
Cllr Windass speaking at the meeting
Councillor Robert Windass, a Conservative who represents Boroughbridge, said Boroughbridge had been “kicked out” of Harrogate Borough Council’s CCTV monitoring system years ago.
Cllr Windass said Boroughbridge Town Council now provided CCTV and, unlike Harrogate Borough Council, did not charge the police for accessing it. He said:
“If the police request footage for any crimes there is absolutely no charge because we consider it a valuable service we should provide and support to the police.”
Cllr Mike Chambers, the Conservative Cabinet member for housing and safer communities, replied:
“I agree it is a service that is valuable to the police. But we have a control room that has staff. If we don’t levy charges as many other departments within this council do then how do we pay for the staff?”
CCTV overlooking Harrogate’s Royal Hall
‘Limited resources’
After the meeting, the Stray Ferret asked Harrogate Borough Council about the control room staff situation and what will happen to the service when the council is abolished in four weeks.
A council spokesperson said:
“Our CCTV control room is in Harrogate and has five operators and one CCTV and business crime operations officer, as well as a small pool of casual staff who work alongside full-time officers, who are responsible for surveillance of cameras covering Knaresborough, Harrogate, Ripon and council buildings.
“They also undertake reviews and produce evidence for the police and other third parties, operate a RadioLink service and support a business crime partnership.
“Like ourselves, North Yorkshire Police have limited resources and even if the control room report an incident to the police, there is no guarantee that they are always in a position to respond straight away. Therefore, we ensure cameras record 24-hours a day, 365 days a year so that our staff can aim to get the best evidence to assist with any incidents.
“Closures are kept to a minimum and shifts are extended with staff work overtime to ensure sufficient support for the CCTV control room.
“In recent months, we have seen a limited number of applicants to the roles available. And once appointed, each post is subject to police vetting which takes times to be thoroughly carried out, followed by a two-month training period.
“However, we can confirm that two new appointments have recently been made.
“From 1 April there will be no change to the service.”
Harrogate Town’s stadium upgrade approvedHarrogate Borough Council has approved plans by Harrogate Town FC to upgrade their Envirovent Stadium on Wetherby Road.
It will see almost 1,000 seats installed to bring the ground up to English Football League (EFL) standards.
To the south of the ground, the Myrings terrace will see 264 seats installed and the 1919 bar will be demolished and replaced with a new standing terrace.
A total of 603 seats were installed in the Black Sheep Brewery stand a few weeks ago.
The changes will not increase the overall capacity of 5,071 but will see the number of fans that can be seated rise from 1,193 to 2,060.
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This is to ensure the club meets an EFL requirement that grounds have a minimum capacity of 5,000 and 2,000 seats.
The 1919 bar has not been used on matchdays since before the covid pandemic. It has also been used for private functions.
The club recently opened a new bar next to the Black Sheep stand.
The ground on Wetherby Road has been used by the club for over 100 years and has seen significant investment over the last few years as the club looks to keep up with rapid growth on the pitch.
Simon Weaver’s side now play in the EFL after playing most of its existence in the lower leagues.
They currently sit in 21st in League Two and play Gillingham at home tomorrow (Saturday).
A Harrogate Town spokesperson said:
“As part of our wider stadium development plans, work will soon begin on a new South Stand at the Envirovent Stadium with the aim of being completed in time for next season 2023/24.
“The development will enable the club to reach the required EFL regulation of a minimum of 2,000 seats and will also help us provide for the increasing demand for seats which we cannot accommodate currently.
“We are seeing more young families and first-generation Town supporters, as well as first time fans visiting than ever before so we are delighted to be in a position to provide more seats and facilities to meet the growing demand. In turn, it will help deliver an enhanced match day experience for our loyal supporters and visiting away clubs too.”
Angry Harrogate district cabbies fear ruin under new systemTaxi drivers in the Harrogate district have said a new system for regulating hackney carriages will be bad for customers and cause cabbies to go bust.
The current limit of 148 hackney carriages in the district will be abolished when North Yorkshire Council comes into existence on April 1, paving the way for a flood of new drivers.
At the same time, a new single taxi zone allowing drivers to operate countywide rather than stick to their local districts will begin, even though 52% opposed it in a consultation.
Drivers say the single zone will lead to some places being flooded by taxis at busy times while less popular rural areas will struggle to book cars.
They also say ending the cap on the number of hackney carriages means licence plates they paid thousands of pounds for are now effectively worthless.
Supporters of the new system say it incorporates Department for Transport best practice guidance and “any negative impacts tend to level out over time”.
‘Totally destroyed’
The Ripon cabbies in Harrogate this week
Six Ripon hackney carriage drivers, who are supported by colleagues from across the district, met the Stray Ferret this week to express anger at the changes.
Katie Johnstone, of Johnstone Family Hire, said lifting the limit on the number of vehicles would ruin many taxi firms.
She said until now, people like her had paid about £20,000 to buy a plate so they could operate one of only 148 hackney carriages in the Harrogate district.
Ms Johnstone said abolishing the limit meant the plates now had no sell-on value, leaving current plate holders a combined £3 million out of pocket.
She said she took out a five-year bank loan to buy her plate as part of a career change two years ago and “it’s not worth anything now”, adding:
“I’m a single parent — I worked on minimum wage for years. I’ve invested a lot of money to try to better myself and they have totally destroyed it.”
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‘The system has worked for 100 years’
Keith Snowden, whose family has operated taxis in Ripon since 1926, said:
“It’s a ludicrous situation. The system has worked for the last 100 years — why change it?”
All the cabbies predicted many private hire drivers will get hackney licences because it would enable them to make more money by picking up customers from ranks whereas they currently have to be booked in advance.
They said this would create hotspots as drivers battled for customers in busy times in the most lucrative areas, and ignored calls from less profitable rural customers.
Anne Smith, of ANB Taxis in Ripon, said:
“Everything we have put into these plates has been completely taken away from us.”
Ms Smith tried to enlist the support of Julian Smith, the Conservative MP for Skipton and Ripon, but said he had been “absolutely useless”. Mr Smith did not reply when the Stray Ferret asked for a response.
Paul Dodds, of JPD Taxis, said he feared he and other drivers would have to “pack in” because of the changes.
North Yorkshire Council will replace North Yorkshire County Council and seven district councils, including Harrogate Borough Council, at the end of the month.
The drivers all said the new system was being introduced for the convenience of the council rather than for drivers because it was easier to manage than the current district-wide system.
Richard Fieldman
The taxi drivers said they would continue to oppose the changes until the new system begins next month.
Ripon cabbie Richard Fieldman criticised North Yorkshire County Council’s defence of the changes:
“They keep relating to Department for Transport best practice guide, but have chosen to leave bits of it out to suit them, ie it states that in areas where licence limits are in place, they should firstly conduct an unmet demand survey to see if there is any latent demand, before proceeding with the policy; they have failed to do that.
“The fact is, they have totally ignored the result of the consultation, which concluded 52% are against it.”
‘A coherent regulatory framework’
The Stray Ferret put the cabbies’ concerns to North Yorkshire County Council.
Councillor Derek Bastiman, the council’s executive member for open to business, said:
“The hackney carriage and private hire licensing policy incorporates the Department for Transport’s best practice guidance and statutory standards, to ensure that the public continues to be provided with safe and accessible vehicles. It also provides a coherent regulatory framework for the trade across the county.
“As a single local authority for North Yorkshire, we must ensure hackney carriage and private hire licence holders and taxi operators across the county are treated equally.
“Introducing one hackney carriage zone for North Yorkshire will provide drivers with the flexibility to operate across the county and serve these rural areas, create environmental efficiencies with the potential for fewer empty journeys, a wider distribution of wheelchair-accessible vehicles, as well as efficiency savings for the council, with one set of fees and fares.
“All responses to the consultation have been considered. And feedback from customers, and even some of the trade, has suggested that at peak times there is a lack of taxis to serve busy periods. Introducing a single zone should overcome this lack of provision and allow customers to get to their destination safely.”
Cllr Derek Bastiman
“Understandably, there is apprehension from some of the trade of hotspot areas, but evidence from other authorities who have followed a similar approach has indicated that any negative impacts tend to level out over time.
