Another Harrogate Hydro delay appears to rule out summer holiday swimming

Harrogate Hydro looks set to stay closed throughout the school summer holidays after another delay.

The Hydro closed in April last year for what was supposed to be a nine-month refurbishment costing £11.9 million.

But the scheduled re-opening in January this year did not happen and in its latest update in May, North Yorkshire Council said the cost of the scheme had risen to £13.5 million and customers would be welcomed back in August.

That suggested families would be able to use the swimming pool for at least some of the summer holidays, which start next week and end on September 4.

Brimhams Active, the council-controlled company that operates leisure centres, is now advertising the re-opening.

Its adverts say the Hydro, which will be renamed Harrogate Leisure and Wellness Centre, is now “anticipated to open early September 2023”.

The news will be a blow to families as the school holidays start next week.

The Stray Ferret asked the council if it could confirm the re-opening date and explain the reason for the latest delay. We also asked if the new £17.6 million Knaresborough Leisure and Wellness Centre was still due to open in November.

A council spokesperson said it would provide an update after a site visit with contractors today.

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Council leader apologises for saying only 129 bin collections missed

The leader of North Yorkshire Council has apologised after incorrectly stating just 129 bin collections were missed in the first 100 days of the new authority.

North Yorkshire Council took over responsibility for waste collections from the seven former district councils, including Harrogate, on April 1.

Cllr Carl Les, the Conservative leader of the council, said today that out of 5.6 million collections across the county since April 1, just 129 were missed in that time.

He said:

“We hope that there will be even fewer missed bins as we move forward as even one missed bin collection is important to that household.”

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However, Cllr Hannah Gostlow, a Liberal Democrat who represents Knaresborough East, questioned the accuracy of the figure at today’s meeting.

Cllr Gostlow said:

“Talking with my colleagues across the former Harrogate borough and hearing from my own residents, I understand that there has been a much higher than normal missed general, garden and recycling waste bins.

“Unfortunately it also includes assisted bin collections.”

Cllr Les apologised when it was established the figure was wrong, but added he was unable to provide Cllr Gostlow with the correct figure today.

He added that the information in his statement today was given in “good faith”.

Cllr Les said:

“I will establish that figure in due course. I will send you a written answer and circulate it to all members together with the verified figures.

“As I am wrong, I apologise.”

Taxi drivers fear criminal prosecutions amid North Yorkshire Council ‘error’

Taxi drivers say they are living in fear of facing criminal prosecutions after North Yorkshire Council’s move to unify the trade left them “plying for hire illegally”.

The council has been warned by a consultant working for taxi drivers that it has been reported to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman after failing to acknowledge it had made an error when attempting to change where taxi drivers can work earlier this year or to take any remedial action.

It follows a taxi industry expert claiming in its rush to introduce a single area for taxis across the county, the council had not followed the legal procedure to create a single hackney carriage licensing.

Earlier this year opponents of the council’s proposed taxi policy had told a meeting of the authority’s executive it would lead to the clogging up of taxis in town centres while leaving sparse cover in rural areas, particularly for wheelchair users.

A meeting of the authority’s executive heard that while a working group of elected members with significant experience of licensing had made a series of recommendations which the council’s officers had “tossed aside like a pair of old slippers” and come up with a series of different proposals.

Before the launch of North Yorkshire Council in April, taxis were licensed by the seven district and borough councils, including Harrogate Borough Council, which meant hackney carriage taxis could only ply for hire on the ranks and in the streets in the area of the district council by which they were licensed.

In the weeks after vesting day, the new licensing authority oversaw all hackney carriage taxis being able to ply for hire on all the ranks and streets of any town in North Yorkshire.

It is illegal for anyone to ply for hire in an area for which they are not licensed. On conviction, a fine of up to £2,500 may be imposed.

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Although hackney carriage taxi drivers do not expect the council would prosecute them for plying illegally, as the council has already decided it wants Hackney carriage taxis to be able to ply for hire throughout the area, drivers are concerned they might still face prosecution by the police, and fines from the courts on conviction.

Ripon cabbie Richard Fieldman, formerly a Harrogate Borough Council hackney carriage taxi driver, said drivers had only discovered the council had not followed the legal procedure after seeking a consultant’s advice.

He said the council was applying different rules to hackney carriage taxis licensed in different parts of the county, “even though we were now supposed to be one area, subject to one set of rules”.

Photo of Ripon taxi driver Richard Fieldman

Richard Fieldman, who runs his taxi in Ripon.

In a response to consultant David Wilson, of A2Z Licensing, the council said he had raised “important issues”, but added it did not agree it was facilitating the illegal operation of hackney carriages within its area.

A council spokesman said: 

“The council has been clear through its communication, consultation and within the executive report that the council intended to create a single hackney carriage zone.”

Mr Wilson said as the council has failed to acknowledge its error and to take remedial action to comply with the current legal position, in the three weeks since the situation was brought to its attention in June, trade representatives were set to report the council to the ombudsman.

Mr Wilson said: 

“Although admitting an error was made may be embarrassing for the new council and those licensing officers and lawyers involved, we are all human and make mistakes from time to time.

“What is important is that the council acknowledges its mistake and takes urgent action to comply with the law, restricting hackney carriage taxis to ply for hire in one of the former seven district council areas until such time as the council legally merges then into a single area.

“Members of the public can, however, be reassured that a hackney carriage taxi is insured, even if plying for hire illegally in an area in which it is not licensed.”

Ripon hackney carriage driver Katie Johnstone said: 

“The time has come for the council to admit it has driven a coach and horses through taxi law and to get around the table with trade representatives to work out how this situation can best be resolved.”

In response, North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director of environment, Karl Battersby, said:

“We have received the letter and are taking legal advice on the points raised. We will be responding as soon as we can.”

Council to pay additional £1m in North Yorkshire combined authority set-up cost

North Yorkshire Council looks set to pay an additional £1 million to set up a combined authority for the county and York.

The combined authority, which will be headed by an elected mayor, is scheduled to be launched in November this year.

It will include councillors from North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council and make decisions on matters such as economic development and transport.

So far, North Yorkshire Council has footed £582,000 worth of costs for consultation and staff redeployment to help set up the combined authority.

In a report due before a joint devolution committee next week, the council will be recommended to fund a further £1 million in costs ahead of its implementation in four months time.

The money would cover areas such as IT infrastructure, project management, human resources and contingency plans.

However, the council has said that it expects the cash to be paid back once government funding for the combined authority is released.

It said:

“North Yorkshire Council will continue to cash flow the implementation and set up costs of the combined authority on the understanding that these costs will be repaid once funding is released on creation of the combined authority in November.”

Councillors will discuss the funding at a meeting on July 24.

What is a combined authority?

A combined authority is a body set up for two or more councils to make joint decisions.

In this case, North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council would come together to make decisions on matters such as economic development and transport.

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It will be a separate body to North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council.

The closest example of this is West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which recently has led on the £11.9 million Harrogate Station Gateway scheme, as well as similar schemes in Skipton and Selby.

The combined authority would be headed by a mayor who is directly elected by the public.

An election for the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire is set to be held in May 2024.

The Conservatives selected Cllr Keane Duncan, the executive member for highways and transportation at North Yorkshire Council, at a meeting on Friday.

Knaresborough amusement arcade set to be approved

An amusement arcade looks set to open on the site of a former building society in Knaresborough.

The High Street gaming centre will be open to over-18s between 9am and 10pm.

North Yorkshire Council planning officer Sam Witham has recommended councillors approve the scheme when they meet next week — despite objections from Knaresborough Town Council and three residents.

They were concerned about noise, the impact on the High Street appearance and anti-social behaviour.

Carl Bearman, director of a company formed in January called Spectacular Bid, applied to change the use of vacant premises at 30 High Street.

The site, which is on the corner of Knaresborough High Street and Park Place in Knaresborough Conservation Area, was home to Yorkshire Building Society until March 2018.

Mr Whitham’s report to councillors says the location is within the primary shopping area of Knaresborough, complies with the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which outlines where development can take place, and would not harm the character and appearance of the conservation area. It says:

“Subject to conditions, the proposal is acceptable with regards to its impact on neighbouring amenity, and in particular the impact of noise on the residential flats above the ground floor unit subject to this proposal.”

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The report adds:

“The proposed use would bring about the re-use of the property and it is not considered that the use would be incompatible with the town centre location.”

One of the conditions attached to approving the scheme is that machines must not to operate at more than 25% volume.

Councillors on the Liberal Democrat-controlled 13-person Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee will decide whether to accept the recommendation to approve the scheme when they meet on Tuesday next week.

Harrogate district stately home to be converted into hotel

North Yorkshire Council has approved plans to convert the Harrogate district stately home Denton Hall into a 28-bedroom hotel.

The Grade I listed building, which dates back to 1778, is on the border of the district, between Blubberhouses and Ilkley.

It was designed by Georgian architect John Carr, who also designed Harewood House.

Since the 1970s, it has been used by engineering firm NG Bailey Group as a company training centre as well as for corporate events and weddings.

But current owner Denton Park Holdings Ltd, which includes members of the Bailey family, warned at a public consultation event in Denton village last year that without the ability to raise more income, the buildings would risk falling into disrepair.

Flats and a care home were considered before the owner decided to move forward with plans for the hotel, which were approved by council officers last week.

It means the main Denton Hall building will be converted into 28 bedrooms, a restaurant and bar, a games room and gym.

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A former stables and coach house will be converted into four suites.

Planning documents attached to the application said a key part of the new owner’s intention for Denton Hall is to open it up to the public for the first time.

It said:

“Also of particular public benefit is that changing the use to a hotel will allow the public access into Denton Hall for the first time so that everyone has the opportunity to appreciate the significance of the heritage assets.”

The buildings are part of a vast 2,500 acre estate that includes working farms, mature woodlands, lakes, moorlands, a deer park and grouse enclosures.

£500,000 scheme in prospect to improve Ripon city centre roads

The long-awaited renewal of damaged and uneven roads that run alongside Ripon Market Square is finally in sight.

A scheme costing an estimated £500,000 is being drawn up by North Yorkshire Council’s highways department in readiness for public consultation this autumn, with the aim of being included in the capital programme for 2024-25.

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

At last week’s meeting of the full city council, leader and North Yorkshire councillor for the Minster and Moorside division Andrew Williams, said:

“I’m pleased to report, following a visit to Ripon by North Yorkshire highways officials on June 16, they have confirmed that a scheme involving the lifting of sets and replacement with tarmac will be designed and then put out to consultation.

“I understand that the work will cost about £500,000 and will be included in next year’s capital programme.

“If all goes to schedule, work could start after next year’s Easter holiday.”

In recent years North Yorkshire Council has carried out temporary repairs by putting tarmac over the worst-affected sections, leaving the surface looking like a patchwork quilt.

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Cornish Bakery to open on Harrogate’s James Street

A Cornish Bakery is set to open on Harrogate’s prestigious James Street.

The eat-in or take-out bakery will be based in the former Paperchase unit that closed at the end of May.

Cornish Bakery , which has more than 50 shops in the UK, sells pasties, breakfast pastries, cakes and coffees. It also provides a mail order service.

It is one of six new bakeries planned this year by the firm, which in February announced pre-tax profits of £3.1 million in the financial year ending May 2022. Its nearest store is currently in York.

Agents acting on behalf of Cornish Bakery founder Stephen Grocutt have submitted plans to North Yorkshire Council to display new signs outside the building.

Paperchase closed in May.

Recruitment adverts for positions within the company in Harrogate have also appeared online.

The planning documents do not say when the store will open. However,

The shop will be close to the Cornish Pasty Bakery in the Victoria Shopping Centre as well as two town centre Greggs, which also sells pasties.

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‘Human error’ blamed for raw chicken served at Harrogate school

A school in Harrogate which served raw chicken to children has said “human error” was responsible.

North Yorkshire Council‘s environmental health officers visited St John Fisher Catholic High School after parents alerted them to the problem.

One parent, who contacted the Stray Ferret with photographs of the raw meat but asked not to be identified, said:

“They served raw, bleeding chicken. There have been pictures posted on social media of blood actually coming out as it’s been cut into.

“The parents have complained to school… They admitted to a full tray being served by mistake and it’s being investigated.”

The parent said she had raised concerns about the school’s catering over several months, after finding the quality of food on offer had fallen.

She said there was often not enough food for all the children to have a hot meal, and sometimes there were no vegetarian options available.

However, a spokesperson for St John Fisher said the problem with the raw chicken was down to “human error” and inspectors had been happy with the catering provision.

They said:

“The human error which was the cause of the undercooked chicken being served was promptly addressed resulting in no students or staff consuming the food.

“The environmental agency were satisfied with the explanation of the circumstances surrounding the error and the actions which were immediately implemented to ensure this situation does not occur again.”

Responding to the parent’s comments about the food on offer, the spokesperson said:

“With 1,500 students on site and a modest menu, it is inevitable that, on some occasions, students’ first choice of hot meal, including vegetarian options, will have run out.”

St John Fisher

The incident happened in June, and North Yorkshire Council has now responded to a request for details from the Stray Ferret.

Its corporate director and monitoring officer, Callum McKeon, said:

“We can confirm a batch of chicken was under-cooked in what was regarded as an isolated incident.

“The school immediately fully assisted our officers who reviewed all food safety practices, documentation and checked temperature probes on site.

“Because we take food safety very seriously, incidents like these are few and far between, and no child was poorly as a result.

“We are satisfied with the way the school’s catering team responded to the matter and how they currently prepare food.”

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Developer resubmits Markington homes plan

A housing developer has resubmitted plans for new homes in Markington.

KCS Development Ltd , which is based in Leeds, has tabled the plan for High Mill Farm on High Street in the village.

The proposal would see 13 new homes built on the site and include a range of two to four bedroom houses.

The move comes as the developer withdrew a plan for 21 properties on the land back in February.

At the time, some residents wrote to Harrogate Borough Council, which was abolished in April, to raise concern over the impact of the development on the landscape and infrastructure.

In new documents submitted to North Yorkshire Council, the developer says the application was withdrawn to consider “concerns raised by consultees and the planning officer”.

The planned site on High Mill Farm.

The planned site on High Mill Farm.

It added that the new development, which would consist of eight market houses and five affordable homes, would help to “provide new homes n a sustainable location”.

The developer said:

“The provision of housing in this location will assist in providing local construction jobs during the build phase, whilst also generating demand for local building materials and associated products from local suppliers. 

“The proposed development would therefore help to directly stimulate and support the local economy in addition to providing new homes in a sustainable location.”

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

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