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.

Littering in the Pinewoods ‘a continual problem’

Littering in the Pinewoods is still a problem and has increased since lockdown was eased, according to a local conservation group.

The Pinewoods Conservation Group said the relaxation of restrictions has resulted in large gatherings coming to the woods and leaving rubbish behind.

It said volunteers are often out cleaning up the litter, but added that this “should not be necessary”.

The news follows similar complaints made about large gatherings on the Stray in June.

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Empty beer cans, pizza boxes and laughing gas canisters were left overnight in what was described as the “biggest mess for six years”.

It comes as a Freedom of Information request by Clean For Britain, a campaign to reduce litter and fly tipping, found that Harrogate Borough Council handed out no fines for littering in 2018/19.

Rubbish left on the Stray following a large gathering in June.

Pinewoods Conservation group called on the borough council to take the matter seriously.

A spokesperson for the group said:

“Litter in the Pinewoods is a continual problem and did increase coming out of lockdown. 

“Our volunteers and supporters do an amazing job at keeping the litter down but really shouldn’t be necessary. We know there is no real enforcement even when there are large groups congregating and it is obvious who is generating the litter.

“It is also the case that, in the woods, litter then leads to more serious damage and anti-social behaviour. It is time that the council started to take its enforcement responsibilities seriously.”

A spokesperson for the borough council said:

“Thankfully, by and large, there is very little litter in the Harrogate district. Where there have been isolated issues, such as on the Stray, our parks and environmental services team have worked tirelessly to have it cleared as quickly as possible.

“We have also added signage and additional bins/collections to remind people to be respectful of the beautiful surroundings we have in the district.

Strayside Sunday: Harrogate Convention Centre should not be in the hands of politicians

Strayside Sunday is our weekly political opinion column. It is written by Paul Baverstock, former Director of Communications for the Conservative Party. 

Harrogate Borough Council has been up to its usual incompetent, vainglorious tricks this week and looks set, at the next full council meeting, to greenlight a staggering £1m – yes that is a cool £1m – consultancy project to design and plan a £46m (gasp) renovation of the loss-making lemon that is Harrogate Convention Centre.

In its 2014 town plan, the council made much of the fact that the activities of HCC contributed £57m to the town’s wider economy each year.  Now, to support its case for new investment in the centre, the council tells us that the convention centre contributes £35m to our local economy.  The explanation – a different way of compiling the figures. The lower figure produced with methodology set by an external body, Visit Britain. What a whopping discrepancy from figures the council had previously been in control of compiling. It doesn’t inspire confidence in its ability to now get the maths right with the eye-watering sums it  proposes spending.

So, having presided for years over the centre’s demise as a desirable destination conference venue, the council now seems set to absolve itself of the guilt of its previous underinvestment and mismanagement with profligate and horribly misguided public spending.  The question for Councillor Cooper is why, when you have so clearly been asleep at the wheel, should we trust you to spend a penny more, let alone the millions you plan?

Instead, the centre should be sold to specialist private enterprise, as large conference venues in Manchester and Birmingham have been, to great financial effect.  This would serve to secure the undoubted wider economic benefits of a successful conference centre for the town, away from political interference and leave the council free to focus on serving residents better.

Such a sale would yield significant and sorely needed investment capital for a truly progressive and innovative council to reimagine Harrogate town centre, or to promote independent local business, or to deliver much and never more needed services.  However, as former Harrogate Liberal Democrat MP Phil Willis said in these pages this week, the councillors involved are “amateurs”.  They should not be trusted to run any business of scale with public funds. Harrogate Council is simply unable to articulate what it is for and lurches from one expensive vanity project announcement to the next. Crescent Gardens, Knapping Mount, now this. It catches the eye, but for none of the right reasons. The sooner Harrogate council is folded into a single, devolved North Yorkshire Unitary Authority, the better. It’s fair to say that Harrogate council’s leadership don’t welcome the prospect, choosing Yorkshire Day, August 1, to announce the launch of an alternative devolution bid campaign.  And I’ll return to this subject in detail next week.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps dropped another clanger this week; heading off to a family holiday in Spain just hours before the air bridge back to the UK was closed – by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps – thereby condemning himself and his family to a 14-day quarantine on return to the United Kingdom.  Shapps arrived in Spain on Saturday and, at a virtual meeting with departmental and devolved colleagues the same day, was presented with new covid-19 infection figures that suggested a Spanish second wave.  Closing the bridge, he promptly boarded a return flight home to begin a fortnight of self-isolation.  Left in situ on their own in Spain, I suspect Mrs Shapps and their three children are not best pleased that Dad has made a bit of a prat of himself again.

