harrogate borough council Archives - Page 148 of 159

Full steam ahead for micropub at Knaresborough train station

A developer can now move ahead with plans for a micropub at Knaresborough’s train station.

Harrogate Borough Council has approved the plans for the Track and Sleeper with a few conditions and alterations, including that work must start before September 2023.

The Track and Sleeper will take over a couple of vacant units at the Grade II listed building. It will serve real ale and gin.

Both the Knaresborough Civic Society and the Friends of Knaresborough Station wrote in support of the plans. The council also said the plans were sympathetic to the building.

These are the new plans including planters.

The community groups raised concerns about a lack of toilets and a “potential nuisance” from the pub’s customers. The landlord will need to monitor those concerns going forward.

Instead of the timber barriers previously submitted, the amended plans inclued moveable planters with barriers in between.

The council believes that because the pub is bringing vacant units back into use that it will be beneficial for the building. It also supported the plans to reinstate the fireplace inside the pub.

Harrogate Borough Council plans £10m homes boost

Harrogate Borough Council is looking to loan its housing company Bracewell Homes £10m to invest in shared ownership homes.

A report is due to go before HBC’s cabinet next week to rubber-stamp the move, which would see the authority make more investments like its recent unprecedented £4.5m spend on 52 homes on Whinney Lane.

With shared ownership, people buy between a quarter and three-quarters of a property from the council but then have the option to buy a bigger share in the property at a later date. The scheme is aimed at people who don’t earn enough to buy a home outright.

The council sees shared ownership as a way for people earning a modest salary to get on Harrogate’s notoriously unforgiving housing ladder.

HBC’s draft housing strategy 2019-24 said the town was one of the most unaffordable places to live in England, with average house prices around 11 times the median annual income of people who work in the town.

HBC asks housing developers to include 40% “affordable” housing in every development, which can include shared ownership homes.

When the council formed Bracewell Homes in 2019, a key part of its business plan was to purchase affordable shared ownership homes from developers, as it is doing on Whinney Lane.

With several major developments planned for the district over the coming years, HBC now says it wants to accelerate these types of investments.

Bracewell Homes has also earmarked other sites in the district to develop, including Frogmore in Knaresborough, on vacant and derelict land behind some council homes.

A council spokesperson said:

“The report going to cabinet next week is to seek approval for Bracewell to borrow £10m to acquire properties. If approved, this will include 16 shared ownership at Whinney Lane.

“Bracewell Homes has sold three properties and offers accepted on a further six.”

Harrogate Chief Exec and Leader criticised for not divulging key information ahead of major vote

The Chief Executive and Leader of Harrogate Borough Council had both been told that the council could be scrapped as part of the government’s wider devolution plans the day before a big vote on the shake up of leisure services – yet failed to make councillors aware of it.

Cllr Chris Aldred, chair of the overview and scrutiny board, told the Stray Ferret he and fellow councillors should have been told about the government’s position on devolution before they agreed to support the leisure project.

He and fellow councillors voted on July 8 to spend £300,000 on creating a new company called Brimhams Active to run leisure facilities in the Harrogate district. They also voted to borrow £26 million to invest in centres in the district.

But they had not been informed council leader Richard Cooper and chief executive Wallace Sampson, along with other local authority leaders had met local government minister Simon Clarke the previous day.

Mr Clarke told the leaders that any devolution bid would be dependent on a reduction in the number of councils, which could ultimately lead to HBC being replaced.

Cllr Aldred said councillors should have known about this when they made such a key financial decision.

But he said they were not told about the outcome of the Clarke meeting until late at night on July 9.

Cllr Aldred, a Liberal Democrat, told the Stray Ferret:

“Surely this should have been disclosed at that meeting and not revealed to councillors in a late night e-mail the day after that decision on the local authority control company was taken?

“Didn’t the 39 other councillors have the right to know this fundamental fact, prior to casting their vote that night?”

A spokesman for HBC said the two issues were entirely separate and it will take several years before services can be fully integrated once a local government structure is agreed.

The spokesman said:

“The reorganisation of local government in North Yorkshire and the creation of a new local authority controlled company to run sport and leisure services in the Harrogate district are two, entirely separate, issues.

“One is not dependent on the other.

“Once agreement has been reached on a future structure for local government for the county, it will take several years before services are fully integrated and teams brought together.

“That’s why we are continuing with projects and initiatives such as the redevelopment of Harrogate Convention Centre, the leisure investment strategy and creating Brimhams Active as our local authority controlled company.

“Operating our sport and leisure services through a local authority controlled company will save money in the long run and enable us to support our critical council services.”

Brimhams Active, a local authority controlled company, will run 11 leisure facilities in the district.

HBC is proceeding with several costly projects despite uncertainty over its future.

It is spending £1 million on consultants to draw up plans for a £47 million renovation of Harrogate Convention Centre.

