Motorists and businesses face several more weeks of traffic misery in Knaresborough due to an ongoing project to install a full-fibre network.

CityFibre, which is installing gigabit-speed wifi services across the Harrogate district, has been carrying out roadworks at Bond End in Knaresborough.

Temporary traffic lights at the site, which have caused major traffic disruption, are set to continue for the rest of the month.

CityFibre also has a permit to work on Boroughbridge Road and High Street in Knaresborough until the end of June.

It is then due to move to the streets around Ash Tree Road, Whincup Avenue and Park Row for another three to four weeks.

Residents reported last week the works were causing slow traffic on Ripley Road and Boroughbridge Road, causing some to even turn back around. Some have questioned why the work is not being conducted overnight.

Businesses are also unhappy about the impact of the roadworks.

Steve Teggin, chair of Knaresborough Chamber of Trade, said;

“The feeling in Knaresborough is appalling right now, there are roadworks everywhere, from blockades to cable laying.

“If this work was being done in Harrogate, it would have been finished long ago.”

£46m project

CityFibre is spending £46m installing full fibre networks in Knaresborough, Harrogate and Ripon, which it says will meet the needs of businesses and residents “for decades to come”.

Kim Johnston, regional partnership director and city manager for HKR at CityFibre, said:

“Digital connectivity has never been more important in Knaresborough, Harrogate and Ripon, as our data consumption grows, the current network infrastructure will become increasingly unfit for purpose.

“We’d like to thank residents for their support and patience while we continue these works, and offer reassurance that this investment aims to deliver long term benefit for all.

“As an essential digital utility, full fibre boosts households and businesses alike, it will not only unlock access to the fastest and most reliable network technology available, for example, it will provide the essential foundations for smart city technologies that make communities safer.”

You can find out more about the full-fibre installation here.

Temporary traffic lights are in place at the junction of York Road, Chain Lane and Wetherby Road as part of other roadworks.

Social distancing cones for pedestrians have also removed parking spaces in the town centre, causing further problems for motorists.

Businesses on Harrogate’s Commercial Street are to host a dog-friendly day a week on Saturday.

The street initiative will see shops put matching water bowls outside to show they are dog-friendly and some local pet-related businesses will run stalls throughout the day.

From 10:30 until 3:30, businesses, including The Harrogate Vet, Peach and Pooch and Miss Mollie’s Rescue will have stalls on the street.

They will offer goods such as dog treats and goodie bags and host competitions for people to take part in.

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The event will take place the day after national Take Your Dog to Work Day on June 25.

Commercial Street is home to over 22 independent businesses, with 20 being members of the retailer group that organises community events.

Organisers will soon be placing dog-friendly logos against businesses on its website so people can see the full list of participants.

A world championship gymnast will be visiting a primary school in the Harrogate district to help boost pupils’ morale and fitness after months of national lockdown.

Gymnastic gold medalist, Jaydon Paddock, will visit Beckwithshaw Primary School this July to talk to pupils and host a sponsored fitness circuit.

Sports for Champions UK which is running the event has also set up a crowdfunder open to the public aimed at boosting the school’s resources. The goal is currently set at £600.

60 percent of funds raised will go towards the areas in the school most in need. The rest will go towards supporting the professional athletes employed by the organisation.

Jaydon is a junior European and World gold medal champion in junior gymnastics and bronze medalist in the Senior World Championships.

He will host an assembly at the school to talk about his success and inspire pupils to lead a healthier, more active lifestyle.

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Hannah Bushell, a representative from the school, said;

“We are very excited to have a sports champion visit our school and it will be a really exciting way to end the school year.”

Sports for Champions UK was founded 11 years ago and brings over 45 professional athletes to schools across the UK to inspire them to be active.

It also aims to support young professional athletes with their training and expenses by raising money for them at the same time.

Those visiting Harrogate town centre this week may have noticed a mysterious trail of books peeping out from various locations.

These were planted by The Book Fairies, an open organisation that hides pre-loved books for people to discover and read, and then leave somewhere else once finished.

The Book Fairies is a worldwide organisation that has its own Harrogate group.

On Thursday, the fairies hid brand-new copies of Jill Mansell’s And Now You’re Back to promote its recent release. They could be found in the town centre, Spenceley Gardens and near the library.

If you found a copy, be sure to read it and then hide it in another location for the next person to find.

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The Book Fairies project started on International Women’s Day in 2017 and has an estimated 13,000 people sharing books worldwide.

The only thing people need to do to get involved is buy the official stickers from its website and begin sharing their pre-loved novels.

Prominent figures such as Harry Potter star Emma Watson and the Duchess of Cambridge have taken part, hiding their own books for people to find.

Emma Watson leaving copies of Little Women. Credit: The Book Fairies

Harrogate fairy Amandine said;

“Book Fairies Harrogate started in February 2019 after I found a book left by another fairy on the Stray. Since then we’ve hidden hundreds of books in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon.

“One of the cutest stories is the one where a lady found a book for her granddaughter, who was just born. Then 15 months later, that little girl’s mum found another book for her!

“We received amazing responses from finders every week and it’s always great to see people (and especially little ones!) being so happy to have found a book.”

The group is hoping to expand across the world, with its book stickers now available in nine languages.

For its LGBTQ+ Pride event launching tomorrow, fairies in Harrogate will be hiding 30 books with exclusive Pride stickers for residents to find and enjoy.

For more information on The Book Fairies Harrogate, follow the official Instagram page.

Family-run horticultural nursery Johnsons of Whixley is celebrating 100 years of business this month.

The company is one of the UK’s largest plant suppliers, and has sold an estimated total of 220 million plants since it was founded.

Eric Johnson, company founder

It was founded in 1921 by war veteran Eric Johnson; he began with a small piece of land yielding two dozen fruit trees and grew the company to sell fruit, vegetables and flowers.

When the Second World War started, most of his small team of staff joined the war effort. He was given a commission with the Home Guard in a platoon of 60, covering Wetherby to Green Hammerton.

By the end of the war he was running the well-established ER Johnson Nurseries Whixley, as it was formerly known, and was able to buy seven acres of land to expand the company.

Mr Johnson and the Home Guard.

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In 1964 the company was bought by John Richardson, who maintained it as a family-owned business. At this time the company was producing about 150,000 plants annually.

John is now 83 and is still chair of the business, with 11 members of the Richardson family also having various roles.

John said;

“This has not been just my own doing but is thanks to the support of motivated and trusted colleagues who have run the different elements with such professionalism.

“It is with great pride that I have seen my sons continue to develop the business year-on-year, and now I watch my grandchildren take up the reins to the even further successful growth of the company.”

Today the company owns over 200 acres of land and sells five to six million plants every year.

The business has supplied plants for ambitious projects such as HS1 and the athletes’ village at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

The average price of a house in the Borough of Harrogate has increased by more than £28,000 in the course of the past year, according to the Land Registry.

This is a 5% rise, which is lower than the national average. The Office of National Statistics reported that house prices in the UK had risen by an average of 10.2% over the year to March 2021.

Demand has also shifted more towards spacious properties, with estate agents reporting an unprecedented shortage of detached family homes.

The trend can be attributed towards housebuyers’ changing priorities over lockdown and more people starting families.

However, certain factors affect the statistics and mean that they may not paint an accurate picture of the whole year.

The stamp duty land tax holiday on properties worth up to £500,000 is set to end on June 30, which will most likely reduce housing demand in later in the year.

Estate agents said that, anecdotally, there has been a post-vaccination rush for some people who now feel more comfortable attending house viewings and going through the moving process.

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Charles Myring of Myrings Estate Agents summed up how the pandemic has changed the housing market in the borough:

“Stock levels in Harrogate were so depressed during the lockdowns, especially on certain properties (bigger family houses with good outdoor space/south-facing gardens/garages etc), which meant there wasn’t always enough quality stock available to buy and to encourage more people into the market.

“As a consequence prices started to edge up every month.”

The Harrogate borough encompasses the city of Ripon and a number of small towns including Boroughbridge and Knaresborough.

David Waddington of Linley and Simpson projected the average price rise to be even higher, at somewhere between 1% and 2% each month.

He agreed that the rise in demand for housing in the borough was also mostly related to covid:

“Harrogate became particularly desirable over lockdown as people realised they no longer had to go into the office and live in suburban areas.

“More people are looking to live in semi-rural areas, because of a subliminal need for space as a result of isolation.”

However he urged first-time buyers and those with mortgages not to give up hope, as the latest iteration of the Help to Buy scheme is still helping people with smaller deposits to take the first step on to the housing ladder.

Harrogate’s annual comic art convention has announced an all-star line-up of artists and writers.

More than 400 artists and exhibitors are already set to attend the Thought Bubble Comic Art Convention.

Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk and Batman and Sin City artist Frank Miller are among the guests.

Other artists include Joelle Jones (illustrator and writer for Batman and Catwoman), Doug Braithwaite (artist for many Marvel and DC comics including Wolverine, Thor and Batman) and many more.

The convention will take place on November 13 and 14, at Harrogate Convention Centre.

Activities in store include panels, live drawing, workshops and meet and greets. There will also be a kids’ zone with crafts and a quiet area for reading.

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Attendees are encouraged to come dressed as their favourite characters, and there will be a competition for the best homemade cosplay outfits.

A wider Thought Bubble comic art festival will also be taking place during the week starting November 8 across Yorkshire. Film screenings, art exhibitions and other events will be open to people across the county.

Tula Lotay founded Thought Bubble in 2007 and it began in the basement of Leeds Town Hall. It is now one of the biggest comic art conventions in the UK.

She drew the first official art for the convention, and it has been policy that the official artwork be drawn by a female artist ever since.

This is in response to a lack of diversity within the industry when she started; she hopes to open it up to other marginalised groups in years to come.

You can find tickets for this year’s convention here.

Ripon based charity Dementia Forward has won The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.

The charity has won the accolade, which is given for outstanding work towards the local community, along with 241 others across the UK.

More than 200 people volunteer with Dementia Forward, including minibus drivers, public speakers and coordinators who run activities for people struggling with the illness, such as gardening and baking sessions.

During the pandemic the charity adapted to offer virtual support including a ‘café in a box’ service delivering activities to people’s doorsteps.

It reported more than 1,000 calls to its dementia helpline every month over lockdown. The helpline covers a range of services including advice for early dementia and deploying specialist support workers.

Jill Quinn, CEO of the charity since it was founded nine years ago, said;

“We have never looked back from that first step in 2012 and have grown the charity from supporting just 200 families in the first year to now supporting over 4,000 families and this award is certainly a red letter day for everyone involved.

“We are blessed to have a team of over 200 volunteers and so many supporters across the county.”

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The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service was set up in 2002 as a celebration for the golden jubilee and has given awards to thousands of charities each year.

Representatives from Dementia Forward will go to a ceremony to receive the award crystal and certificate later this year. Next summer they will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace gardens along with the other winners.

The awards ceremony for last year’s winners took place this week and saw Harrogate and Ripon Food Angels receive its service award. It provides a ‘meals on wheels’ service around the area, delivering to those who are unable to cook and checking on their wellbeing.

If you or a loved one has been affected by dementia, you can call the Dementia Forward helpline on 03300 578592.

A brass band will give a free live performance tonight on the Stray in Harrogate from 7pm.

Harrogate Band will play hymns and gentle music alongside the In Memoriam artwork that was installed last week on West Park Stray as a memorial to NHS workers who have died due to covid.

In Memoriam, which is the first of a series of art installations organised by Harrogate International Festivals this summer, will be available to see until June 7.

Harrogate International Festivals organised tonight’s live music.

Harrogate Band consists of 25-30 members and has been performing for 51 years.

Band chairman Ed Dennis said;

“The band are delighted to be back performing after 14 months of not seeing each other of being able to make music together.

“We’re so pleased to be working with Harrogate International Festivals once again on this very special project.”

Catch them tonight in front of the memorial on the Stray from 7pm to 7:40pm.

A planning application has been made to convert vacant premises above Paw Prints pet shop on James Street in Harrogate to four studio apartments.

The application was made by a firm called SJM Cotech ltd, which appears to be one of a number of companies owned by Simon Jacob Moran, a Leeds property developer and lettings agent.

The property is located at 16 James Street, near the cut-through to the Victoria shopping centre. It fronts both on James Street and on Market Place to the rear. It was previously home to Thomas Cook, the travel agent.

The application would involve altering the rear of the property, on Market Place. A small retail unit would be added, while the current retail unit on James Street would be retained.

The four studio flats, which will range in size from 59 to 76 square metres, will be built on the first and second floors, which are currently vacant.

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The scheme is an amended version of one which was refused planning permission in December last year.

The previous scheme was refused because planners felt it did not contribute to the appearance of the conservation area, and because the flats would have had limited access to fresh air.

The new application has reduced the number of homes from five to four, and changed the design from 1-bedroom to studio flats.

All traditional elements of the James Street frontage would be retained, while the current modern shop sign would be replaced with a more sympathetic one.

The planning officer for Harrogate Borough Council is due to make a decision on the application by July 1.