Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning and welcome to a new week. It’s Suzannah with you this morning with today’s traffic and travel updates.

I’ll let you know about roadworks, road closures, delayed buses and any traffic hotspots.

If you spot anything, and it is safe to do so, give me a call on 01423 276197 and we can help other commuters too.

These blogs are brought to you by The HACS Group.

9am – Full Update 

That’s it from me today, I’ll be back again tomorrow morning.

Roads

Traffic hotspots:

Traffic is building:

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

8.30am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic hotspots:

Traffic is building:

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

8am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic is building:

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

7.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are getting a little busier but just in the usual hotspot areas, no major delays to report yet.

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

7am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are still looking quiet so far this morning, with no hotspots just yet.

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

6.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking quiet so far this morning, with no hotspots just yet.

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

 

Guide to Remembrance services in the Harrogate district

Events are happening across the Harrogate district this week to mark Remembrance Day and the centenary of the Royal British Legion.

The pandemic reduced last year’s commemorations to small scale events but this year organisers are encouraging people to attend services and parades to remember those who have given their lives.

Below is a list of events. If you know of others that we have missed let us know so we can add them to this guide. Email us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Sunday November 14

Harrogate

Harrogate War Memorial:

A service at the war memorial will begin at 10.30am before a two-minute silence is observed. Local dignitaries, members of the armed forces and community groups will attend and lay wreaths.

Harrogate Borough Council has asked those attending to social distance and wear face masks if possible.

Stonefall Cemetery:

Harrogate Brigantes Rotary has arranged a service for 1pm. Wreaths will be laid by the Harrogate Mayor and Mayoress, Andrew Jones MP, the Army Foundation College and representatives from the Commonwealth.

St Mark’s Church, Leeds Road

Remembrance services on at 9am and 10.30am.

Killinghall:

A Remembrance Sunday service will take place at St Thomas’s Church, Killinghall at 10am. Members of the public are invited to join staff and junior soldiers from the Army Foundation College.

At approximately 10.40am the congregation we will walk to the war memorial on Ripon Road for a short Act of Remembrance service followed by refreshments at the village hall.

Starbeck:

A service will be held later in the afternoon on Sunday. A parade will start at Starbeck Methodist Church at 2.40pm to arrive at the war memorial for a service at 3pm.

Knaresborough

The Knaresborough branch of the Royal British Legion has organised a parade on Remembrance Sunday.

A church service at St John’s Church will begin at 9.30am on Sunday. Then a parade of the Knaresborough Royal British Legion standard will march up the High Street towards the castle grounds for a short service at the war memorial at 11am.

Ripon

Ripon’s Remembrance Sunday service is held at the city’s war memorial, followed by a service at the cathedral.

Those wishing to attend are asked to assemble at Spa Gardens from 10.30am. Around 300 troops are expected to attend alongside local dignitaries and the city’s branch of the Royal British Legion.

Following the service, there will be a march past and salute in front of Ripon Town Hall, with the procession leading to the cathedral, where a further service will be held.

Read more:

Masham 

In Masham, a small service will be held on the market square. People are being asked to congregate from 10.30am.

Boroughbridge 

The Boroughbridge branch of the Royal British Legion has organised a service of remembrance and wreath laying at the town’s war memorial on the Butermarket led by Rev Karen Gardiner.

People are invited to start arriving from 10.30am. There will be no parade this year.

‘Sobering’ report describes void under Ripon’s new leisure centre

An almost 300-page report on the discovery of an underground void at Ripon Leisure Centre has been described as “sobering reading”.

In the report published by Stantec, the engineering firm details how the void was found during works on the centre’s new multi-million pound swimming pool and why further investigations and groundworks are now required.

It said initial studies suggest there has been a “significant deterioration” of the ground beneath the older half of the centre which was built in 1995 and like much of Ripon sits on gypsum deposits.

The report begins by looking at construction records which reveal several ground piles had failed during the build almost three decades ago.

Stantec said the piles were not driven deep enough into the ground and that it remains unclear why this happened as “many critical records” are missing.

Replacement piles were added during the build, the report said, but it is believed these were driven into partially-filled holes.

Fast-forward more than 20 years after construction was completed and a sinkhole opened up outside the centre in 2018.

A year later, the refurbishment plans and new pool were approved by Harrogate Borough Council despite some councillors raising “deep concerns” over ground stability.

These works began shortly after and Stantec’s report said it was in September 2020 when the void was found by construction crews.

This was investigated and all areas beneath the older building will now be examined in the New Year.

The report said the void is having a “limited impact” on the building but “will continue to degrade over time” without action.

Read more:

Stantec gives three options to solve ground stability issues across this half of the site: do nothing, demolition or ground strengthening.

