Plans approved for 1,300 homes at Ripon BarracksCouncillors have approved plans to build 1,300 homes at Ripon’s army barracks, subject to conditions.
Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee met this afternoon to consider an application from government housing agency Homes England, which has been developing the plans for several years alongside the Ministry of Defence.
Councillors were split over the scheme’s impact on roads in the city as well as whether historical military buildings on the site, which were used during both world wars, would be protected.
Votes were tied at six for and six against supporting the officer’s recommendation to defer the plans to officers to approve, subject to conditions.
This meant the committee’s chair, the Conservative councillor for Harrogate St Georges, Rebecca Burnett, cast the deciding vote to see the plans passed.
Clotherholme
The military is set to vacate the site in 2026 but phased work will now begin.
The housing scheme is called Clotherholme and also includes a new primary school, sports pitches, retail, food and drink units, and a 60-bed care home.
The site is home to the Royal Engineers and consists of Deverell Barracks to the east, Claro Barracks to the west and Laver Banks to the south.
Homes England says 3,000 people will live there to increase the population of Ripon by a fifth, although this does not take into account the loss of military personnel who have lived in the community for decades.
It’s expected that all the homes would be built by 2035 and 30% will be classed as affordable.
No new road
Campaigners have long raised fears about the impact on local roads and there have been calls to include a relief road via Galphay Road, but this was rejected.
Access to the site would be from Clotherholme Road and Kirkby Road.
Homes England undertook traffic studies that predicted queues and delays at existing junctions if the homes were built, so changes to the Low Skellgate, Coltsgate Hill and Clock Tower junctions have been proposed as part of 28 alterations to the existing road network.
A new roundabout would also be created at the junction of Kirkby Road and Chatham Road.
‘Hell to drive through’
Liberal Democrat county councillor Barbara Brodigan spoke on behalf of Ripon Spa Residents’ Action Group against the plans.
Cllr Brodigan said she was not against the site being developed but objected to the number of homes proposed. She said a relief road should be built to accommodate any increase in traffic. She said:
“The city was founded 600 years ago and the layout of its streets and centre has hardly changed. It’s pretty to look at, but hell to drive through.
“The layout of the city’s streets was not designed for cars but for horses and carts and people on foot.”
A computer generated image of how Chatham Road and Napier Street in Ripon would look under the plans
Ripon Independent councillor for Ure Bank, Sid Hawke, said there was a question mark over the traffic surveys undertaken by the developer. He said:
“Have you been up Clotherholme Road at peak times? It’s absolute mayhem, you’re talking about putting 1,300 houses up there. Thats 2,000 cars on that road.”
David Rowlinson, speaking on behalf of the applicant, said highways and transport had been a “key issue” that Homes England and the MoD had worked through whilst developing the scheme. He said:
“We’re not new to this site, we’ve been working on it for five years. We’ve looked at this very thoroughly and worked with North Yorkshire County Council’s highways department to get their on-the-ground views.
“We feel we’ve robustly assessed the impacts and come up with the best solution possible for Ripon.
“North Yorkshire County Council has confirmed there is no defensible reason to refuse the application on highways and transport grounds.”
Military history
The barracks were originally built as a convalescent camp for troops during the First World War.
Thousands were housed there, including the wartime poet Wilfred Owen, who wrote some of his famous works there.
Jane Furse, on behalf of the Ripon Military Heritage Trust, asked councillors to defer the plans until a strategy had been produced that protected from demolition two training bridges and a hut, which has been called one of the best-surviving Second World War-era prefab structures.
However, the bridges and the hut are not protected under planning laws.
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Ms Furse gave a history of the military’s involvement at the site spanning two world wars and the Cold War.
She added:
“We request robust, enforceable conditions are imposed to protect our internationally significant heritage.”
Historic England raised “strong concerns” over the demolition of the hut but it has been decided that it can’t be retained because of asbestos, which HBC officer Andy Hough called “extremely regrettable”.
Homes England said it is committed to working with Ripon Military Heritage Group on studies to resolve what happens to the buildings.
Mr Rowlinson said:
“We give a commitment that until issues are resolved and a strategy is developed, structures will not be destroyed.
