North Yorkshire councillors voice frustration at 20 year delay to food waste collection service

North Yorkshire Councillors have voiced frustration at proposals to delay the introduction of a separate food waste collection service for another 20 years.

The delay has happened due to the government’s failure to state how much funding it would give the service.

Several members of the council’s executive underlined that the recommendation to delay the service until up to 2043 did not reflect their determination to rapidly reduce carbon emissions.

The urgent calls for government action appear to mark a significant shift in policy for the authority. Four years ago its leadership stated it was opposed to the introduction of a separate food waste collection service.

In 2019 the council stated it did not support the separate collections as it already recovered organic matter from residual waste at the county’s Allerton Park energy-from-waste plant in a “very cost-effective way”.

When a year later, the government committed to rolling out separate household food waste collection across the country by 2023, 51% of local authorities already collected food waste separately.

A meeting of the council’s current executive heard how separate collections could realise up to a 3,300-tonne reduction in carbon emissions a year compared to the current arrangements.

By collecting food waste separately, the council could increase the amount that can be converted into green electricity using an anaerobic digester. The delay would mean the carbon equivalent of an extra 18 million kilometres of diesel car emissions every year.

Although the council has effectively been given consent by Whitehall mandarins to delay implementing one of its flagship carbon cutting schemes due to its waste disposal contract running until 2043, the authority’s executive members said they wanted the service launched long before that “backstop position”.


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However, officers told the meeting the council had received “no further clarity” over government funding for introducing the new food waste collection service, saying the authority faced a bill of anything up to £6.4m annually.

Climate change boss Cllr Greg White said while council wanted to launch the separate collections with a county-wide overhaul of bin collections in 2027, it faced “very significant additional costs” over the separate food waste service.

He said: 

“Three thousand tonnes of carbon dioxide saved is huge, significant and something we want to do, but we can’t do that – with the best will in the world – if we don’t know what it’s going to cost us and at the moment we haven’t got sufficient clarity from the government.”

Other executive members said the authority, which is already facing having to cut a 30m annual deficit, needed “crystal clear” figures from the government before it could launch separate food collections and emphasised they had been left facing a choice of cutting carbon or funding other council services.

Cllr Simon Myers said: 

“As a responsible executive what we can’t do is take a decision when we don’t know the financial consequences for our residents at a time when there are financial pressures anyway.”

Harrogate Station Gateway: What happens now?

Harrogate’s £11.2 million Station Gateway project has moved forward after councillors gave their backing to the scheme.

As the meeting on Friday went on, there was a feeling that Harrogate and Knaresborough councillors would not countenance handing back more than £10 million to the government at a time when public money is hard to come by.

When they voted, the lively public gallery had dissipated as residents already sensed the mood of councillors.

It wasn’t a ringing endorsement, however, but they voted by 10 to 3 to back the scheme with some caveats.

After the meeting there were relieved smiles in the chamber from Conservative council leader Carl Les and highways boss Keane Duncan who understood the value of councillor support after three public consultations were pretty much split down the middle.

Executive decision

The next meeting concerning the Station Gateway will take place on May 30 at County Hall in Northallerton.

The council’s Conservative executive is expected to approve sending a full business case to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which originally won the funding from government.


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Ahead of the meeting later this month, councillors will receive a detailed report from officers about the scheme, what it seeks to achieve and how it would be delivered.

Cllr Duncan told councillors on Friday that the concerns raised by residents, councillors and businesses will inform the report. However, it will be published online a week before the meeting takes place so it doesn’t leave much time to make changes.

Autumn

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority is expected to make a decision on the council’s full business case in the autumn.

The council will then award a contract to a building firm to carry out the works.

Galliford Try has already been working with the council to draw up designs and has helped plan the construction phase.

Harrogate meeting

Harrogate and Knaresborough councillors made it clear they want to have more of a say in how the project develops — both before and during construction.

The committee has no formal powers but a meeting of the area committee is scheduled for September 14 when councillors have asked to receive a report on the project’s progress up to that point.

December

If the business case is approved in the summer, the council is keen to get shovels in the ground as soon as possible.

Cllr Duncan has said construction work could start by the end of this year.

But there’s a tight timescale to complete the project as the Department for Transport expects money earmarked for the Station Gateway to be spent before the end of the current financial year, although some can also be spent in 2024/25.

On Friday, Councillors also asked for a ‘rigorous monitoring system’ to be put in place before construction work starts that examines its impact on traffic, the environment and businesses.

But as the Station Gateway project moves forward, it’s unlikely to be any less controversial despite winning the approval of local councillors.

Key council meetings could take place in Harrogate

North Yorkshire Council’s decision-making executive could hold some meetings at Harrogate’s Civic Centre instead of Northallerton, according to the council leader.

The new council formed on April 1 and replaced the seven abolished district councils as well as North Yorkshire County Council.

Geographically, it’s England’s largest council area and spans over 3,000 square miles.

But its size has led to criticism that decisions will be made far away from Harrogate residents as the vast majority of meetings take place at County Hall in Northallerton.

Like Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council before it, North Yorkshire Council has an executive or cabinet system of local government.

In this system, the council leader appoints and chairs the executive, which in North Yorkshire includes 10 councillors that meet a couple of times a month.

Each executive member has a specific area of responsibility – for example children and young people, highways or finance –  and they collectively make the most important decisions affecting residents.


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For example, the executive will meet on May 30 in Northallerton to decide whether to put forward a full business case for the £11.2m Station Gateway scheme.

Ahead of a full meeting of the council next week, Conservative council leader Carl Les has published a statement that says he wants to hold some executive meetings at locations across North Yorkshire.

He said dates are being sought and venues must have public and disabled access as well as have live-streaming facilities, which would open up the option of using Harrogate’s £12m Civic Centre that only opened in 2017.

The new council could also choose to hold executive meetings at other former council offices it now owns in places like Scarborough or Skipton.

No changes in the executive

Cllr Les’s statement said that his executive will remain the same.

Below is a list of the ten Conservative councillors on the executive and what they are responsible for:

Station Gateway: Highways boss welcomes ‘positive’ backing from councillors

The politician in charge of highways at North Yorkshire Council has welcomed the decision by councillors to back the £11.2m Harrogate Station Gateway proposals.

The perceived rights and wrongs of one of Harrogate’s most controversial transport schemes in decades were discussed at a special three-hour meeting of the Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee on Friday.

Three Liberal Democrat councillors issued strong objections to the project, including Knaresborough West councillor, Matt Walker, who called it an “£11-million-pound vanity project”.

Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone councillor, Pat Marsh, said it was the “wrong scheme” for Harrogate.

However, Conservative councillor for Bilton and Nidd Gorge, Paul Haslam, said the scheme will benefit businesses and encourage active travel and Conservative councillor for Oatlands and Pannal, John Mann, said the changes will rejuvenate the “run-down and dated” area around the train station.

Ultimately, 10 councillors — five Liberal Democrats and five Conservatives — agreed to support the scheme with conditions. Three voted against.

‘Transformative impact’

Cllr Keane Duncan, who has had responsibility for transport on the Conservative council’s executive since Don Mackenzie retired last year, said he was pleased that councillors from opposition parties came together to back the project.

Cllr Duncan said:

“I welcome the positive, cross-party support expressed for the gateway project. The majority of councillors recognised the importance of securing this £11m investment and the transformative impact the project could have for Harrogate.

“Their support gives the executive the ability to proceed to the next stage. Input and oversight provided by local councillors will be incredibly valuable, now and into the future.”

Friday’s successful motion to support the Station Gateway was put forward by Liberal Democrat councillor for Coppice Valley and Duchy, Peter Lacey, and it came with three conditions.


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These were that the “genuine concerns” of residents and groups are listened to, local councillors have a “meaningful role” in the implementation of the scheme and that a “rigorous monitoring system” to examine its potential impact on traffic, environment and business is put in place.

The motion will be presented to the council’s executive at a meeting on May 30 when senior councillors will decide whether to submit a full business case for the project.

If approved, construction could begin by the end of this year.

Last Friday’s area constituency committee meeting was unusual in that it focused on just one topic.

And despite being an advisory body, there were more eyes on it than normal meetings because the council promised to abide by whatever decision councillors took.

North Yorkshire Council has pledged to give area constituency committees more of a say in decision-making going forward. It could mean more meetings take place place around hot-button issues in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Reflecting on Friday’s meeting, Cllr Duncan added:

“With localism at the heart of the new North Yorkshire Council, it was right for the executive to seek the views of local councillors, elected by and accountable to the people of Harrogate and Knaresborough.”

