This article is sponsored by The Knox Harrogate

With Spring now upon us, the recently refurbished Knox pub on the outskirts of Bilton is an enticing choice for outdoor dining.

Simon and Katie Swannie took on the pub in 2016 and have worked tirelessly ever since to make sure it becomes the hub of the local community.

The couple’s continuous improvement led to a major refurbishment, both inside and out.

If you need to shake off the winter blues and soak up some sunshine, or just want some space to let the kids run off the Sunday dinner, The Knox has the space, and the atmosphere, for your perfect outdoor dining experience.

Great dining space inside and out

The welcoming beers garden are dog friendly and south facing, making the perfect sun trap.

Out the back the large dining area is perfect for taking advantage of the weather and large family meals. The goats and chickens in the pen just behind the pub will no doubt be a hit with the kids while the parents enjoy a drink.

The inside of the pub is spacious. There’s plenty of room in the main dining area, or if you’d prefer there is also The Barn which is quirky, cosy, and available to hire.

Revamped menu

The new menu is sure to be another hit for The Knox and compliments its steak nights and pub food classics with locally made and sourced food specially selected for outside dining.

Convenient if you’re after a quick snack while you drink. If you need a quick rest while exploring the beautiful Nidd Gorge or Oak Beck, the pub is a short walk away.

So whether you are looking for space for a family meal in the sunshine, or a picturesque corner to settle down in for the afternoon the Knox pub in Bilton is the perfect spot.

Visit The Knox on Knox Lane, Harrogate, HG1 3AP, or find more details at theknoxharrogate.co.uk.

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Response to Knox Lane housing

Regarding the joint response by Spawforths and Jomast to your article on a proposed housing development on Knox Lane in Bilton.

The consultation by Harrogate Borough Council was held in 2017 for all additional sites proposed for inclusion in the Local Plan. The site in question (H2) was subsequently reduced in size prior to inclusion.

Steve Hesmondalgh & Associates held two consultations in 2018. The first was held on February 15 during half term with little notice given to residents. The second held March 22 was a result of complaints by residents who were unaware or unable to attend due to the short notice given for the first. The consultations were held on behalf of Wakefield and District Housing Association who wished to build 73 (100%) affordable homes on the whole site, including that which had been removed. A planning application was not submitted at that time.

A pre-application meeting was held between Jomast and HBC on the September 30, 2019. Apparently due to covid and the uncertainty to the length of any lockdown, the scheme having already been consulted on and the site now an allocation in the Local Plan, it was considered appropriate to submit the application rather than delay until meaningful consultation could be carried out at an underdetermined time in the future.

In April 2020 an application for 73 homes was submitted. The country was at that time in lockdown. It included some private homes due to HBC not wanting 100% affordable but still left 86% affordable. 23 (100%) of affordable homes were on the unallocated land. Hardly a mixed community with only 10 of the properties of the homes on the allocated land being open market. A revised application has now been proposed for 53 homes on the land with the number of affordable reduced to 56%.

HBC should keep to their agreed policy of 40% affordable homes, which is not only significantly higher than the NPPF 10% guideline but is applied consistently across all sites. It was what our elected representative voted for when they approved the Local Plan.

Local residents rightly still have some concerns. The transport assessment for the site was carried out by interrogation of the TRICS database using the assumption 75% of the homes would be affordable/local authority tenure. The number of residents vehicles was assessed at 30 which would disperse between Ripley Drive and Crab Lane and therefore the impact on the wider network would be negligible in practice.

I doubt in reality the number would be so low nor does it take into consideration the adjacent H69 site which the developer of H2 has to provide access to. The images below highlight congestion problems on Crab Lane.

There is an impact on local wildlife including protected species, nett loss of biodiversity since gardens do not count and could in the future be paved, also mature woodland trees.

According to the Landscape and Visual Impact Statement submitted by the developer with the original application, some homes in close proximity to the site will experience major negative visual intrusion during the construction phase, year 1 of the development and in the long term after 10 years. The numbers of homes affected may reduce slightly due to the revised application but are still disproportionate to the number of homes to be built.

