Corbyn plans free bus travel for under-25s
A SEEMINGLY immovable fixture in the media’s annual lists of happiest and best places to live, not just in Yorkshire but nationwide, Harrogate offers an unquestionably high quality of life for its residents.
But as a recent ‘district profile’ document created by the spa town’s borough council conceded, its public face of genteel tearooms and handsome tree-lined streets obscures a more challenging reality.
With an ageing population and expensive housing stock that’s out of reach for many aspiring younger residents, it’s feared a lack of affordable accommodation is putting off the firms that might set up here.
Traffic congestion that saw its busiest road ranked as among the most gridlocked in the country doesn’t help matters, with the wider Harrogate district predicted to see slower economic growth than Leeds and the surrounding area in the coming years. The Local Plan created with the aim of solving these problems, which allocates land for more than 16,000 homes, green spaces and business enterprises in the next two decades, awaits examination by an independent inspector.
With this as the backdrop, Conservative-dominated Harrogate Borough Council holds ‘all-out’ elections on May 3, one of three Yorkshire authorities to re-elect all its councillors after boundary changes.
And though they differ on how best to solve the problem, all the main political parties agree on the need to tackle the housing crisis in what is the least affordable district in Yorkshire.
Tory councillor Richard Cooper, who took over as leader of the council in 2014, insists that his ruling party and the Liberal Democrats “work well together” for the good of the borough.
“For the last three years the budget has been proposed by a Conservative and seconded by a Lib Dem”, he said. “There are very few things that descend into party politics and bickering.”
The Conservatives’ local manifesto contains a number of promises to improve housing prospects, reflecting Coun Cooper’s concern that suitable sites around the district are not being developed.
Among them is the suggestion that the council will lobby government to be allowed to charge council tax on homes developers have failed to deliver. A Tory-run administration would also double council tax on homes that have been empty for 12 months. But there are some also eye-catching commitments in other areas, such as a pledge to open a new swimming pool in Ripon to be named after local swimming champion Jack Laugher and a council-run gym for Knaresborough by 2022.
The 11-page document advocates an increased use of compulsory purchase powers to bring empty retail units back into active use. This idea has the support of Mike Procter, president of the Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, who is urging the council to provide direct stimulus to the town centre business economy.
Other ideas Mr Procter suggests to boost the local economy include a “business incubator” with low rental prices and flexible lease terms.
The Liberal Democrats hope to make progress at this year’s election, but were thrown into turmoil in 2016 after a third of their 15 councillors broke away to become independent.
According to group leader Pat Marsh, the achievements of the Tories over 15 years pale in comparison with those of her party, who controlled the council for more than a decade before that. She also cites the lack of affordable and social housing in the borough, and says a Lib Dem-run council would set up “a housing company to develop innovative ways of supplying these homes”.
Coun Marsh said: “This is needed because of the 2,000 people on the council’s housing waiting list yet the Conservative council have missed their targets on affordable housing for several years.”
Recognising that the borough’s well-educated young people rarely return to the area after university because of the lack of good jobs, she says her party would work with the local college to develop degree courses and apprenticeship schemes, as well as developing a local purchasing scheme for council supplies.
Labour hasn’t had a presence on Harrogate Borough Council for two decades, but the party hopes this will change this time round and is contesting 38 of the 40 seats available. It blames “tactical voting” for its lack of councillors in Harrogate, but points to a doubling of the Labour vote at last year’s General Election as a positive sign.
Labour’s solutions to the housing issue include large-scale developments near existing transport links such as the A1M, as an alternative to the north of Harrogate and Knaresborough.
Meanwhile the Green party, which is standing in 20 out of 40 words in the district, has criticised what it describes as the council’s “meek compliance with the agenda of austerity”. JEREMY CORBYN will today launch plans to fund free bus travel for under-25s because “young people deserve a break”.
A Labour government would roll the policy out in areas where councils take public control of services or franchise them.
It could help 1.3m five to 24-year-olds living in the region by saving them up to £1,000 a year. It will be funded through revenues from vehicle tax, which are currently ringfenced for improvements to roads.
Road improvements would instead be paid for through borrowing for infrastructure spending.
Mr Corbyn will say today that children, young people, and families with children have less disposable income than those without, while young people tend to be in lower paid, more insecure work, adding: “Giving them free bus travel will make a huge difference to their lives.”