The owner of a family-run nursery chain, which is set to launch a new setting in Harrogate, says he is preparing to “get stung” by rising energy prices.

Matthew Dawson, director of Children’s Corner Childcare, said he had already seen a significant rise in energy bills at his six Leeds nurseries over the last 18 months – including almost double in some cases.

The nursery is set to open a branch at Central House, on Otley Road, in April, when the price hike is introduced.

Mr Dawson said:

“We have several utilities contracts due to run out in the coming months and as such are likely to get stung by the ever increasing costs of keeping our buildings warm.

“This is especially important when looking after young children as we do and not something where corners can be cut.

“Our newest site in Harrogate has a number of obstacles in terms of its energy efficiency which are going to have to be addressed.”

Mr Dawson said the nursery was going to have “the most energy efficient heating system we could find” installed to help mitigate rising costs, as well as investing in insulating the building further.

He added:

“This will not only reduce our ongoing energy bills, but also to reduce our environmental impact as well.

“This will come at a significant cost to the business at a time when margins are squeezed ever tighter by other increasing extraneous costs.”

£80 a month more to pay

For Knaresborough family-of-three, the Hobsons, the energy bills are set to go up by at least £80 per month.

Regional sales director Mike Hobson, who lives with his wife Hannah and their eight-year-old daughter Grace, said:

“This isn’t sustainable and it is now eating into other areas of living costs, especially with all the extra expenditure at the moment, including inflation.

“We were paying £160 a month and we are now paying £240 – for a family-of-three, that’s an extra £1,000 a year.”

From left to right, Grace, Hannah and Mike Hobson, from Knaresborough.

However, the price hike is not just set to hit families and homeowners, with the majority of residents across the Harrogate district set to feel the pinch.

Read more:

• Vulnerable people in Harrogate having sleepless nights over rising bills
• Soaring energy bills ‘a kick in the teeth’, say Harrogate business owners

Catherine Aletta, a junior digital designer at Cloud Nine, which is based at Hornbeam Park, rents a two-bedroom flat near Harrogate town centre with her partner.

She said:

“Energy prices are already a big chunk of monthly outgoings. As prices are set to rise even further, we are both concerned that it will have a big impact on us. The monthly bills are already a consideration to our lifestyle and if they do go up, we will have to start looking at how we possibly cut back on other things.

“We are both very conscious of our energy consumption and do our best to reduce our usage to keep the monthly bills manageable. We use the timer to restrict the amount of time the heating is on, we turn off lights as we leave rooms and make sure we don’t leave the TV on when we are not watching it.

“We have lived in our apartment for six months and we have noticed that the prices have already gone up. Obviously we have had the heating on quite a lot in recent months due to the cold weather, but it is a concern for next winter. If the prices go up even further, we will start to struggle.”

Catherine Aletta.

The price rise comes after the energy regulator, Ofgem, lifted the maximum rate that suppliers can charge for an average duel-fuel energy tariff by £693 — an increase of 54 per cent.

This is to reflect the fourfold increase in energy market prices over the last year.

Harrogate Borough Council‘s car hire club has been used 927 times over the past year, with 100 members clocking up 38,590 miles.

The council launched the initiative in August last year in partnership with car club operator Co-Wheels. It aims to improve air quality and reduce carbon emissions.

The fleet of nine hybrid cars in Harrogate town centre offers pay-as-you-go hire ranging from 30 minutes to a week.

Hybrid cars combine petrol or diesel engine with electric motors. Electric power can be activated in urban areas to reduce air pollution.

The council said in a statement the scheme has removed 2.9 tonnes of CO2 compared to driving personal cars.

Each car is based in a designated zone and comes with a parking permit that allows parking anywhere in Harrogate.

Read more:

• ‘Green’ car club launches in Harrogate

• Harrogate motorists encouraged to ditch car on Fridays

Conservative councillor Phil Ireland, cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability, said:

“Despite a difficult 18 months for everyone, the figures from the past 12 months are encouraging to see and show people have a desire to help reduce carbon emission across the Harrogate district.

“I hope more people utilise this scheme moving forward and reduce the number of cars in their household as well as the dependency of owning a car.”

Richard Falconer, managing director of Co Wheels, added: 

“There’s a lot of great work going on to reduce carbon emissions in Harrogate and we are pleased to see membership increasing and usage of the vehicles start so strongly during the first 12 months.”

Dacre, Son & Hartley, which has offices across the Harrogate district, has reported a surge in online traffic and enquiries as interest among people looking for a new home or to sell their property, has returned to pre-coronavirus levels.

Yorkshire’s largest  independent estate agent, had agreed its first sale since lockdown by 9.15am on Wednesday 13th May, the same day that the government announced that travel restrictions were being relaxed and estate agents, surveyors and valuers  in England could resume their work and both buyers and renters could start making their moves.

In the six weeks preceding the lifting of the lockdown on the sector, 47,000 people visited the firm’s website and Patrick McCutcheon, head of residential at Dacre, Son & Hartley, said:

“We have plenty of evidence of good levels of demand and over the last few weeks, we have had lots of calls from buyers wanting to arrange viewings and potential sellers requiring sales and marketing advice.”

He added:

“In terms of market conditions, unlike the last market jolt in 2007/08, funding remains readily available and that can only help the liquidity  of the marketplace, which in turn will support buyer confidence.”