Two locations in Pannal have been identified as sites for a new Harrogate park and ride bus service.

A park and ride is among measures proposed by North Yorkshire County Council to reduce traffic and ease congestion around Harrogate.

Other schemes include a Killinghall bypass, new cycle paths and traffic calming in Bilton.

Land near Pannal Golf Club and land near Buttersyke Bar roundabout south of Pannal have been chosen as park and ride sites.

County councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for access, said a key factor was the sites’ location on the 36 bus route that runs regularly between Leeds, Harrogate and Ripon. He said:

“One of the great costs of a park and ride is the shuttle bus, which would have to be contracted out.

“If you can tie it in with a scheduled service it would mean you could avoid this cost.”

Pannal is about three miles from Harrogate. Cllr Mackenzie said a more central location might not work as well because if motorists had to battle through town centre traffic to get to the park and ride they might not think the service was worth bothering with and park in town instead.

Read more:

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Cllr Mackenzie said the park and ride idea “could happen fairly quickly” depending on developments.

It is one of the main projects in the council’s Harrogate transport improvement programme.

Perhaps the programme’s most ambitious and controversial proposal is for a Killinghall bypass.

Cllr Mackenzie said the likely route would be from the Old Spring Well pub on the A59 and then south and east of Killinghall to join the A61 at the roundabout in Ripley that goes to Pateley Bridge and Ripon.

It would not touch the western side, where the Nidderdale Greenway is located, he added.

The number of new covid cases in Killinghall and Hampsthwaite is more than double that of anywhere else in the Harrogate district.

North Yorkshire County Council statistics today revealed a total of 62 cases have been recorded in the two villages in the last seven days.

The next highest sub-districts locally are Ripon South and East and Starbeck, which both have had 28 cases.

The figure for Killinghall and Hampsthwaite is second in all of North Yorkshire only to Malton and Norton, which has registered 63 infections.

It comes as a further 39 infections were recorded in the district, according to today’s Public Health England data.

Read more:

• 52,500 clinically vulnerable people vaccinated in North Yorkshire, says Harrogate MP
• Harrogate people don’t have to travel to York for vaccine, say health bosses
• Ripon to get its own coronavirus vaccination site

It takes the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 6,392.

Meanwhile, the district’s seven-day covid rate has fallen to 245 people per 100,000.

The county-wide rate is 222 and the national average stands at 382.

No further deaths from patients who tested positive for coronavirus have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital, according to NHS England figures.

A care home company boss has spoken of the struggle to contain recent outbreaks of covid that have “ravaged” homes in the Harrogate district.

A total of 258 care home residents and staff in North Yorkshire currently have covid, according to figures from North Yorkshire County Council this week.

Tracey Holroyd is chairman of Warmest Welcome, whose Westfield House Nursing Home in Killinghall has suffered one death recently and currently has 12 infections.

Warmest Welcome owns eight other homes, including The Crest Care Home in Harrogate, and Ms Holroyd said all but one had been hit hard by covid recently, along with many others in the care sector.

She said the new mutant strain of covid struck Westfield House over Christmas.

“This new variant is so fast, it just ripped through the home. It’s horrible.”

Westfield House had hardly suffered any covid infections until Christmas.

Read more:

• Harrogate care boss ‘frustrated’ at vaccine rollout
• All Harrogate district care homes to get vaccine this week

Ms Holroyd said staff followed all the correct protocols but the speed of transmission in a building full of vulnerable older people was devastating. She said:

“The care home is the community so if the virus is in the care home it’s in the community. And this virus is so fast.

“It’s just been awful but we are over the worst. We’ve just got to keep on keeping on.”

Ms Holroyd said the manager and deputy manager had both been off but were now back, and that having so many staff absent had been a “massive problem”.

The infections are also delaying the vaccination programme at Westfield House. Ms Holroyd paid tribute to the dedication of staff during such a difficult time, adding:

“The vaccine can’t happen soon enough.”

