The introduction of online meetings due to covid saved North Yorkshire County Council £4 million.

An officer’s report to a meeting of the authority’s executive tomorrow reveals the huge amount of money saved as well as environmental benefits.

The staff mileage bill fell by more than £1.7 million In the year to April 2021 compared with the previous 12 months.

Staff drove 4,117,062 fewer miles to meetings than in 2019/20.

The introduction of online meetings by the authority, which employs 15,000 staff, saw a total saving of almost £4 million, the equivalent to more than 2,700 average annual council tax bills.

The report estimates over the two years it saved 369,500 hours, or 49,200 working days, the equivalent to some 233 full-time staff.
It states:

“Over 2,000 employees had moved quickly to work from home at the start of the pandemic and the way in which teams can work remotely and virtually has been transformational.

“There has been a carefully considered approach to developing future ways of working post-covid following whole organisation engagement in 2021.

“Hybrid working has been welcomed by council staff. This new approach provides great flexibility for many roles.”

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The authority, which aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030, reduced carbon emissions by 2,710 tonnes over the two years because of the reduced mileage.

The council aims to generate further post-pandemic savings by rationalising its extensive property portfolio as more work is completed virtually and demand for physical meeting spaces has been reduced.

The officer’s report states:

“It should also be noted these savings are just in terms of travelling to and from meetings.

“The savings to individual members of staff working from home, fuel cost and time, and to the environment, will be significantly bigger.

“Although some of these figures will start to increase again as staff return to the office on a more frequent basis, there will be many other benefits that new ways of working have brought us that can be retained.”

7m fewer documents printed

The report highlights other benefits of changed working practices, including improved attendance at multi-agency meetings, the ability to attend more meetings and arrange meetings sooner than if relying on getting people together at the same place.

With many staff working from home and attending meetings online, there has been a sharp reduction in the number of documents being printed.

In the year before the pandemic the council’s staff printed some 14.5 million sheets of paper compared to 7.6 million last year. Over the last two years the reduction in printing has saved the equivalent of 1,800 trees.

The authority’s deputy leader, Councillor Gareth Dadd, said while it remained unclear as to the level of savings that the work practice changes would produce in the coming years, how technology could be used to cut travel would “feature very heavily in our thinking moving forward”.

A former Ripon Grammar School staff member who was dismissed after just seven months in post has lost an employment tribunal.

Barbara Sheills claimed she was unfairly sacked from the school after whistleblowing on a safeguarding issue she raised when a pupil took an overdose in September 2020.

However, a tribunal held in Leeds found against her. It said there were enough grounds for her dismissal over her conduct and professionalism.

Jonathan Webb, headteacher at the school, dismissed Ms Sheills’ claim on the grounds of “conduct, capability and concerns about a breakdown in her relationship with her line manager which could undermine the smooth operation of the boarding house”.

Safeguarding claim

Ms Sheills started at the school in the middle of the national covid lockdown in March 2020. She worked as a senior house parent and was contracted to North Yorkshire County Council.

The tribunal heard that concerns were first raised by Caroline Day, assistant headteacher of boarding, after Ms Sheills was described as “rude and abrasive” during a meeting to discuss the return of pupils.

She denied this, but the tribunal later found Ms Day’s evidence to be “clear and unequivocal”.

On the same day as pupils returned, staff were given a presentation from the school’s special needs co-ordinator, which included information on “Pupil A”’s welfare needs.

The tribunal heard how the pupil had returned to the school on September 20 after being home for the weekend and that her medication should have been collected by staff and put away in a medical safe.

Leeds Employment Tribunal at City Exchange in Leeds City Centre.

However, her medication was not collected and the following day Pupil A went to Ms Day and told her she had taken an overdose. She was taken to hospital with Ms Day.

Ms Sheills raised a complaint with Marita Murray, deputy headteacher and designated safeguarding lead, on September 22 over Ms Day not collecting the medication.

However, the tribunal heard that the responsibility to collect the medication was a systemic failure rather than that of any individual.

Dismissal backed by evidence

The tribunal heard how repeated concerns were raised by Ms Day over Ms Sheills claiming overtime for tasks which could be done during working hours and using pupils’ numbers instead of names at registration.

It also heard how Mr Webb took advice from the council’s human resources department over Ms Sheill’s sanctioning pupils with an early morning run after they had been talking during the night.

During a meeting with Ms Sheills and her union representative on September 29, Mr Webb described the sanction as “outdated”, “draconian” and against school behavioural policy.

Mr Webb added that another reason for the dismissal was that Ms Sheills had “behaved inappropriately” after she had a conversation about Pupil A’s overdose with a member of the school’s ground staff in September 2020.

There were also allegations that she had edited boarding house logs relating to incident and had also “ignored instructions from Mrs Day and Mr Webb” to maintain an “appropriate boundary” between the school and home while off sick.

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The tribunal found that Mr Webb’s dismissal of Ms Sheills in October 2020 was backed by a “significant amount of evidence”.

Ms Sheills denied wrongdoing and claimed she was sacked because she made an allegation against another staff member.

But, Employment Judge Cox ruled in a report published last week:

“In the light of the clear and convincing nature of Mr Webb’s evidence and the fact that it was supported by a substantial number of emails and meeting notes to which the tribunal was referred, it accepts that Mr Webb had a significant amount of evidence before him to support all these conclusions.

“The tribunal accepts Mr Webb’s evidence that it was unprecedented in his experience that so many concerns about an employee’s behaviour, attitude, professionalism and ability should be raised by a number of staff so early in the employee’s employment.

“There were a number of ways in which the claimant had fallen far below the standards of conduct and capability the school required.”

It added:

“In summary, the tribunal finds that not only were the claimant’s protected disclosures not the principal reason for the claimant’s dismissal, they formed no part of Mr Webb’s decision-making.

“The claimant’s claim that she was unfairly dismissed therefore fails.”

The Stray Ferret approached North Yorkshire County Council for comment, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

There have been calls for Travellers to have more temporary sites in the Harrogate district.

Cllr David Goode, who is a resident in Knaresborough and a Liberal Democrat town councillor, said recent groups of Travellers setting up camp had been met with “negative feelings” from locals.

Travellers parked on the old rugby field on Hay-a-Park Lane last week and were served legal notice to leave by Harrogate Borough Council.

Several caravans and cars also parked on the Stray near to Oatlands Drive.

All the Travellers have now moved on.

Cllr Goode said while the council has already set up a permanent designated Travellers site off the Knaresborough bypass, there needed to be more transit sites where groups can stay temporarily.

He added that council officials should start to engage with local Gypsy and Travellers trusts to find out what more can be done.

Cllr Goode said:

“My thinking coming out of this is to start engaging with the local Gypsy trust.

“They will know the issues.”

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Sharon Calvert, who also lives in Knaresborough and has worked with Travellers in her role in education, shared the view that more temporary sites should be set up.

She said:

“What they need is to have a transit site. There are always going to be Travellers coming through [the district].

“We need some joined up thinking on this. There needs to be some temporary sites on the A1 with running water and facilities to get rid of rubbish. There must be some sites.”

‘Engagement is number one’

Leeds Gypsy and Traveller Exchange, a charity which aims to improve the quality of life for the communities, said engagement with Gypsy and Travellers in the first instance was important.

In September 2020 the organisation worked with Leeds City Council to create a good practice guide to design Traveller sites as part of its work.

A spokesperson for Leeds GATE told the Stray Ferret that it was important for authorities to make those community links to better understand Gypsy and Traveller people.

They said:

“The engagement with the community is number one. Whether it is a council or a planning department, they really need to make those community links.

“There are organisations that people can speak to. We at Leeds GATE are here and we do make ourselves known.”

In the Harrogate district, North Yorkshire County Council owns and maintains two designated sites for Travellers.

One is at Bickerton and another is off Thistle Hill in Knaresborough.

Residents at a Harrogate care home where rodent droppings were found and rooms smelled of urine have been moved to other homes.

Mary Fisher House was rated inadequate and put into special measures in April by the Care Quality Commission, which regulates health and social care.

The CQC report in April, which was based on an inspection in February, found evidence of rodent droppings in the kitchen.

It said some bedrooms smelled of urine, described medicines practices as unsafe and said there were insufficient staff to safely support people.

The four-storey home on Cold Bath Road, which caters for up to 24 residents, relied heavily on agency staff who weren’t properly inducted, it added.

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Claire Harris-Winstanley, manager of the home on Cold Bath Road, confirmed it was closed when the Stray Ferret visited today. However, she said it was not clear yet whether the closure would be permanent and declined to comment further at this stage.

Rachel Bowes, North Yorkshire County Council’s assistant director for care and support, said in a statement today:

“We have taken swift action to find new accommodation for 12 residents of Mary Fisher House following a decision by the owner to close for refurbishment.

“This situation has arisen following a recent Care Quality Commission inspection of the home, which identified problems which needed attention.

“Since then we have been working alongside NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group with the home’s owner to try to secure improvements.”

“The owner has decided the best way forwards is to refurbish the premises and to do so without residents in place. As a consequence we are finding alternative accommodation for the 12 residents the county council has responsibility for.

“We understand the situation may be distressing for those involved and we are working diligently to ensure the process causes the minimum disruption to the residents involved. Our absolute priority is the welfare of those affected by this situation and we have been keeping residents, along with their relatives and representatives, fully informed of developments.”

Safety action

One woman, who had a relative at the £600-a-week home until recently, said she was given nine days to find alternative arrangements.

According to the CQC, the home is run by Svivekcaregroup Limited.

The Stray Ferret has tried to contact the provider but has yet to receive a response.

A CQC spokesperson, said:

 “The CQC carried out an inspection at Mary Fisher House in Harrogate in February 2022.

“As a result we have taken action to protect the safety and welfare of people living at the home.

“Our legal processes do not allow us to go into further detail at this time. All CQC’s action is open to appeal.”

Plans for a 7km cycleway in Knaresborough and other active travel improvements in Ripon have been shelved after a bid for government funding failed.

North Yorkshire County Council applied for £1.5 million – but did not receive any money from round three of the government’s active travel fund.

The council said in a statement that “there will be no progress with either project at present” following an announcement of funding allocations to councils across England last month.

If successful, £50,000 would have funded feasibility work for a segregated cycleway and footpath between Knaresborough and Flaxby Green Park.

In Ripon, around £550,000 would have been spent on the development of “sustainable travel corridors” in the west of the city. This could have included widened footpaths, better pedestrian crossings and traffic calming measures.

Also included in the £1.5 million bid was proposals for other schemes in Selby, Ryedale and Craven, which have not received any funding.

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Separately, the council has announced final designs for cycling and walking improvements on Harrogate’s Victoria Avenue and the A59 near Knaresborough are “likely” to be revealed this summer as part of a consultation.

This comes after more than £1 million was awarded to the council, which had hoped to start construction works by now.

The proposals include cycle lanes, improved crossings and reducing the A59 speed limit from 50mph to 40mph.

The council said in a statement: 

“Designs are currently being finalised and costed. A public consultation will need to take place before any contract is awarded.

“This is likely to happen over the summer but dates have not yet been confirmed.”

Kevin Douglas, chair of Harrogate District Cycle Action, said he was disappointed that the Ripon and Knaresborough schemes failed to secure funding and that he believed the government’s decision partly came down to the council’s record on getting projects done.

Mr Douglas said:

“Their track record on delivering schemes that have got funding isn’t good,

“It is unusual not to get any funding, but you can see why when the council has schemes that are outstanding.

“The Knaresborough scheme hasn’t been delivered, Victoria Avenue hasn’t been delivered, the Otley Road cycle path hasn’t been delivered, as well as the plans for Oatlands Drive – they are all a way off.”

The Oatlands Drive plans originally included a one-way traffic system, but this was scrapped last year after a backlash from residents who warned the changes would be “disastrous”.

Plans for Oatlands Drive were dropped following public opposition

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

However, the council has yet to go out to consultation and the new proposals won’t be ready until at least autumn – more than a year-and-a-half after the original plans were abandoned.

A council statement last month said the consultation is “still being finalised” and was “likely to start soon after” the Queen’s platinum jubilee bank holiday weekend.

The statement also said the new proposals will be made public at the end of the study, “which will be in the autumn”.

Meanwhile, it was also revealed this week that a third round of consultations will be held on the £10.9 million Harrogate Gateway project after further traffic concerns were raised.

It means a final business case for the scheme has yet to be submitted and construction works could now be delayed until at least winter.

A machine that can repair potholes and other road damage in minutes could be coming to the Harrogate district.

Highways engineers are trialing the JCB Pothole Pro, which is said to be able to repair a typical pothole more quickly than conventional methods.

The machine has different heads, which can plane off areas of road surface, chop out sections of carriageway and clear up debris when the repair is complete, providing options to deal with different types of repairs.

Because the processes are automated the risk of health problems caused by hand / arm vibration from using power tools is eliminated.

NYHighways, which is the arm’s-length company responsible for maintaining roads on behalf of North Yorkshire County Council, is evaluating the machine in the Hambleton district.

The Stray Ferret asked how much the machines cost, how many the council was thinking of buying and when it would make a decision.

A council spokesman said it had nothing further to add. However, the machines have been widely reported to cost £165,000 each.

Council leader Carl Les (left) watches the machine in operation.

Keane Duncan, the Conservative councillor for Norton who is also the executive member for highways, said in a statement:

“We are putting this machine to the test so we can evaluate how it works in real-world conditions and a decision will be made later on whether NYHighways should add it to their fleet.

“Whatever the outcome, road users can be confident we are always aiming to provide them with the best service possible.”

Ross Bullerwell, managing director of NYHighways, said in a statement:

“The JCB Pothole Pro system is just one innovation we are trialling, with many more planned over the next year in order to find solutions that are the right place, right time, and right price for the county’s roads.”

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A union official has offered to spearhead a campaign to save Woodfield Community Primary School from closure.

A four-week consultation on closing the school on December 31 ends on July 4.

Representatives from North Yorkshire County Council told a public meeting last night they had exhausted all options to keep it open.

There was widespread anger and disbelief among those attending at how a school with good facilities in a populated area had ended up in this position.

Gary McVeigh-Kaye, North Yorkshire district branch secretary of the National Education Union, said it was “disgusting and immoral” that the school faced closure because it couldn’t find an academy sponsor. He added:

“This is a community school. If you want to campaign, I will support you.”

Ten staff could lose their jobs if the closure goes ahead.

Only about 20 people attended last night’s meeting at the school. Many of those present said most parents regarded closure as a done deal orchestrated by the county council.

Morag Plummer, who has had links with the school since it opened 51 years ago, said the council had neglected a once-thriving school for seven years. She said:

“They want this land and they couldn’t give a damn about us.

“The majority of people in the community want their children to attend a school in the area. Children are heartbroken.

“They just want that land and everybody else will suffer.”

Other parents made the same claim that the land would be used for housing but Andrew Dixon, the council’s strategic planning manager for children and young people’s services, said a decision on the site’s future hadn’t been made.

He added any such decision would be distinct from that of the school’s future.

Andrew Dixon, speaking at last night’s meeting.

Mr Dixon said the council’s proposed merger of Woodfield and nearby Grove Road Community Primary School showed it wanted to retain the Woodfield site for education. The proposal, which Grove Road governors rejected, would have seen Woodfield become part of Grove Road.

Read more:

• Woodfield school closure ‘an absolute disgrace’, says union
• Bilton has ‘sufficient primary places’ if Woodfield school closes

Mr Dixon’s presentation highlighted how Woodfield pupil numbers had fallen from 154 in 2018 to 37 this year.

He said 93% of primary aged children in the Woodfield catchment area who attended a council-run school went to other schools.

