The problems experienced by residents on new housing estates were highlighted by Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones in a House of Commons debate yesterday. 

The debate on New Build Homes Standards: North Yorkshire – in reality a single question-and-answer exchange between two members of the same party – was the final item of the afternoon session. 

Mr Jones said he had been running a ‘fair deal for new estates’ campaign for over a year and had been alerted to the issue when residents in newbuild properties came to him for support in dealing with problems they were having with their new homes.   

He said: 

“There are too many individual cases to detail in this debate. We are talking about over 200 cases located across Harrogate, Knaresborough and some surrounding villages, so the issue is not limited to a specific geography.

“The developments include Kings Croft, Garten Close, Harlow Green, Swincliffe Mews and others.”

Kings Croft is a Harron Homes scheme in Killinghall, Garten Close is an Avant development in Knaresborough, Harlow Green is a Taylor Wimpey scheme in Harrogate and Swincliffe Mews is a Newby development in Harrogate.

Mr Jones said the problems could be divided into two groups: issues with individual properties and issues across whole estates. 

Estate-wide issues cover matters such as drainage, road surfacing, street lighting, street signage and play areas, and “simply being a good neighbour during the final build-out of an estate by keeping roads as clean as possible, and making consideration for delivery times and the types of vehicles used”.

Andrew Jones MP addressing the House of Commons yesterday. Image: Parliamentlive.tv.

He said: 

“I have had complaints about how long it has been taking to finish estates and how the focus can seem to move on when much of an estate has been sold. One issue that is regularly raised is about drainage for open spaces, play areas or individual homes. I have seen blocked drains, as well as standing water significant enough to reach front doors and threaten to flood individual properties, which is very worrying for residents.” 

On problems with individual properties, he said: 

“Issues raised with me range from totally inadequate guttering to very patchy fitting of insulation, from window panes separating from their frames to poorly fitted bannisters, and from walls having to be rebuilt to bathrooms having to be taken out and replacements fitted. That is just a snapshot because the list is long.” 

He said he had been dealing with housebuilders including Taylor Wimpey, Avant Homes and Harron Homes. 

Last April, he met representatives of Barratt Homes to discuss concerns raised by residents of the Hay-a-Park Barratt development in Knaresborough – the building of which finished many years ago. 

In the debate, Mr Jones spoke of the the need for housebuilders to be more proactive in their communication and keep householders informed. He said: 

“I have raised this point with housebuilders and, in all cases, they have recognised that there have been communication problems—no one has attempted to deny it—and, indeed, they have sought to correct them.” 

Mr Jones rounded off his speech by asking for an update on the government’s work on future homes and building standards. 

In response, Jacob Young, Conservative MP for Redcar and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said that more needed to be done to address homebuyers’ concerns where standards had fallen short. He said: 

“We have been taking action to ensure that happens: reforming building control as part of the biggest changes to the construction sector in a generation; and strengthening warranties to give homebuyers greater protection.” 

He also spoke about the government’s work on construction skills, energy efficiency and the new homes ombudsman. He added: 

“Ultimately, it is private developers, not the state, that hold the key to raising standards. Only by local and central Government working together with developers can we ensure that new homes being built in Yorkshire and across the country are safe, decent, warm and finished to a high standard, and that buyers in my hon. Friend’s constituency and elsewhere are treated fairly.”

But the Liberal Democrats’ parliamentary candidate, Tom Gordon, laid into that the government’s record on regulating developers. He told the Stray Ferret:

“After 14 years in Government it is clear that the Conservatives have failed to stop dodgy developers and the pain they inflict on new homeowners.

“The Conservative-run council have consistently dropped the ball on planning matters, including failing to produce a local plan in a timely fashion, which led to a free-for-all for developers.

“This isn’t a new issue. The Conservatives have let developers get away with this time and time again, if they haven’t fixed this in 14 years then how can residents trust their words now?

“Liberal Democrat MPs have led debates on this Parliament and tabled amendments to the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill that would strengthen the law to protect people against dodgy developers. If the Conservatives and Government were serious about this they would take the chance to strengthen the law now.”

