A contract worth up to £20 million is being advertised to progress major transport schemes in Yorkshire, including the Harrogate Station Gateway.

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which works in partnership with local authorities to improve transport and stimulate economic development, wants to bring in a strategic development partner for its Transforming Cities projects.

The projects include the £10.9 million Station Gateway scheme in Harrogate, which could see the town’s James Street pedestrianised and Station Parade reduced to one lane.

The contract seeks to commission a company to provide technical details for all the schemes that are part of the Transforming Cities programme and move them to a full business case stage.

According to the government procurement site, the contract is worth between £5 million and £20 million and would last until October 2023.

Read more:

• Work on £10.9m Harrogate Station Gateway could start in February
• Harrogate business organisations launch Station Gateway survey

However, the Stray Ferret understands that, while North Yorkshire councils would have access to the service provided by the contractor, county council officials do not anticipate using it.

The Harrogate Station Gateway project is currently at the design stage and will be subject to further public consultation.

It is one of numerous schemes being funded by a £2.45 billion central government fund to boost cycling and walking in towns and cities.

The Stray Ferret reported in July that work could start on the Harrogate scheme in February 2022.

According to a county council report, construction would start when final approval is received from West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

The Harrogate district has reported another 84 covid infections, according to today’s Pubic Health England figures.

The district’s weekly infection rate now stands at 448 per 100,000 people, which is above the North Yorkshire rate of 377 and the England average of 342.

According to the latest figures, Harrogate District Hospital is treating 11 patients for covid.

The hospital has not recorded any covid deaths in the last 24 hours, according to NHS England statistics.

Read more:

• North Yorkshire health officials urge 16 and 17-year-olds to get jab
• Harrogate mum refused entry to uniform shop for not wearing face mask

It means the number of people at the hospital who have died from covid since March 2020 stands at 185.

Elsewhere, 127,253 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 117,655 have had a second dose.

Thousands of people in the Harrogate district are still without TV coverage after the Bilsdale transmitter fire, says the owner of a local electrical firm.

Stephen Craggs, managing director of G Craggs Ltd, which has stores in Ripon and Boroughbridge, told the Stray Ferret he was still receiving calls from people unable to get channels on their televisions.

Arqiva, the company which owns the transmitter, said this week its temporary mast at Sutton Bank had restored coverage to many areas, such as Masham and Ripon.

But, Mr Cragg said that was not what customers were telling him.

He said:

“We’re still getting phone calls every two minutes saying ‘I thought the transmitter was fixed?’”

Mr Cragg said the majority of people calling him were elderly who relied on television as a means of company.

G Craggs in Boroughbridge

He added that some did not own tablets and had no catch-up television.

Read more:

• Bilsdale fire: channels restored to Harrogate district — but problems remain
• Temporary Bilsdale transmitter replacement ‘could take months’

Following the temporary transmitter being built, a number of district residents told the Stray Ferret that retuning their TVs had brought back some channels but not all.

We are continuing to receive messages from readers saying they are without services. One woman in Ripon told us she would be happy to receive just one channel showing back-to-back repeats of Crossroads.

Many people have been unable to watch TV since the Bilsdale mast caught fire a month ago today.

Mr Cragg criticised Arqiva for appearing to have “no strategy” for dealing with the situation and described the past month as a “fiasco”.

“There is no back-up plan. They are just on one crisis to another.

“Meanwhile, there are thousands of people without TV. Not everybody has a smart TV or tablet.”

In the company’s latest update, Paul Donovan, chief executive of Arqiva, said on Wednesday:

“This morning Freeview television services were restored for over 100,000 more homes in the region.

“However, this is a complex task and there is clearly a lot more to do, so we are working with our partners as quickly and safely as possible. I would like to extend a special thank you to all those people who have been supporting friends and neighbours who may not have access to the internet or other sources of information and entertainment. We will prioritise the most vulnerable people affected.”

Harrogate’s Woodfield Community Primary School is taking “effective action” to improve after being placed under special measures by Ofsted.

Ofsted inspectors rated the Bilton primary school as “inadequate” in January last year.

They found children were not attending school, lessons did not “follow a logical sequence” and there was no strategic plan to allocate funds for disadvantaged pupils.

Inspectors recommended that the school be put in special measures as it was “failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education” and added that those responsible for governing the school were not “demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school”.

When a school is placed in special measures it is given an action plan to improve and is inspected regularly by Ofsted to ensure it is improving.

However, officials now say the school is taking action to improve.

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• Harrogate’s Ashville College reports battery thefts after travellers depart
• Rossett school bus ‘chaos’ and ‘shambles’ due to overcrowding

Ofsted visited the school in June and said staff were working well with management to systemically improve.

It added that parents were positive about the school. All those who responded to an Ofsted online questionnaire would recommend the school to other parents.

Woodfield Community Primary School

Mathew Atkinson, executive headteacher at Woodfield, said: 

“There are many things to celebrate in the report: attendance, SEND, behaviour and the curriculum have all improved and we have clear areas to continue to develop. 

“We are taking the right actions towards the removal of special measures and we are looking forward to another great year at Woodfield.”

Jo Marwood, head of school, said:

“We are proud of the report from Her Majesty’s inspectors and it confirms all the hard work that our students, staff, parents and governors put in to making Woodfield such a great school for our community.

“We would like to say thank you for the dedication of staff, the children, parents and governors and the support we have received from the local community.”

A bus driver was assaulted and had beer poured over her by two young women in Knaresborough on a late night service last night.

An eye witness told the Stray Ferret the driver was verbally abused and pushed over by a young woman in an “unprovoked attack”.

Another woman then allegedly poured a bottle of beer on the driver before leaving the bus, which had just left Knaresborough Bus Station at around 10pm, to get a taxi.

The witness, who did not wish to be named, said he was “shocked at what happened”, and that it highlighted the dangers facing frontline public sector workers.

He added police attended and took statements.

Harrogate Bus Company said today it was supporting the driver and cooperating with police over the alleged assault.

Read more:

• Woman sexually assaulted at Harrogate train station
• Ripon man jailed for persistently breaching animal welfare order

Driver ‘shaken’

Steve Ottley, general manager at Harrogate Bus Company, said the driver was shaken but was “doing fine”.

He said:

“We can confirm there was an incident involving a colleague last night who was treated despicably by two customers. 

“Our driver is doing fine but was understandably shaken by what happened. 

“We are supporting our driver and doing all we can to assist the police in bring the assailants to justice. Such incidents are mercifully, extremely rare and we take the welfare of our team and customers extremely seriously.”

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police confirmed officers attended the incident, but added that no arrests had been made and an investigation was ongoing.

They added:

“Anyone with any information who has not yet spoken to the police, should call North Yorkshire Police on 101 and pass information for incident number 12210198766.”

Harrogate District Hospital has recorded another covid death, according to latest NHS England figures.

The death was reported yesterday and is the sixth at the hospital in three weeks.

It takes the death toll at the hospital since March last year to 185.

Meanwhile, another 126 covid infections have been reported in the Harrogate district, according to today’s Public Health England figures.

Read more: 

• Harrogate district surgeries postpone flu jabs due to ‘transportation difficulties

• Harrogate hospital bosses warn winter will be ‘more challenging than ever before’

The district’s weekly infection rate has now risen to 433 per 100,000 people, while the North Yorkshire rate is 378 and the England average stands at 351.

According to latest weekly figures, Harrogate hospital is treating 11 patients for covid — the same number as a week ago.

Elsewhere, 127,221 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 117,318 have had a second dose.

Harrogate parents have spoken of “chaos” and “shambles” on a school bus to Rossett School following changes to the service for the new term.

Students on the S3 bus have been subject to overcrowding and reportedly told to leave the bus for an alternative service.

North Yorkshire County Council, which contracts school buses to private bus companies, announced last week that Harrogate Bus Company‘s 780H, 781H, 782H, 783H, 784H services had been cancelled.

The old routes began in the Jennyfields, Bilton and Woodlands areas of Harrogate. Children were instead advised to take the 6, 52, S3, 8A, 620H and 620H services.

However, parents have told the Stray Ferret that since the changes the number S3 service through Jennyfields has been overcrowded and chaotic.

Read more:

• Otley Road cycle route work confirmed to start in 12 days
• Around three cyclists an hour using Harrogate’s new low traffic neighbourhood
• Five school bus routes to Rossett replaced as autumn term begins

Ann Lambert, a grandparent of a child who attends Rossett, described the service as chaotic and raised concern that children on free bus passes were affected.

She said:

“There was chaos this morning on the bus from Jennyfields.

“The bus was full and children were told to get off by the time they reached the Co-op, so all other stops were driven past.

“Children were told they can also get a service bus, which not only adds time, but does not account for the children who get a free bus pass provided by North Yorkshire County Council, which is for a specified service only.”

‘Shambles this morning’

Harrogate parent Chris Wingate:

“It was a shambles this morning on the Jennyfields to Rossett bus with mass overcrowding and students turned away after only about half the route complete.

“On the way home the bus was also overcrowded with many students concerned and getting off early as they felt too cramped and unsafe.:

In response to the concerns over the S3 service, Michael Leah, assistant director for travel and the environment at North Yorkshire County Council, said:

“Service S3 is one of a number of commercial local bus services run by The Harrogate Bus Company and we do not financially support it. 

“However, we do buy passes from the company for pupils entitled to free home-to-school transport so they can use the service. The bus company also sell seats to non-entitled pupils where they are available.

“We are aware that the service had an issue with overloading yesterday and we are talking to the bus company about passenger numbers in an effort to resolve the issue quickly. 

“We are not aware that any of our children entitled to free home-to-school passes on the S3 were refused travel today, but we are investigating.”

The Stray Ferret has approached Transdev, which owns the Harrogate Bus Company, for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Council apologises over short notice

Concerns about overcrowding come after parents in Harrogate raised concerns on social media about the lack of notice about the change in service.

Some parents described the changes as confusing and said they should have been announced sooner.

An email seen by the Stray Ferret from the council’s Passenger Transport Department said the authority had experienced delays in the renewal of the contract for the service due to covid and additional work in the procurement process.

It said this left little time to publicise the changes. However, the council added that it had told schools to expect changes to services in September.

The authority said:

“Obviously we apologise for the short notice of these changes and for any inconvenience that it has caused parents and pupils but we are confident that the new service network is efficient and that pupils will soon get used to the changes.”

Has your child been affected by the changes to the school bus service? Email us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk

A Ripon man has been jailed after pleading guilty to a string of animal welfare offences.

Michael Andrew Hawkswell, 45, of Nunwick near Ripon, appeared at York Magistrates Court on Wednesday, accused of breaching the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which forbids him from keeping animals.

Hawkswell, who is disqualified from keeping or owning animals, was charged with possessing 76 birds and five other offences.

His five other offences included buying and transporting two goats, possessing seven sheep in his trailer, possessing a duck, unloading poultry from a vehicle into sale pens at Highgate auctions in Rotherham and buying and selling poultry.

Read more:

• Police say wanted sex offender who is ‘danger to women’ could be in Harrogate
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Hawkswell was jailed for four weeks to be served consecutively for all six offences and given a further eight weeks for breaching a suspended sentence which was imposed in 2019. 

He was handed a 32-week jail sentence in total.

The court also disqualified Hawkswell from owning or keeping goats, poultry, birds and sheep for a period of 10 years under the Animal Welfare Act.

Police examine crates of poultry after stopping Hawkswell in July last year. Picture: North Yorkshire Police.

Hawkswell was also disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for 16 months.

Speaking after the sentencing, PC Mark Atkinson, of North Yorkshire Police’s rural task force, said:

“Michael Hawkswell knew full well that he wasn’t allowed to have anything to do with animals – with a court order in place to protect them from suffering at his hands.

“However, he has repeatedly shown a blatant disregard for that court order, and persistently breached it on a number of occasions.

“Members of the farming community were aware of Hawkswell’s illegal activity, and came forward with crucial information, allowing us to arrest him and put him before the court. I would like to thank everyone who has spoken to the police in relation to Hawkswell’s activities – your assistance has been so vital and helped our team to put the strongest case together.”

North Yorkshire Police said it would now distribute posters highlighting Hawkswell’s banning order at livestock marts and other rural businesses.

Animal welfare charity the RSPCA tweeted that the sentence showed breaches of court orders “will not be ignored or tolerated”.

Breaches of court ordered disqualification (breach of ban) will not be ignored or tolerated. #teamwork with @NYorksPolice & @RSPCA_official has seen a successful few days in court #AnimalWelfare #farming #livestock #poultry https://t.co/KxpmumFvws

— RSPCA Frontline (@RSPCA_Frontline) September 9, 2021

A Harrogate Conservative peer is under investigation by the House of Lords standards commissioner over a financial interest.

Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate is alleged to be in breach of the Lords code of conduct because his register of interests did not make clear the nature of business of one of the companies of which he is a director.

First reported by Open Democracy, the allegation was made by UnlockDemocracy, a pressure group based in London, in a letter to Martin Jelley, the House of Lords Commissioner for Standards.

It says Lord Kirkhope did not make clear the nature of business of Reading-based Brass Trustees Limited, of which he has been a director since June last year.

The letter, which was sent by Tom Brake, director of the pressure group, says that under paragraph 53 of the House of Lords code of conduct a peer should “give a broad indication of the company’s business, where this is not self-evident from its name”.

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• Local MP accepted £6,000 worth of free Euro 2020 tickets

• Ripon MP Julian Smith extends £3,000 an hour advisory role

Mr Brake goes on to list 39 other peers, including Lord Sugar and Lord Pickles, who he alleges appear to have done the same. However, he adds that the alleged breach may be unintentional.

He said in the letter:

“I believe that the following peers, unintentionally I imagine, are in breach of this paragraph of the code of conduct and that greater clarity about the business of the companies listed below would be welcomed by the public. 

“I do not believe it could be claimed that the nature of their business is self-evident.”

The standards commissioner has since opened investigations into 24 peers over their register of interests, which includes Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate.

As Timothy Kirkhope, he was MP for Leeds North East and MEP for Yorkshire before being created a life peer in 2016. He has a keen interest in local radio.

Lord Sugar, the former Tottenham Hotspur chairman and founder of electronics company Amstrad, is also part of the probe over his interest as director of Harper Fox Partner Ltd.

The Stray Ferret approached Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate for comment on the investigation, but did not receive a response by time of publication.

A plan to convert an office block in Harrogate town centre into new apartments has been given the go-ahead.

Harrogate Borough Council approved proposals to transform the building on Cambridge Road into eight apartments.

Developers Lake House Investments, which is based near Brighouse, submitted the plans for the three-storey building.

The plans would see the first and second floors converted for residential use. The ground floor is currently occupied by bakers Greggs and a YMCA charity shop.

In its proposals, Lake House said the site had “excellent transport links” and was just a few minutes walk from the train station.

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As a result, the developer said no parking would be necessary.

It said in its planning documents:

“Given the sustainable town centre location close to a range of services and amenities, no off street parking is considered necessary as any impact to any pre- existing problems of access, road safety or traffic flow would be minimal.

“Visitor parking will be provided by local pay and display on street spaces.”

A similar application to convert the offices to apartments was approved by the council in 2019.