Cabbies angry over plans to shorten Harrogate taxi rank

Cabbies have reacted angrily to plans to shorten the length of the main taxi rank in Harrogate as part of the £11.2m Station Gateway scheme.

The rank on Station Parade, opposite the train and bus stations, currently accommodates about a dozen hackney carriages.

Councillors want to reduce this by two vehicles and introduce a new bay over the road under plans to introduce single-lane traffic on Station Parade and create new cycle paths.

North Yorkshire County Council, which is leading on the gateway scheme, included the taxi rank proposals in new design plans that went out to consultation yesterday.

Tania Weston, the council’s programme manager for the gateway scheme, told a media briefing about the new designs last week that cabbies were satisfied with the new arrangements, which also include creating extra bays outside Mainline Taxis further along Station Parade.

Paul McMahon, who owns PM Taxis, said cabbies were told in talks with the council that the Station Parade rank would stay in its entirety.

He said:

“They have completely backtracked on what we were told.

“How can you possibly service a busy railway station, especially when conferences are in town, when you shorten the taxi rank?”

Kevin O’Boyle, who owns Central Taxis, said several town centre bays would be lost if the part-pedestrianisation of James Street also went ahead. He said:

“This would be an unfair, derogatory step.

“Problems were pointed out at council liaison meetings a good six months back but it appears to have changed nothing.”

Mr O’Boyle said shortening the main rank and creating a new bay over the road, which he understands will be for wheelchair-accessible taxis, would cause tensions among cabbies.

He said drivers sometimes already had to loop round Harrogate because spaces weren’t available on the rank and the situation would get worse.

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He added it would also cause a scramble for customers on two fronts and cause ill feeling amongst cabbies waiting on the current rank who saw a wheelchair-accessible vehicle nip into the new bay over the road and pick up a non-wheelchair user.

Mr O’Boyle added:

“They need to get it into their heads that taxis are part of the infrastructure of the town.”

“Creating another rank will only cause divisions within the taxi trade.”

Harrogate taxi

Ms Weston said in a statement:

“During the second consultation we received feedback from taxi drivers and companies about the proposed changes.

“As a result, we are retaining the current taxi rank on Station Parade but this will be slightly shorter.

“There will be a relocated taxi space on the opposite side of the road.

“We have also included a raised table on the northern part of Station Parade (between Bower Road and Cheltenham Parade) to make easier for people to cross the road to access the taxi company.

“Previously taxi drivers requested additional taxi rank spaces on the west side of the town centre and we will offset any loss through the Transforming Cities Fund project by providing new spaces in this area.

“Additionally, should a decision be taken to progress the scheme, the contractor will be contacting taxi companies to understand their requirements during construction, including the potential location of temporary taxi ranks.”

‘Fantastic regeneration project’

The gateway project is one of three active travel schemes in North Yorkshire, and 39 nationally, being funded by the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund.

It is supported by North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Councillor Phil Ireland, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability, said last week hailed the scheme as a “fantastic regeneration project and the first major investment in Harrogate in 30 years”.

But business groups have expressed concerns about its impact on retail.

£11.2m Harrogate Station Gateway will ‘boost business and house prices’

The £11.2 million Harrogate Station Gateway will boost business, increase house prices and reduce congestion, according to an economic report published today.

North Yorkshire County Council, which is leading on the controversial scheme, has opened a third round of consultation.

As part of this, it published an economic case report showing the impact of the scheme.

The document says there is evidence that town centre retail is at risk of decline and ‘the proposed scheme contributes to increasing investment, job creation and productivity’.

It says the project would also create better opportunities to travel by foot and bike, attract more shoppers, increase land prices and ‘act as a catalyst to urban redevelopment and wider town centre regeneration’.

Businesses have expressed concerns about the impact of the scheme on trade.

They fear the loss of parking spaces, particularly on a part-pedestrianised James Street, and extra traffic caused by reducing some of Station Parade to single lane traffic will deter shoppers, as well as the impact of lengthy construction work.

Latest Station Gateway visuals which show Harrogate's James Street pedestrianised.

How James Street will look.

But the economic case report says a survey of James Street users ‘indicates that over 90% of those doing business on the street would be unaffected by the removal of parking’.

It adds:

“Of the 10% or less that are parking, less than 20% were of the opinion that they would take their business elsewhere.

“In combination, were the parking to be removed from James Street, the impact on current shopping/business visitors could be expected to be less than 2%.”

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The findings are based on interviews with 294 people entering or leaving shops or businesses on James Street in October last year.

The report says the ‘overall impact on retail footfall is expected to be positive’ and that ‘research has also shown that station enhancements tend to increase the value of existing land and properties within certain radii surrounding the station’.

