Public inquiry threat revealed for James Street pedestrianisation plans

The threat of a public inquiry has been revealed as a reason why plans for a full-time pedestrianisation of one of Harrogate’s busiest shopping streets have been dropped from the £10.9 million Station Gateway project.

North Yorkshire County Council received strong support when it consulted on the idea of removing traffic from James Street.

But it now wants to see only Princes Square to Station Parade pedestrianised, with loading vehicles still allowed to use the street at limited times. This partial pedestrianisation was the least supported option.

Karl Battersby, corporate director of business and environmental services at the council, said this option was being pursued because the authority believes it could face objections which would trigger a public inquiry if a full-time pedestrianisation is progressed.

He said: 

“A traffic regulation order is required to pedestrianise a street.

“In certain circumstances, including where vehicles are excluded at all times, if an order is made and objections are raised that cannot be resolved, a public inquiry could result.

“If that were to happen, it could delay the scheme.”

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Mr Battersby also said a full-time pedestrianisation “remains possible” in the future after the completion of the gateway project, which requires government cash to be spent by March 2023.

He added the council’s preferred option of part-time restrictions would still retain many of the changes to the look of James Street that would be included under a full-time pedestrianisation.

He said: 

“The selected option provides the opportunity to pedestrianise the street at most times of the day, except for a period to allow deliveries, with access controlled through rising bollards.

“This creates the ability to pedestrianise the street at any time of day in future subject to the outcome of a legal order.

“We believe this strikes an appropriate balance between the wishes of respondents and risks to delivery of the scheme.”

Contentious plans

The detailed plans were first revealed in February when residents and businesses were also consulted with.

It is only now – eight months on – that the council has spoken of the potential threat of a public inquiry.

This could be in part due to negative feedback from some business owners and residents, however, the council’s own consultation results show a full-time pedestrianisation would be well supported.

Of the 1,101 respondents to the consultation, 45% were in favour of this option, while 32% said no changes should be made to the layout of James Street.

Meanwhile, just 17% supported a part-time pedestrianisation – the option that the council is now pushing ahead with.

Although James Street has proved to be one of the most contentious parts of the gateway project, it is only a small part of the overall plans.

There are also proposals to reduce Station Parade to a single lane of traffic to create room for a cycle lane, as well improvements to Station Square and the One Arch underpass.

The latest consultation on the entire project is currently underway and residents and businesses have until November 12 to have their say before more detailed proposals are drawn up and a final decision is made.

If approved, it is anticipated that construction will start in spring 2022 for approximately 12 months.

For more information and to have your say, visit the West Yorkshire Combined Authority website.

New Skipton Building Society branch in Harrogate approved

Skipton Building Society has been given approval to open a new branch on Cambridge Street in Harrogate town centre.

The company, which currently has a branch on Princes Street, will refurbish the central unit of the former Topshop outlet in the town centre.

The units at 33-37 Cambridge Street, which were also occupied by Miss Selfridges, are to be split into three.

Skipton Building Society plans to lease the central unit and refurbish it to include open plan public space, office spaces, toilets and staff space.

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It has also proposed to fit five air conditioning units to the back of the building facing Petergate.

A spokesperson for the company confirmed to the Stray Ferret the proposal will see its current branch relocated.

In documents submitted to Harrogate Borough Council’s planning department, which have the scheme the go-ahead, the company said the proposal will ensure the “continued life of the building”.

It added:

“It will also ensure the property does not become unused or rundown which is important for its position.”

In July, the council approved plans for Sainsbury’s to occupy the largest unit on the street.

First business set to operate from Harrogate pop-up shop

A Harrogate town centre pop-up shop aimed at showcasing small businesses is set to host its first business from today.

L&N Candles was set up by Bilton-pair Laura Berryman and Natalie White back in 2018 as a side hobby.

It will become the first small business to take advantage of the shop, which has been offered to rent by property consultants Barker Proudlove and Victoria Shopping Centre.

Laura and Natalie started selling candles, bath bombs and wax melts online and while it did well during the covid lockdown, the pair opted to bid for the shop.

Laura said:

“We did well during the pandemic, but we wanted to meet our customers and try to build that base.

“We picked some dates but didn’t realise we would be the first.”

Laura, who works full-time at Covance, and Natalie, a healthcare assistant, hope the week-long stay in the shop on the town’s Cambridge Street will pay off.

Online-only until now, the outlet will be the first time the business partners have operated out of a shop. Long-term, the hope is for L&N Candles to have its own base in the town centre.

Showcasing independent business

Barker Proudlove and Victoria Shopping Centre came up with the idea to rent out the outlet opposite Cafe Nero back in August.

Businesses can rent the space for between one and six weeks and the £400 weekly cost includes rent, business rates, water, electricity and furniture.

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James White, centre manager at The Victoria Centre, said previously:

“The pop-up shop provides an opportunity for small businesses to showcase their brands, ideas and test the market place on Cambridge Street.

“It offers a short-term commitment which makes trying new business ideas more attractive.”

The two organisations hope the space will attract a stream of independent businesses.

