Yorkshire councils battle for support over devolution visions

Battle lines have been drawn between political leaders in North Yorkshire over which route to take on local council reorganisation with both sides lobbying in opposite directions for support.

County council bosses want a single council to serve the county and its 610,000 residents and sit alongside City of York Council as part of a devolution bid.

But, in the other camp, the districts, led by Harrogate Borough Council leader Richard Cooper, are seeking support for an alternative proposal to put to government.

Simon Clarke, local government minister, made local government reorganisation a requirement ahead of a York and North Yorkshire devolution bid.

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In a reflection of the political divide over the future of the county, both sides have started to pump out public statements in an effort to drum up support for their visions.

County council sets out its stall

Recently, the county council has put out statements showing support for its plan from other local authorities and one from the local government minister which said a unitary authority would be “within scope”.

On Tuesday, county council bosses released their latest effort to drum up support for their proposal with an endorsement from Durham County Council chief executive, Terry Collins.

North Yorkshire County Council leader, Carl Les.

North Yorkshire County Council leader, Carl Les.

Durham became a single council after scrapping its districts 12 years ago. Mr Collins said such a move for North Yorkshire would work as there is “no other way of operating”.

He added that the council has been able to have “strong and effective localism” through its parish and town councils, who have their own plans and deal with their own priorities.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, said the endorsement shows that the county council plan would be local and not a remote authority from parts of the county.

He said:

“It will be a far cry from the remote ‘mega council’ portrayed by detractors.

“We welcome Durham’s endorsement of our plan at this time. We know our people and our places, we deliver some of the best services in the country right into people’s homes and on the roads outside their front door and you don’t get more local than that.”

The district’s alternative proposal

But, on the other side of the fence sits the districts who have described the proposal for one council as “unworkable”.

The seven district council leaders launched their own campaign on Yorkshire Day for an alternative plan to the county council and are currently seeking comments from the public.

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In a letter to businesses in the Harrogate district seen by the Stray Ferret, Cllr Cooper said the proposal for one council would be “bad for business and bad for the economy”.

He added that the move to scrap the borough council would lose the connections with the authority and local business.

The leader of Harrogate Borough Council Richard Cooper.

Cllr Cooper said to business leaders:

“The council has been at the heart of the coronavirus response, working to support business recovery and releasing c£50 million in business grant aid. 

“We were only able to do this quickly and at scale because of our knowledge of our local economy, our close links with local businesses, and our long experience of delivering grass-roots services.

“It is essential that we do not lose these valuable qualities in the coming local government reorganisation, as I hope you agree.”

The battle being fought in public by the two camps will heat up as authority leaders edge closer to the deadline for proposals to be submitted to government in September.

As the devolution “asks, which propose a £2 billion deal for York and North Yorkshire, are also submitted, attention will turn to government which is expected to outline its devolution white paper next month.

Harrogate councillors back £4.5m social housing investment

Councillors have backed a major investment into social housing in Harrogate.

Meeting last night on Zoom, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet gave the green light for the authority to spend £4.5m on 52 properties that are currently being built on Whinney Lane in Pannal Ash.

16 of the homes would be transferred to HBC’s housing company, Bracewell Homes, to be sold under shared ownership, and the rest would be made available for social rent.

Developer Stonebridge Homes has planning permission to build 130 homes at the site with work currently underway. The homes earmarked by HBC for purchase are scheduled for completion in November.

Councillors were told that around 1,500 council homes have been lost in Harrogate town centre since Right to Buy was introduced in 1980 which the Whinney Lane purchase will help mitigate.

Cllr Mike Chambers, cabinet member for housing, called the purchase “good news” for HBC.

Cllr Graham Swift, cabinet member for economic development emphasised that HBC’s housing stock has been “significantly” reduced due to Right to Buy sales and the investment would “alleviate some of the demand from social housing that is there.”

HBC says it could recoup between £1.18m and £2.37m from the 16 shared ownership properties, with the council turning a profit on the purchase after at least 13 years thanks to the rental income.

Cllr Chambers said the purchase will help get families off the council home waiting list, which currently stands at 1,249 households.

However, the council’s report into the purchase warned there is “uncertainty” over the medium to long-term future of the housing market as estate agents in the district report a “pent up” demand for housing following the easing of lockdown restrictions.

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In related news, almost 50 Pannal Ash residents met on Sunday at the Squinting Cat pub to “mobilise” against hundreds of new houses proposed for Whinney Lane.