“We have considered the view of the Competition and Markets Authority, supported by the Department for Transport, and imposing hackney carriage quantity restrictions can reduce availability and increase waiting times.
“There is no expectation that quantity restrictions for hackney carriages would continue indefinitely and any proposed sale of vehicles* between proprietors are carried out independently from the council and at their own risk. These sales show people wish to enter the trade to provide a service to the public but are being prevented from doing so by the quantity restrictions.
“We also want to ensure adequate provision of wheelchair-accessible vehicles across the county and have agreed to work in consultation with the North Yorkshire disability forum and develop and maintain an inclusive service plan within 12 months to ensure everyone has access to hackney carriage and private hire vehicles. Until such time, licence renewal and new licence fees for wheelchair-accessible vehicles have been waived.
“The new hackney carriage and private hire licensing policy is a baseline for the new authority, and will be kept under review, as there may be further developments and consultation in the future.”
Stunning crocus displays in Harrogate thanks to planting by volunteersThere may be snow in the forecast, but Harrogate’s Stray is proving that spring is certainly on the way.
A sea of white, shades of purple, and splashes of yellow is carpeting the edges of the Stray as the district braces for a predicted cold snap next week.
Harrogate is well-known for its impressive display of thousands of crocuses each spring – many of them planted in recent years by local volunteers.
Bilton Conservation Group was one of several organisations to help plant the bulbs almost three years ago, along with Horticap and Open Country, in a project organised by Harrogate Borough Council.
Bilton Conservation Group chairman Keith Wilkinson said:
“It’s great news that they’re doing so well this year. It was a good turn-out on the day of the planting.
“The mixture we put in was the Harrogate mix — the pale, white with the vertical purple stripe. It was a special commission from Holland.”
The displays have improved in the years since the bulbs were planted in autumn 2020, and are likely to increase further in future as they self-divide.
Visitors have been enjoying the scene this week as the crocuses get into full bloom.
Young Emma, who turns two on Sunday (pictured above), was staying in Harrogate for a few days with her parents and took the opportunity to explore the flowers – and pose for photos.
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Harrogate councillors approve transfer of council-owned companiesCouncillors have approved the transfer of Harrogate Borough Council’s wholly-owned companies to the new North Yorkshire Council next month.
HBC’s Conservative-run cabinet met last night at the Civic Centre to discuss a report written by the council’s head of legal and governance, Jennifer Norton.
The report recommends that leisure company Brimhams Active and housing company Bracewell Homes are passed over to the new council on April 1.
Harrogate Borough Council will be abolished on March 31 after being in existence since 1974.
The next day, a new unitary council for the whole of North Yorkshire will be created to deliver all the services currently delivered by Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council.
Wholly-owned companies
Brimhams Active launched in August 2020 when it took over control of leisure centres and swimming pools in Harrogate, Starbeck, Ripon, Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge.
It has overseen major projects such as the redevelopment of the Harrogate Hydro swimming pool and the construction of new facilities in Ripon and Knaresborough.
The new council will add Selby’s leisure services to the Brimhams Active portfolio from September 2024.
This will be whilst it undertakes a £120,000 review of leisure services with the aim of creating a countywide model for delivering leisure and sport by 2027.
Bracewell Homes was set up in 2019 with the aim of turning the council a profit and delivering affordable homes.
It is expecting to deliver 43 homes by the end of 2023/24, which will exceed its target of 40 homes by 2024.
North Yorkshire County Council already has a housing company called Brierley Homes and what will happen to Bracewell inside the new authority is unclear.
‘They’ve done very well for Harrogate’
At last night’s meeting, Conservative council leader Richard Cooper said the two companies have done “very well” for the soon-to-be abolished authority. He said:
“This to me seems very much like a tidying-up exercise, things that we need to do, belt and braces, in order to make sure that the transfer of borough council-owned companies transfers smoothly to the new North Yorkshire Council.
“I hope they will look after them because they’ve done very well for Harrogate Borough Council thanks to the expertise of the officers who have been guiding them.”
Cabinet members Sam Gibbs and Stan Lumley did not take part in the discussion or vote as they sit on the Brimhams Active board.