Staff have made allegations of bullying, harassment and undermining at Harrogate Borough Council.

As part of an ongoing review into pay at the authority, some staff responded to a survey with claims that their bosses “work together to threaten” and “get what they want” from more junior colleagues.

One member of staff said in a report that the council “bullies and harasses its staff regularly,” adding:

“I have been on the receiving end of this – the lies, being made to feel incompetent, being bullied and harassed on returning to work.

“Harrogate Borough Council needs to take a long hard look at itself.”

Reacting to the allegations, David Houlgate, secretary of the trade union Unison Harrogate, which represents council workers, said the claims were “not a surprise”. But he added he did not believe there was a “culture” of bullying at the authority:

“The council is a large employer with over 1,000 staff. It is sadly inevitable that bullying behaviour will and does occur.

“The council has policies and procedures to deal with these. When our members come to us with complaints we fully expect the council to engage with us and fully respond and resolve the issues being raised.

“If we feel this is not happening, then we do involve our legal representatives but this does not happen very often.”

A spokesperson for the council said there had been two complaints of inappropriate behaviour and one grievance regarding bullying and harassment raised in 2021. These are currently under investigation.

In 2020, one grievance was raised regarding bullying and harassment with no further action taken at either stages one or two of the grievance procedure.

And in 2019, one complaint of bullying and harassment was investigated and an appropriate level of warning issued.

The spokesperson said: “Sadly, at some time or another, all employers will have to deal with bullying and/or harassment in their workplace.

“It is something we will not stand for and any incident is dealt with in accordance our behaviour policy. Thankfully, these reports are very few and far between.

“It is encouraging to see that the Local Government Association agree that our new pay and grading structure is consistent with the national position.”

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The allegations were made as part of a review into pay, which could see 17 of the council’s most senior staff next month get pay rises totalling around £133,000 between them.

Meanwhile, mainstream workers, who had their pay structure reviewed more recently two years ago, are currently in negotiations for a further rise.

This is after a study concluded the recruitment and retention of staff was challenging and that pay was a factor.

Out of the 553 employees who responded to the survey held in August, over 80% gave pay as one of the main reasons why they would consider quitting their jobs.

Mr Houlgate said staff have been offered a “derisory” 1.5% pay rise this year – an increase which he believes does not go far enough to recognise them as the “unsung heroes” of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Unison has been clear for a long time that levels of pay for council staff has been a major contributory factor in relation to recruitment and retention issues.

“We have seen a decade of staff being overworked and undervalued whilst enduring significant real term pay cuts, redundancies and increased workloads.

“The council now seems to be waking up to this and says it is putting things in place to tackle these issues but we have real concerns about the timeframe it has set and whether it will deliver on these.

“This needs to happen now otherwise people will leave.”

As well as the bullying and harassment allegations, and complaints over pay, several staff also responded to the survey with positive comments about working at the council.

Positive comments from the survey

• “The fact that the council offers a free mental health service is a great benefit to the whole council.”

• “I really have no intention to leave at the moment because I enjoy my job. It offers challenge, variety, flexibility etc.”
• “The council is a great place to work, however the pay is not competitive with other local authorities.”

• “I have really enjoyed working for Harrogate Borough Council and have been able to progress and work flexibly.”

Negative comments from the survey

• “Harrogate Borough Council bullies and harasses its staff regularly. HR and managers, including directors work together to threaten, undermine and bully the staff to get what they want. I have been on the receiving end of this, the lies, being made to feel incompetent, being bullied and harassed on returning to work.”

• “Employees over 50 aren’t valued. I have heard more than one manager say that employees over 50 are ‘a threat to the organisation’.”
• “I feel Harrogate Borough Council is lagging behind other authorities in its pay levels and it impacts on our ability to recruit and keep good staff.”
• “The council acts as though they care but it is clear they do not and also they do not have staff trained to offer support when it is requested hence my response to the council not caring about health and wellbeing – it is all lip service and rather patronising when we have real work to do and deadlines.”
• “Some managers do not care about feelings or wellbeing which makes a complete mockery of the council.

• “There is very little in the way of career progression at Harrogate Borough Council – it is very much ‘dead men’s shoes’.”

Do you have experience of bullying at the council? Write to us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk

Harrogate Borough Council‘s rewilding to encourage bees and other wildlife has delighted many in the district this summer.

But one group of long-suffering residents believe it could be exacerbating their hay fever.

The pollen count has been at its mid-summer peak recently, especially on warmer days.

Many areas of the district, including parts of the Stray, have been left to grow wild, resulting in more pollen than in previous years.

Stray Ferret reader Clare Winsor got in touch to say she suspects her family’s recent bouts of hay fever could be related to the longer grass and wildflowers.

She said:

“My family and I are really suffering from hay fever this year, much worse than we would normally.

