Coronavirus backlog sees roadworks double in Harrogate district

Roadworks in the Harrogate district are double what North Yorkshire County Council would expect for this time of year.

At the end of last week, there were 88 individual road and street works in progress. The council said coronavirus had delayed a “significant amount” of those works.

The council also pointed to a “greater number” of new developments in Harrogate when compared to previous years, which need utility works.

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Barrie Mason, the assistant director for highways in North Yorkshire, said:

“Not all of these works will have a traffic impact and many will be relatively minor works with little or no traffic impact. North Yorkshire County Council has continued with works throughout the covid-19 lockdown period taking all necessary safety measures to continue to deliver as close to a business as usual service as possible.”

Businesses said they were heartbroken after seeing roadworks on Leeds Road roundabout. It often means a reduced taking, something particularly painful after the coronavirus lockdown.

Local pressure led to reduced roadwork on Leeds Road but queues of traffic have been a common sight in the district in the past month.

Tony Colbeck, the owner of Country Butchers, voiced his frustration at the start of the works:

“It should have been done in the coronavirus lockdown when there weren’t as many cars. We found today that because it is quiet, people stay away. I don’t know what it is about Harrogate at the moment but they seem to be ripping up every road.”

 

Districts to launch alternative council reorganisation bid

Harrogate Borough Council has united with other district authorities in North Yorkshire to launch a fightback against county council proposals for a single authority ahead of a potential devolution bid.

Leaders from the county’s seven district and borough authorities have today begun a “working together to get change right campaign” as part of an alternative proposal to reorganise local councils.

They argue North Yorkshire County Council’s vision of a single authority for the whole county is not right and the 800,000 residents “deserve better”.

It comes as the government has told council leaders that local government has to be reorganised in the county if any future devolution bid is to be agreed. As a result, North Yorkshire County Council has started to draw up plans for a single council to serve the entire county – which would mean the seven districts would be scrapped.

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But now, district leaders are to work on tabling their own proposal to government. They chose Yorkshire Day, August 1, to begin their campaign.

Speaking on behalf of the leaders group, Cllr Richard Cooper, leader of Harrogate Borough Council, said a single council would be “unworkable”.

He said:

“We were in discussions with the minister earlier this month, and it is clear that the government is open to granting devolved powers and potentially billions in investment to our area, but only if local government is reorganised first. It’s really not a question of “if” reorganisation will happen. It’s more a question of ‘how’.

“A mega council, covering the entire North Yorkshire area – the biggest county area in the whole country – has been mooted. But we don’t believe that’s workable, or in the best interests of our people, places and economy.

“Our citizens deserve better, which is why we’re campaigning to create an alternative bid that gets reorganisation right.

“Reorganising local government will affect the lives of 800,000 people, so we’ve got to get it right. Over the next few weeks we will be reaching out to communities, businesses, councillors, parish councils and other local organisations, to find out how we can build on what we already do well, and where things could improve.

“We’ll be doing a lot of listening. We want any bid that goes before government to have local support, and we hope that government will respect that grass-roots approach.”

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Lockdown blamed for influx of Harrogate roadworks

The high volume of roadworks around Harrogate is due to a backlog of work caused by lockdown, according to North Yorkshire County Council.

Many of the major routes into town, including Ripon Road, Skipton Road and Leeds Road, have been recently affected by road works this month.

Barrie Mason, assistant director for highways and transportation at the county council, told the Stray Ferret the authority had tried to provide “as close to a business as usual service as possible” during lockdown. But he added:

“Across the country utility companies and developers saw a temporary reduction in resources as a result of the pandemic, which caused delays.

“There was a temporary suspension of planned utilities and developer works while companies considered how staff could safely work on site and adhere to the government’s social distancing guidelines for the benefit of the workforce as well as the public.

“Therefore, many of these planned programmes of works this year have inevitably been affected and delayed.”

Mr Mason added that more people were also using the roads since lockdown restrictions were eased. He added:

“We appreciate that all works cause an element of disruption but as always we ask drivers for their patience while they are being carried out.”

County to draw up plans for single North Yorkshire council

North Yorkshire County Council will draw up plans for a single authority to serve the county in a move which would see Harrogate Borough Council scrapped.

It comes as part of local council reorganisation plans requested by the government in order to reach a devolution deal. Earlier this week, NYCC said it would bid for more than £2 billion of investment as part of the shake-up of local government.

Simon Clark, local government minister, told council leaders across the county earlier this month that a change in the number of councils will be required for any devolved powers to be agreed.

It would mean that the county council and its seven districts, including Harrogate Borough Council, would be scrapped and replaced with a single authority which would provide services for the entire county.

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The move would see the new council work alongside City of York Council in a proposed devolution deal. 

A final decision on whether to submit the bid to government for a unitary authority will be made by the council’s executive at a later date. Councils have until September to submit any proposal.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, said:

“The timing is critical as we drive post-pandemic recovery and York and North Yorkshire need to act now to ensure we are not left behind.

“We have therefore today instructed officers to put together a business case for a single strong, sustainable council for everyone in North Yorkshire, based on the current map and population.

“Not only will a single council based on the county’s current identity, simplify things for people and businesses – renewing our economic fortunes following the shock delivered by the pandemic – it will protect and strengthen high-quality frontline services.

“It will also unleash the county’s potential and deliver very significant financial savings by ending duplication, improving efficiency and driving innovation.

“We estimate savings in excess of £25m every year, offering the best value for money for everyone. No other bid would be able to match these benefits. Equally importantly it will protect a global and recognised brand which is crucial for our visitor economy.”

Devolution bid

Meanwhile, county councillors pressed ahead with proposals for a devolution deal earlier this week when the executive agreed a list of “asks” worth £2.4 billion.

More powers over transport, skills, regeneration and energy are included in the submission, as well as a mayoral funding pot worth £750 million over 25 years.

All councils across the county have to agree to the submission before it can be put on the table to government.

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Bilton library set to reopen

Bilton and Woodfield Community Library will reopen with new coronavirus safety measures in place on Monday.

The library will be open on Mondays from 2pm to 4pm and on Thursdays and Fridays from 10am to noon. Customers do not need to pre-book but the library will only be allowed to admit about four people to browse.

Safety measures include a one-way system, a book quarantine and a time limit for people browsing the book collection.

The library has been operating a ‘select and collect’ service, which allows people to collect pre-ordered books.

The library is busy putting in social distancing measures.

Although people will be allowed back inside the building, they will not be permitted to use the shared computers yet.

Also, the library will not yet be able to hold community events, much to the volunteers’ sadness.

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Greta Knight, who helps to run the library, told the Stray Ferret:

“We are looking forward to Monday. But we can only do a fraction of what we normally do. Our tagline is ‘not just books’ but now we are just books.

It’s heartbreaking not to be able to open as a community space. That’s what we have established ourselves as and I think it has really worked. It is great to bring all of the kids in.”

When the boiler leaked and flooded the library in 2017.

The library has had a lot to contend with in recent years.

It could have closed permanently due to North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) cuts in 2011 but the local community rallied round to save it by running the library entirely with volunteers.

Not long after that, the council sold the library’s former home at the old vicarage in Bilton so it moved to a vacant site at Woodfield School.

The volunteers had hoped a major flood caused by a faulty boiler in 2017 was the last of their troubles.

But coronavirus could have been catastrophic for the library, which needs funding of £9,000 a year. It was, however, saved by a government grant.

County council approves £290,000 funding for Welcome to Yorkshire

North Yorkshire County Council has approved more than £290,000 worth of additional funding to under-threat Welcome to Yorkshire following a bailout request from the tourism body.

Senior county councillors today backed further funding for WTY, which faces a £1.4 million funding gap amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The troubled tourism body, which was marred by scandal only last year, revealed the shortfall in July and wrote to council leaders in the county asking for support – of which around £450,000 was needed from authorities in North Yorkshire.