Read more:

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The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting is a breakfast event on Thursday, October 26 at Banyan in Harrogate from 8am to 10 am. 

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A Harrogate construction management company has made two senior appointments.

Artium Construction, which specialises in design and build projects, has taken on Martin Watson as managing director and shareholder and Joe McDermott as director and shareholder. The pair, both formerly of Leeds-based GMI Construction Group, join Garry Shaw, who was appointed director and shareholder of Artium Construction last year.

Artium Construction currently has an order book worth £12 million for its first year of operation, with projects in Harrogate, Ripon and York. The directors intend to build it into a £50m turnover construction business over the next five years.

Sam Colley, director and co-owner of Artium Group, said:

“Garry, Joe and Martin possess outstanding and pragmatic experience in every dimension of construction. Their reputation as dynamic, conscientious, and results-orientated professionals proceeds them.”

Project services offered by Artium Construction include cost analysis and budgeting, risk assessment and mitigation, programme management, construction co-ordination and delivery, supply chain management, health and safety, and environmental compliance, and delivery of corporate social responsibility requirements.

New workshop for tourism businesses

Tourism and hospitality businesses planning their marketing for 2024 are being invited to a new workshop organised by the York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub.

The training is available exclusively to hotels, B&Bs, self-catering operators, wedding venues, restaurants, spas, visitor attractions and events organisers, and will be delivered by Martin Evans of The Tourism Business, a York-based marketing consultancy. Martin has over two decades’ experience working with more than 150 of the UK’s leading hotels, attractions and other tourism operators.

The free workshop,  which will explore marketing and promotional ideas that attendees can put into practice in their own business, will be held place on Thursday, October 26 at Harrogate Co-Lab, next to the Convention Centre. The session will take place from 10am to 4pm and a light lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Places are limited so reserving a place is recommended. To sign up, see the event page on the York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub website.

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• Business Breakfast: Harrogate marketing agency hires new head of social media
• Business Breakfast: Harrogate mobile company reports improved revenue

It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club!

The second in our series of networking events in association with The Coach and Horses in Harrogate is an After Work Drinks event on February 23 from 5.30pm. Don’t miss out on this chance to network with businesses from across the Harrogate district, get your tickets now by clicking or tapping here.

Harrogate’s initiative to give more independent retailers a spot on the high street will see a clutch of new names take over a unit in the Victoria Centre this spring. 

Harrogate Pop Up, on the corner of Cambridge Street and Station Parade, was first made available for short-term rent by retail property agent Barker Proudlove in autumn 2021. 

Jessica Swain, from Barker Proudlove, helped set up the pop-up shop. She said: 

“It is fantastic to see the pop-up shop so heavily in demand. Harrogate has such a diverse mix of businesses already and we hope those businesses popping up with us will see a space for them to be part of this community permanently after their pop-up ends.”

This year’s spring line-up includes Beauchamp Accessories, Bamboo Beautiful, Headlock Vintage, We Got U Covered and Martha and Bea:

Beauchamp Accessories, a York firm specialising in Italian leather handbags, will fill the space during February and April, following a series of successful pop-ups in the space in 2022. 

Bamboo Beautiful, which sells sustainable bamboo products including homeware and gifts, will occupy the unit from the March 13 for one week. 

Headlock Vintage will be selling its range of vintage and “preloved” clothing from March 27. 

We Got U Covered returns to the space from the April 10, offering its range of swimsuits, clothing and holiday supplies. 

Martha and Bea will return from the April 17, to transform the space into a boutique of ladies clothing and accessories. 

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Free eco-friendly building course in Harrogate

Harrogate College is hosting a free course where construction business can find out how to build energy-efficient buildings.

Passive House for Construction Professionals and Management is a four-week, one-day-a-week training programme, funded by the government.

The course will start on Tuesday, March 7.

‘Passive houses’ are eco-friendly houses built to be extremely energy efficient. They are designed to remain at an almost constant temperature, reducing bills and emissions.

Passive house in construction

The course is run by Leeds-based passive house manufacturers Pure Haus, who are going to build a mini example-house in the college grounds.

Kevin Pratt, director of Pure Haus, said:

“We’re looking forward to installing a ‘mini pure haus’ at the college… It will be a real eye-opener for students and help educate them about how we need to build homes to play our part in tackling climate change.”

Harrogate college is aiming to achieve carbon zero status by 2035, and is planning a variety of environmentally-focused events for March, which is its Green Month.

Events include a free talk on retrofitting your home on March 16.

Harrogate College principal Danny Wild said:

“It is such practices that we all need to adopt, as organisations and individuals, if we are to make real change, reduce our collective carbon footprint and, of course, save money.”

Fed-up residents living in one of Harrogate’s busiest areas for new housing have called a ban on open-top construction lorries – but the council says it has no powers to take action.

After years of disruptions from the building of 700 new homes, Kingsley residents last night called on Harrogate Borough Council to only allow sealed wagons in and out of the area, which has rapidly expanded in size and will continue to do so for years to come.

John Hansard, a member of Kingsley Ward Action Group, told a full council meeting that the authority had an obligation to protect residents from harm and that this has “fallen very far short of acceptable levels”.

He said:

“We are simply requesting that we are no longer poisoned by harmful and dangerous construction waste.”

However, Cllr Tim Myatt, cabinet member for planning at the council, said the authority did not have evidence that the dust was toxic and that a ban on open-top lorries could not be enforced.

He said: 

“It is a highly unusual practice to require sealed containers to transport items to and from development sites.

“This can not be retrospectively imposed as a planning condition and neither residents or members of the planning committee asked for this to be conditioned at the time of the application.

“Further, the local highways authority has informed the borough council that they would not be able to mandate the use of sealed containers.

“They believe the use of such can only be required for certain processes such as the removal of radioactive material and asbestos.”

Cllr Myatt also said housing developers had repeated their offer to clean roads and pavements in the area, but this was “vociferously opposed” by residents.

Read more:

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Construction work in Kingsley began in 2019 and residents have long complained that not enough has been done to minimise disruptions to their daily lives.

There have also been complaints that improvements to roads, public transport, health services and community facilities have not kept up with the level of new housing in the area.

Around 700 new homes are already built or under construction, with hundreds more in the pipeline.

Mr Hansard told yesterday’s meeting that without action from the council, residents would continue to be left to “suffer the consequences”.

He said: 

“These wagons have continually polluted Kingsley Road over a three year period, causing potential long-term serious illness for residents.

“We reluctantly understand that the road has to be used for access to the construction sites, but this must not be at the risk to the health of residents.”

Residents in Harrogate’s Kingsley ward say construction traffic has left them worrying about harmful dust and air pollution — but a “weak” Harrogate Borough Council has done little to clamp down on developers. 

Over 700 homes will eventually be built in the ward by five different developers but Kingsley Road and Kingsley Drive are accessed off the busy Knaresborough Road.

This has led to lorries and trucks driving through residential roads to get to the building sites.

Residents say the construction traffic has resulted in vast amounts of dust and dirt from lorries ending up on roads, cars and houses. They say it’s so bad they worry they’ll have to wear masks to protect themselves.

Gary Tremble, from Kingsley Ward Action Group (KWAG), said:

“We have complained for over three years yet to this day the wagons travel down our residential street spewing out dust in summer and dirt in winter, we now even have fully laden uncovered wagons taking dirt into the developments.”

Mr Tremble believes the dust is made up of PM10, an air pollutant typically seen on building sites. When breathed in, it can penetrate deep into the lungs.

Exposure to high concentrations of PM10 has been linked by scientists to asthma attacks, high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes.

‘We’ve been ignored’

When a development receives planning permission from HBC, conditions are attached that stipulate how housebuilders will minimise the impact of issues including dirt and dust.

This sometimes involves making sure there are onsite wheel cleaners and covering wagons that are carrying materials or waste.

Mr Tremble added:

“We’ve made hundreds of complaints to Harrogate Borough Council but enforcement but are weak. They don’t do anything and we’ve been ignored.”

Read more:

• Calls to tackle construction vehicles who cause ‘misery’ in Harrogate

• Residents criticise key Harrogate planning document as ‘incoherent’

The issue of how effective the council’s planning enforcement team was raised at a council meeting this week.

