Council upholds listing Sharow pub as asset of community valueHarrogate Borough Council has upheld its decision to allocate the Half Moon Inn at Sharow as an asset of community value.
The council awarded the pub asset of community value status in November 2022 following a campaign by local residents and the parish council to keep the venue open.
However, Mark Fitton, the owner of the pub has challenged the council’s decision and described it as “flawed”.
In a letter to Mr Fitton, which was seen by the Stray Ferret, the council confirmed that it expected to complete a review of its decision by January.
Now, a spokesperson for the authority has confirmed it had upheld its original decision.
It means residents and campaigners will have six months to attempt to raise funds to purchase the property.
The pub on Sharow Lane opened in 1822 but closed in 2016.
Since then, a long running saga has unfolded over how best to put the building to use.
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Mr Fitton lodged a plan to convert the former pub into a house in March last year.
However, Harrogate Borough Council refused the proposal on the grounds that “insufficient evidence” had been submitted to demonstrate that no community use existed for the property.
Mr Fitton has now taken the decision to the government’s Planning Inspectorate, the body that deals with planning disputes.
He has also resubmitted the proposal to the council.
‘Inspiring’ new £85,000 vision for Ripon remains unpublished — two years on
A report outlining a new “inspiring and innovative” vision for regenerating Ripon has not been published — more than two years after it was announced.
Harrogate Borough Council advertised a 12-month contract to draw up a masterplan for the city in December 2020.
But Ripon city councillors have discovered through a Freedom of Information request that no formal report for the Ripon renewal project has been produced yet.
The Stray Ferret reported in August that work on the masterplan had been paused due to negotiations over the £85,000 contract awarded by Harrogate Borough Council to Bauman Lyons Architects.
At that time, Trevor Watson, Harrogate Borough Council’s director of economy and culture, said he did not know when the project — originally scheduled for completion last February — would be finalised.
But he added the aim was to finish it before the launch of the replacement North Yorkshire Council, which comes into being on April 1.
He said:
“We are in dialogue with the consultants and it is very difficult to say when that conversation will be concluded.
“But it will be our intention to bring the project forward in that timeframe.”
At Monday’s full meeting of Ripon City Council, leader Andrew Williams, said:
“Both ourselves and Ripon BID, have been trying to obtain a copy of the consultants’ report and now we have discovered through a response to the FOI request we submitted to Harrogate Borough Council that no formal report has been produced.
“As we don’t want the work carried out to be a waste of time and money I propose that we ask Harrogate to report on where the consultants had got to, as this could be helpful for the future in areas such as seeking grant funding.”
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Councillors agreed unanimously for the request to be sent to Harrogate Borough Council and for it to be copied to Councillor Carl Les, the leader of North Yorkshire County Council and North Yorkshire County Council chief executive Richard Flinton.
North Yorkshire County Council and the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership were, along with Harrogate Borough Council, co-funders of the project. which aimed to create a vision for the future of Ripon that would help the city to win funding for infrastructure, planning and community projects.
A consultation was held in 2021 with residents, businesses and community groups which highlighted problems in the city.
These included not enough things for young people to do, traffic in the market place and a lack of affordable housing.
There were also calls for better traffic management on Low Skellgate and Westgate, and a new green route linking the Workhouse Museum and Ripon Cathedral.
Government rejects bid to convert Kirkby Malzeard pub into houseThe government has rejected plans to convert a Kirkby Malzeard pub into a home.
David Fielder, who owns the former Henry Jenkins pub, challenged a Harrogate Borough Council decision to refuse the plan back in May last year.
The authority said “insufficient marketing” had been carried out to demonstrate that “in the absence of any use as a public house there is no alternative community use for which the property may be suitable”.
Mr Fielder challenged the decision and appealed to the government’s Planning Inspectorate.
However, a government planning inspector has dismissed the appeal and ruled in favour of the council.
David Wyborn, who oversaw the appeal, said in a decision notice that he felt all options for the pub had not been “fully explored”.
He said:
“Overall, while there are some concerns with the details for the community pub project which I have highlighted above, I consider that the plans of the Henry Jenkins Community Pub to open a community pub have a reasonable prospect of succeeding and being viable.
“There can be no certainty on this matter at this stage and I understand the objections and criticisms from the appellant who has wide experience on these matters. Nevertheless, in particular, in the absence of an independent valuation to assist with an offer and potential purchase, and with the information, analysis and comments I have examined above, I do not consider that the policy requirements in criterion C of Policy HP8 of the Local Plan have been met.
“Specifically, it has not been clearly demonstrated that there is no reasonable prospect of the existing public house use continuing on a viable basis and all options for continuing that use have not been fully explored.”
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The move is the latest turn in the ongoing saga over the pub and efforts from local campaigners to bring it back into community use.
The Henry Jenkins, which is named after a man that legend states lived to be 169-years-old, is one of the oldest inns in the Harrogate district. It closed in 2011.
Richard Sadler, chair of the Henry Jenkins Community Pub group, said:
“We’re pleased that the inspector has taken the right decision and recognised that we are a genuine and credible community group- and that we should be given the chance to breathe new life into this much-loved local asset.
“We believe a revived Henry Jenkins could boost to our local economy, attract more visitors and transform the whole feel and atmosphere of the village.
“Harrogate council rightly has policies to protect facilities in rural areas and with our village expanding fast, the need for a wider range of services is greater than ever.”
Calls to assess impact of Ripon Cathedral’s £6m expansion on cafes and shopsConcerns raised by hospitality and other businesses about the proposed £6 million Ripon Cathedral annex, with its cafe and gift shop, have prompted Ripon City Council to call for a retail impact assessment to be carried out.
Supporters and opponents of the cathedral’s application to build the two-storey building on Minster Gardens made their views known at last night’s full council meeting.
After hearing both sides, council leader Andrew Williams, who proposed the impact assessment, also called for the cathedral’s chapter to meet with businesses and Ripon Business Improvement District to listen to their concerns and answer any questions they have.
He said:
“I’m keeping an open mind until the application is considered later this year by (the new) North Yorkshire Council and my door is open to the cathedral and the traders who want to speak with me.
“We need to move forward in unity, minimise our differences and draw people together.”
Cllr Williams declared an interest prior to speaking about the application because he has been nominated to serve on the North Yorkshire Council planning committee, which will adjudicate on the proposal.
Kevin Hill, who owns the the Karma clothing and gift boutique on Kirkgate with his wife Liz and Helen Slater, owner of Cathedral View Cafe that faces onto the ancient building, both felt the annex on Minster Gardens with a direct route from the car park would ‘funnel’ visitors away from Kirkgate.
Stanley Mackintosh, who lives on Kirkgate, said the street which leads down to the cathedral has numerous independent cafes and restaurants, with more in the city centre. He claimed:
“There will be damage to small independent traders if the proposal is given the go-ahead.”
Mr Mackintosh had a copy of the longer-term masterplan vision for the cathedral quarter, which has elements that are not included in the annex planning application lodged with Harrogate Borough Council.
Minster Gardens
That wider masterplan, which would require a further planning application or applications, includes a proposed hotel with arts cafe underneath, which he said would further impact on hospitality businesses in the city.
Richard Taylor, co-chair of Ripon Civic Society, reiterated that the society supports development of new facilities for the cathedral but not at the proposed location. He said:
“Our concern was that the chosen site was one of great heritage and environmental sensitivity and we encouraged the cathedral to look at moving the new building a little further north into the stoneyard.
“More evidence has since come to light to show just how significant Minster Gardens are as a green space in the centre of the city framed by high-grade listed buildings.
“The importance of the fine group of trees there was recognised as long ago as 2009 in the Ripon Conservation Area Appraisal.
“They have recently been reassessed and the large beech tree in the centre of the garden has been added to the national register of veteran trees. Sweeping it away as the current proposal would do means losing an irreplaceable asset as highlighted by three of the borough council’s officers.”
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The Dean of Ripon, the Very Revd. John Dobson pointed out that for every tree lost 30 would be planted to compensate for them at another location outside the city and this will lead to increased biodiversity.
