Commuters in Harrogate have reacted to the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s pledge to ‘build better railways’. 

Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, in his first Budget announcement, made the pledge to spend billions of pounds on road and rail projects as part of a proposed £600 billion infrastructure programme. 

Although there was no specific announcement yesterday as to where the money will be spent, long-suffering passengers at Harrogate Railway Station were clear about where they feel the government should prioritise.

Jerome Morrow (pictured above) who regularly travels between Harrogate and Leeds, said

 “The trains themselves have improved, but too few carriages are put on and at peak times that leads to overcrowding and an uncomfortable journey.  

“Compared with London, we have a lot of catching up to do in the north. We are paying the same fares for an inferior service and investment should be made in the provision of more carriages.” 

York University sociology student Kate McWhirter

For York University sociology student, Kate McWhirter, who was in Harrogate to meet friends, the issue is lack of communication:

 “On four separate occasions recently, I was waiting for trains that were suddenly cancelled with no reason given for the cancellation and left wondering if the ticket I had was valid on another train. They need to spend the money on better communications.” 

The Harrogate line has recently had national attention with the Sunday Times reporting at the weekend that the 07:13 Harrogate to Leeds service being “the most cancelled in the UK”.  Northern Rail, which had operated the line, lost its franchise at the beginning of this month and the service is now in government control.  

Ripon City Council unanimously supports a petition, calling on Harrogate Borough Council to take urgent action and provide more parking in the city to help it cope with the building of 2,000 new homes. 

Among those supporting the petition, raised by City Councillor Peter Horton, is City, district and county councillor Mike Chambers, who is the Borough Council Cabinet Member for Housing and Safer Communities. 

The petition, which has already been signed by more than 2,100 people, including residents, retailers and visitors, was unanimously endorsed by councillors in a recorded vote taken at last night’s Ripon City Council meeting. 

Cllr Horton, says: “There is an urgent need for more car parking in Ripon and action is required before massive house building creates even more demand. We implore Harrogate Borough Council to address this matter without delay.

“Current house building, proposed new sites and redevelopment of the military estate, means that Ripon is heading towards an additional 2,000 homes over the next few years. Many of these will be two-car households, potentially adding around 3,500 extra vehicles to local traffic.”

Cllr Horton points out that provision of on-street and off-street parking in Ripon has not increased for more than 50 years and in that time, car ownership and use has vastly increased, resulting in more congestion and competition for spaces available.

“Inconvenience and congestion”

Parish and district councillor Pauline McHardy, says: “I have been working with Councillor Horton to gather signatures from residents, retailers and visitors, who are concerned about the extra pressure on parking spaces that new housing developments bring.”

She adds: “You only need to come into the city centre on market days, to discover how on-street and car park spaces are at a premium. As well as causing inconvenience and congestion, people, including tourists who are vital to the economy of our fine city, who can’t find a parking space, will go to other places where they can. That’s bad news for Ripon.”

Councillor Chambers says: “As a democratic principle I support a petition going to Harrogate Borough Council for consideration. 

“There are parking issues that have existed in Ripon for many years and we need to look at all options, including the government’s move towards more sustainable transport and reduction of emissions through electric vehicles, encouraging more cycling and walking in city centres and also community transport initiatives that serve rural areas.”  

 Photograph courtesy Mike Wells/Yan, Hear & Now

The Stray Ferret can exclusively reveal that stallholders in Knaresborough and Ripon are launching a joint petition, as they fight for their future at the two ancient markets. 

With Harrogate Borough Council (HBC), proposing rent increases of up to 32.4 percent, both say it will lead to the loss of traders at each centre and they will be asking the public to sign a petition, calling on the council to rethink its plans.  

Steve Teggin, a member of Knaresborough Market Working Group and president of Knaresborough Chamber of Trade, says: “We are going to fight this all the way to protect our heritage asset. The town was granted its charter by Edward II in 1310 and we have the oldest continuous market in England.” 

He adds: “We have suffered enough blows with high shop vacancy rates and our market – an important footfall driver on Wednesdays and particularly Christmas – must be protected, or the town centre will find itself under water.”  

Knaresborough is anticipating the loss of up to six stallholders if the rent rise proposed by HBC goes ahead from April 1, while Brian Murphy, the stallholders’ representative for Ripon market – whose charter was granted by James I in 1604 – anticipates the loss of up to five traders from its Thursday market.   

Mr Murphy, whose family has sold fruit and vegetables at the market for more than 100 years, points out: “This is the biggest increase in rent that any of us can remember and news of it was greeted with absolute shock and dismay” 

He adds: “With some of our stallholders considering packing up because the rent rise will make them unviable, Harrogate Borough Council is about to shoot itself in both feet, because the market will be less attractive, fewer people will come into the city on Thursdays and all businesses who rely on footfall, including cafes, pubs and restaurants, will all be hit – it’s a lose-lose situation.” 

The Stray Ferret asked HBC questions, ranging from how the council justifies the increase in rent to possible effects on footfall in Knaresborough and Ripon, if some stallholders decide to withdraw from the markets. We received the following reply from an HBC spokesperson:

“The increase (£5 per week) is to cover the cost of erecting a stall on behalf of the trader (the percentage changes because the charge is lower during winter months). Currently, it costs the local taxpayer £15 each time we erect a stall on behalf of a trader. For both self-assembly and provided-stalls, our rates remains competitive with nearby markets.

“We have never distinguished between HBC-erected and self-erect stalls before but felt it would be unfair to increase the price across all traders when the cost is actually only associated with only some of them (many traders in Knaresborough and Ripon use self-assembly stalls at these other markets they sell at). As previously mentioned, the cost of putting the stalls up is heavily subsidised by the tax payer.

“It is great to hear that traders feel they are seeing more footfall through the markets in Knaresborough and Ripon. This is the reason we want to introduce more diversity and flexibility in the way the market is run and the traders we can attract. It would be a shame if some of the regular traders missed the opportunity on offer to invest in their own equipment which would actually increase their trading scope to include other towns where council erected stalls are no longer an option.

“The budget was agreed on 12 February including the fees and charges for the 2020/21 financial year. This included the incentivised offer of a £5 reduction per week for traders to switch to self-erect for 2020/21 (if signed up between April and June). We look forward to seeing how many traders choose to take this offer and help ensure our town markets continue to thrive.”

Staff at Wetherspoon pubs across the Harrogate district are on a high hygiene alert to keep their premises germ free as the coronavirus crisis deepens. 

The pub chain, which serves food and drink to thousands of customers per week at the Winter Gardens in Harrogate, The Crown in Knaresborough and Unicorn in Ripon, has introduced an alarm bell system, which reminds staff on a regular basis to clean all surfaces that can be touched by customers, staff and suppliers. 

The emergency procedures apply across the whole of the Wetherspoon estate and staff are receiving practical advice and updates from head office on a daily basis. 

The Stray Ferret witnessed a cleaning session at the Unicorn Ripon this week, which happened straight after the alarm bell rang. All surfaces including door handles, bar tops, coffee machines, tables and chairs were assiduously wiped over. 

Unicorn regulars, Tim Freeman and Russ Kell (pictured above), were unaware of the bell alert initiative, but were impressed when told about it. Tim said:

“The tables in here are clean enough to eat your dinner off and the bar is always immaculate. I didn’t know that extra measures had been brought it, but it’s reassuring to discover that Wetherspoon are looking after customers to this degree.” 

Russ adds: “I’ve eaten at Wetherspoon pubs all over the country and they operate to a very high standard. It’s good to hear that they are protecting us in ways we didn’t even know about.” 

The Stray Ferret has witnessed panic buying of handwash and related products across the Harrogate district as the coronavirus emergency deepens. 

There has been a rush on chemists and supermarkets from people anxious to stock up on all types and sizes of alcohol-based hand sanitisers, anti-bacterial gels and wipes. 

ASDA in Harrogate reported on Monday that it had completely sold out of hand hygiene products for the time being, while the Boots Chemist located within Jennyfield Co-op, did not know when it would be getting any more in.  

Supplies at the Boots in Cambridge Street, Harrogate, are being snapped up as soon as they are put out on the shelves and the company has announced a two-bottle per customer limit on purchases made. 

At ALDI, which has stores in Ripon and Harrogate, bosses at head office also instructed counter staff to limit customers to two bottles apiece. 

Shelves cleared of handwash in Sainsbury’s Ripon

It has emerged that only alcohol-based products will kill off the coronavirus, as Chris Jones, managing director of manufacturer Delf UK told BBC Radio this morning (Wednesday) that the virus has a fatty outer layer that is broken down by sanitisers with a 60 percent to 80 percent alcohol content. 

Mr Jones’s company has experienced a ten-fold increase in orders over the past month. 

Demand for cleansers in the Harrogate district and across the UK, continues to increase as the government, NHS and World Health Organisation are urging everyone to keep their hands germ-free. 

The area of shelves at Sainbury’s Ripon where handwash and cleansing wipes are usually available, had been cleaned out this morning (Wednesday) and across the city, the same applied at Morrison’s. 

The message from all retailers is that they will have further handwash and cleansing wipes available as soon as possible, but are reliant on suppliers on the timing and while ever demand outstrips supply, customers are likely to remain restricted to the number of bottles or packs that they can purchase.  

The need to keep hands germ-free is emphasised by a report from specialist hygiene services company Ideal, which says that 80 percent of infections are transmitted through touch. The report also points out that one in six people admit to not washing their hands after they go to the toilet. 

Protective masks are also in short supply and John Alder, owner and managing director of Office Ally, in Ripon, which supplies thousands of products to business customers, says: “we are currently unable to source masks from any of our suppliers, but the principal demand among our customers is for hand sanitisers and in obtaining those we are facing the same rationing being experienced by the general public when they go to the shops.” 

Staff at Harrogate Train Station are on high alert, looking out for travellers with suspected symptoms who  are about to embark on a journey. 

The station, which is used by thousands of travellers a day commuting to work or travelling onward to destinations across the UK, is operated by Northern Rail Limited, which is issuing staff with regular updates and advice as the Coronavirus crisis deepens.  

Gordon Hyde, one of six station supervisors, told The Stray Ferret: “With cases in Leeds, Bradford and now Ilkley, there is a feeling that this outbreak is getting closer and we are all on a high state of alert, looking out for travellers who appear to have the symptoms and asking them if they feel travelling is wise.” 

All station staff are following strict company guidelines about the use of anti-bacterial handwash, while the cleaning team is paying special attention to handrails on stairs and other parts of station. 

Gordon, adds: “Everybody needs to be vigilant about their own health and potential impact on other travellers if they are unwell. In the meantime, we will continue to run our services with passenger safety our top priority.” 

A spokesperson for Harrogate Bus Company, which carries thousands of passengers a day in the Harrogate district, says: 

“We always want all our colleagues and all our customers to be safe and well, particularly when working and travelling with us. It’s really important that everyone is able go about their lives normally and, as a bus company and key transport provider for Harrogate, we are critical in enabling people to do that.  

“We’re taking steps inside our company to ensure everyone is prepared. Our normal cleaning regime is thorough, with every single bus cleaned inside and out every night, with extra valets taking place during the day at bus stations, and we will keep this under review to ensure we keep standards high. 

“Our approach is balanced, to ensure the welfare of our colleagues and customers, whilst not fuelling any hysteria which might come from a knee-jerk reaction. 

With the situation for those travelling by air changing on an almost daily basis, Leeds Bradford Airport recommend that travellers with booked flights or thinking about booking a flight, contact the airlines direct for information and updates.