Simon Kent, who helped to establish Harrogate Business Improvement District in 2018, has been appointed interim manager for a second time.

The news was confirmed today after current manager Matthew Chapman announced he was leaving in November to take up a new position at North Yorkshire Council.

Businesses within Harrogate’s town centre pay the BID 1.5 per cent of their rateable value a year on top of their usual business rates.

Matthew Chapman

This generates around £500,000, which the BID spends on projects to improve the town and increase the number of visitors.

Mr Kent, a former director of the Harrogate Convention Centre, was previously appointed interim manager in April 2020.

Harrogate BID chair Sara Ferguson said:

“Whilst we continue the process of seeking a new BID manager, we have appointed Simon Kent in an interim role.

“Simon was instrumental in helping to launch Harrogate BID back in 2018, and in April 2020 we asked him to take on the role of interim manager, which he did until May the following year.

“Simon’s experience and knowledge of Harrogate BID are second to none, and I’m delighted that he has agreed to come back in a part-time-basis until a successor to outgoing BID manager, Matthew Chapman, is found.

“I look forward to rekindling my working relationship with Simon, particularly as we head towards the festive season, which with the BID’s involvement will see Harrogate once again become ‘Destination Christmas’.”

The president of Harrogate in Bloom has said she is confident the town will maintain its floral reputation after spring’s shake-up of local government.

Harrogate Borough Council‘s parks and environmental services department has played a major role in maintaining the district’s green spaces over the last 50 years.

It has worked closely with Harrogate in Bloom and other volunteer groups on landscaping and creating attractive flower displays that are a major part of the town’s tourist appeal.

But the council will be abolished on April 1, triggering fears the new North Yorkshire Council, which will be based in Northallerton, might not value Harrogate’s appearance as highly and might not collaborate with local groups.

Harrogate Borough Council maintaining summer flower beds.

Pam Grant, president of Harrogate in Bloom, said she was “reassured” after talks with a representative of the new local authority about future plans. She said:

“The new council wants Harrogate in Bloom to continue and it wants Harrogate to maintain its floral reputation.

“I’m assured nothing will change overnight on April 1 and no drastic changes are planned.

“Nobody likes uncertainty but I feel reassured.”

Harrogate in Bloom is a volunteer-run group, which works with other community groups on town centre schemes.

It has also forged close relationships with Harrogate Borough Council and, more recently, Harrogate Business Improvement District, which has funded barrier baskets, hanging baskets and shop planters.

One of the BID’s floral schemes.

Harrogate was awarded a gold medal and named a winner in the small city category at this month’s Yorkshire in Bloom awards.

Ms Grant said:

“Harrogate doesn’t have a cathedral to attract visitors but it does have a reputation for being a nice town with lots of flowers and clean, fresh air.”

Read more:

• Harrogate and Ripon gardens win gold at Yorkshire in Bloom awards
• Harrogate district paddling pools to stay open but flower watering to reduce under hosepipe ban

Council bosses in North Yorkshire are facing calls to explain why a new council tax system will cost taxpayers millions of pounds a year more to run than the current system.

North Yorkshire County Council has revealed the cost of administering the unitary authority’s council tax scheme is expected to be £37m, £2.4m more than the current structure run by North Yorkshire’s district and borough councils.

A cross-party group of councillors has proposed unifying council tax bills across the seven districts over the next two financial years as some areas are paying higher rates than others.

Yesterday the Stray Ferret reported on how the Harrogate has the highest council tax in North Yorkshire.

The move would mean Harrogate’s average bills for a band D property would fall by £23.47 during each of the two years on a current bill of £1,723.27 whilst other areas might see a rise.

The proposed increases and cuts in council tax charges do not include what increases the new unitary authority, police and fire services and parish councils may levy from April 1.

Read More:

• North Yorkshire’s devolution deal: What’s in it and how will it work?
• North Yorkshire devolution concentrates power into ‘hands of few’

The county council’s executive member for finance, Councillor Gareth Dadd said the authority was acutely aware of the financial pressures which everyone is under with rising inflation and the cost of energy and food soaring.

