In less than a month’s time, the curtain will come down on the career of one of the most influential — and divisive — politicians in the Harrogate district this century.

Don Mackenzie served 16 years as a Harrogate borough councillor, but will be best remembered for his current role as executive member for access at North Yorkshire County Council.

His portfolio includes transport, which means he has led on key decisions, such as the Harrogate Station Gateway, the junction 47 upgrade of the A1(M) near Knaresborough, realignment of the A59 at Kex Gill and numerous schemes to promote cycling and walking.

In an era when some politicians pick and choose which media to talk to, and hide behind press officers, Cllr Mackenzie has always been willing to pick up the phone and front up. He believes in transparency, he says. Colleagues say he’s on top of his brief, and some think he would have made a good county council leader.

But the judgement of the people is more brutal. Barely a day passes without references to ‘Dismal Don’ or calls for his resignation on social media. Complex transport schemes rarely please everyone and rarely progress swiftly and he is remarkably relaxed about the fallout:

“If I let these things upset me, I would have given up years ago. The only thing that occasionally annoys me is social media, especially anonymous posters.

“Tough decisions have to be made and all they do is sit in the comfort of their own home posting anonymous criticism. It’s cowardly.”

‘Right time to go’

On the day we met Cllr Mackenzie, who has lived in Harrogate since 1973 and represents Harrogate Saltergate, he received an email asking how dare he approve 770 houses being built on Otley Road — the decision has not been made yet and will be taken by Harrogate Borough Council, of which he has not been a councillor since 2018.

Such confusion will end when North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council are abolished next year to make way for North Yorkshire Council, which will become the new unitary authority for the county.

New weather stations have been introduced to help drivers in difficult conditions.

That looming seismic change has persuaded Cllr Mackenzie, 72, not to seek re-election on May 5. He is the only one of 10 members of the county council executive not to do so. Wasn’t he tempted to continue?

“No I wasn’t. It’s a five-year commitment. I felt that my time as a county councillor had come to a natural end. Many of my colleagues have great difficulty deciding when and if to retire. Many people say a career in politics always ends in tears so I feel this is the right time to go.”

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• Transport leader Don Mackenzie to step down next year

Nevertheless he will be sad to depart.

“I’ve enjoyed almost every minute of it.

“Most councillors set out to do something for their local community. Most people like me are in it to make a difference and sometimes it’s difficult to make that difference. There are inevitably disappointments. We’ve been disappointed this week with our Bus Service Improvement Plan.”

The county council’s plan involved bidding £116m to the Department for Transport to improve bus services in North Yorkshire. It received none. A significant chunk would have been spent easing congestion in Harrogate. But in March the government awarded the council and Harrogate Bus Company £7.8m to make the firm’s fleet all-electric.

There have been other successes, such as the Bond End double mini roundabout in Knaresborough, which eased congestion at one of the most polluted spots in the Harrogate district.

“It was a highlight because many people thought it would not work and were worried about safety and taking away the traffic lights.”

Junction 47, trains and Kex Gill

Cllr Mackenzie lauds the A1(M) junction 47 upgrade, due to end end anytime now, as a rare example of infrastructure investment coming before development.

He says train services are far better now, with more frequent direct trains to London, than before he became a councillor despite rail operator Northern’s announcement last month of cuts to Harrogate services. He says:

“Northern have assured me these reductions will be short-term only.”

He admits to being a “little frustrated” the Kex Gill realignment won’t be completed before he leaves office. Delays, he says, are inevitable when “taking a major trans-pennine highway across a sensitive area of countryside”. Peat deposits are among the vexed considerations. But the project has levered £56m from the Department for Transport and should start this year.

Walking and cycling schemes

Active travel schemes have been the most contentious, particularly the Harrogate Station Gateway. It was one of three initiatives worth £42million funded by West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Making the case for the Station Gateway at a business meeting.

Cllr Mackenzie says the Selby and Skipton projects “have been problem free”; Harrogate has been anything but, with strong opposition from businesses and residents to reducing Station Parade to single lane and pedestrianising part of James Street. He remains a staunch advocate:

“It’s bringing £11million of much needed investment into the town centre. It will be a radical improvement to a part of town that needs improving and it will be good for the visitor economy.”

He says he would be “inclined to continue’ with the closure of Beech Grove in Harrogate to through traffic when the 18-month experiment ends in August, with the caveat that he “would be guided by the data”.

As for Otley Road cycle path, he was “a little surprised to hear complaints from the cycling lobby” because “what we have delivered is exactly what the plans showed so they had plenty of time to raise concerns then”.

He says the council will conduct another round of consultation on phase two “so people are absolutely clear” about the plans this time.

Why have these schemes provoked so much anger?

“In Harrogate, when one attempts change — in this case to improve facilities for walking and cycling — you get roughly half the population behind you and half against you.

“Also, many people feel any restrictions on car driving is a bad thing whereas if you want to overcome congestion you have to have a realistic alternative.”

Conservative for 40 years

Don Johannes Josef Mackenzie was born in Germany and is bilingual — his dad stayed there after the war and met a German woman. The family moved before Cllr Mackenzie’s first birthday and he grew up in Ipswich.

He became managing director of MMP International, which supplied industrial repair and maintenance products worldwide. The job brought him to Harrogate 49 years ago.

MMP was acquired by US company ITW in 1998. Mr Mackenzie was a minority shareholder and stayed on for 10 years as business manager. He then became self-employed, “doing small things representing British manufacturers worldwide”.

A Conservative Party member for 40 years, he cut his political teeth as a Harrogate borough councillor in Pannal from 1987 to 1991 before a 15-year hiatus to concentrate on his career and raising his daughter, who would later become the agent for Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough. Who are his political heroes?

“I liked Mrs Thatcher but I don’t have any political heroes. I also liked David Cameron — I thought he was very good.”

He returned to serve three terms in Harrogate from 2006 to 2018, during which he became the cabinet member for planning and transport for three years — a role that included oversight of the creation of the original Local Plan — a document that outlines where planning can take part in the development.

Speaking at an online county council meeting.

The plan allocated 390 new homes a year in the district — a number that was rejected by the government’s Planning Inspectorate as too low and was eventually bumped up to around 700, leading to ongoing concerns about the number of new developments. He says:

“In hindsight 390 was a little low. Now it’s nearer 700. I don’t have a problem with 700 but recently it’s been much higher than that.”

Cllr Mackenzie was appointed executive member for public health at the county council in 2013 until council leader Carl Les moved him to his access portfolio in 2015.

It’s a bruising role but says the only time he gets real abuse is when he’s knocking on doors canvassing. It doesn’t seem to bother him — he likes a good argument. Or as he puts it:

“I can’t say I enjoy it but I wouldn’t shrink from it.

“I belong to that generation when a candidate didn’t rely on social media. I relied on public meetings. But there’s far less of that face-to-face stuff and that has led to a decline in behaviour because people think their behaviour doesn’t matter as much.”

Bird watching

Cllr Mackenzie, who is 72, doesn’t intend to retire. He has applied to become a non-executive director of a British public sector organisation and wants to keep busy.

“I wouldn’t like to think I didn’t start each day without an active programme ahead.”

He’s a keen bird watcher who engages in his hobby on family holidays in Norfolk. He doesn’t cycle but walks a lot. He often catches the bus or strolls into town from his home, near Leeds Road about a mile from the town centre. He says it’s too close to go by car.

He claims not to have any major regrets. What does he think his legacy will be?

“I would like people to think that whatever decision I took, I took with the best of motives and I thought the decision was right. I can’t claim to have got every decision right – but they were all taken with the best of intentions.”

With many of his schemes set to outlast him, his legacy will be felt in the district for years to come.

Harrogate Magistrates Court has been left as “piggy in the middle” as more cases are being transferred from Skipton, says a solicitor.

Keith Blackwell, of Blackwell Solicitors in Keighley, said that the magistrates in Skipton is being “bled dry” due to fewer hearings being held.

The Skipton court used to sit three times a week, but now cases, such as youth hearings, are being sent to Harrogate or York.

Mr Blackwell, who often travels to Harrogate for cases twice a week, said important hearing such as pre-sentence reports and trials were also being held in Harrogate over Skipton.

He said the frequency of cases being moved is unfair on those defendants and their families who are poor and have to travel long distances.

Mr Blackwell, who has been practising as solicitor since 1975, said:

“It is just not fair.

“The people who make these decisions are all driving in limousines. We are supposed to be levelling up.

“Harrogate has been left as piggy in the middle in all this.”

After being threatened with closure in 2001 and 2010, Skipton Magistrates’ Court has not had any scheduled trial time since a review earlier in the pandemic – with not guilty cases reportedly being sent to Harrogate, York and as far as Scarborough.

