Parish councils to get update on ‘paused’ plans for new town near Knaresborough

A meeting will be held next month to discuss whether a new town could still be built to the east of Knaresborough after a key landowner pulled out.

Harrogate Borough Council has invited representatives of parish councils along the A59 to meet on Wednesday, March 15 to give an update and answer questions.

It follows the surprise announcement in January that a piece of land near Cattal had been withdrawn from the development plan document for a new settlement in the area.

At the time, the council said it had “paused” its plans to submit the development plan document to the Secretary of State for approval. In an email to parish councils today, planning policy manager Natasha Durham said:

“As we are moving to become North Yorkshire Council on April 1 this year, the decision on next steps with the development plan document will be taken by the new authority in the context of wider plan-making.

“A report on the future plan-making in North Yorkshire has already been to the council’s executive, and is now scheduled to go to full council in May. This report looks at wider arrangements for local plans across the new council area and makes recommendations on which plans should continue.

“The report includes a recommendation that the development plan document should continue, in order to deliver the requirements… in the Harrogate Local Plan and ensure that development is guided by a clear vision and requirements.”

The future of the area remains uncertain following the withdrawal of part of the land that would have been in the development plan document. The same piece of land also formed part of the Maltkiln development of up to 4,000 homes put forward by Caddick, which has said it still intends to proceed with its plans.

In her email, Ms Durham told the parish councils that the meeting in May of all members of the new North Yorkshire Council will see an update given on the availability of land and an “analysis of various options going forward”.

She added:

“We are currently doing work to ascertain whether the vision and objectives proposed in the development plan document can be met on the remaining available land.

“We are proposing to hold a meeting [of local organisations] on Wednesday, March 15 to discuss the options under consideration and answer questions as best we can.

“Whilst work is ongoing and we are unlikely to be able to provide clarity at this stage, we are mindful of the considerable effort communities have put into the DPD process and so feel it is important to offer the opportunity to meet and discuss.”

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Ripon hopeful of controlling its destiny under new council

Ripon has never sat comfortably within the Harrogate district.

An ill feeling has lingered in the cathedral city since the last local government reorganisation in 1974 when several smaller councils were brought together to create Harrogate Borough Council.

Whether it’s fair or not, there has been a perception in some quarters of the city that the council has always looked on Harrogate as the crown jewel to Ripon’s detriment.

This will all change on April 1, when Harrogate Borough Council will be abolished and Ripon will fall under the control of a new unitary authority, North Yorkshire Council.

Councillors are optimistic the city can reap the rewards.

Andrew Williams is the leader of Ripon City Council and an independent councillor on North Yorkshire County Council for Ripon Minster and Moorside.

The 53-year-old has lived in Ripon all his life and said he first became conscious of the sentiment towards Harrogate Borough Council as a teenager.

Photo of Cllr Andrew Williams

Cllr Andrew Williams

He claims “Harrogate council has been dominated by Harrogate” and that Ripon has “suffered badly” under the current system.

He added:

“What the new council arrangement will do is ensure there will be no unfair advantage to anybody.

“Across North Yorkshire, there are a lot of places like Ripon — Malton, Thirsk, Easingwold, Skipton and Richmond — that have a similar sized population to Ripon with not dissimilar issues. The focus on resolving those will be given a much higher priority.”

A central pledge in the case for reorganisation, called “double devolution”, was that town and parish councils could be handed more powers if they can make a successful business case.

Cllr Williams believes it will provide a golden opportunity for Ripon City Council to take control of assets that Harrogate Borough Council assumed when it was formed almost 50 years ago, such as the city’s neoclassical town hall.

He said:

“We’re hopeful of being selected as a pilot area for double devolution. We believe the new arrangements will provide a better opportunity for Ripon to have a greater control over its destiny.”

Taking back control

Cllr Barbara Brodigan is the Liberal Democrat councillor for Ripon Ure Bank & Spa and was elected in May 2022.

The former teacher has lived in Ripon for five years but before than lived in Knaresborough for 30 years. She’s excited about the potential benefits of double devolution.

Barbara Brodigan

Cllr Brodigan, pictured above, said:

“Ripon has long felt neglected but Ripon City Council could now have more control over our assets. I’m in favour of that. Ripon should be making decisions about Ripon.”