Harrogate town centre offices to be converted into apartments

A plan to convert an office block in Harrogate town centre into new apartments has been given the go-ahead.

Harrogate Borough Council approved proposals to transform the building on Cambridge Road into eight apartments.

Developers Lake House Investments, which is based near Brighouse, submitted the plans for the three-storey building.

The plans would see the first and second floors converted for residential use. The ground floor is currently occupied by bakers Greggs and a YMCA charity shop.

In its proposals, Lake House said the site had “excellent transport links” and was just a few minutes walk from the train station.

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As a result, the developer said no parking would be necessary.

It said in its planning documents:

“Given the sustainable town centre location close to a range of services and amenities, no off street parking is considered necessary as any impact to any pre- existing problems of access, road safety or traffic flow would be minimal.

“Visitor parking will be provided by local pay and display on street spaces.”

A similar application to convert the offices to apartments was approved by the council in 2019.

Plans to convert former Harrogate post office into apartments withdrawn

Ambitious plans to transform Harrogate’s former post office into 25 apartments plus offices have been withdrawn.

The proposal, which was submitted by property developer One Acre Group, would have seen the disused post office on Cambridge Road converted and extended.

The post office controversially relocated to WH Smith in 2019 amid claims by Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones the service was being “downgraded”.

In October, developers lodged plans that would have seen the building, which was still owned by Post Office Ltd, converted to include one-bedroom and studio apartments as well as commercial space.

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However, the application has now been withdrawn.

The Stray Ferret approached ELG Planning, the agent working on behalf of One Acre Group, to ask why the plans were withdrawn but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Harrogate Civic Society said in October it welcomed the principle of redeveloping the site.

However, it added:

“We are, however, concerned about the impact of an additional floor to this building in the conservation area, as the proposal does not address the whole of the building as originally designed.

“The appearance of the new floor results in a design solution which is not fully considered or refined and therefore does not enhance the existing roofscape in its present form.”

Harrogate town centre social distancing planters removed

Planters in Harrogate town centre, which were put in place for social distancing, have been removed this morning.

Workers were seen removing the planters early this morning on Albert Street, with those on James Street expected to follow.

The measures were implemented at the height of lockdown for shoppers to distance from each other in the town centre.

However, the planters are now being removed in line with the lifting of covid restrictions nationally.

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The move proved unpopular with some town centre businesses which said the loss of parking spaces affected trade.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive councillor for access at North Yorkshire County Council, told the Stray Ferret yesterday that all social distancing measures and parking suspensions would be removed this week.

The move would include social distancing cones in Knaresborough.

However, the Ginnel in Harrogate is to remain closed to traffic for an unspecified period of time to support outdoor hospitality.

New planters installed in Harrogate after fake grass saga

New planters are being installed on Cambridge Street in Harrogate town centre.

The move comes two months after Harrogate Borough Council placed fake grass in raised flower beds in the town centre.

Workers were seen installing the new planters today.

One worker told the Stray Ferret that the planters would have “flowers in spring and autumn and shrubs other times of year”.

A council spokesperson said:

“Over the years we’ve planted numerous varieties of plants and flowers in the planters. But sadly, nothing has lasted very long due to the trees’ roots structure soaking-up all the moisture and nutrients in the soil.

“These new bespoke plant beds, which sit above the root base, will have their own soil that is full of nutrients and should allow the plants to grow successfully every year.

“For the summer, they will be filled with bright cheerful geraniums (as shown in the photo). And in the winter we will plant spring bulbs and perennials.

“In the coming weeks they will start to compliment Harrogate’s award-winning floral displays that we take enormous pride in looking after.”

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It follows a fierce backlash to the artificial grass installed on Cambridge Street in May, which residents and campaigners described as “cheap and tacky”.

Council officials initially claimed the move received “lots of positive feedback”, but later removed the grass and apologised.

It was later revealed that the council had spent £800 on the artificial grass.

However, Cllr Andrew Paraskos, cabinet member for environment, defended the saga at a full council meeting last week.

He said that the fake grass was removed “straight away” and that the authority had to “try new ideas”.

Senior Harrogate councillor defends fake grass saga

A senior Harrogate borough councillor has defended a council decision to put fake grass in the town centre.

The council’s decision to install plastic grass in the raised flower beds on Cambridge Street in May met a fierce backlash from residents.

Council officials initially claimed the move received “lots of positive feedback”, but later removed the grass and apologised.

Last night, Cllr Andrew Paraskos, cabinet member for parks and environment, told a full council meeting that the grass was removed “straight away” and that the authority had to “try new ideas”.

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When asked to comment on whether the council explained its decision properly and if its value system “focussed only on money”, Cllr Paraskos defended the move.

He said:

“I totally disagree. The stuff that we put down, I don’t like to use the term artificial grass, was there as a barrier. If we had put down the black mesh stuff to keep the weeds under control, nobody would have ever mentioned a word.

“But because we have used something that looked like grass, everybody jumped on the bandwagon straight away and believed we were trying to grass the town centre. That was never our intention.

“We thought it was possibly a good idea, put a little colour behind the new planters that we put in and when everybody objected we removed it straight away. Nobody liked it, so we carried on and we will come up with new plans for that area to make the town centre look more attractive to visitors going forward.

“We must try new ideas even if they are wrong and we will find out afterwards. If you don’t try, you don’t move forward.”

When the Stray Ferret broke the story, the article received well over 150 responses – nearly all of which criticised the move.

Fake grass and planters

The fake grass and planters were put in place in May.

Comments ranged from “it looks cheap and tacky” to “wasting council tax money yet again” to “who actually sat there thinking this was a cracking idea?”.

Some residents offered to remove the grass and plant flowers, but it was rejected by the council.

Extinction Rebellion later took direct action by replacing some of the grass with flowers in protest and handed it back to the council in person.

The borough council’s statement apologising for the lack of communication on the saga can be read in full here.

Harrogate man spared jail after hammer attack over barking dog

An argument over a barking dog led to a man being hit over the head with a claw hammer in a street in Harrogate.

The victim was attacked near Harrogate town centre by 31-year-old Maciej Rataj who struck two or three blows with the DIY tool, York Crown Court heard.

The victim fell to the ground and was stamped on by Rataj, who had crept up on him from behind. 

Prosecutor Andrew Finlay said witnesses called police and helped the victim, who was taken to hospital with cuts to his scalp and lip and a swollen and bloodied nose.

The man was named in court but the Stray Ferret has decided not to reveal his identity. He was advised by hospital staff to have a CT scan but discharged himself without being X-rayed.  

Rataj was soon arrested but lied to officers that he had acted in self-defence and used an umbrella to attack the victim. 

He admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and appeared for sentence on Wednesday.

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Mr Finlay said the incident occurred on August 2 last year when the victim was walking past Rataj’s home in Nydd Vale Terrace and heard his dog barking.

He told the dog to “shut up”, which was heard by Rataj who retorted as the victim walked off.

Mr Finlay added:

“(Rataj) armed himself with a hammer and followed (the victim), together with a friend he was with, before catching up with him and attacking him with (the) hammer.”

Witnesses saw Rataj “change his grip” on the hammer as he approached the victim from behind. He then struck the victim with “two-to-three blows” to the head while he was laid on the ground.

Mr Finlay said:

“(The victim) was also stamped on by the defendant.

“One of the witnesses said it was to the stomach.”

He said it was a “sustained” attack and that Rataj had followed the victim for “some distance” before attacking him. 

Andrew Stranex, acting for Rataj, said his client, a Polish national, had never been in trouble before and was a hard-working man.

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Merited a jail sentence

Recorder Anthony Hawks said although the offence was so serious it merited a jail sentence, he could suspend the inevitable prison term because Rataj was of “hitherto good character” and had an “impressive” work record since arriving in the UK with his wife and family four years ago.

He told Rataj: 

“You live in an area with a significant amount of anti-social behaviour. You overreacted when someone started shouting at your dog. 

“You lost your temper, armed yourself with a hammer, ran after the man and hit him two-to-three times, causing fortunately minor injuries to his head and face. 

“I don’t know what came over you. You are very lucky that you are not facing a more serious charge. Hitting people in the head with a hammer can have fatal consequences.”

The 12-month prison sentence was suspended for two years, during which time Rataj will be supervised by the Probation Service. 

He was also ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and complete a 15-day rehabilitation programme. 

Police have ‘public duty’ to tackle noisy cars, says commissioner

Police have a “public duty” to tackle noisy and speeding cars in Harrogate, says North Yorkshire’s police commissioner.

Philip Allott, who was elected North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner in May, told the Stray Ferret the force had received a record number of complaints about the issue.

He said in the past four weeks, more than 20 complaints had been made about speeding and noisy vehicles.

Mr Allott said there was a “public duty to sort the issue”, which had become more prominent as the country heads out of lockdown.

He told a recent commissioner public accountability meeting that police need to be seen to be “proactive” about the issue.

Mr Allott said:

“We’re leading into post lockdown, people are now hearing noises that perhaps they didn’t before and we need to balance the sensitivities of the communities that I represent with the rights and freedoms of others.

“I think as a force, North Yorkshire Police need to be shown to be proactive but also caring. If people are speeding then we need to demonstrate that we are holding them to account.”

Last month, the force said it would be taking a “zero tolerance” approach to noisy cars and “antisocial driving of high powered” vehicles in the town centre.

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Harrogate often attracts drivers, sometimes in modified vehicles, racing around the main roads, particularly during summer.

The police pledged in a statement last month to keep up the pressure during the summer months on “the irresponsible behaviour of some drivers which is not only unsafe but also highly disruptive”.

Operation Chrome will see increased police patrols in hot spots, more speed cameras across town, vehicle stops and detailed CCTV reviews.

Superintendent Steve Thomas said:

“Residents and visitors should not have to fear for their safety or have their days blighted by this excessive noise.

“We are taking a zero tolerance approach to this dangerous behaviour.”