The Environment Agency has warned that flooding is ‘expected’ at a caravan park in the Harrogate district.

The caravan park at Roecliffe, near Boroughbridge, is situated alongside the River Ure.

At 12.29am this morning the Environment Agency urged people in the area to ‘act now’. It said:

“Flooding is expected in this area. This means properties are at risk of flooding. Please take action to protect yourself and your property and monitor local weather and river conditions.

“Avoid contact with, walking or driving through flood water. Consider activating any property flood protection products you may have.”

The government department also activated a less severe flood alert for the River Ure at 3.19am this morning.

It applies to low-lying land including agricultural land and local roads in the areas around Masham, Boroughbridge, Aldborough and Bishop Monkton. The alert said:

“Flooding is possible in this area. Monitor local water levels and weather conditions. Avoid using low lying footpaths or entering areas prone to flooding.”

Last night the Environment Agency issued a flood alert for the Upper River Nidd catchment area, which remains active.

A map showing where flood alerts and warnings are active.

Read more:

• Flood alert issued for Upper River Nidd catchment
• Rain highlights concerns about state of Harrogate district drains and gullies

The Environment Agency has issued a flood alert tonight for the Upper River Nidd catchment area.

The stretch of the river from its source in Great Whernside, down to Pateley Bridge and as far south as Birstwith is covered by the alert, which was introduced at 7.29pm.

It applies to land around the Upper Nidd and its tributaries including How Stean Beck, Blayshaw Gill, Ramsgill Beck, Lul Beck, Foster Beck, Fosse Gill, Fell Beck and Darley Beck.

The alert says:

“Flooding is possible in this area. Monitor local water levels and weather conditions. Avoid using low lying footpaths or entering areas prone to flooding. Start acting on your flood plan if you have one.”

There are currently 106 flood alerts and 29 more serious flood warnings active in England.

Many are in the west of the country, which experienced the worst of today’s persistent rain.

The unsettled weather is forecast to remain in the Harrogate district for the foreseeable future.

Read more:

• Rain highlights concerns about state of Harrogate district drains and gullies
• Talks to save 24 bus from Pateley to Harrogate as cull looms

The YMCA has confirmed it will open a shop in the former Argos unit on the Marshall Way retail park in Ripon.

A spokeswoman for the YMCA, which helps young people, said the shop would sell furniture and electrical goods as well as the usual charity items and donations “would be hugely appreciated”.

She added the opening date had yet-to-be confirmed but it was “looking like early February”.

The spokeswoman said:

“The store will employ a manager and two assistant managers initially and we are looking for volunteers for a variety of roles.

“We will start shop set up work from next week so things will start to happen.”

Argos relocated to the Sainsbury’s site on Market Place East after the covid lockdown was lifted.

Read more:

• Harrogate YMCA shop to close after just two years
• Ripon Salvation Army appeal helped hundreds across the Harrogate district

Heavy rain in recent days has heightened concerns about the state of drains and gullies in the Harrogate district.

The Stray Ferret has been contacted by residents in separate parts of the district frustrated about how quickly flooding occurs because of blockages in the drainage infrastructure.

Huby resident John Chadwick said flooding caused by blocked culverts, drains and ditches was a major problem in Huby and Weeton and concerns raised by the parish council had brought “minimal results”. He said:

“There is a particularly serious issue at the moment at the junction of Woodgate Lane, Crag Lane and the main A658.

“When there is even little rainfall, water cascades off the fields on the north side of the A658. Because the ditches are blocked, water flows down over the main road and then down onto Woodgate Lane. Recently this froze over causing a risk to life. This is not an exaggeration, a vehicle could easily have skidded.

“I walk my dog regularly in the area and even as a complete novice in the subject, I can see that the problem would be easy to solve by clearing ditches, gulleys and drains.”

A drain in Huby

Mr Chadwick urged North Yorkshire County Council, the highways authority, to do more to tackle the problem, particularly as a school bus stop is located at the junction.

