North Yorkshire Council Archives - Page 111 of 179

Council looking to extend Knaresborough Castle lease

North Yorkshire Council is looking to extend the lease of Knaresborough Castle in order to plan celebration events at the landmark.

The authority took control of the castle in April after Harrogate Borough Council was abolished.

Knaresborough Castle, which overlooks the River Nidd, is the only castle in the county controlled by North Yorkshire Council.

However, the medieval fortress, which was seized by Oliver Cromwell’s Parliamentarian troops in 1644 during the Civil War, is leased from the Duchy of Lancaster.

Knaresborough Castle

Cllr Matt Walker, a Liberal Democrat who represents Knaresborough West on the council, asked Cllr Simon Myers, executive councillor for culture, at a full council meeting yesterday whether the authority had an update on the lease extension.

It comes as Knaresborough Castle is set to celebrate its 900th anniversary in 2030.

Cllr Myers said:

“We have begun looking at the terms of the lease before entering into discussions with the Duchy.

“There are elements to the existing lease which perhaps should be altered and we’re looking at that.”

Cllr Myers added that the council intended to set up a task force to liaise with community organisations and councillors in Knaresborough over anniversary events and the castle’s future use.

The move comes amid new found optimism over the future of the heritage asset.

A meeting of Knaresborough and District Chamber in February heard that the change of ownership could herald a bright new era for the castle.

Peter Lacey, executive member of the chamber, said an extension of the lease would allow for further use of the site for events.

Party in the Castle, a free event broadcasting the BBC’s coverage of Glastonbury, will be held in the castle grounds again next year.

New Dene Park council houses the most energy efficient in North Yorkshire

Five new homes in Harrogate are the most energy efficient properties ever developed by North Yorkshire Council, the local authority said today.

The three houses and two flats, which have been built on the site of a former car park in Dene Park, in the Woodfield area of Bilton, have air source heat pumps, solar panels, triple glazing and insulation.

The homes, which were developed for £1 million as part of a council scheme to turn redundant land into social housing, will be let to local people.

The scheme sees the council in-house development team obtain unused land, dilapidated garages and anti-social behaviour hotspots, then build properties and let them as social housing.

The Harrogate homes are the latest in more than 50 to be built on in the former Harrogate and Craven district areas over the last eight years.

The largest house will produce 0.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, compared to an average home creating six tonnes.

Cllr Simon Myers, the council’s Conservative executive member for housing, said:

“This scheme is delivering new social rented affordable homes which make a big difference to the lives and well-being of local families. It is a scheme that has been running in Harrogate and Craven for many years and we hope to expand it across the county.

“Added to that these new homes in Harrogate are the most energy efficient we have developed, reducing fuel and lighting costs for the tenants, making them truly affordable homes.”

Cllr Simon Myers (centre) outside the new Harrogate homes with the council’s assistant director of housing, Andrew Rowe (left) and corporate director for community development, Nic Harne.

Kirsty Birbeck, manager for provider management at government housing agency Homes England, which contributed a £225,000 grant, said:

“As the government’s housing and regeneration agency, increasing the supply of quality affordable homes remains one of our key objectives and we are committed to supporting ambitious housebuilders of all sizes to build those homes and communities.

“This investment through the affordable homes programme does just that, enabling North Yorkshire Council to build five much needed new homes the people of Harrogate can be proud of.”

Briggate roadworks likely to last ‘several months’ in Knaresborough

Business owners in Knaresborough have reacted with dismay to the news that roadworks on a main route into town are likely to remain for several months.

Temporary lights were installed on Briggate after a wall collapsed in September.

Two months later, the lights remain. But no repair work has taken place and residents and traders don’t know why it is taking so long or why the rubble cant be removed until work commences so traffic can flow freely again.

Parking in Knaresborough is notoriously tricky, and exasperated traders say this and a spate of recent temporary lights in town, including Briggate, is deterring people from visiting.

North Yorkshire Council has now said lights are likely to remain on Briggate for several months.

The roadworks on Briggate.