He said:

“A great deal of work has gone into the proposed scheme to harmonise council tax bills across all seven districts, and we believe that the plan that has been drawn up to introduce the changes over the two years represents the fairest way forward for everyone involved.”

As part of the proposals, the executive committee will consider providing up to 100 per cent reductions on council tax bills for households on the lowest incomes.

However, opposition politicians said the rising cost of administering the new council tax system raised a red flag, particularly after as the county council had estimated savings brought about by creating abolishing the district and county councils and establishing a unitary authority should reach £252m over its first five years.

Councillor Andy Brown, the authority’s Green Party group coordinator said:

“We were assured that combining into one council would be simple and would reduce costs. We are already seeing how complicated it is and how hard it is to achieve the cost savings.”

Leader of the council’s Independent group, Councillor Stuart Parsons added:

“Big is supposed to be better. One is supposed to be cheaper than eight and this is an area where one is certainly not cheaper. How many other areas will there be.

“This is against all the logic of the massive savings that they claim would result from unification. What other extra costs are envisaged as a result of local government reorganisation and what savings are envisaged to come up with the magnificent £50m a year they have claimed would be found.”

Cllr Parsons said it would take many years for the new authority to iron out inequalities between services in the seven boroughs.

He added:

“I would like a full explanation of how the council has come to this £2.4m figure and how they are going to make it cost neutral. Eventually they should be able to make savings on staff as they establish a single team, but it’s going to take a long, long time.”

Council tax bills for a Band D property in Harrogate are set to fall by £23.47 for the next two years as part of the transition to the new North Yorkshire Council.

Harrogate Borough Council currently charges the highest council tax of the seven district councils in North Yorkshire.

An average band D property in the district is currently £1,723.27, compared with £1,586.83 in Hambleton, which has the lowest level of council tax in the county.

The seven councils will be abolished on April 1 as part of the government’s devolution agenda and North Yorkshire County Council is to meet next week to discuss ways to harmonise the level of payment across the county.

Under plans being drawn up, Band D bills in the Harrogate district would fall by £23.47 a year for two years while Hambleton’s bills would increase by £89.49.

However, the rises and falls due to harmonisation do not take into account the annual increase in council tax bills, which is set to be approved by county councillors in February. The figures also relate to just the precept for county and district authorities, and do not include money for North Yorkshire Police, the county’s fire brigade and parish or town councils.

If a Harrogate town council is formed, the precept for people living in the town council area would increase.

Decision on Tuesday

The advent of a new council covering the whole of the county in April means there is a legal requirement to ensure all council taxpayers in North Yorkshire are charged the same amount.

The proposals to phase this in over the next two years will be considered by members of North Yorkshire County Council’s decision-making executive when they meet on Tuesday next week. They are based on recommendations by a cross-party working group of councillors.

The working group, which was established by the county council’s executive in June, considered a range of proposals, including harmonising council tax bills over a period of up to eight years.

Read more:

• Harrogate council refuses to say if chief executive will get payout package
• Councillors vote to defer decision on 53 homes in Bilton

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for finance, Cllr Gareth Dadd, who is also the authority’s deputy leader, said:

“The challenge to harmonise council tax bills across the county is obviously a significant one, but it is an issue we have to address before the new North Yorkshire Council is launched in April next year.

“We are acutely aware of the financial pressures which everyone is under not just in North Yorkshire, but across the whole country, as we see inflation rising and the cost of energy soar along with the price of food and drink and other essential items.

“A great deal of work has gone into the proposed scheme to harmonise council tax bills across all seven districts, and we believe that the plan that has been drawn up to introduce the changes over the two years represents the fairest way forward for everyone involved.”

There would be huge variations in the amount of funding generated if the decision was taken to opt for moving council tax levels to the lowest amount seen in Hambleton or choosing to adopt the highest level in Harrogate.

If council tax bills were brought in line with Hambleton, there would be an annual reduction of funding in the region of £21 million, falling from the current level of £401.8 million to £380.4 million.