It said the do nothing approach is “unacceptable from a public safety perspective”, while demolition was not considered to be “cost-effective” by the council.

It added strengthening could include steelworks, thickened floors and grouting where mortar is pumped into the ground – the same method “successfully” used to stabilise the new swimming pool building.

Long-term monitoring

However, it said strengthening alone is “unlikely to mitigate risks to acceptable levels” and that other measures would be required including long-term monitoring.

The report added any ground collapse before or after these works was not likely to be “catastrophic” but would be gradual and seen through cracks in the building.

At Wednesday’s meeting, council leader Richard Cooper said the findings made for “sobering reading” before he and other cabinet members approved the next stage of investigations.

Other council officials stressed the centre is “safe to use” and that the new pool, due to open on 8 December, will not be affected.

Councillor Stanley Lumley, cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, said:

“It is very important to distinguish that there are two separate issues and projects here.

“Only during the construction of the new pool was it identified that there was a potential problem with the existing building.

“We have got professional engineers, designers and consultants on the site, and we have to take advice from them.”

During the strengthening works, the older half of the centre is likely to close for around six months when the council said it would look to provide gym facilities at a different venue in Ripon.

The closures will mean the centre – which was due to be refurbished and open its new pool earlier this year – will not fully reopen until mid-2022.

Harrogate panto director promises comedy and magic

Joyce Branagh, the woman at the helm of this year’s production of Cinderella at Harrogate Theatre, hopes her passion for pantomime will shine through this year’s performance.

Ms Branagh, the sister of Kenneth Branagh, began directing the panto at the end of the October after the sudden death of former director Phil Lowe. She said since then it’s been “lots of late nights” to get the panto to a place she is happy with.

Ms Branagh is no stranger to Harrogate Theatre. She directed a play in the town years ago and sat on the board in recent years. She said she could’t say no when David Bown, the theatre chief executive, asked her to take on the director role.

Ms Branagh is working alongside a large theatre crew to put on the most popular show of the theatre’s calendar.

With well-known faces such as Tim Stedman returning, it sounds like visitors can expect the kind of panto Harrogate residents have come to love.

Ms Branagh said:

“It’s going to be very silly and it’s got some lovely music and singers in it. I really hope people can come and forget about all the nonsense that has been happening over the past few years and have a proper laugh, a sing-song and the kids can really shout too!”

Silliness for everyone

After 18 months away from directing, due to the pandemic, she said she felt a bit “rusty” at first. The rest of the cast also felt a little worn down at first, she said, but the silliness of the panto quickly woke them up.

She said finding a job where you pick whether to hit someone over the head with a squeaky hammer of a frying pan is her kind of 9-5!

She said:

“We’re putting something together that works for someone who is 4 and 94.

“For me, my love for panto comes from the feeling in the auditorium, especially when young kids walk in for the first time and see the set and the props it’s amazing to see their eyes light up.”

Read more:

Famous brother

Ms Branagh watched her brother Kenneth Branagh’s acting career take off from a young age, he’s known for his roles in several Shakespeare film adaptations as well as directing Thor and Disney’s adaptation of Cinderella.

She said it was watching him on stage and in films that led her to discover her love of theatre and spurred her into acting and directing.

“We weren’t a theatre family at all. When we watched Ken’s shows my parents would say he was an exception and very lucky. They said it wasn’t a great profession to go into but I loved it.”

Get ready to boo, hiss, shout and sing this November as the pantomime gets underway from November 26.

If you want to get in the mood ahead of the panto, check out our Panto Stories performed by Tim Stedman.

Two Harrogate charities move in together on Hornbeam Park

Two local voluntary organisations have moved into Disability Action Yorkshire’s Hornbeam Park headquarters and learning centre

Resurrected Bites and Canaan Warehouse, which also includes Harrogate Clothes Bank, will occupy the space previously used as a second-hand furniture shop by Disability Action Yorkshire.

Resurrected Bites was established in 2018 to reduce food waste and food poverty. Canaan Warehouse redistributes donated household items and clothing for free to those in need in the Harrogate area and in eastern Europe.

The unit at Hornbeam Park gives the charities have more space and will reduce their overheads as well as provide employment opportunities for Disability Action Yorkshire’s disabled adults.

Disability Action Yorkshire’s chief executive Jackie Snape said:

“We are delighted that Resurrected Bites and Canaan Warehouse are now utilising our warehouse space, in a partnership that benefits them, us and our learners.

“One of our aims is to assist disabled people in leading independent lives wherever possible, and a key part of this is gaining employment.

“Our learners used to get valuable retail, warehouse and customer service training from our furniture enterprise, and this hands-on experience will continue under this new arrangement.”

