Housing Investigation: 26,500 more cars on the district’s roads

If every home in Harrogate district’s Local Plan is built there could be an extra 26,500 cars on Harrogate’s already gridlocked roads, analysis from the Stray Ferret has found.  

Many feel congestion on the district’s roads has already reached crisis point:   

Phil I'anson Phil’s story  

Phil I’Anson owns HG Heat in Harrogate and services boilers across the district. He told the Stray Ferret that in ordinary times traffic is crippling his business and could force him to relocate from Harrogate, which has been his home all his life. 

Mr I’Anson said traffic has “gone crazy” in the four years since he set up his business, and it’s having a significant impact on his company’s bottom line. 

“I spend approximately two to three hours a day in traffic in Harrogate. It costs me one or two jobs a day. That’s £150 a day and 20% of my earning capability.” 

He said that it appears to him that neither HBC nor NYCC “has any control” over the congestion. “The builders seem to just do whatever they want,” he said. 

Mr I’Anson also said that the impact of facing Harrogate’s traffic day after day is affecting his mental health. 

“The most stressful thing I do isn’t running my company, it’s the traffic and driving around Harrogate. The work I can handle, but the traffic is what is stressful.” 

And Mr I’Anson is not alone in his concern.

No strategic approach 

Because Harrogate was unable to control where houses were built, it’s led to particular pressure points such as Skipton Road, where traffic regularly grinds to a standstill throughout the day. 

At the time of writing, there are 15 new housing developments at various stages of construction in Harrogate, with trucks buzzing in and out transporting building materials from outside the district. 

In October residents in the Whinney Lane area submitted their objections to a 270 house development to HBC- every resident cited traffic as a major concern:

“the road infrastructure in the area is already woefully inadequate to accommodate this and other existing new developments..”

“Whinney Lane and Lady Lane are country roads which are not capable of supporting additional traffic of at least 270 homes”

“traffic assessments cannot be viewed simply in terms of the increased traffic from a single proposal without looking at the cumulative impact of several developments in the area” 

And it’s this cumulative impact that is causing serious problems for businesses like Mr I’Anson’s. 

“I’ll move out of Harrogate. It’s just crazy. It’s spoiling the town for me.  

“We haven’t got the infrastructure to keep building the houses they are building. At some point, it will become just gridlock but I’ll be gone by then hopefully. Where does it end?”

Harrogate’s gridlocked future?

Our figure of 26,500 extra cars comes from a North Yorkshire County Council formula.  

The authority controls roads in the Harrogate district and asks each developer to include a set number of car parking spaces for every home they build.  

For a one– or two-bedroom home, the minimum requirement is one space, but for three bedrooms and over it’s two spaces. 

We analysed the number of bedrooms in different housing developments across the district to project a total figure of 26,500. 

The real figure could be higher- according to a 2018 report by North Yorkshire County Council.  33,000 people who currently live in Harrogate and Knaresborough fall into the top 10% wealthiest people in the UK, which is almost a third of all people living in the two towns. 

A government survey of household car ownership by income group found that 26% of people in this financial bracket own three or more cars, with more than 43% owning two. 

As developers aim to maximise profits and build large homes to target high earners, those new owners will inevitably arrive with more cars.  

Read more on our housing series: 

Public transport 

Public transport could hold the key to unlocking Harrogate’s congestion problems. However, according to NYCC’s congestion survey last year, just 6% of regular commuters in Harrogate will get the bus. 

While some areas of the district, such as Killinghall, parts of Knaresborough and Ripon, are well served by Transdev buses, there are other pockets where housing is planned that have inadequate, or non-existent, bus services. 

Kingsley Road is one of Harrogate’s main pressure points for new housing, with more than 600 homes mooted for development in the Local Plan, yet the nearest bus stop is half a mile away on Knaresborough Road. The furthest reaches of the planned development will be almost a mile away from the nearest bus stop. 

Then there is the 600-home Manse Farm development on York Road, Knaresborough, which is served by the number 21 bus into the town centre, but it only stops nearby every hour and 40 minutes – and doesn’t run at all on a Sunday or after 5.15pm. 

The 125-home Harlow Hill Grange development near Beckwithshaw, meanwhile, is not served by any bus routes. The number 6, into central Harrogate, has its closest stop more than half a mile away, up a steep section of Otley Road. 

The half-hourly service stops running at 7pm on weeknights and Saturdays. On Sundays, an hourly service runs until just after 6pm. 

For an elderly couple wanting to do a small shop in town, or a family going out for a meal, easy access to a frequent bus service at the right time could be the difference between using a car and not. 

Accepted congestion problems 

For Harrogate’s cycling community, the key to unlocking congestion is on two wheels. 

Recently the government awarded NYCC £1million pounds to create additional cycle routes and walkways.  But the construction of bespoke cycle routes (such as the one on Otley Road) has been painfully slow. Unless there is a rapid expansion of cycle routes in the next few years, many new home owners will be wedded to their cars. 

According to North Yorkshire County Council’s congestion survey, the average car journey in the town is less than 1.6 miles. 

But since NYCC scrapped plans for a controversial “relief road” through the Nidd Gorge, there has been little progress in tackling congestion around Harrogate.  It means any roadworks such as the recent ones on Skipton road can bring the system to a standstill. 

For many one of the very few joys of lockdown is how quiet the road network has been and the ease of moving around the district.

As normality returns next year Phil l’Anson and others like him will have to decide if the roads have become so congested he is forced to work elsewhere.

Tomorrow: in the final part of our housing series we’ll be looking at the environmental impact and sustainability of the new developments. 

If you want to get in touch with us about any aspect of this series please email us: contact@thestrayferret.co.uk

Harrogate district employers offered £1,500 to employ young people

Employers in the Harrogate district are being invited to take part in a government scheme that pays a young person’s wages for six months.

The government will pay the minimum wage rate for up to 25 hours a week and offer a one-off grant to employers of £1,500.

Businesses and charities willing to offer work placements to 16-24-year-olds are eligible to apply.

The kickstart scheme is part of a £2 million government initiative to give young people paid work experience.

Employers can pay more than the minimum wage or ask the recruits to work extra hours but must bear the cost.

Read more:

The scheme, which chancellor Rishi Sunak announced in July, is now accepting applications in North Yorkshire.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret in July, Harrogate College principal Danny Wild said the scheme would help address the “skills gap” in Harrogate.

He said:

“18–19-year-olds are a real vulnerable group at the moment. We’re really pleased with this announcement and it supports what Harrogate College is trying to do in the district and some of the labour market needs that Harrogate has.”

Interested organisations should contact North Yorkshire County Council, which is the intermediary body in the county acting on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

For full details of how to submit an expression of interest to NYCC, visit: http://www.nyresourcing.co.uk/northyorkshirekickstart

Flaxby fails to stop Green Hammerton development at High Court

A High Court judge has ruled that Harrogate Borough Council’s decision to choose Green Hammerton over Flaxby for up to 3,000 homes in the district does not have to be made again.

The developer, Flaxby Park Ltd, argued at a Judicial Review last month that the council’s decision to choose Green Hammerton for 3,000 homes was based on a flawed process.

Representing Flaxby, Christopher Katkowski QC raised three objections about the way the council came to make their decision.

He said:

  1. Environmental and sustainability assessments were not brought back before councillors to help them make a decision.
  2. The council failed to include an additional 630 hectares of land in the assessment of Flaxby as a broad location.
  3. The Green Hammerton proposals were not financially viable.

In a judgement published today, Mr Justice Holgate ruled in favour of HBC on the second and third points. However, he said that an environmental and sustainability report regarding the proposals would have to go back before the full council.

He said because this report wasn’t produced at the time, it “rendered unlawful” the new settlement policies at the adoption stage of the Local Plan. It means the council will have to vote again to rectify the “legal error” to address the issue of the sustainability report.

The judgement could potentially put to bed what has been one of the most bitter planning disputes to hit Harrogate in decades.

In his conclusion, Mr Justice Holgate said:

“In my judgment there was no error in the local plan process up to and including the conclusion of the examination process.”

Harrogate Borough Council welcomed the judgement and said an updated sustainability report will be brought to full council “as soon as possible”.

A council spokesman said:

“The judge is clear there were no flaws in the development of the local plan, the process was fair and equal, and that sufficient evidence had been put forward in relation to the new settlement.

“He has ruled that the plan does not need to be quashed in part, or full, saying that would be ‘wholly unjustifiable’.

“The court’s view is there was a single procedural issue because specific attention was not drawn to an updated sustainability appraisal when adoption of the local plan was discussed by councillors, even though the document was in the public domain at the time.

“The judge stated that although Flaxby Park Limited has been successful, in-part, to Ground 1 they had mounted a ‘time-consuming and costly attack on the local plan process’ and had ‘failed in achieving what was plainly the main object or thrust of the challenge.”

Read more:

Flaxby Park Ltd released a statement to the Stray Ferret this afternoon also claiming victory.

Chris Musgrave, chief executive at Flaxby Park Ltd, said:

“Flaxby Park Limited (FPL) are delighted that we have been successful in winning our Judicial Review challenge.

“HBC did not take into account vital information such as the sustainability appraisal and the detail of the consultation process. As a result, the councillors did not have all of the relevant information which would allow them to form a sound judgement on the merits of the community settlement issue.

“Council officers have a duty to provide council members with the fullest information and this has not been the case. As a result, the decision making of elected officials in the context of Flaxby Park has been flawed.

“The judgement by Mr Justice Holgate has confirmed that HBC acted unlawfully by adopting the Local Plan and we note that an order has been made by the Judge for HBC to pay their own legal costs as well as a proportion of the costs incurred by FPL. This speaks volumes as to the validity of our successful legal challenge.”
Housing Investigation: infrastructure at breaking point?

The Local Government Association says it “can’t be emphasised strongly enough” that quality infrastructure must be the starting point of any good Local Plan. 

But Harrogate didn’t have a Local Plan for six years. Thousands of homes were built, yet there was no strategic plan for vital services such as schools and healthcare. 

Mike Newall lives in a cottage on Whinney Lane – until recently, a quiet rural street on the west side of Harrogate. 

The Pannal Ash area is now though surrounded by new development and faces the prospect of thousands of new homes over the next few years – changing the face of where he lives forever. 

He is clear that both Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council have so far failed to ensure that residents will be able to access vital services when the housing is eventually built and asks: 

“Where is the social infrastructure?

“Apart from a new primary school on Whinney Lane, where are the thousands of new residents going to get GP and dentist visits? Local surgeries and dentists are full. A normal appointment at Mowbray Square medical centre takes two to three weeks. 

“It goes to show that prior to HBC having a local plan, the council were hobbled and exposed.”  

Schools places 

Harrogate Grammar School, St Aidan’s and St John Fisher are some of the highest-rated comprehensive secondary schools in the north of England. 

The growing number of homes in the area has made the scramble for school places even more competitive, with high value placed on homes within the catchment area. 

A freedom of information request submitted by the Stray Ferret to North Yorkshire County Council reveals that every secondary school in the district is heavily oversubscribed, and the situation deteriorated from 2018-2020. 

Similarly, primary school places are at a premium. The data reveals 55 of the district’s 71 primary schools were oversubscribed for 2020. 

New primary schools have been included in plans at Whinney Lane in Pannal Ash and Manse Farm in Knaresborough, but in many cases where there are large housing developments planned, no new schools are proposed and the local primary schools are oversubscribed.

There are developments underway in the Kingsley Road and Granby triangle, as well as the Bellway and Persona developments on Skipton Road, with hundreds of homes between them. 

There are several primary schools in the area that could educate children from the new developments- all are oversubscribed, including: 

Doctors’ surgeries 

While a scramble for school places could affect Harrogate’s youngest residents’ start in life, a rapidly ageing population means there will also be a greater demand on the district’s health services. 

From the beginning of the Local Plan period in 2014, HBC forecasts a 54% increase in the local population of people aged over 65 by 2035 –that’s 18,720 more people– which will put GP practices in the district under increased pressure. 

But other than Homes England’s 1,300-home development at Ripon Barracks, none of the major developments with planning permission in the district proposes to build new healthcare facilities to accommodate them. 

There are currently 17 GP surgeries in Harrogate, Ripon, Knaresborough and the district’s villages. 

But a 2020 NHS survey of GP practices found that the district’s practices did not score well for patients wanting to get a prompt appointment with their GP. 

Read more of our housing investigation:

Just 44% of patients at Beech House surgery in Harrogate said they were able to speak to their GP when they wanted to. At Leeds Road surgery, that number fell to 39%. 

