Stray Ferret Readers, Author at The Stray Ferret

Otley Road cycle path will make life worse for pedestrians

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.

It’s wrong to say pedestrians welcome the Otley Road cycle path

I read the following quote in The Stray Ferret regarding the Otley Road cycle path: “The improvements will significantly benefit the community and help to create a better-connected and safer network for pedestrians and cyclists.”

Please could you tell me how the Otley Road cycle path will benefit pedestrians? At the moment, the pavement all along Otley Road is for pedestrians only.

When the cycle path is introduced, pedestrians will have to share 58% of the pavement with cyclists. Cyclists and pedestrians move at very different speeds and it is recommended that they should not be in the same space.

Much of the 58% of shared space is narrower than current regulations state is safe for shared use. How can this be safer for pedestrians than the current situation?

When discussing sustainable transport, cyclists and pedestrians are frequently grouped together and we are told that the changes will benefit both groups. The needs of these two groups are very different and it is time for this to be recognised. Harrogate District Cycle Action Group appears to have a great deal of influence on policy decisions, but who is fighting the corner for pedestrians?

Angela Dicken, Otley Road resident

Tewit Well and Sun Colonnade are just two examples of gross disrepair

Malcolm Neesam is in the news again regarding ‘the slovenly attitude of the authorities towards maintaining Harrogate’s attractions’.

I, and I’m sure a very great many others, absolutely agree. But it’s not just the Tewit Well and the Sun Colonnade that have fallen into gross disrepair — what about the similarly iconic bandstand at the rear of the Mercer Gallery, adjacent to the public toilets? Its dilapidated and abused state makes it a health and safety accident waiting to happen.

Why do the authorities not appreciate the role that these buildings play in attracting visitors to Harrogate and do something about restoring and/or maintaining them?

Agreed, the floral displays are exquisite and rewilding of parts of the Stray is a good idea. But our pavements are strewn with litter and we have to manoeuvre our way over damaged paving and around waste/recycling bins; changes to our road systems are thrust upon us even though they are having and will have serious repercussions; and there is irresponsible and intimidating behaviour in our public spaces and on our roads.

Would it be too much to ask the authorities, who we elected to represent us and whose wages we pay, to take into consideration our wants, needs and expectations in the way they manage Harrogate?

Isn’t a councillor’s primary role to represent those who live in their ward and provide a bridge between the community and the council? But maybe I expect too much and will just have to get on my bike…

Val Michie, Harrogate

The amount of litter in Harrogate is a disgrace

I agree entirely with David Pickering’s comments published in Stray Views on September 5. I would further add that not only the amount of litter is a disgrace in the town centre but also the filthy state of the pavements. Our town should be in pristine condition for visitor and residence alike.

Also, David’s commented on the state of the roads in Harrogate. Again I wish to add a request to North Yorkshire County Council that monies are allocated to improve the roads and allocate a patching gang to fill in the potholes. When potholes are marked in white, why does it take up to 90 days (many go over this time span) to repair them?

Also I would like to ask Harrogate Borough Council why there are weeds and plants growing in kerbs and gutters? What has happened to the mechanical road sweepers?

David James, St. Georges ward, Harrogate

Do you have 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.

Stray Views: Double yellow lines would solve Stray parking problems instantly

Double yellow lines would prevent parking on the Stray

Regarding the Oatlands no parking signs, such signage is not allowed under the Stray Act and is, therefore, technically illegal. However, so is parking on the Stray.

That said, we have been working with Harrogate Borough Council and have mutually agreed with the temporary erection of these signs as we have sympathy with their efforts to resolve the ongoing parking problems.

Over the past many years the Stray Defence Association has tried to get this situation resolved. We have always felt that the simplest solution would be a double yellow line down BOTH sides of the road. However, North Yorkshire County Council has flatly refused to do this, despite innumerable approaches.

Regrettably people seem to think they have an innate right to park wherever they choose. Sadly they do not appear to have the same recognition of the damage they do to the Stray all along there, together with blocking the cycle lane.

Frankly NYCC have been ridiculously uncooperative over putting in double yellow lines, the best and simplest solution all round.
Why is beyond comprehension as it would be a quick, simple and legally binding solution to the problem and could have been done 15-plus years ago.

As it is there has been endless damage to the Stray all along Oatlands Drive and the edges of Oatlands Stray and endless complaints from the cycling fraternity who, rightly, complain that their cycle lane is obstructed.

It is time that the law was enforced and this illegal parking was brought to an end. Perhaps this will make NYCC see sense and install double yellow lines.

Judy d’Arcy-Thompson, chair of the Stray Defence Association

End this parking confusion

Your photo of parking on Oatlands Drive gives an easy pointer to why people park as they do. They mistake the dotted line of the bike lane as an encouragement to put one side of the car within that line and one side on the verge.

It is compounded by there being a double yellow on the western side (with the bike lane markings) and nothing on the other side.

So, the council could fine people for having one side of the car on the Stray verge, but if they simply park wholly on the road, no offence against the Stray and no offence against parking? Their signs imply that parking on Oatlands Drive is not allowed.

Bob Hankinson, Harrogate

Councils need to stop these illogical projects

I continue to be surprised by the enthusiasm of North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council to spend taxpayers money on illogical projects which are universally unpopular with local residents and merely serve to exacerbate and concentrate traffic flows rather than keep them diluted.

Having already registered my opposition to the Beech Grove experimental traffic order, which has frustrated both drivers and local residents and has inevitably increased the flow of traffic down Victoria Road, Queens Road and Cold Bath Road, I am now surprised to see that NYCC will continue to create further problems by introducing a one-way system on Victoria Road.

This new plan, apparently intended to reduce traffic, is going to push even more drivers down Queens Road (where I live) and Cold Bath Road. Cold Bath Road is congested at the best of times but as soon as the schools go back (and indeed once office workers start to return) it will become unbearable.

Moreover, I dread to think what sort of impact the several thousand new houses they are building on Yew Tree Lane, Whinney Lane, Cardale Park and Otley Road will have on congestion. All the traffic created by these developments will flow down Otley Road and Cold Bath Road with no improvements to the road traffic routes.

It’s all very well for public sector employees to sit around examining ways of maintaining their budgets and tinkering with local roads to divert traffic when it has no material impact whatsoever on their personal lives. But on the ground it will concentrate traffic down certain roads and your next initiative is going to worsen rather than improve this situation.

Surely NYCC and HBC have more worthy and important projects to spend taxpayers money on? A few of note might be:

1 Rejuvenating the town centre, which is a depressing day out now that many stores have closed and are unlikely to reopen. Surely more can be done to encourage businesses to take up empty retail space.

2 Cleaning up the litter problem in the town centre. Every morning I walk our dog through the town and the amount of litter gets worse and worse.

3 Showing more consideration for local residents by completing jobs which inconvenience thousands of people on a daily basis far more quickly. Two examples are: The 4/5 way traffic light at the top of Pannal Ash Road were in place for months during school term and created huge tail backs. There appeared to be no urgency whatsoever to complete the job. We then had a similar experience on East Parade with temporary traffic lights causing significant tail backs. The works, which finished on the Wednesday, were in place for two more days with no-one doing any work. I called up NYCC and asked why this was the case and the operator said that the traffic lights were still in place because the works were due to finish on the Friday. But the works had clearly finished on the Wednesday!

4 Improve the state of Harrogate’s roads which are appalling in parts.

None of the above reflects particularly well on NYCC or HBC. I am not alone in holding these opinions.

David Pickering, Harrogate

Doppelganger issues

Please could you congratulate John Plummer on being appointed Editor. I hope makes a great success of the role and enjoys it.

To avoid further shocks to my ageing system perhaps one of us should change our name?

John Plummer, Spofforth

Stray Views: Greed and high house prices are forcing people out of Harrogate

Greed has made Harrogate homes unaffordable for many

I read your series of articles about Harrogate’s high housing costs and its impact on hospitality workers with interest.

However, I read Alex Goldstein’s contribution with increasing incredulity. I’m not sure whether he was being deliberately provocative or is completely heartless.

I was brought up in one of Harrogate’s less affluent areas in the 1950/60s and many of my neighbours and my friends’ parents worked in the hospitality sector. Strangely enough, they were able to support a family on their earnings, possibly because they lived in either council houses or reasonably priced rental accommodation.

It must be plain for everyone to see that the disparity between high priced accommodation and hospitality sector wages means it is inevitable that those wishing to work in this sector are no longer able to afford to live in Harrogate.

My heart bleeds for the buy-to-let investors who would be hurt by rent caps. Their greed has made Harrogate unaffordable for more and more ordinary workers.

I do hope that Mr Goldstein will soon be able to afford his Lamborghini and drive off to Mayfair where his despicable ideas may be better appreciated.

Margaret Fox, Harrogate

The Montpellier Hill Christmas market experience was a nightmare

I’m sorry, I’ve totally lost my rag with this nonsense. What person thinks there is “no more appropriate” a site than Montpellier Hill for this event?

In a town with more than 200 acres of readily accessible open space and a half vacant town centre, we persist year after year on shoving hundreds of traders and tens of thousands of visitors on a muddy slope in the most cramped and inappropriate part of green space Harrogate has to offer.

As a local of more than 15 years, you soon learn to stay well clear of the Christmas market, such are the miserable circumstances under which it is delivered. Its absolutely horrid — thousands pushing past one anther in an obscenely small space, with narrow alleys and a sense that if you browse, you are blocking the crowds and inconveniencing everyone else.

If we had a modicum of common sense, we would relocate to another part of the Stray and have wide, airy corridors, with space between units so people can take a leisurely stroll and browse at their own pace, thus probably spending far more than they might have otherwise.

I love the concept of a Christmas market, I am ashamed of the way Harrogate delivers it simply because of the location. Look at Leeds, Durham, York — anywhere else as a better example of how it can be done without it being a positively suffocating (and covid-breeding) experience.

Mark Fuller, Cold Bath Road, Harrogate

Universities offer more than degrees

I have just read Marilyn Stowe’s column about the anxiety of not getting the A level grades you would have hoped to get.

As a lecturer for almost 40 years in a post-1992 university and an admissions tutor for much of that time, I spoke to and advised many university applicants in that position and I am gratified to say that my institution provided a more than satisfactory and welcoming academic, social and diverse community to a great number of them.

I am particularly proud of those who took up places at our university who saw the opportunity afforded to them not just as a chance to rise to the top but to serve the wider community, including an international one, in a professional capacity.

The pandemic has shown us just how much we need and rely on those whose work supports as a matter of course the wider community and those of every social constituency who find themselves in need.

Glyn Hambrook, Harrogate

Letter: Extending the Nidderdale Greenway is a ludicrous idea

Your recent article about plans to extend the Nidderdale Greenway fills me with dismay.

The article refers to ambitious plans to extend the Nidderdale Greenway from Ripley to Pateley Bridge and then to Scar House reservoir.

At a time when the world is trying to reduce its carbon footprint, encourage conservation and care of the environment and preserve historic footpaths and bridleways, it seems ludicrous that there should be a suggestion of a Greenway.

We all know it is not a Greenway, it will never be a Greenway but a Blackway as it will result in 19 miles of tarmac being laid over footpaths, bridleways, disused railway lines and virgin land.

It will destroy bridleways, which are used by walkers and horses, it will destroy footpaths that are used by walkers, it will destroy the environment and destroy flora and fauna. It will destroy and displace wildlife, animals, birds and insects from their homes and it will urbanise what is a beautiful rural dale.

I have no objections to cyclists but there is a perfectly adequate road system in Nidderdale for them to use which in part requires some physical fitness.

The first cycle route from Knaresborough to Harrogate and Ripley is an urban route that people can access easily by cycle or on foot from the town. The proposed Blackway is not an urban route. It would require people to drive to it and then walk and cycle part of it. That in itself will cause congestion and increase our carbon footprint. The villages do not have adequate parking for an influx of vehicles.

Having viewed the Knaresborough to Ripley cycle route I see there has been a great deal of encroachment on to adjoining countryside and I am appalled to think of the amount of encroachment that would happen on any proposed extension.

I have yet to speak to a landowner who is in favour. I have yet to speak to a resident who is in favour, but I have spoken to many people who enjoy walking and riding on the existing footpaths and bridleways, and they are not in favour.

Instead of this constant misplaced enthusiasm that our local authorities show for cycling it would be better if they tried to spend taxpayers’ money on improving the town centre and its attractions. North Yorkshire has many challenges to deal with and a proposed tarmac track up Nidderdale should not be high on its priority list.

Richard Rusby, Burnt Yates

Stray Views: Don’t make Harrogate Christmas Market like the others

Don’t make the Christmas Market like everywhere else

I cannot believe that HBC have sold out to a national company that apparently provides a box standard Christmas market of sugary junk from repetitive stalls rather than using all of the local independent retailers.

Clearly they will make more money from this venture, especially giving them ten days worth of sales. Why do they insist on changing Harrogate to make it the same as everywhere else, when it’s charm is that it is different and that is what draws visitors here?

Stephen Readman, Harrogate

Thank you to Knaresborough vaccine site staff

Our youngest daughter, who has an apprenticeship and is potentially exposed to the virus now, was really keen to get the vaccine.

Richard, who heads up the vaccine site, has been without doubt absolutely fantastic. He kept in constant communication with me, as the BBC actually announced the vaccine was available to all 16 and 17 years before the NHS had agreed to this. He contacted me to advise of available dates and times.

His staff were fabulous with my daughter who has a phobia of needles, the nurse who dealt with her, calmly explained about the jab, that it wouldn’t hurt and he would stay with her until she was ok – which he did. He was absolutely great with her.

I cannot thank Richard and his staff enough – they were all brilliant.

I’d like to add that the management of the site is unprecedented – they rarely have any vaccine left over at the end of the day – down to the skill, logistics and organisation of the team there.

I know they have been criticised in the past but this was completely unfounded. They are all great and doing a fabulous job. They are dedicated and should be applauded for what they are doing!

A really big heartfelt thanks from me!

Charlotte Riley, Harrogate

Stray Views: Starbeck is worse than Bradford and Birmingham

Harrogate is in trouble and needs to wake up

I can only say what I see. I am originally from Birmingham and still have my business there. We lived in Cottingley, near Bradford for 11 years before moving to Starbeck in 2018 to be near our daughter and grandkids.

Since living here, I don’t see any difference between Harrogate, Bradford or Birmingham. In fact, Starbeck is a lot worse. It’s certainly the worst place we have lived in for over 40 years and most of that time was around Birmingham, including Erdington, Longbridge and Bournville — where my business is.

The drug problem here is horrific (like everywhere), and almost everywhere I can smell pot smoking. Harrogate is overcrowded, and the roads into the town are ridiculously busy, as bad as the big cities, mainly due to the poor planning of the town over the decades.

I lived in Redditch in 1989-1990 and Harrogate compares to that time, but probably worse. Prospect Road area is now renowned for drugs, antisocial behaviour, supermarket trolleys everywhere daily, and broken glass and litter strewn everywhere, and if it is cleared up it’s back the same within days.

Harrogate town centre is just like any other which is struggling, and no one is doing anything about it other than seemingly making things worse with wrong decision after wrong decision. Don’t get me wrong, it is still nice, but the spiral is seemingly downwards and it needs radical common sense thinking to turn the town around.

Is Harrogate in decline? It seems it’s been in decline for a long time, and the town needs to wake up because as an outsider if this is my experience of it then the town is already in trouble.

Martin Morris, Starbeck

Harrogate is clean, tidy and beautiful

I read some of the comments about “is Harrogate in decline”? I recently moved to Harrogate after spending over 20 years living and working in Northampton. To me Harrogate is a lovely place to live.

It is clean, tidy, mostly well organised and has beautiful buildings and parklands. The hospitality industry is excellent. I am so happy I moved here and the locals are genuinely so friendly.

A note of caution: I went back recently to Northampton for a few days. They are one of the towns / cities trialling e-scooter hire schemes. They should be avoided at all costs until proper well informed regulations are in place and enforced. Scooter riders are a law unto themselves, riding on pavements with no helmets and multiple riders. They are then just abandoned on pavements until they’re next hired, causing blockages and generally look a mess and tacky.

I hope Harrogate resists such schemes until proper regulations are in place and enforced. You have a lovely town and i am very happy to be part of it now.

Peter Hannon, Harrogate

Devolution will lead to more waste and incompetence

Any councillors expressing regret over the government’s decision to choose to have a super-council for North Yorkshire should focus instead on their own faults for backing the present arrangements, which have never worked very well anyway.

Now we have a proposed local authority, which will be even more unaccountable to the public and which will only consult on its own terms.

Experience shows that there are no savings with large unitary bodies, only more waste and incompetence in handling larger revenues. You only have to listen to the regular facts uncovered by the TaxPayers’ Alliance and similar to see what we are in for now.

Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has overruled many public concerns and is going the wrong way here too. It’s up to councillors and MPs to make him realise there are no advantages to Joe Public — only poor control of costs

John Holder, Harrogate

Letter: ‘Empty homes are in places where people don’t want to live’

This letter was sent to the Stray Ferret by Russell Davidson, a well-known Harrogate lawyer and former board member of Bradford and Northern Housing Association, in response to an article by Alex Goldstein in the Stray Ferret on empty homes last weekend.

Dear Editor,

Having read Alex Goldstein’s article some facts need correcting. The majority of empty homes in the UK are substandard and in places where people simply do not want to live. A small number are high value homes owned by overseas investors which are rarely occupied yet unaffordable to most people.

I used to sit on the board of one of the largest housing associations. We had empty homes that we had to get rid of because they were situated in areas where there were poor job opportunities or, simply, decaying inner cities. In one area, we built a brand new housing estate on local authority land. Unfortunately the local authority insisted on tenant nomination rights and decanted its worst council house tenants into that brand-new estate. Six families made life hell for everybody else, and so everybody else moved away. We ended up demolishing the entire new estate.

As far as Harrogate is concerned, it is misleading to point to over 2000 empty houses in the area (many of which are high value) and make a case that somehow dealing with that is going to solve the pressure to live in Harrogate, much of that pressure being directed towards less valuable three bedroom houses anyway. It would involve the council starting proceedings to compulsorily purchase those homes, a process which the council simply could not afford. Moreover, a large number of those houses are empty for a reason, such as pending probate issues.

As well as too many empty homes being in the ‘wrong’ areas, another issue is the structural tilt of the development market towards the 12 largest construction companies, some of which outbid the small builders on residential development sites. That tilt is getting worse because of the huge rise in the cost of building materials and labour shortages.

The government agency in charge of this issue, Homes England, needs to be a lot more radical in its thinking.

Regards

Russell Davidson

Stray Views: Is Harrogate in decline?

Drunken Harrogate? It’s just people enjoying themselves…

I have never before been moved to write re readers letters. However, the superior tone of Tim Emmott’s letter last week really cannot go unanswered.

The tone smacks of so much that is wrong with Harrogate. Namely that those of a certain age and with money think it is quite OK for them to object to normal humans wishing to enjoy themselves. Do they not think other people have money or equal right to enjoy themselves?

The same people call out people for standing within 1.9 metres of people in supermarkets, etc. I could go on. How very dare they think they have a superior right to exist over others.

Mick Marshalsey, Harrogate

But we agree with Tim — Harrogate is going downhill

I absolutely agree with Tim Emmott.

We too have friends that no longer visit when we are in Harrogate. The general view is ‘it’s not what it was’.

Harrogate used to be such a lovely place, where so many people aspired to live. Now we have anti-social behaviour, drunks, litter, vandalism, beggars travelling from out of town, robberies and drug dealers trading around the station.

There’s little or no police presence and no will by the council to tackle these issues. What a sorry state of affairs.

Catherine Tucker-Sykes, Harrogate

Harrogate’s 10-year decline

We have only lived here in Harrogate for 10 years but have been saddened to witness the rapid decline of the town over this time. There are beggars on the streets who enjoy getting together to drink.

Sandra Fielding, Harrogate

Stray Views: Why my friends won’t be returning to drunken Harrogate

Why my friends won’t be returning to Harrogate

Friends from Ilkley and Harpenden in Hertfordshire visited Harrogate today. They were totally horrified by the anti-social behaviour of the drunks by the war memorial on their way to Bettys and the art galleries in Montpellier and beyond.

They will not be back in a hurry and will undoubtedly tell all their friends that Harrogate is incapable of keeping the down-and-outs away from our major tourist attractions and that Harrogate is no longer the “nice” town of its historic reputation.

Should Harrogate care? These friends are wealthy retired folk with money to spend who were intending to visit the Sutcliffe Galleries, the Walker Galleries and the lovely new Watermark Gallery.Can I ask in total desperation, what will it take for our increasingly woke and insular council and its placid police force to understand the damage that is being done to the image, attractiveness and financial well-being of our town from their inability to deal with this very simple-to-solve problem and urge them to prevent a potentially irreversible reputation decline for our lovely town?

Tim Emmott, Harrogate

Station Gateway: economic concerns need addressing

Independent Harrogate, which represents more than 180 businesses. supports the proposed ‘Station Gateway‘ in general but we do have some serious concerns that it might have a negative impact on the local economy.

The scheme fails to address the need for park and ride schemes, a large number of electric car charging points and extensive safe cycling routes away from traffic that link with low-traffic neighbourhoods, therefore reducing congestion and in turn reducing carbon emissions.

And, to prevent congestion and an increase in carbon emissions, Station Parade must retain its two lanes, with enhanced cycling facilities reserved for East Parade.

We support James Street remaining fully open whilst supporting the narrowing at its junction with Station Parade to aid pedestrians crossing the road.

We urge North Yorkshire County Council to meet groups to discuss the finer details of the proposals.

William Woods, Independent Harrogate

Why is Kex Gill work taking so long?

Given that it is now more than two years since the Kex Gill route was finalised and finance was put in place, it is staggering that North Yorkshire County Council is now warning the scheme could be delayed because it hasn’t bothered to secure the land, in precisely the same way no one thought to consult the Duchy of Lancaster regarding the much-delayed Otley Road cycle path. Do they never learn?

David Howarth, Harrogate

Stray Views: Ditch the Station Gateway scheme

Ditch the Station Gateway scheme!

Harrogate Civic Society’s comments on the proposed Station Gateway are correct. There is no overall traffic scheme for Harrogate, which has congestion problems, and this scheme will result in more traffic on the A59 as people try and park elsewhere because of this ill-thought-out scheme.

We do not need any changes on the pretext of more people cycling and walking, as most will need to drive in and park somewhere first before doing either. The population of Harrogate includes a lot of older people who cannot walk or cycle into town and this ‘scheme’ does not cater for this at all and should be ditched.

John Holder, Harrogate

Time to get life back to normal

I read with interest your article on the ‘rocketing’ Covid infection rate in the Harrogate district.

Can we not just accept that this whole charade is over and get back to normal? Even the never-used Nightingale Hospital has disappeared.

I personally have been vaccinated twice. What more do I need to do, for heaven’s sake?

I say this with genuine sympathies to anyone who has suffered with, or who has lost a loved one to this virus.

James Colin Harrison, Knaresborough

Police need to check car number plates

Regarding your article on police taking action against noisy cars.

It is not only the noise these cars make but they are normally driven without a front number plate too. The police need to address this issue too.

Adrian Day, Harrogate

It’s wrong to say pedestrians welcome the Otley Road cycle path

Tewit Well and Sun Colonnade are just two examples of gross disrepair

The amount of litter in Harrogate is a disgrace

Double yellow lines would prevent parking on the Stray

End this parking confusion

Read more:

Councils need to stop these illogical projects

Doppelganger issues

Greed has made Harrogate homes unaffordable for many

Read more:

The Montpellier Hill Christmas market experience was a nightmare

Universities offer more than degrees

Read more:

Don’t make the Christmas Market like everywhere else

Read more:

Thank you to Knaresborough vaccine site staff

Harrogate is in trouble and needs to wake up

Harrogate is clean, tidy and beautiful

Read more:

Devolution will lead to more waste and incompetence

Read more:

Drunken Harrogate? It’s just people enjoying themselves…

But we agree with Tim — Harrogate is going downhill

Harrogate’s 10-year decline

Read more:

Why my friends won’t be returning to Harrogate

Station Gateway: economic concerns need addressing

Why is Kex Gill work taking so long?

Read more:

Ditch the Station Gateway scheme!

Time to get life back to normal

Read more:

Police need to check car number plates