Conservative councillor for Old Bilton, Paul Haslam, said he and other councillors had received complaints from KWAG accusing the council’s planning enforcement team of not ensuring that conditions were being upheld.

Conservative councillor for the Washburn ward, Victoria Oldham, asked Cllr Haslam if he thought HBC’s planning enforcement team was acting on complaints from residents “in a timeous manner”.

Cllr Haslam said he was concerned that enforcement officers “don’t have enough support”. He said:

“Quite clearly, guidelines are being flaunted [sic] by the developers. We need to make sure we are seen to protect our residents.”

‘Addressing the concerns’

In response to KWAG, a Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson said:

“We are aware of concerns relating to dust from HGVs entering and exiting the development(s) on Kingsley Road and have allocated a case officer to address these concerns.

“We have discussed the matter with the county council and the developer and have reminded them of actions they must maintain as per the conditions of the planning permission.

“These actions have been actioned – as well as some further recommendation, including road sweeping – by the developer and we will continue to closely assess this situation to ensure they continue to do so.”

A councillor says more should be done to tackle construction vehicles that are making people’s lives a ‘misery’ in residential areas.

There has been an unprecedented levels of housebuilding in the Harrogate district in recent years, which has resulted in an increasing number of trucks, lorries and other construction traffic going to-and-from sites.

At a Harrogate Borough Council meeting last night, Conservative councillor for Old Bilton, Paul Haslam, queried what more the council could do to support residents dealing with disruption.

When a development receives planning permission, conditions are attached that stipulate how housebuilders will minimise the impact of issues such as noise and dust.

But Cllr Haslam said he and other councillors had received complaints from residents that the council’s planning enforcement team was not ensuring that conditions were being upheld.

Cllr Haslam said:

“I’m very concerned at the moment about some building work that’s going on in Harrogate, where it’s close to existing properties. [The housebuilders] have been given permission to build, not to make their lives a misery.

“How can we help officers enforce conditions to ensure that development is conducted in a safe and healthy way?”

He added:

“I have potential building on the edge of my area at the moment. The people who live next to it will have 10 years of disruption.”

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In response, Conservative councillor for Killinghall and Hampsthwaite, Michael Harrison, suggested council officers should meet with the directors of housing companies so they can better understand “how much work they need to do” to support people who live next to building sites.

Conservative councillor for the Washburn ward, Victoria Oldham asked Cllr Haslam if he thought HBC’s planning enforcement team was acting on complaints from residents “in a timeous manner”.

Cllr Haslam said he was concerned that enforcement officers “don’t have enough support”. He said:

“Quite clearly, guidelines are being flaunted by the developers. We need to make sure we are seen to protect our residents.”

The Jennyfields area of Harrogate had the most noisy neighbour complaints across the Harrogate district last year, figures reveal.

Calling the council might be the last resort when a noise is driving you to distraction, but a freedom of information request shows residents in the district made more than 500 complaints during 2021.

Nine of the complaints were in the Saltergate council ward, higher than any other area.

The three most common objections across the district were about neighbours making a racket, barking dogs, and noise from construction sites.

The early months of last year were spent in lockdown and 84 complaints were made about annoying noises from next door such as babies crying, DIY or loud dance music.

Yapping dogs

An explosion in dog ownership since the pandemic has also tested the patience of Harrogate district residents, with 104 complaints made about yapping dogs.

Those complaints were spread evenly across the area, with reports in almost every corner of the district, including Starbeck, Knaresborough and Ripon.

Read more:

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• Plan to convert Harrogate office block into flats

Construction misery

With new housing developments going up across the district at a ferocious pace, it’s no surprise that noise from building machinery has been getting on people’s nerves.

There were 79 complaints about noise from construction sites, including three in the Granby area.

Last year, the Stray Ferret reported how a piledriver at a housing development on Granby Farm was ruining people’s day.

Other complaints included a summer fireworks display in Grantley and a bird scarer in Langthorpe.

Harrogate Borough Council has powers to take action against nuisance noise but a spokesperson recommends a more informal approach before the authority gets involved.

He said:

“We encourage people to try to resolve the matter in an appropriate informal manner before we get involved, as experience shows that, if done well, it will often lead to better and more permanent solutions.

