Knaresborough’s 1,000-home estate with no community facilitiesKnaresborough residents urged to have their say on neighbourhood planAre roller shutters ruining Knaresborough’s historic High Street?Knaresborough to draw up business case to run weekly marketCampaign to save Knaresborough and Ripon markets gathers paceKnaresborough council has ‘long shopping list’ of services it could deliver

Knaresborough Town Council is optimistic it can run services and assets as part of North Yorkshire Council’s double devolution agenda.

North Yorkshire Council has promised to hand more powers to parish councils through its policy of double devolution — and a pilot scheme is set to start next year.

Town councillor David Goode said this week Knaresborough has a “long shopping list” of assets or services it could deliver as part of the programme.

It has already submitted an expression of interest in running the town’s weekly Wednesday market for the double devolution pilot.

Cllr Goode’s comments came during a presentation to North Yorkshire Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee on Thursday.

The town council, which is on the same level of local government as parish councils, currently charges a council tax precept of £25.85 per household a year for band D properties.

This allows it to provide services including Christmas lights, put on some local events and offer grant support to local charities. It also runs assets including two allotments, a playing field and Knaresborough Wellbeing Hub.

Cllr Goode said potential future options under double devolution included running public toilets, car parks, civic buildings like Conyngham Hall and Knaresborough House or leisure facilities like Knaresborough Pool.

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He also said the town council was considering utilising Localism Act 2011 legislation to take control of community assets.

But he added any asset transfer between North Yorkshire Council to Knaresborough Town Council must be supported by residents.

He said:

“If we’re going to keep community enthusiasm for this programme, residents have to see positive results. We need to walk before we can run. We need to balance services that are potential revenue generators with those that are just a cost on the council.

“This assumes any transfer from North Yorkshire Council comes with funding to maintain the current service levels that it’s run at. Where there is potential to invest, the cost has to be justified and taken only after full consultation with local residents.”

In November, North Yorkshire Council will choose up to six councils that will be part of the double devolution pilot.

Double devolution could be ‘fundamental gamechanger’ for Knaresborough, says councillor

A Knaresborough councillor has said double devolution could be a “fundamental gamechanger” for the town.

It follows a meeting of Knaresborough Town Council this week where town councillors backed submitting an expression of interest to North Yorkshire County Council to become part of a pilot scheme that could eventually see the town council run Knaresborough’s Wednesday market.

Knaresborough has held a weekly market since 1310, which it claims makes it the longest continually-run market in the country.

It’s currently run by Harrogate Borough Council but that will all change from April 1 when control will be handed to the new North Yorkshire Council unitary authority.

If the expression of interest is successful, the town council would work with officers at North Yorkshire Council to develop a business case for potentially running the market.

This process would take around 12 months before a final decision is made by on whether Knaresborough is one of six pilot double devolution projects.

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr David Goode said developing a business case would be an important experience to understand the processes, procedures and skills required to make double devolution bids.

He pointed to the example of Falmouth Town Council in Cornwall, which was not running any services 20 years ago but now employs 42 people and is a multi-million-pound operation.

He said:

“That’s the sort of massive change we’re looking at but it won’t happen overnight.”

Cllr Goode was keen to stress that if the town council were to ultimately run the market it would not necessarily mean an increase in its council tax precept.

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The North Yorkshire Council budget for the market would be transferred to the town council as part of a legal agreement. This would commit the council to maintaining at least the same level and standard of service currently delivered on a permanent basis.

If the town council wanted to make enhancements to the market, it may have to meet the associated costs, but Cllr Goode said it would ask Knaresborough residents for their opinion before any decision was made.

He believes that good consultation will crucial if double devolution is to be a success.

Cllr Goode said:

“I firmly believe that if there is an enhancement to the market, that needs to be a ground-up decision from the community and not at the whim of councillors.”

Andrew Jones MP launches ‘non-political’ fact-checking service

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has started posting fact-check videos on his new Instagram account.

The Conservative MP published his first video, which was about the government’s proposed new investment zones, on Friday.

North Yorkshire County Council is one of 38 local authorities in talks with the government about introducing the zones, in which businesses could benefit from lower taxes and liberalised planning rules.

The RSPB charity has labelled the zones an “unprecedented attack on nature” because of the impact they could have on wildlife.

Introducing the series, Mr Jones says fact-check Friday will be “an occasional series where we just present facts — no politics”.

He then highlights how some people are worried the zones  “will mean concreting over green belt and downgraded environmental standards” but he then adds the the government “has made it clear this isn’t the case”.

The video cuts to footage of new Environment Secretary Ranil Jayawardena saying he is committed to helping farmers curate the countryside. Mr Jones then says:

“Investment zones can take derelict but previously developed sites and transfer them into thriving net zero communities.

“A good example might be the Ripon barracks site. That’s the kind of thing that we should be looking for investment zones to do.”

Mr Jones has 75 followers on Instagram and his video has so far attracted five likes.

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Liberal Democrats and Greens respond

David Goode, chair of Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrats, said:

“Mr Jones says in his fact-check piece to camera that he will hold the government to account. Let us not forget, he is a Conservative MP, part of the Conservative Party who run the government.

“A government that have just pushed the pound to a record low and caused mortgage chaos for thousands of families. A government that has removed the bankers’ bonus cap at a time when some people can not even afford to put the heating on. Those facts we are dealing with.

“What has Mr Jones done to hold the government to account for this botched mini-budget and its disastrous outcomes?”

Paul Ko Ferrigno, who was named as the Green Party’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough last month, said:

“Mr Jones says that he intends to ensure that the government’s proposed investment zones will not lead to a deterioration in environmental protections, so I’d like to work with Mr Jones to ensure that current designated protected sites such as national parks, areas of outstanding national beauty, sites of special scientific interest, designated green belt land and buffer zones that surround world heritage sites in Yorkshire will be protected, and not sacrificed to short term economic pressures.

“The fact that these zones are not explicitly protected under the government proposals is worrying.”

 

Harrogate opposition parties cool on pact as election manoeuvres begin

Liz Truss may have only just entered Downing Street but opposition parties in Harrogate and Knaresborough have begun manoeuvrings for the next general election.

This week the Green Party became the first to name its prospective parliamentary candidate. The Liberal Democrats are expected to follow suit by the end of the year.

Conservative Andrew Jones has won four successive elections in Harrogate and Knaresborough since 2010, securing 53% of the vote at the last campaign in 2019.

The next election is widely expected to take place in 2024 — and some think his biggest threat comes from opposition parties working together rather than splitting the vote. But the early signs are this is unlikely to happen.

There was little appetite for a pact at a Green Party hustings event this week. Paul Ko Ferrigno, the only candidate standing for leadership, insisted he was fighting to win, and even if he didn’t he was more interested in shaping the debate than doing deals.

Asked if he was willing to risk letting the Tories in with this approach, Mr Ko Ferrigno said:

“Yes — but if what I’ve done is shift the conversation so the next time round the Tories are being more green in their approach, more forward in their approach, because of the way we have been campaigning, then that’s OK.”

The Greens still harbour ill feeling from the last election, when their candidate, Shan Oakes, stood down.

Green Party members at hustings

Green Party members at this week’s hustings.

Arnold Warneken, who represents Ouseburn for the Greens on North Yorkshire County Council, told this week’s meeting:

“We had a national agreement with Lib Dems. Shan agreed to stand aside. The problem with that is you have to trust the people you deal with.

“The trust for us has disappeared. That’s not good for a future progressive alliance.”

Cllr Warneken added, however, that a final decision on pacts would be taken locally.

Labour and Lib Dems

The Stray Ferret asked Chris Watt, vice-chair, Harrogate & Knaresborough Labour Party, which took 11% of the vote in 2019, if it would consider an opposition pact. He replied:

“Being a much larger party, Labour operates a national system with local parties making the final decision on their candidate.”

Mr Watt added Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour “have asked to move forward with selecting a candidate as soon as possible”.

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The process to select a Liberal Democrat candidate is being re-run after the national Lib Dems upgraded Harrogate and Knaresborough to a target seat.

David Goode, chair of the Harrogate and Knaresborough Lib Dems, said:
“I’m hoping to have the procedures completed Christmas time.”
The Liberal Democrats achieved 36% of the vote in 2019 and seem best placed to take on Mr Jones. But whoever stands might not be able to rely on the help of opposition parties.
Harrogate Convention Centre investment could require county council consent

A historic investment in Harrogate Convention Centre could require county council consent to go ahead should a devolution funding bid fail.

In what would be the biggest single spend by Harrogate Borough Council in its lifetime, the convention centre would undergo a £47 million revamp to create more space.

However, questions surround how exactly the authority will fund the project as the clock ticks down to April 2023 when the council is abolished.

‘Devolution negotiations under way’

Funding for the convention centre has formed part of a devolution deal for North Yorkshire, which has already been submitted to government.

The 140-page document, which has already been submitted to ministers, includes a request to “work with government to address the capital funding gap we have identified through our business case work to date”.

However, questions surround where the money would come from for the scheme should ministers not agree to the funding.

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Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, said there could be an opportunity to apply to the government’s levelling up fund.

He added that any investment by the borough council would also require joint county council consent as the authority is restricted to spending no more than £1 million on capital projects.

Cllr Les said:

“Negotiations about devolution for North Yorkshire and York are under way.

“We have made a strong case for more powers and funding in a number of areas, including the Harrogate Convention Centre.

“Discussions are still under way with government and we hope to know the final shape of the deal in July.

“If government does not choose to fund the HCC through a devolution deal, then there could be other funding routes, including the government’s Levelling-Up Fund.

“Harrogate Borough Council is still able to invest in the centre. If the investment was to be more than £1 million, there would need to be joint consent with the county council’s executive.”

Meanwhile, David Goode, chair of Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrats, said the £47 million investment should be paused.

He said:

“North Yorkshire needs to take stock of where the convention centre sits within its overall strategy and how they would like to manage and run it.

“The area as a whole would be worse off if it was closed.”

He suggested there might be a “lower cost” alternative to the £47 million refurbishment that could still result in the venue being “viable” for conferences and concerts.

Cllr Goode also suggested parts of the conference centre could be mothballed for periods of time to reduce costs.

Council silent on HCC

Harrogate Borough Council has so far remained silent over a major £47 million renovation of the town’s convention centre as negotiations continue over funding for the scheme.

The borough council has already spent £1.5 million on contracts for the redevelopment, which has yet to be approved.

Figures revealed by the Local Democracy Reporting Service in December 2021 showed that the council had awarded contracts to companies such as KPMG, Arcadis, and Cushman and Wakefield.

This included design and feasibility work, a first phase business case and an outline business case.

Due to fears of a potential loss of £14.9 million worth of events, the council this year decided to accelerate part of its plans for studio two at the centre.

This would see seminar rooms created to accommodate up to 1,200 people.

According to council reports, a contract award for the acceleration is due to be put before senior borough councillors in June.

Following approval of the acceleration of the project, a competitive tender process was opened with a potential start date for the work earmarked for October.

However, the wider project has yet to be given approval. A spokesperson for the borough council said previously that a decision was due this year on the wider scheme.