Former Harrogate Liberal Democrat candidate Anthony Medri has been jailed for over two years for sexually abusing a teenage girl and paying her to send him intimate photos of herself.

Medri, 64, from Knaresborough, sexually assaulted the girl on several occasions and sent her a picture of an intimate part of his body, York Crown Court heard.

The Harrogate Borough Council candidate in 2015 also urged her to send him indecent pictures of herself, said prosecutor Shaun Dodds.

He said that Medri, who is married, had sexually assaulted the youngster by touching her on intimate parts of her body and kissing her on the lips.

Medri asked the girl on social media if she had “ever seen a grown man’s (private parts)”. He then sent her an intimate picture of himself and told her to delete the messages.

Mr Dodds said that in 2017, Medri started transferring money into the girl’s bank account and asking her what she was wearing.

This was followed by a request for a picture of her in her underwear and a promise to pay her £50 if she sent it. Mr Dodds said:

“She sent an image of herself wearing a bra.

“He had previously bought her some underwear…and asked her for photos wearing that underwear.”

The prosecutor said that between 2017 and 2019, £580 of payments were made into the victim’s account for intimate photos of her. Mr Dodds added:

“Sometimes she would also get payments in cash as well.”

Grooming process

Medri – who stood unsuccessfully as a candidate for the Lib Dems in the 2015 local elections when he contested the Stray ward – initially gave the girl money so she could treat herself, which the prosecution said was part of the grooming process.

He would tell the girl “to get yourself something nice”, said Mr Dodds.

The victim “wasn’t in a good place” at the time and she felt that Medri used this to take advantage of her difficult circumstances.

He bought her treats such as perfume, clothes, tobacco and vodka – along with a sex toy and told her to “try it out”. The victim put the item in a bin.

Mr Dodds said that on the occasions Medri tried to kiss the girl, she would pull away, but he would kiss her again. He once drove her to a remote location where he sexually assaulted her.

Read more:

• Couple deny defrauding Harrogate estate agents with £24m wealth claim
• Blood testing to move from Harrogate to Knaresborough due to Sainsbury’s pharmacy closure

Medri was ultimately brought in for questioning and accepted having asked for pictures of the girl in her underwear and that he had given her money, but initially denied sexually assaulting her.

A trial was due to be held but Medri ultimately admitted one count of intentionally causing a child to look at an image of a person engaging in a sexual act, three counts of sexual assault and three counts of causing or inciting the sexual exploitation of a child to become a prostitute or be involved in pornography, namely asking the girl for photos of herself in her underwear.

Mr Medri, of Forest Moor Road, appeared for sentence today when the court heard a harrowing statement from the young victim.

She said she had been left with the “overwhelming” feeling that she was somehow at fault for the abuse.

This and the fact that Medri had protested his innocence for so long had caused her “extreme anxiety”. She added:

“I don’t think I will ever get over what has happened. I think about it every single day.”

Carer for disabled wife

Defence barrister Jeremy Barton said there had been a “plethora” of character references provided by friends and family of Medri.

He conceded, however, that Medri’s offences, which occurred over a period of about a year, were “disturbing and worrying”.

He said that Medri, who had worked all his life and was now a carer for his disabled wife, had shown a “degree of remorse”.

Judge Sean Morris told Medri he should have owned up to his offences “a long time ago” and described his protestations of innocence until his belated guilty pleas as “gutless”.

He told Medri:

“For heaven’s sake man, why did you put this girl through all those months of anguish waiting for (what was expected to be) a trial. It’s gutless.”

He said that only an immediate prison sentence was appropriate for inciting a young girl “in a vulnerable position to sell pictures of (herself) for Medri’s “sexual pleasure”.

The judge said that Medri had taken advantage of the girl when she was in a “desperate state” because of her life circumstances.

Medri was jailed for two years and two months, but he will only serve half of that behind bars before being released on prison licence.

Medri was also given a five-year sexual-harm prevention order to protect children and placed on the sex-offenders’ register for 10 years.

The most senior officers at Harrogate Borough Council have started new roles at North Yorkshire Council this month.

