Andrew Williams Archives - Page 7 of 8

‘Ripon did not want a Tory and now they have one’, claims councillor

Ripon councillor Andrew Williams has resigned from the North Yorkshire Independents group after forming a political alliance with the Conservatives.

Cllr Williams, who is also the leader of Ripon City Council, is one of three independents to have joined a new Conservatives and Independents Group.

The Conservatives announced the group on Friday, saying it had been formed “to secure the stable and sustainable governance of North Yorkshire Council” in the wake of the party losing its majority.

The Tories have 45 of 90 seats — precisely half — on North Yorkshire Council following Cllr Mike Jordan’s defection last month.

The new alliance will help them maintain control until the next local elections in 2027.

Cllr Williams was elected to represent Ripon Minster and Moorside on North Yorkshire Council in last year’s local elections with 1,453 votes. The Conservative candidate was third with 312 votes.

Cllr Stuart Parsons

He has yet to respond to questions about his decision from the Stray Ferret but Cllr Stuart Parsons, who leads the North Yorkshire Independents group, said Cllr Williams had resigned “very late on Thursday evening”.

He added:

“The new ‘Tory Group’ just shows what the Conservative Party will do to cling on to power.

“With just over 40% of the vote they still believe that they have a god-given right to rule. Their new name also sullies the use of the word ‘Independent’.

“When a city like Ripon, which had previously returned two Tories, sent their message to North Yorkshire Council it was with one Liberal Democrat and one Independent.

“Ripon quite clearly showed that they did not want a Tory and yet now they have one.”

The other independents to join the new group are Cllr Caroline Goodrick, who represents Sheriff Hutton and Derwent and Cllr Robert Heseltine.

However, they are among seven unaffiliated independents whereas Cllr Williams was one of nine members of an Independents group.

Cllr Parsons echoed Lib Dem concerns about whether discussions between the Tories and independents involved using council resources for party political purposes.

He said:

“We will be monitoring very closely.”

Ripon Independent councillor Andrew Williams joins Tory alliance

Ripon Independent councillor Andrew Williams has formed a political alliance with the Conservatives on North Yorkshire Council.

Cllr Williams, who is also the leader of Ripon City Council, is one of three independents to become members of a new Conservatives and Independents Group, which was announced today.

The Stray Ferret reported yesterday the Conservatives were wooing independents to maintain their grip on power. This month’s defection of Cllr Mike Jordan left them with precisely half of 90 seats on the council.

A statement by the Conservatives this morning said the party had been reaching out to other members in the wake of Cllr Jordan’s defection “to secure the stable and sustainable governance of North Yorkshire Council for the benefit of its residents”.

Cllr Carl Les

Carl Les, the Conservative council leader, said:

“Each of them have put stable and sensible decision-making at the top of their agenda since the elections last May, and as such we have agreed a common purpose.

“It is important that following local government reorganisation our staff feel secure in a well managed authority with clear policies in place.

“We will work together to achieve the sustainable and stable political direction this authority deserves, as indeed we have from last May.”

Cllr Williams was elected to North Yorkshire Council in last year’s local elections with 1,453 votes, ahead of the Liberal Democrat candidate, who received 334 votes. The Conservative candidate was third with 312 votes.

The other independents to join the new group are Cllr Caroline Goodrick, who represents Sheriff Hutton and Derwent and Cllr Robert Heseltine.

(from left): Cllrs Heseltine, Williams and Goodrick

Cllr Williams is one of nine members of an Independents group. The other two to join are unaffiliated independents.

It is unclear the extent to which they will collaborate with the Tories.

Today’s statement said all three will continue to serve as independents.

However, the group is widely regarded as a way of shoring up support to the Conservatives in the period until the next North Yorkshire elections in 2028.

The Stray Ferret has attempted to contact Cllr Williams for further details of the arrangement.

Ripon council could take control of city’s key assets in 12 months’ time

There are hopes Ripon City Council could be running Ripon’s town hall and market place by April next year, according to the council leader.

The council submitted an expression of interest at the end of last month to North Yorkshire Council to be part of a “double devolution” pilot scheme that would see it take control of some of the city’s key assets.

These were previously owned by the abolished Harrogate Borough Council before being handed to the new unitary council on April 1.

If successful, council leader Andrew Williams, who also sits on the North Yorkshire Council as an independent, says the pilot scheme in Ripon could be up and running in time for the next financial year in April 2024.

North Yorkshire Council will choose six pilot schemes from across the county after considering each expression of interest.

Cllr Williams told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he believes Ripon’s bid is one of the most ambitious submitted to the council and they have a “proven track record” of delivering services after previously taking over the lease of Hugh Ripley Hall from HBC.

He said the city council would commit to refurbishing and repurposing the town hall, which he said had been neglected by the old Harrogate-based authority.

“Quite clearly there’s been no investment in the building for years. It hasn’t been painted in 20 years and vast areas are laying idle so there may be a mix of things could be done.

“It’s a blank canvas but we think it could be used to generate economic activity in Ripon. It could be used as a museum to display Ripon’s historical artificats and I’d like to see North Yorkshire Council use it as a customer service point for residents.

“Part of the building could also be converted into rentable office space. Something needs to be done but we know there’s plenty of potential.”

Cllr Williams also said the city council would look to tidy up the market place and could use surplus revenue from car parking charges towards the refurbishment of the town hall.

Improvements to city centre public toiliets, which also formed part of the council’s expression of interest, would also make the city more appealing to tourists and businesses, he added.

“There’s grass growing out of the market square, such as been the poor maintenance of it.

“We believe collectively as a city council that we can draw more visitors to Ripon and bring businesses to the city centre. If the city looks smart and going places people are more likely to spend money here.”

‘An absolute nonsense’: Ripon’s £85,000 regeneration plan thrown into doubt

A Ripon councillor has strongly criticised Harrogate Borough Council after an officer confirmed a report costing £85,000 that was supposed to present a new vision for Ripon city centre remains unfinished — over two-and-a-half years since it was first announced.

At a meeting of the Skipton and Ripon area constituency committee yesterday in Skipton, officers at North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council spoke to councillors about the economic opportunities for Ripon ahead of the new council forming on April 1.

But it was the current status of the Ripon Renewal Project masterplan that Ripon councillors Andrew Williams and Barbara Brodigan were seeking answers to.

Harrogate Borough Council awarded a contract to Bauman Lyons Architects in 2020 to draw up a vision for the future of the city.

The company was tasked with producing funding options and a business case for Ripon to bid for money for regeneration projects.

A consultation was held in 2021 when residents, businesses and community groups highlighted problems in the city. These included not enough things for young people to do, traffic in the market place and a lack of affordable housing.

However, publication of the document has been beset by delays, which led Cllr Brodigan to accuse the council of letting it “gather dust” at an office in Harrogate.

Ripon City Council and Ripon BID have submitted freedom of information requests to HBC in an attempt to find out what has been produced.

The project is being co-funded by North Yorkshire County Council and the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

‘No draft masterplan’

The borough council’s acting head of place-shaping and economic growth Linda Marfitt told councillors the project was initially delayed due to the consultation exercises taking longer than expected.

She said the council then tried to extend the contract with the architect but were not able to come to an agreement so had to “bring the commission to a close”.

Ms Marfitt said despite the council not being in possession of a draft masterplan, officers have looked at what work has been done so far and will present a summary to councillors next week.

She added around £55,000 of the £85,000 that was earmarked had been spent.

Ms Marfitt said:

“It isn’t something that sits on a shelf, we’re proactively moving it forward. We’re working with the new council to see what can be done. There will be an update next week. I do apologise for the elongated time frame but we were trying to get a successful outcome.”

It was a response that exacerbated Andrew Williams, independent councillor for Ripon Minster & Moorside and the leader of Ripon City Council.

He said:

“It’s astonishing that we’ve spent £85,000 of public money to get nothing, not even a draft executive summary from a consultant — that’s how bad this is.

“A lot of time has spent on this by organisations in the city but it’s fallen off a cliff-edge. It’s an absolute nonsense.”

A spokesperson for Bauman Lyons Architects issued the following statement:

“Following a positive and helpful period of community and stakeholder engagement, the initial stages of the project took longer than envisaged. This meant it was necessary for the council and Bauman Lyons Architects to enter into discussions about a new contract to complete the work.

“An agreement on the terms could not be reached and the commission has now come to a close.”

Ukraine war could delay Ripon Barracks housing plans, says councillor

If the war in Ukraine escalates the Ministry of Defence (MoD) could delay vacating the Ripon Barracks site for housing to be built, according to the leader of Ripon City Council.

For several years, government housing agency Homes England and the MoD have been developing plans to build 1,300 homes at Ripon Barracks, which has been used by the military since World War 1.

The scheme is called Clotherholme and also includes a new primary school, sports pitches, retail, food and drink units and a 60-bed care home.

The site consists of Deverell Barracks to the east, Claro Barracks to the west and Laver Banks to the south.

Deverell Barracks has already been vacated however Claro Barracks is still operational and in use by the Royal Engineers.

Previously, the MoD has said it would close the site in 2019 and 2023.

A computer generated image of how Chatham Road and Napier Street in Ripon would look under the plans.

Earlier this month, Conservative MP Julian Smith published a letter he received from defence minister Alex Chalk that said Claro Barracks will remain in use until late 2026.

Although the letter said that phased work would begin at Deverell Barracks once planning permission has been granted.

‘A changing world’

At a meeting of Ripon City Council this week, council leader Andrew Williams, who is also an independent councillor on North Yorkshire County Council, said the 2026 date is “optimistic” due to a changing geopolitical situation.

Cllr Williams said:

“In a changing world since these proposals were first put on table, the world is clearly a more unstable place than when this process started several years ago.

“There is a real risk of proper armed conflict escalating in Europe in a way that several years ago could have seen to be a farcical and ludicrous proposition.

“I suspect the MoD will need to retain part of its estate than it envisaged doing several years ago. As a consequence there may still be a need for a barracks in Ripon well beyond 2026.”

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said:

“We remain committed to the disposal of Claro Barracks.

“With the adjacent Deverell Barracks now vacated, it is ready for the planned and phased redevelopment of the combined barracks site at Ripon.”

Councillors will meet next Thursday afternoon in Harrogate to make a decision on whether the Ripon Barracks scheme goes ahead.

The plans have been recommended for approval by HBC case officer Andy Hough in a report.

The meeting will begin at 2pm on February 23 at the council’s Civic Centre. It will also be streamed live on its YouTube channel.

Ripon hopeful of controlling its destiny under new council

Ripon has never sat comfortably within the Harrogate district.

An ill feeling has lingered in the cathedral city since the last local government reorganisation in 1974 when several smaller councils were brought together to create Harrogate Borough Council.

Whether it’s fair or not, there has been a perception in some quarters of the city that the council has always looked on Harrogate as the crown jewel to Ripon’s detriment.

This will all change on April 1, when Harrogate Borough Council will be abolished and Ripon will fall under the control of a new unitary authority, North Yorkshire Council.

Councillors are optimistic the city can reap the rewards.

Andrew Williams is the leader of Ripon City Council and an independent councillor on North Yorkshire County Council for Ripon Minster and Moorside.

The 53-year-old has lived in Ripon all his life and said he first became conscious of the sentiment towards Harrogate Borough Council as a teenager.

Cllr Andrew Williams

He claims “Harrogate council has been dominated by Harrogate” and that Ripon has “suffered badly” under the current system.

He added:

“What the new council arrangement will do is ensure there will be no unfair advantage to anybody.

“Across North Yorkshire, there are a lot of places like Ripon — Malton, Thirsk, Easingwold, Skipton and Richmond — that have a similar sized population to Ripon with not dissimilar issues. The focus on resolving those will be given a much higher priority.”

A central pledge in the case for reorganisation, called “double devolution”, was that town and parish councils could be handed more powers if they can make a successful business case.

Cllr Williams believes it will provide a golden opportunity for Ripon City Council to take control of assets that Harrogate Borough Council assumed when it was formed almost 50 years ago, such as the city’s neoclassical town hall.

He said:

“We’re hopeful of being selected as a pilot area for double devolution. We believe the new arrangements will provide a better opportunity for Ripon to have a greater control over its destiny.”

Taking back control

Cllr Barbara Brodigan is the Liberal Democrat councillor for Ripon Ure Bank & Spa and was elected in May 2022.

The former teacher has lived in Ripon for five years but before than lived in Knaresborough for 30 years. She’s excited about the potential benefits of double devolution.

Barbara Brodigan

Cllr Brodigan, pictured above, said:

“Ripon has long felt neglected but Ripon City Council could now have more control over our assets. I’m in favour of that. Ripon should be making decisions about Ripon.”

Harrogate Borough Council would point to its multi-million-pound investment into the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre as an example of its commitment to the residents of Ripon.

But Cllr Brodigan described the project as an “ongoing farce” due to the location the council decided to build it and spiralling costs.

Other borough council projects, such as work on a masterplan for the regeneration of the city centre have been put on hold, which Cllr Brodigan said is holding Ripon back.

She added:

“People are waiting for the Ripon Renewal masterplan to be implemented so nothing can move forward. It’s sitting on a shelf in Harrogate. That would make a huge difference to city centre.

“When you come to Ripon you can’t see anything because of all the cars. It’s not attractive at all. Tourism is our major income stream yet we have a car park in the centre.”

At a Harrogate Borough Council meeting in 2021, Conservative deputy leader Graham Swift described the grievances of Ripon Independent councillor Pauline McHardy as like listening to the Scottish National Party.

Whether or not residents and councillors have justifiable frustrations at the relationship with Harrogate Borough Council, there is excitement within the city about the opportunities that local government reorganisation could bring.

Harrogate council spends £45,000 on outside help for failed Levelling Up bid

Harrogate Borough Council has revealed it spent £45,000 on outside help when it put together its failed bid for government Levelling Up money.

Last year the council bid for £20 million that would have gone towards a proposed £49 million redevelopment of Harrogate Convention Centre.

But the bid was refused by the government last month, throwing into doubt the future of the venue it has owned and run since opening in 1982.

Following a freedom of information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the authority said it spent £45,000 on “legal, design and financial input and guidance” related to the bid proposal.

A council spokesperson said this was to “ensure the best possible chance” of it being successful.

Despite Harrogate being in the lowest priority area for Levelling Up funding, convention centre director Paula Lorimer told councillors at a meeting last week it would likely bid again when a third round of funding worth £1 billion opens.

Ms Lorimer warned Harrogate would “wither on the vine” if the facility closed because of its importance to the town’s business and leisure sectors.

The ownership of the venue will be handed over to the new North Yorkshire Council on April 1.

Andrew Williams, North Yorkshire independent councillor for Ripon Minster and Moorside on North Yorkshire County Council, said he didn’t begrudge Harrogate Borough Council bidding for Levelling Up money but the refusal should show the council “that the government doesn’t think the redevelopment is worthwhile.”

Cllr Williams said:

“The conference centre is going to be a millstone around anybody’s neck.

“There needs to be serious thought put into what commercial uses it can become so that it will not be a drain on the public purse. I don’t support spending £50 million on a business that’s still losing money. Enough is enough when resources is tight.”

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson said:

“The costs associated with our bid for the government’s Levelling Up Fund included significant legal, design and financial input and guidance.

“This was required to ensure the best possible chance of the Harrogate Convention Centre’s £20m submission being considered.

“We were disappointed not to be award a grant in this round of funding. But we remain hopeful and have everything we need to submit a bid for any future rounds or other opportunities for government funding.

“We have not yet received any feedback from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities as to why we were unsuccessful.”

Call to retain taxi zones in North Yorkshire amid proposed changes

Calls have been made for North Yorkshire to consider keeping local taxi licence zones amid a proposal to move to a single policy.

Cllr Andrew Williams, county councillor for Ripon Minster and Moorside, called for assurances that council officials would look at retaining local licensing zones after concern from cabbies.

Under proposals already put forward, the new North Yorkshire Council would create a single licensing policy for hackney carriages and private hire vehicles in the entire county.

It would mean drivers in Harrogate could operate anywhere in North Yorkshire, whereas they are currently restricted to the Harrogate district.

Cllr Williams told a council meeting yesterday that local drivers had raised concern that the changes would lead to taxis flocking to areas during high demand, such as a large event, leaving customers in other areas struggling to get a cab.

He said:

“I have been approached by taxi drivers who I represent who are very concerned that any form of deregulation could lead to problems in terms of actually being able to get a taxi because taxi drivers will move from rank to rank depending on when there is a busy day in a certain locality.”

Cllr Williams added that fare rates for the entire county should be based on the highest charged otherwise drivers could lose out on income.

The council said previously that fares for hackney carriages would be reviewed at a later date.

In response, Cllr Carl Les, leader of the county council, said that all views submitted to a consultation over the changes would be considered.

He said:

“I think they are all valid points.

“Hopefully they will all come out in that consultation and then we will make the decisions when we have heard what people have actually said.”

Changes will cause “chaos”

The move to propose a single licensing policy has caused concern for cabbies in the Harrogate district.

Richard Fieldman, who has operated his cab in Ripon for 28 years, told the Stray Ferret previously that the planned changes would see drivers “swamp” areas during the busiest times of day.

Mr Fieldman said the move would see quieter areas deprived of taxis during the busier times.

He said:

“It will mean that any taxi can work in any area.

“You are going to have swamps of taxis in busy areas at busy times. That in itself brings chaos.”

A consultation into the policy changes is open until January 19, 2023. You can have your say here.

Safety fears over plans for public art on Ripon bypass roundabout

Ripon City Council is objecting ‘in the strongest terms’ to the siting of two of the three proposed public realm art installations being planned to celebrate the life of Wilfrid — the city’s patron saint.

The council first voiced safety concerns last year about a five-metre high montage depicting the building of ancient Rome on the bypass roundabout at the junction with Boroughbridge Road.

Council leader Andrew Williams told the Stray Ferret:

“I had a meeting with applicant Christopher Baily who was representing an organisation called Art in Churches and I made our concerns very clear to him and assumed that a more suitable location would be found for this element of the Rome to Ripon Art trail.

“I said at the meeting, that the city council supports, in principle, the installation of public realm artworks recognising the work of St Wilfrid, but not on the busiest roundabout on the bypass.”

Cllr Williams, added:

“At the June full council meeting, we looked at the plans for the artworks and found that our public safety concerns have been completely ignored and the applicant has presented what appears to be precisely the same proposal for the structure on the roundabout.

Staging in front of Ripon Town Hall for the city council’s programme of free live music would have to move if planning permission is granted.

“To add insult to injury, the plans also indicate that the proposed siting of a five-metre high bronze of St Wilfrid on Market Place, would require a re-positioning of the stage, safety barriers and associated equipment employed when we are holding free public events for Ripon residents and visitors to the city,

“The plans that we saw, showed that the applicant, without any consultation with the council, took the decision to move the stage from immediately in front of the town hall to a location on Market Square.

“Both this and the roundabout plan are totally unacceptable and we have objected in the strongest terms to Harrogate Borough Council planners, who we hope will understand our reasons for making our concerns known.”

The Stray Ferret approached Mr Baily twice by email on Monday to give him the opportunity to respond to objections raised by the city council.

At the time of publication, no response had been received.

The proposed third element of the Rome to Ripon art trail features a sculpture to be located close to the cathedral of a boat, to represent the visits that Wilfrid made on journeys involving sea crossings to visit Rome.

The city council has advised planners that it has no objection to the location of this part of the trail.

Harrogate council charge police over £110,000 for CCTV since 2016

Harrogate Borough Council has charged North Yorkshire Police over £110,000 to check and supply its CCTV footage since 2016, the Stray Ferret can reveal.

The council has a network of 212 CCTV cameras across the district to help prevent and detect crime. It has a manned control room that operates 24/7.

But it does not supply footage to the police for free and last month the Stray Ferret reported it asks the force to pay a fee of £57 per hour for the service.

We submitted a freedom of information request to the council that asked how much it has charged North Yorkshire Police in total since 2016.

The answer revealed a total bill of £114,005, which amounts to about £20,000 a year on average. The sum fell noticeably during covid lockdowns in 2021/22.

The annual breakdown is below:

2016/17 £23,410
2017/18 £19,598
2018/19 £20,251
2019/20 £18,992
2020/21 £13,400
2021/22 £18,354

Crime prevention

Ripon has been plagued by well-documented anti-social behaviour and crime in recent years.

The council operates 10 CCTV cameras in the city but Andrew Williams, the leader of Ripon City Council and the North Yorkshire county councillor for Ripon Minster and Moorside, said the charge deters police from following up crime reports.

He said:

“It is ironic that Harrogate Borough Council’s homes and safer communities team appears more interested in making commercial charges to the police, rather than working in partnership with them to help in the detection and arrest of criminals.”

Cllr Andrew Williams

Cllr Williams calculated that the £18,354 charge for the last financial year worked out at less than one hour of CCTV footage a day.

He suggested this means NYP is being selective in which footage it requests and could be missing out on catching criminals.

He added:

“When considering the size of the Harrogate district and the number of CCTV cameras installed across it, that indicates that police, with pressure on their budgets, are having to be selective in their purchasing of footage and only calling on the services of the HBC CCTV monitoring team for the most serious incidents that they are investigating.”

“At a public meeting in Ripon last month, police admitted that nobody had been arrested for the vandal attacks, in part because they could not pinpoint the exact time of each incident and would have to go through hours of footage, which would not necessarily provide the quality of footage required to identify an individual or individuals.”

‘Shameful’ charges

Business owner Andrew Hart, who owns the Red Box post offices in Bilton and Starbeck, has previously raised concerns about anti-social behaviour in both areas.

Mr Hart has two private CCTV cameras in his post offices. He said he supplies any footage to the police for free if they ask for it and called the council’s decision to charge “shameful”.

The council currently operates one CCTV camera in Starbeck.

Andrew Hart

He said:

“We are often needing to refer back to our two CCTV systems on both police and private request. It is something we do out of a sense of duty to both the community and in our joint responsibility to fight anti-social behaviour.

“Yes, it takes time and costs us money but we all have to do our bit, surely. I think it is shameful that any council should charge our grossly overstretched police for this service.”

Council’s response

A council spokesperson said:

“CCTV across the Harrogate district, which is owned and managed by Harrogate Borough Council, has ongoing infrastructure and running costs.

“As well as the costs to maintain the service, there are also costs associated with a CCTV control room, staffing and the on-going safe storage of footage.

“Should anyone wish to obtain a copy of any footage, this would require an appropriate individual reviewing it first, followed by providing the footage securely along with a witness statement. All while adhering to the Data Protection Act 1998.

“Therefore, any third-party that wishes to view and use any CCTV footage – such as an insurance company, enforcement agency or the police – is charged to do so.”

North Yorkshire Police declined to comment.

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‘No draft masterplan’

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‘A changing world’

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Taking back control

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Changes will cause “chaos”

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Crime prevention

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‘Shameful’ charges

Council’s response