The Harrogate branch of Sofa Workshop has closed after the company entered administration yesterday.
The Parliament Street shop is no longer trading and the company’s website has been closed, after administrators PriceWaterhouse Cooper were appointed.
The administrators said one shop in London would remain open for up to 14 days to sell remaining stock. The company’s order book has been sold to Timothy Oulton United Kingdom Ltd, also owned by parent company Halo, so any outstanding orders will be fulfilled.
Toby Banfield, joint administrator and PwC partner, said:
“Unfortunately, given the sustained level of losses, the directors had no option but to appoint administrators to protect the creditors of the company. Sadly, this has resulted in 77 redundancies having to be made today. We will do all we can to support workers impacted by the administration.”
It has not been confirmed how many jobs have been lost at the Harrogate shop.
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Single council for North Yorkshire ‘could cost £38 million to set up’
North Yorkshire County Council has outlined its case for a single council for the county in a move which officials say could cost up to £38 million to set up.
Consultants Pricewaterhouse Cooper reported to NYCC on the plans, revealing that setting up a single authority will cost a minimum of £18m and as much as £38m.
However, the authority also predicts savings of up to £252 million over five years, equivalent to £50.4m per year.
Outlining the county’s bid, Cllr Carl Les, leader of NYCC, said the proposal would cut waste and empower communities. As part of the plan, the model proposes 25 community networks with further devolved powers for parish councils.
It would see the single council sit alongside the City of York Council, which backed the model last week and would remain unaffected.
North Yorkshire County Council leader, Carl Les.
Cllr Les said:
“We propose a revolution in empowering residents and businesses with the voice and resources they need to secure what matters to them. Our bid sets out how 25 community networks would enable this change. We are also working in partnership with town and parish councils to further devolve power and resources to some community services and assets, to better suit local people.
“To ensure the public can access local advice and services in person and online, our proposal includes providing offices in every district alongside more than 30 access points. It also preserves the very many local delivery hubs we already have in place.”
The plan is one of two put forward for North Yorkshire as the government prepares to scrap both county and district councils, and replace them with one or more single-tier authorities in the area.
Alternative plans
Against NYCC’s plans for one unitary authority, the seven district councils – including Harrogate Borough Council – have put forward plans for an east-west model with two authorities, effectively splitting the county in two down the middle. York City Council would be dissolved and the city would become part of the eastern side of the split.
According to documents delivered by consultants KPMG, the east-west proposal could cost up to £39.4m. The minimum cost would be £29.1m, though the model could deliver savings of between £32.5m and £55.8m each year – equivalent to between £162.5m and £279m over a five year period.
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The district councils’ plans also say they would offer parish councils “the potential to take on additional responsibilities based on a two-way conversation”.
Although the number of elected councillors has yet to be agreed for the model, proposals say it is likely to be a reduction from the 348 posts currently filled across city, county and district authorities in North Yorkshire.
Under the county-wide model, NYCC said current boundaries suggest there would be 144 councillors, but a review of wards would be needed after the new authority came into effect. It proposes six area committees, each with around 15 councillors, in line with the constituencies of North Yorkshire’s MPs.
Election delay
Ahead of the submission, NYCC bosses are also expected to request that county council elections in May 2021 are delayed until the following year.
This would allow any councillors to be elected to the new authority, should it be approved.
The proposal comes after Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State for Local Government, invited councils to submit plans for a shake up of local councils ahead of a potential devolution bid.
Councils have until November 9 to submit an outline proposal to government, with a December 9 submission deadline for full plans.
Both North Yorkshire County Council’s executive and Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet will meet next week to discuss their proposals and vote on whether to put them before their full councils. If they agree to do so, all councillors will have the opportunity to vote on the respective plans at separate full council meetings next Wednesday, November 4.