Trevor Watson, Paula Lorimer, Paul Foster, Rachel Joyce and Jennifer Norton have all taken up positions in the senior management structure of the new unitary authority and will be paid between £79,000 and £111,500.

Former chief executive Wallace Sampson was the only senior member of staff not to automatically transfer over to North Yorkshire Council on April 1 after he agreed a redundancy package worth £101,274.

Mr Watson had a high-profile role at Harrogate Borough Council as director of economy, environment and housing and is now assistant director of planning at NYC. He is paid a salary of £101,500.

Rachel Joyce has gone from director of corporate affairs at the borough council to assistant chief executive – local engagement at North Yorkshire Council and is now paid £111,500 a year.

Read more:

• Liberal Democrats back creation of Harrogate town council
• Have your say on new development plan for Pannal and Burn Bridge

Paula Lorimer remains the Harrogate Convention Centre director and the person in charge of the town’s conference and exhibitions facility. She is paid £107,995.

Former head of finance Paul Foster has begun his new role as assistant director of resources on a salary of between £99,000 and £101,500.

The Civic Centre has been rebranded following this month’s changes.

Jennifer Norton, who was head of legal and governance at Harrogate Borough Council, is now assistant director of legal at North Yorkshire Council and is paid between £79,000 and £86,000.

Last week the TaxPayers’ Alliance, a pressure group that campaigns against ‘wasteful spending’ in the public sector published its annual Town Hall Rich List. It included a list of council officers who are paid a salary above £100,000.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:

“Taxpayers facing record council tax rises want to be sure they are getting value for money from their local authority leadership.

“Many authorities continue with extremely generous pay and perks, including bonuses and golden goodbyes, while local people are facing a financial squeeze.”

North Yorkshire Council’s chief executive, Richard Flinton, said:

“The new North Yorkshire Council has the third largest population of any council nationally and covers the largest area in the country.

“Our senior managers oversee about 10,500 staff, excluding schools, and are responsible for managing an annual revenue budget of £1.4 billion.

“When it was being drawn up, the management pay structure analysed senior managers’ salaries against comparable authorities to ensure that they were in-line with expectations for roles at this level.

“It is also important to remember that the council is saving about £3.7 million in senior management pay every year by moving from eight councils to one authority, reducing the number of chief executives and senior officers.

“We want to ensure the council can retain and attract talented individuals to deliver essential services for our 615,000 residents and 33,000 businesses, and we believe our pay structure allows us to do that whilst also providing value for money for taxpayers.”

A 99-year-old tradition of model boating looks set to continue in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens.

Members of Claro Marine Modellers and a representative from North Yorkshire Council held talks at the boating lake today about a new fountain.

The model boating club was concerned the fountain would damage boats and bring an end to their hobby in Harrogate.

But Adrian Selway, the new club secretary who has been sailing model boats for 30 years in Valley Gardens, said the talks had reached a solution.

Mr Selway said the council had agreed the fountain will not operate when club members sail their boats on Sunday mornings all year round and on Wednesday evenings during summer.

He added:

“It was a very amicable meeting and the outcome was favourable. The council was anxious to support the club.”

Harrogate Borough Council’s decision to spend £6,000 installing the fountain prompted concerns of boats running aground on the structure.

There were also fears spray from the fountain could ruin boats.

Harrogate Borough Council was abolished at the end of last month. North Yorkshire Council has inherited its assets, including Valley Gardens.

Read more:

• Harrogate model boating club could fold due to Valley Gardens fountain
• Regal floral art wows visitors at Harrogate Flower Show

Councillor Michael Harrison was appointed the first charter mayor of Harrogate at the Civic Centre this morning.

Cllr Harrison is a Conservative who represents Killinghall, Hampsthwaite and Saltergate on North Yorkshire Council.

The non-political role will involve promoting the historic and ceremonial traditions of the Harrogate area during events and occasions such as Remembrance Sunday.

It will differ from the former Harrogate Borough Council mayoral role, which covered the whole of the former borough and undertook a wider range of engagements.

Cllr Harrison described the position as “mayor-lite“. He said:

“We’re doing that deliberately but there needs to be the element of civic duty that will continue. I can assure you I will be doing that.”

