Today we report on the growing frustration and noise among the cycle lobby which has campaigned in Harrogate for better cycling routes.

The pandemic has led to fewer cars on the road, cleaner air and a boom in bike sales. These factors have strengthened campaigner’s resolve who see now as the time to push for transformational change.

Around half a dozen cycling and environmental groups exist in the district. All pushing for improvements for cyclists  and pressurising council leaders to deliver.

A lack of ambition, a need for more infrastructure and a sense of frustration were among the complaints from the groups the Stray Ferret spoke to, as promised schemes have yet to come to fruition.

Kevin Douglas, who chairs the Harrogate District Cycle Action group, said a lack of movement on any infrastructure has left cyclists disappointed.

He said: “It is frustrating. They did an excellent job in getting the funding but the delivery is the key.

“During the past five weeks, families and young people have been riding because the roads are quiet and they are doing it because it is safe.”

For others, lockdown has offered an extra boost to the message that more people want to cycle- a view which is backed up by research undertaken before the crisis.

In a survey by Andrew Jones MP last year, nearly half of residents who responded said the town’s cycling facilities were poor and needed to be improved.

Caroline Linford, founder of Sustainably Harrogate, said the town could improve its infrastructure after lockdown and called for more ambition from the county council.

She said that the lack of progress on Otley Road was indicative of the will of those in charge to deliver for the town.

She said: “I think for me what I would like to have seen is using it to make the town move again.”

“There is a lack of action and what I would like to see is some ambition from the county council.”

Tomorrow in our Focus on Cycling series we put the concerns of cycling campaigners to Don Mackenzie, the senior county councillor in charge of highways.

Over the past few years, Harrogate has positioned itself as a cycling destination. It hosted the Tour De France, Tour De Yorkshire and UCI Cycling championships – yet the reality is, it hasn’t completed one of its major cycling routes into town. 

At a time when the voices of cycling groups and environmental campaigners are growing louder, less than a mile of cycle route down the Otley Road has yet to be built and the larger Station Parade “Gateway” project also looks set to be problematic.  

Otley Road: Stage One

£3.2 million was secured in 2018 for a scheme as part of a wider project called the West Harrogate Sustainable Improvement Package.  The money was for a cycle lane from Cardale Park to the Prince of Wales roundabout. 

The first stage from Harlow Moor Road to Harrogate Grammar School had begun but the project was then halted due to coronavirus.

Council bosses have said that the project could re-start next month, the money will be held over.  All this, after two years of waiting. 

This part of the Otley Road cycle lane is Stage Two

Otley Road Stage Two

But Stage Two has run into more serious problems.

It required removing verges from The Stray. The Stray Defence Association urged any removal must be consulted on and, as a result, council bosses have been in lengthy negotiations with the Duchy of Lancaster. 

It means the second phase of the scheme is unlikely to go ahead anytime soon much to campaigners’ frustration. 

But the route is not the only proposal to have been tabled to help boost cycling rates and cut traffic. 

Impression of how Station Parade would look under pedestrianisation plans.

Station Parade

In March, the council secured £7.8 million for a “gateway” project on Station Parade which has to be spent within three years. This scheme aims to create a transport hub – connecting the bus and rail stations to the town centre.  The plan means fewer cars and more space for cyclists and walkers.

After the difficulty of negotiating with different parties to deliver Otley Road though, the gateway scheme faces possibly tougher negotiations. 

Much furore was caused after the gateway plans were unveiled a few years ago and recent bollards put up for social distancing have reignited this fierce debate among traders over the best way to survive the serious economic crisis Harrogate faces.  Any reduction of on-street parking to create space for cycle lanes will face opposition from many retailers. 

So council bosses will have to negotiate through this and, although a large amount of money has been secured, it’s not enough and extra funding is needed from both the district and borough councils. This might prove very hard to find in an age post coronavirus. 

What do those in the cycle lobby think about the progress made on infrastructure projects? Tomorrow we will hear from those pushing for more cycle routes in Harrogate.

Retailers in the district are reporting an increase in the number of bikes sold since the coronavirus crisis began.

Some bike store owners in the district said they’ve seen more people opt for two wheels, with one reporting as selling as many as seven bikes a day.

It comes as the government urged more people to cycle to work as the lockdown eases.

In Harrogate, Prologue Cycling, which deals with performance model bikes, said it had seen good sales during the lockdown period from people who felt they had more time to upgrade their bikes.

Meanwhile, Damian Brooks, manager at Motor World in Ripon, said he had also seen an increase in sales at his store during lockdown.

He said: “I have never known it so busy. Since the coronavirus, people have become very fitness conscious and we are selling six to seven bikes a day. That’s as many as we were selling in a month before the crisis.”

National outlet, Halfords, reported a “better than expected” month in April where shares in the company jumped by 11%.