HBC currently does not have a problem meeting the Government’s Housing Delivery Test.
2016 – 2019 1,641 homes, 155% of 1058 required Published 13 February 2020
2018 – 2020 2,355 homes, 229% of 1026 required Published 19 January 2021
2018 – 2021 2,628 homes 266% of 987 required Published 14 January 2022

Harrogate Borough Council has according to their latest report published in April 2021 a land supply of 7.42 years.

Catherine Alderson, Knox Lane

Read more:

• Residents say 53 homes at Knox Lane will ‘decimate’ idyllic scene
• Nursery rises from the ashes of Smarties in Ripley

‘The Prime Minister should have resigned weeks ago’

I couldn’t agree more with Paul Baverstock’s recent article on the disgraceful behaviour of the Prime Minister and his Conservative Party. Boris should have resigned weeks ago and to add insult to injury I understand he will not be completing truthfully the Metropolitan Police survey into parties etc at No 10. This should come as no surprise but just adds to the appalling situation.

I have voted Tory all my life but won’t be at the next general election.

Andrew Jones should show some commitment to his constituants by calling for a vote of no confidence in the PM.
It is an absolute shambles.

Judy Rowson, Harrogate

Dog mess in cemeteries a wider problem

I was shocked to see your piece about the amount of dog fouling at Grove Road cemetery. Today I visited my parents cremation plaques at Stonefall and found the wreath had dog dirt over part of it and around it. This is both upsetting and shocking that people do not respect the cemeteries. This is obviously a wider problem than just one cemetery.

Patricia Chapman, Harrogate

On Knox Lane in the summer and you’ll probably see families walking or on bicycles heading down towards Spruisty Bridge that runs over Oak Beck.

It’s a green corner of Bilton that residents cherish but a group in Knox believes a controversial housing application would destroy the idyllic scene.

North East property developer Jomast wants to build 53 homes on a field on Knox Lane, in an application that has been reduced from 73 homes from when it was first submitted in 2020.

Since the 1980s, different developers have eyed the field for development without success, thanks in part to campaigns by dogged residents.

This time, as the site is allocated in Harrogate Borough Council’s Local Plan, which maps out where new housing developments can take place in Harrogate, it could be their biggest fight yet.

A map of where the homes would be built

Abundance of wildlife

Tom Cox has lived in the area for 50 years. A keen nature watcher, he says he’s seen an abundance of wildlife in the field, including protected species. He’s concerned their habitat will be destroyed.

He said:

“I’ve seen deer, foxes, otters and 60 types of birds. It’s extremely good habitat”.

Sue Wrightson added:

“It will be decimated”.

Jomast commissioned an ecological impact assessment by environmental consultants Naturally Wild.

To the residents’ dismay, its report said the site had “moderate ecological value” and any development would “not have a significant impact on protected species or habitat.”

At the time of writing, the application has had 308 objections with none in support. They cite a range of perceived problems with the site, from the electricity pylons that run over the field to potential flooding issues.

But many of the objections make emotional appeals to the council calling on them to reject the plans due to what they believe is its harmful impact on wildlife.

The walk at the bottom of Knox Lane is popular with families.

With the residents smarting about the Naturally Wild report, they paid ecological consultants Smeedem Foreman to write another one, which painted a different picture.

It said the Naturally Wild report was undertaken between January and April, which it called “sub-optimal” months for surveying wildlife.

It added:

“The report lacks sufficient detail with respect to the mapping of habitats present and with no detailed species lists available, the botanical value of these areas has the potential to be underestimated.”

Read more:

• Parents object to merger of two Harrogate primary schools
• Dramatic photos show firefighters saving Bilton tree in storm

Gridlock

As with almost every application for new housing in Harrogate, concerns have been raised about traffic.

With the busy Skipton Road nearby, and Knox Lane itself a narrow thoroughfare, Bob Wrightson said the roads surrounding the development will soon be “gridlock”.

Mr Wrightson said:

“52 houses, a lot of people have cars, its not been addressed. There might be another 100 cars using these roads and it will be gridlock.”

