Harrogate Borough Council has agreed to pay developers behind a planned Leon drive-thru on Wetherby Road £25,000 for appeal costs.

The authority had been in discussions with Blackburn-based Euro Garages after it took the council to appeal over its decision to refuse the proposal.

In July 2021, a government planning inspector granted permission for the new drive-thru, which was initially proposed to be a Starbucks.

Helen Hockenhull, the inspector who approved the plan, awarded costs against the council after it “demonstrated unreasonable behaviour”.

A spokesperson for the council confirmed that it had agreed to pay Euro Garages £25,000 as part of the appeal cost.

The spokesman said:

“Officer recommendations are always taken with a balanced approach and are based on careful consideration of a wide range of issues, including local and national planning policy, case law, consultation responses and anything else considered to be ‘material’ to the decision, including the comments of local residents.

“In this case, the officer recommendation of approval was overturned by the planning committee and permission was refused, which has led to an appeal by the applicant.

“The council lost at appeal as it was unable to substantiate the committee’s grounds for refusal. The planning committee was therefore found to have acted unreasonably in taking this decision and the council is required to pay costs to the sum of £25,000.”

Read more:

• New Harrogate Leon set to open early May
• Harrogate council ‘demonstrated unreasonable behaviour’ over Starbucks rejection, says inspector

The council turned down the development back in 2019 on air quality and highways grounds, but later withdrew its objection and did not defend itself at the appeal hearing.

Speaking in May 2021, John Worthington, the council’s executive officer for development management, said officers could not stand successfully at appeal because their previous recommendation would “undermine” their case and that losing also risked legal costs of over £50,000.

The move forced residents fighting the proposal to defend the authority’s reasons for refusal themselves at the hearing.

Ms Hockenhull said she understood concerns from residents, but added that she was not convinced that the development would cause “significant harm”.

In a decision notice last year, she said:

“I recognise that my findings will be disappointing to the local residents and ward councillor who gave evidence at the hearing.

“However, based on the technical evidence before me and all that I have seen and heard, with the proposed mitigation measures secured by planning conditions, I am not persuaded that the development would cause significant harm.”

North Yorkshire residents should see a “seamless transition” of council services when a new unitary authority covering the whole county launches in April 2023, council chiefs have said.

The new North Yorkshire Council will replace the existing county and district councils – with elections set to take place on 5 May.

It will mark the biggest changes to local government in the county since 1974 and will see key services from bin collections to social care, and street cleaning to leisure centres, come under the control of the new council.

Wallace Sampson, chief executive of Harrogate Borough Council, told a virtual public meeting on Monday that the transition was now fast approaching and staff from all existing councils were working together to ensure services run smoothly from day one.

He said:

“There isn’t a lot of time to prepare for local government reorganisation and the new authority coming into force from 1 April 2023.

“All eight councils are really working hard to make sure the transition to the new North Yorkshire Council is as seamless as possible.”

The restructuring is linked to a devolution deal for North Yorkshire which could get millions of pounds in funding, more decision-making powers and an elected mayor by 2024.

The government had stipulated a key requirement of any deal was for the current two-tier councils system to be replaced by a single unitary authority.

Read more:

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The aim is to streamline structures and save money, with some of the savings coming from a reduction in senior staff including the eight current chief executives.

Paul Shevlin, chief executive of Craven District Council, told yesterday’s meeting that another aim is to “keep the local in local government”.

He said each of the seven districts – including Craven, Harrogate, Selby, Scarborough, Richmondshire, Hambleton and Ryedale – would each still have a local council office under the reorganisation plans.

Mr Shevlin said:

“We need to look after not just the most vulnerable, but everybody in our society so a local office is going to be crucial.

“Some of the judgements on day one will be: Did you notice a difference? Could you access your local council?

“If the answer to those is yes, then we will have made a successful immediate transition.

“After that comes the transformation.”

Mr Shevlin also said six local area constituency committees were likely to be created on the new council – with 15 councillors on each given decision-making powers over services including licensing and planning.

In total, 90 councillors will be elected on 5 May to serve one year on North Yorkshire County Council before transitioning to the new unitary authority for a four-year term.

Mr Shevlin added:

“This really is the most important election in North Yorkshire since the last local government reorganisation in 1974.

“Please make sure you are registered to vote, and please do vote.”

A series of virtual events are being held this month for residents to find out more about the new North Yorkshire Council.

For more information go to www.northyorks.gov.uk/new-council-virtual-roadshows

The Ship Inn, in the shadow of Ripon Cathedral, was once one of the city’s landmark pubs.

Since its closure, two years ago, the vacant site has been the location for a number of incidents of violence, anti-social behaviour and vandalism.

The area has planning permission for the creation of ten dwellings but in the meantime, the premises have been secured with metal shuttering on doors and windows, while a sign says that all internal valuables have been removed.

The former pub, is to be converted into five apartments and the 0.34 acre site will also include a detached house and four terraced houses.

Architects Watson Batty Properties LLP has submitted a planning application to Harrogate Borough Council, seeking ‘a changed location by 3m to the northwest of 4 terraced houses and revised fenestration featuring ivory sandblasted masonry walling with pewter split face feature banding.’

Once that application has been determined the site will be ready for its transformation from empty pub to residential use.

The site is close to Ripon Cathedral

Residents living on Bondgate and adjoining streets, who have witnessed gangs of youths causing trouble in the area, will hope the redevelopment of the site may help tackle the problem.

Government guidance on how new developments can reduce crime and create safer communities, says:

“Good design means a wide range of crimes from theft to terrorism are less likely to happen by making committing those crimes more difficult. It helps create safer places.”

Read more:

• Residential redevelopment of Ripon pub site
• Man jailed for knifepoint robbery in Ripon
• Robbery, thefts and a man with a machete in Ripon’s Bondgate

Four Harrogate Borough Council officers earning more than £100,000 have been named in an annual public sector “rich list” published by the TaxPayers’ Alliance.

The pressure group, which claims to speak for ‘ordinary taxpayers fed up with government waste’, published its Town Hall Rich List 2022 report today.

The list covers authority officials across the country who earn in total more than £100,000 as part of their renumeration for the last financial year.

Paula Lorimer, director of Harrogate Convention Centre, was named the top earner in Harrogate with a total pay package of £121,536.

Meanwhile, Wallace Sampson, chief executive of the borough council, earned £118,505.

The Harrogate officers in the report are:

• Wallace Sampson, chief executive: £118,505
• Paula Lorimer, director of Harrogate Convention Centre: £121,536
• Rachel Bowles, director of corporate affairs: £115,856
• Trevor Watson, director of economy and culture: £112,981

Elsewhere, 10 North Yorkshire County Council officials were included on the list.

Richard Flinton, chief executive, was the top earner at the county council with a total pay package of £212,667.

Read more:

• Harrogate bus plans in tatters after government rejects £116m funding bid
• Harrogate council approves sale of Knaresborough flats

Others included Stuart Carlton, director of children and young people’s services, with £161,776 and Gary Fielding, director of strategic resources, with £157,078.

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

“Taxpayers facing a cost of living crisis want to know they are getting value for money from their local authority leadership.

“With households having suffered through the pandemic and now struggling under colossal tax bills, the country needs councils to prioritise key services without resorting to punishing tax hikes.

“These figures will allow residents to judge town hall bosses for themselves and hold their local councils to account.”

Harrogate Borough Council has been approached for comment.

A Harrogate council officer has been found guilty of stealing from two elderly residents at sheltered accommodation in Ripon.

Yvonne Jones, 60, who at the time was a housing and estate officer for Harrogate Borough Council, asked the victims to pay a week in advance for rent at council-run sheltered accommodation – but kept some of the cash for herself, York Crown Court heard.

One of the named victims, a woman “of some years”, was conned out of £405 after moving into a new council-owned flat.

Prosecutor Philip Standfast said the victim, from Ripon, signed for the new flat in January 2018, when Jones visited her and completed the paperwork.