It was organised by Whinney Lane resident Mike Newall who wanted the event to be a “wake-up call” for locals who he said will face years of disruption.

Harrogate council: Dangerous West Park Stray claims ‘simply ridiculous’

Harrogate Borough Council has defended the restoration of West Park Stray after the Stray Defence Association (SDA) labelled the grounds as dangerous.

The council said it has already removed “tonnes of stones” from the area before yesterday’s opening but there are some that still remain.

It comes after the SDA wrote to the leader of the council to say that the opening was premature and urged them to carry out an immediate inspection.

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Those calls for an inspection do not seem to have not been answered but the council has now responded to the SDA.

Councillor Andrew Paraskos, cabinet member for environment, waste reduction and recycling said today:

“The suggestion that opening the West Park area of the Stray is dangerous is simply ridiculous. You’ve only got to look at the results this week to see the area is better than before and with the addition of the drainage system it can now be used throughout the year. The large stones have always been on this area of the Stray, we haven’t put them there.”

The councillor also said that the project “has not been taken lightly” and that it has been “months of hard work” with the appointment of a “multi-award winning specialist”.

He added: “Again, I’d like to thank everyone’s patience while we have carried out this work and thank them for the hundreds of positive comments we’ve received in just the last two days.”

West Park Stray opening is ‘frankly dangerous,’ says SDA

The Stray Defence Association (SDA) has written to the council to call West Park Stray “frankly dangerous” – after it opened to the public for the first time in 11 months.

Harrogate Borough Council took the orange fencing down today to allow people back onto the grass. It has spent £130,000 on its restoration.

The council said that the West Park Stray would be “returned to its former glory” following the UCI World Championships when the work started earlier this year.

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However, the SDA has said that the opening yesterday was premature and called for the council to carry out an immediate inspection of the grounds.

Judy D’Arcy Thompson, chair of the SDA, has written a strongly worded letter to the leader of Harrogate Borough Council:

“Whilst, from a distance the area looks beautifully green and as though it could be back to its former glory, it is far from it. Whilst the Stray Defence Association is most anxious to have the Stray reopened to the public as soon as possible it must only be at a time when it is safe to allow full access for any habitual activity.”

Mrs Thompson fears that people playing sports on West Park Stray could “severely injure themselves” by falling on one of a “large number of stones” and that “the stones themselves were never present on the surface prior to the reparations”.

She also raised concerns about “tyre tracks” and “dips in the grounds” as well as “old divots or sods of the previous grass which was not cleared before reseeding”.

When restrictions were lifted for the UCI Championships to be held, the council was given a legal duty to return the Stray to how it was before the event.

The Stray Ferret has contacted Harrogate Borough Council for a response to the SDA’s letter.

Harrogate Lib Dems campaign to abandon plans for devolution

Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrats have launched a petition today calling for plans of a mega council and executive mayor to be abandonded.

The “Hands Off Harrogate” campaign argues that the district should make its own decisions and run its own services.

It also says that councillors as far away as Scarborough would be “out of touch” with concerns in the Harrogate district.

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Councillors from the local Lib Dems have urged residents to sign the petition on their website.

Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrats on Harrogate Borough Council, said:

“Harrogate Conservatives are too busy fighting one another to stand up for residents in our district, with council leader Richard Cooper writing articles in the press, criticising his Tory colleagues. At such a difficult time, with many residents really suffering from the effects of coronavirus, do we really need to be going through a massive local government reorganisation that could cost taxpayers millions and disrupt vital local services?”

Cllr Marsh also called for Andrew Jones to “stand up for our area” on devolution. The MP has yet to comment publicly on the proposals.

Judith Rogerson, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson, added:

“Nobody in Harrogate and Knaresborough will think a huge new council is acceptable. If we have to have local government reorganisation the most sensible solution would be to create a unitary council covering just the present Harrogate district. There are similar sized authorities in other parts of Yorkshire & the Humber.”

Decision to refuse 46 homes in Killinghall overturned on appeal

Almost 50 new homes will be built on the edge of Killinghall after the government’s Planning Inspectorate overturned a decision by Harrogate Borough Council to refuse the plans.

In October 2018, HBC’s planning committee rejected the application from Linden Homes because it said the development would harm the appearance of the area and that residents will be forced to use their cars because of a lack of more sustainable options.

The council had also warned that trees covered by tree preservation orders (TPO) may have to be removed due to their proximity to some of the proposed 46 homes.

The homes will be built opposite Pharmall animal food store on Otley Road, close to the junction of the A59 and B6161. The site is not designated for development within HBC’s Local Plan.

