Travellers are back on Harrogate’s Stray

Travellers have pitched up on the Stray in Harrogate for a second time this summer.

An encampment has appeared on a section of the parkland between Oatlands Drive and Stray Rein. Several vehicles are on site,

Harrogate Borough Council is the legal protector of the Stray. Asked if it was aware of the Travellers’ arrival, a council spokesman said:

“We are indeed and will be following the normal procedure to ensure they are moved on swiftly.”

Stray Travellers

The scene on the Stray today,

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A recent spate of arrivals by Travellers in the Harrogate district has led to calls to provide more designated temporary sites.

Six caravans and several cars arrived near to Oatlands Drive on the Stray in the week leading up to Appleby Horse Fair in Cumbria.

Last month Travellers also pitched up on Oatlands Park, off Hookstone Road,

On both occasions, the council instigated legal proceedings and the Travellers moved on quickly.

But more friction occurred when Travellers parked on the old rugby field at Knaresborough this summer.

It prompted Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, to write to Home Secretary Priti Patel complaining of “disorder and anti-social behaviour completely off the scale compared to that associated with previous traveller encampments in our area”.

Harrogate’s Old Bell gets holiday accommodation approval

Plans have been approved to convert the upper floors of a traditional Harrogate pub into holiday accommodation.

It will see the second, third and fourth floors above the Old Bell on Royal Parade changed to letting rooms.

The pub is owned by Market Town Taverns, part of Heron and Brearley (H&B) based on the Isle of Man.

The proposal, submitted by Darren Clibbens of H&B, will see the basement, ground and first floors of the building unchanged.

Harrogate Borough Council has given the go-ahead for the plan.

The upper levels of the building are currently vacant office space, according to the application, with one studio apartment on the top floor.

The council’s estates team, and parks and gardens team, have both responded to the application and have not raised any objection.

However, they have asked for consideration to be given to the storage of resulting trade waste on the site, and highlighted the fact that the area in front of the building, including the pavement, forms part of the Stray.

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New royal walk created for Harrogate

A royal walk has been created celebrating Harrogate’s links with the monarchy.

The route takes people past 18 locations with royal connections, such as the Sun Pavilion, which was re-opened by the Queen in 1998 and the King Edward VII gates to Valley Gardens.

It starts at Cathcart House and proceeds up Victoria Avenue and across Library Gardens to the Queen Victoria memorial.

It then goes down James Street, across to Old Tom’s Cabin, Farrah’s and Victoria Drive and up to the Edward Vll gates, Royal Baths Hospital, Sun Pavilion, Crescent Gardens before finishing at the Crown Hotel.

Walkers are advised to allow up to 90 minutes.

Stuart Holland, chair of Harrogate Civic Society, said:

“The walk is an opportunity to reflect on the many royal connections across the town.”

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The self-guided walk is accompanied by a leaflet providing information about the route as well as details of royal visits to Harrogate.

The leaflet is available from libraries, the tourist information centre and Mercer gallery, as well as online here.

The walk is a joint venture between Harrogate Dramatic Society, Harrogate Civic Society and Harrogate Borough Council.

The route was devised by Mr Holland and Harry Satloka, who operates Harrogate Free Walking Tours, as part of the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations.

Mr Holland and Mr Satloka led an inaugural walk today, which was followed by a one-act play by  Harrogate Dramatic Society. Cllr Victoria Oldham, mayor of the Harrogate borough, was among those attending.

Rise in empty homes adds pressure on Harrogate district housing market

The number of empty homes in the Harrogate district has increased post-covid despite the district’s severe shortage of affordable housing.

Harrogate Borough Council figures show there are currently 801 properties that have stood empty for more than six months – up from 758 in February.

There are also 204 properties that have been empty for over two years, while 30 have been vacant for over a decade.

This comes at a time when housing is in desperate need, with high property prices and a national decline in real wages forcing residents out of Harrogate, which remains as one of the most unaffordable places to live in the UK.

There are also around 1,800 households on the council’s housing register.

The council said it has continued efforts since introducing an empty homes strategy in 2019, although it added much of the responsibility to ensure these properties don’t put pressure on the housing market was on homeowners themselves.

It said in a report: 

“The council has agreed to pursue enforcement action where necessary as part of the empty homes strategy.

“Empty homes represent a wasted housing resource; they also pose other problems for local authorities, owners, neighbours, emergency services and the environment.

