Harrogate Town have played their final ‘home’ fixture at Doncaster Rovers’ Keepmoat Stadium.

Following promotion from the National League, Town were forced by the English Football League to remove its artificial 3G surface at Wetherby Road and replace it with grass.

This meant the team has been playing its home fixtures at Doncaster, 46 miles from Harrogate.

Harrogate Town chairman Irving Weaver’s housing company, Strata Homes, is also based in the South Yorkshire town.

The team signed off from the Keepmoat with an impressive 3-1 win against Leicester City’s under-23 side on Tuesday in the EFL Trophy.

Work on Town’s new pitch at the club’s EnviroVent Stadium is now nearly complete.

Playing at the Keepmoat seemed to be popular with Town’s players, with veteran striker Jon Stead tweeting yesterday:

“What a venue, unreal hospitality, and fantastic ground staff. Thank you Donny.”

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Town’s next fixture will be a hotly anticipated local derby against Bradford City at Valley Parade on Monday night. The game will be shown live on Sky Sports.

Simon Weaver’s men will play at Wetherby Road for the first time since July on October 17 when they face last season’s National League champions Barrow.

Meanwhile, a petition has now been signed by over 180,000 people urging the government to allow fans to safely return to football stadiums, amid reports that several EFL clubs face a precarious financial situation.

Initially in the summer, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said fans would be able to return to grounds from October 1. But rising coronavirus infection rates put this plan on hold indefinitely.

Plans have been submitted to convert the Green Tree pub in Little Ouseburn into housing.

The application to Harrogate Borough Council bids to turn the pub into two one-bedroom apartments and one three-bedroom semi-detached home.

Another two three-bedroom semi-detached homes would be built in the rear car park.

The pub, which is on the main B6265 from Green Hammerton to Boroughbridge, closed in late 2019.

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In 2017, owners Michael and Barbara Briggs were granted permission to convert the property into housing while retaining part of the downstairs as a micro pub.

However, planning documents state Mr Briggs died in January 2017 and Mrs Briggs struggled to maintain the pub alone.

After three years of trying to market the micro pub, Mrs Briggs decided it was no longer a viable business, and now wants to convert more of the building into homes.

Government planning reforms will give local authorities less control over planning applications, according to a Harrogate Borough Council report.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government opened a consultation in August on sweeping changes to “streamline and modernise” the English planning system.

As part of its response to the consultation, HBC planning officers Tracey Rathmell and Natasha Durham have produced a report, which will be discussed by councillors next week.

The report says the reforms could have “significant implications” for the district and disagrees with the government’s central premise that the current system has led to not enough homes being built. It says:

“The proposals will lead to an increasing centralisation of the planning system and erosion of local democracy to the detriment of bottom up, locally led place shaping.”

“Whilst the aims of the paper are laudable on the whole, and some elements are welcomed (such as increased use of technology and focus on design), some proposals are of great concern.”

The white paper suggests local authorities could develop local plans by zoning land into three categories: “growth”, “renewal” or “protection”.

Other suggestions include digitalising the planning system, allowing more permitted development applications, replacing section 106 payments with a new system for developers and giving government the final say on how many homes should be built in an area.

In the foreword to the white paper, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was critical of the current planning system.

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He wrote:

“Thanks to our planning system, we have nowhere near enough homes in the right places. People cannot afford to move to where their talents can be matched with opportunity. Businesses cannot afford to grow and create jobs. The whole thing is beginning to crumble and the time has come to do what too many have for too long lacked the courage to do – tear it down and start again.”

Harrogate Town’s impressive start to life in the English Football League has been recognised with manager Simon Weaver and striker Aaron Martin nominated for League Two manager and player of the month awards.

Town picked up five points from their first three games, beating Southend on the opening day 4-0 and drawing against early pacesetters Walsall and Port Vale.

They lost at the weekend 1-2 to Bolton Wanderers, which may dampen Weaver’s chances of winning the managerial award but the nomination shows that Town’s bright start to the season has not gone unnoticed.

The other managers nominated are John Askey (Port Vale), Mark Bonner (Cambridge United) and Mike Flynn (Newport County).

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Striker Aaron Martin, who has scored twice so far this season, is a contender for player of the month.

Martin was signed from Guiseley just before lockdown in March and made his debut for the club in the National League playoff semi-final against Boreham Wood in July.

Also nominated are Ian Henderson (Salford), Paul Mullin (Cambridge United) and Adam Phillips (Morecambe)

The winners will be announced on Friday morning.

Town’s next league fixture is a hotly anticipated local derby at Bradford City on Monday evening. The game will be shown live on Sky Sports.

Councillors have rejected a bid to build a new motorway service area five miles from Ripon.

Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee voted this afternoon by 11 to 1 against the proposal by Moto Hospitality, which operates 45 similar sites across the country,

The proposal included a petrol filling station, small hotel, food and retail units and parking for HGVs and coaches on land west of the A61 and A6055 at junction 50 of the A1(M).

Steve Masters, property director at Moto, told committee members the site would support haulage drivers travelling through the district and create 200 jobs.

He said:

“Covid has demonstrated the critical nature of food and medicine logistics and has increased the need for a motorway service area to support the haulage sector.”

A motorway service station at Kirby Hill, about five miles to the south of this site, was refused permission by HBC in November 2019 and is now at appeal. A public inquiry is scheduled later this year.

Moto Hospitality has planning permission from Hambleton Council to expand its Leeming Bar services near Northallerton, which is north of the proposed site.

However, Mr Masters told the committee the company had decided not to go ahead with this redevelopment.

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Gordon Gledson, chair of Hewick and Hutton Parish Council, spoke against the proposals.

He said:

“I do not think there is a need for another service station. The A61 is already a heavily used road and the increase in traffic on a large roundabout will lead to a decrease in road safety”.

Cllr Windass, the only councillor to back the proposals, said the plans were “less harmful and controversial” than the Kirby Hill motorway service area rejected by HBC last year.

Cllr Pat Marsh said she was concerned about the impact the site would have on the environment.

She said:

“This is all about our landscape and what heritage we are leaving for our children. What we’re doing is putting within a landscape, buildings, earth mound and trees that are totally alien to this part of our wonderful district. I think it is wrong.”

A total of 1,035 homes in the Harrogate district have been empty for six months or more.

The Stray Ferret obtained the figure from Harrogate Borough Council using the Freedom of Information Act.

The list shows the postcode of each home and when, according to council tax records, it became empty.

The data reveals 444 of the homes became empty in the last 12 months.

A total of 222 are in Band A, the lowest council tax bracket. Sixteen are in Band G, which is the highest.

Harrogate Liberal Democrat county councillor Geoff Webber said it was “obscene” to have over 1,000 properties empty when there has been homelessness in the district.

He also said HBC’s social housing waiting list currently stood at 1,523.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“I am very disappointed that Harrogate Borough Council, who are responsible for housing, has about 1,500 families on their housing waiting list when there are over 1,000 private properties are standing empty.

“Some of these properties, of course, will be unoccupied for a good reason, but it does seem obscene that pre-Covid we had people sleeping on the streets and currently have families in hostels and bed and breakfast accommodation when so many private properties are standing empty.”

The number of empty homes in the district is rising. According to government figures, there were 828 in November 2019.

Harrogate Borough Council has powers to encourage owners of empty properties to bring them back into use.

The council charges owners of properties that have been empty for two years or more a premium on their council tax. For example, for a property that has been empty between two and five years the council charges a 100% premium. This increases to 200% when a home has been empty for over five years.

The council can also take enforcement action against landlords, including compulsory purchase orders, enforced sales, and empty dwelling management orders.

A HBC council spokesman said:

“We work with property owners within the district to encourage and assist them to bring empty properties back into use as much-needed homes.

“Where this fails and homes remains empty we do not hesitate to take enforcement action including compulsory purchases.”

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According to national campaign group Action on Empty Homes, there are over 216,000 empty homes across the UK.

The group lobbies the government to give councils greater powers to put empty homes back into use.

When we showed the figures for the Harrogate district to Chris Bailey, campaign manager at Action On Empty Homes, he said homes were being “wasted”.

“This is despite the desirability of Harrogate and despite the increasing problems of housing need and homelessness amidst a wider national housing crisis, which coronavirus and its economic fallout can only worsen.”

Masham Cricket Club is raising £5,000 for an electronic scoreboard as a tribute to popular club president Tony Proud, who died this year.

Club chairman Mark Ellis told the Stray Ferret the scoreboard would be a fitting tribute to someone who had cricket in his blood.

The club is raising the money through a crowdfunding campaign.

Mr Ellis said:

“He was president of the cricket club when he died. He was there every Saturday watching the game. He was there to give advice, had a great sense of humour and was loved by everybody. He was a real character.”

Mr Proud was a former woodwork teacher at Bedale secondary school and cricket was his passion. He played for Masham CC for over 30 years with and represented other local clubs.

He also was instrumental in setting up Masham Sports Association, a charitable organisation that supports cricket, bowls, tennis and football in the market town.

Mr Proud died during the height of the Covid pandemic in April and Mr Ellis said the club wanted to do something special for his family.

He added:

“The church at Masham would have been packed out with people who played sport either with or against Tony over the years.”

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Currently, the club has an old-fashioned pull-chord scoreboard and Mr Ellis said an electronic version would “bring the club into the 21st century”.

He is confident the community will come together to raise the target of £5,000. He added:

“I’m sure the community will support what we’re trying to do because he was such a big character. Everybody knew Tony.”

If the club raises £5,000, it will have an official opening of the electronic scoreboard next year, which will double up as a celebration of Mr Proud’s cricketing life.

You can donate to the crowdfunder here.

Harrogate Town fans have been asked to nominate someone whose mental health has suffered during the coronavirus pandemic and is deserving of a special Zoom call from a first-team player.

The initiative is part of mental health charity Mind’s ‘Do One Thing’ campaign, which inspires people to make one small change or take one action to look after their mental health. All English Football League clubs are taking part.

Nominations should be emailed to community@harrogatetownafc.com by Friday October 9. A group of senior Town players will then judge the nominations.

Supporters can also get involved in the campaign by sharing on social media their one piece of advice or activity that can improve mental health.

Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind, said:

“Coronavirus has undoubtedly affected the lives and routines of many fans. Whether that’s seeing familiar faces on the terraces on match day or celebrating/commiserating the result with fellow fans after, many fans will feel that the current climate has left them less able to do the things that support their mental health.

“Whether it’s going for a walk, learning a new skill or doing something creative, taking the first steps to getting support for yourself, or reaching out to someone else; Mind and the EFL are encouraging fans to do one thing for better mental health this World Mental Health Day.”

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On Friday night BT Sport aired “Proud To Be Town”, a 90-minute documentary filmed during and after lockdown.

It included contributions from manager Simon Weaver and first-team players who opened up about how the three-month shutdown of professional sport affected their mental wellbeing.

As cars are banned from roads around primary schools elsewhere in the country, could Harrogate see new schemes introduced to do the same?

The national School Streets project aims to make streets near to schools a safer place for children, increase opportunities for them to walk or cycle, and reduce their exposure to toxic air pollution.

While North Yorkshire County Council has not said it will introduce School Streets, its Open Harrogate project – which aims to encourage active travel – confirmed on Twitter the possibility is being explored.

School Streets was pioneered in Hackney, London in 2017 and has since gone on across the country including at Yorkshire primary schools in Halifax, York, Leeds and Sheffield.

In Hackney, vehicles are able to apply for exemptions but only if they are a blue badge holder or a resident or business inside the School Streets zone.

Since School Streets first came to the London borough, children cycling to participating schools has increased by over 50%, with traffic outside the schools reducing by around two-thirds.

‘Behaviour change’

The idea of School Streets has been welcomed by environmental campaign groups. Caroline Linford from Sustainably Harrogate told the Stray Ferret that the scheme would help enforce “behaviour change” for parents in Harrogate.

She said:

“Improving congestion and pollution around schools is a bit of a chicken and egg issue. One of the reasons parents drop their children close to school is because it’s not safe for them to walk or cycle, but by doing so they’re actually exacerbating the problem.

“School Streets help enforce behaviour change and show parents that the school run can be a relaxed, safe, quiet and pollution free.”

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The walking and cycling charity Sustrans published a survey last week which involved more than 1,000 parents of children under 16. It found seven in ten (71%) parents agreed that local authorities should take steps to make it easier for families to walk and cycle to school.

According to David who runs the Harrogate-based cycling website Hedgehog Cycling, School Streets would make it safer for children to get to school.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“Children should be able to walk or cycle safely to school, but if school streets are full of vehicles parents will rightly worry about their safety. NYCC has been encouraging active travel through Open Harrogate, but it’s not enough just to encourage. Only if the local authority also makes it safe and easy will it happen.

“Small children and big SUVs don’t mix, and it would be great to see a plan to remove traffic danger around all schools in Harrogate.”

The Stray Ferret has recently heard concerns about the volume of traffic near to Killinghall and Western primary schools.

Sarah Bassitt, the headteacher of Killinghall Church of England Primary School, said she worries that traffic on Otley Road could eventually see a child killed.

Tim Broad, headteacher at Western Primary School, said the first week back was “chaotic” at pick-up time, adding:

“This is the first time I can remember feeling deeply concerned that we could have a road traffic accident.”