North Yorkshire Police – Update August 2019
A report is attached which North Yorkshire Police have sent to the Parish Council.
Newsletter August Update
PROPOSED EXPLOSIVE MATERIALS STORAGE
A Planning Application has been received for the creation of a site for Energetic Materials Storage
and Distribution. Consent is being sought for the storage of 35 tonnes of explosive and 50 tonnes
of Ammonium Nitrate.
The proposed site is to the west of Rudgate adjacent to the Minster Hag Business Park.
Your Parish Council is very concerned and will be objecting to this Application on several Planning
grounds, including inadequate site security, light pollution and proximity to
dwellings.
It will help to prevent the approval of this Application if a large number of letters are received
from individual residents in the Parish objecting to the Application. Please help with this if you
can, you don’t need any technical knowledge. It’s enough to express concern about the quantity of
explosive and the proximity of the site to the surrounding
houses.
Contact details for letters and emails:
Case Nos 19/02944/HSC & 19/01923/FULMAJ
PHONE BOX
The Parish Council have received several letters and emails about the loss of the BT Payphone in Bilton in Ainsty. After consulting Harrogate Borough Council and BT, we can confirm that this is not the case. Currently the Parish has two working BT Payphones, one in Bilton in Ainsty and one in Bickerton. It is the Council’s view that, because the network coverage for mobile phones is still inconsistent, a working BT Payphone is essential to make calls in an emergency. We will continue to make this point whenever BT conducts one of it’s regular reviews.
CHURCHYARD
In the past the Parish Council made a contribution to the maintenance of the churchyard
at St Helens. More recently we discovered that Parish Councils are not allowed to
contribute to ‘active’ graveyards. Consequently we will no longer be making this
contribution. The Vicar is aware of the situation and understands why this decision was
made.
COMMUNITY GRANTS
As you may be aware, as residents of this rural area we do not benefit from any local
services within the Parish. Schools, GP Practices etc are all in neighbouring Parishes. Our
residents either attend Springbank Surgery at Tockwith/Green Hammerton or Crossley
Street Surgery in Wetherby. Some time ago our then Chairman, whilst attending
Tockwith/Green Hammerton Surgery noticed that they were fund raising for an ultra
sound scanner. As this would be most helpful to local people, prevent unnecessary
journeys and speed up diagnosis, he asked the Parish Council if it would be willing to
make a contribution to the fund, which Councillors readily agreed. However, conscious
that many residents particularly in Bickerton, attend Crossley St Surgery and in an attempt
to be even handed, an approach was made to Crossley St Surgery with the same offer of
£1000, for a project of their choice.
THE CHEQUERS INN CAR PARK
As you may know, The Chequers Inn has been sold and will be renamed The Tickled Trout
under private ownership when it re-opens in late 2019. The Parish Council has been
involved in the negotiations regarding the lease of the car park.
Some years ago, following a legal dispute about ownership of the pub car park, the newly
confirmed legal owner offered the land to the Parish Council for the princely sum of £1.00
The Parish Council accepted the offer and owns the land. It leases the car park to the
owner of the pub in accordance with conditions set out in a 10 year lease agreed in April
2018. The income from the lease reduces the annual operating costs of the Parish Council
by 25% and the community charge levied on each property in the Parish is also reduced.
Public Inquiry to re-open the footpath in Bickerton
Notice for Public Inquiry into re-opening the footpath past Willowgarth Farm to the county border. The Inquiry will be held at Tockwith Village Hall, 1 Marston Road, Tockwith, YO26 7PR on Tuesday 3 September 2019 at 10.00am
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/795505/row_3213130.pdf
The BT Phone Kiosk in Bilton in Ainsty
The Parish Council is aware of a note circulated to all properties in Bilton in Ainsty, which claims that the red BT Kiosk is to be removed in August.2019. Councillors have investigated this claim.
There is no notice in the Kiosk and BT has not applied for Planning Consent to Harrogate Borough Council to remove the Kiosk. BT last applied for Planning Consent to remove the unused payphone in October 2016. The then Chairman of the Parish Council consulted residents in Bilton in Ainsty to seek their views on retaining the Kiosk,with a limited number only asking that it be retained. The PC responded to the Planning Application that it had no objections to the removal, but drew attention to the inadequate mobile network coverage in the Village for emergency calls. NYCC’s Heritage section objected to the removal as they had not been consulted and the Application was refused.
The Chair of the Parish Council has spoken with the Principal Conservation Officer at Harrogate Borough Council and her reply is below
“I have very recently been asked about a telephone kiosk in Bilton in Ainsty – for this particular kiosk, I have ascertained that it is not to be removed imminently. However, I was also advised that BT are to soon consult again on the removal of any remaining kiosks that have low usage, which includes this kiosk (a similar process occurred a few years ago – as a result of which some other kiosks are currently being removed). This process involves the council consulting with the public and parish councils – at this point the parish council (or the landowner) has the opportunity to adopt the kiosk. Otherwise, if the council (us) objects to the removal, then the kiosk will be retained. If there is no objection nor is it adopted, then the kiosks will be removed by BT. From a heritage point of view, we would typically object to the older type kiosks that are located in sensitive, heritage areas. I believe that objections are also likely if the telephone is well used still.”
Anyone who has documentary evidence that the Kiosk is to be removed in August 2019, should forward it to the Parish Council so that the appropriate action can be taken.
19/09/19 UPDATE ON BT KIOSKS IN BILTON IN AINSTY AND BICKERTON. BT have applied for planning permission to remove the kiosks from both our villages, along with a large number of under-used kiosks in the wider area. Please send your objections to the Harrogate Borough council quoting the planning application reference below, or check the HBC planning portal.
Bickerton 19/03916/KIOSK Bilton in Ainsty 6.142.KIOSK 19/03931/KIOSK
This will be strongly objected to by the Parish Council on heritage grounds and because mobile phone signals are extremely poor in our area.The item will be on the Agenda for the October PC meeting.
UCI is coming past Bickerton! B1224 road closures – this may affect you.
UCI Is coming past Bickerton.
On September 21st Saturday the road will be closed between 11.30 and 3.30 and on 27th September, there will be a road closure from 3.35 until 4.35 . This might affect your travelling plans.
Further details here:
Village Design Statement
The VDS was adopted by Harrogate Borough Council on 25th July 2019.
This means the Bilton-in-Ainsty with Bickerton VDS (Appendix 1) is adopted as Design Guidance to be used as material consideration in planning decisions in the Bilton-in-Ainsty with Bickerton Parish.
A copy of the VDS is on this website for your reference.
Update on judicial review for proposed development of 21 houses in Bickerton
Following the news that a Judicial Review would take place, Councillors asked the Chairman to take legal advice about our current position and whether there was anything further that the PC could do to influence this development.
The Parish Council has established a relationship with a Harrogate Solicitor who is an expert in these matters and he summarised the situation as follows:-
A challenge to the decision taken by HBC has been made by an applicant who has an interest, the Council is the defendant and the developer would probably be seen as the interested party. The Parish Council has no standing and would not even be seen as an interested party.
The conduct of HBC will be looked at and the justification for formal proceedings accepted or not accepted. If accepted it goes to the High Court and formal submissions will be heard by a single judge.
This is the legal permission stage and if the judge thinks that the applicant has an arguable case, then it goes on to a full hearing.
If the challenge is upheld then the decision is quashed and HBC will have to repeat the procedure. If the decision is quashed due to an error made by HBC, then they can attempt to put that right and go on to make the same decision as before.
The new Local Plan has been criticised and HBC have been told that they have exceeded their quota for developments. They have been told to remove some developments, this may work in our favour. We will have to wait and see.
I am advised by our Solicitor that at this stage there is nothing else that the PC can do.
J. Hanson
Chairman
3/4/2019
Restoration in Bickerton
Thank you to Bickerton Grange Farm for the renovation of a historic building in the field at the west end of Main Street that was near to ruin. It now looks fantastic and will be of great use to the farm.