Congestion fears

North Yorkshire County Council said last week the scheme would extend the average journey time around town by 73 seconds at peak times. Some opponents fear the reality will be worse and the extra congestion will reduce property prices.

But today’s report rejects this. It says offices near the station are in high demand, adding the 11-storey Exchange tower on Station Parade has 99% occupancy and commanded office rents of approximately £25 per square foot.

Keane Duncan and Phil Ireland at Station Parade

Conservative councillors Keane Duncan and Phil Ireland at Station Parade last week.

Houses within 500 metres of the station could expect a 10% increase in value and houses within 1,000 and 1,500 metres could expect an uplift of up to 5%.

The report concludes:

“Based on local conditions, academic studies and case study evidence there is a strong economic case for the Harrogate Station Gateway.”

“The scheme is considered to support inclusive growth by presenting new opportunities to access jobs, education and training – that will serve to support a sustainable labour force in the district.

“This document has reviewed what is a large body of evidence and the strong precedents that indicate the Transforming Cities Fund scheme is likely to increase footfall and retail performance, increase property/land values and increase business investment.”

The project, which is not due to start until at least late spring next year, is one of three in North Yorkshire, and 39 nationally, being funded by the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund to promote active travel.

Today’s economic case report comes after Harrogate property developer Chris Bentley, who owns Hornbeam Park Developments, expressed concerns about the legality of the consultation process and said he was considering a judicial review.

North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority all support the gateway.

You can take part in the consultation here.

Care provider gives notice on Harrogate council-owned buildings

A care provider has pledged that none of its residents will be forced to move when it ends leases at three council-owned buildings in Harrogate.

Anchor Hanover has decided to give notice on buildings on Kings Road, York Place and Brunswick Drive which are owned by Harrogate Borough Council and used as retirement homes.

Joanne Hanson, regional head of housing at the care company, said it made the decision as the buildings require “extensive works…. to suit the needs of older residents”.

She added no one will be required to move out, while the council has confirmed it will take on the properties as affordable housing.

Ms Hanson said: 

“We have a long history of working closely with Harrogate Borough Council to provide good quality retirement housing, providing valued services to residents and the local community.

“We regularly review all of our locations looking at financial viability, the investment required and the needs of current and potential customers, both now and in the future.

“After carrying out a review of this nature here, we have identified that extensive works are required to modernise these properties to suit the needs of older residents.

“Our priority is the welfare of our residents and we will be working closely with the council to effect a smooth transition.”

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The leases have been in place since the 1980s and are worth £6,000 per year for all three buildings.

The retirement homes range from nine to six bedrooms which are rented out by people over the age of 55 who receive different levels of care.

 

‘No option’ but to close Woodfield school, says council

North Yorkshire County Council has “no option” but to press ahead with plans to close Woodfield Community Primary School in Harrogate, local authority officials have said.

Senior county councillors on the executive today agreed to publish formal closure notices from September 2022 ahead of a final decision to close the school from December 31.

Stuart Carlson, director of children and young people’s services at the county council, said although it was “regrettable” that it had to close the school, the authority had no alternative.

He said:

“It is regrettable and with heavy hearts that we come to this decision.

“But there is no further options available to us now other than to move to the recommendations.”

Mr Carlson added that a “thorough consultation” was carried out into the closure and that it had exhausted all options available to it.

He denied that the executive of the council would be “ignoring” parents by going ahead with the closure plans.

Mr Carlson said:

“I don’t think we have done [ignored parents]. We have conducted a thorough consultation, we have looked at all the proposals that have been put forward and we have indeed tried our hardest working with the governing body and other schools to find a solution.

“But they are no longer available to us.”

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Liberal Democrat councillor Monika Slater, who represents the Bilton Grange and New Park division, said she believed pupils at Woodfield should have been given greater priority for places as she also urged the council to learn lessons for the future.

She said:

“Part of the issue comes down to the fact neighbouring schools have been allowed to become oversubscribed.“

“And I was disappointed to hear that children were going to be treated the same as any other child in the area who wished to move given their situation is somewhat different when we are potentially looking to close the school.

“I really feel these children should have been given a higher preference on their choices.”

Conservative councillor Paul Haslam, who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge on the county council and is also a governor of the school, called for a “post-mortem” into the downfall of Woodfield school.

A motion from Harrogate Borough Council asking to keep the school open was also considered.

But councillors said they had no other option but to move ahead with the closure plan.

Failure to find academy

The school was rated inadequate by Ofsted in 2020 and placed into special measures.

The rating meant the school had to become a sponsored academy, but it failed to find a backer.