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Harrogate Borough Council would point to its multi-million-pound investment into the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre as an example of its commitment to the residents of Ripon.

But Cllr Brodigan described the project as an “ongoing farce” due to the location the council decided to build it and spiralling costs.

Other borough council projects, such as work on a masterplan for the regeneration of the city centre have been put on hold, which Cllr Brodigan said is holding Ripon back.

She added:

“People are waiting for the Ripon Renewal masterplan to be implemented so nothing can move forward. It’s sitting on a shelf in Harrogate. That would make a huge difference to city centre.

“When you come to Ripon you can’t see anything because of all the cars. It’s not attractive at all. Tourism is our major income stream yet we have a car park in the centre.”

At a Harrogate Borough Council meeting in 2021, Conservative deputy leader Graham Swift described the grievances of Ripon Independent councillor Pauline McHardy as like listening to the Scottish National Party.

Whether or not residents and councillors have justifiable frustrations at the relationship with Harrogate Borough Council, there is excitement within the city about the opportunities that local government reorganisation could bring.

Harrogate council spends £45,000 on outside help for failed Levelling Up bid

Harrogate Borough Council has revealed it spent £45,000 on outside help when it put together its failed bid for government Levelling Up money.

Last year the council bid for £20 million that would have gone towards a proposed £49 million redevelopment of Harrogate Convention Centre.

But the bid was refused by the government last month, throwing into doubt the future of the venue it has owned and run since opening in 1982.

Following a freedom of information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the authority said it spent £45,000 on “legal, design and financial input and guidance” related to the bid proposal.

A council spokesperson said this was to “ensure the best possible chance” of it being successful.

Despite Harrogate being in the lowest priority area for Levelling Up funding, convention centre director Paula Lorimer told councillors at a meeting last week it would likely bid again when a third round of funding worth £1 billion opens.

Ms Lorimer warned Harrogate would “wither on the vine” if the facility closed because of its importance to the town’s business and leisure sectors.

The ownership of the venue will be handed over to the new North Yorkshire Council on April 1.

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Andrew Williams, North Yorkshire independent councillor for Ripon Minster and Moorside on North Yorkshire County Council, said he didn’t begrudge Harrogate Borough Council bidding for Levelling Up money but the refusal should show the council “that the government doesn’t think the redevelopment is worthwhile.”

Cllr Williams said:

“The conference centre is going to be a millstone around anybody’s neck.

“There needs to be serious thought put into what commercial uses it can become so that it will not be a drain on the public purse. I don’t support spending £50 million on a business that’s still losing money. Enough is enough when resources is tight.”

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson said:

“The costs associated with our bid for the government’s Levelling Up Fund included significant legal, design and financial input and guidance.

“This was required to ensure the best possible chance of the Harrogate Convention Centre’s £20m submission being considered.

“We were disappointed not to be award a grant in this round of funding. But we remain hopeful and have everything we need to submit a bid for any future rounds or other opportunities for government funding.

“We have not yet received any feedback from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities as to why we were unsuccessful.”

Liberal Democrats win Masham and Fountains by-election

The Conservative majority on North Yorkshire County Council has been reduced to two after Liberal Democrat Felicity Cunliffe-Lister – the Countess of Swinton – swept to victory in yesterday’s by-election for the Masham and Fountains division.

With this result, the make-up of North Yorkshire County Council – and the new North Yorkshire unitary authority that comes into being on April 1 – will see the Conservatives with 46 seats to the 44 belonging to opposition parties

The countess polled 1,349 votes in a two-horse race against Conservative candidate Brooke Hull, who received 801.

The seat became vacant after the sudden death in November of Conservative councillor Margaret Atkinson, who was appointed as the last chair of North Yorkshire County Council following the local elections in May.

At that May 2022 election, Felicity Cuncliffe-Lister stood as an Independent and polled 738 votes to finish second to Mrs Atkinson, who received 1,076 votes. The Liberal Democrat candidate Judith Hooper received 620 votes.

The Masham and Fountains division covers a large rural area that includes Kirkby Malzeard, Galphay, Grewelthorpe, Grantley, Sawley, Markington and Ripley, as well as Masham.