The organisation was deprived of £1 million in business rates after councils in North and West Yorkshire saw a loss of income due to the pandemic. A further £400,000 shortfall was created when WTY suspended its membership fees.

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Now the county council’s executive has backed further funding for the organisation.

In addition to the county council’s £84,378 standard yearly subscription, a further £76,600 and £215,000 will now be contributed from the council’s directors of development fund. It takes the total contribution up to £375,978.

Other authorities, such as Rydedale, have refused to give the tourism body any extra funding.

County council offices in Northallerton.

North Yorkshire County Council.

Cllr Gareth Dadd, deputy leader and cabinet member for finance at the county council, told an executive meeting yesterday that the funds were not an “open cheque” for WTY.

He said:

“That is an investment in their activities this year and I regard it as an ‘invest to save’. 

“Tourism is a large part of our economy and I think it is absolutely vital that we continue to support that organisation.

“It is not an open ended cheque for years to come by any stretch of the imagination and we are looking very closely next year at their recovery plans in terms of their financial management and the outputs they achieve.

“It was my judgement that certainly for this year it was worth supporting, given the £9 billion a year to the Yorkshire economy and the substantial activity within the tourism and leisure sector.”

It comes after WTY was hit by controversy when former boss, Sir Gary Verity, resigned in March 2019 on health grounds but faced allegations of bullying and inappropriately claiming expenses.

Two inquiries carried out after Sir Gary’s resignation cost the tourism body £482,500, and former boss, Paul Scriven, told the House of Lords it had a “culture of toxicity” and misused public funds.

Investigators looked at expenses worth around £900,000, of which £26,000 were of a personal nature. Sir Gary has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

County council bids for £2bn spending in devolution deal

New transport powers, a carbon negative economy and £2 billion worth of spending are among the proposals agreed by North Yorkshire County Council to put to the government as part of a county-wide devolution bid.

The authority’s executive voted through the list of requests, known as “asks”, which outline what the county wants from devolved powers. 

It comes as council leaders across the county are pressing ahead with plans for a York and North Yorkshire devolution deal with a directly elected mayor.

More powers over transport, skills, regeneration and energy are included in the submission, as well as a mayoral funding pot worth £750 million over 25 years.

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Further funding proposals include a five-year transport settlement worth £250 million, £520 million of devolved funding for fibre connectivity and a £230 million fund for the new mayor to share between the county’s towns.

Each authority across the region has to agree to the proposals before they can be submitted. North Yorkshire’s seven district councils, including Harrogate Borough Council, are each expected to meet in the coming weeks to discuss the plan put forward by NYCC.

Once all councils have agreed, the requests are tabled to government and ministers will produce a formal devolution deal for authorities to vote on.

North Yorkshire County Council leader, Carl Les.

North Yorkshire County Council leader, Carl Les.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of the county council, said he was pleased to get the submission on the table.

He said:

“This seems to have been on the go for a long time and has had many false starts.

“We have finally got to where we are today with a set of requests that we want to agree so that we can put them on the table with government.”

Ministers and council leaders have set a target of May 2022 for any devolution plan to coincide with the mayoral elections.

Local government shake-up

Following a meeting between Simon Clark, local government minister, and the county’s council leaders, any devolution bid is expected to come with a reorganisation of councils in the county.

This could mean that the county’s seven district councils are scrapped and replaced with a unitary authority for the county.

Councils have until September to submit proposals to the government for a reorganisation of local authorities.

A further report on a proposal for a new authority as part of the reorganisation is expected to come to the county council executive at a later date.

Councillors clash over free parking pledge for NHS workers

North Yorkshire councillors clashed over a proposed pledge to encourage NHS hospital trusts to keep on-site parking free for staff.

Lib Dem Cllr Geoff Webber put forward a motion today to support free parking and claimed two Conservative councillors spoiled it.

Cllr Richard Cooper, also the leader of Harrogate Borough Council, put forward an amendment that removed all references to free parking.

The amendment instead said the council “supports and encourages measures which enable their staff to travel to and from work sustainably.”

Harrogate District Hospital confirmed that parking will remain free for staff, visitor and patients. The trust said that after national reports that the government planned to scrap it.

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The Department for Health and Social Care said in response to the speculation that free parking will be in place for staff “during the pandemic.” It did not make reassurances beyond that.

Cllr Geoff Webber hit out at Cllr Richard Cooper after the meeting today. He said:

“This is a typical Richard Cooper trick designed to spoil motions from any other party and a tactic he has used frequently on Harrogate Borough Council. I am disgusted at this sort of manipulation.”

It will now go to a scrutiny committee before going back to the council for a debate and vote. The Lib Dems said the outcome is a “foregone conclusion.”

The Stray Ferret approached Cllr Richard Cooper for a comment but received no reply by the time of publication.

County council won’t budge on seven month Whinney Lane closure

North Yorkshire County Council says a controversial seven-month road closure at Whinney Lane won’t be reduced, despite pleas from the manager of the Squinting Cat that it could put his pub out of business.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret, Don Mackenzie, executive member for highways at North Yorkshire County Council, called the delay unfortunate but said the seven-month timeframe agreed with the housing developer Mulgrave is “reasonable”.

The Stray Ferret reported earlier this week that the road will be closed to build two access points for the Castle Hill Farm housing development as well as a new roundabout.

The roundabout will have four exits, including one into another site on Whinney Lane which is earmarked for development in Harrogate Borough Council’s Local Plan. However, planning permission is yet to be granted for the site and residents say North Yorkshire County Council should not allow the roundabout to be built.

Cllr Mackenzie said the authority is entitled to plan ahead for highways improvements.

He said:

“When one designs highways and roundabouts one has to have a certain amount of foresight to look ahead.

“We’d be criticised if we constructed the roundabout then it has to be completely redone. We’d be accused of wasting tax payers money.

“NYCC gets criticism that we don’t put infrastructure in place before development happens. In this case we are, even though permission has not been granted.”

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Several residents have contacted the Stray Ferret this week to voice their complaints about the closure, with one calling it “absolute madness”.

Cllr Mackenzie sought to reassure residents and the Squinting Cat, saying access will be maintained.

He added:

“It’s unfortunate but residents needn’t worry. Their access will be maintained as will access to the Squinting Cat.

“But I cannot deny that large scale residential of this nature will cause disruption. Whinney Lane is not alone in that.”

County council faces £126m coronavirus cost over three years

North Yorkshire County Council has estimated that responding to coronavirus could cost the authority £126 million over the next three years.

Cllr Gareth Dadd, cabinet member for finance at the county council, is expected to tell councillors at a full council meeting that uncertainty still remained around future costs but that the authority is “well placed” to deal with it.

It comes as the council is anticipating a deficit of £73 million by the end of this financial year, which reduces to £39 million after government funding is taken into account.

Council officials have already said that the authority can avoid bankruptcy and would not need to issue a section 114 notice – which bans any further spending in dire financial circumstances.

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But, Cllr Dadd will tell councillors next week that it is “extremely likely” that there will be legacy costs as a result of the pandemic.

He will say:

“Many uncertainties remain in estimating future years but it is extremely likely that there will be legacy costs which last well into the next three years and initial estimates suggest that we may have a £126 million hit on the council’s finances over that period. 

“It will not be possible to bridge this by use of reserves alone so we are going to have to await developments from the governments’ Spending Review and, in parallel, we will need to prepare plans for how we respond to different scenarios with varying degrees of funding shortfall.”

Meanwhile, local authorities across the country have warned that without support many will be forced to issue bankruptcy notices.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced a further £500 million package of funding earlier this month to support council spending pressures.

Funding allocations have yet to be revealed, but the scheme is expected to reimburse authorities for lost income and allow council tax and business rates deficits to be paid over three years instead of one.