“They are often a blemish on an area and can be subject to vandalism and anti-social behaviour.”

The council has carried out enforcement action on several empty properties through compulsory purchase orders which allow it to take ownership without the consent of the owner.

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However, the council’s first step is to always make an offer to buy these buildings.

It has set aside £2.5 million for this and has recently proposed to buy three buildings on Almsford Road, Rawson Street and Hartwith Drive in Harrogate, and one on Kings Road in Knaresborough.

The council said there is “no guarantee” that an empty homeowner will agree to sell and that in order to take enforcement action the authority must demonstrate it has “exhausted all efforts” to return the property to use.

It said:

“This includes enabling the empty homeowner to sell their home voluntarily.

“In cases where an offer is refused this forms the basis of reviewing further enforcement action such as compulsory purchase, enforced sale or an empty dwelling management order.”

Why are homes left empty?

There are numerous reasons properties can lie empty. In some instances, landlords cannot afford to renovate their property to sell or rent out.

Properties may also have been inherited and the new owners don’t know what to do with them. Rentals can also fall below safety standards which means they sit vacant until the problems are fixed.

What else can be done? 

As well as carrying out compulsory purchase orders, the government has also given councils powers to charge an additional 100% council tax on properties that have been empty for two years.

Empty dwelling management orders can also be issued for long term empty properties that are attracting vandalism and causing a nuisance to the community.

Plan to convert Harrogate guesthouse into holiday lets

Plans have been submitted to convert a Harrogate guesthouse into nine holiday lets.

The proposal has been submitted to Harrogate Borough Council by Leeds-based Maison Parfaite, which runs Shannon Court on Dragon Avenue.

It would see nine holiday apartments created, which include living and kitchen areas and bedrooms with en-suit bathrooms.

The developer, which also runs holiday properties in Pateley Bridge, said in documents submitted to the council that “the holiday industry is changing” and that visitors preferred “self-contained accommodation”.

It said:

“Although the proposal is for a change of use to a residential use, the proposal would be to provide nine holiday letting rooms which would enhance the tourist offer to the local economy. 

“The holiday industry is changing with visitors requiring an improved quality of accommodation and enjoy self contained accommodation rather than the communal dining facilities provided in the existing guest house.”

Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

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Consultation into Harrogate town council starts today

A consultation has started today into plans to set up a Harrogate town council.

North Yorkshire County Council is to launch a review into whether to create a lower tier authority in the town.

Harrogate Borough Council will no longer exist from April 1 when the new unitary authority, North Yorkshire Council, is created.

It will leave both Harrogate and Scarborough as the only areas of the county with no parish authority.

The unparished areas of Harrogate include these current county council divisions:

Bilton and Nidd Gorge

Bilton Grange and New Park

Coppice Valley and Duchy (part)

Fairfax and Starbeck

Harlow and St Georges

High Harrogate and Kingsley

Killinghall, Hampsthwaite and Saltergate (part)

Oatlands and Pannal (part)

The Stray and Hookstone

Valley Gardens and Central Harrogate

Residents can give their views in the consultation online. It will close on September 30.

Cllr David Chance, executive member for corporate services, said: 

“Parish and town councils have always had a key role in representing the needs of their communities, and will have even greater opportunity to do so – as well as to take on greater responsibilities if they so wish – with the formation of the new North Yorkshire Council in April.

“As two of the county’s major centres of population, it’s vital that Harrogate and Scarborough have this opportunity and I would urge people to look at the consultation and have their say.

“At this stage, no firm proposals are being put forward. Depending on the response to this consultation, a further consultation on detailed proposals could follow.”

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The county council is due to send letters to residents in Harrogate informing them of the consultation.

Copies of the consultation will also be available from:

You can fill in the consultation online here.

What is a town council?

Town and parish councils run services such as community centres and play areas, as well as maintaining bus shelters. Councillors are elected to serve on them but they are not paid.

The councils can also charge a precept as part of council tax bills to fund the services provided, meaning there is a cost to the people they serve.

In the Harrogate district, there are town councils in areas such as Ripon, Knaresborough, Pateley Bridge and Kirby Hill.

Because Harrogate does not currently have a lower tier council, it also raises questions over what its boundaries would be.