A proposed merger with Grove Road Community Primary School fell through this year, prompting the county council to open a consultation on closing the school in the next academic year.

The school is also faced with a cumulative deficit of £229,000 in 2023/24 due to low pupil numbers.

Union bosses in North Yorkshire previously described the move to close Woodfield as an “absolute disgrace”.

The publication of the statutory notices will include a four-week period for objections to be made to the council by October 6.

Should a final decision to close the school be approved in October 2022, it would include expanding the catchment area of Bilton Grange and Grove Road Primary Schools to cover the Woodfield area.

Legal proceedings begin to evict Travellers in Harrogate

Harrogate Borough Council has begun moves to evict Travellers from Oatlands Park.

Almost 20 vehicles arrived on the council-maintained park on Friday night.

It is believed they gained access from Hookstone Road, where a post blocking traffic from entering the park had been removed.

A council spokesman said today:

“We are aware of an illegal encampment on Oatlands Park in Harrogate and have started legal proceedings.

“Notices have been served requesting that the occupants leave imminently.”

Local people told the Stray Ferret that police had visited the site.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said:

“Residents have made us aware of a group of caravans which have pitched on an area of Oatlands Park in Harrogate.

“As part of our usual neighbourhood policing response, local officers who were on patrol visited Oatlands and spoke to those concerned.”

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Spofforth housing developer requests £23,000 in council appeal costs

A developer has asked Harrogate Borough Council to pay £23,000 in costs after it won a planning appeal against the authority.

Yorkshire Housing Ltd took the council to the government’s Planning Inspectorate after it refused a proposal for 72 homes on Massey Fold in Spofforth.

The developer already had outline permission to build on the site, but councillors turned down an application that finalised the appearance and landscaping details in November 2020.

At the time, councillors said the plan would have a “detrimental urbanising impact upon the character and setting of Spofforth”.

A planning inspector sided in favour with Yorkshire Housing and gave the go-ahead for the scheme in October 2021.

Now the council has confirmed that the developer has submitted a request for costs totalling £23,278 for the appeal.

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The developer sought costs from the council after it said the authority had “unreasonably delayed” the housing development.

Council officials asked the inspector dismiss the request. But the government awarded costs against the authority.

Local concern

The decision to approve the scheme followed concerns from local residents over the design and that the housing would not be in keeping with the village.

More than 300 local people and organisations, including Natural England and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, raised concerns about the development.

Shirley Fawcett, chairman of Spofforth with Stockeld Parish Council, wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson appealing for help in challenging the development.

However, Siobhan Watson, the government planning inspector, said she found the council’s reasons for refusal “vague and illogical”.

She said:

“Given the site’s planning history, I find the council’s refusal of the application and subsequent defence of the case to be both vague and illogical. 

“I consider that the development should have been clearly permitted and that the council produced vague and generalised assertions about the proposal’s impact which are unsupported by objective analysis.”

Questions over deadline for £11.2m Harrogate Gateway project hit by legal threat

A legal threat against Harrogate’s £11.2 million Gateway project has raised new questions over whether the controversial scheme can meet its completion deadline.

There is an agreement between the Department for Transport and West Yorkshire Combined Authority that the project to revamp key parts of the town centre should be completed by March 2024.

But revelations that one of Harrogate’s leading property companies has submitted a proposed claim for a judicial review has cast uncertainty over the already-delayed project which is being led by North Yorkshire County Council.

Letters obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request reveal claims from Hornbeam Park Developments that a council-run consultation on the proposals was “unlawful”.

The council – which recently announced plans for another consultation this summer – responded in a letter to say it “does not accept” the claims.

A Department for Transport spokesman said it expects all projects funded through its Transforming Cities Fund to be delivered on time and that where there are delays, deadlines will be “reassessed by a panel on a case-by-case basis”.

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But when asked what a possible judicial review could mean for the Harrogate Gateway project, the spokesman added “we can’t comment on the specific funding arrangement” of the scheme “as this information is commercially sensitive”.

Separately, the council also said in response to the FOI that it “does not hold this information”.

Hornbeam Park Developments made the legal threat in February when it challenged the council’s decision to submit a final business case for the project despite survey results showing more respondents felt ‘negative’ (56%) about the scheme than those that felt ‘positive’ (39%).

The council then announced plans for another consultation and said it hoped construction works would start this winter, with completion in winter 2023/24.

The works will involve cycling and walking upgrades for Station Square and the One Arch underpass, as well the Odeon cinema roundabout and several other streets in the area.

But the most controversial plans include a reduction of Station Parade to one-lane traffic and a part-time pedestrianisation of James Street.

There are similar Gateway projects for Selby and Skipton, yet Karl Battersby, director of business and environmental services at the council, said the Harrogate scheme “has generated the most interest by far”.

He said: 

“It is positive that local residents and businesses feel so strongly about changes to their town and it is important to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to share their views on designs for the ambitious scheme.

“The project has developed since the previous consultation, and we know that the impact of the changes on traffic levels and flows were key issues raised in the previous consultation and we will provide further information on those aspects.

“We will also be consulting on the draft Traffic Regulation Orders, which would be required to implement the scheme.

“We will continue to work to the current timescales as set by the Department for Transport and West Yorkshire Combined Authority.”

Mr Battersby also said details of the next consultation will be announced “shortly”.

Travellers arrive on Oatlands Park in Harrogate

Travellers have set up a camp on Oatlands Park in Harrogate.

Vehicles, which arrived last night, are believed to have gained access from Hookstone Road.

A post preventing traffic from entering the park was lying on the ground this morning.

Travellers on Oatlands Park

Where the vehicles are believed to have entered.

Almost 20 vehicles are parked on the grass, at the side of the field.

The Harrogate Borough Council-maintained park includes public toilets, a play area for children and is a popular place for football matches.

The Stray Ferret has approached Harrogate Borough Council to ask if it is taking any action.

Travellers on Oatlands Park

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Plan to convert former Markington pub into house

Plans have been lodged to convert a former Markington pub into a house.

The Cross Keys Inn, High Street, closed in 2016 after declining turnover and profitability.

Now, plans have been tabled to Harrogate Borough Council to convert the pub into a home.

ID Planning, who have lodged the plan on behalf of Leeds-based Lotherton Property Services, said in documents submitted to the council that the building had been extensively marketed.

It added that potential buyers had little interest in reopening the pub.

The documents said:

“No party expressed any interest whatsoever in reopening it as a public house or indeed any other use other than residential.”

The proposal would see the former pub converted into a four bedroom house along with three car parking spaces.

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

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New town with 3,000 homes could get just 20% affordable housing

The proportion of affordable homes to be built at Harrogate’s biggest development in decades could be just 20 per cent.

Maltkiln is a 3,000-home settlement planned for the Hammerton and Cattal area.

It aims to play a major role in addressing the district’s housing need by providing “much-needed homes and jobs in a sustainable location”.

But a newly-published development plan document from Harrogate Borough Council states that the number of homes to be classed as affordable is “anticipated to be within a range of 20 to 40 per cent”.

The council’s target for affordable homes at all new housing sites is 40 per cent.

It said achieving this figure at Maltkiln will be “challenging” as the development needs to be financially viable.

Yet the council also admits the affordability of homes is a “key issue” that needs to be addressed as Harrogate remains as one of the most unaffordable places to live in England.

High house prices

Average house prices in the district are around 11 times average incomes, forcing many people out of the area.

The Maltkiln document states:

“Whilst we want to strive to deliver as much affordable housing as possible, an element of flexibility will also be required.

“This is explicitly acknowledged in the justification to the affordable housing policy where delivery is anticipated to be within a range of 20% to 40%.”

The document also said this range is “not out of step” with other large housing settlements elsewhere in the UK “where figures of 15 per cent, 25 per cent and 35 per cent have been set”.

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But councillor Pat Marsh, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrat group on the council, said the authority should be aiming for at least its own 40 per cent target in order to provide homes for those most in need.

She also said that during the creation of the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, her party’s vision for Maltkiln was an “eco-village” which is not car dependent and has many community facilities.

Cllr Marsh said:

“That eco-village had to be in a sustainable place and therefore the area around the Hammertons with two rail halts seemed an ideal place.

“Once taken up and accepted as the new settlement site, there has been a need to ensure all the right infrastructure is in place to serve the existing and new community.

“This includes schools including a secondary school, shops, open spaces and sports pitches. Also, that the houses built would be carbon neutral.

“Added to that the requirement of 40 per cent affordable homes which is very important and we should not consider the delivery of less.”

Flaxby rejected

The Hammerton and Cattal area was chosen as the location for the huge housing plans after rival proposals for 2,750 homes on the former Flaxby Golf Course were rejected by the council in a decision which led to a legal challenge from the developers.

The proposals for Maltkiln include two primary schools and land for a secondary school, as well as shops, employment space and a GP surgery which will be centred around the train station.

The council said it chose this location due to its transport links with the York-Harrogate-Leeds railway line and the A59.

It also said this location will “steer development away” from nearby residents who previously warned the housing plans will be “utterly devastating” for surrounding villages.

A six-week consultation on the development plan document is planned for October when residents will be asked to share their views on areas including roads and public transport.

After this, the document will then be submitted to the government for public examination.