“We’re happy to do that, we need to work through the process with the group.”
‘Evidence-based decision’
The Conservative councillor for Ripon Spa and cabinet member for housing, Mike Chambers, who is also a former serviceman, said he supported “the majority” of the scheme but there are “clear issues” with the traffic assessment, so he would not be supporting the proposal.
Cllr Chambers claimed the changes to the Low Skellgate junction, banning right turns, “will only seek to exacerbate the situation”.
Conservative council leader Richard Cooper, who was on the planning committee today as a substitute, said rejecting the plans on transport grounds would risk a costly appeal.
In 2022, HBC had to pay £25,000 in costs after the authority was taken to appeal over its rejection of the Leon drive thru on Wetherby Road. Cllr Cooper said:
“You go and sit before an appeal and say to them ‘I drove down that road once and it was busy’, they’ll laugh at you.
“They did it with the Leon application, they laughed at us because there was no evidence to back up a refusal on traffic grounds and we lost the cost of the appeal because of that.”
Cllr Cooper added:
“If we aren’t a planning committee that bases our deliberations upon evidence, then we arent fit to be a planning committee at all. All our decisions should be evidence-based.”
The applicant has agreed to pay £4,694,875 to North Yorkshire County Council to go towards local primary and secondary schools.
It will also pay £907,267 to the NHS to support healthcare facilities.
Kirkby Malzeard road reopens after three-year closure
A road linking Kirkby Malzeard and Masham has reopened three years after a collapsed section of wall caused its closure.
The reopening follows repair, reconstruction and reinforcement works costing almost £500,000 at the parish church of St Andrew in Kirkby Malzeard.
After heavy overnight rain in February 2020, part of the stone retaining wall for the churchyard fell onto Church Street, making it impassable.
The road, which runs past St Andrew’s and is part of a route from the village to Masham, remained closed up until last Thursday.
The reconstructed section of wall
Harrogate Borough Council initially earmarked £250,000 to fund the project, which was given planning approval in February 2022.
However, the final bill for the work was almost double that amount at £491,670 after council officials said the cost reflected the “volatile nature of the construction market at the moment”.
The increased cost is being funded from the council’s investment reserves.
A report to the council urgency committee in May said:
“The work was not able to be contracted until the planning process was concluded and permissions put in place.”
The repair works which followed came after residents and parish councillors frustrated by the delays, urged the council to end the “farce” of the church wall.
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Harrogate’s Royal Pump Room Museum closes for refurbishmentThe Royal Pump Room Museum in Harrogate has closed for a fortnight for refurbishment.
The domed grade two listed building, which was originally a spa water pump house and now tells the story of Harrogate’s spa past, will look different when it re-opens on March 7.
Most notably, the welcome desk that visitors see when they walk in will be returned to its original location in the octagonal room. The Egyptology exhibits have been sent for study at Cardiff University and are not expected to return for two years.
The building, whose notable visitors include Tsarina Alexandra of Russia and novelist Charles Dickens, is operated by Harrogate Borough Council.
The Stray Ferret asked why the refurbishment was being carried out and the cost.
A council spokesperson said:
“This year marks the 70th anniversary since Harrogate’s pump room opened as a local history museum.
“We want to ensure the museum remains open and enjoyable for residents and visitors for another 70, and are excited to announce that we are restoring the original welcome desk back into its position in the octagonal room for which it was designed.
“We are also creating a glass floor above the wells so that these can be seen more clearly and redesigning some existing displays to tell more fascinating stories of Harrogate’s past.”
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Harrogate council to make offers on three empty homesHarrogate Borough Council is to offer to buy three long-term empty homes in Harrogate.
A report before the council’s cabinet member for housing and safer communities, Cllr Mike Chambers, proposes the local authority makes an offer on the properties in order to bring them back into use.
The homes are located in Rothbury Close, Osborne Road and Eleanor Road in Harrogate.
The report says the council intends to sell the properties on the open market, with any profits being spent on future empty home purchases.
The council can issue compulsory purchase orders which allow it to take ownership without the consent of the owner. However, the council’s first step is to make an offer.
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The price the council is likely to offer for the properties is not disclosed, although the report notes offers were made in 2019 for three empty properties at a combined sum of £625,000.