The mayor was elected by the Harrogate charter trustees, which are 10 councillors who represent divisions covering the unparished parts of Harrogate town.

Harrogate’s 10 charter trustees

It was a more low-key occasion than previous Harrogate Borough Council mayor-making ceremonies, which were traditionally held each year at Harrogate’s Royal Hall.

Cllr Harrison was nominated for the role by Liberal Democrat councillor for High Harrogate and Kingsley, Chris Aldred, who was also appointed charter deputy mayor during the meeting.

Cllr Aldred said:

“Some observers may expect us to nominate one of our own but it’s also equally important to prove that charter trustees are actually non-political in order to continue the civic traditions and heritage of Harrogate. I’m sure Michael will do that and be a great ambassador for the town.”

Cllrs Michael Harrison and Chris Aldred

Cllr Harrison’s first engagement as charter mayor will be at the unveiling of new sculptures at the New Zealand garden in Valley Gardens this month.

He will also attend ANZAC memorial day at Stonefall Cemetery.

Read more:

• Councillors to elect ceremonial mayor for Harrogate this month
• Mayor of Ripon nominated to serve a third term in office

Ceremonial robes and chains most recently used by the last Harrogate borough mayor, Victoria Oldham, will be used by the charter mayor.

But he won’t be entitled to perks enjoyed by previous council mayors such as having a chauffeur-driven car to get to events.

The new council has allocated an annual budget of £12,100 for Harrogate charter trustee business.

However if a Harrogate Town Council is created, it will assume responsibility for the mayoral position from North Yorkshire Council should it want it.

The charter trustees will meet again in October. Cllr Harrison said at the next meeting the charter trustees will make a suggestion to North Yorkshire Council on what the council tax precept for the town council might be.

Consultation documents for the town council state Harrogate households would be asked to pay between £40 and £60 on top of their council tax each year if a Harrogate Town Council were created.

The budget would be spent on accommodation, employment costs, office and IT equipment, insurance, professional fees, the mayor and delivering services.

What those services might be are still to be decided but it would likely involve taking control of assets once held by the abolished Harrogate Borough Council.

New signs have appeared at Knapping Mount in Harrogate to mark this month’s momentous change in local government.

Harrogate Borough Council was abolished at the end of last month and replaced by North Yorkshire Council.

North Yorkshire Council also replaced six other district councils and North Yorkshire County Council to become the unitary local authority in the county.

Signs marking the change have gone up at the Civic Centre at Knapping Mount in Harrogate.

The Civic Centre used to be the centre of local government in the Harrogate district but it now one of many offices controlled by North Yorkshire Council, whose headquarters are at County Hall in Northallerton.

Read more:

• North Yorkshire Council bans TikTok from staff phones
• Harrogate Borough Council to be abolished today

A model boating club is to vote this week on whether to continue following the decision to install a fountain in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens.

Model boating has taken place on the boating lake near the cafe for 99 years.

But in one of its final acts before abolition, Harrogate Borough Council spent £6,000 on a new fountain.

Claro Marine model boating club pleaded with the council not to press ahead with the water feature, warning it would jeopardise their hobby.

Boats could run aground if they hit the fountain and their engines could be damaged by the spray.

But the council brushed aside the concerns and the fountain is now active.

The fountain in Valley Gardens

Claro Marine appealed last week for access to a new lake but so far nothing has transpired.

Club secretary Dave Finnegan said members would meet on Tuesday night to decide whether to continue.

“Some members, including myself, are members of other clubs. The only bad part is the distance — at least two of our members do not drive.

“There is a real chance Claro Marine modellers will close.”

Read more:

• ‘The council have destroyed 99 years of model boats in Harrogate’
• Model boating must continue, says Friends of Valley Gardens

There are hopes Ripon City Council could be running Ripon’s town hall and market place by April next year, according to the council leader.

The council submitted an expression of interest at the end of last month to North Yorkshire Council to be part of a “double devolution” pilot scheme that would see it take control of some of the city’s key assets.

These were previously owned by the abolished Harrogate Borough Council before being handed to the new unitary council on April 1.

If successful, council leader Andrew Williams, who also sits on the North Yorkshire Council as an independent, says the pilot scheme in Ripon could be up and running in time for the next financial year in April 2024.