By comparison, an extra £11.3 million would be generated by increasing council tax bills to the level currently paid in the Harrogate district, with the average across North Yorkshire for owners of a Band D property paying £1,723.27 instead of £1,676.32.

Funding from council tax is used to finance services ranging from waste collection and recycling to highways maintenance and adult social care.

Harrogate Business Improvement District manager Matthew Chapman will leave the organisation in November to take up a new position at North Yorkshire Council.

Mr Chapman, who took up the role in May last year, was previously Leeds BID operations manager in 2016 before becoming Huddersfield’s BID manager in November 2019.

Businesses within Harrogate’s town centre pay the BID 1.5% of their rateable value a year on top of their usual business rates.

Harrogate BID brings in around £500,000 from local firms, which it spends on projects to improve the town and increase the number of visitors.

During Mr Chapman’s 18 months in Harrogate, BID campaigns include power washing 80,000 square metres of the town centre, painting drab walls with colourful murals and buying over 500 pieces of outdoor furniture for businesses to use.

Read more:

• Electric-powered gritters coming to Harrogate district roads
• Yorkshire Water gives £70 account payments to low-income households

He is set to take up a managerial role within North Yorkshire Council, which is the new council that will replace Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council from April.

Harrogate BID chair Sara Ferguson paid tribute to Mr Chapman in a statement and said the search for his replacement had begun.

“Since joining us in May 2021, Matt has been a highly effective, dedicated and extremely popular BID manager. I have certainly enjoyed our working relationship, and that is echoed by all my fellow directors.

“During his time with us, he has become one of the most recognised faces in the town centre. He’s built terrific relationships with the district and county councils, business organisations and business owners and their employees.

“We will be extremely sorry to see Matt go, but the good news for us, and the town centre, is that he will continue to play a role within the organisation, offering guidance and support to the board and BID team, within a part-time role to aid the recruitment process and ensure a smooth transition and handover.

“The BID team is now primed to continue delivering the high impact projects which benefit the town as a whole, and the job of finding Matt’s replacement has now begun.”

A major consultation will ask people across North Yorkshire to give their views on public services this month.

North Yorkshire County Council is carrying out the project, titled Let’s Talk, to provide the foundations for decision-making and policy when the new unitary authority comes into effect in April next year.

It will see the existing NYCC and seven district councils, including Harrogate Borough Council, abolished in favour of the single authority for the whole of North Yorkshire, excluding York.

NYCC’s leader, Cllr Carl Les, said the results will deliver a vision for the new council, showing people’s priorities for spending on everything from social care and education to waste collection, recycling and highways maintenance.

He said:

“Having one new council will save millions of pounds by streamlining services and preventing duplication, creating the most efficient and cost-effective way of delivering them that we can.

“This money will help support services to ensure they are stronger and fit for the future and will fund decision-making on the most local level possible.

“It is vital we engage with the public to help shape exactly how the new council will operate, and this biggest ever conversation in North Yorkshire will be the way in which we can glean people’s views.

“I would urge everyone who lives and works in North Yorkshire to take time to put forward their opinions, and we will listen carefully to those views.”

The Let’s Talk campaign begins on Monday, September 19, running until Friday, December 23.

The first topic in the consultation will be on local communities, looking at education, job opportunities, parks and open spaces, and more.

Read more:

• Council explores move to protect Harrogate Convention Centre with limited company status
• North Yorkshire County Council hits back at ‘dilution of democracy’ criticisms

Future discussions will include public transport, roads and pavements, and access to libraries and museums. Housing provision, climate change and mobile phone and broadband coverage will also form part of the project.

The responses will help to shape policy for North Yorkshire Council over the first three years of its existence.

NYCC has pledged to ensure all communities have the opportunity to engage with the consultations through local events, which are yet to be announced, and online.

Cllr Les added:

“The new council will be the largest geographically in the country as it will cover England’s largest county, but it is being built with local at the heart of everything it will do.

“There will be local staff providing local services, based on local priorities and decision-making taking into account the views of the public.”

To take part in the consultation from September 19, click here. Details of events will also be posted on the same website.