“I think this may be due to an increase in pollen/seeds/allergens produced by the overgrown areas.”

“Not sure how right I am but could this be the reason so many are complaining of hay fever locally?”

Fellow hay fever sufferer Sophie McCallum also believes the longer grass is “definitely making it worse”.

She told the Stray Ferret:

“This year is the worst I’ve ever had it and have been really suffering every day.”

Read more:

• Harrogate’s ‘rewilding’: untidy or biodiversity boon?
• Harrogate district’s wild grass verges continue to divide opinion

However, some experts believe lockdown, rather than longer grass and wildflowers, could be a contributing factor because people are spending more time indoors.

Dr Naveen Puri, associate clinical director at Bupa Health Clinics, told Cosmopolitan magazine:

“Over the last year, social distancing restrictions have meant that we’ve spent more time indoors than perhaps we usually would.

“As a result, you may have been exposed to less pollen than usual, and this could make your hay fever feel worse.”

One Harrogate resident, Jerry Smith, playfully dismissed the claim that wildflowers increased hay fever and said he’s looking at the bigger picture.

He said:

“I wish for all biodiversity to be removed because it’s all giving me hayfever. I will continue to flourish as a human whilst the rest of the earth collapses.”

A council spokesman said:

“We have sympathy for hay fever sufferers, especially at this time of the year when the pollen count is higher and farmers are hay making.

“But we need to remember why we are leaving areas to grow and planting wildflowers.

“Pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, play a key role in sustaining the flora and fauna across the district.

“Sadly, they have been in decline for several years and we all need to play our part in supporting their habitats.”

The owner of a Harrogate car wash has said customers are questioning whether he is involved in modern slavery crimes, despite being unrelated to a recent court case.

Mehmet Ula, who owns Woodlands Hand Car Wash and Valeting on Wetherby Road, contacted the Stray Ferret to say around three to five customers a day were asking if staff were being treated correctly or abused.

It has happened since Defrim Paci, a 42-year-old married father-of-four, was one of two men convicted at Carlisle Crown Court for modern slavery crimes this month.

Paci is sole director of Harrogate Hand Carwash on Sykes Grove but the crimes were committed against workers at a Carlisle car wash. The Sykes Grove business was not implicated.

Mr Ula said:

“I’m in a difficult situation. I’ve lived in Harrogate for 18 years. We’ve got absolutely nothing to do with these people.”

“Most of the lads I employ are local and we do everything properly.”

Read more:

• Call for modern slavery investigation into Harrogate car wash
• Harrogate car wash owner found guilty of modern slavery

Mr Ula bought the business, which was previously called Bubble Run, two years ago.

He said he pays staff properly and modern slavery was an “outrageous” practice.

He added:

“People have a right to ask questions, they should, but this is affecting my business.

“We 100% disagree with what’s happened.

“I hope they get the correct punishment. This is 2021 in England, modern slavery is not what we want.”

A new report into the UCI Road World Championships 2019 has said the event inspired people to cycle more — but had a ‘major disruptive impact on the community in Harrogate’.

The study commissioned jointly by British Cycling, Sport England and UK Sport found that 45% of those surveyed said they would take up cycling or cycle more after watching the event.

The 11-day event in September 2019 received a hostile response from many local businesses because road closures hampered trade. The event also caused £130,000 worth of damage to the West Park Stray.

The report, compiled by the Sport Industry Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University, covers awareness of the event, its perceived impacts, and the extent to which it influenced changes in physical wellbeing, mental wellbeing, individual and community development.

It found that:

• 57% of those who interacted with the event felt prouder of Yorkshire and the UK.
• 45% were inspired to take up cycling or cycle more.
• 49% felt the event had brought their local community closer together.

But the report adds:

“There were also some negative consequences of the Road World Championships expressed by host community residents surveyed, particularly in Harrogate, where respondents were critical of the inconvenience and disruption due to the prolonged road closures compared with other host locations such as Doncaster and Leeds.

“Another sticking point in Harrogate was the damage caused to a section of the Stray – a protected public area of green space – where the Championship Fan Zone was located.

“The event was seen to have had a major disruptive impact on the community in Harrogate, which is illustrated starkly by Harrogate Borough Council’s decision to refrain temporarily from hosting major events of this scale.”

Read more:

• Council Stray repairs contract given under ‘urgent circumstances’
• Questions raised over timing of Harrogate council’s UCI review
• Review opens into Harrogate’s UCI Road World Championships

Cllr Stanley Lumley, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, said the report showed the UCI Road World Championships had inspired people to get more involved in sport.

He added:

“It is inevitable that hosting an international event of this scale can cause some disruption on day-to-day life.

“But the global television audience has no doubt left a lasting impression on what Yorkshire and specifically the Harrogate district has to offer. This will no doubt encourage a number of visits in the future which our tourist economy so desperately needs.

“It was also positive to read that the volunteering opportunities the event created has had a lasting impression on those involved.”

Rod Findlay, British Cycling’s business services director, said:

“The 2019 UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire was a truly momentous celebration of cycling, and from the report published today it’s clear that the legacy of those nine days of racing will be felt for many years to come.”

Review into UCI

Last week, a public survey into the UCI championships, which were held in Harrogate, closed.

Harrogate Borough Council’s overview and scrutiny committee set up the review to build on “its successes and identifying any areas for improvement to inform the organisation of future events”.

However, questions were raised over why the committee decided to hold a review on the UCI two years after the event.

A woman who found blood on a walk with her daughter near a crime scene in the Jennyfields area of Harrogate today has spoken of her shock.

Two men suffered head injuries and cuts to their bodies following a disturbance in the Grantley Drive area late last night. The police helicopter was deployed and two other men were arrested on suspicion of wounding.

Police cordons remained in place this afternoon on the footpath opposite the Co-op store on Jennyfield Drive, with officers on site.

The Stray Ferret went to Jennyfields and spoke to a resident who requested anonymity. She said:

“It was quite a shock. When I went out earlier with my daughter they had cordoned off part of the path because there was blood.

“Then my daughter and I found blood on the path. So we put a chair there and told officers, who have cordoned it off.”

The circumstances surrounding last night’s incident remain unclear. The woman said:

“There was a lot of commotion. There was a guy outside at around 8pm who was screaming down his phone.

“It’s just sad if it is someone who has been badly hurt but I don’t know what happened.”

Read more:

• Two arrested on suspicion of wounding in Jennyfields
• Police appeal after teen knocked off motorcycle in Harrogate

Officers were called to Grantley Drive by the ambulance service at 11.20pm.

North Yorkshire Police arrested two men aged 51 and 44 at about 1am on suspicion of wounding.

The 51-year-old man was also arrested on suspicion of possessing class A drugs.

A North Yorkshire Police statement this afternoon said both men remained in custody. It added:

“The victims were taken to hospital for treatment, their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

More pictures from the scene:

Police on the footpath next to Jennyfield Drive and Bramham Drive. Officers were called to the Grantley Drive area last night.

Police have arrested two men in Harrogate on suspicion of wounding after a late night assault in the Jennyfields area.

Officers were called to Grantley Drive by the ambulance service at 11.20pm after two men were found with head injuries and cuts to their body.

A police helicopter was used to search the area and two men, aged 51 and 44, were later arrested on suspicion of wounding.

Read more:

• Police appeal for witnesses after teen knocked off motorcycle in Harrogate
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The 51-year-old man was also arrested on suspicion of possessing class A drugs.

A North Yorkshire Police statement said:

“At around 1am, two men from Harrogate aged  51 and 44 were arrested nearby on suspicion of wounding. The 51-year-old was also arrested on suspicion of possessing class A drugs.

“Both men remain in custody at this time.

“The victims were taken to hospital for treatment, their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

“Anyone who was in the area of the Co-op store on Grantley Drive, Grantley Drive itself or Bramham  Drive and witnessed the incident is asked to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101 and pass information to the Force Control Room.”

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Quote reference 12210145213 when passing on information.”

Bettys Cafe Tea Rooms in Harrogate has been named one of the UK’s 20 best coffee shops, alongside two other Yorkshire venues.

Coffee manufacturer Coffee Friend created the list by looking at all coffee shops with over 100 TripAdvisor reviews, basing the results on how many ‘Excellent’, and ‘Terrible’ rankings they received. Bettys received over 4,000 ‘excellent’ reviews on the site.

Bettys ranked number 20 and may have been hampered by its sheer volume of reviews. It received over 7,000 while only one other coffee shop reached the thousands — this inevitably increased the number of ‘Terrible’ rankings Bettys received.

The tea room and cafe has become a popular tourist spot since its establishment over 100 years ago. The Harrogate branch is its flagship, but there are now six in Yorkshire, including one at Harlow Carr. The cafe at Bettys Stonegate in York closed this year but the shop remains open.

Espresso Yourself in Scarborough and Wheldrakes in York also made the list.

At number one was Bigmoose Coffee Company in Glasgow, a non-profit cafe, which donates all profit to charities.

Read more

• Ripon’s Spa Hotel on verge of being sold
• Harrogate’s hospitality sector reacts with disappointment to lockdown delay

Campaigners for the closure of RAF Menwith Hill will resume their weekly protests this evening.

The protest first took place in 2000 but was halted in March last year due to the covid pandemic.

Supporters of the Menwith Hill Accountability Campaign will stand outside the main gates of the base from 6.00pm to 7.30pm.

Campaigner Sarah Swift said:

“This regular peaceful protest was started by the Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases in 2000.  As has been said before, ‘It’s time they went!'”.

