A change in the council’s bin regime is seeing dog-waste pile up by the roadside, according to local residents.
Over the last week, North Yorkshire Council has removed the familiar red dog-waste bins from Knox, which is on the north-west edge of Harrogate. In their place, they have put green wheelie bins, but not all in the same positions as the bins they replace.
Knox resident Maxie Schiffmann-Rowinski said:
“They’ve put a wheelie bin right outside our house, and now it’s filling up with dog poo and it really stinks in this warm weather.
“All of us living down here are pretty angry about this. This lane is very popular with dog-walkers, and some who don’t know about the green bin are just leaving their dog-poo bags on the ground where the dog-waste bin used to be.
“I’ve complained to the council via their online form, but had no reply.”
Asked about the move, Karl Battersby, North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director of environment, told the Stray Ferret the bins had been removed following a service review, and that the council was being guided by good practice outlined by the Waste and Recycling Action Partnership in its Right Bin, Right Place study.
He said:
“The newer bins have a larger capacity and house a wheeled bin. This means they are efficiently emptied by our larger wagons, reducing the risk from manual handling individual bags. With the greater capacity, fewer bins are required which helps to reduce street furniture, particularly in locations where two bins may have been placed close together.
“This and other new bins will be emptied less frequently due to the increase in capacity, but they will be emptied as often as required, taking seasonal variances into account.
“The replacement bin at the end of Knox Lane was planned to be further down the lane, in close proximity to existing street furniture. We will check it’s correctly positioned.”
The council has installed a large new bin at the end of Knox Lane… but some dog-walkers have yet to get the message.
Paul Haslam, the North Yorkshire councillor serving Bilton and Nidd Gorge, said he was party to the decision-making process that led to the policy change, but that it had not been implemented as he had imagined it would be. He said:
“This looks like a well-intentioned project that’s gone wrong. I agreed with the principle behind the plans: to make it easier by using more machinery, which in some cases would result in changes of locations and frequency of emptying.
“But it’s quite obvious that the way it’s turned out is not ideal – there are not enough bins and some of them are in the wrong place.”
North Yorkshire Council’s Mr Battersby said that the bin replacements in Bilton and Knox would be followed by others in Harrogate.
He said:
“Surrounding parishes have already had the work completed, and Bilton is the first of the urban areas to start and receive the new bins.”
But Cllr Haslam said the policy needed to be reviewed and that’s what the council would do. He said:
“I’ll be meeting with street-cleansing officers on Monday and we’ll be going over the whole of the Bilton and Knox area and seeing how it can be improved.
“The council is not going to roll any more bins out until we’ve got Bilton and Knox right.”
Read more:
- Concerns over ‘undemocratic’ planning meeting on Knox Lane houses
- Harrogate council defends new ‘oversized’ bins
- Discarded dog poo bags leaving Harrogate ‘disgusted’
Ripon BID looks to the future after a busy first year
Ripon Business Improvement District (BID), has reflected on a busy first year, while looking forward to plans for the future.
Speaking at Monday evening’s annual review meeting in the Claro Lounge, BID manager Lilla Bathurst, said that the objective has been to generate increased footfall and profits for businesses in the Ripon city region, by raising its profile and making it more attractive to visitors and local residents.
She pointed out that initiatives undertaken since the BID came into being last autumn, have ranged from steam cleaning of more than 5,000 square metres of streets and ginnels, to supporting festivals and events and launching the Ripon Apprenticeship and Training Hub (RATH).
Other activities in the year include the installation of lighting in ginnels and alleyways, working alongside Ripon in Bloom to fund new floral displays and providing free, independent consultancy advice to businesses to help them identify savings that can be made on energy and other bills.
Ms Bathurst, said:
“It has been a busy first year and we thank all businesses that have worked with us to make Ripon and more vibrant place.”
She added:
“Looking ahead, we are planning further investment in home-grown events, a continuing programme of cleaning and greening, the full launch of RATH in schools and through employer networking events and progressing our wayfinding initiative.”
BID board member Rick Jones, owner of Valentino’s and the Water Rat gastro pub, said:
“Plans are in hand to introduce a walking map of Ripon, that will be available in all car parks and other locations, where there will be information boards.
“This will help to guide people and encourage them to explore all areas of the city.”
Fellow board member and leader of Ripon City Council, Andrew Williams, pointed out:
“The council is spending an additional £40,000 on Christmas lights this year, with the aim of attracting more visitors and increasing footfall, so that people with disposable income spend their money here.”
Chair of the BID board and owner of Newby Hall Richard Compton, who chaired the meeting, said:
“We are committed to creating an environment that will help businesses in Ripon and the outlying areas to succeed and a great deal has been achieved in a relatively short space of time.”
Read more:
Harrogate council reveals new £18,000 street cleaning machine
Harrogate Borough Council has unveiled its latest weapon in the fight to keep the district’s streets clean.
It is an £18,000 waste vacuum cleaner, which sucks up litter up through a flexible nozzle and then collects it in bags at the back of the machine.
The contraption also has an on-board pressure washer to remove any stubborn stains.
The council said in a statement the machine is much quicker than manual litter picking and “especially effective at picking up small items of litter such as cigarette butts and disposable takeaway cups”.
The 100 per cent electric machine has a 10-hour battery life and will be rotated around towns in the Harrogate district.
Councillor Andrew Paraskos, the council’s cabinet member for environment, waste reduction and recycling, said:
“Sadly, some people think it is completely acceptable to just discard litter on the street. Which is why we, and an army of volunteers, work tirelessly to ensure our town centres and villages look their best for locals and visitors alike.
“The addition of the street cleaning machine will make this task even easier and I know it will make the task of clearing litter that bit easier for our dedicated team.”
Read more:
- Man jailed for having sex with under-age Harrogate girl
- ‘Just use a bin’: volunteers appeal over increasing litter in the Pinewoods
New technology to tackle weeds in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon
New technology will tackle weeds in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon town centres following the coronavirus lockdown.
In a pilot scheme, North Yorkshire County Council will begin using a machine that uses hot water insulated by biodegradable foam – made from plant oils and sugars – to keep the liquid hot to kill weeds and moss right at their root without the use of harsh chemicals such as herbicide.
The Foamstream machine also sterilises surrounding seeds and spores to stop weeds spreading and then kills or damages the plant to prevent regrowth.
Read more:
As well as killing weeds, the machine is able to clean chewing gum off roads.
If the pilot is a success, the council said they will use the machines across the county.
Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive member for highways at NYCC said the machine will help make town centres more attractive. He said:
Harrogate’s deep clean is underway“I welcome the use of this new, environment-friendly technological way to get rid of weeds from our roads and footpaths. This is particularly suited to our town centres, where a clean, weed-free streetscene is good for businesses, shoppers and visitors.”
A deep clean of Harrogate town centre began last night as retailers prepare to re-open next Monday.
The four-year contract for the clean was given to a team from the Yorkshire-based company UK Nationwide Cleaning services. The team began on Market Street and Cross James Street.
The clean is expected to take three weeks with a team working through the night, five days a week. The pavements and street furniture will be power washed throughout Harrogate’s retail space.
The cleaning team began in the heart of the retail town today.
Read more:
- Harrogate retailers prepare to fight for survival as they await to re-open next week.
- Car parking fines are re-introduced as shops prepare to open again.
Once the town centre clean is complete, it will then continue into the wider BID area.
Harrogate BID Interim Manager Simon Kent said:
“The deep clean of Harrogate town centre has been a long time coming, and I’m delighted that it has now got under way. In a recent survey by Harrogate BID, the majority of businesses who responded said they saw this as the number one priority. UK Nationwide Cleaning Services, whom we awarded the contract to, are experts in this line of cleaning, having worked successfully with BIDs across the UK, including a number in Yorkshire.”
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.”
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.