Harrogate Convention Centre could come under the control of a limited company as part of a potential bid by the borough council to protect its most prized asset.

With the abolition of Harrogate Borough Council fast approaching, the convention centre is set to be handed over to the new North Yorkshire Council next April as the venue also pushes ahead with plans for a £49 million redevelopment in the face of growing competition.

But borough council bosses have this week revealed they are working with consultants on new models for how the venue could be run.

This includes the possibility of creating a limited company which would be run by a board of directors, including senior staff and councillors, although it would still be owned and funded by the new North Yorkshire Council.

Paula Lorimer, director of Harrogate Convention Centre, told a meeting on Monday that events venues in Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow operate in this way and that this “would be my recommendation”.

Read more:

• £49m Harrogate Convention Centre redevelopment plans move to final design stage
• Harrogate district remains the county’s cannabis farm hotspot

Wallace Sampson, chief executive of the borough council, also said the convention centre could follow the “success” of the district’s leisure centres which were brought under the control of the council’s new leisure company Brimhams Active last year. He said:

“Clearly our view is that Brimhams has been a success in terms of creating a local authority controlled company – it has got a very clear focus and strategic vision.

“There is now a model in place which gives it a degree of freedom to operate, notwithstanding the fact that there is a board with representation from the borough council.”

Mr Sampson also stressed that the council was looking into a variety of different business models for the convention centre and that this work with consultants KPMG “hasn’t concluded yet”.

As well as Brimhams Active, the council’s tourism company Destination Harrogate is also set to be handed over to the new North Yorkshire Council.

But what will happen to the companies after this major change for local government in seven months’ time remains unclear as council staff continue to plan how all services across North Yorkshire should be run in the future.

Councillor Pat Marsh, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrat group, said she was worried that decisions about the convention centre “won’t be in our hands” without a limited company and that she had seen the benefits that such a move could bring as a board member on Brimhams Active. She said:

“We need to have that business as most councillors think the convention centre underpins the economy of this town.

“Without it, I wouldn’t like to think how Harrogate would be.”

The proposed £49 million redevelopment of the convention centre recently moved to the next design stage – although a final decision on the major plans is still just under a year away.

It will be in July or August next year when that decision is made and because of local government reorganisation, it will be taken by the new North Yorkshire Council.

The proposals come after warnings that the venue “may fail to survive” and suffer losses of up to £250 million over the next 40 years unless the redevelopment is carried out.

Every month the Stray Ferret tries to find out what our local MPs have been up to in their constituencies and in the House of Commons.

In August, Parliament was not sitting as it was in recess over the summer. Nonetheless, Conservative MPs faced questions over what the government was doing to tackle the cost of living crisis and allegations that they voted voted in favour of pumping raw sewage into rivers and the sea.

We asked our three Conservative MPs, Harrogate & Knaresborough’s Andrew Jones, Skipton and Ripon’s Julian Smith, and Selby and Ainsty’s Nigel Adams if they would like to highlight anything in particular that they have been doing this month, but, as usual, we did not receive a response from any of them.

Here is what we know after analysing their online presence.

Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Andrew Jones

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, here is what we found out on Mr Jones:

• On August 3, Andrew Jones welcomed the Treasury’s response to his letter which ensured people connected to LPG gas bottles would get government support with their energy bills.
• Mr Jones strongly criticised claims that he voted to allow the pumping of sewage into rivers and the sea. He said the claims were “simply a lie”.
• Mr Jones called on people to get involved with the “national mission” to beat dementia by signing up to Join Dementia Research.
• The former Rail Minister told Transport for the North that investing in public transport was “going to be a main part of how we recover from the economic problems caused by the pandemic and inflation,” as well as reducing carbon emissions.
• Mr Jones also backed York to be the headquarters of the new government rail body Great British Railways.
• On August 31, he held an advice surgery in Knaresborough market.

Read more

• MPs watch: PM resignation and a leadership contest
• MPs watch: Vote of no confidence and overriding the Brexit deal

Julian Smith, MP for Ripon and Skipton.