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Back in 2010, the axe fell on nine of Yorkshire’s courthouses, but Skipton Magistrates’ Court was spared after a campaign backed by Skipton and Ripon MP Julian Smith and the local branch of the Magistrates Association.

The closures were part of national plans to shut 103 magistrates and 54 county courts across the country in a move which was estimated to save almost £37 million in maintenance and running costs.

In a statement, the HM Courts & Tribunals Service said the recent changes at Skipton Magistrates’ Court were introduced to ensure cases could be heard “safely and with minimum delay” during the pandemic.

It said no decision has been taken to permanently remove criminal trials from Skipton and that “special arrangements” can be made to hear trials locally.

A spokesperson for the HM Courts & Tribunals Service said:

“While listing is a judicial function, the pandemic forced some cases to be moved to ensure cases could be heard safely and with minimum delay.

“Skipton Law Courts continue to hear civil and family cases and special arrangements can be made to hear cases locally.

“Although there is presently no scheduled trial time in Skipton, in individual cases travel distance can be considered when the case is listed and special arrangements can be made to hear cases locally.”

The developer behind a Leon drive-thru in Harrogate has been ordered to take down an eight-metre advertising sign after it was put up without permission.

Pictures from the Wetherby Road site show a sign advertising a Leon restaurant being erected yesterday.

The developer has applied for the installation of 15 advertising boards, which include drive-thru directions, menus and a height restrictor bar.

However, Harrogate Borough Council has yet to approve the advertisements.

Joe Shields, a resident who lives directly opposite the drive-thru, saw the pole being put in place by contractors at around 8am in the morning. He alerted planning officers to the situation.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret, Mr Shields said he was disappointed that the developer had erected the sign without permission.

Mr Shields said:

“There are changes at the site on a daily basis.

“My impression is that they will just continue wacking this [the Leon] up.”

The current construction site at the Leon on Wetherby Road.

A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council confirmed that a planning officer attended the Wetherby Road site to order that the advertisement be taken down.

The spokesperson added:

“We have also received an application for advertising at the site. Any works undertaken before the application is at the applicant’s own risk.”

The Stray Ferret asked Euro Garages for a response on the advertisement, but it declined to comment.

£25,000 appeal costs

The move comes as the borough council has agreed to pay Euro Garages £25,000 in appeal costs over the development.

Last year, Helen Hockenhull, a government planning inspector, granted permission for a Starbucks drive-thru on the former Dental surgery site.

It has since emerged that the site will become a Leon drive-thru instead.

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• Harrogate council to pay Leon developer £25,000 in appeal costs

Ms Hockenhull awarded costs against the council after she said it “demonstrated unreasonable behaviour”.

The council turned down the development back in 2019 on air quality and highways grounds, but later withdrew its objection.

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

Parents at a Harrogate primary school facing an uncertain future have spent the day meeting with governors and the headteacher. 

Woodfield Community Primary School opened its doors for parents to ask questions after a planned merger with Grove Road Community Primary School fell through. 

The proposal had been put forward after Woodfield was placed in special measures by Ofsted two years ago. Governors had been unable to find a multi-academy trust to join, as required by Ofsted, and an announcement was made yesterday that the planned merger had also fallen through. 

Cllr Paul Haslam, who has been a governor at the school since early 2019, told the Stray Ferret: 

“It is bitterly disappointing. The school has got the best teaching it has had for many years.  

“The calibre of the teaching and learning of the children can’t be faulted, in my opinion.  

“I believe it’s more to do with Grove Road feeling they don’t have the resources in order to accomplish what the amalgamation set out to do, rather than anything else. We’ve all got the children’s interests at heart. 

“We’re listening to parents rather than telling them what to do. It’s about having an ear. 

“Let’s get through this stage and understand what this stage is; listening to parents and their concerns will help us formulate what we do in the future. 

“We will come to a conclusion based on what parents tell us and what all parties believe is right.” 

Cllr Haslam said the governors had written to all parents about amalgamation being dropped before the news was announced publicly.  

“We view this as a very urgent situation that needs to be dealt with as quickly as possible. We will be doing everything we can in order to expedite and get information for people.  

“We’re challenged with the Easter holidays – the governors were 200% behind the fact we had to offer to sit with the parents today.  

“We didn’t want them to go away worrying about this. Obviously, they will worry, but we are giving them an opportunity to talk about this.” 

Read more:

• Future of Woodfield school uncertain as Grove Road merger dropped
• County council ‘would give Woodfield school more time to improve if it could’

After the merger proposal was initially announced, North Yorkshire County Council and leaders from both schools held two online public meetings in January for parents to ask questions. 