There are currently 749 properties across the district that have been empty for six months or longer.
Of these, 209 have been empty and unfurnished for over two years and consequently classified as long-term empty homes. A total of 28 have been empty for over 10 years.
The council prioritised the problem in its 2019 empty homes strategy although it said much of the responsibility was on homeowners themselves.
It has a budget of £2.5 million to spend on empty homes, which comes from its reserves.
There are numerous reasons properties can lie empty. Sometimes, landlords cannot afford to renovate their property to sell or rent. Properties may also have been inherited and the new owners don’t know what to do with them.
Rentals can also fall below safety standards, which means they sit vacant until the problems are fixed.
The report adds:
“Empty homes represent a wasted housing resource; they also pose other problems for local authorities, owners, neighbours, emergency services and the environment.
“They are often a blemish on an area and can be subject to vandalism and anti-social behaviour.”
Pet crematorium opens today in HarrogateA pet crematorium opened in Harrogate today.
The crematorium, run by Harrogate Borough Council, gives pet owners the chance to say farewell to their cats, dogs and small animals.
Prices start at £72 for small animals and from £85 for cats and from £115 for dogs.
The ashes will be placed in a scatter tube, which owners can collect, along with a memorial certificate.
The crematorium is located at Stonefall Cemetery and Crematorium on Wetherby Road.
The crematorium is at Stonefall on Wetherby Road.
Councillor Sam Gibbs, the council’s cabinet member for environment, waste reduction and recycling, said:
“Pets are like part of the family and they deserve an ending with dignity and respect, just like humans.
“The new pet crematorium will provide the most sympathetic setting for people to say goodbye to their pets.
“This service will also provide people, as well as veterinary surgeries, a local, trusted and reliable pet cremation service – operated by experts in bereavements.”
The Stray Ferret revealed last year the council was set to award a £40,000 contract to create a pet crematorium at Stonefall.
Further information on the facility is available here.
Inside the crematorium
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Rubbish bins removed at Ripon gardens to keep rats at bayRubbish bins have been removed from Temple Gardens in Ripon in a bid to keep rats at bay.
Harrogate Borough Council has responsibility for the small, secluded gardens located off Allhallowgate and is following in the footsteps of Ripon City Council, which removed bins from the Quarry Moor car park after a rat infestation caused the temporary closure of the children’s playground on site.
After the vermin issue was eradicated the playground reopened in time for last year’s school holidays.
At the February full city council meeting, the council’s chief officer, Paula Benson said that there had been a problem with rats at Temple Gardens and pointed out:
“When the Quarry Moor bins were removed the rat population diminished.”
She added:
“If you have bins, you are going to have rats.”
Cllr Pauline McHardy said:
“The problem occurs when bins get full to overflowing with discarded bits of food and wrapping.
“We need to encourage people who go to Temple Gardens to have something to eat, to take their rubbish home with them or put it in more suitably-located bins.”
Councillors agreed to ask HBC to put improved signage in place asking users of the gardens to take their rubbish with them.
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Plan approved to convert former Harrogate Slug and Lettuce into retail unitsA plan to convert the former Slug and Lettuce bar in Harrogate into four retail units and apartments has been approved.
Leeds-based developer Rushbond PLC lodged the proposal to Harrogate Borough Council for the Herald Buildings on Montpellier Parade in September last year.
Built in the 1850s, the buildings were also the headquarters of the Harrogate Advertiser newspaper for much of the last century until it moved out in 1990.
The Slug and Lettuce chain then occupied part of the buildings for nearly 30 years before closing in May 2021
Now the council has approved plans to subdivide the ground floor into four mixed use units, including retail and food and drink.
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Meanwhile, the upper floors will be converted into five flats.
The plans have been designed by Harrogate-based SPX Architects. Documents say the development would “enhance the area’s reputation” as a destination for independent boutique-style shops.
It says:
“The proposals generate a sustainable, long-term use for the upper floors of this locally designated heritage asset and simultaneously improve its energy efficiency and visual contribution to the area.