Jomast’s traffic assessment disputes this and says the homes will not lead to additional congestion.

Alison Hayward said the application is car-dependent and does nothing to encourage people to use sustainable travel.

“There are no EV charging points, no cycle paths, no cycle storage. The development is stuck in the 1980s, it looks back rather than looking forward.”

The community

Perhaps most of all, the residents are unhappy that there has been no attempt by Jomast to form a dialogue with them. They say their voice has been left out of the planning process entirely.

Ms Hayward said:

“It’s bothered a lot of people. They’ve not made an effort and we’ve beem ignored. We emailed the developer for a meeting but we’ve had no response.

Anda Mesaros added:

“It’s disrespectful to the community.”

The developer’s response

Jomast and planning consultants Spawforths issued the following joint statement to the Stray Ferret:

“Jomast recognises the concerns of the local residents in respect to the potential impacts of the proposed housing development.  However they would like to stress that the Application Site is allocated for housing within Harrogate’s Local Plan.  Therefore, it has already been deemed as suitable for residential development by Harrogate Council.  The planning application is providing a significant amount of affordable housing, above what is required by planning policy, which will help address the significant shortfall of this type of housing within the town.

“The planning application is supported by a number of specialist technical reports, including a Transport Assessment, which demonstrates the Proposed Development would not lead to any additional congestion of the local roads.  Jomast has also commissioned a series of ecological reports, which show that the Proposed Development would deliver a net benefit to biodiversity and the environment through the creation of new wildlife habitats and significant tree and hedgerow planting.

“Two public exhibitions have been carried out in respect to the development of the Site.   In addition, Harrogate Council consulted local residents on the allocation of the site for housing during the preparation of their Local Plan.”

Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee is set to consider the plans next month

A Harrogate man has been sentenced to prison for causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

George McGeogh, 24, admitted using his car to injure his ex-girlfriend’s new partner on Knox Lane in May 2020.

Leeds Crown Court was told this morning that McGeogh “used his car as a weapon” to injure the man before driving off and leaving the scene of the incident.

McGeogh, of Harlow Park Road, was sentenced to 16 months in prison and disqualified from driving.

On May 1, 2020, McGeogh pulled up in his Volkswagen Golf on Knox Lane beside his ex-girlfriend and the victim, who were both named in court.

The pair were walking their dog, which the court heard the female had got while with McGeogh.

The court was told that McGeogh then got out of the car and shouted “you think you can walk my dog?”

Read more:

• Harrogate police officer denies sexual assault while on duty
• Harrogate councillor calls for campaign to make class A drugs ‘shameful’

He started to throw punches at the man before returning to his car to try the boot. He then returned to throw more punches.

McGeogh got into his car and the victim started to run. McGeogh mounted the grass verge and broke before the man turned and slipped.

McGeogh then hit him with the car and then drove off.

‘Highly remorseful’

The prosecution told the court that it was “miraculous” that the victim’s only serious injury was a broken cheekbone.

The court heard that McGeogh had told a friend he needed to hand himself into police. He had also referred himself to mental health services following the incident.

Knox Lane in Harrogate.

In defence, Graeme Wilson QC, said that McGeogh “saw red mist” and it was “out of a character” for him.

He said:

“His actions were impulsive and reckless, which he accepts. He is highly remorseful.”

Mr Wilson added that McGeogh had since found a stable relationship and was employing four people as a self-employed electrician.

Using car ‘as a weapon’

Sentencing McGeogh, Judge Geoffrey Marson QC said the only “appropriate punishment” was a custodial sentence.

He said:

“It is perfectly clear to me that you were using your car as a weapon to frighten your victim.”

Judge Marson described the attack as “wholly unprovoked” and added:

“It is a miracle he (the victim) was not more seriously injured. But the coward that you were, you simply drove off.”

Judge Marson said he accepted that McGeogh did not intend to run over the man and that the defendant had shown “genuine level of remorse”.

McGeogh is expected to serve half of his 16 months sentence before being released from prison on licence.