‘Biggest ever’ road repair scheme with extra £3.9m funding

North Yorkshire County Council will be able to carry out what it calls its biggest ever programme of highway maintenance with an extra £3.9 million in government funding.

In total, the Department for Transport has awarded the county £52.6 million to improve roads, pathways, cycle routes and to carry out infrastructure projects.

When the lockdown is lifted fully the council believes it will be in the best possible position to help people get back to work.

The council has drawn up more than 500 individual schemes across North Yorkshire with patching, surface dressing and resurfacing on the agenda.

Some of the locations include Gristhorpe Bypass, Filey, Leeds Road in Harrogate and several locations in Richmond.

Councillor Don Mackenzie, the Executive Member for Access, said:

“We welcome this additional funding from the Government, the second largest amount in Yorkshire as a whole. As England’s largest county, there are thousands of miles of footpaths and highways for us to maintain and this will allow for significant investment in our infrastructure.”

All the works will be undertaken while observing the Government’s social distancing measures aimed at preventing the spread of Covid-19.

Earlier this week, the Government announced a £250 million emergency active travel fund as the first stage of a £2 billion investment.

The money will make improvements for cycling and walking such as wider pavements, safer junctions, and cycle and bus-only corridors.

Full details of how much will be allocated to each local authority are yet to be revealed, but councillor Mackenzie said: “We are already working on proposals with regard to this funding and hope to have more information in the near future.”

Liberal Democrat attacks ‘extremely confusing’ messages on lockdown easing

A Liberal Democrat councillor has attacked what he calls “confusing in the extreme” messages from the local and central government on lockdown easing.

People have every right to go out and explore as long as they follow social distancing rules but North Yorkshire County Council is reluctant to welcome visitors.

Boris Johnson said earlier this week that people in England can exercise as many times as they wish and drive to outdoor spaces “as long as they respect social distancing guidance while they are there.”

One of the Liberal Democrat’s councillors at the county council, Geoff Webber, saw the mixed messages and sent the following message to the Chief Executive Richard Flinton:

“This is confusing in the extreme.  The PM has said, on record, that ‘people in England can travel as far as they like to reach outdoor spaces – including beaches and parks for sunbathing and non-team sports.’  I may not agree with the rule but this is what is coming from our Conservative government. This is a Conservative council and if they cannot get their act together with a Conservative national government then it is a very poor show. So much for the special relationship with Tory MPs.”

The conservative run North Yorkshire County Council has, however, warned that it will “monitor the number of pedestrians” and said it “may have to close more roads to protect the public.”

Chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council, Richard Flinton, said:

“Please adhere to any ‘no parking’ and ‘road closed’ signs you come across and ask yourself if it’s worth it. Why not do the right thing and protect yourself and your family by staying close to home. Everything will still be here when it’s safe to welcome you back and we are really grateful for your patience and support.”

Many took up the opportunity to explore enthusiastically and by midday yesterday there were already 50 cars parked up on the verges around Swinsty reservoir.

Harrogate recycling centre to reopen under strict controls

One of Harrogate’s waste recycling centres will reopen under strict controls along with half of the others in North Yorkshire.

Penny Pot Lane will be the first of Harrogate’s centres to reopen after the Government updated its advice and urged councils to make them safe for the public and for staff.

The centres will be open seven days a week including bank holidays with opening hours be between 8.30am and 5pm.

It will be managed with a queuing system with a cut-off point so if it becomes too long people will be sent back home. Trailers will not be allowed until further notice.

A limited number of people will be able to visit at any one time. Only one person will be allowed out of their vehicle once on-site, and people must remain in their vehicle while queuing.

To support social distancing, site staff will be unable to help with the disposal of waste.

People will be able to separate waste into different skips. The usual rules will apply for chargeable waste. Payment by card will be accepted only, contactless where possible.

Hand sanitising facilities at sites are limited, so people are advised to wear gloves and will be reminded to wash their hands before and after.

Commercial waste will not be accepted at this time. Commercial-like vehicles that are registered with the council will be permitted on site.

North Yorkshire County Council closed all 20 of its centres in March but will reopen ten of them tomorrow.

The council said that it cannot open all of its centres just yet because of their size, layout and proximity to roads but added that this will be reviewed continually with a view to opening more as soon as possible.

The household waste recycling centres to reopen are:

Councillor Andrew Lee, the executive member for waste management, said:

“I am pleased that we can move forward now, and thank residents for their support of the measures we have taken to date and in anticipation of their continued support to ensure the arrangements we are now putting in place can operate successfully. This will be the first phase of the reopening and we will work to reopen the other sites as soon as we can.”

