Council set to use compulsory purchase order on two empty homes in Harrogate districtTwo houses which have been empty and in a state of disrepair could be brought back into use with compulsory purchase orders.
Harrogate Borough Council is considering the unusual move after extensive efforts to encourage the owners to improve the homes have failed.
A report due to be considered by the council’s committee tomorrow recommends beginning the CPO process for 16 Greenfields Drive in Harrogate and 4a Beech Lane in Spofforth.
It said:
“Compulsory purchase is usually a last resort, as the preference is to acquire by voluntary agreement wherever practicable. This is in accordance with the council’s empty homes strategy.
“It is considered, however, that the council has made every effort to secure the return to use of these properties and CPO is now the only realistic option. Although the offer of voluntary acquisition will remain open to the landowners throughout this process.”
Housing growth officer James Tuck said the “massive shortage of housing stock within the Harrogate district” justified the CPO for the two homes.
His report said there were 2,006 households on the council’s waiting list for rented housing, with a rented affordable housing shortfall of 208 homes and affordable sale housing of around half that number, according to the council’s housing and economic development needs assessment.
Regarding the Spofforth home, the report said:
“A letter was sent to the property in March 2019 as part of a complaint that it was empty. Initially it was very difficult to make contact with the owner despite numerous letters being sent.
“Once contact was made the owner agreed to resolve the external issues and plan to get the property occupied again. Despite occasional correspondence since, deadlines have frequently been missed and little progress has been made.
“The property was scored as part of the empty homes database and was observed at the time to be in a poor state of repair with overgrowth and looking generally rundown.
“Concerns have been raised by a local councillor and attempts have been made to establish a timeline with the owner but deadlines are regularly missed and the property remains empty.”
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The home in Harrogate was brought to the housing department’s attention by the environmental health team, while the owner was being pursued for council tax payments.
The council’s empty homes officer began trying to make contact in July 2021 but received no response, the report said. It added:
“The property was scored as part of the empty homes database and was observed at the time to be in a very bad way with an overgrown garden, disused car in the drive, windows needing paintwork, a board covering the back garden, and in a very rundown state of repair.
“In August 2021 the cabinet member for housing and safer communities approved the empty homes officer to make an offer to purchase the property and a letter was sent to the owner requesting a meeting to arrange a formal, independent RICS valuation of the property.
“No response was received so a second letter was sent advising enforcement action would now be pursued.”
Any CPO would need to be approved by the government’s secretary of state for communities and local government.
Starbeck’s former Harper’s could be turned into housingThe former McColl’s store ravaged by fire in Starbeck could be turned into housing.
Built on High Street as a Harper’s grocery, the building was later used as a McColl’s but closed and was derelict when fire struck in 2018.
Since then, the building has frequently been described as an eyesore, although it was brightened this year when volunteers painted it in the colours of the Ukrainian flag.
An agent for the owners of the building said today there are plans for a “residential-led development”.
Pete Gleave, from Zerum Consulting, told the Stray Ferret:
“Our client is looking to progress proposals with the local planning authority and has entered into pre-application discussions with planning officers.
“This will be a residential-led development and we will shortly be commencing work on a formal planning application.
“Our client recognises the importance of bringing the site forward for redevelopment and we will now look to do so in a timely manner.”
Mr Gleave would not reveal who owned the building. He said he was “unable to pass on client details without their approval”.
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Andrew Hart, founder of Starbeck Community Group and owner of Starbeck Post Office, said the building was “just rotting away” and urgently needed attention. He added:
“Anything is better than nothing — it can’t stay as it is. The building is dangerous. We know it has asbestos problems inside and is an eyesore.
“But I’ll be disappointed if they don’t put some kind of retail function in on the ground floor.
“If we can get a prestigious restaurant, bar or shop in there then we can get other businesses in. There can be housing upstairs.”
In February, Harrogate Borough Council granted an application by Leeds-based developer Bates & Hemingborough to demolish the building.
The plans had been put on hold in December after the council asked for safety documents, which were later provided, addressing how the demolition would impact the adjacent St Andrew’s Church.
Harrogate council facing ‘sizeable overspend’ of £2.5mHarrogate Borough Council is forecasting to spend £2.5m more than budgeted in its final year of existence, a meeting has heard.
The council’s revenue budget for the year is £21.8m and it was predicted to overspend on this sum by £701,000 at the previous quarterly update in July.
But last night’s overview and scrutiny committee heard the figure had increased to £2.5m in the latest quarterly forecast for the period to October.
Gillian Morland, service finance manager at the council, said the “two really big variances” were utility prices and larger than expected staff pay increases.
Gillian Morland speaking at last night’s meeting.
Ms Morland said utility bills were £1.7m above budget and staff pay was £1.1m higher than expected following the 2022/23 pay award.
She told the meeting the council had locked into a 12-month rate for electricity but gas prices were “more complicated and it is possible we could see a reduction of up to £600,000 on the overspend that’s quoted in the report”.
She added the council had budgeted for a 2.5 percent pay increase and the agreed figure turned out to be almost 6.7%.
“As things stand we are looking at a sizeable overspend this year.
“We are hoping overspend will come down but we do have sufficient funds to cover it.”
John Mann, the Conservative councillor for Pannal, told the meeting the overspend was “typical of most councils”, which were dealing with similar issues relating to rising utility bills and pay awards.
Harrogate Borough Council is one of seven district councils, which along with North Yorkshire County Council, will be abolished on April 1 to make way for the new North Yorkshire Council.
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End in sight for Kirkby Malzeard’s long-awaited wall repairMore than 32 months after part of St Andrew’s Church wall in Kirkby Malzeard collapsed, repair and reconstruction works costing almost £500,000 are ongoing.
In addition to rebuilding and reinforcing the 10-metre section that fell onto Church Street following heavy overnight rain in February 2020, a further 30-metre length is being refurbished and reinforced.
The road, which runs past St Andrew’s and is part of a route from the village to Masham, has remained closed since the collapse.
Harrogate Borough Council initially earmarked £250,000 to fund the project, which was given planning approval in February this year.
However, the final bill will be 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 set to be funded from the council’s investment reserves.
The collapsed section of wall, which is being rebuilt and reinforced.
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 have followed came after residents and parish councillors frustrated by more than two years of delays, urged the council to end the “farce” of the church wall.
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Council closes Jennyfields house amid anti-social behaviour concernsA house in Jennyfields has been closed amid concerns about anti-social behaviour.
Harrogate Magistrates Court granted a closure order for 46 Bramham Drive on Thursday.
The order bans people from entering the property for three months.
Harrogate Borough Council applied for the order under section 80 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
The closure order on the door of the property.
A copy of the order, attached to the door of the property, said the court was satisfied there were either concerns about “disorderly, offensive or criminal behaviour on the premises”, the house being used for “serious nuisance to members of the public” or nearby disorder related to the premises.
The document also says “access to the premises is prohibited by all persons” until February 3 except by an authorised council officer and one other named person.
The Stray Ferret has asked the council for further details of why it applied for the order. A spokesman said:
“We applied for the closure order following concerns about drug use and anti-social behaviour.”
In May, the council successfully applied to magistrates for a three-month closure order on a house on Cawthorne Avenue, in the Fairfax area of Harrogate following claims a drug-dependent woman was being exploited by drug dealers.
Last year the council and police also secured the three-month closure of two homes on Avenue Grove in Starbeck.
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Harrogate council approves recruitment plan to help under pressure taxation staffHarrogate Borough Council has approved £42,000 worth of funding in an effort to tackle a work backlog in its revenue department.
The council has faced an increase in workload and staffing shortages during covid and the energy crisis.
In a report to Cllr Graham Swift, cabinet member for economic development and resources, the authority said the response to the pandemic and the £150 energy rebate had increased pressure on “an already busy team”.
The authority now plans to appoint 2.5 full time equivalent staff until March 2023 to help tackle the backlog.
It comes as the government awarded the borough council funding to help cover costs associated with covid and the energy rebate.
A report presented to Cllr Swift by officers said:
“Revenues section has currently been using temporary staffing resources to provide experienced revenues staff with quality assurance checking for both council tax and business rates.
“The ability to extend this provision through to March 31, 2023 will provide resilience and continuation of consistent knowledge within the team to be able to effectively prioritise on clearing the backlog.”
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Call to restart consultation on new Harrogate district townA councillor has called for a consultation on the new Harrogate district town the size of Thirsk to be extended or started again.
Arnold Warneken, who represents the Green Party on North Yorkshire County Council, issued the plea after it emerged the consultation documents had been changed midway through – without people being told.
The move has heightened concerns among residents in the area affected that the planning process is being rushed before Harrogate Borough Council is abolished on April 1. They say allowing more time would increase support for the process and show transparency.
The proposed new town, called Maltkiln, would be built in the Cattal and Green Hammerton area in the east of the district.
The council opened a six-week consultation on October 3 into its draft new settlement development plan document, which sets out a 30-year vision and policy framework on how Maltkiln is designed and developed.
It emerged this week that both the hardcopy and online versions of the document had been changed during the consultation process.
Cllr Warneken said although the changes were minor, the failure to inform people was significant, particularly “given the magnitude of this plan and its impact on the surrounding parishes”.
He said in a letter to the council:
“I accept mistakes do happen but how we deal with them is critical in demonstrating how seriously we take our accountability and transparency.
“I am surprised that I and the parishes were not advised by Harrogate Borough Council of these errors.
“I think we all agree that it’s important that the new settlement process is actually done correctly and not just seen to be done right, initially I was thinking an extension to the process might suffice but on reflection I would like to ask that the consultation be restarted with the corrected document.”
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But the council said the consultation would end on November 14 as planned.
A spokesperson said:
“The online portal version of the Maltkiln development plan document included a minor change that was not included in either the online PDF or hard copy version.
“Both the online PDF version and hard copies of the consultation material have been amended to reflect this change.
“The amendment related to the inclusion of an extra paragraph in the climate change chapter, the result of which effects [sic] the numbering of paragraphs. As well as an additional sentence at the end of local centre chapter.
“At the time that we made the amendment, we had only received a limited number of responses and having reviewed these, none of them relate to the wording that has been revised.
“Should someone have saved the earlier version of the document in order to comment at a later date, these comments are also reviewed to ensure that they relate to the correct part of the document.”
You can have your say here.
Metals recovered from council cremations raise £12,000 for bereavement charity Our Angels, a charity set up by grieving parents, has received a cheque for £12,000 raised by recycling metals recovered from cremations.
The money was donated by Harrogate Borough Council, whose bereavement services sell off the metals twice a year, with consent from bereaved families.
The recycled metals include those used in the construction of the coffins and in orthopaedic implants such as replacements hips and knees and replacement joints.
Our Angels was formed in January 2009 when a group of bereaved parents joined together to support families who had lost a baby.
Emma Lofthouse, chairperson of Our Angels, said:
“Without generous donations like this one from Harrogate Borough Council, Our Angels would not be able to provide its vital support services for bereaved parents.
“Although, sadly, we can’t stop the loss of a baby, we can make sure that every family who faces a loss knows that there is support out there for them.
“Every penny we receive goes into caring for families in their hardest moments, from the memory boxes, sibling support packs, miscarriage care packs, right through to the vital equipment we supply to the Harrogate hospital maternity ward.”
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Cllr Sam Gibbs, the council’s cabinet member for environment, waste reduction and recycling, said:
“I’d like to thank those families who, during a difficult time, have consented to us recycling metals recovered. By raising this money, everyone involved has done their bit to helping local charities such as Our Angels.”
Harrogate borough mayor Cllr Victoria Oldham said:
“Our Angels support so many bereaved parents at what must be such a difficult time. I hope these valuable funds will help them make a difference to the lives of people they support across the Harrogate district.”
The photo shows commercial and community development manager Jon Clubb, Harrogate mayor Cllr Victoria Oldham, chairperson of Our Angels Emma Lofthouse, Harrogate deputy mayor Cllr Robert Windass and bereavement services manager Stephen Hemsworth.
Council could create new Pannal business parkPlans to create a new business and industrial site on the southern approach to Harrogate could be progressed next week.
Harrogate Borough Council‘s cabinet will decide on Wednesday whether to begin speaking to developers to gauge interest in the site.
Allocated for employment use in the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which outlines where development can take place, the site lies along the eastern side of the A61 near Pannal. It is between the railway line and Crimple Beck, north of the Mercedes garage and the M&S Food shop at the petrol station.
A strategic sites masterplanning document prepared by consultants BDP and Colliers will be reviewed by the cabinet as part of the decision next week. It says:
“Crimple Valley Viaduct, to the north-east of the site, is a Grade II* listed building.
“Development of the site should minimise harm to the setting of this designated heritage asset and seek to enhance its significance; this should include retaining key views of the viaduct from within the site and from beyond the site through the site.”