North Yorkshire County Council said this week 76 out of 235 care settings in the county, which includes care homes and extra care facilities, has one or more positive covid case.

Of that number, 55 have recorded outbreaks, which is two or more cases. Nine have large outbreaks, which is defined as 10 or more cases.

There have been 633 covid infections recorded in the Harrogate district in the last seven days, according to government statistics.

The infection rate has rocketed over the last month and the current seven-day average rate is now 494 people per 100,000.

But there are considerable variations within the district.

The government breaks each district into smaller areas known as middle super output areas, each with a population of about 7,200 people.

According to the latest figures, the middle super output areas with the most current infections are central Harrogate and central Knaresborough.

The more rural Pateley Bridge and Nidd Valley, which has been consistently less affected throughout the pandemic, has the fewest current infections.

Most infections

1 Central Harrogate 76

2 Knaresborough Central 61

3 Harrogate West and Pannal 59

4 Killinghall and Hampsthwaite 53

5 Starbeck 47

Read more:

• All over 80s in Harrogate district to be offered vaccine by end of month
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Fewest Infections

1 Pateley Bridge and Nidd Valley 13

2 Hookstone 17

3= Dishthorpe, Baldersby and Markington

3= Spofforth, Burn Bridge and Huby 19

5 Masham, Kirkby Malzeard and North Stainley 21

A new bypass for Killinghall could cost in excess of £20 million, county council officers have said.

The project would come as part of a plan proposed by North Yorkshire County Council to tackle congestion in the Harrogate district.

Councillors on the Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Committee heard the proposals at a meeting today, along with other measures to cut traffic.

It comes after the county council conducted a study in 2019 to find ways to ease congestion in the district.

Initial proposals included building the bypass along with a western relief road. However, that idea has now been taken off the table and a standalone bypass has been suggested.

Allan McVeigh, senior highways officer at the authority, told the committee that the project is estimated to cost “in excess of £20 million”.

Read more:

• Three Harrogate cycling schemes to share £1m government funding
• £9.8m upgrade of Knaresborough to Poppleton rail route complete
• Killinghall bypass proposed as part of plans to tackle congestion

But he added that the figure was a “high level estimate” at the moment and more work needed to be done on the scheme if it were to be taken forward.

A report before the committee said the current bypass proposal would cost less to construct than the relief road and would offer “high value for money”.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive county councillor for access, speaking before the Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Committee.

Meanwhile, concern was raised from residents and campaign groups over cycle routes and the increase in flow of traffic into Harrogate as part of the project.

Rod Beardshall, of Zero Carbon Harrogate, called on the county council to oppose the plan. He added that “all non-road solutions for Killinghall should be considered before a bypass.”.

In response to concerns, Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at the authority, said a bypass was necessary to remove congestion from the “fastest growing village in the county”.

He added that the scheme would include active travel measures, such as cycle routes..

He said:

“We have a duty to respond to the many residents and local members who feel that they want to take some of this traffic out of their village. 

“That includes 44-tonne lorries which could not be replaced by a person walking or cycling. That is why we firmly believe that certainly further consideration of a bypass to take this traffic out of the village is needed.”

The bypass is set to be added to the county council’s list of major schemes, which would require funding from the Department for Transport.

A Killinghall care home resident celebrated her 105th birthday yesterday with a giant cake and more than 300 cards.

Nellie Prince, who was born during the First World War in 1915 and lived independently until the age of 103, now lives at Westfield House Care Home.

She is the home’s oldest resident, and her milestone has prompted debate about whether she is the oldest person in the Harrogate district.

Leah Dodd, the manager’s assistant at the home, came up with the idea of getting 105 cards for Nellie’s 105th birthday and approached the local primary school and community groups to make or send cards.

Her appeal caught the imagination and even appeared internationally, which led to more than 300 cards from places as far away as Canada and Malibu.

Leah, an expert cake maker, also made the huge cake for Nellie’s big day.