 

Outgoing board members criticise ‘defensive’ council for obstructing hard work of Harrogate BID

Further questions have been raised about the role of councils on Harrogate BID after outgoing board members said their plans were thwarted by local authorities.

After four board members including the chairman resigned last week, two of those behind the critical resignation letter have spoken out further.

Rob Spencer, who runs Townhouse Design, said he grew frustrated that the hard work of board members came to nothing when they tried to get the council to act or agree to their plans. He said:

“One of the things I’m passionate about is having our town looking great to welcome visitors and it certainly doesn’t look as good at the moment as it has done previously. Nobody can afford to be complacent.

“The town hasn’t been looked after to the standard it has been previously, yet council tax has gone up. When we presented that to the council members they were very defensive and very keen to get the BID to spend money from doing additional things to embellish the town or attract people but it shouldn’t be having to undertake basic duties to keep it to a reasonable level.

“It was met quite often with a lot of resistance when it was mentioned to council members on the BID. They would refer to other towns and say Harrogate was better and you would think, ‘that’s not relevant’.

“With our potential and history to encourage visitors, we do have a duty [to maintain a high standard] because Harrogate is a beautiful town and a spa town and quite unique. You can’t afford to think it’s going to stay successful because of that historic interest.”

His comments were echoed by fellow signatory Chris Bentley, of Hornbeam Park Developments, who said: “One of the board members volunteered to liaise with the council over street cleaning. They couldn’t get that any further forward. Now they’re trying to do it with third-party cleaners which brings another level of bureaucracy.”

Parliament Street in Harrogate

Harrogate BID says it is working on initiatives to draw people back to town once the lockdown is lifted

The four board members who resigned last week were appointed after applying for the positions at the end of 2019, hoping to bring more positive action on behalf of local businesses. It followed after a difficult first year for the BID, which saw numerous board members step down and the first manager departing after less than four months in post. Mr Spencer said:

“I wanted to do some good and help the town. I had mixed reasons for wanting to come out. I run a small business and I’m involved in that day-to-day and that has to come first. Particularly at the moment, that’s more crucial than ever.”

‘Still a great town’

Last week, following their resignations, Harrogate BID issued a statement saying it was aware of the challenges facing the town and was dedicated to making improvements for the benefit of all its levy payers.

Both Mr Spencer and Mr Bentley praised the hard work of the remaining board members and some of the initiatives they had proposed, particularly to make the town centre as vibrant as possible during the run-up to Christmas, should social distancing allow.

But they said at a time when businesses were facing unprecedented challenges, they had to focus on areas where they could make the most difference, which meant spending time on their own businesses. Mr Spencer added:

“We’re still a great town and there are some great businesses. We’re in unprecedented times and I’m confident things will return and bounce back.

“Everybody in their businesses has to work very hard. When we’re investing in our businesses, we want to know that the council are doing the right things with people’s council tax and are not complacent about things.”

Harrogate Borough Council declined to comment on its involvement with the BID. The Stray Ferret approached North Yorkshire County Council for a comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Harrogate BID – what went wrong and where does it go from here?

Harrogate BID was established in the course of 2018 with the aim of giving businesses a greater say in the way their town developed.

It was always supposed to be business-led – a fundamental rule of all BIDs is that they cannot be used to replace the work of local authorities. The blurring of the lines between the BID, Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council, however, lies at the heart of today’s resignations.

Harrogate BID is a limited company and is funded through a levy that is paid by all the business rate payers within a designated BID area, in addition to the business rates bill.  The levy in Harrogate’s case earns the BID more than £500,000 a year.

Because its properties fall within the BID area, Harrogate Borough Council is a significant contributor to that income, and its leader, Coun Richard Cooper, sits on the BID board alongside NYCC’s corporate director for business and environmental services, David Bowe. With Sgt Alex Sellars of North Yorkshire Police, they fill the three public sector positions on the board of 15.

Local authority representation is recommended in the government’s best practice advice to BIDs. It says:

“It is essential that you establish a positive relationship with your Local Authority. It is important you identify a key contact at the authority and keep them informed of progress at every stage.
“An authority will have its own plans for the area and will need to appreciate the benefits to businesses and the community of having a BID. It will want to be assured that the BID arrangements complement and preferably enhance the local authority’s proposals.
“Ideally the local authority will have a seat on the BID Board. The authority and BID will need to agree the additional services the BID intends to deliver.”

According to the four who resigned today, however, that relationship has hampered Harrogate BID’s ability to progress its plans for the benefit of its levy payers. After today’s resignations, all three of the board’s positions for independent businesses are vacant.

Changes to the board

In the spring of 2019 in the BID’s first newsletter, the then chairman, John Fox, talked of “exciting projects” to help attract more footfall to Harrogate.

However, in the months that passed, the BID struggled to find a way of working: only three of the current 15 board members have been in place since this time last year. John Fox stepped down at the end of 2019 and a manager appointed last July left the post within four months.

Today’s letter of resignation by its new chairman – only appointed in March – and three other board members, all from the private sector, shows how frustrated and disempowered they felt at not being able to get things done – how BID proposals were either resisted or subject to “endless debate” about the local authorities’ work. There were arguments too over what was the council’s responsibility and what was the BID’s.

The Harrogate BID website says the aim of the BID is to “empower local businesses to tackle local issues…” Today’s letter makes clear that the Chairman and directors who resigned have no faith in the ability of the BID to tackle Harrogate’s issues – which, they say, run much deeper than its board is willing to admit.

Simon Kent is interim manager at Harrogate BID

Interim BID manager, Simon Kent

Earlier this week, the new interim BID manager, Simon Kent, told The Stray Ferret he wanted “to turn conversations and plans into real actions” and outlined its priorities. Mr Kent’s job to achieve those goals got a whole load more difficult today.

There are questions now for the two local authorities about how they have worked with the BID and how they can answer the criticism levied at them in the resignation letter.

Concluding their letter with a warning that Harrogate was struggling before the current lockdown, the chairman and directors say “the reality of the situation is becoming very serious indeed” for Harrogate town centre. There is huge pressure now on remaining board members to make levy payers feel their contribution was worth it and for the BID, despite the current circumstances, to deliver some meaningful results.

A1 (M) Junction 47 works 50% over budget but gets green light

Works to improve the A1 (M) Junction 47 have been given the green light despite already being 50% over budget.

The junction will be upgraded to include traffic signals and to widen the slip roads.

Additionally, an extra traffic lane will be installed on the eastbound A59 between the Flaxby roundabout and the A1(M) junction.

Traffic signals will also be installed at the A59/A168 junction just to the east of the A1(M) junction.

North Yorkshire County Council has approved the scheme and is working with Highways England to deliver the project by March 2021.

The original estimated costs were £5.03 million but that has now been revised up to £7.766 million – which is 54% over budget.

However, the work will still go-ahead with surplus money from the Harrogate to York rail improvements being moved to fill the A1 (M) Junction 47 shortfall.

Council documents reveal that the work will take the Nightingale Hospital into account when phasing the carriageway works and that the costs could increase further by another £200,000.

The documents also highlight how coronavirus social distancing measures are “likely” to have an impact on start dates and the project costs.

Harrogate and York train services to double with £10 million scheme

North Yorkshire County Council has approved a £10 million scheme to double rail services between Harrogate and York, allowing two trains per hour in each direction.

Improvement will come from upgrading the signalling technology, from enabling faster speeds as well as from more efficient use of areas with double track.

The Harrogate Line Supporters Group has called for many years for the single-track section between Knaresborough and Cattal to be converted into double-track.

However, the county council – which secured funding for the project back in 2013 – estimates that converting the route into double-track would have cost £40 million.

The scheme could have been scrapped altogether when Northern Rail was taken into public ownership but the council has worked with Network Rail to find a cheaper option.

Network Rail has agreed to fix the cost of the project, including all development and design work, at £9.854 million.

The council has identified £9.6 million from the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership as well as £3.4 million from parking fines to fund the works.

Council documents have proposed using the surplus from the under budget rail improvement scheme for the overbudget A1 (M) Junction 47 works.

Councillors met virtually to approve the funding for the scheme on Tuesday morning. The deadline for the completion of works from December 2020 to May 2021.

Brian Dunsby, from the Harrogate Line Supporters Group, told the Stray Ferret that the group welcomes the news:

“We have been waiting for this investment for several years after our plans for doubling the actual track throughout were rejected, because there was not sufficient money in the budget to meet Network Rail’s estimate of the potential cost.”

Councils expects coronavirus to hit coffers by £75m

Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council expect the coronavirus pandemic to hit them financially with a combined £75 million budget shortfall.

The borough council has spent more than £20,000 so far and that is rising on a daily basis with a focus on supporting vulnerable residents.

That money does not include redeployment costs, with many volunteers from the culture, tourism and sports sectors now supporting the waste and recycling centres.

Leader Richard Cooper says Harrogate Borough Council was in a strong financial position before the pandemic and that it is almost impossible to estimate the effects coronavirus will have. According to the council, the vast majority of the £10 million they expect to lose out on will be lost income from leisure facilities, car parks as well as the impact on business rates and council tax income.