An officer’s report summarising the document said the focus of any development should be on “high quality place-making and low carbon development”, referring to the council’s “aspirations for high-tech/high skilled job creation”.
Access to the site would be via public transport or the A61
The consultants’ report suggests the site could be accessed via traffic lights or a roundabout, with pedestrian and cycle access further south to link with bus stops on Leeds Road and the railway station in Pannal.
It says the site could be used for high-tech manufacturing, research and development, or business headquarters. Buildings would be up to three storeys and 5,000m sq in size.
The total office space allocated for the site is 10,000m sq alongside 31,500m sq of industrial space. The report says:
“In order to support the local economy there is a need to provide a range of office, manufacturing and warehousing accommodation from shared spaces to single occupiers.
“There is also the opportunity to include a hub building at the heart of the development that can offer a mix of business space and shared facilities for the business community.
“The site should feel like an extension of the existing community, rather than a gated ‘estate’. Access to the existing right of way along the eastern boundary of the site is to be retained and enhanced with new pedestrian connections through the site and safe crossing points on Leeds Road.”
With the site designed to encourage sustainable travel, one parking space has been allocated for each 40m sq of office space or 50m sq of industrial space.
As well as tree planting through the site, the document suggests a wildflower meadow and attenuation pond could be created to the north of the site, adjacent to Crimple Beck.
The suggested layout, with industrial space in orange and office in brown
The officers’ report acknowledges that any development of the site is likely to take place after Harrogate Borough Council is abolished next spring, when the new North Yorkshire Council comes into effect. It adds:
“Taking into consideration current market conditions/costs and uncertainties around the new strategic objectives of North Yorkshire Council from April 1, 2023, it is currently not clear how much direct involvement the council should or could have in the development of the site.
“Officers therefore recommend the next steps to be engagement in expressions of interest with developers to test market appetite, focussing on high quality place-making and low carbon development.
“This can then inform a future decision about the appropriate level of local authority involvement and timescales for delivery of the site.”
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Harrogate Town submits major new ground redevelopment plansHarrogate Town has submitted major new plans to redevelop its Wetherby Road ground.
The club has until April 30, 2024 to provide a capacity of 5,000 fans with a minimum of 2,000 seats to comply with English Football League membership criteria.
It currently caters for 5,000 fans but only has 1,000 seats.
Planning documents published today by Harrogate Borough Council reveal the club has applied to convert the Black Sheep and Myrings standing terraces to seated areas, providing 603 seats.
It also intends to demolish the 1919 venue and construct a new 1919 terrace with seating, a spectator refreshment area and toilets.
The club also wants to install ball stop netting and has submitted a separate planning application for a temporary marquee containing a refreshment bar.
David Smith, associate director of planning consultants WSP, which is acting on behalf of the club, said in a letter to the council:
“The proposed works will provide additional seating and spectator facilities for existing fans.
“The new spectator facility will encourage away fans to get to the ground earlier on match days and ease congestion immediately before kick-off.
“As such, the proposals will not give rise to any significant traffic congestion and road safety problems.
The club needs to create another 1,000 more seats.
The club previously applied to build a new, bigger South Stand.
Mr Smith’s letter said:
“This further application proposes an alternative, less disruptive and more efficient means of achieving the EFL requirement.
“There will be less demolition of existing buildings and a quicker construction programme with this proposal.
“This proposal will also help improve the match day experience. The proposal will mark an important step in the on-going success of the club.”
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‘Aim to start in December’
The Stray Ferret asked Harrogate Town, which secured promotion from the National League to the EFL for the first time in the club’s history in 2020, how much the project will cost and when it hopes work will take place.
A club spokesman said:
“Cost – we don’t know as yet, we are still working through the preliminary work but needed to get the application through early to reach the target date for having 2,000 seats.
“We aim to start in December/January time subject to planning and be ready for the start of season 2023 though we may still have some internal works to finish.”
We also asked how the club will handle the disruption on match days and what happens if the club, which is currently 21st of 24 in division two of the English Football League, gets relegated.
The spokesman said:
“No plans to move any games, work can be done in between games and facilities may be affected on match days at the away end but suitable provisions will be made if that’s the case.
“The plans will progress as we are aiming to improve facilities and match day experience for our loyal supporters and we have more families visiting us now to cater for, plus we hope to attract more first generation fans as we grow.”