About two weeks later, Jones, from Harrogate, visited her again and asked her for a payment of £405. Mr Standfast said:

“(The victim) asked her if she wanted cash or a cheque and Jones said she would take cash.”

The victim paid cash and Jones gave her a receipt on a business card, but it showed two figures of £180 and £225 rather than the whole £405. Mr Standfast said:

“(The victim) didn’t question why that receipt was written in that particular way.

“Later, her account was checked by a neighbourhood team leader with the council and there was no record of that cash being paid into that lady’s account.”

Mr Standfast said there were three payments of £85.67 into the council’s account in January and February 2018, but that still left a deficit of £147.72 which had not been credited to the victim’s account.

Fleeced second victim out of £449

The second victim, a man who took up a tenancy at Blossomgate Court in Ripon, was fleeced out of £449 by Jones, whom he first met in February 2018.

She asked him for £200 for rent which he didn’t have on him, but he withdrew it from his bank the following day. Mr Standfast said:

“Despite having asked for £200, (Jones) gave him £20 back, saying he had given her too much.

“It’s not clear why she did that.”

On February 8, Jones met the named victim again and asked for another £200 rent. Mr Standfast said:

“He offered her a cheque, but the defendant said she needed cash and he withdrew it and paid it to her.”

Read more:

• Harrogate district care worker jailed after sexually abusing vulnerable resident
• Four men jailed for Harrogate district burglary spree

In early March 2018, there was a direct debit from the victim’s account to the council for £600, but Jones told him he owed £669. Mr Standfast said:

“She claimed the council could only take an amount of £600 from his account, so he withdrew (the extra) £69 from his bank and paid that to her.”

The victim’s rental account was checked and the £469 he had given her, minus the £20 she gave him back, had not been credited to his account. He notified the council of this.

Acquitted of three other charges

Jones, of High Street, Starbeck, was found guilty of these two thefts following her trial which ended on Friday, April 1. She was acquitted of three other counts in relation to three other tenants.

Mr Standfast said that Jones, who denied all allegations, had been employed as a housing and estate officer at the council from 2014 to 2018, when she was finally caught and ultimately resigned from her post.

‘Her role included dealing with tenants (at Blossomgate and Bondgate Court in Ripon) and “where necessary” taking payments from them for rent and other services.

Mr Standfast said it was “only in exceptional circumstances” that cash should have been taken from a tenant for rent. He added:

“If cash were taken, an official Harrogate Borough Council receipt should have been issued and cash paid in by in by the (housing) officer to a cash-deposit facility.

“That machine would issue a receipt and the cash would be credited to the tenants’ accounts on the following day.”

Mr Standfast alleged that Jones had also taken cash from three other “vulnerable” tenants and either didn’t issue receipts for these payments or did hand them receipts but didn’t forward some of that cash into the council’s account.

These alleged victims included a named man with learning difficulties who needed care and a 77-year-old pensioner with terminal cancer who was receiving housing benefit. However, Jones was acquitted of these three allegations.

Mr Standfast alleged that all the complainants’ accounts were checked by a team leader at the council, who “found discrepancies between what had been paid by the tenants and what was found in their accounts”.

Enquiries were carried out and Jones was suspended in March 2018. She resigned four days later.

Jones will be sentenced for the two convicted offences on April 29.

A disused Methodist chapel near Masham dating back more than 100 years could be converted into a home.

The Old Chapel at Breary Banks, Healey, was built in 1911 for workers building reservoirs that served people in Leeds. Breary Banks was later used as a prisoner of war camp during the First World War.

The slate roof chapel is not a listed building but is considered to be a non-designated heritage asset located within the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Harrogate Borough Council has now received a planning application from Clementine Godwin to convert the chapel into a single house.

The rear of the chapel.

Planning documents submitted to the council say:

“The proposal is to convert the redundant former chapel into a single dwelling unit. This will be open plan and the sleeping area will be on an upper mezzanine level.

“The intention is to repair and maintain the external character and appearance of the old chapel. The entire development is contained within the existing envelope of the building, without the need for additional structure or openings in the external walls.

“The external repairs to the building will all be carried out with the utmost care and be sympathetic to the original construction.”

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Masham Parish Council has supported the application.

Breary Banks village was constructed in 1900 by the Leeds Corporation, which had commissioned the creation of two nearby reservoirs to supply Leeds with water.

The village was designed to house the navvies working on the construction of the reservoirs and their families. By spring 1904 the settlement accommodated 400 men with more huts being built, according to planning documents.

Sixteen men lived lived in each hut.

Planning permission was granted for the chapel to be used as a furniture workshop in 1983 but it was never acted on.

Plans for a huge housing development and new primary school on Harrogate’s Otley Road have been met with “serious concerns” over how the town’s struggling infrastructure and services will be able to cope.

There are also questions over the environmental impact of the proposals, which include 770 homes, a sports pitch, shop and community hub.

The Windmill Farm site is included in the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, meaning development will go ahead.

But Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association said it had concerns over several issues, including climate change measures, transport infrastructure, housing density and design standards, which all needed to be addressed before planning permission is granted.

David Siddans, group secretary, said:

“This is an enormous development.

“Although the application is for 770 dwellings, it omits a large area of the site which remains subject to further applications which could bring the total to nearer 1,000.

“Altogether, the west side of Harrogate is expected to cope with around 4,000 new houses.

“The pressure this places on infrastructure has always been one of our greatest concerns, especially given the poor nature of the current roads, public transport, school services, drainage systems and so on.”

Parameters Plan

Mr Siddans also said no decision should be taken on the proposals by Harrogate Borough Council until its West Harrogate Parameters Plan is completed in full.

This is the key document which sets out what infrastructure is required to support rapid population growth in the area.

Read more:

• Plan resubmitted to convert Sharow pub into house

• Plans submitted for 770 homes and primary school on Harrogate’s Otley Road

It was criticised as “inadequate” when it was approved by the council in February, and a delivery strategy and schedule are now being prepared.

Land promoters Anwyl Land and developers Redrow Homes are behind the Windmill Farm development.

They said the West Harrogate Parameters Plan has been used to inform the proposals, which will provide a “high quality development for Harrogate with a clear identity and will positively benefit the local area”.

They also said 40% of the homes would be classed as affordable, with a mix of one, two, three, four and five bed properties across the site.

Forty of the housing plots would be self-builds reserved for those who want to build their own homes.

Also included in the plans are bus stops, and walking and cycling routes.

‘Makes no sense’

Campaign group Zero Carbon Harrogate said it wanted to engage with the developers as it believes there is “much more” that could be done to futureproof the 770 homes – all of which would be fitted with gas boilers set to be banned in new homes in 2025.

Group chair Jemima Parker said: 

“Zero Carbon Harrogate has sought to engage productively with Anwyl Land to ensure that this large site, which will contribute to the carbon emissions of the town, is made as sustainable as possible, particularly with regard to transport and energy use.

“In particular, we note that the energy statement was compiled prior to the current energy crisis.

“It makes no sense to be building houses over the coming years with gas central heating, and without the highest standards of insulation to minimise household fuel bills.

“Furthermore, every opportunity should be taken to install solar panels on the roofs of the new homes, and apply the best passive design principles in accordance with Local Plan policies.”

Plans have been resubmitted to convert a former Sharow pub into a house.

Owner Mark Fitton has applied to Harrogate Borough Council to change the use of the Half Moon Inn into a four bedroom house.

A similar application was tabled by Mr Fitton in February 2021, but was later withdrawn.

The village pub and restaurant, on Sharow Lane, opened in 1822 but closed in 2016.

In documents submitted to the council, Mr Fitton said “all avenues” had been explored to reopen the pub but had proved unviable.

In a planing statement, the developer said:

“It could hardly be clearer that there is no reasonable prospect of the Half Moon Inn re-opening as a viable hospitality venue.

“All avenues for such an opportunity have been fully explored, over an extended period of time, by agents with strong commercial credentials, unrivalled local coverage and a national licenced-premises specialism.”

Read more:

• Sharow Parish Council leads fight to save village pub

• Campaign to reopen Henry Jenkins Inn suffers hammer blow

The proposal to convert the pub into a home has long been opposed by Sharow Parish Council.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret previously, parish council clerk Nick Reed said many people in the village did not want to see the change of use granted.

The parish council set up a working group to link into the viability of using the pub for community use.

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

The leader of Conservative-run Harrogate Borough Council has attacked the local Liberal Democrats for using a firm in Dundee to print a leaflet urging people to ‘buy local’.

Richard Cooper criticised the move in a post on the Community News website run by Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough. Cllr Cooper is employed by Mr Jones as his office manager,

It is a sign that the North Yorkshire Council election campaign is hotting up ahead of the vote on May 5.

Mr Cooper said it was “critical that we use local businesses where we can”.

According to the post, other local Liberal Democrat literature has been printed in York and Chesterfield.

Cllr Cooper said:

“It is critical that we use local businesses where we can and there are a lot of good local printers who would have wanted this business.

“It really is strange to call on others to ‘buy local’ when you are buying from York, Chesterfield and even Dundee!”.

Cllr Cooper, who has said he will not be seeking re-election next month, also said the leaflet’s ‘greener’ agenda was at odds with its creation.

Carbon footprint

He said:

“Even if they didn’t want to use local printers for some reason was it really necessary to go 60-odd miles north of Edinburgh? The carbon footprint of their literature is enormous.

“When you tell people you want to ‘buy local’ and ‘be greener’ you have to match your actions with words.”

The post said all election campaign leaflets published by Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservatives were printed in Harrogate and Mr Jones’ annual reports were printed in Knaresborough.

Read more:

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Pat Marsh, leader of Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrats, told the Stray Ferret that the Conservatives “should really have bigger things to be worrying about than where we print our material”, such as spiralling energy bills, the fallout of war in Ukraine and “businesses feeling the bite of Brexit”.

Cllr Marsh added:

“This is a particularly strange attack from the Conservatives who, during the pandemic, took £10,000 of grants to pay for their office.

“We think these grants should have been used to support local businesses, not on political party campaigns. Since they print a lot of their material at their office many people will be questioning whether their taxpayers money is helping to fund Conservative election leaflets.”

She added that the Liberal Democrats’ process for using outside suppliers was to “try and get the best value for money”, which was “something Conservative-run Harrogate council could learn from”, adding:

“They spent £5,000 on a giant snow globe that was displayed in London for two days over Christmas and £700 on social media influencers. This is on top of the £13 million they wasted on a council office for a council their own government is abolishing.”

A new Changing Places toilet will be created in the Harrogate district after the council was awarded funding for the project.

Harrogate Borough Council has been given £40,000 to deliver the facility, which offers specially adapted facilities for people in wheelchairs and with very limited mobility.

The funding is part of a national £23.5m investment from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. It will see the total number of Changing Places toilets across England increase from 1,300 to more than 1,800.

They are expected to be installed in public parks, tourist attractions, museums, art galleries, cathedrals, shopping centres, libraries and other public buildings.

Ministerial disability champion Eddie Hughes MP said:

“People with severe disabilities and their families or carers should not have to think about whether there are suitable toilet facilities when they go out shopping, plan a day out or travel.

“That is why it is great to hear that our funding will help provide over 500 new Changing Places toilets in England enabling them to go about day-to-day activities like the rest of the population with more dignity and freedom.“

Read more:

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Changing Places toilets feature adaptations including hoists and changing benches. They also have enough space to move wheelchairs around all the furniture and for carers to support people using the room.

There are existing Changing Places facilities at Harrogate and Starbeck libraries, the Hydro, Morrison’s and the Yorkshire Event Centre in Harrogate. In Knaresborough, they have been installed at Gracious Street Methodist Church, Knaresborough Pool and Henshaws Arts and Craft Centre.

There are no city centre facilities in Ripon, but there is a Changing Places toilet at Lightwater Valley theme park.

The Stray Ferret asked Harrogate Borough Council where the new facility would be installed, but had not received a response at the time of publication.