The tragi-comic quality of episodes like this have been described as part of the continued “Graylingisation” of British Politics; so named by journalist Gavin Esler, in honour of poor old Chris “Failing” Grayling, who must surely go down as one of the most spectacularly incompetent British Cabinet Ministers in living memory.  The hapless MP for Epsom and Ewell has most recently been in the news for failing to secure the Chairmanship of the Parliamentary Intelligence Select Committee, despite the fact, or more likely because of it, that he was Boris Johnson’s preferred candidate.  So sure was he that he would emerge victorious, Grayling missed the manoeuvres of Julian Lewis MP (who is highly respected in parliament for his intelligence, his Intelligence expertise and his principle).  By the time Grayling realised he was being gazumped, it was too late and Mr Lewis won the Chairmanship of the committee at a canter.  In a fit of petulant and retaliatory pique, BoJo stripped Mr Lewis of the Conservative whip, at once earning the ire of parliament and reminding us all that what seems to matter in contemporary politics – nationally and locally – is not competence and probity, but patronage and blind fealty.

Finally, I’d like to recognise that, in respect of his vote, mentioned in my last column,  for the “continuity” Trade Bill and against several amendments to the bill seeking protections for the NHS from foreign trade, Ripon MP Julian Smith made a public statement this week.  Mr. Smith would still have us take as an item of faith the government’s claim that it will not sell out the NHS, but none the less I very much respect his willingness to spell out his position transparently.  It builds trust and understanding between people and their elected representatives, especially if mediated, on the record, through the fourth estate.  Trust has never been needed more.  Andrew Jones MP, why haven’t we heard from you?

That’s my Strayside Sunday.

 

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Districts to launch alternative council reorganisation bid

Harrogate Borough Council has united with other district authorities in North Yorkshire to launch a fightback against county council proposals for a single authority ahead of a potential devolution bid.

Leaders from the county’s seven district and borough authorities have today begun a “working together to get change right campaign” as part of an alternative proposal to reorganise local councils.

They argue North Yorkshire County Council’s vision of a single authority for the whole county is not right and the 800,000 residents “deserve better”.

It comes as the government has told council leaders that local government has to be reorganised in the county if any future devolution bid is to be agreed. As a result, North Yorkshire County Council has started to draw up plans for a single council to serve the entire county – which would mean the seven districts would be scrapped.

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But now, district leaders are to work on tabling their own proposal to government. They chose Yorkshire Day, August 1, to begin their campaign.

Speaking on behalf of the leaders group, Cllr Richard Cooper, leader of Harrogate Borough Council, said a single council would be “unworkable”.

He said:

“We were in discussions with the minister earlier this month, and it is clear that the government is open to granting devolved powers and potentially billions in investment to our area, but only if local government is reorganised first. It’s really not a question of “if” reorganisation will happen. It’s more a question of ‘how’.

“A mega council, covering the entire North Yorkshire area – the biggest county area in the whole country – has been mooted. But we don’t believe that’s workable, or in the best interests of our people, places and economy.

“Our citizens deserve better, which is why we’re campaigning to create an alternative bid that gets reorganisation right.

“Reorganising local government will affect the lives of 800,000 people, so we’ve got to get it right. Over the next few weeks we will be reaching out to communities, businesses, councillors, parish councils and other local organisations, to find out how we can build on what we already do well, and where things could improve.

“We’ll be doing a lot of listening. We want any bid that goes before government to have local support, and we hope that government will respect that grass-roots approach.”

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Turkish Baths flooring ‘dangerous’ without urgent repairs

Harrogate’s Turkish Baths’ 123-year-old flooring could have “become dangerous” if specialists had not carried out repairs.

A report seeking retrospective approval for the work detailed how Harrogate Borough Council needed to spend close to £30,000.

The baths have been closed since the start of the coronavirus lockdown and the specialists took it as an opportunity to work on the floor.

In the report, the council said that the floor is showing signs of water egress, wear in grouted joints, and cracks in the terrazzo.

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The report also mentions that the floor could become uneven and “potentially dangerous” where mosaic pieces are exposed.

Andrew Tiles and The Mosaic Restoration Company carried out the works earlier this month and it is expected to be complete next month.

The council says the works were badly needed. Pictures from the Turkish Baths.

Turkish Baths Harrogate does not yet have a set date to reopen as saunas and steam rooms have not been given the go-ahead.

Harrogate Borough Council has launched a consultation into dropping single-sex sessions from the Turkish Bath’s timetable. Moving to mixed-sessions only would reflect “equality and balance,” according to the council.

Meanwhile, the historic venue is set to become part of a new local authority controlled company (LACC), along with the district’s pools and gyms, as part of an overhaul of leisure services.

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Conyngham Hall plans ‘cultural vandalism’ as petition passes 1000

Knaresborough Civic Society has labelled the potential redevelopment of Conyngham Hall as “cultural vandalism”.

Harrogate Borough Council has identified the hall as one of four proposed options in the town for a new leisure centre.