A spokesperson for NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), in charge of healthcare provision for the district, said: 

“North Yorkshire CCG is actively involved in discussions with the planning department at Harrogate [Borough] Council on all the large scale housing developments in the district so that the impact on local health services is taken into account and any appropriate funding is secured that can be used to provide additional clinical capacity within primary care.” 

Following a recommendation from the government’s planning inspector, Harrogate Borough Council is currently developing a “Parameters Plan” for the Western side of Harrogate, where 4,000 more homes are mooted. 

The intention is to consider sites as a whole in terms of infrastructure, public transport and sustainability, rather than a piece meal approach. But it’s been delayed which has left local residents group HAPARA very concerned. 

Developers avoided paying for infrastructure

One reason why so little appears to be done to improve infrastructure is developers have been able to get away without making enough financial contributions – thanks, in part to a lack of a Local Plan, which has weakened the council’s hand with developers.

With no Local Plan, it meant HBC had no roadmap for how the new housing would impact on infrastructure in the district. It meant developers were able to fall back on national planning policy which says a development “should not be subject to such a scale of obligations and policy burdens that their ability to be developed viably is threatened”.

As a normal condition of planning permission, the council asks developers to sign what is called a section 106 agreement to help pay for infrastructure that residents will use. 

For schools, the money could pay for bigger classrooms or more equipment.

But the Stray Ferret has learned through a freedom of information request that since 2014, Harrogate Borough Council has collected just £2.6m in payments from developers to help pay for schools, roads, health or public transport to cover the whole district.

Dr Quinton Bradley, senior lecturer in planning and housing at Leeds Beckett University, said developers in Harrogate have been able to use these viability assessments to argue their way out of paying.

Whereas if HBC had a Local Plan with a clear focus on infrastructure, it would have been more difficult for developers to do this.

He said:

“It’s money that should have come from developers and landowners, but the public taxpayer has to compensate because the developers didn’t pay it.”

The situation is so serious that the council has requested government introduces a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) to supplement Section 106 agreements. This is because the council has identified a £98m shortfall until 2035 to pay for infrastructure, including £42m for schools. 

The cumulative effect of having no Local Plan has been significant, and it’s meant schools and healthcare facilities in the district have lost out on additional funds to service a rapidly growing population. 

 

If you have any comments on our housing series or are personally affected in any way get in touch on contact@thestrayferret.co.uk 

 

‘Unjustifiable planning creep’ at 200-home Pannal Ash development

A residents group has spoken out against “unjustifiable planning creep” at a proposed 200-home development on the site of the former police training centre in Pannal Ash.

Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association’s comments came after the number of homes earmarked for the site on Yew Tree Lane increased from 161 to 200.

In 2018, Harrogate Borough Council granted planning permission for 161 homes.

Ownership of the land was then transferred from the Home Office to Homes England, which is the government’s housing agency.

In June this year, Homes England submitted plans to add an extra 19 homes to the development.

Another planning application for the site was submitted by Homes England to Harrogate Borough Council earlier this month, increasing the number of homes to 200.

‘Exceeds need’

In a newsletter to residents, HAPARA said the new figure “far exceeds” the amount initially agreed.

“This is yet another example of unjustified planning creep in relation to sites across the west of Harrogate and this over-provision is not in accordance with the Local Plan as it far exceeds the identified housing need.”

The group also said the development would lead to congestion along Yew Tree Lane and surrounding streets, which it says is a “significant area of concern”.

It added:

“There is no commitment in the application to support public transport or cycling connectivity. Consequently movement to and from the site will be car reliant.”

Read more:

Homes England has said it wanted to remove a community football pitch in order to increase the total number of homes on the site to 200.

This was after Sport England and the Football Foundation advised it they thought the pitch was “unlikely” to be actively used.

To support Homes England’s application, a document from planning consultants Lichfields says the development would offer opportunities for sustainable travel.

It says:

“The site benefits from good quality, lit walkways, footways and cycle routes around the application site, providing safe and convenient routes to public transport and local facilities.”

For decades, police recruits from all over the UK came to the site in Harrogate to train. It closed in 2011 due to cost-cutting.

The public has until December 7 to submit comments about the application on the council website.

‘Bright day’ for Harrogate Town fans as stadium could reopen soon

Harrogate Town supporters could finally be allowed to watch their next game next month after a painful nine-month absence that saw them miss out on a historic trip to Wembley and their first fixtures in the EFL.

Prime minister Boris Johnson announced yesterday that spectators can return to outdoor stadiums depending on which tier they are located in. The club and their supporters will be anxiously awaiting what tier Harrogate will fall into when the announcement is made on Thursday.

The following rules will apply depending on the tier:

Tier 1: Either 4,000 spectators or 50% of a stadium’s capacity, whichever is smaller.

Tier 2: Either 2000 spectators or 50% of a stadium’s capacity, whichever is smaller.

Tier 3: No spectators

The club have averaged around 1,500 supporters for their homes games at Wetherby Road over the last couple of seasons. The capacity is 5,000 after their new Main Stand was built over the summer.

Read more:

Town have home fixtures against Forest Green Rovers, Salford City and Carlisle United in December, which could all potentially have spectators.

Harrogate Town managing director said it was a “bright day for supporters” and said he is looking at the fixture against Forest Green Rovers at the EnviroVent Stadium on December 5 as potentially the first game back for fans.

He said:

“We have a home match against Forest Green at The EnviroVent Stadium on December 5 and so we are already reviewing the detail of the announcement and are in discussions with The Sports Ground Safety Authority, North Yorkshire Safety Advisory Group and Harrogate Borough Council on how we make this happen.

“We will advise the number of supporters that we will be able to welcome back, which will be subject to social distancing calculations and how we arrive at which supporters will be offered a place.”

Jordan Ford from the Harrogate Town Supporter’s Group told the Stray Ferret he was “delighted” at yesterday’s announcement.

He said:

“It will be a proud moment to watch our first live game as an EFL club. Everyone is itching to get back, and there’s finally light at the end of the tunnel.”

Harrogate Town supporter Rob Nixon said being able to go back to watch his team play will be a “great relief” after so long away.

He said:

“It’s a shame we couldn’t have been there for the historic first league and cup matches, but this will be a whole new chapter and I’m sure both the players and fans will both be really looking forward to it. I know I am.”

Housing Investigation: New homes out of reach for too many locals

In the six years Harrogate had no Local Plan, housing developers were able to flood the market with expensive four and five bedroom homes. 

It meant an opportunity to address Harrogate’s housing needs was missed and the district remains unaffordable for many young people and those on lower incomes, such as key workers.  

Megan’s Story: 

Megan McHugh

Megan McHugh, 24, has lived in Harrogate all her life and said it’s “heartbreaking” that she cannot afford to buy a house in her hometown. 

She has £20,000 in savings, earns a decent salary as a team leader at a local supermarket and is careful with how she spends her money.  

But she said she feels “stuck” living at her parents’ house, with her dream of owning a home further and further out of reach because the local market isn’t providing the type of home she needs at a price she can afford. 

“I always say this time next year I’d like to be in my own place,” she said. “Then I work it out and think I physically can’t afford it. I’d go tomorrow if I could, but I can’t.” 

Megan said she gets frustrated when she sees housing developments built in Harrogate with so many four– and five-bedroom houses.  

“It’s an affluent area so they want to bring more affluent people into the area and make Harrogate look better,” she added. 

“But if you’re like me and you want to buy your own home in Harrogate, you’ve got absolutely no chance. I feel stuck.” 

What types of homes are needed?  

When a developer builds on a patch of land, 40% of the homes must be classed as “affordable”. But because HBC had no Local Plan up to 2020, it was unable to dictate to developers the types of homes needed for the remaining 60%, which led to a flood of executive-style four-and five–bedroom properties being built. 

Harrogate published a Housing and Economic Development Needs Assessment (HEDNA) report in 2018 outlining the types of houses are needed in the Harrogate district. 

It reported a “notable” demand in the district for one- and two-bedroom properties, with estate agents suffering from a shortage in stock, which it said was driving up prices. 

It also said four-bedroom properties and above should only take up 20-35% of the homes in development. 

But the HEDNA report was published four years after Harrogate’s draft Local Plan was withdrawn, and in that time more than 6,000 homes had been given planning permission. 

The Stray Ferret analysed the period when Harrogate went without a Local Plan and found that house builders were building far more four- and five-bedroom homes than the report said the district needed. 

These include Miller Homes’ 176-home Milby Grange development in Boroughbridge, where 45% of the properties are either four– or five–bedroom, and Bellway’s 170-home Dalesway development on Skipton Road, where 43% had four bedrooms or more.  