Read more:

Dr Michelle Hayes, Resurrected Bites and Harrogate Clothes Bank founder, said moving to a unit together will mean the charities can work alongside each other to stop good quality items going to landfill and help those in need:

“When we realised that Resurrected Bites was intercepting so much food that we needed to find a warehouse, we wanted to think outside the box rather than just renting a commercial space.

“Resurrected Bites are always in need of volunteers for our cafes, groceries and warehouse and likewise the Harrogate Clothes Bank and Canaan Warehouse are both keen to invite the learners to volunteer with the sorting and distribution of clothes and furniture.”

Between March 2020 and July 2021, Resurrected Bites has helped feed more than 15,800 people with around a week’s worth of food. Each week, it diverts around three tonnes of food waste from landfill sites.

Image caption: Dr Michelle Hayes, second left, and Jackie Snape, second right, are pictured with a Resurrected Bites volunteer and two disabled learners

Compulsory covid vaccines make recruitment harder, say district care homes

Some Harrogate district care homes have said making covid vaccines compulsory for care home staff will make recruiting new staff even harder.

Recruitment in the care sector is “at crisis point” and some of those working in the field say the government’s decision, that comes into play today, has put care home staff in an unfair position.

Klara Spatenkova, home manager at the Manor House in Knaresborough, said out of 65 members of staff she’d lost four because of the new rule:

“At first, I felt like a lot of it didn’t make sense. We all have to be vaccinated yet all the visitors don’t. Just because of their personal views people are leaving jobs they have worked in for years.

“Out of 65 staff, four, is nowhere near as bad as other homes. We will always do our best to take care of our residents and give them the best care. That hasn’t changed it’s just been hard, it has definitely impacted recruitment too.”

The director of a home care group covering the Harrogate district said although the ruling doesn’t affect his staff yet he agrees recruitment will get harder.

Matthew Nutting works for Radfield Home Care and said:

“We are expecting the rule to affect domestic care staff by the new year. The recruitment challenge we face now is the worst I’ve seen in 15 years.

I think the new ruling is more destructive than covid itself because it reduces our pool of potential employees even further. It’s already reduced because of Brexit, covid but this will make it much worse.

“We need a dedicated action plan from the government to help.”

“Unfair” to only affect care home staff

But other homes said the impact has been minimal. Tracey Holroyd, chair of care home group Warmest Welcome which operates eight homes including the Crest in Harrogate and Westfield House in Killinghall, has only lost two staff members:

“I think a lot of it is down to geographical areas, we haven’t faired too badly but I know others have lost more staff. I don’t think it has had a huge impact on recruitment for us it’s just a bit unfair its not the same across the health service.”

Health Secretary, Sajod Javid, has confirmed this week that covid vaccines will become compulsory for all NHS workers. He said it is likely to be enforced by April.

Read more:

Barchester runs Thistle Hill and Boroughbridge Manor care homes. A statement from the group said the new ruling won’t impact these homes as those who refused the vaccine left months ago:

“Months ago we took the decision that staff working in a Barchester care home must be vaccinated. As a result we are well-prepared ahead of the deadline and we have seen strong uptake and positive engagement with the covid-19 vaccination.

The deadline tomorrow will not impact our homes locally as any employees that refused the vaccine left months ago and no one has been hired without being vaccinated or medically exempt.”

Sneak Peek: Crimple Hall opens after £6 million investment

Crimple Hall is finally ready to swing open its doors to the public this weekend with a well-stocked food hall, plenty of Christmas goodies and the plants it is known for.

Many locals will know Crimple Hall as a garden centre but over the past year it has had a huge investment to make to add on a food hall, restaurant and event space.

The food hall has an in-house bakery, 12-metre butcher’s counter and chef cooked ready meals. All the food and produce is locally sourced and fresh.

The food hall

Director of Operations, Keren Shaw, said they wanted to make Crimple Hall a destination for local people; somewhere they can shop and eat:

“We want to be a hub for the community. It’s an incredibly unique place to the area. We use local producers, we have our own in-house bakery too. We’re really excited to get it open and have people in.

It’s great to have seen it go from a shell to now living and breathing it.”

A few people have been invited down this week but this weekend is when it will open fully. Visitors can expect plenty of food and lots of Christmas decorations.

The food hall is based in a 20,000 sq ft space and has an industrial feel with its distinctive peaked roof.

Read more:

Christmas has arrived at Crimple Hall. There’s everything from trees to lights to robot polar bears!

Ms Shaw said the whole concept was environmentally-focused from the solar panels on the roof to Crimple’s very own milk float where people can come back with their glass bottles to re-fill.

In the future, the team is hoping to add glass bee hives to provide honey for the food hall.

So far the new venue has opened up around 60 new job opportunities to the local area.

