A plan has been approved to build nine new flats on the site of a former council office in Harrogate.

The site at 18 Victoria Avenue was previously home to Victoria Park House, which was demolished in December 2021.

Planning permission was granted in late 2018 for an office building to be built by new owner Hornbeam Park Developments. The plans proposed using the original facade, and the stonework was retained to do so.

However, plans have been submitted by Long Marston-based Echo Green Developments, through agent Savills, to create nine residential apartments on the site.

The developer argued that attempts to market the building for office use had failed over a number of years.

Plans for apartments on the site of the old Victoria Park House.

Now, North Yorkshire Council has approved plans for the flats to be built.

In documents submitted to the authority, the developer said the plan will help to meet the need for accommodation in the area.

It said:

“The proposal will be a high quality apartment building in keeping with the Victorian villa’s of the area which will revitalise the site and provides an enhancement to the public streetscape.

“The proposal will provide much needed residential accommodation to the area.”

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A planning application has been submitted to convert a former Harrogate music studio into an immersive magic show venue.

Magician Neil Bradley-Smith applied for a change of use of the Blue Sky Music Studio, on Mayfield Grove, which was previously occupied by a piano teacher.

Mr Bradley-Smith has proposed to turn the site into a “speakeasy-style” entertainment venue to perform live shows.

These would be ticketed events.

He told the Stray Ferret he provisionally took the lease on in August, but said he’d only commit to the property providing his planning application is successful.

He added:

“I’d like to partition the venue and make the first room an entirely interactive magic show.

“For example, I’d have a deck of cards stuck to the wall which would then be used in the show later on.

“Then, the other half of the venue would become a 1920s-style parlour where I’d perform traditional card tricks.”

The application, which was submitted to North Yorkshire Council in September, outlines the change of use from retail to sui generis, which means the use of the venue does not fall into a particular category due to it being unusual.

Mr Bradley-Smith said he was inspired by a friend who runs a similar venue in Durham, adding:

“It would be a new venture for me, but I’ve been thinking about it for around the last 5 years.”

North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

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North Yorkshire Council is set to bid for government funding to progress five social housing schemes in the Harrogate district.

The authority is set to apply for a grant from Homes England to help fund the projects, which include new build houses and conversion of a former Robert Street homeless hostel.

In a report due before senior councillors on Tuesday, council officers said the move would help to meet “huge demand” for social rented housing in Harrogate.

Currently, the council has 2,196 households on its housing waiting list in Harrogate alone.

Vicky Young, the council’s housing policy and strategy officer, said in her report:

“The tenure of the new build units will be social rent. 

“There is huge demand for social rented accommodation in the Harrogate locality, with 2,196 households currently registered on the Harrogate waiting list.”

Among the projects in the councils bid include new build homes on Poplar Grove and Gascoigne Crescent in Harrogate, Springfield Drive in Boroughbridge and Kingsway in Huby.

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Each of the homes are estimated to cost £375,000 to construct.

Meanwhile, the council also estimates that a plan to convert Cavendish House on Harrogate’s Robert Street into six flats would cost £400,000.

The former homeless hostel will be converted into a shared ownership property.

Councillors approved the conversion of the hostel in September. At the time, the council said in a report that the property would help to deliver “much needed affordable housing”.

It said:

“The building has been empty since November 2021. As such, it has a negative impact on residential amenity and increasingly risks attracting anti-social behaviour.

“The development proposals will deliver much needed affordable accommodation in a redundant building and a highly sustainable location, complying full with national and local planning policy guidance.”

The bid to Homes England would help towards 30% of the total cost of the five schemes.

According to the report, the projects would cost £1.9 million to build.

Senior councillors will discuss the bid at a council executive meeting on October 17.

Two North Yorkshire Council housing companies are estimating to report a profit by the end of this financial year.

Brierley Homes and Bracewell Homes are expected to post improved performance after completing further sales, according to a council financial report.

Both companies were taken over by North Yorkshire Council in April 2023.

Bracewell, which is a former Harrogate Borough Council firm, is forecasting a profit return of £1.52 million by the end of 2023/24.

A report said the company had seen sales of shared ownership properties and the “receipt of rental income on the proportion retained within the company”.

However, it added that Bracewell was still awaiting the completion of purchasing a further two sites.

It said:

“The main challenge for the Company relates to receiving accurate information from developers.

“Bracewell is due to complete on house purchases at two sites this financial year however neither developer has managed to achieve their initial forecast completion dates.”

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Meanwhile, Brierley Homes, which was set up by the former North Yorkshire County Council, is forecasting a profit of £959,000 by the end of the year.

The figure is based on the company completing sales at sites in Marton cum Grafton, Pateley Bridge and Great Ouseburn.

Meanwhile, the firm is expected to start work on another housing site in Kirby Malzeard this year.

It comes as the council reported a “positive outlook” for the company in March amid an increase in sales.

A developer has appealed a council decision to refuse plans for 23 homes in Bishop Monkton.

Kebbell Development Ltd tabled a plan to build the houses on Knaresborough Road in the village.

At a meeting of the Skipon and Ripon area constituency planning committee in August, councillors rejected the plan amid concern it would increase the amount of raw sewage released on streets.

The decision went against North Yorkshire Council officers’ recommendations to approve the scheme.

One councillor said having more properties in the village could exacerbate the “abomination” of raw sewage being released into the streets during heavy rainfall.

The committee had also called for Yorkshire Water to provide more detail on how the scheme would impact on foul water drainage in the village.

No representative from the company appeared at the meeting.

But the company said “most, if not all” of the “sewage escapes” in the village were caused by residents putting excessive toilet paper, fat, oil and grease down toilets and sinks which caused pipes to block.

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

In a statement of case submitted to the inspector, Kebbell Development Ltd argued that there was no planning reason for the scheme to be refused.

It said:

“It is clear that the appeal proposals fully comply with the requirements of relevant policies contained within the development plan and there are no material considerations that indicate planning permission should not be granted.”

The developer added:

“The council have acted unreasonably in refusing planning permission.”

A government planning inspector will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

A road in Knaresborough is set to be closed for resurfacing next week.

North Yorkshire Council will carry out work on B6163 Briggate from Monday (October 16).

According to the council’s roadworks map, the road will be closed between 7.30am until 5.30pm everyday until November 1.

Advanced warning signs of the closure are also in place on the road.

The move comes as the road was recently hit by disruption after a wall collapsed.

The wall, which was painted by Knaresborough artist Joseph Baker Fountain last century, crashed on to the road on Thursday, September 14.

Two-way traffic lights were put in place as repairs were carried out.

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A former guest house in Harrogate could be converted into a house in multiple occupation.

Leeds-based Abbeycrown Ltd has tabled proposals to North Yorkshire Council to change the property at 6 Dragon Parade, which is known as Dragon House, into co-living accommodation.

In documents submitted the council, the developer said the guest house had seen a downturn in trade during the covid pandemic.

It added that, as a result, the property was “unviable as a guest house”.

The proposal would see the building converted into an eight-bedroom house of multiple occupation.

The developer said in its planning statement:

“The applicant is looking to address the need of high quality co-living facilities in the area to create rooms for professionals and public sector workers.”

It added that tenants would be “fully vetted and verified people” and would not have a detrimental impact on the surrounding area and neighbours.

A house in multiple occupation is a property rented out by at least three people who are not from the same household, but share facilities such as a kitchen and bathroom.

North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the proposal at a later date.

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A flagship scheme to hand extra powers to parishes following the creation of North Yorkshire Council will not benefit the vast majority of the area, it has been claimed.

Opposition groups on the Conservative-run council have expressed disappointment after it emerged just 11 town councils and one parish council had submitted bids to manage more services in their area as part of what the authority has titled “double devolution”.

The offer to hand powers to parish authorities was initially made in former North Yorkshire County Council’s submission to government for the establishment of a unitary council amid concerns that decision-making for local services would become too far removed.

An officer’s report to a meeting of the council’s executive on Tuesday emphasises how the council has pledged to place local communities at its heart while covering England’s largest county, and double devolution would be “a key platform to achieving this aim”.

However, the report states double devolution applications would need to have a solid business case and be cost neutral to the unitary council.

It states of the 12 expressions of interest submitted by town and parish councils, three did not meet the council’s criteria, including the only one from a parish council.

Knaresborough Town Council could be given powers over the town’s market.

The report states Little Ouseburn Parish Council applied to manage grass cutting outside some cottages, but the parish “did not evidence legal competence”. 

Stokesley Town Council’s bid to manage off-street parking was rejected as North Yorkshire Council stood to lose income.

Double devolution bids which are set to be approved include Filey being given the power to manage its public benches, Northallerton and Thirsk and Knaresborough town councils their markets, Richmond Town Council being handed the management of Friary Gardens and Malton Town Council its public toilets.

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Elsewhere, Skipton and Whitby town councils look set to be told their bids to manage services such as toilets and parks need “amendments”, while separate project teams will be established to work with Ripon and Selby town councils to shape their bids due to their “ambition and complexity of the expressions of interest”.

Ahead of the meeting, the authority’s executive member for corporate services, Cllr David Chance, said the authority was looking to “progress cautiously, learning from the experience and developing best practice”.

He said: 

“These proposed pilots are just the start of the process, and the hope is that more will be introduced throughout North Yorkshire in the future.”

However, the authority’s Labour group leader Cllr Steve Shaw Wright said for the vast majority of North Yorkshire double devolution was “just lip service” and “managing a couple of flower beds does not require a fantastic business case”.

Cllr Wright said: 

“It was a nice soundbite, but outside some of the larger towns there’s not a lot to double devolve down.

“The issue across the whole of North Yorkshire is that there is only a handful of sizeable councils that could take on and run services. The vast majority of other parishes either haven’t got the capacity to do it, are reluctant to put the precept up to fund it or there isn’t actually anything there to run.

“It was not a particularly well thought through proposal looking at the parishes and towns we have in North Yorkshire. Most parishes are very small.”

When asked if he believed double devolution was proving a success in North Yorkshire, Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr Bryn Grifths said: 

“Not at this stage, it has not taken off at all. I’m very disappointed.

“I’m not sure how much engagement the towns and parishes have had or if they understood what was involved. Having said that it is up to North Yorkshire Council to equip towns and parishes to make it happen.

“I feel Stokesley put a good case forward and North Yorkshire Council’s response has been a bit of a slap in the face.”

A developer has submitted plans for a new 25 lodge holiday park near Knaresborough.

The proposal has been tabled by AMS Planning on behalf of Mr Duffield for land at Shortsill Lane at Coneythorpe, known as Spring Bank Farm.

It would see 25 holiday lodges built at the site, as well as a reception.

The proposed lodges would be built around two ponds, which the developer said would serve as a haven for wildlife and enhance “the character of the site”.

It added that the site would also help the local economy and increase accommodation in a rural area.

In a planning statement to North Yorkshire Council, the developer said:

“Spring Bank Farm provides a rare opportunity to introduce an employment generating use without detriment to the key characteristics of the districts picturesque countryside. 

“The subject proposal will help remediate the current dearth in the supply of rural outdoor accommodations.”

North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

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Works to re-landscape Harrogate‘s Crescent Gardens have begun.

Harrogate Borough Council, which was abolished in April, announced the revamp in February, shortly after the area hosted an ice rink and funfair last Christmas. The activities are due to return for a longer period this year.

A report at the time by Kirsty Stewart, the former council’s parks and ground maintenance manager, said “we would like to take the opportunity to upgrade the area to enable better accommodation of future events with less disruption to the planting in this area”.

It also added a three-year licence for the Christmas activities “will generate a minimum income of £37,500 per year.”

The report also said the area would be re-named The Queen Elizabeth Memorial Ground, but at the time of publication North Yorkshire Council had yet to confirm this will still happen.

Jonathan Clubb, the council’s head of parks and grounds, told the Stray Ferret:

“We are carrying out work as part of our ongoing management of Harrogate’s parks and grounds to maintain a vibrant, attractive location for residents and visitors.”

A steel rose arch will be installed today and climbing roses and flower beds will be planted in the coming weeks, Mr Clubb added.

The council also said the planting, which has cost £10,000, is part of the overall £21,000 budget that also included the costs of groundwork and materials.

This is the first redesign of Crescent Gardens since 1990, following the Gateshead Garden Festival, when the central glass structured was erected.

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