Woodfield, he added, faced a cumulative deficit of £229,000 in 2023/34, due to low pupil numbers.

He presented three options: the Woodfield catchment area could either be subsumed by Grove Road or Bilton Grange Primary School catchment areas, or it could be shared by the two schools.

Dave Poole, whose children and grandchildren attended Woodfield, said many parents had already taken their children out of the school due to scaremongering messages about its future,

James Poole said he had been unable to find another school willing to take on his child, who has special needs.

Retired teacher Diane Maguire, who lives in the area, said the school’s facilities and vast outdoor space would be a huge loss to the community. She said:

“It seems the school has been badly let down by North Yorkshire County Council. It seems like the council is culpable.”

Aytach Sadik, a grandparent, asked if families could buy the school, which was described as “an interesting proposal” by Amanda Wilkinson, the Conservative councillor for Morton-on-Swale and Appleton Wiske, who is also the council’s executive member for education and learning skills.

Andrew Hart, a sub-postmaster in Bilton, said numerous new nearby housing developments would exacerbate the need for a school in future and the council should think ahead when making its decision, rather than look at past failings. Woodfield, he said, had been left to “rot on the vine”.

But Mr Dixon said falling birth rates suggested local schools would be able to cope.

Amanda Newbold, assistant director for education and skills at the council, said nobody wanted the school to be in the position it was but the local education authority was obliged to work with Woodfield governors to find a way forward.

North Yorkshire County Council is to bid for £2 million worth of funding to install electric vehicle charging points in rural areas.

The proposal comes as the government has launched a £10 million pilot fund to rollout the infrastructure across the country.

The county council’s bid would see 70 charging points installed across the seven districts. It has suggested three areas in the Harrogate district, including Markington, Pateley Bridge and Conyngham Hall in Knaresborough.

A submission to government to bid for the funding was backed by Cllr Keane Duncan, executive member for highways, this morning.

Cllr Duncan said:

“We have embraced this opportunity to bring forward the strongest possible proposal within the tight 12-week deadline to benefit rural parts of our county.

“This is a competitive process across the whole of England for a relatively small pilot funding pot, so success is not guaranteed, but this bid is another clear signal of our ambition to improve transport options for people across our large, rural county.”

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The charging points would be powered by renewable energy, including small-scale hydroelectric generators and solar panels linked to battery storage.

Council officials said the move would help to tackle poor connectivity and opportunities in rural areas of the county.

The bid for funding is supported by district and borough councils and the county council plans to work with NYnet, the council-owned broadband company, and Northern Powergrid on the scheme.

Harrogate Borough Council recently commissioned London company, ConnectedKerb, to install 34 charging points across the district as part of a £280,000 contract.

Another round of consultation is to take place on the Harrogate Station Gateway scheme.

The decision to hold a third round of consultation, in response to concerns about traffic, means the scheme is unlikely to start until winter — if at all.

The project, which would pedestrianise part of James Street and reduce some traffic on Station Parade to single lane to encourage walking and cycling, appeared certain to go ahead when North Yorkshire County Council‘s executive approved it in January.

The plan then was to submit a business case to West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which is funding the initiative, by last month and for work to start later this year.

But there have been no updates since and the political landscape has changed since local elections on May 5.

Don Mackenzie, the Harrogate-based executive councillor for access who hailed the gateway as the “greatest investment in decades” in Harrogate town centre, did not seek re-election and there is a new executive team in charge at North Yorkshire County Council.

Don Mackenzie defending the scheme at a business meeting last year.

Harrogate Borough Council, which supports the scheme, faces abolition in nine months.

Now the county council is saying it will consider feedback from a new round of consultation before deciding whether to proceed.

Read more:

• What’s next for Harrogate’s £10.9m Station Gateway?
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Karl Battersby, corporate director of business and environmental services, said today:

“We received significant feedback as part of the two consultation exercises carried out thus far, and we are grateful that local residents and businesses have engaged with this project.

“While there has been no formal legal challenge in response to issues raised regarding the consultation last autumn, we acknowledge that the impact of the changes on traffic levels and traffic flows were key issues that were raised as part of the consultation.

“We intend to provide further information on those aspects as well as consulting on the formal traffic regulation orders, which would be required to carry out the changes on James Street and Station Parade.

Mr Battersby added:

“The results of the consultation will be fully considered before a final decision is made to submit the business case to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to secure the funding.

“Subject to consideration of the outcome of the consultation, work could begin during the coming winter with completion in winter 2023/24.”

Christmas shopping fears 

When the scheme was approved in January, business groups called for work not to take place in the run-up to Christmas to avoid any disruption on shops at this key time.

Responding to today’s news of a possible winter start, David Simister, chief executive of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, said:

“The last thing town centre businesses – particularly those in retail and hospitality – want is major disruption in the run up to Christmas.

“It’s essential nothing is done to hinder trade in this important period. It is vital that if construction work has begun, then everything must be done to minimise any impact it may have.”

Mr Simister added:

“Whilst we must respect the decision taken earlier this year to press ahead with the Harrogate Station Gateway project, I welcome the news that there is going to be further consultation, in particular providing more information on the traffic modelling which was a highly contentious element of the scheme.

“I’m also interested in the materials being used, and how the area in front of Victoria Shopping Centre will look.”

Businesses are concerned about work on James Street taking place in the Christmas shopping period.

Mr Battersby responded by saying:

“Any date for the start of work on the project will be subject to feedback from the forthcoming consultation and submission of the business case to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to secure the funding.

“However, we would ensure that work would avoid the Christmas period, and before work began we would develop a construction management plan, which we would share with businesses.”

Mr Battersby added the council intended to provide further information on traffic levels and traffic flows, in addition to statutory consultation on the formal traffic regulation orders, which would be required to carry out the changes on James Street and Station Parade.

The Harrogate scheme forms part of a wider £42m funding bid that also includes projects in Selby and Skipton that would support a shift towards more sustainable travel, such as walking, cycling and public transport.

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Woodfield’s school’s planned closure a sad reflection of times

Woodfield Community Primary School is going through a consultation process to close at the end of this year. There is to be a public meeting on Wednesday 15th June at 6pm at the school.

Woodfield is, as the name suggests, a community primary school which serves the local population. It has been extensively refurbished over the last few years, has a large playground and extensive playing fields, It has a community library and children’s centre at the same site.

Why then is it closing? This is, like many things, complex. It is to do with poor management by North Yorkshire County Council, inexperienced acting headteachers, social media, Harrogate parents exercising their ‘choice’ to go to the ‘better’ schools, and finally Ofsted rating the school in 2020 as ‘inadequate’.

The Ofsted rating was the death blow for Woodfield. It meant the school had to join an academy but no academy wanted to take it on, due to small pupil numbers, leaving the school in a catch- 22 situation.

There was no attempt to alter this situation by the education authorities, who could have stepped in at this point as far as I am aware. The school is now almost certain to close.

Many people do not know of the existence of Woodfield. Many people will not be bothered. It is not the school that the affluent of Harrogate send their children to, it was a good, caring school around the corner with teachers and teaching assistants that cared for the children, but didn’t get the best SATs results.

I think it is important sometimes to reflect on what do we really want for our children.

Vicky Lack, Bilton

Read more:

• Public meeting next week over future of Woodfield school
• ‘We just want to make a living’: Harrogate cabbies hit out at new rules

Trying to order a drive-through coffee without a car

Yesterday whilst walking past Costa Coffee in Pannal I decided to go for a coffee. The restaurant part was closed due to lack of staff.

Upon walking away I noticed that the drive-through was open so I decided to ask for a coffee at the drive-through whilst there were no cars queueing. I was informed that due to not being in the car I could not be able to get a coffee. How does that work ??

Needless to say, I accepted that I was not driving a car. My options would have been to pretend I was driving a car or jump in the next car and ask to be a passenger.

We live in a seriously mad world where common sense has gone totally out of the window.

Amanda Finney, Pannal

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.