North Yorkshire Council makes ‘first step’ towards £67m of savings

North Yorkshire Council says it has already saved taxpayers £3.8m a year in the transition from eight councils to one by cutting the roles of 24 senior managers.

The council’s finance boss, Cllr Gareth Dadd, underlined that none of the senior staff would be paid enhanced severance packages as the Conservative-run authority works towards a total of £67m of efficiencies by uniting the county, district and borough councils.

The comments follow critics of local government reorganisation questioning the amount of staff salary savings that it would achieve.

Cllr Dadd’s remarks come just weeks after severance packages of £770,000 were paid to four senior officers at Hambleton District Council because they did not wish to work for the incoming unitary authority.

A highly charged meeting of the district council last November heard the directors were fearful about the ring-fenced roles they would be given at North Yorkshire Council, despite no decisions having been made about their jobs.

A meeting of the unitary council’s executive heard the total exit costs for three senior management as a result of the transition had been estimated at £513,000, which had been raised as one of the former district councils had an enhanced redundancy scheme.

However, the changes had achieved £332,000 savings of salaries, meaning it would take around 18 months for the council to benefit from the redundancies.

Cllr Dadd said the redundancy costs were “minuscule” in comparison.

He said: 

“That £3.8m is the first step on our journey to possibly £67m of saving. That’s come from what some would describe as fat cats, but let’s just say the higher earners in the local government family.

“We should not lose sight of the fact that we have straightaway produced £3.8m as a result of local government reorganisation.”

The new council’s management structure has significantly fewer posts than the total for the previous eight councils, 60 compared to 36, resulting in some managers moving to the unitary authority without a specified role in the new structure.


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A number of the senior staff left prior to vesting day on April 1, in the main having secured another role elsewhere, while some planned to retire just before or shortly after vesting day, while two are undertaking duties covering work for the new council which will take them up to their planned retirement.

An officer’s report to the executive states: 

“These duties make full use of their significant skills and experience to the benefit of the council and cover work areas that would otherwise require additional resource in terms of appointments, interim managers, or consultants.”

‘Few teething issues’ with North Yorkshire Council launch, say political leaders

Few teething issues have emerged during first month of the new North Yorkshire Council, the leaders of its political groups have agreed.

Councillors said residents facing confusion over who to contact and delays of about 30 minutes when trying to phone the council’s call centre had been the most major cause of concern since the county council and seven district authorities fused operations on April 1.

Ahead of North Yorkshire Council’s launch its chief executive Richard Flinton warned while the authority’s basic infrastructure had been created ahead “snagging issues” were expected when the new council launched due to the scale of the merger and “eight different ways of working”.

When asked whether he was pleased with how the transfer had gone so far, the Conserative-run council’s leader, Cllr Carl Les said: 

“Yes. It has gone surprisingly well, but with the amount of effort put in by Richard Flinton and his team I shouldn’t be surprised.”

He added: 

“We always said if you are going to chose a time to do local government reorganisation you wouldn’t necessarily be coming out of a pandemic with a war going on in Ukraine and various other things happening.

“You wouldn’t chose to launch on April 1, when council tax bills are going out for a new authority and people renew their garden waste collection waste collections with the new authority, but still have phone numbers for the old authorities.”


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Speaking ahead of a meeting behind closed doors with Mr Flinton and the other political group leaders to discuss the council’s first month, Cllr Les said the unitary’s contact centre had become deluged, resulting in lengthy answering delays and potentially some residents hanging up.

He said: 

“The contact centres have been busy and have not been as to strength as we thought they might be. We are taking steps to increase recruitment and increase training.”

The leaders of the council’s other political groups agreed no other major issues had emerged during the authority’s first month.

North Yorkshire Council civic centre Knapping Mount

North Yorkshire Council civic centre at Knapping Mount.

Labour group leader Cllr Steve Shaw Wright said while the unitary authority appeared to be “generally working”, its call centre had been “an absolute abomination”.

He added: 

“Selby Town Council just can’t do anything because people have been forever ringing them up because North Yorkshire’s call centre doesn’t work.”

Green group leader Cllr Kevin Foster said: 

“This has been a massive undertaking and on the whole things have gone very well. There’s still lots of work to do, but if you’d asked me if I’d have accepted this when the changeover went in I would have grabbed it with both hands.”

Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr Bryn Griffiths said residents struggling to find phone numbers to contact the unitary, which was “trying to force people to use the internet a lot”, and delays in answering, had represented “a mixed start” for the unitary.

He added: 

“With a big organisation of about 10,000 employees there are bound to be a few hiccups.”

Independent group leader Cllr Stuart Parsons added: 

“Things could have gone better, but it also could have gone a lot worse.”

He said the centralised call centre had not appeared to work as well as “phoning the old numbers for district council call centres”.

Cllr Parsons said: 

“It’s been mainly hiccups, nothing major appears to have gone wrong, which is very comforting. It’s just a question of trying to iron out the hiccups and ensuring services improve considerably.”

MPs Watch: Sewage concerns and illegal migration

Every month the Stray Ferret tries to find out what our local MPs have been up to in their constituencies and in the House of Commons.

In April, North Yorkshire Council was launched after the abolition of North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council and the remaining districts. Meanwhile, concern was raised again over sewage being discharged into rivers.

The month also saw Prime Minister Rishi Sunak overcome a Conservative Party rebellion to pass the government’s Illegal Migration Bill.

We asked Ripon MP Julian Smith and Selby and Ainsty MP Nigel Adams if they would like to highlight anything in particular, but we did not receive a response.

Here is what we know after analysing their online presence.

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, here is what we found on Mr Jones:

When we contacted Mr Jones for comment, his office sent a list of his engagements for April.

Among those included attending a Kids Aloud performance at the Royal Hall, chairing all party parliamentary meetings, attending a session in Parliament with cancer charity, Sarcoma UK, and visiting local performing arts early years academy, Performatots, to learn more about their work and congratulate them on their Ofsted performance.

He also met with the Charity Retailers Association in the House of Commons and attended Anzac Day at Stonefall Cemetery to commemorate and remember the lives lost of Australia and New Zealand citizens during the world wars.

Mr Jones’ office pointed out that his engagements and activities could also be found on his Community News website and his Facebook and Instagram feeds.

Julian Smith, MP for Ripon and Skipton.

Julian Smith, MP for Ripon and Skipton.

In Ripon, here is what we found on Mr Smith:


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Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty which includes rural Harrogate.

Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty which includes rural Harrogate.

In rural south Harrogate, he is what we found on Mr Adams:

Civic society backs creation of Harrogate town council

Harrogate Civic Society has backed plans to create a Harrogate Town Council.

A second consultation on whether to set-up a town council runs until May 5.

North Yorkshire County Council said in March the move would require 35,000 households to pay an additional council tax charge of between £40 and £60.

However, in its submission to the consultation the civic society said the establishment of a town council would mean key decisions could be made by local councillors “who live in the town”.

It added it would want to see the authority take on more powers over time.

The areas in Harrogate which would fall under the new town council.

The areas in Harrogate which would fall under the new town council.

Harrogate and Scarborough are the only parts of the county not to have a parish or town council.

The civic society submission said:

“The society aims to celebrate our past, enhance our present and shape our future. We believe that this can best be done with a Harrogate town council, so key decisions will be made by local councillors who live in the town.

“We note the possible remit of the new council set out in the consultation document, but would like to see it have more of a role over time.

“This would enable opportunities to raise income, protect and enhance the key assets of the town, have a greater say in planning and development (through a neighbourhood plan), and promote a vision for the town which makes it a premier spa and floral town.”


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The group added it wished to work with the town council in future to “keep the town the jewel in the crown of North Yorkshire”.

Last week local Liberal Democrats came out in favour of the creation of a town council.

Eight Liberal Democrats, including former Harrogate borough councillors and current North Yorkshire councillors, signed a letter in support.

They said the move would enable locally-elected councillors to take control of assets such as off-street car parks, the Stray, Royal Hall, Sun Pavilion and Valley Gardens.

A total of 75% favoured setting up a Harrogate town council in last year’s first consultation but only 1,250 homes — 3.5% of those affected — responded. The low response rate triggered concerns about the validity of the response.

A second consultation into the creation of a town council will close next Friday (May 5). You can have your say here.

‘Undemocratic’ to ask Harrogate residents to pay for town council without stating its powers

A consultation about a potential Harrogate town council has been called “undemocratic” because it says residents would have to pay up to £60 a year extra without stating what powers it might have.

North Yorkshire Council is running a second consultation on whether a town council for Harrogate should be created.

Consultation documents say how much residents in band D properties are likely to pay through their council tax to cover services provided by the new town council.

North Yorkshire Council said the town council’s council tax precept would allow for an annual budget in the range of £1m to £1.6m.

Knaresborough and Ripon both currently have their own councils that charge a precept to provide services such as allotments, public events and small parks.

However, it is unclear at this stage what services a potential Harrogate town council would deliver.

There would be 19 councillors elected to the town council with elections taking place on May 2, 2024.

‘Unfair and undemocratic’

Speaking at a residents’ meeting last week, Michael Schofield, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Harlow and St Georges, criticised the consultation process and said people were not sure what they would be voting for if the town council was created.

He said:

“It’s alright talking about flower beds but we still don’t know what North Yorkshire Council’s executive are going to let a town council have control of.

“It’s unfair and undemocratic not to be told what we going being asked to pay for and voting for. They need to let us know.”

His view is shared by the final mayor of the Harrogate borough, Victoria Oldham, who was the Conservative councillor for Washburn on Harrogate Borough Council until March 31.


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Ms Oldham is backing the creation of a town council but said people interested in becoming councillors should be getting around the table with North Yorkshire Council now to discuss what powers it might have.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:

“There’s no point in saying you’ll have a town council if you don’t say what you’re supposed to be running so those people interested in being on the town council need to be coming together now and putting a plan forward. There needs to be some sort of mediation.

“Saying suddenly you have a town council and not knowing what you’ll be responsible for is going to be awkward.”

In response, North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for corporate services, Conservative Cllr David Chance, said:

“A town council for Harrogate is aimed at ensuring that the views of residents are represented at the most local level and helping to provide the services that are so important to the public.

“We are undertaking a consultation to get people’s opinions on the detailed
recommendations for the town council.

“Harrogate and Scarborough are the only parts of the county not to have a parish or town council. When North Yorkshire Council launched on April 1 after the previous eight local authorities in the county merged, a central pledge of this change was to enable town and parish councils to take on greater responsibility if they want and are able to.

“Residents of unparished parts of Scarborough and Harrogate were invited last summer to say whether they wanted to create new town councils. More than two-thirds of residents who responded in the two towns were in favour of the idea.

“We believe that the chance for town councils for both Harrogate and Scarborough will be fundamental in making sure local democracy can be as effective as possible, and I would urge the public to have their say during the latest consultation, which is running until Friday, May 5.“

Residents can take part in the consultation by visiting www.northyorks.gov.uk/CGR. Paper copies are available by calling 01609 536400 or emailing cgr@northyorks.gov.uk.

Crime commissioner’s office to move to Harrogate Police Station

North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe is set to relocate her office to Harrogate Police Station.

The Conservative commissioner, whose job is to scrutinise the performance of the force as well as the fire service, will move in alongside officers on Beckwith Head Road on June 1 this year.

Ms Metcalfe’s office, which employs about 30 staff, is currently based on Granby Road in Harrogate.

Granby Road

The current office on Granby Road in Harrogate

The move comes as part of the commissioner’s strategy to optimise her estate and “improve partnership working and communications”.

Simon Dennis, chief executive and monitoring office at the commissioner’s office, said:

“We expect to save approximately £80,000 per year by changing our office arrangements. Like many progressive organisations, the commissioner’s team has a strong commitment to flexible, agile working and our office accommodation needs have changed in recent years.

“We have been working closely with the estates team, chief constable and chief fire officer to ensure we are all making the most efficient and effective use of the police and fire station buildings.

“In addition to our office re-location the team will also work more flexibly from home and other police and fire buildings.

“The team are really excited and are looking forward to the move which will not only save money but improve our working relationships with the police and fire service.”

Harrogate Police Station

Ms Metcalfe added:

“The public expect police and fire buildings to be used efficiently, especially at this time of strain on our finances, so I am pleased that we can make a contribution towards savings by vacating our office at Granby Road.”

The commissioner’s office said it would continue to review the use of its estates as it planned for devolution and the introduction of a mayoral office.


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