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Killinghall is one of Harrogate’s main pressure points for new housing and land to the north and east of the site has planning permission for around 345 homes.

However, inspector John Dowsett disagreed with the conclusions of HBC’s planners and said the Linden Homes development “should be perceived as an extension” to an already built-up area on the edge of town.

He added that the homes would not harm the appearance of the area because the existing field is the result of a nineteenth-century division of a larger field and “does not reflect the original, historic, field layout”.

Mr Dowsett also dismissed concerns that any trees with TPOs would have to be removed.

Council leader threatens to expel person who leaked report to The Stray Ferret

Harrogate Borough Council’s leader has threatened to expel the leaker of confidential cabinet report which detailed the financial state of the town’s convention centre.

Cllr Richard Cooper told a meeting of the full council last night that if the leaker was found to be from the ruling Conservative group, he would expel them and call on them to stand down from the council.

It comes after a report leaked to the Stray Ferret warned HCC, which is subsidised by taxpayers, “will not survive” unless councillors approved an investment project and detailed the dire financial state of the venue. The leak is now being investigated by the council’s chief executive, Wallace Sampson.

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Cllr Cooper called for a commitment from Liberal Democrat leader, Cllr Pat Marsh, to also expel any member of her group if they were found to have leaked the document.

He said:

“I think it is important that as leaders of groups we demonstrate that we do not support leaking of confidential information, particularly when the information damages the economy of the district.

“I have already told members of my own group that if the chief executive’s investigation reveals that one of them leaked these reports I will be expelling them from the Conservative group and calling upon them to resign from the council completely.”

Cllr Marsh agreed to the council leader’s commitment to expel the leaker if it is found to be a Liberal Democrat.

Tamsin O’Brien, the editor of the Stray Ferret, said:

“The report leaked to us contained information about the financial situation of Harrogate Convention Centre – it was not a matter of national security, but of taxpayers’ money.

“With a decision of this magnitude, which could lead to almost £50m of public money being spent, it is important that the public are given full access to the information behind the decision. The fact that the report was leaked demonstrates the level of concern around such a decision and how important it is for the public to be kept fully informed.

“It is vital that media organisations can scrutinise the actions of authorities and hold them to account, on behalf of taxpayers. The leaked report enabled us to give the public the full picture of the situation facing Harrogate Convention Centre, shining a light on the parts the council did not want people to know.”

Last night, councillors voted to spend £1 million on feasibility studies and design fees ahead of a potential £47 million investment in the HCC. The money will be spent ahead of a two phased redevelopment of the venue and a report on the business case for potential investment will return to the council at a later date.

Most of the £1 million cost would be borrowed, though council officers said that no sources of funding have yet been identified.

The Stray Ferret has a portal for contacting us anonymously and sending us confidential documents. We are grateful to anyone who gives us information of public importance. To find out more, click here.

 

Council approves Harrogate Convention Centre £1m spend

Harrogate borough councillors have voted to spend £1 million on design costs ahead of a potential £47 million investment in the town’s convention centre.

A meeting of the full council approved the spend as part of a planned phased renovation of the nearly 40-year-old centre.

The money will be spent on feasibility studies and professional fees for design ahead of a two phased redevelopment of the venue. A report on the business case for potential investment will return to the council at a later date.

Most of the £1 million cost would be borrowed, though council officers said that no sources of funding have yet to be identified.

Meanwhile, a confidential cabinet report leaked to the Stray Ferret last week warned the centre “will not survive” unless councillors approved the project.

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But some councillors from the surrounding district said the investment would not benefit their towns.

Paula Lorimer, director of the convention centre, said that it was important that the council “looked forward” and invested in the HCC.

She said:

“The district has had a taste of what it would be like without a convention centre

“Many businesses rely on us and many jobs will be created as part of the convention centre.”

Graham Swift, cabinet member for resources, said he understood that some people were concerned about coronavirus but added that the plan would consider the future.

He said:

“I know that some councillors have expressed some concern around that.

“But this business plan has made it clear that the future plans will be in consideration of that fact that the world will be in a different spot.”

But Cllr Pauline McHardy, independent Ripon councillor, told the full council meeting that areas outside of Harrogate will be “short changed” by the move.

She said:

“I think you can flower this up as much as you want, this is the first step to spending £47 million.

“There is going to be a large amount of money that the council tax payers are going to have to find.”

Vote tonight on £47m Harrogate Convention Centre redesign

Councillors will tonight vote on an in issue which has divided opinion across the district – an investment in Harrogate’s Convention Centre.

At a meeting of the borough council’s full council, a report will recommend that councillors back a £1 million spend on design costs and feasibility studies ahead of a phased £47 million renovation.

The authority said the investment, which would be one of the council’s biggest ever financial decisions, is “much needed” to keep the town’s economy thriving.

Meanwhile, a confidential cabinet report leaked to the Stray Ferret warned the centre “will not survive” unless councillors approved the project.

The gravity and nature of the decision saw senior councillors on the authority’s cabinet decide to refer the matter to full council in its entirety instead of voting to agree the £1 million spend.

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But not all are convinced, the investment plan has divided opinion across the district as those in Ripon, Knaresborough and elsewhere have doubted what benefit it will have to them.

Today, Cllr Pauline McHardy, three-time Mayor of Ripon, urged fellow councillors to throw the plans out.

She described it as a millstone which would be tied around the district’s neck for years to come.

She said:

“I think it’s totally wrong for Harrogate Borough Council to even be considering spending money of this magnitude, while there are so many other things that need support in places such as Boroughbridge, Knaresborough, Pateley Bridge, Spofforth and here in this city.”

Paula Lorimer, director of Harrogate Convention Centre.

But, while there are echoes of doubt coming from the surrounding towns and villages, those in charge of the convention centre have stuck to their guns.

When senior councillors referred the matter to the full council, Pauline Lorimer,, director of the HCC, said the investment was necessary for the success of the district.

She said:

“We need this redevelopment not only to drive more conferences, but for the district and the community.

“We run school events, remembrance events, entertainment, orchestras and community groups.

“We do a great deal to support the community and the revenue we provide goes back into the council.

“What comes into us ripples out into the district. We need a successful HCC.”

Councillors on the borough council will vote on the plans at a virtual meeting streamed live on YouTube tonight.

Council leader leaves Harrogate BID

The leader of Harrogate Borough Council has resigned from Harrogate BID.

Cllr Richard Cooper is still listed as a board member on the organisation’s website, but information on Companies House reveals he stepped down in June.

He was replaced on the same date by Trevor Watson, HBC’s director of economy and culture. Neither the council nor the BID has given a reason for the change.

Harrogate BID Acting Chair Sara Ferguson said:

“On behalf of Harrogate BID, its Board and members, I would like to thank Richard for his valuable contribution.

“Richard’s place on the BID board has been filled by Trevor Watson from Harrogate Borough Council’s economic development team, who has already attended a number of board meetings.

“Additionally, we have also co-opted two additional advisors, Lesley Wild, the former Chair of Bettys and Taylors Tea, and Jim Mossman, co-owner of Cold Bath Brewing Company.”

‘Strong influence’

Cllr Cooper’s resignation came six weeks after four board members – including the chairman – stepped down, citing the undue influence of the council in the organisation.

In their joint resignation letter, outgoing chairman Bob Kennedy and board members Chris Bentley, Robert Ogden and Rob Spencer said:

“Without a consensus view on the board of the dire state of the town’s economy, particularly its retail heart, and its causes, addressing the key issues cannot be achieved.

“The strong influence of Borough and County Council on the board of an organisation that according to government guidance is supposed to be a ‘business-led’ partnership means that any initiative that addresses the councils’ input is endlessly debated, and sensible options resisted. It has not even been possible to garner cross-board agreement that the current aesthetic state of Harrogate town centre is not adequate, something that is self-evident to business leaders and residents alike but is constantly denied or excused by councils.”

Mr Spencer, of Townhouse Design, told the Stray Ferret at the time that the council members on the board were “very defensive” about what others felt were problems in the town, such as the level of cleanliness and the overall appearance. The letter also said additional confidentiality restrictions imposed on board members were a threat to the organisation’s transparency and were incompatible with the function of a public body.

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Harrogate BID is funded by a compulsory rates levy on businesses in the centre of Harrogate. It was voted in at the end of 2018 and began operating the following year, with a five-year term before rate payers will have to vote on whether it should continue.

As lockdown was eased, the BID announced it would fund additional street cleaning in early June to make the town centre attractive to returning shoppers. It also offered small grants to businesses to fund social distancing measures to enable them to open safely, and sent out packs of signage for levy payers to use around their premises.

David Bowe, director of North Yorkshire County Council, remains on the BID board, along with representatives of local businesses across sectors including independent retailers, chain stores, hospitality and service companies.

Harrogate Borough Council did not respond to the Stray Ferret’s request for a comment.