Two gritters powered by electricity are to join North Yorkshire’s winter fleet to save money and reduce carbon emissions.

The North Yorkshire County Council-owned company NY Highways has bought the gritters, which are supplied by Dorking-based Bucher Municipal.

According to the council, the vehicles have an anticipated fuel saving of up to 20 per cent compared to standard, diesel-powered gritters. It said in a media release:

“The gritting bodies which deploy the salt will run on an electric battery that can charge in just over 30 minutes. The battery will be able to do multiple runs before needing to be recharged.”

North Yorkshire has a 5,753-mile network of roads. The council’s winter gritting programme to maintain key routes lasts from October to April.

Cllr Keane Duncan

Cllr Keane Duncan, the council’s executive member for highways and transportation, said:

“The electric-bodied gritters are a first for the council’s winter service delivery.

“Innovation is high on our agenda and it is another way we are showing our commitment to achieving net carbon neutrality by 2030.

“The two gritters don’t have any hydraulics which mean there’s less chance of mechanical failure. This increased reliability is vital when we are against the clock trying to deliver the best winter service that we can.”

Picture shows: From left, Andrew Park and Chris Mitchell of Bucher Municipal, Nigel Smith, head of highway operations at North Yorkshire County Council, Rory Hanrahan and Craig Winter of NY Highways, and Mike Francis, operations manager at NY Highways.

Read more:

• Calls to grit more Harrogate district roads set to be rejected
• Harrogate hospital plans new £14m operating theatres

More than six weeks have passed since Beech Grove in Harrogate reopened to through traffic.

But the planters that blocked the highway remain by the side of the road — prompting speculation that they might be brought back.

Beech Grove was closed to through traffic for 18 months from February last year to encourage cycling and walking in the area.

When the experimental order implementing the measure expired in August, the planters were moved to the side and traffic could once again use the route to travel between Otley Road and West Park.

A no-through road sign also remains in place, prompting questions about whether measures to restrict traffic on Beech Grove could be brought back.

Beech Grove is regarded as a key part of wider plans to create a traffic-free route for cyclists between Harrogate train station and Cardale Park on Otley Road.

The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire County Council, the highways authority, why the planters and sign had not been removed and whether there were any plans to once again prohibit traffic on Beech Grove.

Melisa Burnham, highways area manager at the council, said the council was still considering what to do. She said:

“The planters are safely placed at the side of the road but will not be removed until we have considered the potential links from Otley Road to the town centre further.

“The sign was missed in error and we will remove it as soon as possible.”

Last month Cllr Keane Duncan, the council’s executive member for highways and transport, said it would “bring forward a detailed and coordinated plan, connecting active travel initiatives such as Otley Road and Station Gateway together”.

How Beech Grove figures in these plans remains to be seen.

Harrogate’s high care costs are being compounded by the cost of living crisis as bosses warn that they have no choice but to pass on some of the “colossal” price rises to residents.

With care homes being hit by huge increases in energy and food prices, the average weekly cost of a residential care home in the district is now £1,029.

That figure remains the highest in North Yorkshire and is equivalent to almost £54,000 a year.

The climbing costs come at a time of significant workforce pressures as care homes continue to rely upon agency staff and constantly recruit to try to fill vacancies.

Sue Cawthray, chief executive of care charity Harrogate Neighbours, described the price rises as “colossal” and said further increases in insurance costs and workers’ wages were adding to the pressures of keeping care services running.

Sue Cawthray, chief executive of Harrogate Neighbours

She added that the only way for care homes to be able to keep their costs down was for the government to provide more funding and support for services.

Ms Cawthray said:

“There is a serious shortage of funding in health and social care.

“This has been going on year after year and the situation is only getting worse as more people get older and need to go into care.”

After years of funding cuts and promises to fix the broken care system, the government earlier this year announced a new £86,000 cap on the amount anyone will have to spend on care over their lifetime.

This was due to be funded by a 1.25% rise in National Insurance, however, the tax rise was reversed by prime minister Liz Truss and funding will now come from general taxation.

The price cap and other measures are to be tested out as part of a “trailblazer” scheme which has seen North Yorkshire County Council chosen as one of six local authorities to introduce the reforms several months ahead of elsewhere.

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

There are, however, questions over when this will begin next year and if it will entail a huge bill for the county council.

Aside from the trial, Cllr Michael Harrison, executive member for health and adult services at the authority, said it was doing “everything possible” to support the care sector, although he added these efforts were being made “within the constraints of the funding allocated by central government”.

He said:

“We continue to make the case to the government for comprehensive reform and funding of social care.

“The council is implementing a three-year deal to address the actual cost of care provided by care homes, ahead of many other local authorities.

“We are now working with the sector on a similar long-term plan for home care.”

Meanwhile, the county council has further plans to build an extra care facility after purchasing a £1.8 million plot of land at Harrogate’s Cardale Park, and there are also proposals to introduce “micro-providers” in more rural areas.

Cllr Harrison added: 

“In the Harrogate area, we are pursuing several projects to try to improve market conditions, including identifying potential new opportunities to provide care directly.

“We are also hoping to see the introduction of micro-providers in rural areas and are working with care providers to pilot new workforce models, attracting people to the sector with the prospect of the rewarding careers which can result from caring for others.”

North Yorkshire County Council is set to review leisure services in the county as part of a drive to promote health and wellbeing

Cllr Simon Myers, planning for growth executive member, said the in-depth study would feature an examination of what the authority’s role should be in promoting public health as it faces financial pressures over spiralling social care costs.

A meeting of the authority focused on the transition to a new unitary council in April heard while existing leisure centres and charges would be looked, a study of the county’s community and grassroots facilities was also underway, to examine alternative ways of enabling rural residents to be physically active.

The meeting was told after the closure of the seven district and borough councils, including Harrogate Borough Council, the unitary authority would take on responsibility for 28 leisure centre premises across North Yorkshire, including 16 swimming pools.

Leisure services in the Harrogate district recently underwent a major overhaul led by Harrogate Borough Council. It saw the creation of a new council-owned company, Brimhams Active, to oversee facilities across the district.

The meeting heard there are glaring differences in access to leisure facilities across the county, with just one council-backed swimming pool in Richmondshire, which is in Richmond, so there was very little way people living in Hawes could use it, given that it would be a 54-mile round trip.

Councillors heard while leisure services in each of the districts were in “very different states”, Cllr Myers said some councils, such as Hambleton, had “state of the art” leisure centres.

Read more:

• Harrogate Hydro renovations a long-term gain, says diving club
• Hot Seat: Leading the Harrogate district’s leisure revolution

He added he did not believe it was right for councils to compete with private leisure facilities, saying it was not the best use of public money.

However, the unitary authority would be unable to harmonise leisure services across the county until 2027 due to continuing contracts.

Cllt Myers said he wanted to harness the county’s leisure services to tackle issues such as childhood obesity and mental health.

He said: 

“I think it’s very important when we consider that as a council we spend 53 per cent of our budget on social care one way or another, to look at investing in our residents, customers, so they don’t require social care so soon, they are kept fit and healthy, independent for longer.”

The committee’s chairman, Cllr Malcom Taylor, added:

“Prevention is better cure and if we can reduce our expenditure in adult social care I think that would be a massive benefit.”

The authority’s scrutiny of health committee chairman, Cllr Andrew Lee,  said it was clear providing access to leisure facilities across the whole county was going to be very difficult.

He said: 

“I support the delivery and provision of leisure but these facilities have got to, in my opinion, pay for themselves. I don’t want to see public money chucked at them if they’re not being used by a reasonable amount of the population.

“At the end of the day I always believe we have a responsibility to the taxpayers, value for money. Let’s look at things in a business-like way and not just say we must have these facilities, Harrogate’s got x so somewhere else must have the equivalent.”

Cllr Myers replied: 

“One man’s subsidy is another man’s investment. I think investing in the health of our residents is a really important thing to do. You either pick up the tab in social care and NHS spending or you invest it to keep people fitter and I think we have a role in that. I’m not in favour of simply chucking money at things.”

“It’s 175 years since the first public health board was set up. One of the very beginnings of local government, people’s involvement in public health. I think we should celebrate that and have a role to promote that, we owe that to our residents.”

North Yorkshire’s transport chief said the next six months will be “sink or swim” for some bus routes amid a lack of funding from central government.

Cllr Keane Duncan, executive councillor for transport at North Yorkshire County Council, said while £336,000 from government for bus services was “better than nothing”, it was a fraction of the £116 million previously asked for by the county council.

The Department for Transport awarded the council the funding to help with staff capacity in its enhanced partnerships team, which helps to draw up funding bids and works with operators.

The figure is significantly less than the £116 million bid made under the council’s Bus Services Improvement Plan earlier this year, which ministers turned down.

Cllr Duncan said the authority would continue to “face up to immense challenges” of maintaining bus services. He added that for some routes, it will prove to be “sink or swim”.

Cllr Duncan said:

“£336,000 is obviously better than nothing. But putting this into perspective, this is equivalent to less than 0.3% of our original £116 million Bus Services Improvement Plan bid.

“This is a pretty gutting state of affairs for the team who worked on our bid. I can’t hide that. Sadly, the fund was significantly oversubscribed and we were one of several authorities to miss out.

“The task now is to make the most of where we’re at. The enhanced partnership met earlier this month for the first time. This was a very positive meeting, with representatives of all of the county’s operators in attendance.

“We are facing up to immense challenges over the next six months, which will prove to be a sink or swim period for many routes.”

Read more:

• Harrogate park and ride ‘still possible’ despite £116m funding failure
• Harrogate park and ride plans could finally be revealed next year
• Government awards North Yorkshire £336,000 bus grant

Cllr Duncan added that the council would continue to look at improving bus services, despite having its multi-million pound funding bid rejected.

He said:

“It is only by the council and operators working closely together and sharing intelligence that we will be able to face up to these immediate challenges facing our network, protecting existing services as far as possible while making steps forward to improve the service provided to the public.”

Ahead of awarding the council staff capacity funding, the government said the grant would help it continue to work with bus companies.

In a letter to council officials, it said:

“We understand that this funding does not replace Bus Services Improvement Plan funding to spend on transforming your bus services.

“But we do hope it will help to support your ongoing work with operator partners, especially working through an enhance partnership or franchising arrangement, to deliver better bus services (whether they are commercial or tendered) and enable you to use local bus funding to best effect and attract future bus funding as it becomes available.”

There are yet more delays for Harrogate’s active travel schemes, which have yet to produce final designs despite being awarded government cash almost two years ago.

North Yorkshire County Council won £1 million for cycling and walking improvements on Oatlands Drive, Victoria Avenue and the A59 near Knaresborough in November 2020, but final designs have yet to be revealed as part of more consultations.

The council previously said designs for the Victoria Avenue and A59 schemes – which include cycle lanes, improved crossings and reduced speed limits – were “likely” to be revealed this summer.

However, this has now been pushed back until at least the New Year.

Victoria Avenue is one of the routes earmarked for better cycling.

And for the Oatlands Drive plans, the council previously said a consultation was “likely to start soon after” Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee bank holiday weekend in June.

Three months on, the council says it now hopes to ask the public for their views from the start of October.

This comes after original plans for a one-way traffic system on Oatlands Drive were scrapped after a backlash from residents who warned the changes would be “disastrous”.

Read more:

• Transport chief denies inflation will lead to ‘cheap’ Harrogate Station Gateway 
• Beech Grove decision leaves Harrogate in slow lane for cycling

It was later agreed that the funding would instead be used for a feasibility study looking into improvements for the wider area.

Councillor Keane Duncan, executive member for highways and transport at the council, said in a statement this week:

“We are still in the detailed design stage for active travel schemes on Victoria Avenue and the A59 near Knaresborough.

“Following discussions and guidance from Active Travel England we would like to amend the designs further for improved pedestrian and cycling use.

“A public consultation with final designs is likely to take place in the New Year.

“The study of Oatlands Drive will review the existing designs and prepare new ones, based on the data we collect, to give us some options for active travel and traffic calming improvements in the Oatlands area that could be trialled.

“We hope to launch the public consultation at the start of October.”

The latest delays come on top of several setbacks for Harrogate’s Otley Road cycle path project which was first awarded funding in 2017. A first phase of the project was completed earlier this year, but a start date for phase two remains unclear.

Otley Road cycle path

There have also been setbacks for the town’s £11.2 million Gateway project which has been hit by a legal threat from a leading property company.

Hornbeam Park Developments made a proposed claim for a judicial review against the council this year over claims that it “failed conscientiously” to take into account the feedback of a previous survey.

This sparked the launch of yet another consultation, which was held in summer and gathered over 2,000 responses ahead of a council decision over whether to submit a final business case for funding.

Elsewhere, plans for a 7km cycleway in Knaresborough and other active travel improvements in Ripon were shelved altogether in summer when a council bid for £1.5 million was rejected by government.

The transport boss of North Yorkshire has moved to defend the county’s on-demand bus service after concerns were raised that it could become a “blank cheque” of public funding.

YorBus was launched as a trial to provide services in poorly-served areas in Ripon, Masham and Bedale, and allows passengers to book via an app.

It has been hailed by North Yorkshire County Council as an “innovative” approach to public transport and the authority has repeatedly stated its ambition to roll-out the scheme across the county.

However, there have been concerns over the running costs which are higher than normal bus services subsidised by the council.

Cllr Keane Duncan, executive member for highways and transportation at the county council, has now said “incorrect” figures were discussed at a recent meeting and that the costs are reducing as more passengers use the service.

Read more:

• On demand Yorbus sees over 13,000 trips in first year
• YorBus: On-demand service’s running costs are twice as much as regular buses

He also said it is “unfair” to compare YorBus with normal services because of its flexible offer.

Cllr Duncan said: 

“The average cost per passenger journey as of August 2022 is £11.68 – that’s £3 more than the average subsidy per journey on for the fixed services.

“This figure has reduced from £35.00 per passenger journey in the month it launched (July 2021), and this continues to reduce as passenger numbers increase.

“Comparing YorBus with fixed timetable routes is in many ways unfair. While YorBus has a higher subsidy per journey at present, it is available to around 14,000 people within its zone of operation.

“Conventional services may have a lower subsidy level but operate on a fixed timetable.

“This can only benefit those lucky enough to live along the bus route.”

In total, YorBus cost the council £229,000 last year, and another £230,000 has been set aside for the remainder of the trial period which will run until June 2023.

Passenger fees were also recently increased in August with a single journey costing £2 for adults and £1 for a child, while under-fives travel free and concessionary bus passes can also be used.

Keane Duncan 

At a council meeting earlier this month, concerns were raised over the running costs and that taxpayers outside the trial area are not seeing any benefits.

Settle Cllr David Staveley said that with 850 active YorBus users out of 611,000 population in North Yorkshire, there will be many residents who “might not think it is the best use of taxpayers’ money”.

He said:

“I’m just a bit worried that it sounds like a blank cheque.”

In response, Cllr Duncan said in a statement this week:

 “YorBus is very positive in the sense that it maximises the number of people we can offer transport to and is much more flexible.

“People can be picked up and dropped off at any bus stop in the zone.

“It’s also worth remembering that YorBus is a pilot.

“We’re continually reviewing the service and making improvements so we’re in the best position to decide whether we can expand it to new zones in the county.”

Businesses in the Harrogate district could receive major tax cuts and fewer restrictions on building as part of a government announcement today.

Ministers revealed North Yorkshire County Council is one of 38 local authorities it is talking to about becoming investment zones.

The government has said the zones will “will drive growth and unlock housing across the UK by lowering taxes and liberalising planning frameworks”.

However, a union has warned they could lead to poorer public services and a race to the bottom on employment terms.

The government has written to local leaders in every part of England inviting them to begin discussions on setting up zones in their area. Conservative-controlled North Yorkshire County Council was today confirmed as one of 38 that are keen to be involved.

The government has said the zones will receive lower taxes and ‘radically streamlined’ planning rules.

Businesses will get 100% business rates relief on newly occupied and expanded premises, full stamp duty land tax relief on land bought for commercial or residential development and a zero rate for employer national insurance contributions on new employee earnings up to £50,270 per year.

To incentivise investment, there will be a 100% first year enhanced capital allowance relief for plant and machinery used within designated sites and accelerated enhanced structures and buildings allowance relief of 20% per year.

Kwasi Kwarteng

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng said:

“That is an unprecedented set of tax incentives for businesses to invest, to build and to create jobs right across the country.

“If we really want to level up, we need to unleash the power of the private sector.”

‘Race to the bottom’

But the zones, which build on the government’s freeports initiative, was criticised by the North Yorkshire branch of Unison.

A spokesman for the union said:

“Our nervousness, which is probably shared by residents of North Yorkshire, is around a race to the bottom by deregulation.”

The spokesman said the zones set local authorities against each other and would be bad for public services, as well as ushering in a “lower standard of planning”.

He also warned it could lead to businesses in non-zone areas cutting wages and standards to compete. He added:

“I don’t blame local authorities for applying but what we need from government is a strategy that goes for a high skill, high wage economy rather than pitting one local authority against another.”

North Yorkshire County Council has been approached for comment.

North Yorkshire’s leaders are keeping their cards close to their chests in the face of calls for a referendum on the creation of a new Harrogate town council.

With local government reorganisation fast approaching, a consultation is currently underway on whether Harrogate should keep control of some key services and buildings by becoming a parished area.

But borough councillors were last night unanimous in their calls that the consultation does not go far enough and that a public vote is needed.

Cllr Richard Cooper, the Conservative leader of Harrogate Borough Council, told a meeting that the process of creating a town council would be a “sham” unless a ballot was held before residents are asked to pay an extra tax to fund it.

He put forward a motion which was supported by all political parties and called on North Yorkshire County Council to give “democratic legitimacy” to the town council plans by holding a vote.

However, when later asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the county council refused to say whether a referendum would go ahead.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of the county council, said in a statement: 

“We will consider Harrogate Borough Council’s motion when and if it arrives, but we are in a period of consultation already about whether residents in that area want to continue with a governance review or not.”

Read more:

• Harrogate town council: What is it and what would it cost taxpayers?
• Decision on Harrogate town council could take two years

Currently, Harrogate and Scarborough are the only major towns in North Yorkshire not to be parished and there have been growing calls for new town councils to be created.

Those calls were first ignited when the government announced that North Yorkshire’s existing county and district councils would be scrapped from April 1 next year when a new unitary authority will take control of the whole county.

A central pledge in the major shake-up was what leaders described as a “double devolution” of powers, with plans for all town and parish councils to be given the chance to take on greater responsibilities.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council.

This could include a Harrogate town council running services such as parks, tourism and events.

However, it remains unclear on exactly what responsibilities would be filtered down and how much residents would have to pay to fund them.

In Knaresborough and Ripon, residents currently pay their respective town and city councils £25.27 and £70.77 per year.

At last night’s meeting, Cllr Cooper said it was crucial that Harrogate residents knew how much they would pay and for which services before a town council is created.