£49m Harrogate Convention Centre redevelopment plans move to final design stage

The redevelopment of Harrogate Convention Centre has moved to the next design stage – although a final decision on the £49 million plans is still a year away.

It will be in July or August next year when that decision is made and because of local government reorganisation, it will be taken by the new North Yorkshire Council.

The convention centre is currently owned by Harrogate Borough Council which will hand over ownership of the venue after warning it “may fail to survive” without investment.

It said the convention centre – which is a key driver of business to the district’s hospitality and tourism trades – could lose up to £250 million over the next 40 years unless the redevelopment is carried out.

That warning was put to members of the borough council’s cabinet on Wednesday when they approved spending £3.3 million to progress final designs.

Trevor Watson, director of economy, environment and housing at the borough council, told a meeting that the redevelopment would enhance the appearance of the 40-year-old building and improve access to its auditorium.

He said:

“But absolutely critically, it would replace the ageing and failing mechanical and electrical facilities which we will have to do regardless of whether this scheme goes ahead.”

“The reality is we can’t do nothing as we would still require many millions of pounds of investment just to keep the venue ticking over”.

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The convention centre competes with venues in Manchester, Birmingham, London and other major cities for events. And now there is a new threat much closer to home after plans for a Leeds conference venue were revealed.

Those proposals for the site of the former Yorkshire Bank HQ were set for approval by Leeds City Council last week until a wave of objections from Harrogate Convention Centre and the town’s business leaders delayed the decision.

Paula Lorimer, director of Harrogate Convention Centre, criticised the city council for an “absence of dialogue” on the plans which she fears will have a big impact on Harrogate’s place in the “very competitive” events industry.

She also told Wednesday’s meeting:

“The convention centre’s role is to protect and create jobs for Harrogate, and to ensure it does not become a seasonal town and shut in the winter.

“Although the venue has retained many loyal clients over the years, increasing competition and growing operating costs have resulted in us having a major rethink of what our offer actually is.

“We need to innovate to recapture our position in the market and I very much believe this is achievable.”

The next stages of the proposed development will see designs produced by next May, before final costs are revealed the following month.

If approved, construction works would start later in the year with completion in November 2024.

Nidderdale campsite owner calls for more regulation of ‘pop-up campsites’

The owner of a Nidderdale campsite has called for more regulation of “pop-up campsites” which she claims are impacting established businesses.

Louise Pullan co-owns the Breaks Fold Farm camping and glamping site in the Washburn Valley, next to Thruscross Reservoir, in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

She said the pop-up campsite trend was having a big impact on established sites and needed regulating by local authorities.

A change in regulations to allow landowners to establish pop-up campsites for up to 56 days was introduced in July 2020, to help the rural economy recover from the covid pandemic.

Previously, they were able to operate for only 28 days a year without applying for planning permission.

This 28-day rule is now back in place.

Ms Pullan said:

“It should be being enforced by local authorities, as many are operating well over and above this. It is time for the rules to stop being bent to suit now.”

A spokesman for Harrogate Borough Council said:

“Should anyone believe an area of land is being used as a campsite for more than the allocated number of days per year they are advised to get in touch with us by emailing planningenforcement@harrogate.gov.uk.”

Ms Pullan said outdoor accommodation search and booking platform Pitchup.com had a lot to answer for in relation to the issue.

Encouraging people to support the #bookdirect movement, which encourages customers to book direct with businesses to avoid fees, she said:

“People are setting up sites thinking they can make a massive profit. They are encouraging this trend of unregulated sites and pushing for the 56-day rule to be made permanent.

“We feel these sites are a risk to public health, in the same way an unregulated food business is, and they are ruining places like the national parks and AONB areas.

“If people want to support small accommodation businesses book direct, not through booking agents. They should support their favourite established sites to help them get through and recover from the impact of covid, when we only had a very limited window to open our businesses.”

She said that she was grateful to her client base for their continued support, but added:

“At the moment it is a fight to keep going, especially after we lost a huge part of our business in the form of our bistro Flock to the Fold. But everyday we feel lucky to still be here, because many haven’t made it through.”

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Pitchup.com founder and managing director Dan Yates said booking platform currently lists more than 3,100 sites and aims to be the most “comprehensive and user-friendly” online resource for outdoor accommodation in the UK.

He said that as a result, it includes detailed listings for sites that take bookings through the platform, as well as basic listings for sites that don’t.