“Our cash flow has been hit hard and it is difficult to know the long-term impact of that. What I can say though is that we will continue to prioritise spending on front line services, on our retail centres, on community facilities, on the homeless and those at risk of homelessness and on supporting the voluntary organisations that make our area the special place it is.”

Both of the region’s councils have recently welcomed an addition £1.6 billion in Government funding to help with the escalating costs of dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.

North Yorkshire County Council believes that its finances would be £65 million worse off before any government grants.

Councillor Carl Les, North Yorkshire County Council’s leader, said:

“The whole of North Yorkshire is pulling together to meet this unprecedented challenge and we are doing everything we can to keep people well and safe and to support the NHS. But we were already operating with reduced spending power so there is no doubt that we like many other councils, will need supportive and long-term partnership with Government for the crucial role we play and to see this crisis through.”

North Yorkshire County Council has funding gap of £50m to fight covid-19

North Yorkshire County Council says it welcomes a government announcement that an extra £1.6billion is to be allocated to local councils with the rapidly accelerating cost of fighting covid-19.

The council said its estimated costs for coronavirus showed that finances would be £65m worse than had been anticipated before the pandemic. Whilst £15m had been provided by government as additional grant, it left a shortfall of £50m.

The Leader of the county council, Carl Les said:

“We don’t yet know the size of this additional allocation for the County Council but this extra funding will undoubtedly help to bridge the gap. Nevertheless, we still face massive financial challenges and we estimated that the original allocation of £15m of grant for Covid-19 needed to be quadrupled to deal with the estimated costs.”

As well as financial strains,  the council has found it difficult to source a reliable supply of PPE.  The Stray Ferret has reported its appeal to schools and business to help and how care workers in the Harrogate district are feeling frightened and vulnerable.

Long Term Funding Gaps

Well before the crisis, the county council said,  there were real financial strains on the long term funding of adult social care and special educational needs. In a statement it said:

North Yorkshire’s financial planning has been dependent on nearly £62 million of temporary funding after the Council lost around £136 million in direct grants from government since 2011 when austerity began.

Together with the overall savings North Yorkshire has had to deliver and the rise in demand the council’s spending power has been reduced by 40 per cent.

Cllr Les said the whole council was pulling together to do everything it could during the crisis and called on the government for  “long -term partnership” through the crisis.

Hospital says it has enough PPE after daughter criticises protection given to nurse who died with coronavirus

The death of a nurse who had been treating coronavirus patients at Harrogate District Hospital has prompted further concern about the level of protection given to staff.

Zauma Ekoli worked at Harrogate District Hospital

Nurse Zauma Ekoli was known as Josie

Zauma Ekoli, who was 55 and had five children, died on Monday at Leeds General Infirmary after working on wards in Harrogate.

Daughter Naomie said her mother, who had worked on a coronavirus ward, called the provisions of personal protective equipment (PPE) available “poor” but said her mother continued to work in the job that “meant everything to her”.

“If they don’t work, then we won’t be treated, so the least they could do is up the PPE so they can make sure it doesn’t happen to another family,” she said.

Harrogate NHS Foundation Trust said it has sufficient supplies.

 

A spokesperson said:

“The Coronavirus pandemic has presented the NHS with many challenges, one of which is the significant increase in the use of Personal Protective Equipment.

“We have implemented the national guidance as published by Public Health England. This is very clear about what PPE should be used in which situation to protect our staff. We have enough PPE in stock, and are getting regular deliveries of new items. It is a challenge and we’re doing all we can to maintain provision.”

The Stray Ferret has received a significant number of reports of staff going without vital equipment. Individual members of staff felt unable to speak openly about the problems they faced, but many have expressed their gratitude for the additional equipment being delivered by the community.

Groups in Harrogate have mobilised to source and create PPE, including sewing hundreds of sets of scrubs for staff to wear while on shift.

The spokesperson for Harrogate NHS Foundation Trust added:

“We would like to say thank you to local schools, businesses and organisations who have very generously supported us by producing and providing Personal Protective Equipment, complementing what we are receiving via the NHS supply chain.”

‘Top priority’

Meanwhile, the director of health and adult services at North Yorkshire County Council this week put a call out for support from businesses able to create medical-grade face masks for us across health and social care services.

Richard Webb said although a delivery of PPE was received in the county last week, it was not clear when more would arrive. With government guidance on the use of protective equipment changing frequently, and staff across the NHS and social care services all needing the same supplies, any deliveries would not last long.

Speaking to The Stray Ferret on Monday evening, he said:

“What we really want is a regular supply of this equipment and at the moment that’s not coming through in the way that the NHS and councils and care providers need it.

“The government have given it a really top priority on Friday night when they announced their new plan. We need to see during the coming week much more regular supplies of the right kit.”