Danielle Bartley, who opened The Hungry Caterpillar kids cafe on High Street in September, said just getting in to work from her Calcutt home “takes ages” because of the lights. She said:

“Parking is a massive issue in Knaresborough. A lot of customers pull up outside and say ‘where can I park?’

“I’ve been surprised since we opened how busy Knaresborough is. There’s a lot going on. If you get that much footfall there needs to be something better put in place for parking. It’s also dangerous.”

Rebecca Lombardi, from The Clothing Store of Knaresborough on High Street, has started offering free deliveries to help people who struggle to get into town.

Ms Lombardi said long-term lights near the leisure centre had caused problems during summer and the recent spate of roadworks, especially Briggate, added to the woes. She said:

“We have a really big problem with parking and it puts people off coming into town. People are so busy these days and if they want to nip somewhere they want somewhere to park.

“It’s a challenging time for retailers with the cost of living and every customer counts. It feels like everything is against you as a business.”

Two months after the wall collapsed, the rubble remains.

Hairdresser Kelly Teggin, who has campaigned for better parking Knaresborough, said she didn’t understand why the rubble from the wall couldn’t be removed until work began. She added:

“Most businesses and residents want the road cleared as soon as possible.”

North Yorkshire Council highways area manager Melisa Burnham said:

“We have temporary lights on Briggate as a result of the wall collapse. Work to repair the wall and ensure the safety of the structure will start in the next few weeks. This work is likely to take until Christmas, after which we will carry out maintenance on further parts of the wall, so signals will be in place for several months.”

Ms Burnham said emergency gas works at Abbey Road and Blands Hill had also caused disruption recently, but this was “unavoidable”.

Ms Burnham added the council had “asked Northern Gas Network to man the lights at peak time to minimise the disruption”.

Council admits mistake in publicising Knaresborough asylum seeker accommodation address

North Yorkshire Council has admitted making a mistake in publicising the address of authority-owned properties in Knaresborough which would house asylum seekers.

The council published an online decision notice last week to take four homes off the market to be used either for unaccompanied asylum seeking children or as move-on accommodation for homeless people transitioning to independent living.

However, at the time, the notice included addresses of the properties.

At a full council meeting in Northallerton today, Cllr Hannah Gostlow, who represents Knaresborough East division, asked Cllr Simon Myers, executive councillor for housing, whether he felt it was appropriate to include the address on its website.

Cllr Gostlow said:

“Given the public decision notice regarding accommodation for unoccupied child refugees in Knaresborough, does the executive member for housing feel it is appropriate to publicise the location of accommodation for vulnerable young people?”

In response, Cllr Myers said:

“The full answer will be published on the council’s website. But, the short answer is yes it was a mistake.

“It has now been rectified on the record. In an attempt to be open, fair and democratic and to meet the needs of the situation that we find ourselves in with regards to housing these vulnerable young people, a decision was taken quickly and perhaps not thought out as well as it might have been.”

When asked how the location was made public, Cllr Myers said the exact location was revealed as the houses were being retained after being put on the market.

He added:

“The exact location was published in the decision notice. In fact, it would not have taken a lot of working out that they were those properties.

“Both children’s social care and housing are aware of the mistake they have made and they will make sure that such a mistake is not made again.”

Harrogate Borough Council bought the properties in 2019 after they had been unoccupied for several years.

The council, which was abolished in April this year, restored them and said last year it intended to sell the leaseholds for an estimated £879,900 and retain the freehold.

Graham Swift, Harrogate Borough Council’s deputy leader at the time, said the properties “had been a blight on the high street in Knaresborough for several years” and the local authority had recognised their potential to provide homes.

North Yorkshire councillors back giving themselves 10% pay increase

Councillors on North Yorkshire Council have voted to increase their pay by £1,500 a year.

North Yorkshire Council‘s independent remuneration panel recommended the 90 elected councillors’ annual basic allowance should be increased from £15,500 to £17,000.

The 10% uplift, along with other increases for councillors with special responsibility allowances, will mean council tax payers have to foot an extra £145,000 each year.

Councillors backed the move at a full council meeting in Northallerton today.

Cllr Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, a Liberal Democrat who represents Masham and Fountains division on the council, said at the meeting today that she would not support the increase.

She said:

“May I remind everyone that we are in a cost of living crisis. Awarding ourselves a pay rise at this time is indefensible.”

However, Cllr Carl Les, leader of the council, said the independent panel had considered the current cost of living when making the decision to recommend the rise.

“The independent panel know that there is a cost of living crisis. They have factored that in to their deliberations.”

Cllr Les added that it was up to individual councillors as to whether they accepted all or some of the allowance available to them.

Panel chair Keith Trotter cited the increased workload caused by the creation of North Yorkshire Council, inflation and the cost of living as reasons for the recommendation.

The £1,500 increase in the annual basic allowance from £15,500 to £17,000 will result in an increase in the total annual amount paid of £135,000.

Meanwhile, the two per cent increase in the special responsibility allowances paid, with the exception of sessional payments to chairs of the licensing sub-committees, will result in an increase in the total annual amount paid of £10,514.

North Yorkshire Council was created on April 1 to replace the eight county, borough and district councils in the biggest reorganisation of local government in the county since 1974.

Councillors volunteer for their roles so they are not officially paid but receive an annual basic allowance, which according to the panel compensates for their time and “conscientious fulfilment of duties”.

Harrogate Spring Water reveals plans for 1,200-tree community woodland

Harrogate Spring Water has announced plans to plant 1,200 trees to offset concerns about the expansion of its bottling plant in the Pinewoods.

The French-owned company wants to fell trees in Rotary Wood, including some planted by schoolchildren in the 2000s, to expand its site on Harlow Moor Road in Harrogate.

It already has outline planning permission agreeing in principle to develop the site but North Yorkshire Council still has to agree to a reserved matters application agreeing to the site layout and design.

The company has been silent on its plans since a public consultation last summer but today said it would acquire two acres of land next to Rotary Wood and create a community woodland if its reserved maters planning application is approved.

It said this would replace the woodland impacted by the development and deliver a 10% increase in biodiversity levels in the area.

Richard Hall

Richard Hall, managing director at Harrogate Spring Water, said:

“We promised before the public consultation last summer that we would listen to what people told us and take their feedback on board when deciding what we would do next.

“One of the things which came through clearly was that people were concerned about the potential loss of access to community woodland.

“Since then, we have been working long and hard on ways to address this which still allow us to expand operations on the site to meet the increasing demand for our products and invest further in the town.

“Our proposed new area of community woodland will be home to around 1,200 trees, will be fully accessible to the public and we hope it will become a valued resource for the local community for many years to come.

“It sits at the heart of our vision for the future of our operations in the town, fully part of the local community, and represents a significant part of the overall investment which we are making in expanding our presence in Harrogate.”

A Harrogate Spring Water press release today said the community woodland would result in a replacement rate of 3:1 for any trees removed during the expansion.

It added the company was “working alongside local forestry experts to identify other locations in Harrogate to plant an extra 1,500 trees, further improving the replacement rate”.

An artist’s impression of the site.

Harrogate Borough Council approved the outline planning permission for expansion in 2017. It was abolished in April and its successor, North Yorkshire Council, will adjudicate on the reserved matters application.

Harrogate Spring Water plans to hold a public consultation in November and will post information online here before submitting plans to North Yorkshire Council.

Mr Hall said:

“We want everyone to be able to see what we have planned and to be reassured that we have listened to and addressed their concerns.

“The town of Harrogate and its people are the foundation of our success as a business. So it is very important for us that, as we look to grow the company, create new job opportunities and invest further in the local and regional economy, we take time to listen to what the community has to say.

“I believe that our new plans demonstrate this commitment and our determination to act upon it.”

The expansion will create over 50 jobs and at least 20 construction jobs during the build phase.

‘A well-loved woodland’

Pinewoods Conservation Group said Harrogate Spring Water had “taken on board feedback” and added it hoped to be consulted on the proposed design.

A spokesperson for the group said:

“It has now been six years since outline planning was granted for this site and the loss of any green space and trees within our footprint will always be a disappointment to the Pinewoods Conservation Group.