Built in the 1950s on the edge of Nidderdale, Menwith Hill is the United States’ largest overseas surveillance base. Giant radomes, or ‘golf balls’, are a distinctive feature of the site.

Read more:

• Upset and anger at plans to remove MP’s memorial tree at Menwith Hill

• Menwith Hill to expand with new ‘golf ball’

Meanwhile, Harrogate Borough Council is expected to make a decision on the latest expansion at the base soon.

The Ministry of Defence, which owns the site, has submitted plans to add a new visitor centre, vehicle canopy and changes to the road junction on Menwith Hill Road.

However, the application has proved controversial because it would involve felling a memorial tree planted in memory of the late Bob Cryer MP in 1994.

Mr Cryer campaigned for transparency at Menwith Hill and secured a debate in parliament a few months before he died in 1994. He claimed the aim of the base was to “assert and retain United States supremacy”.

Mr Cryer’s widow, the former Keighley MP Ann Cryer, told the Stray Ferret she was “very upset” at the proposals.

Funding for Harrogate’s controversial Station Gateway scheme has been increased from £7.9m to over £10.9m.

The gateway project aims to create a more attractive entrance to the town around Station Parade and James Street and give greater priority for pedestrians and cyclists.

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which bid for the initial funding from the UK government, has now allocated an additional £2.6m to the scheme. It will come from the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund.

A West Yorkshire Combined Authority report said the overall delivery costs of the project have not increased but the extra money was needed for “risk and contingency”.

An additional £300,000 will be match-funded by local councils, taking the total cost of the project to £10.9m.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority has now agreed to proceed with the scheme towards drawing up a full business case.

The UK government has set a deadline of March 2023 for all schemes that received funds from the Transforming Cities Fund to be built.

Read More: 

• Decision to proceed with £7.9 million Station Gateway sparks anger
• Explainer: How the Harrogate Station Gateway survey paves the way for major change

The Harrogate gateway scheme is being done in partnership with Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council.

Similar projects are planned in Selby and Skipton but the Harrogate scheme has proved the most contentious.

Some businesses are worried about the impact on trade but many Harrogate residents and environmental groups have welcomed it.

Councillor Phil Ireland, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability, has said the initiative “has the potential to create many more walking and cycling opportunities while transforming the look and feel of the station gateway area in Harrogate”.

A house at the centre of crime concerns on Harrogate’s Mayfield Grove is to be allowed to reopen.

North Yorkshire Police and Harrogate Borough Council issued a three-month closure order on 38 Mayfield Grove in March.

The two organisations can apply to a court for a closure order if they have concerns about antisocial behaviour and criminal behaviour on premises.

At a community engagement session on Mayfield Grove last week, police and council officers revealed they do not intend to bid to extend the closure order, which expired yesterday.

Constable Kelvin Troughton, of North Yorkshire Police, told the Stray Ferret:

“Since the order has been in place there has been a reduction of incidents.

“There’s a dialogue now and we are working with the landlord to hold him to account and ask him what his intentions are for this property when the closure order ends.”

John Willis, the landlord, has divided 38 Mayfield Grove into bedsits. Constable Troughton said Mr Willis served eviction notices on all of the tenants after the closure order was issued.

He added:

“We hope we have illustrated we are not afraid to take action.”

Helen Richardson, community safety officer at Harrogate Borough Council, said:

“We are working closely with John Willis to look at the tenancies being put in place.”

Ms Richardson added prohibition orders had been served on two of the bedsits and the council was working with Harrogate Homeless Project to address concerns.

Julia Stack, community safety and CCTV manager at the council, said its private sector housing team had inspected 38 Mayfield Grove:

“There have been challenges regarding that property and the management of the property by that landlord. The closure order was a proportionate response.

“We have robustly challenged the landlord about his property and who he chooses as his tenants.

“It is a challenging property. He is responsible for his choice of tenants.”

A closure order was served on the same property in 2005, when it was dubbed the House from Hell by neighbours.

Read more:

• Mayfield Grove summit to be held on Tuesday
• Two men flee after crashing car on Harrogate’s Mayfield Grove

Residents on Mayfield Grove and nearby streets, including Mayfield Terrace, Strawberry Dale, Nydd Vale Road and Nydd Vale Terrace attended last week’s outdoor drop-in session.

Many had concerns not only about individual properties but also about crime in general in the area, with some saying they knew exactly who was responsible and where criminal activity took place yet nothing was done.

One woman told the Stray Ferret she was unable to sell her home because of the area’s reputation.

Mr Stack said the council was considering temporarily attaching a CCTV camera to a street light in the area as part of measures to tackle crime.

The Stray Ferret has attempted to contact Mr Willis for comment but has not received a response.

A man who lived in 38 Mayfield Grove died in March and another man has been charged with murder.

Do you live in the Mayfield Grove area and have concerns about crime? Email us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk