Pregnant woman rescued from Swinsty Reservoir diversion

A pregnant woman had to be rescued by a passing family after she struggled to walk the Swinsty Reservoir diversion on Saturday.

Helen Riley, who is in the early stages of pregnancy, thought she was going for a quick stroll on her usual route around the reservoir.

She set out in the afternoon with some firm walking boots and soon found the diversion but did not realise how muddy it has become. She said:

“Some of the route is simply impossible to walk. If that family wasn’t there to help I don’t know what would have happened. I was in tears when I eventually got back.”

Yorkshire Water introduced the diversion last month. It is due to be in place for 18 months while £6 million safety works take place.

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The company warned the route was uneven and “sometimes wet” and therefore unsuitable for pushchairs or wheelchairs.

However, many readers have expressed concerns about its suitability and Helen told the Stray Ferret the warnings do not fully reflect the reality:

“The rain, the cows and the number of walkers have made the route difficult to walk. My boots were covered in mud and it came up to my shins at some points.”

Yorkshire Water is diverting excess water from the reservoir to Lindley Wood reservoir to protect the embankment from flood erosion.

A spokesperson for the company told the Stray Ferret:

“We’re aware that the diversion footpath at Swinsty reservoir has become slightly difficult to navigate – with some areas very muddy.

“We are speaking to North Yorkshire County Council about ways they may be able to improve the public right of way.”

Yorkshire Water also encouraged anyone worried about the diversion route to visit other nearby reservoirs, such as Fewston and Thruscross.

Plans to turn Bishop Monkton pub into five houses

There are new plans to turn a village pub in Bishop Monkton, south of Ripon, into five houses.

If the plans get the go-ahead the Lamb and Flag, on Boroughbridge Road, could soon make way for more housing in the area.

The pub would be converted into two homes, the existing bed and breakfast would be converted into one house and the developers would also build two new houses on the rear car park.

Bishop Monkton, which the Domesday Book refers to as the “Tun of the monks,” has seen an increase in residential development over the last 50 years.

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The Lamb and Flag is a “building of interest” and sits next to listed buildings. However, the planning application says the harm to those buildings would be “less than substantial.”

Developers also say in the plans that the design of the new houses will retain the character of the original pub and the core of the building.

Harrogate Borough Council formally acknowledged the planning application last Friday. There’s no date set for when it will be heard.

Despite new developments and growing populations, village pubs have found it difficult to survive.

Nearby Burton Leonard lost a pub in recent years. The Hare and Hounds was also replaced by housing.

Harrogate Town reveal plans to welcome fans this weekend

Harrogate Town will open the stadium this weekend to a limited number of fans for the first time since March.

Saturday’s home match against Forest Green Rovers has been designated a test event and the stadium will operate a much lower capacity than usual.

Tickets will not go on general sale. Those with deposits for a season ticket will be able to reserve standing tickets in the main stand and the car park terrace.

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Currently the club has 450 season ticket deposit holders. It will not sell any new season tickets until further notice.

The club has introduced one way systems, hand sanitising areas and signage for spectators.

Only those in tier one or tier two areas will be able to attend the game, ruling out much of the areas surrounding North Yorkshire that are in tier three.

The club is awaiting approval from the English Football League, the Sports Ground Safety Authority and local Safety Advisory Group to use the fixture as a test event.

Season ticket deposit holders will receive an email with further details and a follow-up call before Friday.

A spokesperson for the club said:

“We are hopeful that should the test event be a success, we may be able to increase the capacity at future games.

“Supporters unable to attend Saturday’s fixture can continue to watch the action via our streaming service.

“Thank you for your continued patience and support.”

Just 14 coronavirus cases in Harrogate district today

Coronavirus cases in the Harrogate district have continued to fall as the end of the second lockdown approaches.

Public Health England reported just 14 additional cases in the district today, down from a peak of 95 on November 9.

The Harrogate district now has the lowest infection rate of the seven district and borough council regions in North Yorkshire.

Its seven-day average rate is 97 cases per 100,000 people, which is also well below the England average of 160 per 100,000.

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Selby has the highest rate in North Yorkshire at 155 cases per 100,000 people, which is still below the national average.

The R number in the district has also fallen to 0.6. Any number below one means the spread of the virus is declining.

Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any additional coronavirus deaths.

The hospital has recorded 99 covid deaths since the start of the pandemic. The last death was recorded over the weekend but happened on Thursday last week,

Six arrests after spate of burglaries in Harrogate

Police have made six arrests after a spate of overnight burglaries in Harrogate.

Thieves broke into four homes in the Rossett, Oatlands, High Harrogate and Pannal Ash areas in the last week alone.

Homeowners reported that jewellery, cash and electronic devices had all been stolen.

North Yorkshire Police arrested six men aged in their 20s to their 50s. The police released them all under investigation.

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As a result of the burglaries the police have warned residents to be vigilant in the run up to Christmas.

Detective Sergeant Tom Barker, from Harrogate’s proactive team, said:

“It’s a common trend that during the lead up to Christmas we have a spate in burglaries.

“As a result, we have a dedicated team of officers out in the areas we know that are being targeted.”

The force has put out advice asking people to lock doors and windows, leave a light on when heading out and never leave valuables on show.

Harrogate post box with a direct line to Santa opens

A new post box with a direct line to the North Pole has opened in Harrogate offering children the chance to write to Father Christmas.

Harrogate International Festivals has turned its Cheltenham Parade office a magical makeover.

As well as the post office, the site has snow flurries and Christmas music, and Father Christmas also makes appearances in the window.

The North Pole Post Office, which will be open right up to Christmas eve, aims to bring some festive cheer to children denied the chance to visit Santa due to covid.

Children posting letters should include their name, age, what they would like for Christmas and something they like doing. Those who would like Santa Claus to write back should also include their address.

 

 

 

 

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Lizzie Brewster, Harrogate International Festivals’ head of development and communications, said:

“Because Santa’s grottos will be few and far between, we are inviting the town’s children to write a letter to Father Christmas and then pop it into our post box.

“And naturally we would also ask that social distancing is adhered to at all times. The last thing we want is Father Christmas and his elves coming down with covid!”

Harrogate Business Improvement District has sponsored the North Pole Post Office as part of its Harrogate at Christmas campaign.

Sara Ferguson, acting chair of Harrogate BID, said:

“Harrogate International Festivals are known for their creativity. The North Pole Post is simply genius. We are delighted to partner with them for this end of year treat.

“It is a feature of our Harrogate at Christmas campaign, designed to bring residents into town all through the week, not just at the weekend when it’s at its busiest.”

Harrogate independents band together to beat coronavirus

A Harrogate street full with independent retailers has banded together to beat coronavirus.

Commercial Street has a new retailers group designed at promoting all of the shops online.

Shops pay £52 a year to join and all of that money goes into a pot to pay for the website and any future campaigns.

More than 70% of the street is already signed up. They all hope that it can help them get a bumper Christmas after a difficult year.

Commercial Street

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Sue Kramer, of Crown Jewellers and head of the Commercial Street Retailers Group, said:

“It’s been a tough time for shops. But we hope that we can come out of coronavirus in a strong position.

“Christmas is such an important time so we are very happy to be in tier two. The new group has come at a great time.’

She hopes that the new group can encourage customers to keep coming back and exploring Commercial Street.

Despite the difficult year Sue believes that independent shops like the ones on Commercial Street will be the heart of town centres in years to come.

More cases and one more coronavirus death in Harrogate

There are 22 new cases in the Harrogate district today as the hospital reports another coronavirus death.

Public Health England figures for the district, which have been dropping steadily since the start of November, are now at 3,536 cases overall.

Harrogate District Hospital is now at 99 coronavirus deaths in total after it reported one more death today.

The death, while reported today, happened on Thursday. November 26.

It also comes as the Harrogate district prepares to move into tier two restrictions on Wednesday as the national lockdown ends.

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Harrogate council increases search delays to seven weeks

Harrogate Borough Council has increased the average time to complete land searches from 30 working days to up to seven weeks.

The council has asked those waiting to be patient and request a land search as early as possible.

An increase in demand, a backlog of searches from the first lockdown and struggles with staff numbers have all put strain on the process.

The Stray Ferret has reported the frustration of homebuyers and agents over the last month, who all disputed the council’s previous 30 working days time scale.

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Some claim to have put in requests at the end of summer to be told that it won’t be cleared until December.

Harrogate Borough Council put an updated on their social media channels to say the the waiting time had increased:

“We are doing everything we can to reduce the processing times for local land charge searches.

“It is currently taking between six and seven weeks on average for us to complete our part of the searches process.”

Now that the current lockdown is coming to an end the council is opening the civic centre to allow personal searches to take place.

James Wort, a director at Strutt and Parker, previously told the Stray Ferret that his clients have experienced delays up to 90 days:

“I can give about 17 examples where the search delays have been three times what the council have said.

“We have emails from the council saying that requests from September will be complate by December. But they say it’s not true. It’s scandalous. “

Ripon man tried to save kittens thrown from moving car

A Ripon man who tried to save kittens thrown from a moving car has spoken of the moment one of them died in his hands.

The council worker, who does not want to be named, was driving a recycling van at 2pm between Water Skellgate and Bondgate Green last Thursday.

He saw something in the road and then later saw, a couple of cars in front, a person on the driver’s side of a brown or gold car throw a kitten in the air.

Susan Lund, the man’s wife, recalled the moment to the Stray Ferret:

“He stopped the van and picked up the little kitten. It was still breathing but it soon died in his hands.

“The kitten’s face was all smashed in from the impact. My husband was very upset by all of this.

“I think it is beyong shocking and absolutely abhorrent. They were just tiny babies. The person who did this was evil.”

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The couple believe that they were just six to eight weeks old and were tabby type kittens.

Animal rights group PETA has heard about the incident and offered a £2,000 reward to find those responsible.

Elisa Allen, PETA director, said:

“A person capable of deliberately causing a helpless animal this kind of suffering demonstrates a deeply worrying psychological state and must be found.

“Someone in the area must have seen something or know something about the cruel individual(s) who committed this callous act.”

Anyone who saw the incident have been urged to call the police on 101 and quote reference number 12200204632.