North Yorkshire Council will choose six pilot schemes from across the county after considering each expression of interest.

Cllr Williams told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he believes Ripon’s bid is one of the most ambitious submitted to the council and they have a “proven track record” of delivering services after previously taking over the lease of Hugh Ripley Hall from HBC.

He said the city council would commit to refurbishing and repurposing the town hall, which he said had been neglected by the old Harrogate-based authority.

“Quite clearly there’s been no investment in the building for years. It hasn’t been painted in 20 years and vast areas are laying idle so there may be a mix of things could be done.

“It’s a blank canvas but we think it could be used to generate economic activity in Ripon. It could be used as a museum to display Ripon’s historical artificats and I’d like to see North Yorkshire Council use it as a customer service point for residents.

“Part of the building could also be converted into rentable office space. Something needs to be done but we know there’s plenty of potential.”

Cllr Williams also said the city council would look to tidy up the market place and could use surplus revenue from car parking charges towards the refurbishment of the town hall.

Improvements to city centre public toiliets, which also formed part of the council’s expression of interest, would also make the city more appealing to tourists and businesses, he added.

“There’s grass growing out of the market square, such as been the poor maintenance of it.

“We believe collectively as a city council that we can draw more visitors to Ripon and bring businesses to the city centre. If the city looks smart and going places people are more likely to spend money here.”

Read more:

• UK’s largest-ever health research programme comes to Ripon
• New city-wide Ripon bus service to start on Monday

Councillors have called for tougher parking enforcement in towns and villages in North Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire Council’s transport, economy, environment and enterprise scrutiny committee heard yesterday some visitor hotspot villages were examining how parking restrictions could be introduced as it was impacting on residents’ quality of life.

One elected member claimed “nothing seems to be done about people parking on pavements”, while others highlighted issues resulting from people parking in residential areas to avoid payments.

The meeting heard North Yorkshire has a forecast £3m annual parking enforcement surplus.

It also heard claims that an unfair proportion of the resources generated had been pumped into Harrogate-based projects in recent years.

An officer’s report to councillors revealed how the the lion’s share of the surplus had been used to reimburse bus operators for pensioners’ concessionary fares, boost the road repairs budget and improve the A1(M) junction 47 between Harrogate and York.

Councillors expressed concerns that while parking enforcement surpluses in some areas had been used to bolster general council “rainy day” funds, Harrogate Borough Council had put forward a lengthy wish list of transport and road projects for its area.

Committee chairman, Cllr David Staveley, a Conservative who represents Settle & Penyghent, said:

“It does feel slightly inequitable to other areas that have possibly contributed quite substantially to that fund. It does some of our areas are getting slightly short-changed.

“I think going forward we are one council. All residents should get a fair crack of the whip.”

Labour Cllr Melanie Ann Davis, who represents Selby West, said enforcement in Selby, which had received a “derisory” three per cent of the parking enforcement income, was “very poor” due to a lack of wardens.

She said:

“I think we need an assurance that there is going to be a new look at this to see that there is a much more uniform service.”

The meeting heard although the parking enforcement surplus had been collected from across the county, there had been an agreement that Harrogate and Scarborough councils be consulted on how it was spent.

Councillors were told while the authority’s position would remain focused on encouraging off-street parking to reduce congestion, the launch of the unitary authority and the unification of off-street and street parking responsibilities at the new council presented an opportunity to review policies and investment priorities.

The authority’s corporate director, Karl Battersby, said the surplus was currently being spent on an “eclectic mix” of legally permissable projects.

He added the review would examine the county’s “mixed bag of charges, policies, enforcement”, and links between parking and active travel. He said:

“Going forward we are going to have a proper look at what this budget should and shouldn’t fund.”

Up to £3m collected from parking fines will not be spent on the Harrogate Station Gateway should costs rise — despite calls from the outgoing Harrogate Borough Council.

The £11.2 million project has been in development for three years after funding was won from the government’s Transforming Cities Fund to make the town centre more accessible to cyclists and pedestrians.

However, the rising cost of building materials and high inflation has led to concerns that the project, if approved, could go over-budget.

When the gateway scheme was first announced it had an anticipated cost of £7.9m.

North Yorkshire County Council had responsibility for on-street parking in the Harrogate district until April 1.

According to a report that went before councillors on the new North Yorkshire Council today, it has a parking enforcement surplus for the new financial year of £3m, which includes £2m collected in the Harrogate district.

As part of local government reorganisation, the outgoing borough councils, including Harrogate, were invited to suggest what it should be spent on.

The report includes a letter sent by Trevor Watson, Harrogate Borough Council’s director of economy, environment and housing to Barrie Mason, assistant director of highways at North Yorkshire County Council.

How Station Parade would look

Dated April 2022, the letter says some of the surplus should be put aside for contingency if Station Gateway costs rise.

Mr Watson said:

“With inflation rising it would be prudent to budget for additional match funding from civil parking enforcement surplus expenditure.”

However, the report pours cold water on this request and says match funding through the surplus “would not be possible.”

Instead, it lists projects such as the Whitby and Scarborough park-and-ride schemes, the A1 (M) junction 47 changes and other highways improvements as beneficiaries.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Council said “it’s too early to speculate about final costs” of the Station Gateway.

Next steps

A final decision on the scheme will be made in the summer before a full business case is submitted to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which made the original bid for government funding.

The council hopes work, if approved, could begin by the end of this year.

Conservative councillor Keane Duncan, who has responsibility for highways on the council’s decision-making executive, has in recent months twice spoken to business leaders at Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce about the controversial scheme.

In September last year, he discussed what impact inflation might have on its overall budget.

Cllr Duncan said:

“My aspiration is that we will have a high quality scheme.

“The last thing I would want to happen is us compromising on the public realm because that is a key part of the scheme and what we are wanting to deliver.

“If there are inflationary pressures with this particular scheme, then we are going to have to look at potentially what we can do around those costings. But that is not something we have discussed or are expecting at this point in time.”

But in March he said a £500,000 water feature planned for Station Square had been scrapped from the scheme “due to practical and cost constraints”.

Harrogate Borough Council charged North Yorkshire County Council £28,000 last year to view CCTV related to parking fines, according to a report.

The report, which will go before councillors on the new North Yorkshire Council tomorrow, outlines the financial performance of parking enforcement in the county.

It includes details of how much money the now-abolished North Yorkshire County Council spent on traffic management and on-street parking in 2022/23.

Harrogate Borough Council, which was also abolished last week, manned its own CCTV centre which had control over a network of 212 cameras across the district.

However, if another organisation wanted access to its video they had to pay an hourly fee. This included North Yorkshire County Council, which had responsibility for on-street parking in Harrogate.

The council also charged North Yorkshire Police to obtain footage to support prosecutions in court. This led to comments from some councillors and members of the public who felt public bodies should share footage free of charge.

Chris Aldred, Liberal Democrat councillor for High Harrogate and Kingsley, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the issue of who pays for the CCTV control centre in Harrogate has been “a bit of an historic running sore”.

He said:

“My understanding is that North Yorkshire County Council used to contribute to the CCTV provision across Harrogate district until a few years back, then they rather unceremoniously and at the last minute in one particular round of budget cutbacks, took the decision to pull out of an annual commitment to assist with their funding.

“It’s quite expensive to provide, not the actual kit, although that’s not cheap, but the officers who have to do the monitoring and then provide the footage for court — and they only pay for what they actually use.”

Read more:

• Harrogate district CCTV control room not manned due to staff shortages
• Chocolate and coffee cafe opens in Harrogate

But the debate over which council should pay for CCTV in Harrogate is now over with the introduction of the new unitary council that launched on April 1 and now owns the control centre.

North Yorkshire Council’s assistant chief executive for local engagement, Rachel Joyce, said:

“North Yorkshire County Council was previously charged to access open space cameras in the Harrogate district in order to assist its highways team with day-to-day operations such as traffic monitoring. This made best use of an extensive CCTV infrastructure.

“In the new council, we have the opportunity to look at our CCTV network across the county. Our aim is to maximise the existing CCTV infrastructures, explore opportunities for enhanced partnership working including how CCTV control rooms are funded.”