Asked what would happen if the planned amalgamation fell through, Andrew Dixon, strategic planning manager for NYCC, said they “would have to consult on a school closure”. 

However, Cllr Haslam said today that he wanted to reassure parents: 

“Until further notice, the school continues to operate exactly as it is. That’s the legal obligation of NYCC – we have to operate the school as is. 

“The first and most important thing is that the children are the centre and the core of everything that we as governors do. That’s our utmost consideration at all times.” 

Woodfield was rated ‘Inadequate’ by Ofsted in March 2020, but monitoring visits by inspectors have since found that improvements are being made.  

They particularly praised the efforts made by the school’s new leaders and governors to identify the work needed to improve and how they can be evaluated. 

Harrogate Grammar’s under 18s rugby squad are celebrating having been crowned champions of the Yorkshire Cup after beating Crossley Heath 19-12.

It is the first time the school has won the cup since 2007.

Tom Ryder, the director of sport at Harrogate Grammar, said:

“Winning the Yorkshire Cup was the icing on the cake of a fantastic year for the Sports Academy. They are a dedicated and motivated group who train hard and commit.

“The Yorkshire Cup final was an extra special occasion, as so many teachers, students, HGS Alumni, friends and family came out to support.

Student Freddie Yates scored two tries, whilst team-mate, Matthew Leatham, won the man of the match award.

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After two years of disruption, students have enjoyed a full season of fixtures across all years. The girls’ under 14 netball reached regional finals recently, as did the boys’ hockey team.

Neil Renton, the school’s headteacher spoke on the win. He said:

“They are talented squad and their dedication not only reflects our values of commitment and excellence, but also inspires our younger students. The Academy is a unique asset to our school, championing success in netball and rugby and we want to attract students from all over the county.

“Our PE faculty works hard to organise so many fixtures, driving forward such successful teams and offering a tremendous range of sports to all our students.”

The circular walking route around Swinsty Reservoir has reopened today, three months ahead of schedule.

Yorkshire Water closed the circular route around the reservoir In November 2020 to allow it to undertake £6 million safety works that were due to be completed in the summer.

The company introduced a temporary footpath, which drew some complaints for being too muddy.

https://twitter.com/YorkshireWater/status/1512387717430136845

The reservoir in the Washburn Valley is a popular location for families and dog walkers in the Harrogate district.

Alastair Harvey, lead recreation advisor at Yorkshire Water, said:

“Swinsty is one of our most popular reservoir sites, so it’s fantastic to have the full circular route open once again. We’re grateful for the patience of our visitors and local residents whilst the work took place.”

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• Harrogate returns to list of UK’s best places to live

• Harrogate residents hope badgers will thwart housing scheme

The Sunday Times has identified Harrogate as one of the best places to live in the UK.

The newspaper’s annual Best Places to Live list, published today, names the town as one of nine places in the north and north-east of England, and 70 nationally, which are among the most desirable.

Judges cited the town’s schools, parks, shops, cafes and restaurants as among its attractions, describing it as “all the fun and fresh air of Yorkshire without any of the gritty bits”.

They listed an average house price of £390,000, which they said had risen by 20% in the last two years.

The Times and Sunday Times property editor Helen Davies, one of the list’s judges, said:

“The Sunday Times Best Places to Live list is necessarily subjective. Leave it just to statistics and you will never capture the spirit of a place.

“For that, you need to visit to take into account that ‘you have to be here’ feeling. Is the pub dog-friendly, for example? Can you live car-free? What are the schools and houses like? Is it multicultural and multigenerational, and can it offer a good way of life to lots of different sorts of people? 

“Ten years ago, when we launched the inaugural list, London’s gravitational pull was strong, the WFH [working-from-home] revolution had not yet reached our doorstep and high streets were stacked with chains. How times have changed — and how welcome that change is.”

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Ilkley has topped the Sunday Times Best Places to Live list for 2022, though Slaithwaite in West Yorkshire was named as the best place to live in the north and north-east of England.

Also on the list for the region were Leeds City Centre, Cawthorne in South Yorkshire, Hovingham and Great Ayton in North Yorkshire, Tynemouth in Tyne and Wear, and Morpeth in Northumberland.

Harrogate last appeared on the list in 2016. In 2020, Ripon was featured, while last year Masham was singled out as one of the top places to live.

Property website Rightmove has frequently listed Harrogate as one of the happiest places to live in the UK.

More dubiously, a BBC Two programme named it as the country’s “porn capital” in 2010, with more people browsing for explicit content than anywhere else. Three years earlier, it was identified as the second-worst place for problematic drinking in a study conducted by the North West Health Observatory at the Centre for Public Health.

Members of the Kingsley Ward Action Group (KWAG) hope the discovery of badgers will thwart a proposed housing development on Kingsley Road.

Redrow Homes won outline planning permission to build 133 homes on appeal in August 2020 after it was initially refused by councillors on Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee.

A reserved matters application that gives a final rubber-stamp to development is yet to be signed off.

As part of the application, the developer submitted two ecology studies.

These found there were four badger setts in the area but only one or two were still actively used by the animal.

Members of KWAG bought a trail cam, which is a camera that is left outside and captures the movement of animals.

They claim their investigation found evidence of 11 badger setts, 6 of which it says are still active.

Mr Tremble said:

“How can complete amateurs spot this much badger activity so easily when so-called professionals failed completely?”.

KWAG has sent the results of their investigation to HBC councillors.

How the proposed development will look

Badgers and their setts are protected by law.

Developers must have a licence from Natural England to remove or modify a badger sett.

John Hansard from KWAG said the planning application must now be put on hold until the licence is approved, which could take months.

He said:

“There is proof of badgers on site. It’s the breeding season now so they can’t apply for a licence until the end of June. Nothing can happen until then.”

Redrow’s response

Traci Moore, land and planning director for Redrow (Yorkshire), said:

“We are committed to protecting wildlife in and around the proposed development. We have undertaken surveys of local wildlife and submitted ecological reports in line with the outline planning permission, including a detailed badger survey in 2021.

“We have also submitted proposals to reduce the impact of the development on the native badger population. These proposals are subject to ongoing discussion and agreement with the council’s ecologist.”

Harrogate District’s Chamber of Commerce is due to hold its monthly Business Safari event.

The members-only speed networking event will be held next week at St George’s Hotel.

You can sign up to the monthly agenda through the Harrogate Chamber website.

Plant competition for school children hosted by Johnsons of Whixley

Johnsons of Whixley in Harrogate is holding a competition for primary school children.

To celebrate the Queen’s platinum jubilee and gardening, £250 worth of plants will be sent to the winner’s school, including ten plants for their own home garden. Those in second and third place will also win a plant.

Children under the age of 11 can participate by drawing an imaginative Jubilee Garden. The form can be downloaded here.

Children must create a drawing of a jubilee garden as part of the competition

JW is a three-generation run family business which grows and supplies trees, shrubs and plants to UK-wide planting schemes.

The company plays an active part in the community, having collected donations for Ukraine and providing plants to Baby Rainbow Memorial Garden last month.

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Residents in Scotton are mobilising against plans to build a solar farm the size of 150 football pitches that they believe will spoil their picturesque village.

UK energy firm Gridserve is behind a proposal to build the solar farm on fields belonging to Lawrence Moor Farm.

Thousands of solar panels would generate up to 49.9 megawatts of green energy that could power up to 14,000 homes.

The village on the outskirts of Knaresborough has a population of around 600 people.

Scotton resident Richard Tallis, who has lived in the village for 12 years, has distributed leaflets to villagers and said 165 people have responded to say they are opposed to the plans.

Two public footpaths would be surrounded by solar panels if they were passed.

Mr Tallis said:

“We’re not against solar farms, just put them in the right places.

“Agricultural land should be used for agricultural purposes.

“There’s a strength of opinion around the village opposing it.”

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The main site where Gridserve wants to put the solar panels is bound by the narrow country roads Low Moor Lane and High Moor Lane. It is also opposite the village primary school.

Mr Tallis said he fears the roads are ill-equipped to cope with eight months of construction traffic whilst the site is built.

He said he is not a “NIMBY” but feels that solar farms should be built on the edge of motorways and away from residential areas.

“I accept there will always be people that criticise us for opposing it.

“But there are other sites that are more suitable, not on the edge of a picturesque green village.”

Net-zero

This morning the UK government published its flagship energy strategy. It wants the country to produce most of the energy it uses through renewables.

It says the UK will increase current solar capacity by five times before 2035.

A spokesperson for Gridserve said:

“Matters of proximity, visual impact and access throughout the construction and operation of the Scotton solar farm will be integral parts of the forthcoming planning and design process.

“We hope we are able to proceed with the next design phases in an open, collaborative approach that involves members of the local community and other statutory and non-statutory stakeholders”