Julian Smith

In Skipton and Ripon, here is what we found on Mr Smith:

• On August 5, Mr Smith welcomed the £11,000 awarded by Historic England to the Ripon Museums Trust to investigate the lives of disabled people in the city’s workhouse.
• Mr Smith regularly tweeted his support for Rishi Sunak in the Conservatives’ leadership election, which ends on September 5.
• Mr Smith held meetings with small business owners in his constituency. He tweeted that it was “clear urgent intervention is also required” for small businesses as well as households.
• On August 1, Mr Smith welcomed the devolution deal signed by North Yorkshire County Council, the City of York Council and the government, as well as Richard Flinton’s appointment as the chief executive of the new North Yorkshire Council.
• Mr Smith tweeted that “the new UK PM & the EU need to listen and step up” over work to secure a deal on Brexit-related issues in Northern Ireland.

Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty which includes rural Harrogate.

Nigel Adams

In rural south Harrogate, here is what we found on Mr Adams:

• On August 1, Mr Adams said he was “delighted” by the new devolution deal.
• Mr Adams posted on his website about the consultation to upgrade the A64 near York, on the main route between Harrogate and the North Yorkshire coast.
• Mr Adams also hit back at claims that he had allowed the pumping of sewage into waterways. He tweeted that the “fake news brigade and their gullible followers aren’t interested in facts” relating to the UK’s sewage system.
• It was reported that Mr Adams could be in line for a peerage in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s list of resignation honours. Such a move would trigger a by-election in his constituency. Mr Adams previously confirmed that he would stand down at the next election.

Richard Flinton was this morning appointed as the first chief executive of the new North Yorkshire Council.

Mr Flinton will take up the £180,000 to £197,000 a year role when the new authority comes into existence in April 2023.

An extraordinary meeting this morning ratified his appointment. Sixteen applications for the role were received.

Mr Flinton is the current chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council. Carl Les, the current leader of the county council, will be the new leader of North Yorkshire County Council.

Cllr John McCartney, an Independent councillor for Osgoldcross, told the meeting people had been assured North Yorkshire devolution would not amount to a “power grab” by the county council but that appeared to be the case now that it had been named the continuing authority and there was a continuing chief executive.

He added:

“The perception of this is absolutely appalling out there. It’s just a disgraceful perception.

“People do not understand why they did not get a vote on the governance of their local councils and their local services and they do not get a vote on how their council tax will be used.”

Read more:

• County council boss set to be appointed chief executive of new North Yorkshire Council
• Harrogate council could dip into reserves to cover soaring energy costs

Cllr McCartney went onto add that there was a “disconnect” between the council and the county, which would be “as big as the Humber estuary” when the unitary council comes into force.

He said:

“Residents who vote Conservative in the main at General Elections are irked and discombobulated and feel like they have been treated with contempt.

“I don’t take much from the USA, but government of the people, for the people and by the people is a pretty good recipe for democracy. But that is not what North Yorkshire County Council is going to be.”

In response, Cllr Carl Les, leader of the council, said the process for choosing Mr Flinton was “well done” and attended by all political groups within the council.

He said:

“I don’t know what to say to John McCartney. I don’t think much of what you have said has anything to do with what we are discussing today which is the appointment of a chief executive.”

Cllr Les added Mr Flinton had “grown through the ranks of this organisation and grown into every role we have given him. I am sure he will continue to do so.”

Following the meeting, Mr Flinton said:

“I am honoured to have been chosen to become the chief executive of the new council at a time of huge change and opportunity in North Yorkshire.

“We are faced with some unprecedented challenges that have arisen from rising inflation as well as pressures on social care and also the issues which all local authorities are facing in recruiting and retaining staff to their workforces.

“But with those challenges come immense opportunities, while working with colleagues in North Yorkshire’s district and borough councils to introduce the new unitary authority.”

The local political landscape is being utterly transformed.

A new unitary authority is coming; eight existing councils, including Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council, are going.

A devolution deal this week paved the way for a countywide mayor and the creation of a combined authority overseeing £540 million.

It’s not just the institutions changing. So too are the politicians.

