North Yorkshire Council: Five things that have changed in Harrogate

It’s one year since the launch of North Yorkshire Council reshaped local government in the Harrogate district.

The authority replaced the now defunct Harrogate Borough Council with the promise of making savings.

The changes in governance were far reaching, from taxi licensing to planning decisions.

The Stray Ferret has looked at the areas which have changed under North Yorkshire Council’s regime since April 1, 2023.

Taxi licensing

Probably the most controversial area to be have been overhauled by the new council is the licensing of taxi cabs.

Under the authority’s harmonisation agenda, the zone which taxis could operate in was widened to county-wide.

Previously, cabbies could only trade within the Harrogate district.

However, the council overhauled its licensing policy so that taxis can now operate anywhere in North Yorkshire.

In theory, the move would allow drivers to pick up business across the county.

Photo of Ripon taxi driver Richard Fieldman

Richard Fieldman, who runs his taxi in Ripon.

But some drivers did not see it that way.

Richard Fieldman, who operated his taxi cab in Ripon for 28 years, said the move would see quieter areas deprived of taxis during the busier times.

Planning decisions

One notable change under the new council is the overhaul of planning decisions.

Following its inception, the council created local area constituency committees which are made up of councillors from a particular area.

These committees also took on planning powers, but only for applications under 500 homes.

Any development which is above 500 homes or is a major employment site proposal goes before the council’s strategic planning committee, which meets in Northallerton.

In September 2023, a controversial plan to build a motorway service station off the A1(M) near Boroughbridge was referred to the council’s main committee instead of Harrogate and Knaresborough area committee.

Tourism

Much like most areas which effect Harrogate, tourism is also being slowly absorbed into the new council.

The district’s tourism body Destination Harrogate was set up by Harrogate Borough Council and transferred to North Yorkshire Council on April 1 last year. So far, all employees have kept their jobs and are still working from Harrogate.

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However, the organisation has fallen under a county-wide review as the new authority looks to move towards a different structure.

North Yorkshire Council is now joining with City of York Council to create a new Local Visitor Economy Partnership for York and North Yorkshire.

Double devolution

One of the cornerstones of the Conservative leadership of North Yorkshire Council’s campaign for a single-authority was the pledge to let local people take control of local assets.

The promise came in the shape of the council’s double devolution agenda.

It would see town and parish councils given powers over local assets such as markets, car parks and public toilets.

The authority revealed in October that Knaresborough Town Council and Ripon City Council were chosen to advance bids to take control over some of their assets.

Knaresborough Town Council’s application to manage the town’s markets, storage facility and associated assets such as road closure signs is being progressed to a full business case.

Meanwhile, the council has considered a project team to work with Ripon City Council on its bid as it was deemed “particularly ambitious”.

It included management of Ripon Town Hall, Market Place and Car Park, public toilets within the city and the Wakeman’s House listed building.

Council tax harmonisation

As part of its harmonisation plans, the council also sought to level out council tax across North Yorkshire.

This saw the rate which people pay in the Harrogate district equalled with that in Ryedale, Richmondshire, Scarborough, Hambleton and Craven.

At the time, Harrogate’s council tax was the highest in North Yorkshire at £1,723.27 for the year. 

A decision was taken to bring council tax levels up to Harrogate’s rate in order to raise £11.3 million.

Councillors had considered bringing down rates in line with the lowest amount at the time, which was Hambleton – however, council officials warned this would see annual funding raised by bills fall by £21 million.

Readers’ Letters: The ‘scruffy’ state of Harrogate makes me ashamed of my town

Readers’ Letters 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. 

This letter follows an incident on Harrogate’s Parliament Street on Wednesday, during which three teenagers threw bottles from an upper level window onto the street.

Your story about the throwing of bottles onto Parliament Street includes a picture of the buildings on that part of the street, and they just serve to demonstrate how scruffy much of Harrogate is these days.

It makes me ashamed of my town.

Many of the windows appear to be broken, the paintwork is in a dire state, and I’ve no doubt the insides are equally scruffy and weather worn. This is a prime street in what is supposed to be a smart town – doesn’t anybody care?!

Harrogate doesn’t really have individual fine buildings; it is the collective period ambience which gives the style to which the much-needed visitors and shoppers will come. We must make sure that it is kept up to scratch.

How do we make the owners of properties smarten them up? Who do we vote for who will lead the change?

Chris Graville, Harrogate

Housing developments, Kex Gill and local flooding

This letter is in response to several ongoing topics, including plans for new housing developments and the new mayor.

Almost every day the Stray Ferret tells us the council have approved plans to build more houses.

Our hamlets and villages have all now been turned into towns and the green fields can never be recovered. The loss of trees and the damage to wildlife is unforgiveable.

The ‘new town’ on York Road has been advertising for some months “£30,000 of savings”, to me this says they are not selling, so why are the council doing everything in their power to force through these permissions? Nobody ever votes in favour and all the votes are against.

We are a tiny island with limited resources and all this unrestrained building will end in disaster.

Flooding is getting more regular and more severe. Could the fact that 1,000’s of acres of green field sites have been concreted over to build new houses have anything to do with it. As there is no longer any natural drainage where do the authorities think this water is going to go?

In addition, the new mayor: outdated, no longer required and a waste of money. £2.2 million to find a mayor and then £80,000 a year + all the expenses to maintain. What useful purpose does this position provide? Surely this money could be better spent elsewhere.

Malcolm Hodgekinson, Bilton

Lack of information on Kex Gill is ‘outrageous’

This letter follows the ongoing A59 at Kex Gill saga. The road closed more than two months ago. The Stray Ferret reported on Thursday that the road is expected to be closed until the end of June.

Having read the reporting of closure of the A59 in the Kex Gill area, Mr. Alistair Young’s honest comments came as breath of fresh air. The environmental comments which are said to have come from an official could have been written by J. K. Rowling.

It appears to be clear that the public consultation documents haven’t been read and the geological survey hasn’t been observed.

I can’t believe that the effects of a little drop of rain in these conditions wouldn’t have been calculated. To be awarded £115,000 of council tax money to repair an avoidable damaged road clearly needs an independent investigation. It’s about time these so-called knowledgeable officials listened to people like Mr. Young and read documents which they requested.

I live just outside of Harrogate area and travel the A59 every week. Like so many other people we are suffering the inconvenience. The council have been very inconsiderate to local people.

The lack of information has been outrageous.

Interestingly the repairs may begin after Easter, two months after the closure. Ironically that coincides with the new financial year.

Keith Norris, Harrogate

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.

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Council applies for cash from chewing gum firms

The drive to clean chewing gum off the county’s streets has taken a step forward following a decision by North Yorkshire Council. 

The local authority has agreed to apply for a grant of up to £27,500 from Keep Britain Tidy to purchase specialist chewing gum removal equipment. 

Keep Britain Tidy is administering the grants on behalf of the Chewing Gum Task Force, which brings together some of the UK’s major chewing gum producers, including Mars Wrigley, which makes Orbit and Extra, and Italian-Dutch firm Perfetti Van Melle, best known as the maker of Fruit-tella and Smint, in a partnership to remove gum litter from UK high streets and prevent future littering. 

Participating firms have pledged to invest up to £10 million over five years to achieve two objectives: cleaning up staining caused by gum and changing behaviour so that more people bin their gum. This is the third year that grants have been available, but this is the first time that North Yorkshire Council has applied for a grant from the fund.

The grants are supplemented by fully-funded gum litter prevention packages for each council, including targeted behaviour change signage and advice, designed and produced by social enterprise Behaviour Change. 

Last year, 55 councils across the UK benefitted from the grant fund, and the £1.65 million distributed helped clean more than 100 acres of urban streets.

By combining targeted street-cleansing with specially designed signage to encourage people to bin their gum, participating councils have seen reductions in gum littering of up to 80% in the first two months, with a reduced rate of gum littering still being observed after six months.

However bad North Yorkshire’s gum problem is, many other places have it far worse. Mexico City, for example, employs an army of full-time gum-cleaners, and New York – dubbed the “gum splotch capital of the world” by the New York Times – has been waging a well-publicised but losing war against discarded gum since the 1930s. Singapore even banned chewing gum in 1992, and people spitting it out onto the street risk fines of up to $1,000.

North Yorkshire Council’s decision to apply for the grant was only approved by the its Corporate Director, Environment and Assistant Director, Resources on Wednesday (March 27), but the deadline for grant applications to Keep Britain Tidy fell at midday today.

The Stray Ferret has asked North Yorkshire Council whether the deadline was met.

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Knaresborough’s Marigold Café expansion plans approved

Plans to extend the Marigold Café in Knaresborough have been approved.

The café, situated alongside the River Nidd on Waterside, is one of the most familiar sights in the town. The business also provides rowing boats for hire.

The owners applied to North Yorkshire Council for a single storey extension for toilets.

The council has now approved the planning application, saying it “will enhance the service offered by the existing building to the district’s visitor economy”.

The café consists of two main buildings. The former boat house building provides seats and a single disabled toilet. The kitchen block and servery is located in a separate block.

The extension will create an additional toilet next to the existing disabled toilet.

A design and access statement, submitted in support of the application, said the existing buildings have undergone extensive refurbishment, adding:

“It has a slate tiled pitched roof and vertical timber weather cladding to walls with a waterproof render finish as flood defence at low level.”

Marigold Cafe (left) on Waterside

The “small” extension, the statement added, would “create a much needed additional toilet”.

“It is proposed that the building will have a flat roof to keep its height and impact on the street scene and the residences opposite to a minimum. The impact of the proposal is further mitigated by the existing high hedge which completely conceals the extension from Waterside.

“The walls will be clad in weatherboarding and render to match the existing building.”

The council’s decision notice said the proposed extension “is not considered to be a detrimental impact to the surrounding conservation area, nor to the character of the surrounding landscape”.

It added:

“Yorkshire Garden’s Trust have commented that they would not consider the proposal to harm the setting of the Grade II registered Garden ‘The Long Walk’ and have no objection to the scheme.

“The extension to the café will enhance the service offered by the existing building to the district’s visitor economy.”

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A59 to be closed at Kex Gill until end of June

The A59 between Harrogate and Skipton is expected to be closed at Kex Gill until at least July.

North Yorkshire Council said in a press release this afternoon repair work costing £750,000 will begin on April 15.

Irish construction firm Sisk, which is carrying out the nearby £68.8 million three-mile realignment, has been appointed to undertake the work. Ivor King will carry out specialist steel sheet piling.

Today’s press release said there will be extended hours and night working to allow the road to be reopened before the end of June.

Karl Battersby, the council’s corporate director of environment, said:

“We have reached a point where we can appoint a contractor and decide on the most efficient and cost-effective repair scheme, with preparatory work now underway.

“The repairs will include driving long sheets of steel into the ground to create a structural wall. Once this has been completed, contractors will fill in the excavated area between the steel sheets and the road to provide strength and stability.

“Relocating communications cables and completing drainage and resurfacing works once the area is filled also forms part of the scheme.”

The road, which runs across a rural stretch of the county on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, is deemed to be one of the most important strategic routes nationally as it provides a key link running across the country.

The damaged verge

It closed suddenly on February 2 after a crack appeared in the verge.

The council has attributed this to wet weather over the past few months but some residents have claimed it is due to the impact of the realignment on the landscape.

Mr Battersby said:

“There have been more than 10 landslips on the A59 at Kex Gill, between Church Hill and North Moor Road, so the ongoing re-alignment scheme is needed now more than ever.

“Until the road is reopened, we advise road users to follow the signed diversion route. We would again like to thank people for their patience and reiterate that we are doing all we can to complete the repair as quickly and safely as possible.”

Further details of the diversion route are available on the council’s roadworks map here.

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Valley Gardens pump track could open next winter

North Yorkshire Council has said it will move forward with proposals to create a pump track for bikes in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens.

In an update, the council said the new facility, which would replace the pitch and putt course, could open next winter.

A pump track is a circular loop that consists of slopes and bumps. The tracks have been described as being like a small rollercoaster for riders of bikes such as BMXs.

They are designed to maximise momentum and encourage movement with minimal pedalling.

The council took over the running of the park last year from Harrogate Borough Council and launched a public consultation on the potential move in November.

It previously said the track would be small and much of the pitch and putt course would be returned to grassland.

The council said it had received support from the public during the consultation and will move forward with them later this year.

The track would be accessible all year round, unlike the golf course which closes during wet weather.

It would be free-of-charge and would complement the skate park, which opened in 2011.

It is expected the pump track would cost around £2,000 to install by its in-house parks team.

Karl Battersby, the council’s corporate director of environment, said:

“We carried out a consultation exercise towards the end of last year to ask people for their thoughts on the potential to replace the existing nine-hole pitch and putt golf course in the Valley Gardens with a beginners’ pump track.

“We are grateful for the helpful feedback and the support for the project from the public. The intention is that once the summer season is over, we will be taking the project forward and looking to have it in place over the winter.”

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Council defends car park charges rise

North Yorkshire Council leader Carl Les has defended a move to introduce inflation-busting charges at car parks.

Cllr Les said the 20 per cent increase in car parking charges from April 19 was “not just about raising money”, but also about traffic management.

The authority, which has repeatedly introduced the maximum permitted rise in council tax without having to hold a referendum, says the car parking charge rise is needed so it avoids diverting funds away from vital frontline council services.

The council has also stated it is investing in automated payment systems and the installation of electric vehicle chargers. It added more funding is needed to cover the cost of providing parking facilities, including infrastructure, repairs, lighting, and security has risen.

Car parking fees have been frozen in some areas for more than a decade and most car parking charges have remained the same for at least three years.

On that basis, the council says, the increase it is introducing is “broadly aligned with inflation”.

Opposition councillors have claimed the rise will create confusion, particularly in towns where there are different tariffs at council run car parks. In Scarborough, charges at council-run car parks range from free to £2.20 an hour.

Critics have also highlighted the cost of car parking in town centres compared to out of town retail parks, such as the extensive one being developed at Scotch Corner.

Leader of the authority’s Labour group, Cllr Steve Shaw Wright, said while some towns had free publicly owned car parks, people were facing mounting charges from the council to park in neighbouring towns.

He said:

“It’s like a lot of things North Yorkshire Council is trying to harmonise services across the county – there’s a lot more problems than they thought.

“They are milking the easiest target, which is car parking. However, they need to monitor it because in places like Selby there is only a parking warden one day a week, and it’s usually the same day.”

However, Cllr Les said alongside the car parking charges rise, a review of car parking charges across the county was needed.

He said it would be possible to harmonise the principles behind what drivers in North Yorkshire are charged.

Cllr Les said:

“Car parking charging policy remains the prerogative of the council where car parks exist, but the mayor can introduce special measures to waive car parking charges for up to a year, as long as he or she pays for that out of his or her mayoral pot.

“Car parking charges are not just about raising money, they are also about traffic management. If there was free parking in town centres all day people would park up at 8am and the car would be there at 5pm.

“There is a lot of discussion to be had about the merits of car parking charges, the reasons behind it and how the money is spent. We raise the money as a council, but must spend it in certain ways, to do with the traffic management and flows.”

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Summerbridge residents object to plans for 20 homes

Two Summerbridge residents have voiced concerns over plans to build 20 homes in the village.

The Stray Ferret reported this month Nidderdale Estates Ltd, which also built the Poppy Fields development near the proposed site, tabled proposals to North Yorkshire Council last month.

The application, which comes after plans to build 24 homes at the Braisty Woods site were refused by the former Harrogate Borough Council, outlines plans to build one, two, three, four and five-bedroom homes on land just off the B6165.

However, the proposal is unpopular with some local residents.

Ros Evans told the Stray Ferret she felt “really strongly” that the plans should be rejected.

Ms Evans, along with 19 others, attended Tuesday night’s Hartwith cum Winsley Parish Council meeting, which covers the Summerbridge area, to raise concerns.

In a statement to councillors, Ms Evans said the land “should never have been included in the local plan” and feels the proposed development “will clearly cause problems”.

She also felt the plans would pose threats to the environment:

“It is an extremely wet field – as evidenced by the large patches of soft rush growing throughout and the pools of water laying on the surface, clearly visible from the footpath after rain. This means it is acting as a soak for water draining off the hillside.

“The ecological impact assessment for this development found that the southern section of the main field is ‘inundated grassland’ and that there was water ingress into all the trial pits leading to total collapse of many at 3m depth. It strikes me as odd that anyone would consider this a suitable substrate upon which to build.

“Development of the site would prevent this field from acting as a valuable flood alleviation system for the Nidd, already subject to high levels of flooding from above, and could also lead to flooding on the road and within the houses themselves, as has been the case in the Poppy Fields estate.”

Flooding at the proposed site in December 2023.

Ms Evans also cited plans to cut down a veteran tree, should the proposal be approved. She said this goes against government guidelines, adding they “clearly state they may only be removed if there are wholly exceptional reasons”.

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A fellow Summerbridge resident and objector, who wished to remain anonymous, also expressed concerns at the parish council meeting.

She said the plans would have a “detrimental impact” on the character of the village, as well as “negative effects detracting from the landscapes and dark skies status”.

The resident cited the already “fast and dangerous” road on which the houses would be built:

“Highways agencies get a snapshot, which is not realistic.

“In addition to the speed, is the number of parked cars along the road as an overspill from existing properties, from service vehicles, from school drop off and collections, not to mention the overspill from the church during services.

“Add in to the frequent flooding that once came through the fields and now comes via Poppy Fields, you have a very dangerous and congested road, that not only makes it dangerous for driving, but also puts pedestrians at risk. All too often cars will mount the curb in order to keep moving.”

The resident also bemoaned the current state of the village – describing it as an “eyesore”.

She said it is already a “building materials dumping ground”, adding if plans were approved villagers would be in for “at least another five years of chaos and building sites”.

The resident said:

“It wouldn’t surprise me if the status of AONB (now known as National Landscapes) in Summerbridge was revoked, as the village looks nothing like an area of outstanding natural beauty.”

Ms Evans told the Stray Ferret the parish council agreed to submit an objection to the plans to North Yorkshire Council.

The authority is yet to make a decision on the application.

Documents sent to the council on behalf of the developer said:

“The dwellings will be exemplary and provide living accommodation for modern lifestyles. The development as a whole creates a sense of place by introducing a high quality public outdoor space.

“Overall, this development will provide a special place to live in Summerbridge whilst remaining respectful to the local buildings, ancient woodland and AONB setting.”

Council seeks contractors to begin work on Hammerton Greenway

A contractor is being sought to to create a 1.7km traffic-free cycleway  from Green Hammerton to Thorpe Underwood.

The Hammerton Greenway, which will cost an estimated £84,600, will encourage cycling in villages close to main roads.

Green Hammerton Parish Council began work on the scheme after the 2014 Tour de France passed through the area and a planning application to change the use of land to facilitate a cycleway was submitted last year to North Yorkshire Council.

The village lies between York and Harrogate. The A59 and Boroughbridge Road limit access to the network of country roads into the vale of York.

The greenway will link with Great Ouseburn, which is part of the Way of the Roses cycle route from Morecambe to Bridlington.

North Yorkshire Council is funding the majority of the scheme from developer contributions paid by housebuilders and now the parish council is seeking bids from contractors to carry out the work. The deadline for submissions is April 30.

Work is expected to begin in autumn, after the nesting season and harvesting so overhanging branches and overgrown hedges can be cut back.

Planning documents submitted to the council in support of the application said:

“This will be a greenway for all users and will be designed to give a smooth dry surface for year-round use on foot, by cycle, and with children’s buggies or by those in wheelchairs.”

Creating the cycleway will mainly involve upgrading existing public footpaths and farm tracks to create a more even and levelled surface. The surface will be ‘durable all-weather crushed stone, with mown verges either side, giving a total width of 5m’.

Moss Hill Lane will be included in the cycleway.

The planning documents add:

“The work will require the replacement of an existing bridge with a new, cycleway bridge, the installation of potential street furniture (benches, bollards, and gates) and new/enhanced boundary treatments in the form of hedge planting and where necessary fencing.”

Jon Purday, a campaigner for the greenway who put the idea to the parish council in 2014, said:

“The Hammerton Greenway will be a safe route for families to take children on bikes, buggies and scooters, for walkers, wheelchairs and mobility vehicles, and for young people to cycle on a traffic-free track. Green Hammerton is hemmed in by busy main roads which are dangerous for young and inexperienced cyclists.

“In the past decade Green Hammerton has doubled in size and many young families have moved into the new houses. The Hammerton Greenway offers safe, accessible space for all those growing up in the village to learn to cycle and to get the benefit of living in the country.

“Queen Ethelburga’s school is just a mile away over the fields, and all the Green Hammerton children who go there, as well as teachers and others in the village who work there, will be able to cycle safely into school. That’s a much more exciting way to start the day than adding to the school car run.”

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Councillors approve 135 homes off Harrogate’s Skipton Road

Councillors have voted to approve 135 homes on the site of a former farm off Skipton Road in Harrogate.

The proposals by Rowan Green Developments Ltd will see the homes built at Cow Dyke Farm near Jennyfields.

The land is allocated for housing in the council’s local plan and the scheme was recommended for approval in a report.

The majority of the homes will have between one and three bedrooms and 54 are expected to be classed as affordable.

Chris Calvert spoke on behalf of the developer at a meeting of North Yorkshire Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee this afternoon.

He said the application met all of the council’s planning requirements.

Mr Calvert said:

“The site is within development limits for Harrogate. It’s been assessed by the local authority to be a suitable and deliverable site for new homes on the edge of Harrogate.

“It will be a high-quality and sustainable development ”

Cow Dyke Farm. Image: Rowan Green Developments Ltd.

Councillors visited the site this morning where concerns were raised about the current 40mph speed limit for motorists on Skipton Road.

Hundreds of homes have been built nearby in recent years and Tesco has planning permission to build a new supermarket close to the site.

Cllr Robert Windass (Conservative, Boroughbridge and Claro) asked if the speed limit on the nearby section of Skipton Road could be lowered to 30mph.

He said he saw a woman cross the road this morning with a pushchair, adding:

“40mph was maybe OK when there was no housing there, but I now think it’s inappropriate.”

However, his request was knocked back by a council transport officer who said the 40mph limit was appropriate.

North Yorkshire Council has asked the developer to pay a one-off contribution of £161,906 towards Killinghall Village Hall and £76,347 for improvements at Jennyfields recreation play area.

This led Terry Jones, representing the 72 objectors, to say the developer was offering a “paltry sum” towards local services.

Mr Jones said:

“You all seem to assume it’s going ahead. It’s probably a waste of time objecting, but it’s interesting to see the impact on local services. To employ extra doctors, dentists, teachers, it costs money every year.”

Councillors voted unanimously to approve the plans but a reserved matters application that deals with the scheme’s appearance and landscape will come before the planning committee at a future meeting before homes can be built.

Cllr Windass added:

“It looks to be a sympathetic approach to development on this land. I hope when they come back at reserved matters, the sympathy of the site is maintained and improved on.”

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