He said:

“Pop-ups are a recent innovation and represent only a small part of Pitchup’s business (less than 10 per cent).

“In the past two years, pop-up campsites have brought desperately-needed revenue to farms and rural businesses across the UK as they negotiate the double whammy of a farming crisis and the aftermath of the pandemic.

“Following the reduction in the permitted development rights (PDR) allowance for pop-up sites to open from 56 to 28 days in England and Wales, a quarter fewer popups are using Pitchup this year and our popup bookings so far this year are down 27 per cent on last year.

“Although camping searches in the UK for 2022 are slightly down (-6 per cent) on the record volumes of 2021, double the number of Pitchup bookings by Brits have been made compared to 2019, equating to 720,000 additional customers – the vast majority of those are for established sites.

“From our side it’s great to see more and more people enjoying the beautiful UK countryside, ensuring the camping and caravan sector is best placed of any accommodation type to enjoy a bright future.”

Harrogate council agrees sale of land next to Oak Beck retail park

Harrogate Borough Council has agreed to sell a plot of land next to Oak Beck retail park.

The land, a former quarry extending to a third of an acre, was put up for sale by the council in order to encourage economic development.

It sits next to the retail park off Skipton Road, where Aldi and B&Q are based.

Council officials said the authority received six offers for the site after it had been put on the market. Senior councillors agreed to the sale at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, though it was not revealed who the buyer is.

Cllr Graham Swift, cabinet member for resources at the borough council, said the cash received from the sale would help fund major projects, such as the planned redevelopment of Harrogate Convention Centre.

He told the meeting:

“This summarises the fact that in our asset management strategy, we have taken the opportunity to sell off small parcels of non-strategic land which enables us to then fund very considerable investments that viewers and residents will be hearing tonight around the HCC, leisure complexes and the significant investment we’re making in enhanced services.

“So it speaks such a lot of sense and it’s a very clear, fair market programme and I am very happy to move the project.”

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Staff turnover ‘uncomfortably high’ at Harrogate council

The turnover of Harrogate Borough Council staff has been described as “uncomfortably high” as the authority enters its final months.

A combination of uncertainty over jobs and rising living costs resulting in staff leaving for higher salaries has led to a turnover rate of 16% at the council, which will be abolished in April.

The rate is calculated from the number of leavers as a percentage of total staff – and is up from 10% in 2020/21.

It comes as the council is preparing to hand over all of its responsibilities to a new unitary authority covering the whole of North Yorkshire in what will mark the biggest change to local government in the county in almost 50 years.

Cllr Graham Swift, deputy leader of Harrogate Borough Council, told a meeting on Wednesday that it was “no surprise” staff were looking for new opportunities – despite them being given reassurances about their roles.

He said:

“Sixteen percent is starting to get uncomfortably high.

“Although all eight councils involved in the local government reforms have made it very clear about the plans and TUPE needs for staff in the future, uncertainty is one of the few things humans manage poorly.

“It is not a surprise therefore that you see some people are not necessarily comfortable in an uncertain world.”

The council has over 1,000 staff – and a total of 146 have left over the past 12 months.

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The departments which have seen the highest percentage of leavers include organisational development and improvement, Harrogate Convention Centre, and place-shaping and economic growth.

ICT, legal and finance perform the best at staff retention.

As well as the high turnover, the council has struggled to recruit staff because of competition from the private sector.

This has been the case since the start of the covid outbreak in 2020 when the council introduced a recruitment freeze to keep costs down during the pandemic.

Pay concerns

Union officials have also complained that council jobs are unattractive because of pay.

David Houlgate, secretary at the Harrogate branch of Unison, previously said: 

“Local government pay must be increased to match the cost of living squeeze our members are now experiencing on the back of year-on-year below inflation pay increases.

“Without a decent above inflation pay rise to help workers meet soaring costs, vital council services will struggle to hang on to skilled staff which could put some services at risk.

“Indeed this is already happening.”

Almost all council workers except some senior staff have been told they will transfer across to the new North Yorkshire Council under Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment (TUPE) regulations.

Those which won’t include the current eight chief executives whose roles will be subsumed into one. That top job is to be taken on by Richard Flinton who was appointed into the role this week.

Mr Flinton, who is the current chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council, will receive a salary of between £180,000 to £197,000 and have responsibility for an annual budget of £1.4 billion and a workforce of 10,500 staff.