“Rotary Wood, originally planted by local children and residents, has matured into a well-loved woodland used regularly by residents and visitors alike with obvious environmental and conservation benefits. However, we acknowledge that Danone have taken on board the feedback from ourselves and others regarding replacing this land with a proposal to purchase two acres of replacement land adjacent that could form an extension to the Pinewoods.

“The group has asked for direct input into the proposed design of this new area of woodland.

“When made available, we will review the full plans carefully, and as needed, seek relevant assurances around the future of this proposed land, accessibility, and detailed planting proposals. We would also encourage our members and residents to attend a planned consultation event for 30th November (full details to be confirmed) and let us know their thoughts regarding the reserved matters application.“

Commercial waste could be banned at council tips in North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire Council is considering whether to ban people depositing commercial waste at all of its household waste recycling centres.

It is one of a range of options being considered as part of cost-saving measures.

Other ideas include restricting the number of trips vans can make to the centres and banning people who don’t live in North Yorkshire from using them.

The options, which would affect sites at Penny Pot Lane and Wetherby Road in Harrogate, Dallamires Crescent in Ripon and mobile sites in Pateley Bridge and Boroughbridge, are due to go out to consultation.

Penny Pot Household Waste Recycling Centre

The Penny Pot Lane tip.

A council decision notice last week announced plans to consult on changes, which it said would “avoid the need to reduce the service but do impact certain site users”.

The Stray Ferret asked the council why it was proposing changes, what the options were and the likely cost associated with them.

In a statement, it replied:

“To help make savings and improve the service they provide, North Yorkshire Council is looking at various changes at household waste recycling centres.

“This includes limiting the use of HWRCs to North Yorkshire residents only, limiting the access for commercial-like vehicles as well as changes to commercial waste.

“Around 15 per cent of visits are not made by North Yorkshire residents. Limiting the use to the county’s residents could generate savings of about £140,000 every year and would align with neighbouring authorities.

“The council is also proposing to limit access for commercial-like vehicles (including those in a van or pick-up). Figures show 93 per cent of visitors in a commercial-like vehicle make less than 12 visits per year. Limiting these vehicles to 12 visits could bring savings of about £370,000 and could reduce congestion at the sites.

“Before implementing these changes, people will be asked to share their views on the proposals, as well as whether they support commercial waste continuing to be accepted at HWRCs.”

According to the council’s website, commercial waste is currently accepted at all of its centres except Wetherby Road in Harrogate.

Environment minister Rebecca Pow announced in June that households would no longer have to pay to get rid of DIY waste at household waste recycling centres.

DIY waste is now treated the same as household waste, saving tip visitors up to £10 per sack of rubble or sheet of plasterboard.

North Yorkshire Council said this would cost £889,000 and force it to look for new ways of saving money.

Last month, the Local Government Association, which is a membership body for councils, warned the change could mean tip closures and reduced hours in some council areas.

Council to pay costs over Harrogate office block conversion appeal

A developer has been awarded costs after successfully appealing a decision to convert a former Harrogate office block into flats.

Bramhope Property and Investments Limited tabled the proposal to North Yorkshire Council to convert the former office block off Clarence Drive known as Simpson House into 12 two-bedroom flats.

It would have seen the ground, first and second floors converted.

However, the authority rejected the plan in May this year on the grounds that the flats would not have enough natural light.

The developer took the decision to the government’s Planning Inspectorate, which deals with planning disputes.

As a result, government planning inspector, N Teasdale, approved the plans after finding “no substantive evidence to demonstrate that the rear of the building would be in near constant shade/stygian gloom”.

The inspector also awarded costs against the council in a decision notice published this month.

Mr Teasdale said:

“It is not unreasonable for the council to raise concerns about the management of the trees through the prior approval process and the impact of the trees on the proposed development which informed its decision given the close proximity of the trees.

“It is also not unreasonable for the council to raise concern regarding the contents of a technical study. However, the council’s officer report fails to provide justification for this particularly taking into account the overall methodology used and findings of the study.

“No technical critique has been made of the submitted assessment to support their concerns and inaccurate assertions about the proposals impact were therefore made.”

The inspector found that “unreasonable behaviour resulting in unnecessary or wasted expense” was demonstrated and awarded costs against the council.

Decision day approaches for £630,000 Ripon city centre resurfacing scheme

Ripon will discover later this week if a £630,000 road resurfacing scheme will be included in North Yorkshire Council’s capital funding programme for delivery next year.

City councillors have been calling for many years for the sets of paving blocks on Market Place East and Market Place West, which have become damaged and uneven, to be removed and replaced with a tarmac surface.

At last night’s full city council meeting, leader Andrew Williams, told members:

“The North Yorkshire highways team is preparing designs in anticipation of allocated funds to resurface areas of the road network surrounding Market Square.

“It is being considered for funding as part of the wider capital funding programme and if approved will see a scheme delivered next October.”

Tarmac patches have been put in place on some of the worst affected areas of the city centre roads.

Cllr Williams, who represents the Minster and Moorside division on North Yorkshire Council and is a member of the the Conservative and Independent Group, added:

“I’ve been in regular communication with the highways team about the proposed scheme and the process is going to take a little longer than hoped for and will cost more than initially anticipated.

“This is due to the fact that site investigations carried out by highways engineers, showed that the sub core under Market Place East is sand and every time it rains the road surface moves.”

The need to put new foundations in place before the new tarmac surface can be laid has seen the projected cost for the scheme rise from £500,000 to £630.000.

North Yorkshire Council has confirmed that in preparation for the proposed scheme, necessary site investigations have already started and will commence further later this month.

This will involve road closures on separate days of Market Place East and Market Place West and a traffic management plan associated with the works will be communicated to the local stakeholders and the public, once dates are finalised with the contractors.

Both Market Place East (main picture) and Market Place West will be resurfaced next autumn if the scheme receives the go-ahead.

Daughter of man, 90, killed on A61 calls for ‘horrendous’ road to be made safer

The daughter of a 90-year-old man who was killed when he was knocked down by a car is calling for better safety measures to be urgently introduced on the stretch of the A61 Ripon Road where he was hit.

Lucjan Wilk had just got off the number 36 bus when he was struck by a Ford Fiesta travelling towards Killinghall on Monday night (November 6). He sustained multiple serious injuries and died the following evening in Leeds General Infirmary.

Polish-born Mr Wilk lived with his daughter, Paulina, and her husband in a house near the bus-stop.

She told the Stray Ferret:

“This road is just horrendous. People come flying down that hill – I don’t think anyone does less than 50mph, and many go a lot faster than that.

“There’s also no lighting between Harrogate and Killinghall, and not even any on Knox Mill Lane. It’s so dangerous.

“I don’t think they put the bus-stop in the right place at all.”

Paulina is now calling on North Yorkshire Council to reduce the speed limit to 30mph between Harrogate and Killinghall, to install proper lighting, and to introduce other traffic-calming measures, such as speed-indicator display signs. She said:

“It’s a big problem, and I’ve asked the council for more lighting here before, but nobody’s listening. It’s like we don’t exist.”

Mr Wilk, who came to England with his family in 1978, had lived with Paulina and her husband ever since his wife moved into a care home three months ago.

He had taken the bus into Harrogate every day since then to visit his wife, to whom friends say he was devoted.

Paulina can see the spot where her father was struck from her kitchen window. She said:

“I have to pass it every day on my way into town, too – there’s no escape.

“My dad was a wonderful person, and unbelievably fit for 90 years old. It’s so unfair – he didn’t deserve to die like that.”

In tragic twist of irony, Paulina used to live on Leeds Road, where she was very concerned about speeding cars “using it as a racetrack”.

She moved to her current address because she thought it would be quieter. She said:

“I complained to the council about the speeding there, and they contacted me and sympathised, but that was the end of it. A police officer even told me that sometimes it takes a tragedy, like someone’s death, to make them do something. Well, that tragedy has happened now, so I hope something will be done.”

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‘A well-loved woodland’

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