Other options include the current leisure centre site, Hay-a-Park and Knaresborough House.

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The hall itself is an office space but its grounds are popular for leisure activities. Its potential redevelopment has been met with fierce opposition.

James Monaghan, chair of Knaresborough Civic Society, said:

“This is a proposed act of cultural vandalism by Harrogate Borough Council. Conyngham Hall is a grade two star listed building. Any development in the grounds will have a negative impact on the hall itself. Let alone the damage to the beautiful grounds and green space.”

The society is contacting regional and national heritage bodies urging them to oppose the proposal.

In a letter to the council’s chief executive, Wallace Sampson, the society calls on the local authority to remove Conyngham Hall from the list of sites under consideration.

It comes as Harrogate & Knaresborough Liberal Democrats’ Hands Off Conyngham Hall Grounds petition passes 1000 signatures.

Matt Walker, the campaign’s spokesperson, said:

“We should be investing in our cherished green space, not needlessly building on it. There are far better alternatives which ought to be explored, with Conyngham Hall grounds taken off the table entirely.”

The council this month approved plans to overhaul its leisure centres by handing control to a new council-owned company.

A council spokesman said:

“We are just at the start of the process to build a new combined leisure centre for Knaresborough. It follows the decision to invest more than £26 million improving leisure facilities in Harrogate and Knaresborough. No decision has been taken.”

Harrogate Convention Centre: £46.8m renovation moves a step closer

A £46.8 million renovation of Harrogate’s Convention Centre moved a step closer this evening.

Paula Lorimer, director of the centre, told the meeting the investment was necessary for the success of the district.

A full council meeting next week will now have the final say on whether to spend £1.1 million on detailed designs, a feasibility study and full economic impact assessment of the benefits of renovation.

Ms Lorimer 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.”

Paula Lorimer, director of Harrogate Convention Centre.

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

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While the move to invest in the centre has been welcomed by local businesses and borough councillors, others have criticised the decision.

Eamon Parkin, Mayor of Ripon, said the investment would not benefit people in the city and twas a waste of money.

In an exclusive interview with the Stray Ferret, Phil Willis, former MP for Harrogate, called on “amateur councillors” to step back from involvement in the centre.

 

HCC upgrade : ‘£46.8m is enough to regain a strong place in the market’

Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet is due to meet at 5.30pm tonight with just one item on the agenda: the renovation of the town’s conference centre.

The council is likely to vote to proceed with plans to invest £46.8m on a major overhaul of the 40-year-old centre.

A full renovation would be one of the council’s biggest ever financial decisions. The proposal has been welcomed by the town’s business community but criticised by politicians and business representatives in Ripon, Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge, where the benefits would be felt less.

John Gallery is a former Harrogate hotelier. He is chairman of the Business Visits & Events Partnership’s research and business intelligence group, a former chair of VisitYork and a former vice-chairman of the Meetings Industry Association, He currently works as a business tourism consultant.  

We put a series of questions to Mr Gallery: 

How does Harrogate rank as an events venue?
Harrogate’s conference centre does need to raise its game as it has lost out to a number of destinations with newer facilities. The sums seem huge, but in the market it is in, it will continue to decline if it does not keep pace with, or indeed, get ahead of these shiny new competitors.

What difference would a £46.8m renovation make?
As has been seen in other locations, investment makes a difference, not only to the fortunes of the venue but also to the wider local and regional economy. The value must be judged in that wider context and not just on the profit and loss of the centre. If the centre were simply to break even then it would be doing its job as a lever for all the other benefits. Better of course, that it also makes profit so that investment can continue over the long term.

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Is the council best placed to provide investment?
A private sector operator would probably be better. Ownership could remain in the public sector but hand operations to a private operator with a dynamic profit motive and things would change quickly. Having said this, Harrogate has probably relied too heavily on the conference market for the 40 years since the centre was developed. Too often there is feast or famine in terms of demand for hotels, bed and breakfasts, restaurants etc. It was like this when I first worked in the hotel business in Harrogate in the 1980s. So Harrogate Borough Council should also focus on stimulating demand with a stronger, more broad-based appeal that would attract visitors throughout the year.

£46.8m is a huge sum but is it enough to revive the centre?
It’s a large sum but in terms of the market the centre operates in, it needs it. It was controversial when it opened but some of the new plans do seem to make sense in terms of linking directly to the Royal Hall and re-imagining the space outside the main building. I don’t think it is a lost cause but £46.8m will probably be just enough to regain a strong place in the market. It needs to be a co-ordinated effort with the hotels and other accommodation providers, local travel companies and so on to make the best impact.

What should the long-term strategy be?
The centre should be the focus for events but be part of a bigger picture. The centre should work together with the Yorkshire Event Centre to attract bigger, international co-located events. Harrogate should up its game. The competition is overseas as well as Brighton, Bournemouth, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh etc. Think of Barcelona, Geneva, Frankfurt, Las Vegas, New York, Sydney, etc. Some of the money announced recently by Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, to improve transport in the north should be chased by Harrogate. Improve the direct rail link to York and Leeds for example. With the canny Yorkshire approach I am sure they can do it.

How badly has covid affected the events sector?
The £70bn per year UK events sector has been one the worst affected and it is likely that demand will not return quickly in the short-term. Harrogate can look this year at the loss of so many events at both the convention centre and the Yorkshire Event Centre due to covid but the impact this has had on the other parts of the economy in these businesses is also severe.

How should the town respond?
Counter-intuitively this may be the opportunity to pivot the centre to be part of a broader tourism offer that still attracts conferences but with greater emphasis on the leisure and pleasure offerings in the district. For example, introduce delegate incentives to bring partners and families. Be more adventurous about what can be done. It’s a spa town so it should be attracting people for this purpose as it did when it was first invented as that. The convention centre could be the hub of the town’s tourism sector and business done at the centre might steer more towards the family market at weekends and holidays and business events midweek. There are a lot of possibilities. It needs a broad vision for both business and leisure.

 

Harrogate businesses back £47m conference centre renovation

Harrogate business leaders have urged the local authority to press ahead tomorrow with plans for a £46.8m renovation of the town’s convention centre.

Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet will recommend spending £1.1m on a detailed feasibility study and a full economic impact assessment, according to confidential cabinet documents seen by The Stray Ferret.

The prospect of this leading to such a huge investment in the centre of Harrogate has alarmed some people in Ripon, Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge, who fear their locations won’t reap the benefits.

But businesses in Harrogate have said investment is necessary for the survival of the town’s hotels, restaurants and bars.

Simon Cotton, managing director of the HRH Group, whose properties include the Yorkshire Hotel, the White Hart Hotel and the Fat Badger pub, said the visitor economy was “massively driven” by the centre, which is currently being used as a Nightingale hospital. He added:

“The hotels are really feeling the effects of it being closed. Some are asking whether they can afford to stay open.

“I absolutely support investment. I don’t see an alternative.”

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A spokesperson for Harrogate Hospitality & Tourism Association said redevelopment “will help Harrogate attract new events and drive even more business to the town, which is great for local restaurants, retailers and the hotel and accommodation sector”.

Sandra Doherty, chief executive of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, said the “backbone of the town” would change if Harrogate lost the centre.

But Ms Doherty said the centre was “far behind its rivals, which offer more adaptive space to include breakout rooms, the ability to offer smaller conference space and the technology to support it”. She added:

“The need to invest should be part of a rolling programme rather than years of little to no investment, which results in the big ticket option we are faced with today.”

Sara Ferguson, acting chair of the Harrogate BID, said:

“It’s vital we have a modern facility, one that will continue to attract major clients from not just within the UK, but from abroad too.”

270 homes and primary school proposed for Whinney Lane

Plans have been submitted for 270 homes and a new primary school on Whinney Lane.

Durham-based developer Banks Group is behind the proposals for the site, which is designated for development within Harrogate Borough Council’s Local Plan.

Whinney Lane in Pannal Ash is one of Harrogate’s main pressure points for new housing and the site is located directly opposite the Castle Hill Farm development where work has already begun on 130 homes.

With 2,500 new homes in various stages of development on the south side of Harrogate, HBC would like to see new schools built in the area to ease pressure on local primary schools in Pannal, Rossett Acre and Beckwithshaw.

The primary school would be built at the top of Whinney Lane opposite Castle Hill Drive and documents say it would employ 40 full-time staff. No details about the number of pupils are available.

Banks Group is proposing a mix of 1 bedroom (29%), 2 bedroom (38%), 3 bedroom (28%) and 4 bedroom (4%) homes. 40% will be affordable.

The developer suggests the development could generate HBC about £3m over six years as a result of the government’s New Homes Bonus scheme in addition to £500,000 per year in council tax payments.

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Notices were placed on Whinney Lane about the plans on July 16. However, Whinney Lane closed this week for seven months for highways improvements related to the new housing.

Residents say people will now not see the notices or be able to raise any objections before the deadline of August 16.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret, resident Ian Watson questioned why the green planning notification signs were put up on a road that is now closed.

He said:

“Very few people will know about the green signs. And, with a partial lockdown still with the pandemic very few people are out. The footpath will be closed. The road is not used by cars.”

In response, a spokesperson for Banks Group said it had posted nine notices at locations on Whinney Lane, Castle Hill Drive and Lady Lane.

The spokesperson added:

“They have been placed in nine different locations around the area, which will hopefully provide local people with plenty of opportunity to see what’s being proposed.”

The plans will go before HBC’s planning committee later this year.