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Warning that Harrogate would ‘wither on the vine’ without convention centre

Harrogate would ‘wither on the vine’ if its convention centre closed, the woman in charge of the facility has warned.

Harrogate Convention Centre director Paula Lorimer and Harrogate Borough Council’s director of economy and culture, Trevor Watson, updated councillors on Monday night about £49m plans to redevelop the council-run building so it can better compete with rival convention centres in the north.

Mr Watson said the council has now appointed a contractor to draw up more detailed plans for the redevelopment. But whether the vision is ever realised is far from certain.

North Yorkshire Council will make a final decision on whether the project goes ahead in the summer.

Ms Lorimer said she will meet senior figures from North Yorkshire County Council on Friday to discuss the building’s future.

Talks will focus on how the new council can attract investment for the redevelopment, which she said it “desperately needs”.

Last month the council failed in its £20m Levelling Up Fund bid for the convention centre redevelopment but Ms Lorimer suggested the council would bid again for funding in its third round.

She also said other ideas for attracting investment could involve bringing in an outside “interested party” to the table. Ms Lorimer said:

“Believe you me, I’m not giving up on getting grant funding for this convention centre.

“There are opportunities to circle the wagons and look for other investment opportunities as well as Levelling Up funding. I do feel we should continue to have a go at that as well as various other decarbonisation pots.

“This is what we’ll be talking about on Friday, where are we going to get the funding, how are we going to get investment?

“It could be an interested party to invest, it could be hotels, it could be a number of things.”

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The council has previously warned that if the convention centre redevelopment doesn’t go ahead, the district could lose out on up to £250 million over the next 40 years in lost tourism and business spending.

Chris Aldred, Liberal Democrat councillor for Fairfax, said the convention centre “absolutely underpins the local economy”. He added:

“[Without the convention centre] Harrogate would be a totally different town. We wouldn’t have a range of restaurants, we wouldn’t have the splendid shops we have, we wouldn’t have communications and travel systems if the convention centre wasn’t there.”

In response, Ms Lorimer said:

“It’s true. We drive a lot of business and leisure visitors. But it’s not just the business tourism market that would stop, it’s leisure as well. Harrogate would wither on the vine without the convention centre.”

Council appoints contractor to design £49m Harrogate Convention Centre revamp

Harrogate Borough Council has appointed a contractor to draw up designs and “cost certainty” for its £49 million Harrogate Convention Centre revamp.

The authority has commissioned Hertfordshire company BAM Construction Limited to provide it with technical designs for the project at a cost of £3.3 million.

The convention centre is currently owned by Harrogate Borough Council, which will hand over ownership of the venue on April 1 to North Yorkshire Council.

Senior borough council officials have previously warned the venue could lose up to £250 million over the next 40 years unless the redevelopment is carried out.

However, there is no guarantee the upgrade will go ahead.

Following the appointment of a contractor, a spokesperson for the council said:

“Under the YORbuild3 Major Works framework, we have appointed BAM – a leading construction, facilities management and property developer with offices in Leeds – to provide the design and delivery for the refurbishment and redevelopment of Harrogate Convention Centre (Phase 1) to RIBA Stage 4.

“The value of this early contractor involvement contract is £3.3million and will provide us with the technical design information and cost certainty required to take us to the next stage of the proposed multi-million investment project.”

Amid the transition to the new council on April 1, the borough council required consent from North Yorkshire County Council to appoint BAM Construction.

The county council told the Stray Ferret it had consented to the award of the contract for technical designs, but any approval for construction would be made at a later date.

Gary Fielding, director for strategic resources at the council, said:

“We have given consent for the first stage of the contract to carry out extensive improvements to the Harrogate Convention Centre.

“This initial stage of the contract is intended to lead to detailed designs for the project.

“However, a further decision will need to be taken as to whether the scheme progresses to the other stages of the contract.”

Funding struggles

The move comes shortly after the borough council was dealt a blow in its efforts to fund the project.

Last month, the government rejected the authority’s bid of £20 million from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ flagship levelling up fund.

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Cllr Richard Cooper, leader of the council, said he was “disappointed” and “slightly surprised” at the decision.