“If this does not work, the environmental protection team can investigate your complaint.”

An inquest into the death of Dean Christopher Myers, who was struck by a digger on a Ripon construction site, has concluded it was an accident.

Mr Myers, 56, died on January 13 last year whilst working as a ground worker for the HACS group at a site on Whitcliffe Avenue.

The Scotton man’s cause of death was a severe head injury due to blunt force trauma. Today’s hearing at Pavilions of Harrogate examined the circumstances surrounding his death.

It heard that at the time of his death, Mr Myers was stationed in a manhole in a three metre-deep trench, which had been dug for sewage pipes.

Fellow construction workers Lee James and Andrew Temple said it was not unusual for workers to be positioned in the manhole.

Mr James was standing at the top of the trench, acting as a guide for machine operator Mr Temple. Both said the arm of the digger had got stuck, probably on some limestone in the ground, and this was when Mr James saw Mr Myers put his head out of the manhole to look at what was stopping the digger.

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Mr James said he shouted to Mr Myers twice but got no response so he urged Mr Temple to stop before getting into the trench to check on Mr Myers.

The court heard the digger had become unstuck and started to move again, which was when it struck Mr Myers.

‘No sign of negligence’

A statement read out by police officers at the scene said:

“This was an unfortunate accident caused by Mr Myers putting his head out of the hole at the wrong time. There was no sign of negligent or criminal activity.”

In a witness statement, health and safety inspector Benjamin Cairns said it was a typical construction site set-up with no obvious safety concerns.

When asked by coroner Jonathan Leach whether it was appropriate for Mr Myers to be in the manhole, he said:

“If I witnessed that [a construction worker in the man hole] on site I would have asked the person to leave.”

Mr Myers’ work colleagues at the inquest described him as “more conscious than most” about safety and an experienced construction worker. They said they were unsure why he stuck his head out.

After hearing multiple statements, the nine-person jury concluded Mr Myers’ death was an accident.

Mark Smith, managing director of the HACS group, which employed Mr Myers for eight years, told the Stray Ferret afterwards:

“We would like to say how sorry we are at the loss of a valued colleague and our thoughts are with the family at this time.”

Concerns over additional traffic, the environment and construction have been raised over a planned £1 billion upgrade of one of England’s busiest roads.

National Highways, formerly Highways England, today published a summary report of its consultation into the project to dual the remaining parts of the A66 between the M6 at Penrith and A1 at Scotch Corner.

The road is used by thousands of drivers in the north of England each day to travel between the north east and Cumbria and on to Scotland. Many experience delays due to the regular changes from single to dual carriageways.

A total of 645 said they were in favour of dualling the remaining single carriageway, whereas 68 opposed the move and 87 said they were neutral.

Read more:

• £1billion bid launched to dual all of A66

• Highways boss ‘confident’ Harrogate park and ride can still be funded

In its summary report, National Highways said the most common concerns raised were over construction, traffic and the environment.

It said:

“Some people raised issues about an insufficient reduction in traffic when the project was finished, with a concern that dualling could attract additional traffic from other routes.”

Others had concerns that the project could disrupt wildlife and increase congestion during construction.

Appleby Fair could move

The report also reveals National Highways is considering an alternative to the proposed replacement of the travelling community’s Brough Hill Fair site on the section between Appleby and Brough. It says:

“In the autumn ​2021 statutory consultation, a site to the east of Warcop was earmarked on land belonging to the Ministry of Defence — ​known as the “bivvy” site.

“An alternative location, approximately 1.6 miles east from the current site, is now also being considered ​​in response to feedback from the statutory consultation.”

The responses are helping to shape the final design and inform National Highways’ application for a Development Consent Order in May 2022 which, if successful, will pave the way for the project to dual the entire road to go ahead.

Lee Hillyard, National Highways’ A66 Northern Trans-Pennine project director, said:

“We’re delighted so many people have taken such a keen interest in our proposals.

“Today we’ve published our statutory consultation summary report and spring 2022 project update, which is the perfect opportunity to provide the latest information and show how we are acting on the feedback we’ve received.”