The director of health and adult services for North Yorkshire has resigned his role as a trustee of Harrogate International Festivals because of a conflict over devolution.

The Festivals put its support behind the east/west model for two unitary authorities in North Yorkshire, as advocated by the seven district councils including Harrogate Borough Council.

However, Mr Webb’s employer, North Yorkshire County Council, favours a single unitary authority for the county, causing him to stand down from his role as a trustee. Following his resignation, Mr Webb said:

“I resigned as a trustee of Harrogate International Festivals following a board decision to support the east/west local government re-organisation bid by district councils.

“Whilst I am personally a strong supporter of the county council’s bid for unitary status, and believe it is the best way forward, the reason for my resignation from the festivals board was to ensure I avoided a conflict of interest.

“I absented myself from the board discussion on local government re-organisation, so that any conflict was avoided and I resigned once the decision had been taken. I had a series of constructive discussions with Fiona Movley, the chair of the Festivals, and we were both clear that there was no alternative course of action that I could have taken.

“Harrogate International Festivals does a great job and I wish them well for the future.”

Paying tribute to Mr Webb for his long-standing commitment to the festivals, CEO Sharon Canavar said:

Harrogate International Festivals’ board includes an observer from Harrogate Borough Council. Its patron is HRH the Prince of Wales.

Both CEO Sharon Canavar and chairman Fiona Movley added their names and comments to the document in support of the district councils’ proposals.

The Stray Ferret asked Mr Webb and North Yorkshire County Council for a comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.

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It is not the first time the document has caused conflict because of the names attached to it.

Other organisations to have been included North Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Lisa Winward and Chief Fire Officer Andrew Brodie of North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue. Both were quoted as saying they supported the east/west model for two unitary authorities.

However, a joint statement from both was issued by the office of the police, fire and crime commissioner this week. It said:

“There has been disappointing and incorrect representing of our positions – and it is therefore only right and fair that we have the opportunity to clearly set out our position.

“We lead two of the emergency services which operate across North Yorkshire and the city of York – and work best when we work together across that area. The strength of this approach has been demonstrated throughout this year in our collaborative response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“The ultimate decision about which model we may operate under in the future is not for us to take – this is a political decision. Our ongoing priority, whatever the outcome of the current debate, is to continue keeping the residents, businesses and visitors in North Yorkshire and York safe.

North Yorkshire County Council leaders have said extra funding from the government isn’t enough to cover covid costs so local residents may have to foot the bill.

The county council is set to receive a further £10.8 million to cover the costs of the pandemic next year. But having already spent an additional £80 million this year it is falling short.

The council tax covers services offered by district and county councils, such as social care and education. Because the pandemic has increased costs the government will allow councils to up their taxes next year.

County councils that deliver social care, like North Yorkshire, can now up their taxes by 3%.

County council leader Cllr Carl Les said:

“We predict there will be a shortfall of funding of £75m over the next three years.”

“We will also have to consider levels of council tax and balance the need to fund essential services through this critical period whilst also recognising the increased pressure that this will put on the tax payers of North Yorkshire.

“Government is going to have to confront the longer term funding solution for social care and local tax payers should not be expected to meet the gap.”

The £10.8 million also provides an Income Guarantee Fund which will see the government compensate authorities for 75% of the reductions in council tax and business rates, due to covid.

All of the measures are part of the government’s local government funding settlement for 2021/22.

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Cllr Gareth Dadd, deputy leader and executive member for finance added:

“We continue to feel aggrieved that residents in this county pay too much council tax particularly in comparison to London.

“We urgently need the Government to address the issue of fairer funding for rural and shire counties which face the largest funding gap and have been historically underfunded and for North Yorkshire’s residents who pay more council tax than their urban counterparts.”

Schools in North Yorkshire have been told to not close early for Christmas, despite fears over the potential spread of coronavirus.

Two schools approached North Yorkshire County Council requesting early closure but their bids were rejected.

Most schools in the county will close on Friday, although 45 will finish a day earlier so they can hold a teacher training day.

Amanda Newbold, assistant director for education and skills at NYCC, said at a coronavirus press briefing today:

“We had two schools discussing whether they would close prior to this date. We have discouraged them from doing so.

“They should only close because of close contacts and isolation reasons so we are really pleased that the majority are staying open.”

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School attendance in the county is currently at about 89%. This figure has remained consistent over the last couple of weeks.

The briefing also revealed 19 schools are partially closed to year groups or bubbles.

It also emerged there are 184 patients in hospitals in North Yorkshire, with 22 of them in Harrogate.

While the county-wide bed numbers are 17 lower than this time last week, there was an increase of 10 patients yesterday.

The Harrogate district recorded a further 36 coronavirus cases today, the highest figure since November 23 when there were 37 cases.

A special needs school in Harrogate is set to make eight members of staff redundant this Christmas after budget cuts.

The cuts have prompted fears that Springwell Harrogate, which was previously known as The Grove Academy, will offer a “dramatically reduced service” for pupils with emotional, behavioural and social difficulties.

The school, on Grove Road, became part of Wellspring Academy Trust in spring after previously being run by North Yorkshire County Council and Delta Academies Trust.

Demand for the additional support provided by the school is rising but the reduction in the budget, which it is believed has been halved, has prompted concerns from campaigners and councillors.

Alex Boyce, spokesperson for Save the Grove, which was set up two years ago amid fears the school might close, said it was a “tremendous relief” the school would stay open but added:

“From January it will only be able to offer a dramatically reduced service. Highly skilled staff with decades of experience will be lost and the curriculum will have to narrow.

“The crisis will have a significant knock-on effect for local mainstream schools. With insufficient funding to manage the complex needs of some students and a dire lack of alternative schools, like the Grove, their hands are tied.

“Many similar services across the county, which rely on funding from the special needs budget have suffered a similar fate.”

John Warren, outgoing headteacher of Springwell Harrogate, said:

“The whole system is buckling through years of chronic underfunding.

“The pandemic has shown the stark truth of just how many desperate families are out there needing help.

“I fear that some specialist provisions may fail in the next year or so because they are no longer financially viable, despite a time of national need for more community resources to support struggling children.”

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Philip Broadbank, a Liberal Democrat who represents Harrogate Starbeck on North Yorkshire County Council, said:

” I could not support the closure and restructuring of the Grove Academy and have concerns about the viability of the new Springwell Academy.

“My main concerns are the staffing levels as they are now considerably reduced.

Wellspring Academy Trust said in a statement that changes to funding occurred when the school was under the management of the previous trust. It added:

“There have been no reductions in funding since Springwell Harrogate became part of the Wellspring community. Any legacy budgeting challenges have been overcome and the school is now on a firm financial footing.

“We are all focused on the future, and determined to deliver the exceptional levels of education our pupils in Harrogate deserve.”

If you or your child have attended schools such as Springwell Harrogate and you would be happy to talk about your experiences. Please get in touch with us via email on contact@thestrayferret.co.uk 

North Yorkshire County Council’s housing company has been granted planning permission to build 20 homes in Pateley Bridge.

The council-owned former Highways Depot on Millfield Street will be demolished to make way for the development, which will be called Millwright Park.

It will include six two-bedroom, two three-bedroom and 12 four-bedroom properties.

The homes will all have an electric vehicle charging point and will include 37 car parking spaces in total.

Four of the homes will be classed as affordable, which has received criticism.

Because the depot was derelict, Brierley Homes was able to use a Vacant Building Credit (VBC) to reduce the number of affordable homes in the development from five to four.

The VBC is a planning mechanism to encourage developers to bring vacant properties back into use and can be used to reduce the number of affordable homes.

Pateley Bridge Town Council submitted an objection to the plans, saying the homes will be out of reach for young people.

“The council considers that this is a one-off opportunity for NYCC to provide accommodation for local people, particularly the young who often cannot afford to live where they have been brought up, and have to move away, which inevitably changes the demographics of the town.

“On what is in effect public land, NYCC are selling it to their own development company at the expense of providing badly needed affordable and social housing for local people.”

Karl Battersby, chairman of Brierley Homes, said:

“We are delighted that Harrogate Borough Council has approved our scheme for 20 new Brierley Homes at Millfield Street in the heart of Pateley Bridge. The development on the former highways depot will bring back into use this important brownfield site.

“The scheme includes four affordable homes, which complies with Harrogate Local Plan policy. On completion, these homes will be transferred to a local housing association.

“The homes will be energy efficient thanks to a timber frame, electric car charging point and low-energy appliances. They will be built in stone with quality finishes and come with a ten-year NHBC Buildmark warranty.”

Construction on the homes will begin early next year.

The site in Pateley Bridge was originally a railway depot for the defunct Nidderdale Valley Light Railway, before being used by the council from the mid-1950s.

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The former depot is highlighted in red.

Brierley Homes was established in 2017 by North Yorkshire County Council. All profits are used to support frontline council services in the county.

Last month, Brierley Homes was granted planning permission to demolish its Woodfield House care home in Harrogate to build 20 new homes.

The council received criticism from Harrogate Civic Society because none of the homes will be classed as affordable, after Brierley applied for a Vacant Building Credit.

A speed sign is to be installed outside Western Primary School in Harrogate as part of the school’s long-running campaign to improve road safety.

Western is one of the largest primary schools in the Harrogate district, with 500 pupils.

It is also situated on one of the busiest streets — Cold Bath Road.

Tim Broad, headteacher of Western Primary School, has spoken of his fears a child could be killed crossing the road.

He and teachers have lobbied North Yorkshire County Council for action.

The campaign finally bore fruit when John Mann, who represents Harrogate central on North Yorkshire County Council, agreed to fund a vehicle-activated sign from his locality budget.

Each county councillor receives a locality budget of £5,000 per year to spend on local needs, and councillor Mann’s allocation covered the £3,200-plus VAT cost of the sign.

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Mr Broad said the school was “very grateful” to councillor Mann. He added:

“This will make a significant difference to the safety of our pupils and it is a relief to know that somebody is listening to our concerns and taking some positive action.

“However, there is much more that needs to be done and I am hoping we can work with North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council to make the whole of Cold Bath Road a safer and healthier environment for everyone who uses it.”

The sign, which has a five-year warranty and a life expectancy of 10 years, will be fixed to the street lamp immediately outside the school.

A radar in the sign detects vehicles travelling above the 20mph speed limit from at least 50 metres away and this triggers a ‘slow down’ message.

The sign will be spun round every few weeks to face traffic from the opposite direction.

North Yorkshire County Council has spent £4.1 million on personal protective equipment since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, it has been revealed.

A report due before the authority’s audit committee next week said the council has distributed four million items of PPE to 67 different sites, including care homes.

Gary Fielding, corporate director of strategic resources, said in the report the authority had to spot purchase stock in the first weeks of the pandemic due to problems with the supply chain.

A total of 17% has been spent on suppliers in County Durham and Teesside.

Of the remainder, 40% was spent on national suppliers, 28% on local suppliers and 15% on regional suppliers.

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The council has distributed one million aprons and one million faces masks, with 282,000 items of PPE sent out on a weekly basis.

Mr Fielding said:

“The council never ran out of PPE at any point during the pandemic, and by the summer had secured stock to cover the council needs based on forecasted usage, up to the end of March 2021. 

“Currently the council holds around 8.4 million items of PPE in stock at a secure storage location”

It comes as the county council has estimated that the pandemic will cost the authority an additional £82 million this year.

This is due to an increase in spend on support for vulnerable residents and measures to combat covid, as well as lost income from council tax and business rates.

As a result, council bosses are considering increasing council tax by 1.99% next year, equivalent to a £27 rise, in an effort to plug its financial gap caused by the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the council had anticipated a funding gap of £186 million by next year due to austerity. However, it has since found £173 million in savings.

Now the authority needs to find £103 million over the next three years to cover loss of central government funding.

Officials have launched a consultation on the budget proposals, which people can take part in until January 11.

County council leader, Cllr Carl Les, has urged residents to take part.

He said:

“We want North Yorkshire to be a thriving county and pride ourselves on being a well-run authority, but the funding gaps in our budget create huge uncertainty. 

“I would encourage everyone to take part and let us know their views on our council plan priorities, setting council tax for next year and our longer term plans.”

North Yorkshire’s first woman doctor, who spent much of her life in Harrogate, has been nominated for a county award.

Dr Laura Sobey Veale experienced strong opposition whilst pursuing a career in medicine during the 19th and 20th centuries but overcame this to make a considerable impact on the town.

She has been nominated for the county council’s Great North Yorkshire Sons and Daughters campaign.

The “pioneering woman”

Dr Veale was born in Hampsthwaite in 1867 and studied medicine in London. She later returned to North Yorkshire to work at the Hospital for Women and Children in Leeds.

In 1904 she came back to Harrogate and set up her GP practice on Victoria Avenue. She made history overcoming hostility and continued to pave the way for women’s health, establishing a maternity department at Harrogate hospital and infant welfare and antenatal clinics in the town.

Despite retiring in 1936, Dr Veale was still committed to the town. When there was a need in the Second World War Dr Veale came forward to organise the Harrogate Women’s Voluntary Service leading a campaign to collect scrap metal for the war effort.

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Dr Paul Jennings from Harrogate Civic Society History Group, said:

“She deserves recognition as an important figure in the history of both medicine and feminism and a key figure in medical provision, especially for women and infants, in her native county and more particularly Harrogate.”

“It is as a pioneering woman in the medical profession and through her wider work for the community that she is so important to Harrogate.”

A brown plaque in memory of Dr Veale was unveiled in April 2017 at the site of her surgery. It was put in place to commemorate her contribution to the town and as an important figure of history for medicine and feminism.

Councillor Carl Les, said:

“During the current pandemic, it is important we recognise the hard work of all doctors and nurses across the country. Figures such as Dr Laura Veale are incredibly important to the county. She showed determination and dedication not to give up in difficult times.”

Winifred (left) and her sister Dorothy (right). Photograph: Yorkshire Museum of Farming.

Winifred Jacob Smith

Another Harrogate district nominee is Winifred Jacob Smith. Born in 1911 in Humberton, between Knaresborough and Boroughbridge, Winifred went on the join the Women’s Land Army in 1939 with her sister Dorothy.

Winifred later became the organiser for the Women’s Land Army for the whole of Yorkshire. The ladies’ role was crucial for the war effort with many involved in intensive farm labour to feed the county.

Coming from a long established farming family, on her death in May 2003 Winifred bequeathed what was then Scriven Park to Harrogate Borough Council to be used by her local community. It was officially opened as Jacob Smith Park in 2008.

Details of how to cast votes for the award will be released on the county council’s social media soon.

Harrogate and Knaresborough libraries are set to resume their reduced lockdown services this week.

The libraries closed last week after a member of staff in each one tested positive for covid.

The buildings have been given a deep clean and staff who needed to have self-isolated.

Harrogate library will resume services tomorrow and Knaresborough is expected to be back in operation on Saturday.

Library members will be able to use the select and collect service, which allows them to order books by phone or email and pick them up from the library entrance.

Library computers will also be available for essential use, but must be booked in advance.

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Harrogate will open from 10am to 4pm on weekdays and from 10am to 2pm on Saturday.

Knaresborough will open from 9.30am to 1.30pm on Saturday, 9.30am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 5pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 9.30am to 1.30pm on Thursday and 9.30am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 7pm on Friday.

North Yorkshire county councillor Greg White, executive member for libraries, said:

“We have robust safety measures in place, including collecting contact tracing details, strictly limited numbers and plentiful hand sanitiser, so customers can continue to use our select and collect and to book public computer sessions with confidence.”

All libraries in the county are currently closed for browsing.

A busy junction in Pateley Bridge has been in darkness “since summer” after a delay in the repairs to nearby street lights.

Roger Jefferson, a local Pateley Bridge resident, reported his concerns to North Yorkshire County Council twice last month.

After hearing about an incident of someone slipping into the road and then slipping on a plastic bag himself, due to a lack of visibility, he felt he had to report the poor lighting.

But he wasn’t given a repair date by the county council. Now, the county council has said the repairs will be made as early as next week.

The area currently left unlit is at the King Street junction at the bottom of the town’s high street.

Mr Jefferson was concerned as daylight hours decreased it could be dangerous.

He said:

“It’s just nonsense, these basic amenities need to be maintained so hopefully it will be sorted soon. I work early mornings and it’s not easy to walk on the roads in the dark – it could be dangerous.

“There are people walking to the high street now it’s not as busy with cars especially the elderly people in the town and we don’t want any of them getting injured by tripping or slipping on something they couldn’t see.”

The town’s Christmas lights were put up this weekend adding some light to the area without working street lights.

The town’s Christmas lights were installed recently and Mr Jefferson said these had aided visibility but was still insistent the lamps need repairing.

The lighting attached to buildings on the high street is owned by Harrogate Borough Council and maintained by North Yorkshire County Council.

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The Stray Ferret contacted the North Yorkshire County Council, it said the repairs would be done by early next week.

Melisa Burnham, Highways Area Manager, said:

“The light on the Bengal Cuisine was reported on October 22, and attended by our Street Lighting contractor on October 26 who concluded that it needs to be replaced. An order has been raised for a new, energy efficient, heritage style LED lantern to be installed and this work is scheduled for early next week.”

Mr Jefferson was pleased to hear the lighting would be replaced next week.