Read more:

• School treats Harrogate care home to Christmas carols
• 100-year-old Pateley Bridge woman receives vaccine

Nellie was born in Leeds but moved to New Zealand as a young child.

She returned to the UK when she was 14 and worked as a housekeeper until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 when she helped the war effort by making ammunition.

Nellie, who has never married, had various jobs after the war until she retired aged 60, which incredibly is 45 years ago.

Some of Nellie’s birthday cards.

Her earliest memory is of her and a friend, who were both poor eaters, being fed by her mum. The only way her mum could get them to eat was by saying, “one for Nellie, one for Stanley”.

Her secret of a long life? Good food and “no takeaway rubbish”!

The coronavirus rate of infection for the Harrogate district has increased for the first time in almost a month.

The seven-day average rate of infection peaked at 303 people per 100,000 on 9 November.

It then fell rapidly to 85 on 30 November, according to the data from Public Health England.

But yesterday’s latest figure, which is for the seven days to December 3, showed the rate had gone up on three consecutive days and is now 95.

That is still below the North Yorkshire average of 105 and the England average of 148.

But it does suggest the sharp downwards trend went into reverse before the end of lockdown on December 2.

Read more:

• Thirty two new covid cases in district reported today
• Two further covid deaths reported at Harrogate Hospital

The district’s R number, which refers to the rate at which the virus is spreading, remains low at 0.4.

This means every 10 people infected will pass it on to another four.

Killinghall and Hampsthwaite is still the local area with the most positive cases, having recorded 21 in the last seven days.

The Harrogate district is set to end the second lockdown with a far lower rate of covid than when it started.

Government figures today reveal the district has an average seven-day rate of infection of 92 people per 100,000, compared with 277 people per 100,000 on November 5.

This means the rate has fallen by about two-thirds since lockdown began.

The England average is currently 154 and the North Yorkshire average is 107.

The R number has fallen from a peak of 1.6 last month to 0.6 today. This means every 10 people with covid will infect another six.

Public Health England recorded another 18 positive test results today, which is well below the 95 on November 9.

Read more:

• All 285 year 11 pupils at Harrogate Grammar sent home due to covid
• Pateley Bridge: no covid cases for 10 days but pubs stay shut

There were no further deaths reported today at either Harrogate District Hospital or in the district’s care homes.

Killinghall and Hampsthwaite remains the district’s covid hotspot, with 26 infections in the last seven days.

The next highest is Ouseburn, Hammerton and Tockwith with 18.

Pateley Bridge and Nidd Valley, Masham, Kirkby Malzeard and North Stainley and Ripon North and West have not recorded a single new infection for at least seven days.

An investigation by the Stray Ferret has uncovered how some of Britain’s biggest land promoters deliberately targeted Harrogate to exploit cheap land and high property prices.

Between 2014 and 2020 the district’s planning system was in disarray.

These failings made it easy for developers to get controversial housing schemes approved. The developers, knowing this, made speculative applications for thousands of homes across the district.

All this week, the Stray Ferret looks at the impact of six years of planning failings: thousands of extra cars on the roads, large detached houses prioritised over much-needed affordable homes for local people, and a lack of sustainable, environmentally friendly building.

Today, we examine how the Harrogate district became a target for opportunistic developers .

The draw of Harrogate

The Harrogate district is a prime place for money to be made in property.

It’s one of the most desirable places to live, often coming top in national property surveys. Just last month, Harrogate was named the ‘chic capital of the North’ by Tatler. It makes it very attractive to developers.

The latest figures put the average home at almost £360,000 – a whopping 13 times the average income for the district.

It is, according to the Harrogate Borough Council Housing Strategy 2019-2024, the least affordable area in the north of England.

It means home owning is out of reach for many low to middle income families caught in the Harrogate housing trap. There are more than 2,000 families in the district on the Housing Register living in unsuitable accommodation.

It’s not a question of Harrogate building too many properties. Rather, it’s too few of the right homes, in the right places, at the right price to meet local people’s need for affordable homes.

Planning failings

Every council has to put forward a 21-year plan to the Secretary of State for approval.The Planning Inspectorate examines local plans on the Secretary of State’s behalf to determine their suitability.

In 2014, the Planning Inspectorate advised Harrogate Borough Council  to withdraw its version of the Local Development Plan (or LDP 2014-2035).

The LDP sets out the council’s priorities and policies for land use. It defines where and how many homes can be built, where employment sites are located and what our town centre will become.

For a plan to be approved, it must demonstrate that it is well evidenced and meets local need. The plan must be in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework and a raft of legislation, practice guidance and regulations.

Harrogate Borough Council withdrew its draft LDP at its first hearing on April 24, 2014, upon advice from the planning inspectorate.

The failed plan – years in the making – was deemed ‘inadequate’.

A letter from the Planning Inspectorate to Harrogate on April 29, 2014 explained that the evidence used in the plan was too out of date to be meaningful.

Harrogate was forced back to the drawing board.

Prior to its submission, Liberal Democrat leader councillor Pat Marsh had told the Yorkshire Post:

“I do not have confidence in anything to do with the plan, whether it be the actual allocation of homes, whether there is the necessary infrastructure in place to cope and how members will be able to decide on the final proposals which are still being finalised. I have been a councillor for 22 years, but I have never experienced anything quite like this. It is a complete shambles.”

Conservative councillor Alan Skidmore, who was appointed cabinet member for planning at HBC in 2012, publicly defended the plan at the time. Yet speaking to the Stray Ferret this year, he said he knew the plan that had been prepared was “absolute rubbish”.

“I was astonished. I delayed it as much as I could, much to the chagrin of certain planning officers. We were forced to submit it in the state it was in, because if we didn’t, the government would have taken steps against us.”

The local plan should have helped control where new housing was built

Land supply

Harrogate failed on another critical requirement. Councils must show that they have a supply of specific deliverable sites enough to provide five years’ worth of new housing (plus an appropriate buffer).

This is called the five-year land supply (5YLS).

In 2014, the council had more than two thousand families on the housing register.

Planning inspectors and developers surgically dissected Harrogate’s calculation that just 390 new market and affordable homes per annum was enough to meet housing need.

The figure had to be revised, and Harrogate employed a consultant, GL Hearn.

To meet the 5YLS, Harrogate had to find enough developers with land to deliver 1,050 completed homes a year.

As a result, the land earmarked for development within the plan was insufficient.

The perfect storm

Without an approved local plan and evidence of a five-year land supply, a condition called the ‘tilted balance in favour of presumption of approval’ was triggered which prioritised building houses.

In 2013, the Campaign for Rural England warned local government that a

“widespread failure to implement local plans left 175 local authorities (including Harrogate) vulnerable to ‘damaging development’”.

But the Federation of House Builders disagreed, saying:

‘‘Fears that the lack of a (local development) plan will lead to the untrammelled destruction of the countryside are overblown. Even where there is no Local Plan, development must still conform to the NPPF, which clearly sets out that development must be well located, well designed and sustainable.”

Harrogate Borough Council planners advised councillors from 2014 to 2018 that there was a ‘tilted balance’ in favour of approval on almost every major development regardless of whether the site was well located and sustainable.

For almost every major housing scheme, planning officers advised committee members to approve the application.

The planning committee did turn down some applications during that time, though, and the council successfully defended its decision at appeal.

A district vulnerable to promoters

Enter the land promoter: land promoters seek out land which could be ripe for housing and help the owner get outline planning permission before managing the onward sale to a developer.

In the Harrogate district, a hectare of agricultural land will fetch around £25,000 at the farmers’ auction.

As a development site with outline planning approval, the same land will realise between £1.2 and £2.3 million.

The promoter then takes a share of the land’s increased value when it’s sold.

Gladman Land is the promoter behind applications for nearly 1,500 properties in the district since 2014, including Harrogate, Boroughbridge, Killinghall and Knaresborough.

Co-founder David Gladman told the High Court in July 2016:

“We normally only target local authorities whose planning is in relative disarray and… either have no up-to-date local plan or, temporarily, they do not have a five-year supply of consented building plots.”

Even if the council refuses the application, it’s of no consequence.

Gladman Land stated that going to appeal was part of its business strategy, with a success rate of over 90%. They advertise themselves as one of the most successful land promoters in England.

It’s completely legal and was essentially a standard practice within the land promotion industry.

In 2016/17, Harrogate received the highest number of planning applications since records began.

The development at Crofters Green, Killinghall, was one of those passed at appeal. Click here to read more.

Strengthening position

By January 2019, Harrogate could demonstrate a robust 5YLS which tilted the balance in a different direction.

Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee was advised to support an outline application by Gladman’s to build 175 houses on Bar Lane, Knaresborough.

The debate ran over several hours with councillors struggling to reach a consensus, despite officers’ recommendation to approve the proposal. Eventually, the committee deferred the application to planning officers to approve, subject to some details being finalised.

But just nine months later, on September 9, 2019, the same application returned to the planning committee who refused it against the advice of officers.

The advanced state of the local plan and a healthy 5YLS gave the planning committee the confidence to reject the proposal.

The local development plan was finally accepted by the planning inspectorate and adopted by HBC in May 2020 affording further protection against harmful development in the borough.

But the damage has been done to the fabric of our communities, and over the next week, the Stray Ferret will look at the impact that six years of planning dysfunction has had on the lives of local people.

Coming up

All this week, we look at the impact of a planning system in disarray. 

• Tomorrow: Local homes for local people? We speak to those who say they’ll never be able to buy in their home town. 
• Wednesday: Thousands of new homes – but where are the schools and doctors’ surgeries to support the people who live in them? 
• Thursday: More than 26,000 extra cars on the road: one local man says traffic is putting him out of business 
• Friday: Climate change: why the district’s new homes are already out of date when it comes to the environment 

Towns and villages across the district were targeted by developers while Harrogate had no local plan or five-year land supply.

A proposal by Gladman Land to build 75 homes in Killinghall was initially refused planning permission by Harrogate Borough Council.  

It said the development “would cause significant harm to the form of the village and to the landscape character, which includes the Nidd Gorge Special Landscape Area and a number of public rights of way, by its manner of extending the built form of the village into open countryside”. 

In October 2016, the company appealed against the decision 

The Planning Inspectorate dismissed the draft Harrogate local plan as being “of little weight”, saying that it considered the main issues to be whether the council could now demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing land.   

After hearing arguments from both, he concluded that Harrogate needed to make provision for 3,857 homes over the period 2016–2021.  

This was considerably higher than the 390 per year originally calculated by HBC.  

‘Suitable location’

The planning inspectorate determined that the site “was a suitable location for the proposed development having regard to national and development plan policies in respect of sustainable development and the delivery of new housing”.  

Its report concluded that the failure to evidence a five-year land supply by the council was the planning consideration to which he attached most weight.  

Had Harrogate met its statutory planning obligations, there may have been a different outcome to the thousands of homes given approval between 2014 and 2020. 

At the time Killinghall conservative councillor Michael Harrison, who was also Cabinet Member for Planning, was reported in the local press as saying Gladman was targeting Killinghall because the council lacked a local plan and five year housing supply.

He said:

“Villagers are right to be upset and feeling that the village is under siege from developers. They are correct.

“It is, in my view, an unacceptable way to get planning permission and it deprives the local residents, and the local council, of the right to have their say on how the district should be developed.”

Killinghall is just one of the areas in the district which feels it is “under siege from development”.

Residents fear the whole fabric of the village has changed as more and more houses are built.

With growing congestion and a lack of local amenities, they worry the formerly small settlement is fast becoming a suburb of Harrogate. 

Read more

• Investigation: How Harrogate was targeted for development during six years of planning chaos