Richard Cooper and Graham Swift, the long-serving Conservative leader and deputy leader of Harrogate Borough Council, will step down when it is abolished next year.

Don Mackenzie, the Conservative councillor previously in charge of transport at North Yorkshire County Council, did not seek re-election in the local elections on May 5.

Since then a new man has emerged as the most senior local politician and although he too is a Conservative he is a somewhat different beast.

As executive member for health and adult services at North Yorkshire County Council, Michael Harrison is the only person from the Harrogate district sitting on what is effectively the 10-person cabinet making key decisions on spending in the county.

Cllr Harrison (far right), sitting on the county council’s cabinet.

Cllr Harrison’s portfolio is responsible for more than half of the county council’s £380 million annual budget. But most people aren’t interested in social care until they need it, so his role attracts far less attention than the transport brief Keane Duncan inherited from Don Mackenzie, even though the sums are higher.

Cllr Harrison, who lives at Killinghall Moor, is far from unhappy about his low profile. He says:

“I enjoy contributing in an executive capacity. Adult social care is a complex area — you are dealing with some of the most vulnerable people in society.

“I feel I have a lot to offer there. It’s completely different to being the local face of the council.”

From Killinghall to Northallerton

Born in Sunderland, and with the accent to prove it, Cllr Harrison, 52, moved to the Harrogate district in the mid-1990s with his job at Lloyds Banking Group. He still works for the bank in risk management.

He joined Killinghall Parish Council in 2002, was elected to Harrogate Borough Council in 2004 and nine years later was also voted on to North Yorkshire County Council.

While some of his Conservative colleagues fell by the wayside at May’s local election, he received a commanding 54% share of the vote to ensure he will represent Killinghall, Hampsthwaite and Saltergate on the county council and its successor, the new North Yorkshire Council, until at least 2027.

Many people think councillors are full time professionals, but most combine politics with full-time jobs. Each county councillor receives a basic allowance of £10,316. Executive members, like Cllr Harrison, also receive special responsibility allowances of £15,939.

County Hall in Northallerton, home of North Yorkshire County Council.

Cllr Harrison often takes his laptop to County Hall in Northallerton to work on his day job between meetings. Juggling the two isn’t easy, but he says:

“I think it’s important that councillors are drawn from society itself. It wouldn’t be healthy if only retired people could do it. But it is difficult to do it alongside a full-time job. You need the support of your family and employer.”

Pragmatism over politics

Although he’s a lifelong Conservative, Cllr Harrison does not come across as overtly political. He doesn’t name any political heroes and claims not to be ambitious.

“I’ve never had any particular political ambitions. I get a lot out of delivering quietly behind the scenes. I adopt a pragmatic approach to problems.”

He is backing Rishi Sunak in the leadership contest, saying he wants someone who can “reintroduce honesty and integrity into central government”.

Read more:

• Reassurances issued over ‘onerous’ social care revamp across Harrogate district
• Social care pilot scheme in Harrogate district ‘could bankrupt council’ without more funding

County Hall in Northallerton operates like Whitehall in London. The politically elected executive members set the direction of travel and professional civil servants carry out the day-to-day work.

Cllr Harrison seems more comfortable talking about the nuts and bolts of North Yorkshire politics rather than banging the drum for the Tories.

He says the new unitary authority will deliver services more efficiently than the current two-tier system by removing bureaucracy and will also end confusion over which council does what. But he admits there are challenges:

“Can the new council demonstrate it understands local needs? Tensions will be there within the district. The key is to understand priorities in each area.”

He says some services, such as gritting and waste disposal, are best handled centrally in Northallerton, but other services, such as leisure and tourism, require a more local focus.

Unusually for a leading Conservative, he’s a member of the banking union Accord and talks warmly about it. He says:

“Unions have a key role to play in representing employees.”

He also has rheumatoid arthritis, which he says is under control. Typically, he doesn’t make a fuss about it and is soon talking about social care again. He seems happy with it this way:

“Prior to getting into local government I said to people ‘I’m not into politics’. I’m more interested in delivering services for residents and hopefully being a common sense voice around the table.”