Stray Views: How long before there is an apology for Station Gateway? 

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.

So, Sheffield City Council is sorry that its residents were “misrepresented as unrepresentative and primarily concerned with their own streets” (Sheffield Council issues apology over tree-felling scandal, The Guardian, 20 June).

How long, I wonder, before Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire Council apologise for ignoring the representations from Harrogate residents and business community for going ahead with the Station Gateway Project and its anticipated devastation of our beautiful spa town.

Val Michie, Low Harrogate

Trees on Empress roundabout a hazard

I’m writing a letter regarding the greenery in the middle of the Empress roundabout. How on earth are drivers supposed to see what’s coming from across the Stray with a full leaved tree (or is it two trees) blocking their view.

From experience when I was a driver, I know just how difficult and dangerous trying to get across the roundabout can be. Have the council gone mad?

Will they finally act to take away the trees in the centre if and when (God forbid) someone is seriously hurt in an accident simply because they couldn’t see what was coming from all sides of the roundabout? It is simply ludicrous?

Carole Nowell, Harrogate

Read More:

Local government a mess long before devolution

Sir,
Lord Wallace of Saltaire claims that devolution in North Yorkshire has made local government an incoherent mess and destroyed local democracy. His words must have a hollow ring in towns and villages which were placed under Harrogate’s thumb in the last local government reorganisation dreamt up by some genius in Whitehall  fifty years ago.
Where was local democracy when Harrogate’s recent Town Plan re-designated  parts of the supposedly sacrosanct Green Belt between Harrogate and Knaresborough to accommodate illicit Traveller sites despite massive opposition from the people of Calcutt and close environs ?
Where is the coherence in the massive house building around Knaresborough, and indeed Harrogate itself, with no expansion of amenities other than the odd supermarket and the corresponding increase in commuter traffic being dumped onto already congested roads ?
As for the fantasy of Maltkiln, a sustainable village, it is the environmentally damaging creation of yet more commuting built around an antiquated railway and an inadequate main road and opens the way to further destruction of North Yorkshire’s green and pleasant land.
How can North Yorkshire do worse ? Heaven help us if it can.

 Pete Dennis, Knaresborough

Masham councillor to hold public meeting on poor rural broadband

A Masham councillor is to host a public meeting to address broadband problems in rural areas of the district.

Liberal Democrat councillor for Masham and Fountains, Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, said she has worked closely with North Yorkshire Council to improve broadband around Ripon and Masham but many households and businesses still have slow connectivity.

CityFibre spent £46m in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon last year but, despite this investment, many people in rural areas cannot get a superfast broadband connection.

The final phase of delivery from North Yorkshire Council-owned NYnet is due to end imminently. This means many rural residents and businesses who are still waiting for superfast broadband connection will be left without any solutions.

The persistent issues have lead Cllr Cunliffe-Lister to arrange the public meeting.

The council’s director of transformation, Robert Ling, will discuss how the final NYnet phase will be delivered, budget constraints, and whether any other funding options may be available to those who are not going to be connected.

Read more:

Project Gigabit, a £5 billion Government scheme aiming to implement superfast broadband into “hard-to-reach” communities, will also be discussed.

The scheme is yet to come to North Yorkshire but the councillor hopes “it might provide connection to those otherwise left behind at some point.”

Cllr Cunliffe-Lister said:

“The meeting is mainly for clarification of who will be covered by phase 4 more than anything else.”

All members of the Masham and Fountains ward are welcome to attend. The meeting will take place in Masham Town Hall at 6.30pm, on Wednesday, July 19.

‘Ripon did not want a Tory and now they have one’, claims councillor

Ripon councillor Andrew Williams has resigned from the North Yorkshire Independents group after forming a political alliance with the Conservatives.

Cllr Williams, who is also the leader of Ripon City Council, is one of three independents to have joined a new Conservatives and Independents Group.

The Conservatives announced the group on Friday, saying it had been formed “to secure the stable and sustainable governance of North Yorkshire Council” in the wake of the party losing its majority.

The Tories have 45 of 90 seats — precisely half — on North Yorkshire Council following Cllr Mike Jordan’s defection last month.

The new alliance will help them maintain control until the next local elections in 2027.

Cllr Williams was elected to represent Ripon Minster and Moorside on North Yorkshire Council in last year’s local elections with 1,453 votes. The Conservative candidate was third with 312 votes.

Stuart Parsons

Cllr Stuart Parsons

He has yet to respond to questions about his decision from the Stray Ferret but Cllr Stuart Parsons, who leads the North Yorkshire Independents group, said Cllr Williams had resigned “very late on Thursday evening”.

He added:

“The new ‘Tory Group’ just shows what the Conservative Party will do to cling on to power.

“With just over 40% of the vote they still believe that they have a god-given right to rule. Their new name also sullies the use of the word ‘Independent’.

“When a city like Ripon, which had previously returned two Tories, sent their message to North Yorkshire Council it was with one Liberal Democrat and one Independent.

“Ripon quite clearly showed that they did not want a Tory and yet now they have one.”

Read more:

The other independents to join the new group are Cllr Caroline Goodrick, who represents Sheriff Hutton and Derwent and Cllr Robert Heseltine.

However, they are among seven unaffiliated independents whereas Cllr Williams was one of nine members of an Independents group.

Cllr Parsons echoed Lib Dem concerns about whether discussions between the Tories and independents involved using council resources for party political purposes.

He said:

“We will be monitoring very closely.”

In numbers: Harrogate town council consultation response

Almost two-thirds of Harrogate residents who took part in the latest consultation have backed a Harrogate Town Council being set up next year.

Every household in what would become the Harrogate parish had the chance to take part in the consultation, which ran for nine weeks from March 2.

However there were only 1,698 responses to the consultation, which makes up 4.7% of eligble households.

We took a deeper look at the numbers to gauge how the public in Harrogate feels about more councillors and a new layer of local democracy being created.

‘We want a more local council’

There were 1,104 respondents (65.0%) who agreed with the recommendation to create a town council called Harrogate Town Council.

With repeated criticism of the new Northallerton-based North Yorkshire Council being too remote, there were 196 additional comments from people saying local representation and decision-making is needed in Harrogate.

Meanwhile, 36 respondents said a town council would be better equipped to look after Harrogate’s heritage and interests and would also be able to improve local services.

‘Waste of money’

Just a few months after the abolition of Harrogate Borough Council many questioned the need to set up a new council for the town.

There were 483 respondents (28%) who said they did not want one setting up.

It has not been confirmed what powers the new council would have but Harrogate households would be asked to pay between £40 and £60 on top of their council tax each year to pay for it.

Read more:

This led to 215 respondents saying they were against the proposal because it would be a “waste of money”.

One person said they wanted to see the return of Harrogate Borough Council instead.

Size of new council

North Yorkshire Council has recommended that each of the proposed 10 wards in Harrogate be represented by two councillors per ward, with the exception of Saltergate which would have one councillor, taking the total number of councillors to 19.

This is just under half the number of councillors of Harrogate Borough Council, which had 40 but covered the whole Harrogate district including Ripon and Knaresborough.

The areas in Harrogate which would fall under the new town council.

The areas in Harrogate which would fall under the new town council.

When asked about the size of the new council, 956 respondents (56%) said they were happy with the size whereas 501 (30%) were not and 241 (14%) were not sure.

Of those who disagreed with the size, 52 people commented that one councillor per ward would be a better arrangement for the new council.

Demographics of consultation

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the highest numbers of responses come from people aged 50 to 64 and 65 to 74.

There were just 37 responses from people in their 20s and 98 from people in their 30s, raising questions about how engaged younger people are in the process to create a town council.

North Yorkshire Council has proposed that the elections to the new council be held on May 2 next year for a reduced terms of three years, with ordinary elections taking place in 2027 and every four years thereafter.

A final decision to create a town council has not been made yet and a full meeting of North Yorkshire Council will debate the proposals later this year.

Businesses vote ‘yes’ to continue Harrogate BID

Local firms have voted overwhelmingly in favour of continuing to fund Harrogate Business Improvement District for another five years.

About 450 town centre businesses were asked to vote on whether to pay a levy of 1.5% on top of their rateable value to fund the BID for a second term.

The result, announced last night, revealed 76% voted ‘yes’.

It means the organisation — one of more than 350 BIDs in the country set up to increase footfall by providing additional services to those run by councils — will continue until at least the next ballot in 2028.

Since it was founded in 2019, Harrogate BID has funded initiatives such as street cleaning, street art and entertainment and floral displays to make the town centre more welcoming.

Street ranger Chris Ashby is part of the BID team.

Its business plan for the new five-year term, which officially starts in January 2024, focuses on three objectives; pride in our town; a vibrant town and voice and vision.

Dan Siddle, the general manager of the Crown Hotel who chairs Harrogate BID,  said:

“The past five years have been quite something. There is no doubt that since Harrogate BID launched, it has comprehensively delivered.

“I am confident that our new five-year business plan and streamlined objectives will help shape the town further over the years to come to ensure Harrogate thrives long into the future.”

Read more:

The now-defunct Harrogate Borough Council used its block vote to support the BID in the last ballot.

This time,, its successor North Yorkshire Council chose not to get involved so the vote was a purely business decision.

Harrogate BID manager Matthew Chapman said:

“The fact that businesses voted to retain the BID, without the backing of North Yorkshire Council makes it even more credible.

“Most BIDs have the backing of their local authority as part of the ballot process, which in our case would have added 12 per cent to the result – if nothing else this provides a true representation from the businesses within the BID area.”

 

Three times more street parties in Harrogate for Queen’s jubilee than King’s coronation

There were more than three times the number of street parties in the Harrogate district for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee than there were for the King’s Coronation, figures show.

Last June the country celebrated Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne and Harrogate was no exception with North Yorkshire Council revealing in a freedom of information request that 32 street parties took place over the long weekend.

From Patelely Bridge to Knaresborough and Harrogate, bunting-laden parties were held in almost every corner of the district.

Normally, the council asks for a fee to close a street but it decided to waive these costs to encourage festivities.

The same policy was in place for those wanting to celebrate the King’s Coronation last month when Charles III officially ascended to the throne following the death of his mother in September.

But this time, the number of street parties held across the former Harrogate district area was much lower with nine taking place, according to the council.

The figures also reveal that across the whole of North Yorkshire there were 116 street parties for the Queen’s Jubilee and 33 for the King’s Coronation.

Graham Smith, chief executive officer of the anti-monarchy campaign group Republic said the figures show that support is falling for the royal family in the county. 

He said:

“Support for the monarchy is falling and this is clearly as true for North Yorkshire as the rest of the country. For a lot of people the Queen was the monarchy and the monarchy was the Queen.

“With endless scandal and the loss of the Queen, and growing concern about the way the country is governed, it’s not surprise people are less excited about celebrating big royal events.”

Read more:

During both weekends, the now abolished Harrogate Borough Council organised huge free parties in Harrogate.

Across four days last year it transformed part of the Stray into ‘Jubilee Square’, with a large stage and video screens broadcasting the Queen’s Birthday Parade and other royal events from London.

The Valley Gardens also hosted a free family festival organised by the council with jugglers, magicians, fairground rides, face painting and live music.

Similarly for the coronation, the council put on a three-day event in the Valley Gardens with family entertainment and coronation ceremony on a big screen live from Westminster Abbey.

Council still working towards sale of historic Ripon Spa Baths

North Yorkshire Council has said it’s still working towards a sale of Ripon’s historic Spa Baths — almost two years after a preferred bidder was chosen.

The Grade II-listed baths was the last of its kind to open in England but was put on the market by the now-abolished Harrogate Borough Council due to the construction of the new Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre on Dallamires Lanes.

After 117 years of service to Ripon, the baths closed for good in November 2021.

A year earlier in October 2021, Ripon-based Sterne Properties was selected as the preferred bidder by Harrogate Borough Council but a deal had not been struck by the time North Yorkshire Council took over the process in April this year.

Sterne Properties has plans to strip out the building to create a new hospitality facility for the city.

Ripon City Council nominated the baths as an asset of community value which gave it a window to make a bid but council leader Andrew Williams said it could end up being “very complicated and very risky financially” so it backed the Sterne Properties proposals instead.

Read more:

North Yorkshire Council declined to say why the process is taking so long and how much the proposed sale was worth when asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

But the baths were previously put up for sale by Harrogate Borough Council in 2008 with a £3.3m price tag. It was later withdrawn following a community campaign.

North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director of resources, Gary Fielding, said:

“Sterne Properties Ltd was selected as the preferred purchaser for this vacant asset because of its positive plans for the future of the former Ripon Spa Baths site.

“We are continuing to work constructively with Sterne Properties to complete the purchase.

“As it is a commercial transaction, the value and terms of the purchase remain confidential.”

Ripon Independent councillor Andrew Williams joins Tory alliance

Ripon Independent councillor Andrew Williams has formed a political alliance with the Conservatives on North Yorkshire Council.

Cllr Williams, who is also the leader of Ripon City Council, is one of three independents to become members of a new Conservatives and Independents Group, which was announced today.

The Stray Ferret reported yesterday the Conservatives were wooing independents to maintain their grip on power. This month’s defection of Cllr Mike Jordan left them with precisely half of 90 seats on the council.

A statement by the Conservatives this morning said the party had been reaching out to other members in the wake of Cllr Jordan’s defection “to secure the stable and sustainable governance of North Yorkshire Council for the benefit of its residents”.

Carl Les

Cllr Carl Les

Carl Les, the Conservative council leader, said:

“Each of them have put stable and sensible decision-making at the top of their agenda since the elections last May, and as such we have agreed a common purpose.

“It is important that following local government reorganisation our staff feel secure in a well managed authority with clear policies in place.

“We will work together to achieve the sustainable and stable political direction this authority deserves, as indeed we have from last May.”

Cllr Williams was elected to North Yorkshire Council in last year’s local elections with 1,453 votes, ahead of the Liberal Democrat candidate, who received 334 votes. The Conservative candidate was third with 312 votes.

The other independents to join the new group are Cllr Caroline Goodrick, who represents Sheriff Hutton and Derwent and Cllr Robert Heseltine.

(from left): Cllrs Heseltine, Williams and Goodrick

Cllr Williams is one of nine members of an Independents group. The other two to join are unaffiliated independents.

It is unclear the extent to which they will collaborate with the Tories.

Today’s statement said all three will continue to serve as independents.

However, the group is widely regarded as a way of shoring up support to the Conservatives in the period until the next North Yorkshire elections in 2028.

The Stray Ferret has attempted to contact Cllr Williams for further details of the arrangement.

Read more:

 

Lack of special need provision in schools ‘failing children’, says Harrogate mother

A Harrogate mother has criticised special educational needs provision in North Yorkshire as “failing children” after her four-year-old was placed into a mainstream school.

Emily Mitchell, whose daughter Elsie is non-verbal, has been diagnosed with autism and of high need, said schools for special educational needs lacked funding and staff to cope with demand.

Ms Mitchell made the comments after she said her daughter’s needs were “disregarded” during a placement process.

Ahead of applying for schools last year, Elsie was given an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) which detailed her needs and was submitted to schools to consider.

Ms Mitchell, who runs a support group for neurodiverse children and their parents, said she was turned down by five mainstream schools and two specialist schools ahead of the school year starting in September.

The specialist schools, which included Springwater School in Starbeck, said they were up to capacity for pupils.

Meanwhile, the mainstream schools were unable to meet Elsie’s need.

Following the process, Ms Mitchell took North Yorkshire Council to mediation in May in order to resolve the issue.

Read more:

However, despite assurances from professionals and Elsie’s pre-school that she would require specialist care, Ms Mitchell said the council decided to place her into a mainstream school.

Ms Mitchell said:

“After all that time and effort I get a phone call from the local authority to say because they can’t find anywhere to put Elsie, she will be placed in her local catchment mainstream school, who have already told the local authority they can’t meet need.

“But they have over ruled this and not given me any other choice.”

Emily Yeates and her three-year-old daughter Elsie at the first Neurodiverse Stay & Play event in Oatlands Community Centre.

Emily playing with her daughter Elsie.

Ms Mitchell has since taken the decision to appeal and submitted a formal complaint.

She said she feels the provision for special educational needs in North Yorkshire is failing children and described it as “unfair”.

Ms Mitchell said:

“This is so ridiculously unfair on poor Elsie as they are just disregarding her needs. 

“There are no spaces for special educational needs children in the schools, not enough funding, not enough staff and the whole system are failing these children. 

“I know for a fact Elsie isn’t the only child that is suffering because of this. It’s going to be traumatising for Elsie, so I’m fighting and taking this further.”

The Stray Ferret has approached North Yorkshire Council for a response, but had not received one by the time of publication.

Increase in demand

The council said in its own reports that it has a shortage of places for special educational needs and disabilities pupils.

According to a report in May this year, the authority estimated that since 2016 the number of children and young people with SEND and an Education, Health and Care Plan has increased by more than 110% across the county.

Currently, there are 4,500 children with an EHCP in North Yorkshire and the council estimates it will need an additional 350 SEND school places over the next three to five years to meet demand.

In a report, it said:

“The growth in numbers of autistic children and other communication and interaction needs is the single largest area of growth and the local authority has a duty to have a range of provision to meet those needs including mainstream schools, resource bases and special schools.”

Last month, the council launched a consultation on converting the former Woodfield Primary School in Harrogate into a school for children with autism.

It also announced plans to expand Springwater School in Starbeck by an additional 45 places in February.

Headteachers unite to support 20mph speed limit near Harrogate schools

The leaders of 13 schools and education settings in Harrogate have called for councillors to commit to urgent road safety improvements when they meet on Tuesday

The road safety group, which also includes campaigners and local councillors, met yesterday at Ashville College as part of its ongoing bid to create safer streets for 9,000 pupils.

North Yorkshire Council will consider on Tuesday how to respond to a petition calling for a maximum speed of 20mph across south and west Harrogate — covering Oatlands and parts of Pannal, Stray, Hookstone and St Georges areas in Harrogate. The agenda for the meeting is here.

Councillors on the Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee passed a motion supporting the measures last year. But it requires the support of the council’s ruling Conservative-controlled executive to proceed.

Cllr Keane Duncan, the Conservative executive councillor for highways, appeared to dampen hopes this week when he said the council planned to draw up a speed management strategy rather than agree to 20mph limits.

Cllr Pat Marsh, the Liberal Democrat chair of the area constituency committee, described the move as “kicking the can down the road”.

But school leaders and campaigners remain hopeful of a successful outcome. In a joint statement, they said:

“There is strong evidence from studies of the positive impacts of maximum speeds of 20mph, and we urge the members of the executive to approve the motion, so safer roads can be created for our schools and the wider community, with a clear programme and timeframe for delivery.

“A maximum speed of 20mph is a key foundation in creating a safer urban environment for all and it encourages healthy active travel choices, from door to destination, around the community. “

The road safety group added whatever the outcome, it will “continue to push for investment in the safety of the roads around our schools, including: maximum speeds of 20mph, upgraded crossings, better use of double yellow lines, and repairs to damaged or outdated pavements, barriers and kerbs”.

Hazel Peacock hands the road safety petition to Elizabeth Jackson of North Yorkshire Council

Campaigner Hazel Peacock handing the road safety petition to North Yorkshire Council in May.

Cllr John Mann, a Conservative who represents Oatlands and Pannal, said he welcomed the council’s recommendation “to undertake a series of planned speed limit reviews delivered over a period of time, which will generate a pipeline of schemes”.

He added:

“Given the tragic road accidents that have recently occurred near to schools in Oatlands this year, I am calling for my recent applications for 20mph limits for Yew Tree Lane, Green Lane and Hookstone Road to be given a high priority in the highways pipeline of schemes for the introduction of 20mph limits.”

Cllr Mann said he would allocate his £10,000 locality budget, which each councillor receives to spend on local initiatives, for road safety schemes.

The school leaders who attended yesterday’s meeting were:

  1. Richard Sheriff, chief executive, Red Kite Learning Trust
  2. Jane Goodwin, interim chief executive, Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust
  3. Dave Thornton, interim headteacher and Iain Addison, deputy head at St Aidan’s CE School
  4. Neil Renton, headteacher, Harrogate Grammar School
  5. Tim Milburn, headteacher, Rossett School
  6. Rhiannon Wilkinson, headteacher and Richard Rooze, bursar at Ashville College
  7. Corrine Penhale, headteacher, Rossett Acre Primary School
  8. Tim Broad, headteacher, Western Primary School
  9. Zoe Anderson, headteacher, Oatlands Infant School
  10. Estelle Scarth, headteacher, Oatlands Junior School
  11. Steve Mort, headteacher, St John Fisher’s Catholic High School
  12. Dr Helen Davey, headteacher/Emma Mitchell, business manager, Willow Tree Primary
  13. Jane Turner, headteacher, Pannal Primary School
  14. Victoria Kirkman, executive headteacher, Admiral Long and Birstwith CE schools and interim executive headteacher, Ripley Endowed CE, Beckwithshaw & Kettlesing Schools
  15. Danny Wild, principal and Kate Herbert, performance and projects co-ordinator, Harrogate College

Campaigners who attended:

Read more: