Harrogate Town asks for help clearing snow ahead of tonight’s game

Harrogate Town are appealing to fans to help clear their Wetherby Road pitch in time for tonight’s game against Carlisle.

Snowfall hit Harrogate overnight, covering the grass at Town’s EnviroVent stadium on Wetherby Road.

The game is due to kick off at 7.45pm so there is a race against time to get the snow cleared.

The club has asked volunteers with snow shovels to come to the ground this afternoon to help out.

The club tweeted:

“We would greatly appreciate some volunteers turning up ASAP with snow shovels to help move the snow ahead of tonight’s game.”

Read more:

 

300 more Harrogate children receiving free school meals since pandemic

An extra 300 children in the Harrogate district received free school meals after the coronavirus pandemic began, figures reveal.

A total of 2,402 children received the meals in October this year, compared with 2,109 in January this year.

The Stray Ferret obtained the figures from a freedom of information request to North Yorkshire County Council, the education authority for the district.

To qualify for free school meals a parent must apply to North Yorkshire County Council with evidence that they are receiving a benefit, such as Child Tax Credit, Income Support, or Universal Credit.

Since January 2018 the number of children in the district receiving them has increased by over 58%.

Over 10% of children in the district are now receiving them, which is lower than the national average of 17.3%.

Harrogate District Food Bank project manager Lucy Stewart told the Stray Ferret that parents who work in Harrogate’s hospitality sector have been hit hard by covid restrictions.

She said:

“A lot of families live right at the end of their means. When you get furloughed and are on 80% of your income, a lot of us are not set up for living on that.

“People will have had to start claiming benefits, which triggers free school meals. The whole area will struggle because we rely so much on the conference industry normally.

“A huge industry has gone from the town and the fallout from that cascades down to working families in the hospitality industry.”

Read more:

The issue of free school meals rocketed up the agenda this year following a high profile campaign by Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford.

A Labour motion to extend the provision of £15-a-week food vouchers to 1.4m disadvantaged children in England during holidays until Easter 2021 was voted down in the House of Commons in October.

Several food venues in Harrogate decided to offer families free meals, including Portofino, Major Tom’s Social, and Thug Sandwich.

The government launched a £170m Covid Winter Grant Scheme for vulnerable families across England.

Christmas waste and recycling in the Harrogate district

Waste and recycling centres in the Harrogate district will be open every day over the festive period except Christmas Day, Boxing Day, December 30 and New Year’s Day.

The North Yorkshire County Council household waste recycling centres on Wetherby Road and Pennypot Lane in Harrogate, and Dallamires Crescent in Ripon will be open from 8.30am to 4pm.

The centres accept discarded electrical goods, Christmas packaging, broken Christmas lights, household batteries and Christmas trees.

Good reusable toys can be donated to the Reuse Santa appeal within the reuse containers at the recycling centres. Toys will go to the No Wrong Door campaign and other charities.

Wrapping paper that passes the scrunch test (if you scrunch the paper in your hand and it stays in a ball) can be put in blue recycling bags for kerbside collection. Check collection dates over the holiday period.

Read more:

North Yorkshire County Council’s household waste recycling centres in the district are managed on the council’s behalf by private firm Yorwaste.

County Councillor Andrew Lee, executive member for business and environmental services, said:

“Working together, the county council and Yorwaste are continuing to give residents the opportunity to recycle as much as they can over this Christmas period.”

Muddy footpath at Swinsty closed amid safety fears

Yorkshire Water has closed a temporary footpath at Swinsty reservoir that has drawn complaints about it being too muddy to use safely.

The footpath was introduced last month while maintenance works takes place on the usual route.

The closure will continue until the £6m works are completed in summer 2022.

It means there will no longer be a circular walking route at the popular beauty spot, which many people from the Harrogate district visit over the festive period.

The Stray Ferret reported how a pregnant woman had to be rescued by a passing family after she struggled to walk the diversion.

The company has employed marshals over the break to offer advice to visitors on safety issues, including parking if the car parks become full.

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Water said it expected Swinsty to be busy over the festive period and the diversion south of the reservoir, which went through farmer’s fields, had become too muddy.

Read more:

Yorkshire Water is encouraging walkers wanting a circular route to visit Fewston instead.

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said:

“As a result of ongoing engineering work at Swinsty reservoir the circular route around the reservoir is no longer available.

“We have put up signs around the site to inform people of the closures. The circular walk around nearby Fewston reservoir is still available.

“Additionally, extra colleagues will be on hand at Swinsty over the festive period, which is expected to be busier than normal, monitoring car parking at the site and advising people of the closures.”

An updated map of the current walking routes at Swinsty is below:

Doubts about future of 2021 Great Yorkshire Show

The future of next year’s Great Yorkshire Show is uncertain as the Harrogate venue that hosts the event begins a huge mass vaccination project.

The NHS began the programme on Tuesday at the showground. It is expected to last several months, which raises questions about the viability of the 2021 show, which is provisionally scheduled for July 13 to 15.

Heather Parry, managing director at Yorkshire Event Centre, told the Stray Ferret is is “looking at all the options at the moment” for the 2021 event.

Ms Parry said:

“It’s a changing picture. It’s obviously a big event with lots of people so whether we do it the same way or a different way, we are keen to do something if we can.

“We don’t know how many months we’re in this for. We would like to run a Great Yorkshire Show, absolutely, whether it’s the same or different, we don’t know. We are doing lots of planning.”

Read more:

Ms Parry said none of the contingency plans involved moving the event, which has been held at the Great Yorkshire Showground since 1951, to a different site.

The show was cancelled in 2020 due to coronavirus. A virtual event took place instead with three days of video footage.

Ms Parry added that at least 200 other events have been cancelled this year at the Yorkshire Event Centre and the Pavillions of Harrogate venue, which is also on the showground, due to the pandemic.

‘Show patience’ on covid turnaround, says Andrew Jones MP

Andrew Jones, the MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has said people must “show patience” before the UK turns the corner on coronavirus.

Reflecting on the year on his website, Mr Jones said many people would be glad to see the back of 2020.

But he added we “can be certain life will slowly return to normal” due to vaccinations and improved care for severe cases of covid although it will take “some time.”

Mr Jones wrote:

“As we quietly move into the new year we must show patience and further restraint as that process takes place.”

Coronavirus vaccines began at Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground on Tuesday. People aged over 80, care home residents and care home staff were first in line.

It is believed about 900 vaccines a day are being given although the NHS has yet to reveal figures.

Read more:

In further reflections on 2020, the Conservative MP praised the public, private and voluntary sectors for rallying together during a year like no other.

He wrote:

“We didn’t need a pandemic to know how brilliant our public services are but it was a very powerful reminder.

“We have though learnt some things about ourselves and one another which I hope we can carry through into 2021 and beyond.  And we have also learnt lessons that reinforce that which we already know but perhaps didn’t recognise enough.

“Community matters.  We looked out for our neighbours who were elderly or less well than us. We got in touch with support organisations to volunteer our services.  Street-based groups sprang up to help those around them.”

 

The Den offers night of live music and food

The Den bar on Cambridge Street will host a night of live music and food in Harrogate on Sunday December 27.

The bar, which recently reopened after refurbishment, has teamed up with Fashion House Bistro on Swan Road for the ticket-only venture.

Chefs from the bistro will cook food for the event, which will start at 6pm. Tickets are £60 per couple.

Singer and pianist Dan Burnett will perform a selection of blues and soul classics from 7pm. He will be followed at 8.30pm by Biz Denton on vocals and guitar and Jason Odle of “Ont’ Sofa” ont’ drums, who will play two sets.

The fixed menu consists of six tapas dishes.

Read more:

Rob Taylor, from The Den, said:

“The event is strictly limited to socially distanced tables of two, and will provide a relaxed and enjoyable evening of post-Christmas entertainment.

“2020 has been a very difficult year for everybody, and in particular for those in the hospitality trade. David and I are really looking forward to jointly hosting this event.”

Demolition of Bilton’s Woodfield House set to begin in January

Work to demolish Woodfield House care home in Bilton and build 19 flats could start in a fortnight and last more than a year.

A construction management plan submitted to Harrogate Borough Council says construction firm HACS will start the project on January 4 and continue for 55 weeks.

If the plan is approved, workers will be on site in Woodfield Square from 8.00am – 6.00pm from Monday to Friday and 8.00am – 1pm on Saturdays.

Access to the site is from Skipton Road via the Woodfield Estate.

North Yorkshire County Council’s housing company Brierley Homes was granted planning permission for the project last month.

It has sparked controversy because none of the homes is classed as affordable.

This is because Brierley Homes applied for a Vacant Building Credit — a government mechanism to encourage vacant properties back into use, which can be used to remove the provision for affordable housing.

Instead, Brierley Homes will make a financial contribution of £72,528 to Harrogate Borough Council, which granted planning permission.

Henry Pankhurst, ex-chairman and current planning spokesman for Harrogate Civic Society, told the Stray Ferret he was not happy that all the new homes will be sold at market value with no provision for affordable properties, particularly as they are being built by a local authority.

Mr Pankhurst said:

“It’s very disappointing. I would have hoped North Yorkshire County Council would have recognised that Harrogate Borough Council has a difficulty in providing affordable housing. It’s an ideal location to have more affordable housing.”

Read more: 

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive member for access, defended the company’s business model in a statement released to the Stray Ferret: 

“Brierley Homes’ focus is on developing high-quality housing with the primary aim of generating an income to reinvest in supporting frontline services provided by the county council.

“This is a socially responsible approach and is something buyers see as positive, too. I believe that our taxpayers expect the county council to use its assets wisely and responsibly, as in this case. “

 

Former Yorkshire pub of the year could be turned into a home

A former winner of the Yorkshire Pub of the Year title could be turned into a five-bedroom home.

The Crown Inn pub in Great Ouseburn won the prize at the White Rose Awards in 2011 but plans have now been submitted to convert it into a family home.

The proposals include four first-floor bedrooms, two with en suites, as well as a guest room on the ground floor. There would also be a cinema room and a single garage, with the proposals including creating a two-storey extension.

The full details can be viewed on the planning section of the Harrogate Borough Council website, using reference 20/04342/FUL.

The pub has been vacant for several years, closing in June 2016. The village, which is five miles from Boroughbridge, is currently served by one pub, the Lime Tree on Branton Lane.

Read more:

In October plans were submitted to convert the Green Tree pub in nearby Little Ouseburn into housing. The pub, which is on the main B6265 from Green Hammerton to Boroughbridge, closed in late 2019.

Harrogate greengrocer predicts fruit shortages due to border chaos

An independent Harrogate greengrocer has warned there could be fruit shortages due to the ongoing chaos at the UK’s borders.

Last night France closed its border with the UK for 48 hours because of a new strain of coronavirus found in the south of England. This caused huge tailbacks and panic buying.

The end of the UK transition period to leave the EU on December 31 is set to cause further delays at ports.

The issue has caused concern among national and local retailers.

Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s warned today port restrictions could leave the UK without fruit and vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower and citrus fruits, which are all imported at this time of year.

Its fears were echoed by James Sore, co-owner of greengrocer Roots & Fruits, on King Edward’s Drive in Harrogate.

Mr Sore said the queues at Dover were already having an impact on his shop, which was recently without plums for two or three days.

He said the plums were “floating on a ship” because lorries were unable to bring them back to Harrogate.

Read more:

He added problems at ports were likely to affect the supply of tropical fruit, such as citrus fruits and bananas, which can only be grown in warmer climates:

“It’s a concern. People will have to change their buying habits. But nobody really knows what will happen. It’s a case of suck it and see.”

Despite predicting shortages on imported produce, Mr Sore said local farmers could receive a boost due to having a “captive market”.

Chris Herron, from Killinghall wholesaler J G Bellerby, which supplies produce to restaurants and shops across the district, said he wasn’t worried about food shortages, despite the long tailbacks of lorries in Kent.

He said the company will “ride it out” and see what happens. But he suggested the prices of some vegetables, such as cauliflowers, could rise.

Earlier this month, North Yorkshire County Council played down fears that frozen food is being stockpiled at schools and care homes to prepare for the end of the Brexit transition period.