Affordable housing 

While developers cashed in to build expensive four-and five–bedroom homes in the district, Harrogate Borough Council has largely ensured affordable houses make up 40% of developments. 

However, many of these homes are still not affordable in most normal people’s definition of the word. 

The government defines affordable as homes sold at 80% of the market rate or homes for social rent. 

But with the average house price in Harrogate £360,000, according to property website Zoopla, it means that an “affordable” property in Harrogate is still more than 10 times the average salary of £25,000. 

Then there is social housing, which are homes provided to people on low incomes or with particular needs by councils or housing associations.

The council has around 1,800 households on its social housing waiting list  — but in Harrogate, less than one in ten applicants are likely to be allocated a property each year. This waiting list has swelled as Right to Buy sales have depleted HBC of its housing stock.

To try to meet demand, the council recently spent £4.5m buying 52 homes in Stonebridge Homes’ 130-home development on Whinney Lane. 

Sixteen of the homes would be transferred to HBC’s housing company, Bracewell Homes, to be sold under shared ownership, and the rest would be made available for social rent. The council has said similar purchases could be forthcoming. 

“You need people of all ages to keep a place alive”

The Knaresborough Community Land Trust (CLT) is hoping to develop a disused area in the town centre to provide three flats as affordable housing. 

Hilary Gardner, treasurer at the CLT, said many young people are being forced to move to places like Leeds because they simply cannot afford to buy a place in Knaresborough. 

“It’s denying people the opportunity that was a given for their parents, providing they worked hard. 

“Being able to buy your own property when you’re in your 30s is important, isn’t it? 

“There are large properties being built in Knaresborough, but they are not for everyone.” 

The long–term effect on people not being able to afford homes could be profound in a town like Knaresborough, which could see its lifeblood disappear. She added: 

“You need a body of people of all ages to keep a place alive.” 

The Knaresborough Community Land Trust is hoping to develop a disused area in the town centre to provide three flats as affordable housing.

Read More:

“We need homes to be distributed more fairly”

The proliferation of housebuilding in the district has largely been driven by central government, which wants to see 300,000 new homes built across the UK, with every region building its share. 

However, Dr Quinton Bradley, lecturer in housing and planning at Leeds Beckett University, told the Stray Ferret the government’s economic theory for housebuilding is “fundamentally flawed” because it’s led to an uneven and unequal housing market, as seen in Harrogate. 

“It’s not as simple as saying, ‘build more homes then the price will come down’…The house builders don’t want that, so that whole analysis is fundamentally flawed.

“The housing crisis is not a crisis of undersupply –, we need homes to be distributed more fairly.” 

Homes for ‘economic growth’ 

Harrogate’s 2018 HEDNA report concluded that the district needs 669 new homes to be built every year, yet it said only 296 of these homes are to serve the genuine housing need of the local population, which might be a young family trying to buy their first home or an elderly couple wanting to downsize. 

The report added that 314 of these 669 homes should be built for “economic growth”: attracting wealthy people into the town and into high-value jobs in the science, logistics and finance industries, which are the sectors Harrogate Borough Council wants to boost, according to the HEDNA report. 

However, Dr Bradley said building homes for economic growth is “basically wish fulfilment”. 

“Nobody knows how the economy will grow. The people writing the HEDNA report would have asked HBC, ‘how would you like Harrogate to be in the future?’  

“They’d say, ‘Well we’d like it to be really prosperous so let’s allocate some more housing for that’, but it’s a fantasy.” 

With development set to progress at its current pace for at least the next 15 years, the gulf between the housing haves and have-nots in Harrogate is likely to widen further. 

It means that Megan McHugh’s hopes of owning her own property in her hometown will continue to be out of reach. 

Throughout this week we’ll be looking at the impact of the unprecedented levels of development in the district:

Showcasing the beauty of Nidderdale through art

Many of us have come to appreciate nature more during lockdown, including Nidderdale landscape artist Sarah Garforth.

In normal times, Nidderdale’s rivers, reservoirs and footpaths are Sarah’s muse — but the last year has given her breathing space to look at where she lives in a new way.

She said:

“Even though I’m very much about the countryside and nature I’ve noticed more things this year. I’ve taken the time to look at things properly, and we all feel we’ve had that time this year.”

Sarah works from Ramsgill Studio in Upper Nidderdale, which she bought nine years ago as a derelict barn to convert into a contemporary space to showcase her work and that of fellow artists.

She said she is fortunate to be able to call Nidderdale her home and to be able to use creativity as a tool to get through this strange year.

She said:

“That was a conversation that often came up amongst my friends. Also, how lucky we are to have a creative mind. A lot of people found the solitude as something really hard for them to cope with.

“Being creative people, we’re also quite happy setting ourselves a project and cracking on with it. We get a lot of pleasure making things and producing things.”

Read more:

Nidd Gorge by Sarah Garforth

Sarah has had lots of commissions during lockdown. She said more people were coming to Nidderdale to take inspiration for art, to explore or simply relax.

She said:

“Up here it really is all about nature and the countryside. It’s encouraging that people are tapping into that a little bit more and starting to notice what’s free and around us all the time.”

An exhibition based on Nidd Gorge will take place from December 12 until spring at Chantry House Gallery in Ripley. It is also being held online for people who cannot attend due to lockdown.

The exhibition includes art from Sarah as well as Hanna Kerwin, Mark Sofilas, John Thornton and William Watson.

Sarah added:

“It’s a cracking topic. It’s to showcase the beauty of it and how picturesque the woodland and the gorge itself are.”

 

Harrogate Town clarifies stadium rules after complaints from fans

Harrogate Town have released a statement after some fans raised concerns about the number of people allowed in the club’s home ground to watch the team play.

With spectators banned from attending matches due to covid, many fans currently pay £10 to watch a livestream of the game’s fixtures through the club’s website.

As reported by the Stray Ferret last month, some fans have complained on social media about what they considered to be an excessive amount of people in the stands.

Although fans are not permitted to attend fixtures, club directors and staff, media and match volunteers, such as ballboys and girls, are allowed in.

One said it’s “not fair on the fans” and another described it as a “kick in the teeth”.

Newly appointed Supporter Liaison Office (SLO), Phill Holdsworth, and members of the Harrogate Town Supporters Club recently met and the issue was raised.

The club has now released a statement that clarifies who is allowed into the EnviroVent Stadium and urges everyone connected to the club to “stick together”.

It says:

“In these difficult times, we all rise to the challenge and we stick together, players, supporters and staff.”

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The club statement continued:

“These restrictions are frustrating for everyone, supporters and players alike. However, there is a bigger picture and we all have our part to play in controlling the spread of this virus – sport included.

“This includes employees and contractors of the sports ground, for example safety management and facilities management teams, ground staff and catering. EFL guidance states essential personnel permitted to attend matches is also extended to Directors from each Club.

“This also covers accredited media staff, including TV, radio, press, photographers – numbers of which are set by the EFL guidance. We take great care in ensuring that all of the requirements, guidelines and directives are adhered to.”

In an interview with talkSPORT yesterday, sports minister Oliver Dowden raised the prospect of fans returning to football matches before Christmas in areas where coronavirus infection rates are low.

Baltzersen’s to open pop-up shop in Knaresborough

Harrogate independent bakery Baltzersen’s is expanding into Knaresborough next week with a new pop-up shop.

Baltzersen’s Bakeri will open on Wednesday at 33 Market Place for six weeks and will specialise in artisan bread, pastries and cakes.

Paul Rawlinson, the owner of Baltzersen’s, told the Stray Ferret that if the six weeks goes well, the move could become permanent. He said:

“We need to test to see what the reception is like from the people of Knaresborough and whether it will be something that can sustain a shop.

“We’re testing the water. Harrogate is our base but it’s the first time we’ve gone a bit further afield and we want to see how it works”.

The shop, which won’t provide hot drinks, will be open seven days a week from 9am until 2pm.

Mr Rawlinson was inspired by his Norwegian grandmother to open his first cafe in Harrogate in 2012.

The business expanded in late 2018 when a coffee shop opened in the neighbouring unit on Oxford Street. Then in October this year Baltzersen’s Bakeri opened, also on Oxford Street.

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Steve Teggin, president of the Knaresborough Chamber of Trade, told the Stray Ferret the new bakery was “really good news” for the town.

He said Knaresborough had been resurgent this year, with several vacant units now filled, after a period of decline.

He said:

“We’ve got lots of good bakeries already in Knaresborough and it’s good to get another one in. We’ll welcome Baltzersen’s with open arms.”