The 160-seater restaurant welcomed its first customers today.

The restaurant and garden centre will open 8- 5pm, and bar until 7pm. The food hall will open 8-7pm and on Sunday all areas are open 10-4pm.

Grants of up to £150,000 available for Nidderdale farmers

Nidderdale farmers and land managers are being encouraged to apply for grants of up to £150,000 as part of a government scheme to improve the area.

The Farming in Protected Landscapes grant programme has been running since July but the team at Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) are eager for more people to apply.

The programme offers a financial boost for one-off projects that support one of four areas; nature recovery, mitigating the impacts of climate change, providing better access or engagement with the landscape or increasing the business resilience of farms.

The scheme will run for three years until March 2024.

In the first year alone, until January 2022, around £575,000 has been earmarked for projects in the Nidderdale AONB.

Matthew Trevelyan, Nidderdale AONB’s Farming in Protected Landscapes officer, said:

“Since the grant programme launched in July 2021, we’ve been able to provide support for a huge variety of projects ranging from habitat restoration to farm business diversification.”

“One of the great things about this programme is that we are able to help fund projects that fall outside the scope of existing agri-environment schemes. The best Farming in Protected Landscapes supported projects fulfil more than one of the outcomes.”

“We’re also keen to get project partners working together at a landscape level – after all wildlife doesn’t care much for where one farm stops and another starts.”

Some of the projects that have recently received funding include a group of dairy farmers monitoring soil carbon levels and experimenting with the new machinery to prevent soil becoming too thick to work with.

Another project will see several neighbouring farms working together to encourage endangered birds to nest on their land.

Read more:

The programme is open to all farmers and land managers, including from the private, public and charity sector, in the Nidderdale AONB, or where activity can bring benefit to the AONB.

Other organisations and individuals can apply but they must be working alongside a farmer or land manager.

Funding has also been set aside under the same scheme in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and North York Moors National Park.

It all forms part of the government’s Agricultural Transition Plan.

Those wanting to apply can contact the AONB team.

Two more covid deaths reported at Harrogate District Hospital

Two further covid deaths have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital.

It brings the total since the pandemic began to 197. The latest two deaths were reported on November 3 and 6.

The Harrogate district recorded another 87 covid cases today. The infection rate per 100,000 people has dropped again. It now stands at 473. Yesterday was 548.

However it is still the highest in North Yorkshire. The county’s rate is 425 and England’s is 345.

The number of covid patients receiving treatment at the hospital fell slightly this week from 25 to 24 over the past week.

Read more:

 

Oh yes he is! Tim Stedman stars in Harrogate panto as Buttons

The much-loved actor, Tim Stedman, returns for his 21st pantomime at Harrogate Theatre this year as Buttons and promises an evening of laughter and a little bit of magic.

The cast and crew are busy at Harrogate Theatre preparing to return to the stage later this month with a pantomime classic, Cinderella.

Regular panto goers will be delighted to see Tim Stedman return. He has performed at Harrogate Theatre every festive season since 2000 – only missing last year due to covid.

He said the love from the audience and the hard work of the production team keep him coming back:

“I think Harrogate [theatre] does it properly with magic, with a twinkle in its eye, and the story is king. You could come and watch it and not hear the gags or see my comedic dancing and still leave saying that’s a lovely story.

People think of Harrogate as a chocolate box of a town, wonderful and idyllic, and they’re very good at the theatre of thinking that’s how the pantomime should be.. it’s magical here.”

Mr Stedman said returning after taking a break last year has made him more eager than ever to take to the stage.

He promised plenty of comedy sketches, romance and even a whoopee cushion or two!

Some of the panto cast during rehearsals this week.

Over the years, Mr Stedman has performed in Jack and the Beanstalk and Aladdin but says with audiences falling in love with his characters brings added pressure:

“I still enjoy it as much as I did 20 years ago, but coming back each year does mean I feel the pressure a little bit.

I have to be funny and everything the audience expects and especially after being hidden away for two years really we need to make sure we do it right.”

Read more:

Mr Stedman kept tight-lipped about all the surprises and twists and turns in this year’s production but promised audiences the family-friendly, hilarious pantomime they have come to expect in Harrogate.

“It’s very funny; the ugly sisters are very funny, the prince is drop-dead gorgeous, our Cinderella looks fab. I think it’s going to be great, everyone loves Cinderella!”

Mr Stedman may say that the audience needs to love the story – but to many he is the main attraction and his talent guarantees a great panto every year.

Get ready to boo, hiss, shout and sing this November as the pantomime gets underway from November 26.

If you want to get in the mood ahead of the panto, check out our Panto Stories performed by Tim Stedman.

To find out what other events like this are on in the Harrogate district, check out our What’s On page.