Transport leader expects Harrogate’s Beech Grove road closure to be made permanent

A public consultation on the controversial Beech Grove Low Traffic Neighbourhood scheme in Harrogate closes on Saturday.

The sudden decision to close the road to through traffic in February provoked anger, with some cars cutting across the Stray to avoid the newly-installed bollards.

North Yorkshire County Council initially said the move would be reviewed after six months but later extended the trial to 18 months until August 2022. But the consultation ends this weekend.

Don Mackenzie, the executive member for access at North Yorkshire County Council, told the Stray Ferret the intervention had successfully freed up road space for cyclists and pedestrians and there was a good chance of it becoming permanent.

Beech Grove will link up with the upcoming Otley Road cycle route, work on which is due to begin on September 6.

Cllr Mackenzie said:

“Its been successful. There’s been views in both directions but most residents have accepted it as a positive.

“I see it continuing after 18 months. It’s a part of town where we are making changes to sustainable travel. I can see the Low Traffic Neighbourhood remaining in place formally.”

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Kevin Douglas, of Harrogate District Cycle Action, said early teething problems, such as motorists driving on the Stray, had been overcome and the scheme was now working well.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“We think it’s been a good thing. It’s working well.

“The problem is they haven’t done the Otley Road cycle route yet.

“We need to keep the Low Traffic Neighbourhood. It’s a key link into town.

“There’s been a noticeable number of cyclists and pedestrians using it. That’s a good reason to keep it and it will only improve.”

‘Just pushes traffic elsewhere’

The Conservative government has set aside funding for active travel schemes that aim to reduce car usage. Over the past couple of years, many other Low Traffic Neighbourhood have cropped up across the country.

Harrogate resident Anna McIntee, co-founder of the group Harrogate Residents Association, launched a petition calling on North Yorkshire County Council to scrap the scheme. It has over 400 signatures.

She told the Stray Ferret she believed all the scheme had achieved was to push traffic elsewhere in the town.

She said:

“The general feedback from speaking to residents is that access is a lot harder for them, especially the elderly who rely on their vehicles but also delivery vehicles and emergency services.

“The traffic has been pushed onto Victoria Road which is narrower and double parked, which is dangerous, as well as the surrounding roads, two of which have schools. This is causing more standing traffic and congestion leading to an increase CO2 emissions.

“There is no denying Harrogate is congested and we all need to work together to reduce our carbon emissions by easing congestion but blocking off random roads isn’t necessarily the solution.”

If you have a view about the Beech Grove and would like to contribute to the consultation, email North Yorkshire County Council here: area6.boroughbridge@northyorks.gov.uk

Police say missing girl, 14, may be in Harrogate

Police searching for a missing Halifax teenager have said she might be in Harrogate.

Officers are asking for the public’s help to trace Monika Molnar, 14, who was last seen leaving her home on Monday at about 8.40pm.

Police describe her disappearance as out of character.

A West Yorkshire Police statement today said:

“Extensive enquiries have been made since Monika was reported missing and she is known to have links to the North Yorkshire area and Harrogate in particular.

“It is believed she may have travelled to that area.”

Monika was last seen wearing black trousers and trainers and a cream coat. She was carrying a large dark blue rucksack.

Detective Inspector Simon Archer, of Calderdale District Safeguarding, said:

“It is now been nearly three days since Monika went missing and we are becoming increasingly concerned for her.

“I want to appeal directly to Monika or anyone who sees her or who has information about her to get in contact.”

If you have any information about Monika contact Calderdale CID via 101.

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Former Harrogate rugby club chairman James Smithies dies

Former Harrogate Rugby Union Football Club chairman and president James Smithies has died.

The club released a statement this week saying Mr Smithies passed away on Monday following a long illness.

Mr Smithies spent over 10 years at the club and played a key role in negotiations to move from the old ground on Claro Road to the present site on Rudding Lane. The former ground has now been redeveloped for housing.

Mr Smithies was elected chairman in 2012 and in 2017 received the highest honour that the club can bestow when he was elected president.

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The club said he was a generous financial supporter of the club and ensured the success of the first XV.

The club’s statement added:

“We send our condolences to his wife Chris, his son Edward and his family.”

Plans to convert Harrogate church hall into townhouses

Plans have been submitted to convert a hall that is part of a Grade II listed church in Harrogate into townhouses.

Inglehurst Property has applied to Harrogate Borough Council to create two three-bedroom properties for older people in the hall of Trinity Methodist Church, on Trinity Road, near the Stray.

Under the proposals, a new slate roof would be added to the building as well as an extra floor to accommodate the bedrooms and bathrooms.

Planning documents say the methodist church closed the hall several years ago to raise funds to repair the adjoining church, which opened in 1879.

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The hall was sold to the First Church of Christ Scientist, which used it for services until membership dwindled.

Last year, Harrogate’s Muslim community identified the hall as a site for the district’s first mosque but this does not appear to have progressed.

Harrogate Town Supporters Trust launches with fan perks

Harrogate Town Supporters Trust, which has had a controversial existence since news broke of the group last month, has launched and will offer several perks to members.

Other football league clubs, such as Sheffield Wednesday and Bradford City already have fans trusts, which are democratically run and governed by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Full membership to the Harrogate Town trust costs £15 a year for an adult and £10 for concessions and under-18s. Members will receive discounts in the club shop on Commercial Street, priority tickets for cup matches, and local business discounts.

Coach travel to away matches will be provided through Murgatroyd of Harrogate.

The trust will also organise a fan base at Harrogate’s Cedar Court Hotel where fans can meet before some home games. There will be food and drink offers for members as well as discounted car parking for fans walking to Wetherby Road.

A spokesperson for the trust said:

“Our mission is to help, maintain, and support the presence of an outstanding, sustainable and modern professional football club in Harrogate by being the democratic and representative voice of the supporters of the club who, through its actions, strengthen the bonds between the club, its fans and the community it serves.

“We are an independent, democratic, not-for-profit, community-based organisation who are family orientated with the aim to provide an excellent fan experience to both home and away matches.”

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The announcement of a trust was welcomed by some fans but many members of Harrogate Town Independent Supporters Club, which has been running for several years, believe it is an attempt to undermine its work.

Leaflets about the newly-formed trust were circulated to Town fans at a pre-season friendly against Newcastle United under-23s at Wetherby Road. This alarmed many members of the supporters club, with some accusing the trust on Facebook of underhand tactics.

There was also anger about the trust’s plans to put on coaches for away games, which supporters club committee member Jordan Ford has organised for many seasons.

However, the chair of the trust told the Stray Ferret that alternative away travel was needed because some fans’ drunken behaviour deterred some families and fans from travelling.

New bee-friendly habitats for Fewston, Swinsty and Thruscross reservoirs

New habitats friendly to bees and other pollinators will be created at Fewston, Swinsty, and Thruscross reservoirs.

The initiative is part of a Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust and Yorkshire Water project called Bee Together which aims to help pollinators thrive.

The idea is to create ‘pollinator superhighways’ that weave through the country and link existing wildlife areas together by creating and restoring wildlife patches rich in wildflowers.

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Six Yorkshire Water reservoirs — Fewston, Swinsty, Thruscross, Embsay, Grimwith, and Barden — have been identified as pollinator sites.

Yorkshire Water has provided £30,000 for the project.

Yasmina Gallagher, from Yorkshire Water, said:

“Conservation efforts and improving biodiversity are key parts of our work and often go hand-in-hand with our role managing water catchments.

“We’re pleased to be involved in the Bee Together project and have already identified six of our sites that will provide perfect habitats for pollinators.

“Our colleagues will be volunteering their time to carry out pollinator surveys, create action plans and deliver the habitat the bees require to thrive in our area.”

Harrogate cat charity ‘desperate’ for new fosterers

Harrogate Cat Rescue has issued an urgent appeal for fosterers who can take a cat into their home to prepare it for adoption.

Over the summer months, the charity has reported an increase in cats and kittens that have been dumped around the district.

The role of a fosterer is to monitor the cat’s progress and prepare it for its eventual forever home.

There is no cost to becoming a fosterer as all the food, litter trays, vet bills and even climbing posts will be paid for by Harrogate Cat Rescue.

A fosterer can have them for a few weeks or a few months, depending on the cat. Helen McCallum, a volunteer for the charity, said it’s not just kittens that deserve a foster home but older cats too.

She added:

“We ask that fosterers care and spend quality time with them in a safe and loving environment. They are helping some of the most vulnerable animals have a new start in life.

“So much is achieved by committed fosterers socialising often nervous cats to confident ones.”

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There are some requirements to become a cat fosterer. They must be over 18 and have a spare room for the animal to live.

Ms McCallum said often the hardest part of being a fosterer is handing them over to their adopter when the time comes.

“The fosterers sometimes fall in love with them”.

Are you interested in becoming a cat fosterer? Contact Helen on 07845755405 or helenmccallum453@gmail.com

Ripon A-Level student who battled tumour aims to become a doctor

A Ripon student diagnosed with an ovarian tumour during her A-Levels has achieved the grades she needed to go to university and pursue her dream of becoming a doctor.

Amy Goodwin, who studied at Ripon Grammar School, missed several weeks of school and underwent surgery. Today she was awarded an A*, two As and a B in maths, biology, chemistry and physics.

She said staff at the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton had inspired her:

“I had such good doctors and nurses who looked after me well and put me at ease”.

Ms Goodwin had to wait nine weeks for confirmation her tumour was benign. Having made a good recovery, she is now looking forward to starting her course in medicine at the University of Sheffield in September.

She said her experience had given her new insight into her future career:

“It made me think about how doctors come across to patients and how they present information to them.

“I have always been interested in being a doctor, mainly because I want to be able to help people.”

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Meanwhile, fellow Ripon Grammar pupil Mena Scatchard will travel to the USA on a £250,000 sports scholarship after receiving an A* in geography and As in biology and chemistry.

Ms Scatchard is one of the fastest young middle-distance runners in the UK and will study liberal arts at the prestigious Ivy League university Princeton.

Mena Scatchard

Middle distance runner Mena Scatchard, who is off to America.

Harrogate man’s mission to grow record-breaking jumbo pumpkins

Harrogate man Nick Bailey is on a mission to grow jumbo-sized pumpkins at his Bilton allotment.

The scaffolder, who is 59, has been visiting Pine Street Allotments in Bilton every night for almost 30 years tending to his fruit and vegetables.

It’s not just super-sized pumpkins he grows: he has previously cultivated a 2lb tomato and a two-and-a-half-stone marrow.

Mr Bailey said:

“I just love it. It’s peaceful on an evening with a glass of wine.”

He has a couple of promisingly large pumpkins that will be ready for harvesting in October. He hopes one of them will beat his personal record, which weighed 7st 6lbs.

“I’m trying to beat my record this year. I just like the size of them”.

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With the signs looking good for this year, Mr Bailey hopes to enter the competitive pumpkin circuit and try and win a prize for his efforts.

He is inspired by the United States, where giant fruit and vegetable competitions are big business.

In 2013, one pumpkin seed from the then world record pumpkin, which weighed close to a tonne, fetched $1,600 at auction.

Mr Bailey said it’s not possible to grow giant pumpkins organically but wouldn’t divulge his top-secret tricks when asked.

He said:

“I’m not telling you! It’s taken me years to do it!”

Grab-a-Jab walk-in vaccinations available in Knaresborough all week

Walk-in covid vaccines are being offered at the former Lidl site in Knaresborough all week from 8am to 5pm.

First and second doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs will be available at the site on York Road from today until Saturday without a booking. Moderna is not being offered.

Latest government figures show that in the Harrogate district, 86% of adults have had their first jab and 76% have had both.

The district is below the UK average for first doses, which is 89%. Across the country, 75% of people have had both doses.

Elsewhere in the district, walk-in vaccinations for Pfizer and AstraZeneca will be offered on Saturday at Memorial Hall in Pateley Bridge.

Earlier this week, Homecare Pharmacy, which runs the site in Knaresborough, reassured patients it was still offering covid jabs after a technical glitch sent messages cancelling appointments.

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