“Moreover, the replacement of a large public house and its associated outdoor eating and drinking areas with a scheme providing a complementary mix of small high-quality ground floor retail units to those found on Montpellier Mews, Montpellier Parade and Montpellier Street only serves to enhance the areas reputation as a destination for independent boutique style shops.”
Rebecca Micallef, economy and transport officer at the council, said in a letter to the authority’s planners that the move would help to enhance the area.
She said:
“We are keen to see the opportunity for four new retail units to be developed within this vacant space, to improve the active frontage, attract new businesses into a key town centre location, enhance the quality of the retail offer of the Montpellier Quarter and support the high street economy.
“The introduction of upper floor residential seems to be appropriate at this location and will add to the vibrancy of the town centre, supporting both its daytime and evening economy.”
Fifty knives dropped off in Harrogate’s ‘knife amnesty bin’ during first monthFifty knives have been anonymously dropped off in a safe bin since it was installed at the Dragon Road car park in Harrogate last month, figures reveal.
The Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire Police project, which is paid for and managed by the police, was introduced due to a sharp rise in the number of knife-related incidents in the county.
In the Harrogate district alone, there were over 2,700 recorded incidents where a knife or bladed article was mentioned between the beginning of 2020 and June 2022.
High-profile incidents involving knives included a January 2020 attack near the Victoria Shopping Centre and a murder at Mayfield Grove in 2021.
The police blamed the rise in people carrying knives on fueding drug gangs and criminals using the weapons to protect themselves.
The council said previously the bin also provides a place for parents who might have confiscated a knife from their child but who do not want to hand them directly to police.
The bin in Harrogate was installed on January 23 and is the first of its kind in North Yorkshire.
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According to a report that will be discussed by councillors next week, 50 knives have been deposited so far, which includes a one way-chute that stops anyone from retreiving a knife that’s inside.
The Dragon Road car park is directly next to Asda and the supermarket chain has backed the scheme.
It no longer sells single knives and it has a policy of questioning anyone who buys a pack of knives after 10pm or appears under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The deposit box will be there for 12 months as part of a pilot scheme. If it’s successful it could be rolled out elsewhere in the county.
The report added:
“To date we have received positive feedback and a number of other locations across the district and county interested on enhancing the offer.”
Five take aways from Harrogate Tesco approvalPlanners this week approved a new Tesco supermarket for Harrogate.
The proposal will see the new store, a petrol station and 209 car parking spaces built on the site of the former gasworks off Skipton Road.
But, the scheme also brought up wider issues over the supermarket.
Here are five takeaways from this week’s decision.
‘No guarantee’ over Jennyfields centre
One major concern raised since the plans for Tesco were first tabled was its impact on the Jennyfields local centre, which includes a Co-op, medical centre and Post Office.
Residents and councillors on Harrogate Borough Council fear that the new supermarket will impact on the areas viability.
The Co-op even submitted its own objection and said it would cut takings at the store by 15%.
The local centre in Jennyfields, Harrogate.
Tesco has suggested it will make “reason endeavours” to replace the Jennyfields store should it be closed – though councillors described the term as “vague”.
However, Martin Robeson, Tesco’s planning consultant at the meeting on Tuesday, said he felt the centre acted more as a “community centre” than retail.
He added:
“This is an interesting local centre because it has a community centre, it has a medical centre and it has a large and popular public house.
“It is a community hub more than it is a retail hub. At the moment, the other retail units are a charity shop, two takeaways and a gentlemen’s barbers. I don’t believe the Co-op acts as an anchor to those other shops.”
Mr Robeson added that a “Tesco Express offer” or “OneStop offer” could be set up in its place.
Meanwhile, when asked how the pharmacy and Post Office would be replaced, Andy Boucher, of Tesco, said the company could make “no absolute guarantee” as they did not know what the “health of the Post Office” would be in five years time.
Gas pipe and the petrol station
One technical issue raised by Cllr Tom Watson was the prospect of building a petrol station on a gas main.
Cllr Watson said he did not feel the plan was “acceptable”.
However, Tesco said it had spent “several months” in discussions with Northern Gas Networks last year over the pipeline.
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Mr Robeson said the concerns raised were “important”, but Tesco had always been aware of the issue since acquiring the former gas site.
He added that detailed risk assessments will be carried out to ensure the site is safe.
Replanting miles away
Some concern has been raised that replacement trees from the site would be planted seven miles away.
Mr Robeson said at the meeting that Tesco had been put to “extreme task to tick all the boxes” in order to replace the trees.
However, the answer was not sufficient for Cllr Stuart Martin who questioned why it had to be so far away.
He said:
“My question was why does it have to be around 10 miles away? Why can’t that biodiversity gain be nearer to the site where it is lost?
“Nobody is going to tell the animals using the habitat that it’s 10 miles away, are they?”
The gates at the former gasworks site off Skipton Road.
Cllr Martin asked whether a condition could be imposed to require it to be closer than 10 miles away. However, a council officer says it would be difficult because of land availability issues.
The site being considered is near Stainburn, just outside Beckwithshaw, and is provided by a company called the Environment Bank under agreement with landowners.
Tesco congestion
Unsurprisingly, traffic was also raised during this week’s meeting.
The move to build the Tesco off Skipton Road is feared to increase congestion on one of Harrogate’s busiest roads.
There is also a plan to create a new roundabout at the site entrance, where the A61 Ripon Road and A59 Skipton Road meet at New Park.
Cllr Pat Marsh, a committee member, raised the issue over congestion on Tuesday.
She said:
“This is not the best site for this supermarket at all. If you were on that road today all you heard was a constant movement of traffic.
“You put a roundabout in there and it backs up to the one at Skipton and Ripon Road.
“The impact this is going to have on the people on Electric Avenue is huge.”
Layout for the new Tesco site, as published in January 2022.
Cllr Marsh pointed to the Lidl on Knaresborough Road as an example of people driving to supermarkets, rather than walking.
“The car park is full all the time.”
Cllr Tom Watson pointed out that heavy goods vehicles already use the nearby New Park roundabout due to a weight limit through Killinghall village.
‘Lack of public consultation’
Tesco officials were asked how and when consultation had been held with local residents over the matter.
The question came as objectors claimed that there was “a lack of public consultation” over the new supermarket.
But, Mr Robeson said that the supermarket giant had carried out sufficient consultation with both residents and council officials.
He said:
“Consultation directly with local residents took place through a process during lockdown, unfortunately, so it could not be like we are today.
“That was well advertised and well attended.”
The response that the public consultation was held during the covid lockdowns was met with groans from the public gallery.
However, Mr Robeson added that he felt that a wide consultation process had been held.
“There has been engagement with the officers and the technical officers here who perhaps you might say indirectly represent the community.”
The results of the consultation held by Tesco were revealed by the Stray Ferret in January last year.
According to documents submitted by the company to the council, 187 people responded. Of those, 74% said they wanted to see the derelict site gasworks brought back into use.
A total of 62% said they supported proposals for a new Tesco supermarket at the site.
Sixteen respondents “expressed concern that providing access via a roundabout was inappropriate due to the existing roundabout at Skipton Road / Ripon Road”.
A total of 43 respondents also raised the issue of highways and traffic on the local area.
Government rejects yurts plan for Kirkby MalzeardThe government has refused plans to build three yurts in Kirkby Malzeard.
The proposal would have seen the yurts created on Back Lane North, to the west of Pipistrelle Barn, in a field previously used for grazing sheep.
The application was submitted by Frederick Atkinson to create the yurts, each on raised decking and with its own hot tub along with a ‘services area’ of toilet, sink and shower in a wooden hut.
Harrogate Borough Council turned down the proposal in September.
The authority said the plan would have “an adverse impact upon the character and appearance of the Nidderdale Area of Oustanding Natural Beauty”.
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Mr Atkinson argued that the plan would help to create a “peaceful, low impact and eco-friendly retreat” and took the decision to the Planning Inspectorate.
But Adrian Caines, a government planning inspector, rejected the challenge.
He said the plan would give rise to “significant conflict” with the council’s development plan, in particular the area of outstanding natural beauty.
Mr Caines said:
“The proposal would give rise to significant conflict with the contents of the development plan relating to the landscape and scenic beauty of the AONB, and in relation to the living conditions of neighbouring residents.”