He added that the plans will not bypass Kirkgate.
Dean John said:
“The vision we have delivers for the cathedral and the city by bringing more people and increased business.”
Guy Wilson, a member of the cathedral fabric committee, said:
“The cathedral is the jewel in Ripon’s crown and is in need of modern facilities for staff, worshippers and visitors.”
These proposed facilities include the city centre’s first Changing Places toilet, which will improve access for disabled people — a development welcomed by Councillor Pauline McHardy.
The meeting was told that the cathedral currently attracts in excess of 100,000 visitors a year and it is estimated that development of the cathedral quarter will bring up to 35,000 more per annum.
Harrogate’s Crescent Gardens to get £21,000 makeover and new nameHarrogate’s Crescent Gardens is set to be re-landscaped and re-named The Queen Elizabeth Memorial Garden.
Harrogate Borough Council wants to spend £21,000 redesigning the space so it can hold more events.
Three yew trees and rose and shrub beds would be relocated as part of the scheme. Commemorative plaques within the rose beds would also be moved to new beds on the site.
A report by Kirsty Stewart, the council’s parks and grounds maintenance manager, said work “will need to be undertaken to return the grounds to their current state” after Crescent Gardens hosted an ice rink and funfair in December and January.
The report adds:
“We would like to take the opportunity to upgrade the area to enable better accommodation of future events with less disruption to the planting in this area.”
It added a three-year licence for the Christmas ice rink and funfair on the site “will generate a minimum income of £37,500 per year… with some of this being available to be reinvested in the space to make necessary changes and improvements”.
The area will be re-landscaped so it can host more events.
The council, which will be abolished at the end of next month, announced yesterday it had renamed its leisure centres in Pateley Bridge, Harrogate and Knaresborough. Now it intends to rename the land outside its former municipal offices.
It plans to create a new central rose bed across the whole of the sloped area and install a metal arch/tunnel adorned with climbing roses across the main footpath leading to the central structure.
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The report, which will be discussed by councillors on Tuesday next week, puts the cost of the work at £21,000 but added “pricing is subject to change depending on the increase in steel/materials costs over the next few months”.
Engagement with plaque owners will be undertaken “where possible before works commence”, it adds.
Crescent Gardens was last redesigned following the 1990 Gateshead Garden Festival, when the central glass structure erected.
Over the last 10 to 15 years, it has hosted the Spiegeltent, organised by Harrogate International Festivals, the mayor’s carol concert, church events, and more recently artisan markets and the ice rink and fun fair.
Councillors will also discuss plans to refurbish Bebra Gardens in Knaresborough and the paddling pools in Ripon at the same meeting next week.
However, a report outlining the details of these schemes has been classified as exempt from the public.
Decision today on Harrogate Tesco and two major housing schemesCouncillors will decide today whether to allow a new Tesco supermarket and two major housing schemes be built on the outskirts of Harrogate.
Tesco has applied to build a supermarket, petrol station and 209 car parking spaces on the site of the former gasworks off Skipton Road.
Persimmon Homes has submitted plans to erect 162 homes off Kingsley Drive and another developer, Jomast, wants to build 53 homes off Knox Lane in Bilton.
Harrogate Borough Council officers have recommended all three scheme be approved. But the Conservative-controlled planning committee will vote whether to approve or reject each recommendation. They could also defer a decision to request further information.
The meeting, which begins at 2pm, can be watched live on the council’s YouTube page here. People can also watch the meeting at the council offices at Knapping Mount.
The Stray Ferret will also cover the meeting.
Concerns about committee chair
Kingsley Ward Action Group, which campaigns to protect green spaces in the Kingsley area, where several hundred homes are in the process of being built, has written to members of the planning committee expressing concerns about the role of Cllr Rebecca Burnett, who chairs the planning committee.
The action group claims Cllr Burnett, a Conservative who represents Harrogate St Georges, has a “disclosable interest” in Kingsley planning matters, according to the council’s own planning code of good practice, which states members living “close to an application site” should — subject to an exception — declare it and leave the room while the application is discussed. The code says:
“A member who lives close to an application site, will usually have a disclosable interest to declare under the Code of Conduct. This means that, subject to the exception referred to in paragraph 1.5 (ix), they cannot take part in the decision and must declare the interest and leave the meeting room. A member in these circumstances may not stay to listen to such an application even if they are not a member of the committee making the decision. This may also be the case if a relation or friend of the member lives close to the application site or where the relative or friend has submitted the application.”
Cllr Burnett’s address listed on the council website is within about half a mile of the proposed Persimmon site.
The action group is desperate to prevent further development in Kingsley. The Stray Ferret has contacted the council and Cllr Burnett repeatedly to get a response to its claims but has not received a reply on the issue.
As chair, Cllr Bennett had the casting vote in favour of the 30-home Kingsley Farm scheme when the planning committee met last month and was tied 6-6 on whether to approve the scheme.
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Ripon hopeful of controlling its destiny under new councilRipon has never sat comfortably within the Harrogate district.
An ill feeling has lingered in the cathedral city since the last local government reorganisation in 1974 when several smaller councils were brought together to create Harrogate Borough Council.
Whether it’s fair or not, there has been a perception in some quarters of the city that the council has always looked on Harrogate as the crown jewel to Ripon’s detriment.
This will all change on April 1, when Harrogate Borough Council will be abolished and Ripon will fall under the control of a new unitary authority, North Yorkshire Council.
Councillors are optimistic the city can reap the rewards.
Andrew Williams is the leader of Ripon City Council and an independent councillor on North Yorkshire County Council for Ripon Minster and Moorside.
The 53-year-old has lived in Ripon all his life and said he first became conscious of the sentiment towards Harrogate Borough Council as a teenager.
Cllr Andrew Williams
He claims “Harrogate council has been dominated by Harrogate” and that Ripon has “suffered badly” under the current system.
He added:
“What the new council arrangement will do is ensure there will be no unfair advantage to anybody.
“Across North Yorkshire, there are a lot of places like Ripon — Malton, Thirsk, Easingwold, Skipton and Richmond — that have a similar sized population to Ripon with not dissimilar issues. The focus on resolving those will be given a much higher priority.”
A central pledge in the case for reorganisation, called “double devolution”, was that town and parish councils could be handed more powers if they can make a successful business case.
Cllr Williams believes it will provide a golden opportunity for Ripon City Council to take control of assets that Harrogate Borough Council assumed when it was formed almost 50 years ago, such as the city’s neoclassical town hall.
He said:
“We’re hopeful of being selected as a pilot area for double devolution. We believe the new arrangements will provide a better opportunity for Ripon to have a greater control over its destiny.”
Taking back control
Cllr Barbara Brodigan is the Liberal Democrat councillor for Ripon Ure Bank & Spa and was elected in May 2022.
The former teacher has lived in Ripon for five years but before than lived in Knaresborough for 30 years. She’s excited about the potential benefits of double devolution.
Cllr Brodigan, pictured above, said:
“Ripon has long felt neglected but Ripon City Council could now have more control over our assets. I’m in favour of that. Ripon should be making decisions about Ripon.”
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Harrogate Borough Council would point to its multi-million-pound investment into the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre as an example of its commitment to the residents of Ripon.
But Cllr Brodigan described the project as an “ongoing farce” due to the location the council decided to build it and spiralling costs.
Other borough council projects, such as work on a masterplan for the regeneration of the city centre have been put on hold, which Cllr Brodigan said is holding Ripon back.
She added:
“People are waiting for the Ripon Renewal masterplan to be implemented so nothing can move forward. It’s sitting on a shelf in Harrogate. That would make a huge difference to city centre.
“When you come to Ripon you can’t see anything because of all the cars. It’s not attractive at all. Tourism is our major income stream yet we have a car park in the centre.”
At a Harrogate Borough Council meeting in 2021, Conservative deputy leader Graham Swift described the grievances of Ripon Independent councillor Pauline McHardy as like listening to the Scottish National Party.
Whether or not residents and councillors have justifiable frustrations at the relationship with Harrogate Borough Council, there is excitement within the city about the opportunities that local government reorganisation could bring.
Harrogate care home plans to increase to 60 bedroomsA Harrogate care home has tabled plans to expand and increase the number of bedrooms on its site by 20.
Apley Grange, which is based on Oatlands Drive, has submitted the plans to Harrogate Borough Council.
The move would see the number of bedrooms increased from 40 to 60.
As part of the plan, alterations would be made to three of the buildings on the site. A garage would also be demolished as part of the extension.
The Society of the Holy Child Jesus, which runs the home, said in documents submitted to the council that the move would also create 20 full-time jobs and bring the total number of staff at the facility up to 80.
The society added that the proposals would help to “ensure the viability over the next generation” for the home.
It said:
“The stated catalysts present great opportunity to address the issues in a considered and coordinated fashion to deliver a more integrated and responsive care home to meet current expectations and to maximise the potential afforded by available space.”
Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.
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Harrogate council refuses plan for 5G mast overlooking the StrayHarrogate Borough Council has refused plans to erect a 20-metre tall 5G mobile phone mast overlooking the Stray.
5G is the quickest mobile internet connection available and offers up to 20 times faster speeds than 4G. However, the town is currently poorly served by 5G signal, particularly on its southern side.
Reading-based telecoms firm Cignal Infrastructure Ltd hoped to erect a mast at Granby Park, which is adjacent to the section of the Stray by Skipton Road. It said there is an acute need for coverage in the area.
The company reviewed other nearby locations including County Square, Devonshire Place, Sanders Walk and Westmoreland Street but discounted them due to their pavements being too narrow to accommodate the equipment.
It decided the Granby Park location was the best compromise to extend 5G in the area’s “coverage hole”.
But Harrogate Borough Council case officer Emma Howson wrote in her refusal that she had concerns about its visual impact on Harrogate’s much-cherished parkland.
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Ms Howson said the mast would be “highly visible” from the Stray, as well as on Skipton Road and Claro Road.
The plans received 20 objections, including one from from Harrogate Civic Society. There were no letters of support
Henry Pankhurst, from the civic society, wrote that the plans should be refused due to “a negative visual effect on the conservation area and on the Stray.”
Ms Howson agreed and concluded:
“The public benefits of 5G coverage and capacity have been noted however the harm arising from the impact on the conservation area would substantially outweigh this.”
Meanwhile, plans from Cignal to erect a 15-metre mast outside the Co-op on Otley Road have been approved.
The rollout of 5G has led to fears the frequencies emitted from the masts could be dangerous to humans. But during tests in 2020, regulator Ofcom found “no identifiable risks”.
Council renames leisure centres in Harrogate, Knaresborough and PateleyNidderdale Pool and Leisure Centre in Pateley Bridge has been renamed Nidderdale Leisure and Wellness Centre.
Harrogate Borough Council, which runs the facility, also revealed today The Hydro in Harrogate and Knaresborough Pool will be known as Harrogate Leisure and Wellness Centre and Knaresborough Leisure and Wellness Centre when they re-open.
It is part of a move to rebrand council-run leisure facilities in the Harrogate district with a greater focus on community health and wellbeing.
Mark Tweedie, managing director of Brimhams Active, which is the council-controlled company that operates the facilities, said:
“Through our new pioneering strategy Brimhams has committed to revitalising and reinventing conventional leisure services to focus on what people want and need to optimise their health and wellbeing whatever their starting point.
“Changing the names of our facilities symbolises this, and this investment is another example of the serious commitment to support the communities we serve.”
Signs have been installed at Nidderdale Leisure and Wellness Centre showing the new name.
The new signage
The rebranding has already started at other facilities in the Harrogate district, including the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre, Fairfax Wellbeing Hub, Knaresborough Wellbeing Hub and Jennyfield Styan Wellbeing Hub.
Harrogate Leisure and Wellness Centre and Knaresborough Leisure and Wellness Centre are due to reopen this year after multi-million pound investments.
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