Work to fell 500 Nidd Gorge trees to start next week

Work to chop down 500 trees in the Nidd Gorge has been delayed until next week.

The Woodlands Trust, which is a conservation charity that owns Nidd Gorge, says the trees are infected and need to be felled.

They have a disease called phytophthora ramorum, which is having a devastating impact on native trees.

Government body Forestry England has given the trust permission to fell the trees before the disease spreads further.

Work, which will be accompanied by footpath closures, was due to begin yesterday.

A map showing the first planned footpath closure.

But it is now expected to start on Monday next week and will take between four to six weeks, the trust has said.

As part of the tree felling, a footpath between Bilton Beck footbridge and Milers Fork will be closed.

Paul Bunton, community engagement officer at the trust, said previously:

“It is devastating news for our site team and visitors that we are having to reluctantly fell these diseased trees at Nidd Gorge to protect others. Phytophthora ramorum, while of no risk to the public, is one of the biggest threats to our native tree species at the site.

“Nidd Gorge is and will remain a really popular and cherished woodland close to Harrogate and Knaresborough and we ask the public to bear with us while we carry out the work.”

Read more:

 

Man dies after three-car crash at Scotton

A man in his 80s has died after a three-car collision on Ripley Road at Scotton.

A Ford Focus, Ford Fiesta and Seat Ibiza were involved in the crash, which happened at about 6.15pm on Sunday.

Police, fire crews and and an air ambulance were summoned to help.

North Yorkshire Police confirmed that the driver and passenger of the Focus, who were a man and woman in their 50s, were taken to hospital with serious injuries.

The man in his 80s, who has not been named, was driving the Fiesta.

A police statement added:

“North Yorkshire Police’s major collision investigation team has launched an investigation.

“Anyone who witnessed the incident and has not yet come forward, or anyone with dashcam footage, is asked to email marie.williams@northyorkshire.police.uk

“You can also call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2 and ask for Marie Williams.

Please quote reference 12220115083.”

Read more:

 

Sir Patrick Stewart films Yorkshire Tea advert in Harrogate

Sir Patrick Stewart features in a new Yorkshire Tea advertisement filmed in Harrogate.

The iconic actor, who is known for films and television series such as X-Men and Star Trek, is the latest star to appear in the brand’s “Where Everything’s Done Proper’ TV adverts.

In the one-minute advertisement, he can be seen paying tribute to a colleague on her last day of work.

You can watch it here.

The advert was first broadcast on television yesterday and was filmed in Harrogate with employees from across the business.

Yorkshire Tea is part of the Bettys and Taylors Group, whose brands also include Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate.

Sir Patrick said:

“”No matter where I am in the world, I always make sure I have some Yorkshire Tea with me for a proper brew.

“My career has taken me from the West End to Broadway, from Hollywood to the far ends of the galaxy, but now I’ve returned to where it all began. Yorkshire.”

Read more:

Lucy Hoyle, senior brand manager at Yorkshire Tea said: 

“We’re chuffed to bits with this new advert and hope everyone loves it as much as we do. Sir Patrick is an absolute legend when it comes to delivering a heart-felt performance. 

“If anyone is a master of the art of ‘doing things properly’ – something that is central to everything we do here at Yorkshire Tea – it’s Sir Patrick and we’re thrilled he is part of the Yorkshire Tea team.”

Yorkshire Tea’s advert series has featured a number of famous names, including Sheffield’s Sean Bean and the Kaiser Chiefs.

793 Harrogate district second-home owners face double council tax charge

About 800 second-home owners in the Harrogate district could be hit by double council tax charges under proposals to tackle the affordable housing crisis.

North Yorkshire County Council has proposed the 100% premium on council tax bills for all second homes in the county from April 2024.

Official figures show there were 793 second homes in Harrogate last year and the county council said these could generate an extra £1.5 million a year to fund services and affordable housing schemes.

Across North Yorkshire, the tax hike could create around £14 million annually, the county council added.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of the county council, described second homes as a “major issue” for areas across the country and said the proposals for North Yorkshire would depend on the government passing legislation in the coming months.

He said: 

“The county is a wonderful place to live and visit, and that has seen the trend towards people wanting to purchase a property either as a second home or a holiday let.

“Any proposed premium on second home owners will be carefully considered and debated by the council before the new legislation is introduced.

“But the revenue generated would prove to be a key source of funding to help to bridge the new council’s budgets and finance vital areas such as homelessness costs and also providing more affordable housing.”

Read more:

The proposal has also been welcomed by councillor Pat Marsh, leader of Harrogate and Knaresborough’s Liberal Democrats, who said holiday hotspots were in danger of “becoming ghost towns” because of second homes.

She said:

“Villages in these desirable areas, in particular, suffer from the viability of not just shops and pubs, but also schools and in some areas the impact is also felt through losses of GPs and other NHS services.

“That is why the Lib Dems welcome the proposal to charge a council tax premium on second homes.

“Residents of these largely rural communities are finding it increasingly difficult to get onto the property ladder because of huge demand for holiday homes pushing up the overall price of property out of their reach.

“In some extreme areas this has created resentment and bitterness as locals cannot afford to buy property in their own communities.”

The number of second homes in Harrogate has increased by more than 13% over the last decade and it has been argued the problem puts a strain on an already limited housing stock at a time when high house prices are driving low-income earners out of the district.

Yet the proposed tax hike has been met with opposition from some politicians who fear it could devalue homes and undermine businesses which depend on second home owners.

There are also concerns it could lead to second home owners transferring their properties to holiday lets to qualify for discounted business rates.

Cllr Stuart Parsons, leader of the Independent group on the county council, described the move as “one of the stupidest suggestions the Tories have ever come up with”.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the proposals would cause more harm than good as there would be “so many loopholes people could dodge out of paying the premium as they wish”.

Other local politicians have also claimed some areas of the county are suffering more due to holiday lets than second homes.

Fire crews called to garage blaze in Lofthouse

Fire crews were called to a fire at a garage in Lofthouse late last night.

Fire fighters from Masham, Summerbridge and Lofthouse were summoned to the village at 11.51pm.

The fire was estimated to have damaged 50% of the garage and its contents.

The owner of the property extinguished the blaze before North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue arrived.

The service added in an incident log:

“Crews carried out an inspection using a thermal imaging camera and gave advice to the owner.

“The cause of the fire is believed to be accidental.”

Read more:

 

Plan to convert 53 Bo Grove into flats

Plans have been tabled to convert the site of the former 53 Bo Grove antiques emporium and cafe into five flats.

The bohemian business on Grove Road in Harrogate closed in December 2021 after more than two years of business.

It became a hub for residents during the early coronavirus lockdowns by remaining open to sell food at a time when many supermarkets were struggling for stock.

Kyrensa Bentley, who set up 53 Bo Grove.

Now plans have been submitted to Harrogate Borough Council to convert the site, which consists of two buildings and a car park, into flats.

The proposal has been lodged by Architecture One Eight Ltd on behalf of David Birtles.

Read more:

All of the apartments proposed would be two-bedrooms.

A planning statement from the developers said the proposal would help to bring the building back into use.

It said:

“The existing buildings have fallen into disrepair and are having a negative impact on the adjacent conservation area.”

Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

Traffic and Travel Alert: Congestion in Harrogate district due to A1(M) southbound closure

There is queueing traffic due to a closure of the A1(M) southbound between Dishforth and Boroughbridge this morning.

There are also roadworks in Harrogate and cancellations on buses.

Roads

Traffic is backing up in Boroughbridge, Topcliffe and Ripon this morning after part of the A1(M) southbound was closed.

The road was closed between junction 49 at Dishforth and junction 48 at Boroughbridge earlier this morning due to planned roadworks going over there pre-agreed time, according to National Highways Yorkshire.

All lanes have now reopened, but there is some congestion on the A1(M) and in Boroughbridge and Topcliffe due to the closure.

Drivers are advised to allow for extra time for there journeys.

All lanes have now reopened on the #A1M southbound between J49 (#Dishforth) and J48 (#Boroughbridge) following completion of the overnight roadworks. There is approx. 3 miles of congestion on approach, please allow extra time for these delays to clear. Thank you for your patience pic.twitter.com/uZeamTTOmc

— National Highways: Yorkshire (@HighwaysYORKS) July 5, 2022

As usual, drivers should be aware of the normal rush hour traffic on Harrogate’s Wetherby Road, Skipton Road and Knaresborough Road.

According to North Yorkshire County Council’s roadworks map, Yorkshire Water is due to start planned work Leeds Road this morning.

These works will be finished today.

Trains and buses

Train services between Harrogate and Knaresborough going to York and Leeds are scheduled to run as normal this morning.

Meanwhile, the Harrogate Bus Company is reporting cancellations on the 36 bus from Leeds to Harrogate at 8.55am this morning.

There are also cancellations on the 1A, 1B and 1C services.

You can find out more on the disruption to services here.

Read more:

 

133 Harrogate homes set for approval after badger concerns

Plans to build 133 homes on Kingsley Road in Harrogate look set to be approved after being delayed due to badger surveys.

Redrow Homes won outline planning permission to build the development on appeal in August 2020 after it was initially refused by Harrogate Borough Council.

The company’s reserved matters application, which considers issues such as access and appearance, came before the council’s planning committee last month.

But the council delayed a decision after residents claimed there were more badger setts in the area than developers had surveyed.

As part of the application, the developer submitted two ecology studies that found there were four badger setts in the area but only one or two were still actively used.

A previous ecological study undertaken in 2019 by a different developer found no evidence of badgers.

Members of Kingsley Ward Action Group (KWAG) bought a trail cam, which is a camera that is left outside to capture the movement of animals.

Read more:

They claimed their investigation found evidence of 11 badger setts, six of which were still active.

A report due before councillors at a meeting next week refers to a study on badger setts undertaken by Dan McAndrew, the council’s principal ecologist. It says:

“The report provided is comprehensive, thoroughly assesses the current position and provides acceptable mitigation. 

“There are no badger setts on the site and the development will not cause loss or disturbance to the main sett and will only involve the temporary closure under licence of a small number of outlier setts.”

It added that mitigation measures were already in place as part of the outline approval.

Council officials have recommended that the committee approve the application at a meeting on July 12.

The proposal will see 133 homes built on the site, of which 53 would be allocated as affordable.

Appeal after indecent exposure at Newby Hall

North Yorkshire Police is appealing for information after a man exposed himself to a group of three women at Newby Hall.

The naked man approached the women on the woodland walk in the gardens of the hall at about 3.40pm on Thursday last week.

Officers are looking for any witnesses who were in Newby Hall gardens at the time.

The hall is situated between Boroughbridge and Ripon.

A police statement said:

“We are requesting the public’s assistance to help identify the man and in particular, we’re appealing to anyone who’d been at Newby Hall gardens on the day and may have information which could assist our investigation.

“The man is described as being white, aged 40-50 years old, 6ft to 6ft 2′ tall, of a medium build with a slight beer belly and dark brown hair in the style of a short back and sides that had grown out.

“Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should email Richard.Jackson@northyorkshire.police.uk You can also call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for PC 1505 Jackson.

“If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Please quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12220113065.”

Read more:

 

Man released after conspiracy to commit murder arrest in Bilton

A man who was arrested in connection with an incident in Bilton has been released with no further action taken.

Police were called to a property on Byland Road on Thursday, June 23, where a woman was found with serious injuries.

A man in his 40s was arrested following the incident. Clare Bailey, 44, was also arrested.

The man was initially arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder and bailed pending investigation.

Read more:

However, North Yorkshire Police has confirmed over the weekend he has been released from bail and no further action is being taken against him.

Ms Bailey, 44, was charged with attempted murder.

She appeared before York Magistrates Court on June 27, but entered no plea.

Ms Bailey, who is from Dudley, will now appear before Leeds Crown Court on July 25.