Meanwhile, Richard Flinton, who will be chief executive of North Yorkshire Council, has refused to commit to the £49 million redevelopment. 

Speaking at a Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce meeting in January, he said the conference and events venue needed to be vibrant and relevant in the face of competition from a new venue in Leeds rather than “an enormous drain on public finances”.

New Harrogate district taxi rules will be a ‘disaster’, warns cabbie

A Ripon cabbie has said new rules governing local taxi drivers will be a “disaster” for drivers and people relying on the service in rural areas.

North Yorkshire County Council is next week expected to introduce a single hackney carriage and private hire licensing policy from the spring.

The existing seven district councils, including Harrogate, currently have their own hackney carriage and private hire licensing policies.

But their looming abolition on April 1 prompted councillors to run a consultation between October 25 and January 16 on a new policy that would harmonise the rules across North Yorkshire.

Fifty-two per cent of respondents disagreed with the key proposal of introducing a single zone for North Yorkshire, which would allow cabbies to operate across the county rather than only in their districts. However, the idea still looks set to go ahead.

Richard Fieldman, who owns Ripon firm A1 Cars and runs a Facebook group that includes 52 taxi drivers in Ripon and Harrogate, said:

“Making it one zone will mean that at peak times drivers will target hotspots, such as Harrogate on a Saturday night, and leave rural areas with no taxis. It’s common sense that people will drive to maximise their earning potential.

“It will be a disaster for us and a disaster for people who live in quieter areas because they won’t be able to get a taxi at busy times.

“The same policy has been tried in other areas and it just leads to some streets being swamped with taxis so it’s bad for other road users as well.”

taxi

Mr Fieldman also criticised the council’s proposal to end the current restrictions on the number of hackney carriages — even though 45% of consultees opposed this. The Harrogate district limit is currently 148.

He said this would encourage private hire taxi drivers to switch to hackney carriages to avoid their £132 a year operator’s licence, which would “flood the limited space there is already”.

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Mr Fieldman also hit out at draft new rules that would mean hackney carriage licence holders have to get three MOTs a year on cars that are more than seven years old. Currently vehicles up between five and nine-years-old have to have two MOTs a year.

A council spokesman said the new policy incorporated Department for Transport’s taxi and private hire vehicle best practice guidance and allowed the market to determine the level of supply.

He added:

“Despite a fear from the trade of ‘hotspot’ areas, evidence from other authorities that have followed a similar approach has indicated that any negative impacts tend to level out over time.”

Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council.

Cllr Carl Les

The Conservative leader of North Yorkshire County Council, Cllr Carl Les, said:

“The hackney carriage and private hire licensing policy for North Yorkshire plays an integral part in demonstrating the new council’s commitment to ensuring that the public is provided with safe and accessible hackney carriages and private hire vehicles.

“As a single local authority for North Yorkshire, it also ensures hackney carriage and private hire licence holders and taxi operators across the county are treated equally.

If approved by the county council’s executive next week, the new policy will be adopted from April 1, along with a single set of licensing fees for both hackney carriage and private hire vehicles and a maximum set of fares for hackney carriages.

 

Stray Views: Lib Dems should reconsider proportional representation stance

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.

In reference to the story on changing voting systems, has Cllr Chris Aldred seriously considered the implications of proportional representation? 

I realise the aim is to try and reduce political conflicts, but parties all have different policy aims making agreement difficult. Compromises often are the worst of both. He forgets in countries with proportional representation it can take months for a government to be formed, Germany being an ideal example.

I believe it should be mandatory to vote in elections, also postal votes should be an exception and not the norm

There is no perfect solution and no doubt whatever changes are made there will still be dissenters.

Catherine Alderson, Harrogate

Councillor should be allowed alderman status

From the reports of the council meeting on December 14th it is clear to me that the councillors attending had not been apprised of all the facts and they were not interested in questioning the report or hearing the real facts.

I have observed at numerous planning committee meetings of over a period of 28 years, that Cllr Pat Marsh always read and assessed accurately plans put before her. 

She addressed persons present in planning meetings to ask necessary questions, courteously and to the point, at very many planning committee hearings at which I was present. 

She has served the residents in her ward without fear or favour for some 32 years and should therefore be eligible to become an alderman. 

In fact, there is no limit to the number of long serving councillors who are eligible to become Aldermen.

Rosemary Carnaghan, Harrogate

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Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

Harrogate council leader: ‘I will be leaving representative politics’

The Conservative leader of Harrogate Borough Council has said he will be “leaving representative politics” after turning down honorary alderman status.

Cllr Richard Cooper told a meeting of the council’s general purposes committee that the civic side of the authority has “never been for me”.

Harrogate Borough Council has the power to bestow the title of honorary alderman or honorary alderwomen to past members who have given over 15 years of good service.

Cllr Cooper confirmed in October 2021 he would stand down as a councillor when Harrogate Borough Council is abolished and the new North Yorkshire Council comes into force on April 1.

He told councillors on Thursday he was “leaving representative politics” and would not accept a civic role at the authority.

Cllr Cooper said:

“The civic side of the council has never been for me. I’ve never accepted nomination for mayor and I’ve made it clear I’m going to be leaving representative politics.

“I think if you’re leaving something you can’t have one foot in the door and one foot out of the door, even if it’s only a tiny toe over the threshold.

“I think it’s time for me to make absolutely clear that I shall not be at civic dos, civic meetings and what have you in the capacity given to me by the council, sharing my wisdom and thoughts on how things should go forward.

“There’s nothing so ex as an ex. I don’t want to be that person writing letters to the paper pontificating on this, that and the other.”

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Cllr Cooper was first elected when he took the Liberal Democrat seat of West Central in 1999 and has since held several cabinet positions, as well as being deputy leader and serving on North Yorkshire County Council.

He was elected as leader of Harrogate Borough Council in 2014 and is the longest-serving holder of the position.

Eleven councillors were put forward for honorary alderman status, including four Liberal Democrats, six Conservatives and one Ripon Independent.

However, Cllr Nick Brown, a Conservative, and Liberal Democrat Cllr Pat Marsh were both denied being recommended for the status by fellow councillors.

Councillor says ‘morally wrong’ to dispute allowances recommendation

A senior county councillor has said It would be morally wrong for a council’s leadership to dispute the findings of an independent panel recommending how much elected members of a new unitary local authority should be paid.

A full meeting of North Yorkshire County Council next month will decide whether to accept setting annual allowances for the 90 elected members of the new council at £15,500.

However, the figure would be a fall for those dual councillors who currently sit on both the county council and district authorities.

The decision follows the county council’s executive supporting the findings of the five-member panel which concluded the workload of councillors would increase by about 25% in serving the unitary authority compared to the county council, which last year paid councillors a basic allowance of £10,316.

The panel, members of which have no connection to the council, said it had also taken inflation and allowances paid in comparable unitary authorities into account when making the recommendation.

The panel said it recognised the economic challenges being faced within the community and had been guided by and taken into consideration the average pay awards in the public sector of four to five per cent.

The panel’s report states: 

“Councillors volunteer for their roles. They are not remunerated at a commercial rate for their time, as if they were employees. However, the allowances should not be set at a level which acts as a disincentive to conscientious performance of duties, or which does not reflect the considerable time commitment required for the role.

“It is important that the council feels able to attract high quality candidates to stand as councillors, from a wide variety of backgrounds.

“There should also be no financial barrier to anyone who wishes to stand for election.”

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As the total cost of basic allowances paid over the last year to the county’s 319 county and district councillors is about £2m, the panel’s recommendation represents a saving of £636,000.

The issue is often among the most contentious decisions councillors are faced with and Cllr David Chance, executive member for corporate services, called for allowances to be set nationally in future.

Cllr Gareth Dadd, the authority’s deputy leader, told the meeting the panel had made its recommendation after taking evidence from elected members as well as from comparable local authorities across the country.

He said: 

“I don’t think it is morally right for us to set an independent panel up and not accept its recommendations.”

Cllr Dadd said elected members would not have to take their full allowances.

He said while people may have a view on how much of an allowance councillors should be given, in approving the panel’s recommendation for consideration by the full council, executive members had to decide whether what was being proposed was “clearly absurd”.

The Thirsk councillor added the panel’s recommendation was “within the realms of reasonableness” and that it would be a dangerous move for the executive effectively to suggest their own pay rates.