John Plummer, Author at The Stray Ferret

Still no timeframe on refurbishment of Harrogate’s Crescent Gardens

The company behind plans to transform Harrogate’s Crescent Gardens with a two-storey extension has said it still plans to go ahead with the scheme.

Harrogate-based property developers Impala Estates plans to turn the building into offices, a rooftop restaurant and a gym. But there is still no timeframe on when it will happen.

Impala bought the former Harrogate Borough Council headquarters for £4 million in 2020.

The council, which vacated the building in 2016, approved Impala’s plans in May last year. But since then work has not started and there has been no further update.

The Stray Ferret asked Impala why the redevelopment had been delayed and what the latest timeframe was, and also whether its plans had been revised.

James Hartley, a director of Impala, said:

“Planning was granted with conditions attached in which myself and my design team are working through with the council.

“The plans for the development have not been revised since planning.”

David Hartley, a director of Impala, told a council meeting last year the plans would bring “significant public benefits” to the town, “which include bringing an empty building back into use and creating quality office space”.

Crescent Gardens was vacated by the council when it moved into its Knapping Mount headquarters in 2017.

Famous Nidderdale cricket club in danger of folding

Glasshouses Cricket Club has issued a plea for new players amid fears it could fold after more than 100 years.

Glasshouses was a founder member of the Nidderdale league in 1894 and has won the league on 19 occasions. But it currently only has five members ready and able to play for the new season in April.

It now has only a short time left to sign up enough players to show the league that it has the strength to fulfil fixtures. If it can’t, it will have to stand down and more than a century of village cricket will come to an end.

The club, which is in the fifth division of the Nidderdale and District Amateur Cricket League, has good facilities and plays on a well-maintained ground in a peaceful setting two miles from Pateley Bridge.

Kites swoop overhead and the River Nidd flows by the southern boundary line.

The club’s picturesque setting

Committee member Stephen Boyden said:

“If you are a cricketer who wants friendly though competitive cricket, get in touch with the club now and save them from the saddest of endings.

“You don’t have to live in the area to join the club, all ages are welcome from 12 years old, and both men and women are welcome to join too.”

If you are interested in joining or want to find out more, contact Graham on 07740 786588.

Kingsley anger reaches ‘boiling point’ as another 162 homes set for approval

The beeping sound of lorries and diggers reversing fills the air. Mud covers the street. Planning application notices hang like baubles from lamp posts.

Welcome to Kingsley Road, a once quiet rural area on the edge of Harrogate that has become a permanent building site.

Some 600 homes are at various stages of construction in the nearby area. Work started years ago and shows no sign of ending.

On Tuesday, Harrogate Borough Council‘s planning committee is expected to approve a sixth development – Persimmon’s application for 162 homes in a field on Kingsley Drive. Some locals plan to demonstrate at the council offices in the hope of persuading the Conservative-controlled planning committee to reject the scheme.

Gary Tremble, pictured where more development is due to take place.

Gary Tremble, who lives on Kingsley Road, is at the forefront of local resistance. He is a member of Kingsley Ward Action Group, which was set up in 2019 because “we soon realised we needed to work together”.

By his own admission, Mr Tremble is a “pain in the arse campaigner” who bombards councillors of all political colours with emails complaining about uncovered lorries, the state of the roads, road safety and anything else that concerns people who live in the area. He says some Greens and Liberal Democrats “have been helpful” but the bulldozers keep coming. He says:

“There’s a lot of anger on this street and it will get worse if people keep ignoring us.

“I have to take time off otherwise I get angry all the time. But then you walk out the door and see another truck going past at 40mph.”

The proposed road closure leading to Bogs Lane

The homes are being built in a residential area off the already-congested Knaresborough Road. North Yorkshire County Council has now applied to block the through-route on to Bogs Lane, which some welcome on the grounds it will reduce local traffic. Others say it will just drive more vehicles on to Knaresborough Road.

All you can see in the Kingsley area is houses.

Mr Tremble says:

“The main issue is there is no infrastructure. You can’t build several hundred homes with no community centre, dentist or shop.”

He says if the Persimmon development is approved and more green land between Starbeck and Bilton is concreted over, many people will have had enough and look to move.

Other local people feel equally strongly. Darren Long says:

“It literally feels like we’re given more bad news on a daily basis. It’s now seven years since construction started on the first Barratt’s development and it shows no signs of stopping. It’s so sad that this has been allowed to happen.

“We were so excited to move here in 2017. It’s miserable living here now. Living with the constant construction traffic, proposed road closures, one way systems and the horrific traffic.”

Kingsley Park

Peter Nolan, who has lived in the Kingsley area for 49 years, says Harrogate Borough Council “should be ashamed of the state they have let this once quiet area get into”. He adds:

“I’ve never ever in all my years had to queue half way along Kingsley Road in a morning but now I quite often spend 20 minutes trying to get out onto Knaresborough Road.”

Resident Dee Downton added:

“I am more concerned about the effect of the normal day-to-day basics that impact the everyday person getting to their destinations or commute to work, the impact on air quality because it’s just one constant traffic jam, the impact when ambulances can’t get through, the danger to pedestrians crossing because a gap in the traffic is seen and a vehicle acts quickly but fails to see someone crossing the road.”

Developers have targeted Kingsley because the land is allocated for development on the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which outlines where development can take place,

They say the schemes bring much-needed housing to Harrogate.

Kingsley Road

But those living in the area are less enthusiastic. Anonymous posters appeared on the street recently urging locals to legally double park on the pavement to prevent developers’ lorries from passing.

Mr Tremble says such anger is understandable because feelings are reaching “boiling point”.

Andrew Hart, a postmaster in nearby Starbeck, sympathises and says the action group is “doing their best to right a massive wrong”, adding:

“I am appalled with the never ending chaos created by the developments and road closures along Kingsley. The whole infrastructure was never designed for this number of houses.

“We have ended up with serious health and safety issues, lack of local resources and a gridlocked Knaresborough Road and Starbeck.”

Tuesday’s planning committee can be watched live on Harrogate Borough Council’s YouTube page here.

New 4G mast will boost mobile coverage in Upper Nidderdale

Up to 1,000 Nidderdale residents, businesses and visitors are set to receive 4G phone coverage thanks to a new mast at Scar House reservoir.

The EE mast, which Yorkshire Water installed in partnership with BT, was erected primarily to enable water quality to be monitored remotely.

Yorkshire Water, which owns the reservoir, has installed monitors on water courses feeding Scar House.

Data transmitted by the mast will allow scientists and engineers to proactively select the best available water sources for transfer to its water treatment works.

Weather, temperature, and the condition of the moorland can impact the quality of water sources, as they can influence things like the amount of peat found in the water.

Managing water at its source is a more cost effective and environmentally friendly approach than traditional energy intensive and expensive “end of pipe” treatment solutions.

The better the water quality is at source, the less energy it takes to process at the treatment works, reducing Yorkshire Water’s carbon footprint.

Ted Rycroft, Yorkshire Water’s product and process manager, said:

“Water coming out of customers taps will continue to be the high quality that it always has been – the key change here is that the water coming into the treatment works will be of higher quality, and therefore require less treatment.

“That helps us to keep costs down for our customers and our operational emissions to a minimum, while maintaining our high standards of water quality.”

Ashish Gupta, BT’s managing director for corporate and public sector, hailed the project as “the perfect example of using tech to work smarter – benefiting both local people and the environment”.

Harrogate’s Otley Road to be dug up again

Harrogate’s Otley Road is to be dug up for the second time in just over a year.

Work is due to start on Monday, February 20 and last for two weeks subject to external factors such as weather.

North Yorkshire County Council contractors spent three months creating the first phase of the Otley Road cycleway between September and December 2021.

The same stretch of road is now set to be disturbed again to allow the firm City Fibre to install fibre optic cables that will enable people to receive full fibre-enabled broadband services.

City Fibre is nearing the end of a £46 million upgrade of broadband connectivity in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon. Otley Road will be the last area to be completed in Harrogate.

The county council was due to begin remedial work early this year on cycleway design faults and defects highlighted by residents and Harrogate District Cycle Action.

But a report to councillors for a meeting tomorrow says:

“In May 2022 the fibre optic network company City Fibre contacted North Yorkshire County Council with a request to install fibre optic cables down the full length of the newly constructed cycleway.

“We have negotiated with City Fibre to reinstate the full width of the cycleway at their expense. We will therefore carry out our outstanding remedial works once City Fibre have installed their apparatus.”

Kim Johnston, City Fibre area manager, said in a press release sent out previously that the firm will repair defects at its own expense when it makes good the road. She said:

“We are working closely with North Yorkshire County Council in this area as we understand that the footways on Otley Road have undergone recent resurfacing.

“With the council’s agreement, as part of City Fibre’s essential development works, the footways will be restored, including repairs to defects that North Yorkshire County Council were due to carry out.”

Knaresborough groups seek funding to progress road train idea

Groups in Knaresborough are set to apply for funding to investigate the feasibility of major new schemes for the town, including a road train.

Knaresborough and District Chamber, Knaresborough Town Council and Knaresborough Museum Association will be among those submitting a bid to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

The UK government created the fund for schemes that encourage local investment and regeneration. It replaces European Union structural funds.

Up to £16.9 million is available in North Yorkshire and £2 million will be awarded in the first year of funding, which is due to open for applications shortly.

This month’s Knaresborough and District Chamber meeting heard it was collaborating with other town groups to formulate a bid for about £40,000 to £50,000.

Peter Lacey, executive member of the chamber, said if funding were awarded it would enable the town to undertake research into four priority areas: heritage, connectivity, developing economic data, and street enhancements.

The land train, which would take people up and down the steep slope between the town centre and Waterside, would fall into the connectivity area. He said:

“The fund would finance fuller feasibility and evidence-gathering to build the case for local capacity-building.”

Full fibre broadband rolled out in new parts of Harrogate

Thousands of homes and businesses in Harrogate have just been connected to full fibre-enabled broadband services

Fibre optic company CityFibre said yesterday it had made homes in reach of its network in Bilton, Woodlands, Rossett Green, Pannal, Valley Gardens and New Park ‘ready for service’, which means people can choose to connect to full fibre-enabled broadband services.

CityFibre is investing £46 million on upgrading connectivity Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon.

The rollout is due to be completed in Harrogate this year and will mean almost every home and business locally will have access to full fibre services from a range of internet service providers. The rollout is also now progressing into new areas in Ripon.

Kim Johnston, CityFibre area manager said:

“Our rollout to date has helped transform Harrogate and Ripon’s digital capabilities for both residents and businesses, making them some of the best-connected towns in Britain. We have almost finished in Harrogate and just have a small amount left to do along Otley Road.

“Digital infrastructure has become the cornerstone of modern day-life, and the people we have spoken to say they are already reaping the benefits of lightning fast and more reliable broadband.”

Unlike copper-based fibre broadband services, full fibre networks use 100% fibre optic infrastructure to carry data at lightning speed from the home to the point of connection.

This gives users consistently faster speeds for upload and download and near limitless bandwidth.

Construction is being delivered by Makehappen Group on behalf of CityFibre.

Graveleys fish and chip shop serves first customers after 1,000 days away

Graveleys fish and chip shop in Harrogate served its first customers in more than 1,000 days today.

Owner Simon Pilkington was in town to oversee the reopening of the Harrogate institution, which appeared to have gone for good when it was sold in November 2019.

The takeaway is currently open five days a week and Mr Pilkington said he hoped the restaurant would return in about three weeks, but certainly by Easter, which he said was the trade’s busiest time of year. He said:

“It’s great to be back. My dad would have been elated today to see this if he was still alive.

“Being here has reminded me of all the good times, such as the Great Yorkshire Show week, when we were always absolutely rammed.”

Mr Pilkington said his family had no intention of selling Graveleys until Catch Seafood made an offer.

When Catch went into liquidation last year, the opportunity to return to the same site on Cheltenham Parade proved too tempting for him and his brother Andrew, who own other restaurants elsewhere.

Manager Sarah Knox holds a portion of chips.

Mr Pilkington reiterated the pledge made by manager Sarah Knox yesterday to go “back to basics”, adding:

“We will focus on providing quality fish and chips and then add some seafood delights depending on the feedback.

“Every day is a learning day. We will listen to what customers tell us and go with what they want.”

The takeaway menu includes fish and chips — either cod or haddock — for £9. The takeaway also sells a range of other fish and seafood, including squid, plus other chip shop basics, such as battered sausages and chicken nuggets.

One of today’s first customers

Safety audit to be carried out at Killinghall junction

A formal safety audit is to be conducted at a Killinghall junction after a pedestrian was hit by a vehicle last week.

The news was revealed at a packed meeting last night of Killinghall Parish Council, at which residents vented frustration about safety at the notorious Ripon Road and Otley Road junction.

Michael Harrison, a Conservative who represents Killinghall, Hampsthwaite and Saltergate on North Yorkshire County Council, told the meeting:

“I have a commitment from the county council to do a formal safety audit. It will be proper highways modelling to see what options they will come up with.”

Cllr Harrison added the county council, which is the highways authority, had said it would come up with proposals in three months.

He said he shared residents’ concerns about the junction but admitted he didn’t know the solution, adding.

“If it was obvious there’s no doubt we would have done it.

“I don’t think anyone in this room knows the solution, unless it was a bypass, and I have to say there isn’t support for that.”

Parish council chairman Anne Holdsworth said plans were approved for a Killinghall bypass in 1937 and the village had been campaigning unsuccessfully for one ever since.

One resident told the meeting the person injured on the crossing outside the Greyhounds Inn last week had suffered a broken ankle and was on crutches.

Most people at the meeting agreed speed was a problem at the junction and in the wider village but there was little consensus over what to do.

Opinions included a 20mph limit, a mini roundabout and traffic lights. There were also concerns about the location of the pedestrian crossing and the bus stop as well as the new Tesco Express entrance.

Cyclist seriously injured in collision with van near Weeton

Police are appealing for witnesses to a collision near Weeton in which a cyclist was seriously injured.

It occurred on the A658 Harrogate Road between Weeton railway station and Pool Bridge on Monday, January 30, between 5.50pm and 6.15pm.

A North Yorkshire Police statement today said:

“It involved a van and a bicycle, which collided near to Riffa Business Park, resulting in serious injury to the cyclist.

“Anyone who witnessed the incident, or may have relevant dashcam of the collision or the van or bike involved, is asked to contact TC174 David Minto of North Yorkshire Police Road Policing Group.

“Please either dial 101, or email david.minto@northyorkshire.police.uk, quoting reference number NYP-30012023-0380.”

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