He said: 

“Asking the public if they want a new town council without informing them what it might do and how much extra council tax they would have to pay is not a meaningful conversation.

“And if as everyone tells me that the people of Harrogate are clamouring for a town council, then what do we have to fear?”

Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, also said: 

“I have absolutely no problem with a referendum – that is good liberal democracy.

“We can ask North Yorkshire to hold one, but I am slightly worried that they will reject it and continue with the process they have started.”

The areas which would be served by a Harrogate town council include:

• High Harrogate and Kingsley
• Valley Gardens and Central Harrogate
• Fairfax and Starbeck
• Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone
• Harlow and St Georges
• Bilton Grange and New Park
• Bilton and Nidd Gorge
• Most of Coppice Valley and Duchy
• Parts of Oatlands and Pannal
• Parts of Killinghall, Hampsthwaite and Saltergate

To have your say on the current consultation, go to the county council website here.

A contractor has been lined up to carry out the £68.8 million re-alignment of the A59 at Kex Gill in the Harrogate district.

North Yorkshire County Council has awarded preferred bidder status to John Sisk & Son (Holdings) Ltd, an Irish civil engineering and construction firm. A council spokeswoman said the value of the contract was “commercially confidential”.

John Sisk & Son was involved in the delivery of the 2012 London Olympics and the capital’s Crossrail project.

The decision is dependent on funding from the Department for Transport, which is currently reviewing the full business case. A decision is expected next month.

Contractors will move on site in December to clear the moorland by late February next year to avoid the bird nesting season. An estimated completion date is May 2025.

The A59 at Kex Gill, near Blubberhouses, is the main route between Harrogate and Skipton. Since 2000, the route has been closed 12 times following landslips.

The DfT awarded a £56.1 million grant for the realignment towards an original budget estimate of £61.6 million. The county council agreed to pay the remainder from its capital reserves.

The project has faced numerous delays and following tender returns, the estimated cost of the scheme increased by £7.2m to £68.8m, which the council attributes to due to inflation affecting constructions costs.

It therefore approved an increase in its allocated funding from £5.5m to £12.7m, given the DfT grant is fixed.

Asked whether the scheme would require detours and road closures, a council spokesewoman said:

“It’s very early to say for certain at this stage. However, we don’t envisage road closures or detours. The majority of work is offset from the existing A59 alignment being on the opposite side of the valley.”

Cllr Keane Duncan

Cllr Keane Duncan, the council’s executive member for highways and transportation,  said:

“This is a key step forward for the Kex Gill re-alignment, which is one of the council’s most ambitious ever highways projects.

“The A59 provides a very important east-west connection in North Yorkshire and the route is listed by the government in the top 10 for strategic importance nationally.

“Re-aligning the route is the only real solution so we are pleased to now be at the stage where we are ready to appoint a contractor.

“We remain committed to carrying out this key project as quickly as possible and in the most cost-effective way.”

‘Light at end of tunnel’

Cllr Nathan Hull (pictured above), a Conservative who represents Washburn and Birstwith on the council, said:

“There’s light at the end of the tunnel with this project now that we have a preferred contractor and a start date in mind.

“The re-aligned route, which will leave the A59 at North Moor Road and re-join the existing road at Blubberhouses, will be safe and reliable for residents, businesses and visitors for generations to come.”

Read more:

• Council warns of ‘high risks’ as Kex Gill cost soars to £69m
• £60m Kex Gill contract to be awarded

Sisk’s Yorkshire projects include completing the Leeds Public Transport Investment Programme City Centre Gateways and is delivering major infrastructure work at York Central.

Dominic Hodges, managing director of Sisk, said:

“The scheme is technically challenging with complex engineering solutions required within an environmentally sensitive area.

“We are working collaboratively with all stakeholders to develop an innovative scheme and look forward to working with the local community to leave a lasting legacy.”