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Sharow resident James Thornborough sent photos of Sharow Lane, which he said flooded within an hour of heavy rain on Saturday.

“The blind bend road was flooded where the sewage operation is running 24/7. It took just one hour of torrential rain to achieve the pictured lake. The electric power packs for the traffic lights were submerged in water.

“Yorkshire Water jetted the drains about six weeks ago, which is not a sustainable solution because every other drain on Dishforth Road is blocked, offering a downhill runway.

Sharow Lane last weekend

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for highways and transportation, Cllr Keane Duncan, said:

“Funding for the upkeep of drains and gullies is part of our annual highways maintenance budget of around £55 million which covers planned maintenance programmes as well as responding to problems as they arise.

“Over the last financial year we invested an additional £500,000 to improve how we maintain road drainage systems across the county.

“We have in-house high-pressure jetting capability on our gully cleansing machines which assist in unblocking drainage systems and ensuring they are operating effectively.”

Talks are taking place to maintain the 24 bus route between Pateley Bridge and Harrogate.

The service provides a lifeline for many people in rural parts of Nidderdale, including Birstwith, Darley and Summbridge.

But North Yorkshire County Council said today its survival was in the balance — amid uncertainty over the future of 80 bus services in the county.

Until October 2022, all Monday to Saturday journeys on the 24 were operated commercially by the Harrogate Bus Company, which is owned by French transport firm Transdev.

But in October the company announced the service was no longer commercially viable and it intended to withdraw most journeys, which prompted the county county to prop it up until April this year.

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for highways and transportation, Cllr Keane Duncan, said today:

“We are currently seeking costs from operators to continue service 24 after April in the hope it can be maintained at a similar level. We will update the public on the future of the service as soon as possible.

“The issues affecting the 24 service come at a time of immense pressure for bus services both nationally and across North Yorkshire.”

Cllr Keane Duncan

Read more:

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• £2 cap on Harrogate district bus fares starts today

Cllr Duncan said passenger numbers were currently on average about 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. In addition, operating costs have increased and there is a national shortage of drivers. The Conservative politician added:

“Combined with government grant funding coming to an end in March, around 80 routes are at risk of needing to reduce their frequency or cease altogether.

“While we already use £1.6m of council funds each year to support services that are not commercially viable, this funding is likely to become increasingly stretched given the scale of the challenge we are facing across the county.

“We continue to work closely with operators to encourage more people to choose the bus. We are supporting the government’s £2 fare cap, which applies to the 24 and tens of other services in North Yorkshire.

“We meet regularly and are sharing information in a bid to ensure we are doing everything we can to protect as much of the network as possible through this difficult period. This will ensure we have the best basis for building services back in the future.”

Bus fares charged by the Harrogate Bus Company and Connexions Buses were capped at £2 for three months from the start of this year as part of the government-funded Help for Household scheme.

Michael Harrison, a Conservative who represents Killinghall, Hampsthwaite and Saltergate on the county council, said the 24 route, which passes through his division, was highly valued by many people. He added:

“I’m hopeful we will be able to keep the service running in the new financial year. In the meantime I would really encourage people to to take advantage of the £2 bus fare cap to demonstrate there is a demand for it.”

The incoming chief executive of the new North Yorkshire Council has raised questions about the future of Harrogate Convention Centre.

In a significant change of tone, Richard Flinton refused to commit to a £49 million redevelopment of the venue proposed by Harrogate Borough Council, which will be abolished at the end of March.

Mr Flinton also questioned the future use of the site, saying the conference and events venue needed to be vibrant and relevant in the face of competition from a new venue in Leeds rather than “an enormous drain on public finances”.

Speaking at Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce‘s monthly meeting at Rudding Park last night, Mr Flinton said the council had “inherited issues we didn’t expect” about the centre and decisions were not “straightforward”. He said:

“The level of investment the conference centre needs to make sure it’s a relevant venue is something we are facing up to.

“£50 million into one place is a big investment ask. We will need to understand how the conference centre earns its way, faces up to the challenge from Leeds and is a strong investable asset for the new council.”

Mr Flinton at last night’s meeting

Harrogate Borough Council has consistently defended the loss-making centre on the basis that the thousands of visitors it attracts benefit the town’s hotels, bars and restaurants and bring a wider economic benefit to the district as a whole.

But control of the venue will transfer to North Yorkshire Council on April 1, when it comes into existence and Harrogate Borough Council ceases to exist.

The new local authority, based in Northallerton, could find it harder to justify to residents in places such as Scarborough and Selby the merit of spending almost five per cent of its annual £1.2 billion budget on a single building in Harrogate.

Read more:

• New board to review Harrogate Convention Centre operating model
• Working group set up to steer future of Harrogate Convention Centre

In his speech last night, Mr Flinton also cited diversification as one of the new council’s business aims for Harrogate and said there were questions about the town’s over-reliance on the centre.

Michael Schofield, a Liberal Democrat who represents Harlow and St George’s on North Yorkshire County Council, asked whether the new council would consider “repurposing the HCC to make it a viable business”.

Mr Flinton reiterated that it needed to be vibrant rather than a drain on public finances.

Cllr Carl Les and Richard Flinton last night

Carl Les, the Conservative leader of North Yorkshire Council, said:

“We have to consider it again with a fresh pair of eyes.”

In October, Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council formed a working group to discuss the convention centre’s £49 million redevelopment plan and how it could be funded, as well as how the venue should be run in the future.

A total of 76 staff at Harrogate’s St George Hotel face uncertain futures amid plans to close the building for refurbishment.

The Inn Collection Group, which bought the historic hotel a year ago, informed staff last week they were at risk of redundancy on January 30.

It plans to carry out a multi-million pound refurbishment that will transform the interior and increase the number of bedrooms from 90 to 96.

A spokesman for the Inn Collection Group, which also owns the Dower House in Knaresborough and Ripon Spa Hotel, said today:

“We currently have 76 colleagues at risk of redundancy as a result of a proposed closure on January 30, however we have started a consultation process to discuss this, to support our colleagues and seek ways in which to mitigate the need for redundancy.”

The spokesman said the refurbishment would include remedial work to some of the building’s systems and “bring it into the look and feel of The Inn Collection Group”, adding:

“The main focus on refurbishment though is centred around the transformation of the ground floor space, which will be brought into our model of hospitality.

“We are a pub with rooms operator rather than a hotel operator and the refurbishment will evolve the offering at Hotel St George into a space where they are made to feel welcome and are encouraged to join us for coffees, drinks and meals.

“There will also be significant improvements carried out to areas that support this such as the kitchens, allowing us to develop what we offer to our guests and residents of Harrogate and beyond.”

Read more:

• St George Hotel in Harrogate to close at end of month
• Roadworks to start on Harrogate’s Wetherby Road this week

The spokesman said the refurbishment was anticipated to take 16 weeks and was “intended to begin shortly following a consultation period with our teams at the site who will be impacted whilst the refurbishment takes place”.

Asked what will happen to customers who have booked accommodation or weddings, he said:

“Our teams are currently contacting these customers directly to discuss their bookings.  These discussions will centre around if they wish to retain their stay or event with us or if they wish to find an alternative venue, which we will work with them to accommodate.”

Dower House and Ripon Spa Hotel set for summer re-openings

The Inn Collection Group has properties across northern England, including Dower House and Ripon Spa Hotel, which are both closed for refurbishment.

The Dower House

Work at Dower House began in September last year. The spokesman said:

“Once complete, the Dower House will have grown from a 38-room establishment to a 57-room venue and as with Hotel St George will have enjoyed a significant renovation of its ground floor spaces to provide a space to be enjoyed by guests both staying with us and those visiting from the local area.

“The fabric of the building is requiring a great deal of care and attention as part of the refurbishment, and we are hopeful that works will be complete later this summer.”

The company has started advertising for a general manager at Ripon Spa Hotel but it is not expected to reopen for several months. The building is still surrounded by scaffolding.

Ripon Spa Hotel

The spokesman said:

“Works have been underway at Ripon Spa since summer last year and again have seen us undertake an extensive programme to maintain and enhance the fabric of the building.

“As at the Dower House, there will be an increase in the number of bedrooms for guest. Up from 43 to 59.

“We are again hopeful of launching the newly renovated venue later this summer.”

Police photos have revealed the scale of a cannabis farm run by an Albanian drugs gang at a Harrogate home owned by landlady Yoko Banks.

Banks, 74, of Scargill Road, was constantly in touch with the drug conspirators but played no active part in the cultivation process.

She was jailed for three-and-a-half years in August 2021 after she admitted three counts of being concerned in the supply of cannabis

Last week she was ordered to repay over £142,333 of illegally earned money under the Proceeds of Crime Act at Leeds Crown Court.

The photos by North Yorkshire Police show how one of her homes on Alexandra Road, close to King’s Road, not far from Harrogate town centre, was completely transformed to cultivate the plants. Even the stairs were covered in cannabis.

Read more:

• Ex-Harrogate guest house owner ordered to repay £140,000 for role in cannabis racket
• Roadworks to start on Harrogate’s Wetherby Road this week

Detective Inspector Janine Mitchell, head of financial investigation at the constabulary, said today:

“The Proceeds of Crime Act allows us to deprive criminals of their illegal income. We will take every opportunity to use the legislation to its capacity to ensure no-one benefits from crime.

“In this case Banks had knowingly rented out high-end Harrogate properties to the organised crime gang in return for thousands of pounds in rental income.

“If you suspect anyone of living off illegally earned income, do not hesitate to call the police. If you don’t want to talk to us, you can report it to Crimestoppers anonymously.”

Cannabis plants propped up in the house on Alexandra Road.

One of the rooms at the house.

The windows were blocked off to prevent people seeing inside.

The cannabis-covered stairs.

Leeds Bradford Airport has announced it will offer a record-breaking 80 destinations in 2023 and 2024.

New routes include Bergen in Norway, Porto in Portugal and Perpignan in France.

Recent additions of Katowice in Poland, Bucharest in Romania and Cluj in Romania will continue along with popular favourites such as Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Faro in Portugal and Palma in Majorca remain on the itinerary.

In a press release today, the airport said it had made “significant investment to its terminal”, including a redevelopment of Hall A facilities and improved facilities in the check-in hall, which services all airlines apart from Jet2.

John Cunliffe, commercial and strategy director at LBA, said:

“With the broadest range of destinations ever, we know that the coming years will be fantastic for LBA passengers. Whether it’s holidaymakers returning to their favourite beaches, travel to see distant family or adventures to new countries, there is something for everybody.”

Further details are available here.

Read more:

• Leeds Bradford Airport scraps plans for £150m terminal
• Roadworks to start on Harrogate’s Wetherby Road this week

A flood warning is in force for the Harrogate district from 6am to 8pm tomorrow.

Many roads were hit by flash flooding on Saturday and water levels remain high. Now the Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for tomorrow due to persistent heavy rain, although the north-west is expected to bear the brunt.

Yellow warnings, which are less severe than amber and red warnings, are usually issued when it is likely the weather will cause some low level impacts, including some disruption to travel in a few places

In this instance, the Met Office has warned “flooding of a few homes and businesses is likely” and “bus and train services probably affected with journey times taking longer”.

The Environment Agency issued a flood alert on Thursday last week for low-lying areas around Masham, Boroughbridge, Aldborough and Bishop Monkton that are close to the River Ure.

It was removed over the weekend and there are currently no flood alerts or warnings active in the Harrogate district.

Read more:

• Flood alert issued in Harrogate district
• Firefighters rescue horse trapped in floodwater in Harrogate district