Harrogate Archives - Page 415 of 600

MP criticises government for not electrifying Harrogate rail line

The Labour MP for Leeds North West, Alex Sobel, has criticised Chancellor Rishi Sunak for not pledging to electrify the Leeds to York via Harrogate rail line in the Budget.

Speaking in Parliament this week, Mr Sobel, who has long campaigned for the line to be electrified, said the Chancellor has missed a “golden opportunity” to “level up” communities in Leeds, Harrogate and York by funding an initiative that would create jobs.

He said:

“Unsurprisingly, my call to electrify the Leeds to Harrogate rail line, which has been announced twice and revoked twice by successive Conservative governments and which I would describe as a golden opportunity to level up communities up and down the line between Leeds and Harrogate and up to York, to get the city moving and get workers into jobs, was missing yet again.”

The campaign to electrify the line goes back a decade and previous efforts have been supported by both Harrogate Borough Council, Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, and Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough Andrew Jones.

Campaigners believe electrifying the route would allow 35% more trains to run on the line.

Simon Clarke, chief secretary to the Treasury, said during the same Commons debate:

“Over his first two Budgets, the Chancellor developed our plan to protect jobs and livelihoods and to safeguard the economy from coronavirus. In the words of the Office for Budget Responsibility, that plan has proven “remarkably successful”.”

Harrogate residents form group to fight £10.9m Station Gateway

Harrogate town centre residents have formed a group to oppose the £10.9m Station Gateway project, which they say will increase traffic and pollution and reduce the value of their homes.

Granville Road Area Residents Association is a long established group representing about 250 homes in the streets close to Cheltenham Parade and Cheltenham Mount.

Members are now setting up a Gateway Action Group to oppose the gateway scheme. They say the consultation has been rushed and fails to take into account their views. They are also upset that a full environmental impact assessment wasn’t deemed necessary for such a major scheme.

Karl Battersby, corporate director, business and environmental services at North Yorkshire County Council, which is leading on the gateway, said it doesn’t think the project will have a significant impact on streets off Cheltenham Parade.

But residents aren’t convinced and formulated plans to act at two meetings at North Bar this week.

Jo Bagley, chair of Granville Road Area Residents Association, said the scheme would push traffic away from the largely commercial Cheltenham Parade into residential areas such as Granville Road, Back Granville Road, Mount Parade, Back Cheltenham Mount and Strawberry Dale Avenue. She said:

“The consultation questions were not relevant for people who live in the area affected. We don’t go into Harrogate — we are in Harrogate,

“A lot of us run businesses and we need to be able to get in and out and I forsee the area being gridlocked.”

Computer data

Colin Anderson, who lives on Granville Road, said his main concern was the volume of traffic that would be diverted on to the narrow Mount Parade if plans to make a section of Cheltenham Mount one way are approved.

He added:

“Traffic will be sitting here with their engines running. Those in charge of the scheme haven’t stood here watching the traffic — they use computer data.”

Traffic on Mount Parade today.

Resident Nick Karpik said those leading the scheme had “manipulated” numbers from the previous consultation to falsely claim the scheme had public support.

Rachel Melvin, who has lived on Granville Road for 28 years, said:

“They are not solving the problem. They are moving it to a residential area and it will increase noise and pollution.”

Ms Melvin added that even if claims traffic would only increase in each street by two cars a minute were correct, that could still amount to more than 2,000 cars per day in the area.

Residents also face the loss of four parking spaces on Cheltenham Parade, for which they have permits. They say this will make parking more difficult, and the knock-on effects of reduced parking throughout Harrogate would encourage more motorists to use the disc zone area in streets outside their homes.

Rachael Inchboard, who is a member of Harrogate Civic Society as well as a local resident, said the gateway scheme would have a profound impact on Harrogate conservation area yet most residents weren’t aware of it until they received letters from the council on October 22 giving them notice of the intention to develop. They now have just nine days until the consultation ends.

The council’s response

Karl Battersby, corporate director, business and environmental services, said:

“We don’t envisage significant impacts on the streets off Cheltenham Parade. Traffic modelling has assessed the potential impact of the proposed changes. In the worst-case scenario, which is the afternoon peak hour, we do not anticipate a significant increase in vehicles on these streets.

“The streets where the greatest increases are predicted in this hour are Bower Road, with an average increase of two or three vehicles per minute, and Cheltenham Mount, with an average increase of one or two vehicles per minute.

“We are in the middle of a public consultation in which we encourage as many people as possible to make their views known. All views will be taken into account before final decisions are made on how we will take the proposals forward.

“In addition to the online consultation – which I encourage people to complete at yourvoice.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/harrogate – project officers have seen many residents face to face at drop-ins in the Victoria shopping centre. If people have not yet given us their views, I urge them to do so before the consultation ends on 12 November.”

What is the Harrogate Station Gateway?

The Harrogate scheme is one of three projects worth a combined £42m in Harrogate, Skipton and Selby funded by the Leeds City Region Transforming Cities Fund, which encourages cycling and walking.

They are being delivered in partnership by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council, Craven District Council and Selby District Council.

A consultation is currently taking place on the revised designs. It is anticipated that work in Harrogate will begin by the middle of next year.

No Harrogate district walk-in vaccine centres as clinics ‘at capacity’

Health officials say they are unable to open any walk-in covid vaccination centres in Harrogate because clinics are already running at capacity.

The announcement on Monday that booster jabs were being made available without appointments caused some confusion as no Harrogate district sites appeared on the NHS online walk-in finder.

Those eligible for their third jabs were being sent to the nearest sites in Leeds or Middlesbrough, although a centre in Pateley Bridge has since appeared online.

NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group has now explained that it is unable to open any more walk-in sites in the area due to capacity and supply issues.

A CCG spokesperson said:

“All clinics are running at capacity and we will open walk-ins in a planned way as soon as we are able to.

“If we open walk-ins now it is likely we would exceed our vaccine allocation and there would be some disappointed people and negative feedback, which we are trying to avoid.”

Appointment-based vaccines for over-50s and those with underlying health conditions are still available to book at local clinics via the national booking system.

Dedicated slots for 12 to 15-year-olds are also available at the Homecare Pharmacy site in Knaresborough.

These jabs for 12 to 15-year-olds are also being offered at schools and outside the district at the Askham Bar site in York, Leeds United’s Elland Road stadium, the Northern Echo Arena in Darlington and Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium.

New sites ‘as soon as possible’

The CCG said it was looking to add additional sites across North Yorkshire “as soon as possible”.

It was announced last week that Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground will reopen as a vaccine centre for an expected busy period of booster jabs in December.

The venue – which was used as a vaccine site for most of the year before closing in August – will reopen for two weeks at the start of the month.

Public Health England figures show a total of 130,898 people in the Harrogate district have received their first vaccine dose and 122,140 people their second.

No figures are available for booster jabs.

Vaccine take up is lowest among 12 to 15-year-olds with just 18% receiving their single dose.

The CCG said everyone in this age group will be offered their vaccine by the end of November.

Harrogate district firm ends sponsorship with Yorkshire County Cricket Club

Yorkshire Tea, which is based in the Harrogate district, has ended its sponsorship of Yorkshire County Cricket Club.

Yorkshire, which has many members and supporters in the district, has been fiercely criticised for saying it didn’t plan to take any disciplinary action against individuals following an investigation into the allegations by former player Azeem Rafiq.

The row escalated today when it was revealed Yorkshire chairman Roger Hutton, chief executive Mark Arthur and director of cricket Martyn Moxon would be questioned by MPs on November 16.

Now, Yorkshire Tea, which is part of the Bettys and Taylors Group based in Harrogate, revealed today it has ended its sponsorship with the club.

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Tea told the Stray Ferret:

“We were upset to read about the experiences of Azeem Rafiq during his time at Yorkshire County Cricket Club. We wholeheartedly believe that cricket should be a sport for everyone, but his experiences and the way the panel report has been handled don’t reflect that.

“Our current sponsorship of YCCC was naturally coming to an end but we have taken the decision to end it with immediate effect.”

Meanwhile, Harrogate Spring Water, which also sponsors the club, said it had raised concerns with senior officials at Yorkshire over the matter.

A spokesperson for the company said:

“We are deeply disappointed at the allegations which have come to light concerning individuals within Yorkshire County Cricket Club and have expressed our concerns in discussions with senior personnel at the club.

“Racism has no place in sport or society and we are keen to hear further from Yorkshire CCC how they intend to bring about meaningful, positive change on this issue.”

The news comes as Anchor butter, which had its logo on Yorkshire’s website, confirmed it had cut ties with the club.

Meanwhile, Emerald Publishing, which has naming rights to Headingley cricket ground, said it would review the findings of an investigation by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The company added that Yorkshire had a “great deal to do” to restore trust.

Yesterday, Mark Ellis, chairman of Masham Cricket Club, told the Stray Ferret that the county club’s actions “sent mixed messages” to grassroots cricket and that the club was “extremely disappointed” in Yorkshire’s actions.

Meet the Starbeck thrill-seeker, 86, who loves to fly Spitfires

Starbeck thrill-seeker Roy Slim, 86, says flying 4,000 feet in the sky in World War Two Spitfires makes him feel young again.

The fearless octogenarian fulfilled a lifetime ambition to fly one of the planes for the first time well into his 80s and hopes to go again in early 2022. Spitfires were used by the RAF throughout the war, most famously in the Battle of Britain against the Luftwaffe.

Mr Slim has lived in Harrogate for over 60 years after working as a radio engineer at RAF Dishforth in the 1950s. However, his love of the Spitfire was forged as a boy, as he was brought up a stone’s throw from where they were built at Castle Bromwich in the Midlands.

He said:

“I used to dream that one day I’ll fly one of those things.”

When he flew the Spitfire, he had full control of the plane and even performed barrel rolls. He followed the same route pilots took during the war down the English Channel and over the white cliffs of Dover.

Roy Slim in the sky.

Mr Slim said he has a deep respect for the brave men who flew the planes during the war.

“I am thinking, somebody has sat in this seat coming back from France having shot down a German plane, and I’m sitting in that seat!”

He said the experience is “tremendous”.

“I felt like my lifetime ambition was coming true.”

Mr Slim turned 86 today and has no intention of slowing down. As well as Spitfires, he’s learned to fly helicopters, Tiger Moths and performed skydives — all after he turned 80.

Keith Tordoff launches police commissioner campaign in Harrogate

Pateley Bridge man Keith Tordoff held a media launch in Harrogate this morning for his campaign to become the next North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

Mr Tordoff, who is standing as an Independent candidate, said he was the man to regain people’s trust after the resignation of Philip Allott.

His manifesto is based on the slogan “safer streets for all”. He said he would find ways to protect vulnerable people and increase public confidence in the police and fire services.

Mr Tordoff said he wanted officers to spend more time on foot talking to people and look at how police deal with areas of persistent anti-social behaviour.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret, he said:

“It is very important that we give people confidence that we have safer streets for all. There’s plenty we need to do to achieve this, to show we’re listening to them and doing something about it.”

Mr Tordoff served as a police officer in Leeds for 20 years and said this set him apart from the other candidates, and would enable him to find practical ways to bring improvements.

Besides working for the police, Mr Tordoff, who has won the support of the Yorkshire Party, also has a business background having served as chairman of Nidderdale Chamber of Trade and owned the sweet shop in Pateley Bridge.

He added:

“North Yorkshire needs strong leadership that can work with everyone, that’s why I’m independent.”

Election on November 25

The commissioner’s role is to hold the county’s chief constable and chief fire officer to account.

The by-election will take place on November 25. Applications to vote by post must be submitted by 5pm on Wednesday 10th, while proxy vote applications must be entered by 5pm on Wednesday 17th.

Mr Tordoff finished third when the role was last contested in May. Turnout then was 25%.

He is standing again following the resignation of Mr Allott in the wake of comments made about the murder of Sarah Everard.

The full list of candidates is:

Hannah Barham-Brown, Women’s Equality Party

James Barker, Liberal Democrats

Zoë Metcalfe, Conservatives

Emma Scott-Spivey, Labour

Keith Tordoff, Independent

Harrogate energy firm CNG ceases trading

Harrogate-based gas and energy supplier CNG has ceased trading after 27 years.

It has now entered the Supplier of Last Resort process operated by energy regulator Ofgem.

The SoLR procedure was established by Ofgem as a safety net to ensure that when a company stops supplying energy, affected customers are guaranteed continuity of supply through other companies.

An email sent to staff this morning by CNG chief executive Paul Stanley, which has been seen by the Stray Ferret, informs employees that the SoLR process has been approved by Ofgem.

The company has posted an update on its website this afternoon that says “After 27 years we are saddened to say CNG Energy Limited is ceasing to trade.”

The email from Mr Stanley said:

“Ofgem has confirmed that the SoLR process has been approved by them and will be on their website from 3pm today.

“We will be amending our website at the same time and we will then be able to offer clearer statements for customer service teams and sales people to use in discussions with customers, broker and other third parties.”

The company, which is based on Victoria Avenue, supplied energy to about 15 to 20 retail energy companies through its wholesale business arm and also had around 50,000 business customers.

It had been impacted by spiralling global gas prices over the past few months.

The company is now expected to enter administration and the vast majority of staff made redundant.

Staff have been told that wages for days worked this month are not guaranteed to be paid.

The Stray Ferret has approached CNG for comment.

All 145 CNG energy staff in Harrogate set to lose jobs

Harrogate energy firm CNG has confirmed in internal meetings that all 145 staff at the company have lost their jobs.

The Stray Ferret exclusively revealed last month that staff had been informed the company was to enter liquidation amid the spiralling increase in wholesale gas prices.

A source who worked at CNG told us that management had now confirmed the news at internal meetings and discussions were taking place about redundancy. We have approached CNG for comment.

The company, which is based on Victoria Avenue, supplies energy to about 15 to 20 retail energy companies through its wholesale business arm and also has around 50,000 business customers.

The Stray Ferret has approached regulator Ofgem to ask whether the company had entered Supplier of Last Resort, but were told that the regulator “did not comment on supplier failures”.

Rumours Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds could attend Harrogate Town game

Superstar actor Ryan Reynolds could swap Hollywood for the EnviroVent Stadium in Harrogate on Saturday afternoon.

The Deadpool star is one of the most famous actors in the world but in an unexpected plot twist he and fellow actor Rob McElhenney recently bought Wrexham AFC.

Wrexham have been drawn to play Harrogate Town in the first round of the FA Cup this weekend, in a match that could see some stardust sprinkled around Wetherby Road.

Reynolds, who has 39 million Instagram followers, and McElhenney both attended their first Wrexham game against Torquay on Saturday.

Rumours are now swirling that they may stick around in the UK to see their new club take on Simon Weaver’s gladiators, who will be hoping to put on an Oscar-worthy performance and book a front-row ticket to the second round.

What is green belt land and how would Harrogate look without it?

It was first introduced in the 1960s to stop urban sprawl and protect Harrogate’s countryside from being dug up for developments.

The green belt is protected areas of rural land where the building of new homes and businesses is only allowed in special circumstances.

Its supporters say green belts have preserved landscapes across the country, while critics claim they protect the rich, stop houses being built and encourage commuting by cars.

But what would Harrogate look like if its protected areas of land had never been created?

36,000 acres of greenbelt

The green belt covers almost 36,000 acres across the district – equivalent to 11% of the total area.

It stretches along the district’s southern boundary with Leeds and up between Harrogate and Knaresborough to stop the two towns merging. There is also an area in the east of the district that forms part of the York green belt, which encircles the city.

Without the protection that the green belt offers, Harrogate and Knaresborough’s built-up areas – which sit just half a mile apart – could have formed one.

Other areas to the west including Otley and Ilkley could have also expanded ever-outwards and swallowed up the smaller settlements that surround them.

But the rules and regulations which make up green belt policy have not stopped developers coming forward with plans.

There have been almost 1,700 applications to Harrogate Borough Council in the protected areas since 2011. Most of these were for extensions and farm buildings, but others have been of some significance.

In early 2020, a developer behind plans for 210 homes on the outskirts of Wetherby near Stockeld Park was refused planning permission by both the council and a government inspector at appeal.

On the flip side, the construction of Harrogate Rugby Club’s Rudding Lane ground would not have been possible if the council did not allow for “special circumstances” when plans were approved in 2013.

These are just two examples of when development can and can’t take place in the green belt, with the task of deciding which circumstances are “special” enough to justify development often resulting in interventions by government inspectors.

Protecting greenbelt ‘a core principle’, says council

Cllr Tim Myatt, cabinet member for planning at Harrogate Borough Council, said the authority attaches great importance to protecting the green belt and that doing so is a key part of local and national policy.

He said:

“Any proposal for development in the district’s two green belts – namely the West Yorkshire green belt and the York green belt – would need to be in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework, which makes clear that any development should not be approved except in very special circumstances.

“Protecting the green belt is one of the core planning principles of the NPPF and something our adopted Local Plan also specifies.”

The green belt between Harrogate and Knaresborough was reviewed in 1992 and minor changes were made when the district’s 2001 Local Plan was adopted.

However, the boundaries were not reviewed when the most recent Local Plan was adopted in 2020 – something residents in Harlow and Pannal Ash say should have happened.

David Siddans, secretary of Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association, said:

“We would have liked to see the green belt extended to provide more protection to the landscape between Harrogate and Beckwithshaw.

“But that, we understand, would have required a formal review process, and Harrogate Borough Council was not receptive to the idea.”

Mr Siddans also said it is the development of greenfield land – not green belt – which presents the biggest threat to the environment and local area, which is facing the construction of hundreds of new homes.

He said these greenfield sites – which are untouched areas not previously built on – were seen as “easy pickings” when Harrogate’s most recent Local Plan was being developed.

Mr Siddans said:

“When the Local Plan was being prepared and sites were being sought to accommodate around 16,000 new houses, all the greenfields around the western arc which were not green belt were targeted for development.

“No major developments are proposed on the existing area zoned as green belt west of Harrogate.

“However, greenfield sites do not have the same protection, except that those located around the western arc are all within designated areas of special landscape value.

“In practice, the planning authority pays little attention to this protection, hence the massive and highly intrusive developments currently being proposed.”

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Computer data

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The council’s response

What is the Harrogate Station Gateway?

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New sites ‘as soon as possible’

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Election on November 25

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36,000 acres of greenbelt

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Protecting greenbelt ‘a core principle’, says council

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