But the decision to reduce the number of councils across the county as part of the government’s devolution agenda has thrown the future of public services into uncertainty.

Both district and county leaders are expected to propose different models to ministers this month.

It could see the seven district councils, including Harrogate, scrapped and replaced by one or two super-authorities.

District officials are already consulting with residents and have proposed that an east/west council organisation should replace the current structure.

Coach and Horses could be in limbo for months

The Coach and Horses pub in Harrogate faces an uncertain future as its appeal against the decision to revoke its licence threatens to drag on.

Solicitors acting on behalf of landlord John Nelson sent the appeal to magistrates in early August.

No date or location for the hearing has been set and the situation may not change for several months as the courts struggle to deal with a backlog in cases.

Harrogate Justice Centre, which is likely to hear the appeal, told the Stray Ferret it did not currently have the capacity for any private prosecutions and did not know when this might change.

Harrogate Borough Council revoked the pub’s licence in July after it showed a “blatant disregard” for coronavirus social distancing rules.

Mr Nelson was allegedly “aggressive and abusive” towards council officials and the police when they served him a prohibition notice on May 31.

A total of 449 people signed a petition calling on the council to give Mr Nelson’s daughter, Samantha Nelson, the licence to run the pub.

At the licensing sub-committee where the council revoked the licence, Mr Nelson’s lawyer Paddy Whur said his client “accepted he made a chronic error of judgement”.

The Stray Ferret has approached the Coach and Horses several times to inquire about its future. We had still not received a reply by the time of publication.

People urged to have say on North Yorkshire council reorganisation

District council leaders have urged people in North Yorkshire to have their say on the future of local government and public services in the county.

It comes amid government plans to reduce the number of local councils in England as part of its devolution agenda.

County council and district council bosses in North Yorkshire will this month submit separate proposals on how they want to see local government look.

County council bosses want one unitary authority, which would see the seven district councils, including Harrogate Borough Council, scrapped.

But district council leaders have said two authorities – one in the east and another in the west of the county – would work better and claim such a model would save up to £56 million a year.

The west authority would serve Harrogate, Craven, Hambleton and Richmondshire, while the east would cover York, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby.

Now the district councils have invited residents and businesses to have their say on the topic at a series of virtual engagement events, beginning tomorrow.

Speaking on behalf of the seven council leaders, Cllr Steve Siddons, leader of Scarborough Borough Council, said:

“The reorganisation of local government services may not sound like the most exciting thing on earth, but the reality is that it will affect everybody who lives, works or runs a business in North Yorkshire and York.

“It is not only about how your everyday services will be delivered in the future, it is about the ability of communities to shape the future of where they live, and determine how we can bring new investment, jobs and growth to our region. That’s why it is so important that people have their say.”

The move comes as the PR war over the future of local government is set to heat up this month ahead of a deadline for proposals to be submitted to government.

The trade union Unison, Mayor of Tees Valley Ben Houchen and Terry Collins, the chief executive of Durham County Council are among those who have spoken out recently.

To find out more on the series of engagement events being held by the district councils, click here.

Debate over North Yorkshire devolution to ramp up in September

A month of battles over how devolution should look, whether district councils should be scrapped and what benefits a bid would bring to York and North Yorkshire, awaits residents in September.

As the process for grappling back powers from Westminster takes further steps forward, so too does the relentless battle to get each side of the argument out onto the airwaves and in the press.

So far, the battle has been solely on council reorganisation as the districts pitted themselves against the county council and its plan for a single unitary authority.

Ministers set a deadline for proposals from council leaders for a shake-up of local government to be submitted by September.

The latest in the PR war came from outside both camps as the County Council Network released a report which said scrapping upper-tier councils and replacing them with one authority in each area could save £2.94 billion nationally over five years.

But the districts will have their own consultants’ report in the shape of KPMG which could soon be used to bat the claims back.

Ahead of a busy month, both sides will make their case on September 7 when Cllr Carl Les, county council leader, and borough council leader Cllr Richard Cooper, are set to speak at a Harrogate Chamber of Commerce meeting on the topic.

They’ll be joined by chief executives from both authorities – Richard Flinton from the county council and Wallace Sampson of the borough council.

But, while the debate rages on about council reorganisation, others from outside the county and from other organisations have sought to argue for and against the bigger picture.

Arguments on the bigger picture for devolution

Across the county border into the Tees Valley, residents already have devolution and with it an elected mayor, Ben Houchen.

As previously reported, county council leaders routinely cite Mr Houchen and the region as the closest example of what they desire from devolved powers.

Conservative Mayor of Tees Valley, Ben Houchen. Picture credit: Thames Valley Combined Authority.

This week, Mr Houchen weighed in on the debate in North Yorkshire and called on the county not to be left behind in wrestling powers back from ministers.

He said:

“North Yorkshire is at a critical crossroads at a key moment. As we recover from the coronavirus pandemic, the need to deliver economic growth, create good quality jobs and boost skills has never been more important. We need to take every opportunity to bridge the economic gap between north and south and provide fairer opportunities for all.

“A strong mayor working across the border with the Tees Valley would undoubtedly help me to make the case for the north and ensure it punches its weight nationally and internationally.

“This all starts, though, with a strong devolution deal and York and North Yorkshire must not miss the moment and risk getting left behind.

“I sincerely hope that councils across York and North Yorkshire will seize this moment and make sure that all proposals for the future local government in the county are given due consideration by the government without delay. The Tees Valley benefitted from its councils coming together and getting its devolution deal over the line while other areas found reasons to disagree, now North Yorkshire has a similar choice.”

Elsewhere, the effect of devolution and what it will mean for those that work in local government has not gone unnoticed.

Unison branches across local government in North Yorkshire have called for a “jobs first” deal which will protect jobs and redundancies, level up pay and conditions and minimise disruption to staff and services.

Wendy Nichols, regional convenor for Unison, said:

“Our members are busy delivering essential public services and supporting the response to the covid-19 emergency. Local government reorganisation is the last thing that they need now.

“However, we are pragmatic and we recognise that the government’s intentions are clear.

“They want a unitary system of local government from April 2022 and our focus across all our local government branches in North Yorkshire will be to secure the best outcome for our members and the communities they serve.”

Harrogate council leader fails to answer questions about Cllr Samantha Mearns

Harrogate Borough Council and its leader have remained tight-lipped about Cllr Samantha Mearns and a police investigation into missing Porsche cars worth more than a million pounds.

Cllr Mearns was company secretary and a person “of significant control” in Knaresborough based Gmund Cars Ltd until December 2018. The company, which was run by her husband Andrew, went into administration in July 2019. There has been a subsequent police investigation into allegations that the ownership of Porsches were transferred without the owners’ permission.

Cllr Richard Cooper, the leader of Harrogate Borough Council, made Cllr Mearns the chair of the General Purposes Committee which oversees the conduct of councillors. She chaired her first meeting in June 2019.

The Stray Ferret asked Cllr Richard Cooper whether he has confidence in Cllr Mearns, when he was first made aware of the allegations and whether he has ever asked Cllr Mearns about her role at Gmund Cars Ltd.

We gave him a full day to respond to our request and we also gave Harrogate Borough Council two days to respond to a similar line of questions. Cllr Mearns is a case worker for Andrew Jones MP. He has also refused to answer the Stray Ferret’s questions.

Anthony Place, one of the six alleged victims of Gmund Cars Ltd, lodged a complaint about Cllr Mearns to Harrogate Borough Council in June 2019.

The authority’s monitoring officer, Jennifer Norton, assessed the complaint and said it would not be something she could take further because the councillor was “not engaged in council business” so the rules of the code of conduct did not apply.

North Yorkshire Police is investigating the allegations and arrested a man in his fifties in July last year. He has not been charged and the force released him under investigation.

Harrogate council backs £2bn devolution proposals

Harrogate Borough Council is to press ahead and support a list of devolution proposals, which includes £2 billion worth of spending power for York and North Yorkshire.

The borough council will support the proposals, known as “asks”, after the authority’s overview and scrutiny commission found “no fundamental concerns” with the council leader’s decision to approve the report earlier this month.

It comes as each council needs to approve the asks ahead of a submission to government. North Yorkshire County Council supported the document last month, along with City of York Council and Scarborough District Council.

But Hambleton District Council has voted to defer a decision until the publication of the government’s white paper in the autumn, which leaves uncertainty over when the submission will be made.

Once all councils have agreed, the requests are tabled to government and ministers will produce a formal devolution deal for authorities to vote on.

The “asks” document is intended to start negotiations with government over what the county wants from a devolution deal. It is separate from the proposals for local government reorganisation and how the new authority or authorities would be structured.

More powers over transport, skills, regeneration and energy are included in the submission, as well as a mayoral funding pot worth £750 million over 25 years.

Both Cllr Richard Cooper and chief executive Wallace Sampson, top middle and top left, addressed the committee over the devolution “asks”.

Further funding proposals include a five-year transport settlement worth £250 million, £520 million of devolved funding for fibre connectivity, and a £230 million fund for the new mayor to share between the county’s towns.

Liberal Democrat councillors, including opposition leader Cllr Pat Marsh, said the report was “heavily about York” and there was little in the requests which covered Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon.

But Cllr Richard Cooper, leader of the council, told the scrutiny meeting today that the document outlined plans which would benefit the wider district.

Abolishing districts “could save £2.94 billion”

Meanwhile, County Councils Network today released a report which said the replacement of two-tier systems with a single unitary authority in areas would save £2.94 billion nationally over five years.

The report by PricewaterhouseCoopers said replacing county and district councils with two unitary authorities in each area would reduce the financial benefit to £1 billion.

It comes as the government has set a requirement that any devolution bid must come with reorganisation of local government.

Cllr David Williams, chairman of the County Councils Network, said:

“The consequences of coronavirus for local government finances, and the need to work quickly to support the economic recovery, means more councils want to look again at how local government is structured in their area.

“This government has already signalled that it wants to see many more unitary councils created and it is important we get it right for our residents – we do not want to look back on this period as a missed opportunity.

“The findings from PwC show there is a compelling financial case for the creation of more unitary counties where councils seek reorganisation. They will provide significant savings to support frontline services and the stability needed to safeguard care services as we continue to mitigate the impact of coronavirus. Crucially, it will create councils of the necessary size to support local economies to recover from the pandemic and drive forward the devolution and levelling up agendas.”

Harrogate MP refuses to answer Porsche investigation questions

Andrew Jones MP has refused to answer the Stray Ferret’s questions relating to Cllr Samantha Mearns and a police investigation into missing Porsche cars.

The Stray Ferret revealed yesterday allegations that Gmund Cars Ltd transferred ownership of more than £1 million worth of cars without the owner’s permission. The company was run by Andrew Mearns and dissolved in June 2020.

Cllr Samantha Mearns was a “person with significant control” and company secretary of Gmund Cars Ltd until December 2018. Cllr Mearns remains as an aide to Andrew Jones MP and a councillor for Harrogate Borough Council.

North Yorkshire Police is investigating the allegations and arrested a man in his fifties in July last year. He has not been charged and the force released him under investigation.

The Stray Ferret asked Andrew Jones MP if he had confidence in Cllr Mearns, when he first became aware of the allegations against Gmunds Cars Ltd and whether he had any comments to make on the investigation into Gmund Cars Ltd. Mr Jones has not responded. Harrogate Borough Council told the Stray Ferret that it will take the questions surrounding its confidence in Cllr Mearns and her involvement in Gmund Cars Ltd further.

We do know that both the council and Andrew Jones MP have received complaints about Cllr Mearns in relation to Gmund Cars Ltd.

The Stray Ferret has seen emails of a complaint put into both Andrew Jones and Harrogate Borough Council about Cllr Mearns and Gmund Cars Ltd. The complaint was made in the spring of last year.

Anthony Place wrote to Mr Jones and told him that Gmund Cars Ltd had transferred ownership of his car without his permission in March 2019 and questioned the “integrity and business practices” of Cllr Mearns.

Andrew Jones MP responded in May 2019 to say he had a conflict of interest and directed Mr Place to his own MP. Mr Jones also pointed Mr Place towards the council’s complaints procedure.

The email in May 2019 response Andrew Jones MP sent to Anthony Place.

Harrogate Borough Council’s head of legal and governance responded to Mr Place in June 2019. Jennifer Norton said that the council would not take the complaint further because Cllr Mearns was not acting in her public office duties at the time.

For more on Harrogate Borough Council’s response to Anthony Place’s complaint Read here.

How Harrogate Borough Council responded to a complaint around Cllr Mearns and Gmund Cars

When Anthony Place put his complaint into Harrogate Borough Council, it went to the authority’s monitoring officer, Jennifer Norton, who assessed whether it was something the council would investigate further.

For councils across the country, including Harrogate Borough Council, the monitoring officer is bound by the code of conduct when it comes to dealing with complaints and its ability to take action against councillors.

What happened in the case of Cllr Samantha Mearns?

In the case of Cllr Samantha Mearns and the complaint from Anthony Place in June 2019, the borough council felt the councillor was “not engaged in council business” so the rules of the code of conduct did not apply.

Read more:

Later that month, the council responded to the complaint regarding Cllr Mearns and said:

“On this occasion, your complaint is in the context of the alleged misappropriation of customers goods/money by a company in which Samantha Mearns and her husband were directly involved.

“Samantha Mearns was not engaged on council business when carrying out any activities associated with the company.

“For this reason, it would not be appropriate for me to refer the matter for investigation under the council’s code of conduct.”

The council then did not take any further action to investigate the complaint.

It was a similar situation with the case of Ernest Butler

More recently, the Stray Ferret reported on parish Cllr Ernest Butler after racial comments he made on social media regarding a white lives matter protest.

A complaint was made to the borough council about his post, but again said it could not take action. The authority again said the councillor should be engaged in business directly related to the council or constituents for it to breach its code.

However, these cases do not necessarily always leave the complainant feeling satisfied.

In the case of Mr Place, he told the Stray Ferret:

“For the life of me, I cannot see how someone conducts themselves in their private life isn’t relevant to how they conduct themselves in public office.”