Stray Views: When will this housebuilding madness end?

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

When will this housebuilding madness end?

Every day in The Stray Ferret I find Harrogate Borough Council has passed more planning permissions for housing.

In the last few years, the number of new houses, including the 4,000 to be built near Beckwithshaw, is approaching 10,000. When will this lunacy stop? I know the government said it wanted 300,000 a year but it did not say they all had to be built in Harrogate.

We have lost an unbelievable amount of green field sites and healthy mature trees and all of this can NEVER be replaced. The effect on wild life is devastating.

Where is the infrastructure to cope with all this building? Every new house or flat brings onto the roads approximately 1.5 extra cars.

Where is the water going to come from? Where are the extra school places needed for the children?
What about sewage? Yorkshire Water are already putting raw sewage into the rivers on a regular basis.

Have you tried to get a doctor’s appointment recently? It is near impossible so who is going to look after all the new residents.

Electricity has to be generated, which creates pollution and contradicts the campaign to reduce the carbon footprint.

Access to these developments is a major concern, Knox Lane and Crab Lane are single width most of the way and probably the worst is Kingsley Road where pedestrians are at risk due to no footpaths on Bogs Lan.

Harrogate Borough Council has already exceeded its housing requirement by a huge amount but just carry on passing permission so the question is: why?

The council say they have been overruled by Westminster on some occasions and have had to pay compensation so they are reluctant to refuse permission.. If that is the case why do we not have strong councillors with proper negotiating skills, a strong will and a good knowledge of what they are fighting for?

The village of Killinghall is now a town. Knaresborough is slowly growing closer to the A1 motorway. Bishop Monkton has nearly doubled in size and so it goes on.

My final example of lunacy is the drive-through development on the Woodlands traffic lights. One of the busiest junctions in Harrogate. What on earth could make the council pass permission for this development ,which will make this junction much more dangerous than it already is.

Malcolm Hodgekinson, Bilton resident for over 60 years

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Let’s have a Harrogate town council referendum  

Town councils have a proud tradition of supporting their communities and this has been evident throughout the country during covid and the cost of living crisis.

Local people know what is best for their community and they should be able to make decisions that concern them.

I am not the only person who is worried that Harrogate will lose its voice at key decisions made by the new North Yorkshire Council. It is wrong for Harrogate’s matters to be decided and voted on by councillors from outside of our town.

A referendum needs to be held as soon as possible to allow for the transition of authority and responsibility to the new town council.

I’m a big believer in giving decision-making power back to our community and establishing a town council will do just that.

Tyler Reeton, Harrogate

Aaron Bertenshaw’s legacy is helping people with diabetes

The Stray Ferret has written several stories about our campaign to plug the gap between mental health and diabetes following the death of my son Aaron Bertenshaw.

We had a stall at Knaresborough Bed Race and the final amount raised was £4,490, which Morrisons has agreed to match fund.

The custom painted guitar (pictured below) was gifted back to us by the winner and will be put up for auction in August to raise further funds. If anyone is interested in receiving the auction details, contact the Stray Ferret and it will pass your messages on.

Bertenshaw raffle

Diabetes UK’s Diabetes is Serious campaign has now held its virtual launch.

Several mothers came to speak with me at the event about their concerns and I have been able to direct them to the relevant member of the Diabetes UK team so they can receive the support they need.

Sammy Oates, Harrogate

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

Harrogate council charge police over £110,000 for CCTV since 2016

Harrogate Borough Council has charged North Yorkshire Police over £110,000 to check and supply its CCTV footage since 2016, the Stray Ferret can reveal.

The council has a network of 212 CCTV cameras across the district to help prevent and detect crime. It has a manned control room that operates 24/7.

But it does not supply footage to the police for free and last month the Stray Ferret reported it asks the force to pay a fee of £57 per hour for the service.

We submitted a freedom of information request to the council that asked how much it has charged North Yorkshire Police in total since 2016.

The answer revealed a total bill of £114,005, which amounts to about £20,000 a year on average. The sum fell noticeably during covid lockdowns in 2021/22.

The annual breakdown is below:

Crime prevention

Ripon has been plagued by well-documented anti-social behaviour and crime in recent years.

The council operates 10 CCTV cameras in the city but Andrew Williams, the leader of Ripon City Council and the North Yorkshire county councillor for Ripon Minster and Moorside, said the charge deters police from following up crime reports.

He said:

“It is ironic that Harrogate Borough Council’s homes and safer communities team appears more interested in making commercial charges to the police, rather than working in partnership with them to help in the detection and arrest of criminals.”

Andrew Williams

Cllr Andrew Williams

Cllr Williams calculated that the £18,354 charge for the last financial year worked out at less than one hour of CCTV footage a day.

He suggested this means NYP is being selective in which footage it requests and could be missing out on catching criminals.

He added:

“When considering the size of the Harrogate district and the number of CCTV cameras installed across it, that indicates that police, with pressure on their budgets, are having to be selective in their purchasing of footage and only calling on the services of the HBC CCTV monitoring team for the most serious incidents that they are investigating.”

“At a public meeting in Ripon last month, police admitted that nobody had been arrested for the vandal attacks, in part because they could not pinpoint the exact time of each incident and would have to go through hours of footage, which would not necessarily provide the quality of footage required to identify an individual or individuals.”

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‘Shameful’ charges

Business owner Andrew Hart, who owns the Red Box post offices in Bilton and Starbeck, has previously raised concerns about anti-social behaviour in both areas.

Mr Hart has two private CCTV cameras in his post offices. He said he supplies any footage to the police for free if they ask for it and called the council’s decision to charge “shameful”.

The council currently operates one CCTV camera in Starbeck.

Andrew Hart

He said:

“We are often needing to refer back to our two CCTV systems on both police and private request. It is something we do out of a sense of duty to both the community and in our joint responsibility to fight anti-social behaviour.

“Yes, it takes time and costs us money but we all have to do our bit, surely. I think it is shameful that any council should charge our grossly overstretched police for this service.”

Council’s response

A council spokesperson said:

“CCTV across the Harrogate district, which is owned and managed by Harrogate Borough Council, has ongoing infrastructure and running costs.

“As well as the costs to maintain the service, there are also costs associated with a CCTV control room, staffing and the on-going safe storage of footage.

“Should anyone wish to obtain a copy of any footage, this would require an appropriate individual reviewing it first, followed by providing the footage securely along with a witness statement. All while adhering to the Data Protection Act 1998.

“Therefore, any third-party that wishes to view and use any CCTV footage – such as an insurance company, enforcement agency or the police – is charged to do so.”

North Yorkshire Police declined to comment.

Townhouses plan for Harrogate’s Old Courthouse approved

A plan to convert the Old Courthouse in Harrogate into townhouses has been approved.

The building on Raglan Street was previously occupied by Stowe Family Law, which vacated the property for another site in town in February this year.

Park Design Architects tabled plans to convert the site from offices into two three-bedroom and one two-bedroom townhouses.

Now, Harrogate Borough Council has given the go-ahead for the proposal.

The developer said in documents submitted to the council that the site was a “sustainable location” for new homes.

It said:

“Overall, the site is located within a highly sustainable area and will utilise existing car parking provision to serve the proposed use, with easy access to alternative means of transport other than the private car to support sustainable travel.”

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The original building was built in 1857 and was initially a police house for the town.

This was later demolished and replaced with a courthouse, which was used by justices of the borough until 1991.

Stowe Family Law moved into the property as tenants in 2004.

North Yorkshire Council faces £50m black hole, says finance boss

North Yorkshire County Council’s finance boss has said the new unitary local authority is facing a possible black hole of close to £50 million a year.

Cllr Gareth Dadd, executive member for finance at the county council, said the situation was largely due to deficits it will inherit from district councils and high inflation.

Cllr Dadd said it was far too early for the authority, which will come into existence on April 1 next year, to be considering service cutbacks.

Due to the range of uncertainties facing the authority including the ongoing impact of covid, he likened setting the council’s budgets to “trying to juggle two bowls of jelly”.

He was speaking at a meeting of the Conservative-led authority’s executive where a move to top up a fund to cover the costs of local government reorganisation to £38 million was approved.

Although he did not estimate the total structural deficits that the seven second tier authorities, including Harrogate Borough Council, would have accumulated by the time the new council is launched in April, he said it was believed it would be “substantial”.

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However, it has been estimated the combined ongoing deficits of the district and borough councils could be in the region of £10 million.

In addition, ahead of the recent increasing inflation rate the county authority had been prepared to cover a deficit of up to £20 million.

With inflationary pressures, which include the council’s gas and electricity bill rising by some £3m, it is believed the total deficit could nearly reach £50 million.

Cllr Dadd told today’s meeting: 

“That is a frightening figure, but nonetheless, I think we are right to raise that at this stage.”

‘Higher uncertainty and risk’

An officer’s report to the meeting said: 

“As further savings are required the schemes to achieve these will become more challenging and inevitably contain a higher level of uncertainty and risk. Therefore, it is imperative that delivery of each saving is closely monitored.

“As well as direct costs, higher inflation will feed into increased charges from suppliers and put pressure on wage levels for our own workforce and the wider supply chain. 

“Effective budgetary control will remain critically important in the coming year but this alone is unlikely to be able to stave off unanticipated price increases in delivering the range of council services. 

“This is, of course, at the same time as undertaking key work in transitioning to the new unitary council.”

Cllr Dadd said while the authority had been successful in cutting costs during austerity, it would never be complacent about sound financial management.

The meeting heard the county council’s business case for local government reorganisation had provided for a £252 million saving over a five-year period after £38 million in costs were taken off.

Cllr Dadd said he would be astounded if all of the £38 million was needed for the reorganisation.

61 retirement flats in Knaresborough approved at fourth attempt

Plans for 61 retirement flats in Knaresborough have been approved at the fourth time of asking by developers which refused to further reduce the size of the building.

Adlington Retirement Living was today granted approval for the scheme which it said would become “unviable” if reduced in size.

It follows complaints from residents and councillors over the size of the building, parking, traffic and the risk of flooding at the Wetherby Road site.

However, no objections were raised by statutory consultees.

At a meeting of Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee today, Conservative Robert Windass was one of eight councillors who voted in favour of the plans, while three voted against.

Cllr Windass said: 

“The applicant has made significant moves to improve this scheme.

“There are no objections from the clinical commissioning group, Environment Agency or highways authority – it is about time we passed this.”

Adlington Retirement Living – which is part of the Gladman group – first submitted its plans in March 2020. Since then, it has had one application refused and been told to rethink another twice.

The developers had agreed to remove a fourth storey of the building and also pay for a new footpath on Grimbald Bridge.

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It will also pay £40,000 to the NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCC) which previously raised concerns that another care facility in the area could “overload” local health services. The CCG later withdrew its objection once the payment had been agreed.

Despite these changes and agreements, residents had continued to push for the plans to be turned down.

Speaking at today’s meeting, resident Steve Benn said:

“This development is twice the height of any current building on Wetherby Road. The developer claims it has been to a minimum of 60 apartments to be viable, yet its flagship scheme in Otley is only 48.

“Knaresborough town centre and local facilities are a mile uphill from the site, and residents will be unable, without personal transport, to make it to churches and community events.”

The risk of flooding was another concern raised by Mr Benn, as well as Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrat group, who previously asked for the building to be moved further away from the River Nidd.

Adlington Retirement Living refused to do this after including a flood storage basement in its plans. The company also previously said there is “no record” of the site flooding.

However, residents claim the River Nidd has overflowed at the site as recently as February.

Cllr Marsh also told today’s meeting:

“I sent every member of this planning committee a photograph of a building literally just down the river from this site which has been badly flooded for the last five years. We know this area floods.”

She added:

“This scheme is an overdevelopment and I still have very serious concerns about it.

“The developer hasn’t done anything to allay those concerns.”

Under-fire infrastructure plans for west Harrogate will cost taxpayers £25,000

Two key planning documents which have been hit by delays and dismay ahead of a huge urban expansion in west Harrogate will cost taxpayers £25,000, it has been revealed.

The West Harrogate Parameters Plan and a delivery strategy set out how the area’s infrastructure and services will cope with 4,000 new homes.

They have been produced by Harrogate Borough Council, which has worked with North Yorkshire County Council, housing developers and consultancy firm Hyas.

After being forced to defend the plan and announcing delays for the delivery strategy, the borough council has now confirmed Hyas will be paid £25,000.

The council also said the delivery strategy will be signed off in autumn – more than two-and-a half years after a government inspector ordered the creation of the plans.

David Siddans, secretary of Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association, said he has been frustrated by the “snail-like progress” of the plans and that he has “little confidence” they will address concerns over areas including traffic congestion which is already a major problem.

He said:

“We are concerned that reorganisation of local government, lack of money and pressure from developers will force developments through with inadequate infrastructure, leaving the community to pick up the pieces.

“At the very least the combination of the parameters plan and infrastructure delivery schedule should address the massive growth on the western edge and go some way to mitigating against existing problems.

“In other words things should be no worse.

“We remain unconvinced that this will be the case.”

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Howard West, chairman of Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council, said:

“It remains to be seen whether the £25.000 spent will prove cost-effective.

“As all matters have been handled without serious interim consultation with stakeholders, we won’t even know if Hyas’s recommendations have been followed.”

Once complete, both the delivery strategy and parameters plan will be used together to shape decisions on how west Harrogate will cope with 2,500 new homes – although as many as 4,000 properties are set to be built in the wider area by 2035.

There are proposals for two new primary schools and four playing pitches, as well as two new local centres for shops and health services.

Land has also been designated for other businesses, as well as new cycle lanes, footpaths and bus routes.

As part of the delivery strategy, a review of existing infrastructure is being carried out ahead of the document being published in draft form during a public consultation.

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson described Hyas as a “specialist town planning, master planning and place-making consultancy” firm which was commissioned “based on their experience of other complex development schemes”.

The council spokesperson said.

“The cost of this specialist consultancy is £25,000,

“The West Harrogate Infrastructure Delivery Strategy document is part of their commission and is a joint piece of work – in collaboration with the borough council, county council and promoters – to provide the long term co-ordination of infrastructure across the west Harrogate sites.

“The document will be signed-off in the autumn as it requires the input from a piece of work regarding transport mitigation which won’t be concluded until then.”

13 complaints against Harrogate district councillors this year

This year, 13 complaints were made against Harrogate district councillors and only one councillor was found to have breached code of conduct rules.

The councillors have featured in a Harrogate Borough Council report which details how the complaints made during 2021/22 were investigated and dealt with.

This was councillor Pat Marsh, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrat group, whose comments secretly recorded during a conversion with a resident amounted to an “unwarranted personal attack” on other councillors, council officers and Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones.

That is according to a separate report, which concluded that Cllr Marsh “had not treated others with respect”.

Cllr Marsh, who represents the Hookstone ward, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that a complaints panel hearing held in January was “not fairly balanced” because it was made up of two Conservative councillors and one Ripon Independent.

She also said she had a right of freedom of speech and that her comments were “not harmful or disrespectful”.

However, the report concluded that “whilst freedom of speech is important for elected members, there is a need for council to ensure that they do not undermine trust and confidence with ill-judged and inappropriate statements”.

All other councillors involved in the 13 complaints are not named because they are “treated confidentially” unless a panel hearing is held, the council said.

Bullying allegation

There were 11 complaints where a monitoring officer and independent person ruled that investigations were not needed. This included allegations of bullying by a parish councillor.

The report said there had been “historical and ongoing difference of views” between two members of the parish council and that another investigation was “unlikely to resolve the situation”.

A separate complaint alleged that a borough councillor tried to “cajole” the borough council’s planning committee by reading a pre-prepared speech at a meeting.

However, the monitoring officer and independent person ruled that this was “not a cause for concern as it merely demonstrates that a councillor has prepared for the meeting and marshalled their thoughts and arguments”.

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Another complaint claimed that a borough councillor adopted an “unhelpful and obstructive approach” by failing to answer questions during a public consultation.

But this complaint was also not referred for an investigation.

Accusations of lying formed the basis of one complaint which involved a parish councillor who allegedly distributed leaflets containing “inaccurate and misleading information” about a planning application.

This complaint was also closed after a conclusion that there was “no evidence” to support the claims.

Borougbridge hotel owner plans £450,000 refurbishment

The owners of the Crown Hotel in Boroughbridge have unveiled plans for a £450,000 refurbishment.

The Coaching Inn Group took over the historic 37-bedroom hotel back in February after its parent company, RedCat Pub Company, purchased it from Best Western for an undisclosed fee.

Now, according to planning documents submitted to Harrogate Borough Council, the company looks set to refurbish the site.

The plans include a range of alternations both inside and outside the hotel including creation of cycle and motorbike parking, new external hanging baskets, new signage and painting scheme and an outdoor seating area.

It also includes proposals to refurbish the current facilities, including the bar, kitchen, office and reception area and the creation of a coffee lounge.

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JEH Planning, the agent which submitted the plans on behalf of Coaching Inn Group, said in a planning statement that the hotel had been in “decline as a business”.

It added:

“The Crown Hotel at Boroughbridge has been in decline as a business. 

“The building has not benefitted from the level of investment commensurate with its high architectural and historic significance. 

“Over the years piecemeal changes and additions have resulted in a situation that does not optimise the use of the building or serve to enhance its special character.

“The Coaching Inn Group have recently purchased the property and are keen to undertake sensitive refurbishment works. They have a significant budget of around £450,000 to invest in undertaking these works.”

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

Knaresborough Museum plan given go-ahead

Plans have been approved to convert a former girls school in Knaresborough into a museum.

Based at the old National Girls School in Castle Yard, the town museum looks set to open next year.

Harrogate Borough Council backed proposals by Knaresborough Museum Association to convert the former school into the facility.

It will see the dance hall changed to a museum as well as alterations to the interior, a new entrance, disabled toilets and a new ramp.

In a post on its Facebook page, the museum said:

“We have been awarded planning permission and listed building consent for change of use from dance hall to a new museum and to create a new entrance, steps and handrails, disabled access toilets, new ramp and internal modifications.

“Now we really can start planning ahead.”

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Plans for the museum have been in the works since 2020 and it is earmarked to officially open in February 2023.

Funded by public donations and grants, it will include eight exhibition zones covering periods of history from the Jurassic age to the world wars.

Developers appeal Harrogate working men’s club flats plan

Developers behind plans to convert a former Harrogate working men’s club into flats has appealed a council decision to refuse the proposal.

The National Reserve Club, on East Parade, formally closed in July following a unanimous resolution from its members last year. It was also known as ‘The Nash’.

The organisation had been registered as a working men’s club since July 11, 1913, when it was known as the Harrogate Battalion National Reserve of the West Riding of York Club.

ID Planning, which submitted a plan to convert the club into flats on behalf of Ashleigh and Caroline Wells, said in its application that the scheme would provide a viable use for the building.

However, Harrogate Borough Council rejected the plan in May this year.

The council said in its refusal that the owner had not been able to prove that it was no longer viable before submitting planning permission.

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Now, the developers have launched an appeal to the government’s Planning Inspectorate to challenge the decision.

It said in a statement to the planning inspector:

“Based on the assessment provided, it is considered that the reasons for refusal of the planning application given by Harrogate Borough Council are unfounded and the proposed development accords with all relevant local and national planning policy.”

A government planning inspector will make a decision on the appeal at a later date.

Demise of working men’s clubs

Working men’s clubs were once the heart of the community across the country but many have faced dwindling membership numbers with some forced to close.

The Nash never reopened after the first covid lockdown two years ago.

It had 28 members at the time and donated its remaining cash to charity.

However, other Harrogate clubs such as The Londesborough Club and Bilton WMC are still going strong.

Read Harrogate historian Malcolm Neesam’s history of the town’s working men’s clubs here.