Grant Shapps, Transport Secretary, said people should consider taking up two wheels as the commute to work changes  and announced a £2 billion funding package to increase cycling and walking capacity across the UK.

Stray Ferret Focuses on Cycling

Over the next three days, The Stray Ferret will explore the debate surrounding the future of cycling in Harrogate in a Focus On Cycling series.

Each morning we will publish a story which will cover how the debate is shaping and what is being done as the call for more cycling lanes grows louder.

Tomorrow we will look at the projects planned in Harrogate and what progress has been made on them.

Make sure you sign up to notifications from The Stray Ferret so you don’t miss a story.

Harrogate Business Improvement District has backed calls for council bosses to listen to businesses over pedestrianisation plans in the town centre.

The organisation joins Independent Harrogate which has argued for local businesses to be listened to over the town centre which it says faces a serious economic crisis.

It comes as temporary pavement widening measures were put in place by North Yorkshire County Council on James Street, Commercial Street and parts of Albert Street last week to help with social distancing.

But the bollards served to reignite opposition to permanently widen some footpaths and lose car parking as a result of a “gateway” plan for the town.

Sara Ferguson, acting chair of the Harrogate BID, said it backed the call for businesses to be listened to and will also ask the county council to urgently review car parking signs in order to make it easier for people driving into the town.

She said: “The temporary measures to assist with social distancing are both necessary and welcomed. They will help make customers and workers more comfortable about returning to Harrogate town centre.

“However, at the same time, it’s imperative that those driving into town by car know where they can park – both on-street and in car parks – and at the same time are not penalised for doing so.

“Harrogate BID is here to represent every town centre business who, between them employ thousands of people. Any plans for further pedestrianisation need to be carefully considered, and must take into account the views of all town centre businesses.

“Another important factor within this needs to be improving traffic flow, which will enhance everyone’s experience driving in and around the town.”

“Our aim is to make Harrogate a must-visit destination; one that is accessible for people arriving by all means of transport, including on foot, public transport, cars, bicycles and scooters.

“In the meantime, we will be asking our partners North Yorkshire County Council for an urgent review into town centre parking signage.”

Independent traders in Harrogate have warned council chiefs to “stop playing poker” with the town centre and put the local economy first as it faces a crisis.

In a mission statement posted to local politicians and business chiefs, Independent Harrogate set out its stall and called for cheaper car parking, cleaner streets and better public transport.

It also called for a park and ride system, better rail links and for the town to be marketed to prestigious retailers in order to thrive again.

Among the issues the trade group said the town faced was a drop in footfall, a loss of independent shops, high cost of trading and lack of people coming into the town centre.

Independent Harrogate said the High Street had already seen national retailers such as H&M leave and now independents were following due to high rates and rents above the national average.

It warned that the town is in a “very delicate” state and any ill-conceived plans would “risk terminal damage” to the economy.

In order to address these problems, it said the town needed better access, an increase in appeal and regeneration in order to bring back the footfall.

The statement said: 

“HBC and NYCC officially adopted the Harrogate District Local Plan in March 2020.This plan was first drafted in 2014, in a time before Harrogate felt the full effects of the national damage to the High Street, and before COVID-19.The plan proposes far-reaching changes to Harrogate including increased pedestrianisation, the reduction of car traffic and an increase in cycle access

“Independent Harrogate is broadly in favour of many of these initiatives in the longer term. Who could not fail to be enthused by the images of al fresco dining, tree-lined streets and grand gateways? Our 200 members also worry about climate change and increasing pollution and would in due course like to see substantial changes, but they do so against the hard reality of running profitable businesses which are the lifeblood of the community where we all live and work. Everyone needs to understand that Harrogate has no guaranteed right to survive, let alone reclaim its place as a jewel in Yorkshire’s crown; any reduction of access to the town centre in the short term is suicidal.

“As Independent Harrogate has long warned, there is a crisis in Harrogate town centre. We urge both HBC and NYCC to stop playing poker with their precious asset, to listen to their business rate payers and to address the damaged fundamentals of Harrogate before proceeding with their long-term vision; and then do so in consultation with Independent Harrogate’s members and all businesses who trade there.”

North Yorkshire’s highways chief has defended a council decision to widen pavements in Harrogate district town centres and said the measures are only temporary after criticism from some traders and on social media.

Don Mackenzie, executive councillor for highways at North Yorkshire County Council, said the measures are designed to help social distancing and not to discourage shoppers.

The authority placed cones out to widen pavements and restrict parking in Harrogate on James Street, Commercial Street and parts of Albert Street and elsewhere in the district.

After questions over why only some streets had cones, Councillor Mackenzie said the measures were implemented to target “pinch points” where footpaths were too narrow and needed to be widened to comply with two metre social distancing guidelines.

He added that, while the order that covers the restrictions is in place until September, it could be lifted before then if national guidance allows.

Councillor Mackenzie said: “The restrictions are only temporary and once we are past this pandemic the bollards will be taken down.

“They are not to stop people from coming into the town. We have had support for these measures.”

He added that he has asked council officers to look into a web facility where people can suggest other streets which the authority should look at.

It comes as the restrictions were met with fierce criticism on social media and had mixed reactions from trade bodies which represent businesses in Harrogate.

Harrogate BID welcomed the news but called for clear parking signage for drivers, but Independent Harrogate said it was disappointed with the measures and urged the county council to rethink its decision.

On Facebook, the move was criticised by residents and described as a “waste of money” and “totally unnecessary”. Others said the widening of pavements was reasonable and had been implemented elsewhere in the UK.

Meanwhile, the restrictions have been removed from Pateley Bridge after the measures caused problems with traffic.

The new measures caused problems with traffic in Pateley Bridge this past weekend.

Cones were put in place up the town’s High Street but caused issues on the already narrow street, including forcing an ambulance to reverse in order for traffic to pass.

Keith Tordoff, chairman of the Nidderdale Chamber of Trade and local business owner in the town, said the restrictions were “ill thought through” and “caused havoc”.

“Everybody knew it was going to cause problems,” he said.

“It made Pateley Bridge look busier than it was. It clearly was never going to work.”

Residents in the Harrogate district have had a debate online over parking restrictions put in place in town centres to enable social distancing.

People took to social media to comment on the issue, with some saying it was “totally unnecessary” while others said it was reasonable.

North Yorkshire County Council has put the restrictions in place on James Street, Commercial Street and parts of Albert Street in Harrogate and elsewhere in the district.

Council officials said the measures are designed to enable social distancing and will be in place for four months. The authority also confirmed on Twitter that the parking bays will be closed on the weekend.

But some people in the district said they were concerned that the restrictions would impact local business in town centres.

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On Facebook, Sara Spencer said: “It seems to me that it is now acknowledged that the chances of catching it outside are negligible. This is therefore totally unnecessary. It is just an excuse to effectively pedestrianise the road and damage businesses even more.”

Meanwhile, Stephen Bellamy said: “Totally stupid action and a waste of money and time by the council.”

Robin Irwin said: “Absolute lunacy. Public know the risks, we should trust them more instead of totally killing our economy. Last one out turn off the lights.”

Others said the restrictions were reasonable and would be eased in time. Dave Hay said on Facebook that the measures have been put in place elsewhere in the UK.

He said: “A host of towns and cities around the UK have done the same. Seems quite reasonable. Others have included pop up cycle lanes too. The added width and bike lanes are allowing people to get a bit of exercise where most shops are still closed. I’m sure they’ll ease off when shops reopen.”

The restrictions have also been put in place in Knaresborough High Street, Pateley Bridge High Street and Ripon High Street and Skellgate have been reduced in width to a single lane.

Richard Flinton, chief executive of NYCC, said in a message to residents:

“We are doing our best to limit crowds in those places where lack of space is particularly concerning such as Whitby, Filey, Scarborough and Harrogate.

“We are closing a number of streets, shutting certain car parks and suspending parking in a number of areas. We will also have highways crews looking out for any issues of concern over the weekend and ready to take the action open to us, to respond.”

Trade associations in Harrogate have given mixed reactions to parking restrictions put in place in the town to enable social distancing.

Harrogate Business Improvement District welcomed the measures but said it was important that clear signage was put in place to indicate where people can park, while Independent Harrogate called on the county council to rethink the measures.

North Yorkshire County Council has put the restrictions in place on James Street, Commercial Street and parts of Albert Street in Harrogate and elsewhere in the district.

Sara Ferguson, acting chairman of the Harrogate BID, said the town still needed to welcome people coming in cars despite the restrictions.

She said: “Whilst we welcome the measures put in place to assist social distancing in Harrogate town centre, it’s imperative that there is clear signage indicating where there is parking.

“As shops start to reopen from June 1, the last thing we want is returning customers being put off coming to Harrogate due to inadequate parking spaces in and around the town centre.

“Because people will understandably be cautious about travelling by public transport, we need to take this into account and not punish car users, but welcome them.

“There needs to clear signage on the main approaches into the town as well as within it, plus information on both North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Councils as to which streets and carparks are open. We will gladly carry this information on our website too, and promote it regularly via our social media channels.”

Meanwhile, Independent Harrogate said that it was disappointed that the restrictions had been put in place and called for a rethink on the measures.

A spokesperson said: “Independent Harrogate feels we should be encouraging visitors to the town, not discouraging them if businesses are to survive. We are all working hard behind closed doors implementing procedures that will keep our customers safe, ready for when the government allow restrictions to be relaxed.

“Harrogate needs to send out a message that we are open for business and will be pleased to welcome you.

“We feel the new restrictions could be dangerous for pedestrians too! For example, the parking bays on James Street and Albert Street are ipso facto – a pavement. These areas are full of pot holes and Appy Parking road-pods, which may be extremely hazardous for disabled and partially sighted visitors and customers.

“We would urge NYCC to think again about their recent parking restrictions and work with us, together we can work out how to encourage visitor and customers back into the town centre and not discourage them.”

After the first four weeks of lockdown, The Stray Ferret reported on the activity of our two MPs and what role they were playing in tackling coronavirus. We had struggled to establish exactly what they’d been doing.

It’s now eight weeks since lockdown, the country has faced its biggest ever public health emergency, and we have asked them to tell us more about their activity during this time. Again, we did not receive an answer, so here is what we know based on information publicly available.

Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough.

In Harrogate- here is what we found on Mr Jones:

• He posted one news story on his website in the last four weeks. It urged businesses to plan for when lockdown eases.
• Mr Jones tweeted three times in the last four weeks. None informed his followers of what work he was doing in Harrogate.
• He has no Facebook page to update his constituents on his community work.
• He chaired the first virtual meeting of the European Statutory Instruments Committee on April 21 and chaired another meeting on May 5.
• Last week, he said publicly that people should not get complacent because lockdown is being eased.
• Mr Jones offered to deliver leaflets and food on behalf of the Harrogate Easier Living Project. The charity confirmed that he did that last week.

Julian Smith, MP for Ripon and Skipton.

In Ripon- here is what we found on Mr Smith:

• Mr Smith has posted no news stories on his personal website about his work during lockdown. His last post was in January.
• He does include links to government guidance as part of an advice section on his site.
• On Twitter, two of his 62 tweets since April 20 have been about his constituency – one about Ripon barracks and another on a hardship fund for farmers from the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
• Mr Smith posted five times on his Facebook page in the past four weeks to promote the government’s coronavirus bounce back loans. The others were the same Ripon and DEFRA related posts that he made on Twitter.
• He asked a question at Prime Ministers Questions on May 13 where he called on the government to bring an end to rough sleeping in the UK.
• Mr Smith has held telephone surgeries for his constituents throughout lockdown.

What would you like your MP to being focusing on as we ease out of lockdown? Here’s what a number of people from both constituencies asked.  Have you been in touch with your MP? Have they been helpful? Get in touch with us and tell us how.

The Stray Ferret asked people in both Harrogate and Ripon constituencies what questions they had for their local MPs.

In Harrogate, the questions centred on how the town centre is going to bounce back after restrictions are lifted and what support is going to be in place for both people and businesses.

Here is what people in the town had to ask Andrew Jones MP.

Phil Argent, CEO of Tenancy Stream, said:                                          “Businesses are going to have to try and start again and are not going to have the footfall that they once did. How exactly is Harrogate going to bounce back from lockdown?”

Jan Bathurst, team leader at Harrogate District Food Bank, said:               “Once lockdown is lifted, what support is going to be in place for vulnerable people both in terms of financially and food?”

Kimberley Wilson, owner of The Camberley Hotel and chair of Accommodation Harrogate, said: “I would like to know when we are going to have the Harrogate Convention Centre back and what is going to happen with events going forward?

In Ripon, the questions hit a different tone. There was an anxiety over how vulnerable people will cope and what the government is going to do to address rural poverty which some fear will be worse after lockdown.

This is what the people of Ripon wanted to ask Mr Smith:

Dave Robinson, chair of Henry Jenkins Community Pub Ltd: “The coronavirus crisis has served to emphasise the need for rural communities to come together and make best use of their facilities for local residents. As previously indicated by you, once the crisis is over, can we count on your support in our campaign to save the historic Henry Jenkins Inn in Kirkby Malzeard, reestablishing the Asset of Community Value over the whole site and protecting its status as a community amenity for the three villages in our expanding parish?”

Phil Marley, owner of Marley’s Butchers, Ripon: “The worrying scale of rural poverty in Ripon and surrounding areas, has become even clearer with the coronavirus crisis. We are doing our bit as a business to help families and individuals in dire need, but people cannot rely on charity forever. As I see it, the financial situation can only get worse, particularly as unemployment is likely to rise when small businesses go bust because of the money they have lost. What do you think the government can do to assist places like Ripon in keeping businesses open and helping the poorest in our society?”

Alison Hope, No 12 Greengrocers, Masham:                                                  “Local farmers are working around the clock in the crucial role of keeping us all fed. Many are working in difficult circumstances, with concerns for their future. What have you been doing to support our local farming community during the crisis?”

All of these questions were submitted to Andrew Jones and Julian Smith at the end of last week. We are still waiting to hear back from both MPs.