Cycle schemes in Harrogate and Knaresborough will not go ahead after the government rejected the bids for funding.
North Yorkshire County Council applied for £3.19 million from the fourth round of the Department for Transport’s active travel fund.
It would have paid for segregated cycle routes on Victoria Avenue in Harrogate, a section of the A59 between Mother Shipton’s Cave and Harrogate Golf Club and a project in Richmond.
But the DfT allocated the £200 million to bids from other local authorities instead.
The council indicated in a news release last month it had been allocated £1.08m from the fourth funding round and been invited to bid for an additional £2.16m. But it said today it had actually not been awarded a penny.
The news is another blow for attempts to encourage cycling in the Harrogate district after phase two of the Otley Road cycle route was abandoned and traffic calming measures on nearby Beech Grove were reversed.
There is still no final decision on the £11.2 million Station Gateway, which would improve cycling around the train station.
It also appears to leave wider plans to create a connected, segregated cycle route from Cardale Park to Harrogate town centre in tatters.
Read more:
- Council bids for £3m for cycling projects in Harrogate and Knaresborough
- Andrew Jones to stand for election again in Harrogate and Knaresborough
North Yorkshire County Council’s Conservative executive member for highways and transportation, Cllr Keane Duncan, said:
Paperchase in Harrogate to close tomorrow“We are inevitably disappointed that our ambitious £3.19 million bid to enhance facilities for cyclists and pedestrians through the fourth round of the government’s active travel fund has not been successful.
“We believe we put forward strong proposals for the three schemes.
“We are seeking detailed feedback from Active Travel England so we can understand the reasons behind their decision. We hope to work with them to progress schemes in these areas and elsewhere in the county successfully in future.”
Paperchase in Harrogate will close tomorrow after the company went into administration last month.
The cards, gifts and stationery company has been holding a closing down sale since administrators Begbies Traynor took control of the business.
The James Street shop has already sealed off half of the unit as stocks run low. It is running a 70% off sale and selling some cards for as little as 10p.
Tesco bought the rights to the cards, gifts and stationery brand, entitling it to sell Paperchase items in its supermarkets, but did not buy the stores.
The move affected 106 Paperchase shops and more than 800 staff nationally. All stores are due to cease trading by Monday.
Read more:
Record readership for Stray Ferret with 2 million page views this month
The Stray Ferret has had a record breaking March, with more than two million page views and almost 300,000 unique users.
The Harrogate district news service, which is now three years old, has seen consistent growth in readership.
The figures quoted have all been verified by Google Analytics.
More than 30,000 people follow Stray Ferret posts on the various social media channels.
The most read stories in March included hundreds of job losses due to the sudden close of telemarketing firm Amvoc in Harrogate, disruption across the district due to snow fall, Knaresborough tractor run and the closure of the fast food restaurant Leon.
Tamsin O’Brien, director of the Stray Ferret said:
“We set out to provide a service that we thought the residents of the Harrogate district wanted — well written news and information in an easy-to-read digital format. We constantly aim to be first with the news and be as local as possible. To have two million page views shows just how much people value this information and are engaged in where they live.
“Our readers tell us how much they like the fact our news content is free of annoying pop-ups or Google ads and we only allow local advertisers who also want to engage local residents — so the whole site is solely for the people and businesses of the district.”
This month also saw the Stray Ferret launch its annual Business Awards and establish a networking Business Club.
Thanks to all our readers and advertisers. Please keep us up to date with your news and views.
Read more:
- Andrew Jones to stand for election again in Harrogate and Knaresborough
- Headteacher of King James’s School in Knaresborough leaves after 15 years
Headteacher of King James’s School in Knaresborough leaves after 15 years
Carl Sugden, headteacher of King James’s School in Knaresborough, will leave tomorrow after 15 years in charge of the secondary school.
Mr Sugden first came to Knaresborough as deputy headteacher aged 33 in April 2000.
He left in 2005 before relinquishing his role as head of Sherburn High School, at Sherburn-in-Elmet to succeed David Hudson as headteacher of King James’s in 2008.
The 1,575-pupil Knaresborough school was rated ‘good’ by Ofsted this year.
Clare Martin, principal of Bradford Girls’ Grammar School, will succeed Mr Sugden as head at the start of the summer term on April 17.
Mr Sugden said he had totted up that he had done about 600 assemblies, 400 staff briefings, 13 founder’s says, 80 prize-givings and 2,500 bus duties, adding:
“And I even managed to keep teaching history until just about the end. That is what I will miss the most, being in the classroom with our young people.”
Mr Sugden said:
“The school is a great community and there is a special history and ethos here, which I have tried to nurture and to maintain.
“I’m immensely proud of what this school has achieved, with the support of many great colleagues, over the past few years. In particular the challenges of the pandemic, and the post pandemic, which stretched us to the limit.
“When you look back at the last three years it is incredible what we all dealt with; lockdown, key workers’ children supervision, online learning, lateral flow tests, bubbles, centre assessed grades, masks and vaccinations.”
Read more:
He said that for all the challenges, he didn’t regret a moment:
“It has been fulfilling and I am grateful to have worked in such a vibrant education community. I am not retiring, I will continue to work in education, but I plan to have a little more time to do some of the things I enjoy.”
Mr Sugden praised colleagues for “doing a pretty amazing job, going above and beyond to deliver a very high quality of education and enrichment opportunities” despite “extreme funding pressures”.
He wished Ms Martin well.
“Clare and I worked together back in the early 2000s, when she was, like me, a young teacher at King James’s.
“She has a strong track record as a deputy head and headteacher in schools in Leeds and Bradford. I wish her all the very best in the new role.”
Former Harrogate Town player Jack Diamond charged with rape
Former Harrogate Town player Jack Diamond has been charged with rape.
Northumbria Police confirmed today Gateshead-born Mr Diamond had been charged with one count of rape and one count of sexual assault.
He joined Lincoln City on loan from parent club Sunderland after a second loan spell at Harrogate ended last year.
Lincoln City have terminated his contract and parent club Sunderland have suspended him pending the outcome of the judicial process.
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said:
“In May last year, we received a report that a woman had been sexually assaulted inside an address in the Washington area.
“An investigation was immediately launched and a man was subsequently arrested.
“Jack Diamond, 23, of Fatfield, Washington, has now been charged with one count of rape and one count of sexual assault and is due to appear at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court in May.”
Mr Diamond played for Town on loan during their National League campaign in 2019-20, scoring one of the goals at Wembley that earned promotion to the English Football League for the first time ever.
He returned to the club on loan during the 2021-22 season in League Two of the English Football League.
In his two loan spells, he scored 16 goals in 66 appearances.
A Lincoln City statement said:
“Jack Diamond’s loan spell at City has been terminated with immediate effect.
“The club are unable to make any further statement at this time.”
Read more:
- Andrew Jones to stand for election again in Harrogate and Knaresborough
- Harrogate Town plans new terrace and merchandise kiosk
- Harrogate Town post £1.2 million loss
Air ambulance lands after serious collision in Knaresborough town centre
An air ambulance has landed in Knaresborough after a man was injured in a serious collision this morning.
Police cordoned off part of the market place at about 11.30am this morning. The road has now reopened.
Shortly afterwards an air ambulance landed in the castle yard. It has now left the scene.
The man was injured near Appleton’s butchers and the library.
North Yorkshire Police issued a statement at 12.40pm today, which said:
“We’re with ambulance colleagues attending a serious collision in Knaresborough’s Market Place.“It happened at about 11am and involved two cars and a pedestrian. A man has been taken to hospital.“Please avoid the area while the emergency services work at the scene.”
Read more:
Minister: no plans to house migrants at ex-airfield near Harrogate district — for now
The government has no current plans to house migrants at a former RAF base on the edge of the Harrogate district, Immigration minister Robert Jenrick has said.
The government scrapped plans last year to house 1,500 asylum seekers at Linton-on-Ouse after a fierce backlash from local people and politicians.
The former airfield is nine miles from Boroughbridge, 13 miles from Knaresborough, and even closer to Harrogate district villages such as Great Ouseburn, Little Ouseburn and Nun Monkton.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick told the Commons yesterday the government was now considering housing migrants at at Catterick Garrison in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s constituency.
Ex-military bases in Essex, Lincolnshire and East Sussex are also being assessed for suitability as part of plans to cut down on hotel use.
Former Home Secretary Priti Patel, who was behind the Linton proposal, said the proposed Essex site “is no different in rurality and village size from a former site, Linton-on-Ouse”, adding:
“Why is it deemed appropriate for asylum seeker accommodation for single men to be placed in a rural village in Essex, where there is no infrastructure and no amenities, when it was not appropriate for somewhere like Linton-on-Ouse?”
Read more:
- Ouseburn councillor welcomes decision to scrap Linton asylum centre
- Greggs opens new shop in Knaresborough
In response, Mr Jenrick said:
“We do not have a current plan to proceed with the Linton-on-Ouse proposition, but the sites I have announced today are just the first set that we would like to take forward, because we want to remove people from hotels as quickly as possible and move to this more rudimentary form of accommodation, which will reduce pull factors to the UK and defend the interests of the taxpayer.
Labour shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper described the announcement as “an admission of failure” on asylum policy.
Knaresborough to get new fish and chip shopA new fish and chip shop is set to open in Knaresborough.
Fish-a-rama is expected to begin serving customers at around Easter on the site of a former Chinese takeaway on York Place.
Owner Aytach Sadik ran a fish and chip shop in London before moving to Harrogate 22 years ago.
Since then he was been involved with Chico’s and Bambino’s takeaways in Harrogate.
Mr Sadik said he had spent about £200,000 on the new family-run business, which he said will be a family business selling the best fish and chips around:
“We will only use fresh fish. The quality isn’t there with frozen fish. We will also serve grilled sea bass and bream on a barbecue.”
“Everything is brand new – from the electricity and gas to the fittings. We knocked it back to the bare walls.”
The family-run business is preparing to open.
Mr Sadik said the business intended to apply for planning permission to open an outdoor seating area with a retractable roof on the large forecourt outside.
In the meantime, customers will be able to take their orders and eat them at tables on the patio at the front.
Mr Sadik, who is 67, is coming out of retirement for the venture. He said:
“I did retire two years ago but it’s just not for me. How many days can you play golf?”
Read more:
Knaresborough forest campaign secures 61 acres from development
A Knaresborough voluntary group has bought four plots of farmland totalling 61 acres to turn into a community green space and nature reserve.
Renaissance Knaresborough launched a fundraising campaign in December to acquire privately-owned land between Knaresborough and Starbeck.
The land between Beryl Burton Cycle Way and the A59 Harrogate Road is not currently accessible to the public and there were fears it could one day be used for development.
The campaign aimed to prevent that by reinstating part of the ancient Knaresborough forest, with the land owned by individual shareholders and open to the public for recreation and conservation.
The campaign received £160,000 of pledges from individuals and organisations and a £410,000 donation from the George A Moore Foundation in Leeds. George Moore, a successful businessman who died in 2016, was born and raised in Knaresborough.
An interest-free philanthropic loan by We Have The Power, an organisation set up by impact investor Julia Davies to empower community groups to improve local biodiversity and tackle the climate crisis, enabled a bid to be submitted to the land agents.
However, the campaigners now need to raise about £300,000 to pay back the loan. They hope to raise the sum within six months.
Liz Baxandall, chair of Renaissance Knaresborough, said:
“The combination of the loan, substantial donations and community pledges have enabled Renaissance Knaresborough to realise its dream of protecting the greenbelt and delivering such a wonderful legacy project.
“Julia’s last-minute loan enabled us to secure all the land, a goal we had thought was unrealisable.
“We are so very grateful for all the amazing support we are receiving to protect over 60 acres of beautiful greenbelt countryside between our towns.”
Campaigners celebrate the land purchase
The campaign is similar to the successful Long Lands Common initiative that raised £375,000 to buy 30 acres of land near Nidderdale Greenway.
Fears over green belt
Ms Baxandall said there were major concerns about the amount of building going on and the protection of green belt land.
Knaresborough Forest Park, she said, would “involve all ages working together to create a really special haven for nature and humans”, adding:
“We will pay off the philanthropic loan with the money people are pledging so please keep those pledges coming in.
“Pledges to buy community shares send a very clear message that Knaresborough Forest Park is hugely important to people. Over 900 people have already pledged. We cannot thank you all enough.”
Read more:
- Campaign to create Knaresborough Forest Park issues urgent plea for support
- £405,000 campaign to restore public access to 41 acres of the old Knaresborough Forest
The fields were once the eastern end of the ancient Royal Forest of Knaresborough. The land adjoins Long Lands Common at one end and drops down towards the River Nidd at the other.
George Eglese, a director of Knaresborough Forest Park, said:
“The land is already home to many species of flora and fauna with magnificent old hedges, streams, wetlands, and grasslands.
“There are panoramic views, taking in the town, the castle and St. John’s, which provide a fantastic opportunity to tell tale of ancient Knaresborough and the forest.
“The community has come together and achieved something to be incredibly proud of, something that will be there for many generations to come.”
Harrogate chamber chief executive David Simister seriously ill in hospital
David Simister, chief executive of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, is seriously ill in hospital.
The business organisation said on its website yesterday Mr Simister had suffered a “serious medical episode”.
It added:
“I am sure all our members, and friends in the wider business community of Harrogate will join us in wishing him and his family our thoughts and prayers for a positive outcome and want him to know that we will all be with him on his road to recovery.
“We are deeply saddened by the news and greatly miss David’s infectious enthusiasm and dedication.”
The message added the chamber’s management team led by president Sue Kramer and vice-presidents, Martin Mann, Sam Oakes and Jackie Snape would continue to support and represent chamber members.
Former journalist Mr Simister is well known in Harrogate. He co-founded the Harrogate communications firm Different PR and is a former councillor.
The Stray Ferret sends our best wishes to Mr Simister and hope for his speedy recovery.
Read more: