The long-term vacancy of two prime retail units in Harrogate’s Royal Baths has cost the taxpayer almost £1 million in lost rent and service charges, the Stray Ferret can reveal.

North Yorkshire County Council paid £9.5 million for the Grade II listed building in 2018. A current council report has valued it at £7 million and forecasts it to generate an investment return of just 1.64%.

But in addition to the £2.5 million decline in property value, the long-term vacancy of both buildings is haemorrhaging lost rental income each month.

A year ago today (December 9, 2022) the council evicted the owners of the Viper Rooms nightclub — one of four commercial units it lets in the Royal Baths.

The venue has stood empty since, despite repeated claims by the council of “significant interest”.

The former Potting Shed bar, which along with the JD Wetherspoon pub and Royal Baths Chinese Restaurant make up the other commercial units, has been empty since the council acquired the historic complex five years ago.

The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire Council, which succeeded North Yorkshire County Council in April this year, about the cost of the ongoing vacancies.

A council statement said rent for the Viper Rooms premises “would have been in the region of £90,000 since December last year”.

It added maintenance for the building is covered by a service charge which is approximately £75,000.

The council added no business rates are payable due to an exemption for the premises as a listed asset.

As for the Potting Shed space, the council said the original rent was £125,000 a year when the county council acquired the vacant unit in 2018. That figure represents a loss of £625,000 over five years.

The vacant former Potting Shed unit.

It did not give a figure for the loss of service charge income at the Potting Shed but said no business rates were payable on either premises due to an exemption for them being a listed asset.

The council said “no agent’s fees have been paid at this time” to Savils, which has been marketing the Viper Rooms, adding any fee “will be made when the unit has been let”.

Asked why it was taking so long to find a Viper Rooms tenant, despite the apparent interest, the council said:

“The leisure market continues to be highly variable. Savills has conducted a significant number of viewings, and we do now have offers for both vacant units.

“An offer for the Viper Rooms unit has been accepted while the offer for the Potting Shed is due to be considered shortly.

“The situation of having vacant units is by no means unique and is a widespread issue nationally following the impact of the covid pandemic and the cost of living situation.

“Harrogate’s Royal Baths do, however, cover their costs and the council has not had to use funds from alternative budgets to support the asset.”

Council urged to “get their act together”

Former Conservative councillor Richard Musgrave branded the Royal Baths an “under-performing trophy asset” in 2021 because of the sum paid and returns generated.

The continued loss of rental income since, the depreciation of the value of the asset and its low investment returns has again raised questions about the council’s business acumen.

The Royal Baths forecasted return of 1.64% is by far the lowest in the council’s portfolio.

Cllr Stuart Parsons, leader of the Independent group on Conservative-controlled North Yorkshire Council, said the situation was “extremely concerning”. He said:

“The council really ought to get their act together and get it sorted immediately.

“A 1.64% return on investment is very low. They could have put the money in the bank and got just under 5%.”

Cllr Parsons said the newly formed council was still going through its investment portfolio to decide which assets to keep.

The Royal Baths complex

Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough at the next general election, said:

“North Yorkshire Council’s approach to business and investment in Harrogate is disappointing, and we deserve better.

“The continued cuts to local government from the Conservative government have left local authorities scrambling to buy up investment properties as new revenue streams. Often they do not have the skills of expertise to make a success of such investments, and we can see how that plays out first hand with the Royal Baths as one example.

“Their approach has been shortsighted, resulted in the loss of local businesses, and decreased the value of the assets they purchased. Someone should be accountable for this decision.”

Read more:

• Harrogate’s Royal Baths: the council’s under-performing ‘trophy investment’
• Harrogate nightclub Viper Rooms closes suddenly
• Viper Rooms owner says Harrogate landlords need to ‘get real’ with rent

Asked to respond to claims that it lacks the commercial acumen to run businesses, the council said:

“North Yorkshire Council has a wide range of skills among its own staff, but also recognises that external support is necessary for assets that are more complex. A number of external professionals assist the council in managing this asset is the best interests of local residents and taxpayers.”

Paul Kinsey, who owned the Viper Rooms, has been locked in protracted negotiations with the council over the fixtures and fittings, declined to comment.

A memorial service will be held this week for a long-standing councillor and former Mayor of the Borough of Harrogate.

Jim Clark served for 20 years on North Yorkshire County Council, representing the Harlow Hill division, and was the organisation’s chairman during the covid pandemic.

In this role, at the age of 73, he was among the first to have a covid vaccine in February 2021, wearing a tartan face mask for the occasion.

He was also a Harrogate Borough Council member, representing the Harlow ward for the Conservatives from 1998, and served as its mayor.

Mr Clark took a particular interest in health matters during his time as a councillor, representing North Yorkshire County Council on the West Yorkshire Health Scrutiny Panel.

He called for an enquiry into the Nightingale hospital set up at Harrogate Convention Centre in April 2020, and for staff at Harrogate District Hospital to be allowed to continue to park free in its car park after the initial months of the pandemic.

Professionally, Mr Clark was an accountant, achieving chartered status and being appointed head of entrepreneurial services at Ernst and Young.

He was a keen supporter of the arts, serving as chairman of the Harrogate Theatre board for a decade.

He also took an interest in community organisations, including the Friends of Valley Gardens

Read more:

• Council chairman rolls up sleeve for covid vaccine
• Call for inquiry into Harrogate’s Nightingale hospital
• Tributes paid to long-serving Harrogate councillor who has died

Mr Clark stepped down as a councillor in May 2022 and moved to be closer to family in Scotland, where he died in December.

He left two sons, Andrew and James, a daughter-in-law, Pamela, and three grandsons.

He was posthumously awarded the title of honorary alderman of Harrogate on the abolition of the borough council in March.

A memorial service for Mr Clark will take place at St Wilfrid’s Church on Duchy Road on Friday, August 25 at 2pm, followed by refreshments at the Old Swan Hotel.

The occasion will be a celebration of his life, so his family have requested that attendees do not wear black.

Anyone who would like to attend should contact Andrew Clark on 07710 709172, or by email.

More than £2 million has already been spent on outside consultants to work on Harrogate’s controversial Station Gateway scheme, figures reveal.

The £11.2 million active travel project will transform the area outside Harrogate Station to make it more friendly for cyclists and pedestrians.

It’s being led by North Yorkshire Council, which replaced North Yorkshire County Council, which previously led on the project, in April due to local government reorganisation.

To develop the project the council hired global consultancy firm WSP to draw up its business case and preliminary and detailed designs.

Following a freedom of information request submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, North Yorkshire Council has revealed just over £2 million has been paid to WSP so far with the majority going towards design costs.

In a statement, the council argued that its use of consultants for the scheme is commonplace and typical of large-scale active projects across the country.

It also said consultants can help when there is not the required expertise within the council.

But the public sector’s increasing reliance on consultants, often to plug gaps created during austerity, has troubled some with a Guardian editorial published in March stating consultants are a “symptom of shrinking faith in the public sector”.

‘A money pit’

Liberal Democrat councillor for Knaresborough West, Matt Walker, who is a critic of the Station Gateway scheme, told the LDRS that the amount spent on consultants is a signal that the project “is shaping up to be a money pit“ for taxpayers.

Mr Walker, who will be standing for the Lib Dems in next month’s Selby and Ainsty by-election, said:

“That is a huge amount of public money to spend on consultants, more than 15% of the cost of the scheme. It’s a money pit that is not part of a wider strategic plan for active travel and one which does not have the full backing of the local community, or businesses.

“The cost of building materials has already sky rocketed since the original costing for the scheme was done. Are we going to cut back on what is delivered or pour money tax payers money into this scheme?

“What Harrogate needs is real investment, as part of a strategic plan to deal with congestion. Innovative and exciting options for active travel not costly consultants.”

‘Increased consultation pushed up costs’

The council said the sum paid to WSP has increased due to the additional public consultation which led to designs being changed.

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

“Consultants have only been used where there is not sufficient in-house resource or very specific expertise within the council. This is a common occurrence with consultants used for almost, if not all, Transforming Cities Fund projects across the country.

“The cost includes survey work as well as individual disciplines – landscaping, highways, traffic modelling, signals, drainage, lighting – consultation support, planning and Traffic Regulation Orders, and project management, including business case development, risk reviews, programming and attendance at meetings.

“The design cost has increased where additional works have been identified, such as revisions to landscaping or additional consultation engagement.”

Background to the scheme

Among the proposals include redeveloping the area outside Harrogate Station, making Station Parade single-lane to add cycle and bus lanes and part-pedestrianising James Street.

But it’s divided the town with the results of the third and final round of public consultation, published in January, suggesting the Harrogate public are narrowly against it.

It’s still to receive final approval but won the backing of senior councillors in Northallerton at a meeting last month.

The predicted cost of the scheme is now £11.2m — a sum that has risen considerably from the £7.9m initially suggested by council.

North Yorkshire Council will axe the YorBus service next month nearly two years after it was launched.

The service, which operates between Ripon, Bedale, and Masham, was launched as a pilot scheme by the council in July 2021 to offer rural residents low-cost journeys on demand.

The service could be booked by residents via an app.

However, council officials have decided to axe the service as it had become too expensive to run. As a result, it will end on June 30.

The authority added that the cost per journey of YorBus was “significantly higher than the traditional, timetabled bus routes”.

The pilots costs around £230,000 to operate annually, but latest figures suggest YorBus journeys cost over twice as much as a scheduled service.

A YorBus service, which operates in Masham and Ripon.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for highways and transport, Cllr Keane Duncan, said:

“We launched the YorBus pilot two years ago to enhance our existing public transport network.

“It has allowed us to gather valuable information about the costs and benefits of running a digital demand responsive bus service.

“Without sufficient additional funding being available to expand the service so YorBus can benefit residents across North Yorkshire, and with costs per journey remaining so high despite efforts to improve value for money, the pilot will come to an end as planned next month.”

When discussing the service coming to an end, he added:

“This will allow us to be fair to all residents and focus every penny of our limited resources on supporting bus services across the county at a time of unprecedented pressure.

“While continuing to work closely with operators to support at-risk services, we are also currently reviewing a number of initiatives to improve rural transport and asking the public for their views to help shape our future strategy.”

In 2022, the council bid for £116 million to improve bus services as part of the Government’s Bus Back Better scheme, but was unsuccessful. An expansion of the YorBus service was earmarked if the funding had been granted.

The two YorBus vehicles will be returned for use on other local bus services and drivers will be redeployed.

Earlier this week, the council launched the Let’s Talk Transport survey, asking residents to share their travel habits in hopes to develop the travel strategy for the coming decades.

Bus routes 136, 138, 138A, 139, 144 and 159 will continue to run, as well as alternative community transport operators in the area where YorBus ran.

Alternative travel options can be found here.

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Harrogate Borough Council spent £14,910 on a final day leaving party for staff, a freedom of information request has revealed.

The bill, footed by council taxpayers, included £3,031 on drink and £4,750 on food. The other £7,000 is unaccounted for.

The Stray Ferret has submitted a freedom of information request seeking a fuller breakdown of the costs.

Seven district councils and North Yorkshire County Council were abolished on March 31 to make way for the new North Yorkshire Council.

Harrogate Borough Council’s final day staff party cost the most.

Scarborough was the next highest, spending £9,004, followed by Hambleton at £3,783. Ryedale awarded staff a £148 bonus and spent £3,001 on a party. North Yorkshire County Council did not spend anything.

When the Stray Ferret contacted Conservative-run Harrogate Borough Council in March about a leaving party, a spokesperson replied:

“I’m not aware of any events today to mark the end of Harrogate Borough Council.”

Now it has emerged a party did take place, a public sector worker in Harrogate described it as a “spit in the face of every taxpayer in these difficult financial times”.

The person, who asked not to be named, said:

“The money could have been put towards a million and one other uses.

“I am appalled, disgusted and downright annoyed that this amount was spent without the prior knowledge and consent of the people paying for it.”

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• Ripon bistro introduces dog menu

Conor Holohan, media campaign manager of the pressure group the TaxPayers’ Alliance, echoed the concerns. He said:

“Taxpayers will be shocked to find they were funding parties for council staff.

“While residents were struggling with the cost of living crisis, town hall officials were charging them for dinner and drinks.

“Bosses in the new North Yorkshire Council should be more considerate when spending taxpayers’ cash than some of their predecessors were.”

The new signs at Harrogate’s Civic Centre

Staff from the district councils, except the chief executives, transferred to North Yorkshire Council on April 1. It said in a statement:

“The new council for North Yorkshire did not play any part in sanctioning or organising any parties.

“For any further comment you will need to ask the district and borough council decision-makers who were in place at those councils at the time.”

When he stepped down as leader of Harrogate Borough Council, Richard Cooper said he would not give any further public comments and he declined to comment when asked about this matter.

A Harrogate publican told to remove the chairs and tables outside his pub to make way for a cycle path says he feels he is “being punished” by the council’s “unreasonable” demands. 

Charlie Tinker, who owns Charlie’s Place on Otley Road, was sent a letter in March from North Yorkshire County Council saying that the pavement in front of his pub “is now a shared footway/cycleway and as such the full width of the footway is required”. It goes on to demand that he “remove all furniture, heaters and A-boards” from the space outside the pub’s front door. 

Mr Tinker, who has owned Charlie’s Place for 19 years, has complied with the letter but said: 

“It’s not easy for publicans – we’re still trying to recover from the covid lockdowns. The last thing we need is the council making things even more difficult for us.

“With the warmer weather coming, this is going to cost me income. I feel like I’m being punished. 

“What the council is demanding is unreasonable. Just down the road, there’s a council bench and a council bin, both closer to the kerb than anything I’ve put out. It’s one rule for them and another rule for the rest of us.” 

Mr Tinker said he accepted there needs to be a cycle path, but does not believe it should require the whole pavement. He said: 

“The section of dedicated cycle path that they’ve purpose-built just up the road is 5ft 2in (159cm) across, but the council wants the full 11ft 9in (358cm) outside my pub.

“Even if you take into account extra space for, say, a double buggy alongside the cycle path, I should still have enough space for a couple of small tables and some chairs. There should be give and take.” 

Charlie Tinker has owned Charlie’s Place for 19 years.

According to the Department of Transport’s guidance published in 2020, the desirable width of a one-way cycle route with a peak flow of fewer than 200 cyclists per hour, as is the case on Otley Road, is 1.5 metres (4ft 11in) – considerably less than half the width of the pavement outside Charlie’s Place.

North Yorkshire Council, which took over the responsibilities of North Yorkshire County Council on April 1, told the Stray Ferret there was no formal street café licence or pavement licence in place, and said there was not enough width to accommodate pedestrians, tables and chairs, adding “this was the case before the Otley Road cycleway was introduced”.

Melisa Burnham, North Yorkshire Council’s highways area manager, said:

“Independent businesses are at the heart of our communities, and we do everything we can to support them. We recognise the importance of outdoor space for the hospitality sector, particularly in recent years when Covid-19 restricted indoor dining.

“In Harrogate and Knaresborough alone, we have around 16 approved street café licences and have worked with 65 businesses since the pandemic to support and introduce pavement licences alongside the former borough council.

“In all cases, the safety of those using the pavements and roads should take priority. Unfortunately, there are pavements which aren’t wide enough to facilitate outdoor seating, and we will always work with these businesses to find possible solutions.”

However, Mr Tinker insisted a small amount of space could, and should, be reserved in front of his premises for customers – just as it has been, albeit unofficially, for the the last two decades. He said without it, there was a serious danger that one of his customers could be injured by a speeding cyclist. He said: 

“Cyclists coming down this hill can really pick up speed, and having the cycle lane so close to our front door is dangerous. There’s no buffer for the customer – they’re walking straight into it. Someone could easily come out of our pub straight into the path of a speeding cyclist – it’s only a matter of time before someone gets hurt.”

Read more:

• Otley Road cycle path could be re-routed with new traffic restrictions
• New start date for next phase of Otley Road cycle path works to be revealed
• ‘Nightmare’ and ‘flawed’: Harrogate’s Otley Road cycle path under further fire

Cyclists have expressed concern about the future of active travel in the Harrogate district after funding for two schemes was rejected.

The Department for Transport’s active travel fund last month turned down North Yorkshire County Council’s bid for £3.19 million.

It would have paid for segregated cycle routes on Victoria Avenue in Harrogate and on the A59 in Knaresborough between Mother Shipton’s Cave and Harrogate Golf Club.

Coming on the back of the county council’s decision to scrap phase two of the Otley Road cycle route, it has left plans for a connected, segregated cycle route between Harrogate train station and Cardale Park in tatters.

It has also raised questions about whether the council can deliver on active travel schemes despite the rhetoric.

Harrogate cycling campaigner Malcolm Margolis said

“The future for investment in cycling in Harrogate is clearly grim if the council is unable to attract government funding.

“It will only do that if it shows that it can deliver, which it has repeatedly failed to do for many years.

“That’s one of the reasons why the Station Gateway project must go ahead, not only that it would greatly improve the town centre, but that it shows the council has the capacity to turn successful bids to improve the public realm into successful changes on the ground.”

Cycleways on Station Parade are a key feature of the Station Gateway.

Read more:

• Cycling signs on Otley Road are ‘temporary measure’
• Government rejects cycling schemes in Harrogate and Knaresborough

Kevin Douglas, chairman of Harrogate District Cycle Action, agreed next month’s expected gateway decision was now of even greater significance given the legacy of failed cycling schemes. He said:

“If the council can’t attract government funding then it isn’t looking good for cycling.

“The government is reducing funding for active travel so it will be more difficult to succeed with bids and without a track record it will be doubly difficult.”

The Conservative-run North Yorkshire Council, which has replaced the county council, has said it will abide by its Liberal Democrat-controlled Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee’s gateway decision on May 30.

‘Immense challenges’

Cllr Keane Duncan, the Conservative executive member for highways and transportation on North Yorkshire Council, said the local authority remained determined to “rebalance transport” in the town and would “not be dispirited” by Active Travel England’s rejection.

He said:

“We know the immense challenges the town is facing in terms of congestion, air quality and road safety. Unless the new North Yorkshire Council takes action to address these problems, they will only get worse.

“Rebalancing transport and promoting more sustainable travel is essential, but with limited financial resources and often vocal opposition, this is not always easy to deliver in practical terms.”

The Otley Road cycleway

Cllr Duncan added:

“The Otley Road corridor remains a challenge, but I stand by the decision to step back from phase two of the cycleway to allow local councillors to consider alternative options.

“And of course, it will be local councillors who will determine the hot topic of gateway once and for all. They will give their verdict and I will respect this. I feel this is the fairest possible approach.

The Stray Ferret asked Active Travel England why it rejected North Yorkshire County Council’s bid.

A spokesman said it couldn’t go into detail until the successful applicants were notified after next month’s local elections. They added:

“Each bid we have received has undergone a robust assessment process that considered a range of criteria. Feedback is being provided to authorities with unsuccessful bids over the next few weeks.

“Active Travel England will support local authorities in designing and delivering schemes that meet national standards for safety and accessibility.”

Up to £3m collected from parking fines will not be spent on the Harrogate Station Gateway should costs rise — despite calls from the outgoing Harrogate Borough Council.

The £11.2 million project has been in development for three years after funding was won from the government’s Transforming Cities Fund to make the town centre more accessible to cyclists and pedestrians.

However, the rising cost of building materials and high inflation has led to concerns that the project, if approved, could go over-budget.

When the gateway scheme was first announced it had an anticipated cost of £7.9m.

North Yorkshire County Council had responsibility for on-street parking in the Harrogate district until April 1.

According to a report that went before councillors on the new North Yorkshire Council today, it has a parking enforcement surplus for the new financial year of £3m, which includes £2m collected in the Harrogate district.

As part of local government reorganisation, the outgoing borough councils, including Harrogate, were invited to suggest what it should be spent on.

The report includes a letter sent by Trevor Watson, Harrogate Borough Council’s director of economy, environment and housing to Barrie Mason, assistant director of highways at North Yorkshire County Council.

How Station Parade would look

Dated April 2022, the letter says some of the surplus should be put aside for contingency if Station Gateway costs rise.

Mr Watson said:

“With inflation rising it would be prudent to budget for additional match funding from civil parking enforcement surplus expenditure.”

However, the report pours cold water on this request and says match funding through the surplus “would not be possible.”

Instead, it lists projects such as the Whitby and Scarborough park-and-ride schemes, the A1 (M) junction 47 changes and other highways improvements as beneficiaries.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Council said “it’s too early to speculate about final costs” of the Station Gateway.

Next steps

A final decision on the scheme will be made in the summer before a full business case is submitted to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which made the original bid for government funding.

The council hopes work, if approved, could begin by the end of this year.

Conservative councillor Keane Duncan, who has responsibility for highways on the council’s decision-making executive, has in recent months twice spoken to business leaders at Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce about the controversial scheme.

In September last year, he discussed what impact inflation might have on its overall budget.

Cllr Duncan said:

“My aspiration is that we will have a high quality scheme.

“The last thing I would want to happen is us compromising on the public realm because that is a key part of the scheme and what we are wanting to deliver.

“If there are inflationary pressures with this particular scheme, then we are going to have to look at potentially what we can do around those costings. But that is not something we have discussed or are expecting at this point in time.”

But in March he said a £500,000 water feature planned for Station Square had been scrapped from the scheme “due to practical and cost constraints”.

Harrogate Borough Council charged North Yorkshire County Council £28,000 last year to view CCTV related to parking fines, according to a report.

The report, which will go before councillors on the new North Yorkshire Council tomorrow, outlines the financial performance of parking enforcement in the county.

It includes details of how much money the now-abolished North Yorkshire County Council spent on traffic management and on-street parking in 2022/23.

Harrogate Borough Council, which was also abolished last week, manned its own CCTV centre which had control over a network of 212 cameras across the district.

However, if another organisation wanted access to its video they had to pay an hourly fee. This included North Yorkshire County Council, which had responsibility for on-street parking in Harrogate.

The council also charged North Yorkshire Police to obtain footage to support prosecutions in court. This led to comments from some councillors and members of the public who felt public bodies should share footage free of charge.

Chris Aldred, Liberal Democrat councillor for High Harrogate and Kingsley, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the issue of who pays for the CCTV control centre in Harrogate has been “a bit of an historic running sore”.

He said:

“My understanding is that North Yorkshire County Council used to contribute to the CCTV provision across Harrogate district until a few years back, then they rather unceremoniously and at the last minute in one particular round of budget cutbacks, took the decision to pull out of an annual commitment to assist with their funding.

“It’s quite expensive to provide, not the actual kit, although that’s not cheap, but the officers who have to do the monitoring and then provide the footage for court — and they only pay for what they actually use.”

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But the debate over which council should pay for CCTV in Harrogate is now over with the introduction of the new unitary council that launched on April 1 and now owns the control centre.

North Yorkshire Council’s assistant chief executive for local engagement, Rachel Joyce, said:

“North Yorkshire County Council was previously charged to access open space cameras in the Harrogate district in order to assist its highways team with day-to-day operations such as traffic monitoring. This made best use of an extensive CCTV infrastructure.

“In the new council, we have the opportunity to look at our CCTV network across the county. Our aim is to maximise the existing CCTV infrastructures, explore opportunities for enhanced partnership working including how CCTV control rooms are funded.”

Residents across the Harrogate district are being invited to help shape a new strategy to improve the lives of people living with autism.

The aim is to provide better support for autistic people, as well as improving attitudes towards the condition across the community.

The new North Yorkshire Council is working with the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board to host a series of events for people with autism, or those who support them, to share their ideas and experiences.

People will also be able to take part in a survey, which will run until the end of April, as an alternative way to express their views. Copies will also be available in North Yorkshire libraries.

Cllr Michael Harrison, executive member for health and adult services, said:

“The aim is to enable autistic people to live fulfilling lives by making sure the right support is available at the right moments.

“Autistic people’s ideas and experiences will be at the heart of the new strategy.

“That is why we are so keen that people attend the engagement sessions, and help us to ensure the new strategy is as thorough and as helpful as it can possibly be.”

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The new, all-age strategy will be implemented across the health and local authority sector, alongside voluntary, community and social organisations.

Inclusion North, a not-for-profit organisation that works with the public sector, has also been taken on to help the campaign.

Once adopted, the strategy is expected to remain in place until 2026. It will cover several key areas of improvement, including better access to education, transition into adulthood and employment aid.

Guidelines will be provided to help support families and carers.

The next Harrogate engagement event will take place at The Cuttings in Station View, Starbeck, on Thursday, April 27, from 5.30-8pm. Full details are available on the North Yorkshire Partnerships website.