The 10-day International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival is returning to Harrogate this year, in a major boost for the town’s economy.

Harrogate hosted the event annually from 2014 until last year, when it was cancelled due to covid.

The festival, which will take place from August 8 to August 18 at the Royal Hall, attracts thousands of visitors from around the world.

Covid restrictions require the productions to be adapted to ensure the safety of performers, audience and backstage staff.

Janet Smith, festival director, said:

“After the horrible year we have all endured, we cannot wait to get back into the theatre.

“Our seating plan in the theatre is socially distanced, and only 40% of the usual Royal Hall seats are available, so we expect tickets to sell out quickly.

“We will have to wait to hear the government announcements about easing restrictions on June 21, when hopefully we will be allowed to open up more seats.”

The National Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company will open proceedings with HMS Pinafore.

Other highlights include Simon Butteriss directing and starring in The Mikado. The opera company will also bring along a brand-new production of Patience.

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Charles Court Opera will present its production of Iolanthe and Charles Court Opera also give two performances of its new G&S Express.

Forbear! Theatre, directed by Rachel Middle, will bring two productions of The Pirates of Penzance and The Yeomen of the Guard.

For something completely different, on August 6, Simon Butteriss will premiere The Diary of a Nobody comedy.

There will be an additional fringe programme of morning talks, masterclasses and afternoon concerts.

Tickets go on open sale from May 5 and can be ordered on 01422 323252 or online at www.gsfestivals.org.

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. See below for details on how to contribute.

Harrogate’s Army Foundation College saves young people

Network Rail has questions to answer about tree felling

Your journalist reports that ‘some trees have been felled’ at Hornbeam Park. As a Harrogate resident living on Tewit Well Road, I want to report that all the trees have been felled. Tell it as it is, please.

We now have a situation where residents are having to prevent some of the young people of Harrogate putting themselves at risk and using this newly cleared area for their own purposes. When the line had mature trees, we may have the occasional leaf on the line, but we certainly didn’t have youngsters jumping over to sunbath, party etc.

I’m afraid Network Rail has a lot to answer for here. A poor ecological management decision has left local residents policing an area that was once a mature habitat for local wildlife.

Who was the ecologist who advised Network Rail? Are they not accountable for the habitat decimation that we have been left with? How can they say anything other than recovery will take years? Is Network Rail pleased with the result?’

Not impressed.

Charlie McCarthy
Local resident

Questions that need answering about Beech Grove

As a resident and local business owner of 11 years, I and many others strongly believe the Low Traffic Neighbourhood experiment on Beech Grove creates more congestion, longer car journey times and increased carbon emissions on surrounding roads.

Otley Road currently has major road works and the planned 20-week cycle lane construction will cause further disruption and congestion.

There are many unanswered questions for North Yorkshire County Council:

1. What is the overall aim of this Low Traffic Neighbourhood?
2. In the latest council meeting we were told that the cycling groups are being consulted to make these decisions. Why are the cycling groups being consulted and the residents and businesses, who pay taxes and rates, not consulted?
3. How do you measure success or failure?
4. What data are you collecting and where from?
5. Which company are you using to analyse this?
6. Did you count how many cyclists and motorists use the roads, before you closed them?
7. Is information collected during the same months of the year, so you can directly compare activity in all seasons and weather?
8. Is it the best time to do this during a lockdown?
9. Why did NYCC approve all the housing developments, each with 2-3 cars, when 84% of people expressed that Harrogate was congested in the 2019 survey?
10.  What’s the projection of people who will swap their cars for bikes and what is this based on?
11. Far more people walk than cycle and yet the pavements are shocking, they are left for months after the Autumn leaves fall without being cleared and go untreated in ice and snow. How does this encourage people to walk?
12. Where is the evidence that there is an appetite for more cycling?

I have spoken to many residents and businesses and cars are critical for the school run, appointments, visiting relatives, holidays, tourism but, most importantly, to access businesses.

Cars are the lifeblood of many businesses and thousands of jobs depend on them. Banning them cannot be the only solution.

Lucy Gardiner, Harrogate Residents Association

Why is government spending so much on roads?

Got an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

An overnight fire has devastated a home in Ripon.

Crews from Ripon, Harrogate and Boroughbridge were summoned to deal with the blaze, which occurred in Westgate at about 1.45am this morning.

Smoking has been identified as a possible cause.

The fire broke out in a first floor bedroom.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service‘s incident summary said:

“The fire caused 100% fire damage to the bed and 60% fire damage to the bedroom, 100% smoke damage to the first floor and light smoke damage to ground floor.

“Crews used four breathing appartaus, one hose reel, small tools and positive pressure ventilation.

“The cause is unknown but may have been caused by smoking materials.”

Harrogate firefighters were also called to a fire in a children’s play park on Jenny Field Drive.

A bucket of water used to extinguish the fire, which occurred at about 6.15pm last night.

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Bodybuilding barber David Steca is to stage a Mr Harrogate competition this summer to showcase the area’s finest physiques.

Mr Steca, who owns Steca No6 in Harrogate and another salon in Leeds, is one of the most experienced and successful bodybuilders in the north of England, with a string of titles to his name.

He has won numerous British and international trophies and continues to compete at the age of 61 as well as train clients.

He plans to stage the event on August 1 in a marquee with seating for up to 200 people near his home in Menwith Hill. He said:

“The aim is to inspire and give local physique and fitness enthusiasts a goal coming out of covid.

“I want to give something back and provide a local platform to enthusiasts.”

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There will be a wide range of male and female categories catering for the toned beach body look through to hardcore bodybuilding.

Mr Steca added there will be British and world champion judges, along with food, nutrition and clothing stalls.

There will be HG postcode classes and open classes. Entry fee is £20 and spectator tickets are £20 and £10 for under-12s.

The event will also be a qualifying competition for the IBFA British Championships.

Mr Steca added:

“We already have prizes from local business for class winners. We look forward to an exciting day of muscle and fitness!”

The locations of up to 34 new electric vehicle charge points in the Harrogate district have been revealed.

The district has seen the largest increase in North Yorkshire of motorists switching to electric vehicles and Harrogate Borough Council aims to get 10,000 on the roads by 2023.

To help hit this target, the authority plans to install charge points at several council-owned locations to encourage motorists to make the switch ahead of the government’s ban on the sale of petrol, diesel and hybrid cars in 2030.

Tom O’Donovan, economy and transport officer at the council, told a meeting on Wednesday the 34 charge points were being rolled out as part of a phased scheme, with more to come later.

The locations include up to four charge points at the council’s Claro Road office, as well as up to five at its civic centre headquarters at Knapping Mount.

There will also be up to four at Harrogate’s multi-storey Victoria Shopping Centre car park and the same amount at Ripon Cathedral car park, plus a hub of charge points at Knaresborough Chapel Street car park.

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There are three options for Pateley Bridge, including the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty office, Nidderdale Leisure Centre and south car park.

The car park at Hornbeam Park railway station could also get up to 10 charge points, while no proposals have yet been put forward for Boroughbridge because infrastructure works would be “too costly”.

Up to 160 charge sites planned

Harrogate Borough Council approved its Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle Strategy two years ago with an aim to provide 61 public charge points by 2024, although this could be increased up to 160 if required.

North Yorkshire County Council is also developing a county-wide strategy but has said it currently has no plans to roll out on-street charging infrastructure on a large scale or in response to individual requests for charge points.

It said this is because of “difficulties” with electricity tariffs and setting out the terms on the maximum time a vehicle can charge in shared on-street spaces.

The council said:

“We will continue to review the overall situation, taking into account demand from residents and funding availability, including external grant funding.”

An agreement for hospitality businesses to be given outdoor space on the Stray is unlikely to be in place until at least the second half of summer.

Harrogate Borough Council, which protects the Stray on behalf of the people, is in talks with the Duchy of Lancaster, which owns the Stray freehold, about relaxing rules.

Councillor Graham Swift, deputy leader and cabinet member for resources, enterprise and economic development at the council, said it was “probably not possible” for a deal to be struck before all lockdown restrictions end on 21 June.

The idea has been put forward to assist hospitality businesses with social distancing by giving them room for outdoor seating, although councillor Swift said it would only benefit “one or two” bars.

The owners of the Blues Bar, The Empress and Fashion House Bistro have told the Stray Ferret they want to put tables and chairs on Stray land near their businesses.

Speaking at a meeting yesterday, he said:

“Some of our licence companies are very keen to see usage of the Stray under controlled licensing conditions and the reality is this will be challenging.

“The Duchy of Lancaster are rightly positive defenders of the space and for us to jump through some of the hoops required around the legal side to allow one or two companies to extend their footprint will probably not be possible before 21 June when the government fully opens lockdown.”

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• Harrogate bars call on council to allow tables on Stray land
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The Harrogate Stray Act 1985 restricts how the land can be used and includes an annual limit on events.

Need to consult

There is also a requirement for the public to be consulted on some changes and the council said it planned to run a survey on the idea to give businesses space if talks with the Duchy progress.

Councillor Swift added:

“I have some sympathy with the licence companies that would like to flex their space but the reality is there is going to be a considerable opening up of spaces over the next few weeks.

“I hope that people will be able to take off trade and picnic on the Stray and utilise the space as we get more and more conformable with social engagement.”

Under the government’s roadmap out of lockdown, hospitality businesses will be allowed to reopen for outdoor service only on April 12 when customers can meet in a group of up to six people from different households or any number from two households.

Then, on May 17, they will be able to seat customers indoors with the same household rules, while groups seated outside must be smaller than 30 people.

The final date in the roadmap is June 21 when all restrictions are due to be lifted.

Plans have been submitted to transform Harrogate Borough Council‘s former headquarters into offices and a roof garden restaurant.

Impala Estates, a property investment company in Harrogate, bought the Crescent Gardens site in January last year for £4 million.

It has been empty for four years since the council relocated to Knapping Mount in 2017.

Impala’s proposals include creating a gym as well as turning the former council chamber and mayor’s parlour into meeting rooms.

James Hartley, director of Impala Estates, said:

“I am hugely excited to submit a planning application after what has been a tough year for everybody.

“Our plans will ensure that this high-quality local asset is brought back to use and regenerated to deliver a building that provides not only employment space in the town centre but contributes to a community benefit that keeps Crescent Gardens as a vibrant part of Harrogate.”

Mr Hartley said Impala did not yet have a figure on how much the development would cost.

Asked whether he was concerned about letting offices now so many people were working from home, he said:

“The office market continues to change and develop and we would aim to react to these changes as necessary.”

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• EXCLUSIVE: True cost of civic centre was £17m

The council’s planning committee will decide whether to accept the application.

Graham Swift, cabinet member for economic development at the council, spoke highly of the scheme. He said:

“When Harrogate Borough Council sold Crescent Gardens to Impala Estates we were impressed by their commitment to bring much-needed office space into the centre of town to support the growing and changing economic needs of Harrogate.

“They blended this plan with the use of public space that will make Crescent Gardens and its locality a thriving, community area that boasts flexible, modern offices with functional and attractive public spaces.”

Concerns about design, parking and noise

Impala opened a public consultation on its plans in October, which according to Impala attracted 19 comments.

Four were positive; others attracted comments about design, parking, solar shading, access, noise and over visibility from the rook terrace.

A chequered history

The council’s sale of Crescent Gardens had a chequered recent history.

In March 2017, it was announced local developer Adam Thorpe was buying the site for £6.31 million. Mr Thorpe had lavish plans for a £75million pound refurbishment, including an art gallery, underground car park, swimming pool, restaurant and luxury apartments.

Two years later, in February 2019 Mr Thorpe said he had agreed sales on 10 of the 12 apartments including one “comfortably above” £10 million. Mr Thorpe’s company, ATP Ltd, then collapsed with debts of almost £11million, including £24,394.52 to the council.

The site then went back on the market and was eventually sold to Impala Estates.

The draw to win a VW Campervan worth £47,000 has been made to culminate the successful campaign to save Stump Cross Caverns.

The Stray Ferret broke the news last month that Lisa Bowerman and Nicholas Markham, who own the limestone caves near Pateley Bridge, were raffling their van to raise money to keep the place open.

Tickets for the raffle cost £10.

They set an original crowdfunding target of £50,000 but generated £72,500 in 40 days.

The extra money will enable the site’s 3D virtual tour to be upgraded, which the couple hope will be popular with schools.

A person called Chris Riley won the camper van star prize in tonight’s draw. It is not yet known where the winner is from.

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• Stump Cross Caverns issues plea for survival

Ms Bowerman said she had been overwhelmed by support. She said:

“Without you we couldn’t have been able to reopen the doors to the 60,000 visitors we get.”

Stump Cross Caverns has been open to visitors since 1863.

But its failure to secure a covid grant from the government’s Culture Recovery Fund threatened its future.

However, the Save the Caves campaign means it now hopes to reopen in May.

A one-hour free parking policy in Knaresborough town centre is to end in the week non-essential shops reopen.

North Yorkshire County Council doubled the length of time cars can park for free on Market Place from 30 minutes to an hour last summer.

The temporary move aimed to help businesses while social distancing measures were in place.

But the move will end on April 18 – six days after shops.

Council officials said parking data showed the majority of motorists left within the hour and that reverting back to 30 minutes would encourage a greater turnover of shoppers.

Karl Battersby, the county council’s corporate director of business and environmental services, said:

“While we accept that the current circumstances are not reflective of typical conditions, analysis of the performance of the one-hour free parking offers no basis for it to be introduced permanently.

“The anticipated easing of lockdown restrictions in the coming months supports a return to the normal operation to aid traffic management and to provide better turnover of spaces.”

The one-hour extension was agreed in July and then became operational in September.

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• Conservatives choose candidate for Bilton by-election. 

Councillor Ed Darling, who sits on both Knaresborough Town Council and Harrogate Borough Council, said while the return to 30 minutes may be “disappointing” for some, it was backed by data.

He urged shoppers to get behind the town by supporting local businesses when they reopen on April 12.

He said:

“The past year has been exceptionally difficult for town centre retailers who have been forced to close for the majority of the year.

“I do hope that our local community gets behind our town centre, supporting our local businesses and shops to kickstart our local economy once again.”

Bill Taylor, secretary of Knaresborough Chamber of Trade and Commerce, added:

“All town centres struggle with parking generally, and how to charge is a part of that.

“As shops reopen in April then moving back to the original charging system seems reasonable and allows for a higher turnover of shoppers for the greater variety of shops that are open.

“In addition, Knaresborough has a large, good value but under-utilised car park on York Place and Knaresborough Town Council has worked with the county council to install new signs around town for that car park.”