Residents angry at plans for new sports centre

A GROUP of Knaresborough residents are gearing up for a fight against plans to build a leisure centre on a playing field near their homes.

Harrogate Borough Council has confirmed its plans for the new facility behind the town’s swimming pool at Fysche Field will move to the design stage after a survey showed just over 80 per cent of 471 respondents were in support of the site.

But residents in the area have criticised the consultation, describing it as “clandestine, underhand and wholly undemocratic”.

David Hull, who lives near Fysche Field, claimed “absolutely no one” in his neighbourhood knew about the plans and questioned whether 471 respondents out of a Knaresborough population of more than 15,000 was enough.

He said: “I am not aware of any effort at all being made by Harrogate Borough Council to publicise the consultation document.

“I only stumbled across it completely by chance just three days before its expiry.”

Mr Hull also said there was “no mention anywhere” in the consultation document about the loss of green space at Fysche Field.

A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council said the consultation was “well publicised” in the local media and online and that the comments submitted “will help shape the future of the facility”.

Knaresborough House, Hay-aPark and Conyngham Hall were the other three main sites considered during the six-week consultation, which ran in December and January.

If the plans are approved, the new leisure centre will include a 25-metre pool, a 66-station gym and two studio spaces and could be built by the end of 2023.

THE AUTOMOTIVE industry has downgraded its expectations for the year following the worst February for car sales since 1959.

Just 1.83m new cars will be registered in the UK in 2021, according to the latest prediction from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

In January it had forecast a figure of 1.89m.

The change comes after demand for new cars fell by 36 per cent last month compared with February 2020.

Only 51,000 new cars were registered as showrooms remained shut. February is generally a slow month for car sales due to many motorists waiting for new number plates to be released in March.

The SMMT said it was essential that showrooms opened as quickly as possible.