Road users in the Ripon and Boroughbridge areas have been spared potential travel mayhem today thanks to a sharp-eyed motorist.
Paul Stockburn, who lives with his wife Sandra in Copt Hewick, noticed both North Yorkshire County Council and Yorkshire Water were due to have diversions in place on the same day.
Copt Hewick is located on the outskirts of Ripon between the Dishforth and Boroughbridge roads.
Mr Stockburn told the Stray Ferret:
“Every household in the village received a letter from Yorkshire Water giving advance notice of an eight-week programme of pipe replacement work that would close a section of Dishforth Road between New Road and Strait Lane. That work started last week.
“Enclosed with the letter, was a diversion map showing Boroughbridge Road as the crucial alternative route for Copt Hewick road users to follow.
“Then I saw yellow signs put in place at both ends of the bridge on Boroughbridge Road that crosses the River Ure near Ripon Racecourse, saying that the bridge would be closed for a day on 19 January, so that inspection works could be carried out.
“I thought, does this mean that an extra one day diversion for diverted traffic would need to be put in place – and where would it be diverted to?”
The Yorkshire Water road closure sign on Dishforth Road (above) and the North Yorkshire County Council sign, which has now been removed
“What made this confusing situation even more ridiculous was a paragraph in the Yorkshire Water letter about the Dishforth Road closure, which read: ‘We understand that these works will be inconvenient, which is why we’ve liaised closely with North Yorkshire County Council highways department regarding every aspect of this essential scheme.'”
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The Stray Ferret raised Mr Stockburn’s concerns about the confusing and apparently contradictory advice on the Yorkshire Water and NYCC’s respective road closure signs.
Yorkshire Water said it would look into the matter — then diverted the Stray Ferret to NYCC.
Melisa Burnham, highways area manager, for North Yorkshire County Council, said:
“As Yorkshire Water is undertaking an eight week programme of works on Dishforth Road our contractors have agreed to reschedule the one-day bridge inspection. We will remove the advance warning sign as soon as possible. We apologise for the concerns this caused.”
When told the potential double diversion road closure chaos had been averted, Mr Stockburn, said:
“I have let as many people as possible in the village know the good news – including one gentleman in his 80s, who was wondering how he was going to get to Harrogate for his covid vaccination.”
Nidderdale minibus helps rural people get vaccines at showground
It’s nearly 16 miles from Pateley Bridge to the covid vaccination centre at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate.
So for rural communities in the Nidderdale and Washburn valleys with limited public transport and a high proportion of older people, getting there can be difficult.
Nidderdale Plus community hub in Pateley Bridge is playing a key role in solving this and helping the government achieve its aim of vaccinating the over 80s as soon as possible.
Helen Flynn, the executive director of Nidderdale Plus, a charity that works in partnership with local authorities to provide services to the community, told the Stray Ferret:
“For some people, the prospect of travelling to and from Harrogate for their appointment could be daunting.
“There are those who live on their own; some have stopped driving and a number may not have a member of a family bubble to accompany them to and from the vaccination centre.”
Older people living in rural Nidderdale and the Washburn Valley can travel by mini-bus for vaccination in Harrogate.
With Nidderdale and the Washburn Valley covering half of the total land area of the Harrogate district, a logistical issue had to be addressed.
It was rapidly solved when Nidderdale Plus called on assistance from Jill Quinn, chief executive of Dementia Forward, to secure the use of a mini-bus that had not been used for some time because of covid restrictions. Ms Flynn said:
The vehicle, with its volunteer drivers, makes regular journeys from Nidderdale and the Washburn Valley to Harrogate, collecting people en-route.
To ensure social distancing is maintained, the minibus takes a maximum of three people at a time for vaccination, and a rigorous cleaning regime involving anti-bacterial ‘fogging’ of all surfaces is carried out after each use.
Ms Flynn added:
“Jill lives in Pateley Bridge and was happy to help.
“Our aim is to ensure that all people aged 80 and above living in this area have no reason to worry, either about getting to and from Harrogate or their vaccination.
“As the vaccination programme progresses to target different age groups, the minibus will remain in use to help those aged 70 and above in the Nidderdale and Washburn valleys and others seeking assistance.”
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Bryan Ayers, who lives in Hampsthwaite, has already used the service. He said:
“The transport service for my covid vaccination was magnificent, I don’t know what I would do without the help as I do not drive myself and I have no relatives who can help me.
“When I got to the site it was really well organised both with clinic staff and the volunteers were very good, I hardly had to wait any time at all.”
Mr Ayers added:
“My driver was very friendly and just waited for me, I could not have asked for a better service. I have had no side effects of the vaccine at all so far.”
New Ripon developments could fund better bus service
New housing and commercial developments in Ripon could fund a better local bus service.
Ripon City Council’s transport group has been trying for several years to create a more integrated bus timetable for all parts of the city.
The current RS1 Ripon city service provided by North Yorkshire County Council operates to restricted hours during the week and doesn’t run at all on weekends.
But it is hoped that section 106 funds, which developers have to pay to fund infrastructure projects, could be used to improve matters.
Councillor Peter Horton, who chairs the transport group, told the Stray Ferret:
“We are well served by Transdev’s regular 36 double decker buses that provide journeys to and from Harrogate and onward to Leeds but our inner-city service is patchy.
“When commercial operators were no longer able to provide an internal Ripon service, we were grateful that North Yorkshire County Council stepped in to help but their mini-bus covers only around half of the city and we are looking for a more joined-up service.”
Councillor Peter Horton, who says section 106 funds from Ripon developments can help pay for a new bus service.
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Some money to improve the service has been allocated from the parish precept.
Section 106 planning money from the retail development at Rotary Way, where a Marks & Spencer opened last year, is another possible source.
Longer-term, there are plans to build 1,300 homes at the Clotherholme development on the site of the former army barracks, which is another possible source of section 106 income.
Councillor Horton said:
“We will liaise with North Yorkshire County Council as the integrated passenger transport authority to discuss how the sources of funding can be drawn together.
“As a growing city, it makes sense to have a robust and regular bus service that reduces the need for cars to come into the centre, where parking is at a premium, while also providing a means for non-drivers to come into town.
“There are environmental benefits as well, as fewer car journeys into Ripon city centre will reduce the emissions that cause global warming.”
£2.5 million project to prevent flooding at Fountains Abbey
A £2.5 million scheme to revive the river valley that runs through Fountains Abbey has been given the green light today.
The abbey and its water garden near Ripon are a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the UK’s most significant cultural landmarks.
But flooding has deluged the abbey ruins and the adjacent water garden several times in recent years. Nearby homes and businesses have also been affected.
Wildlife is under threat from poor water quality because of increased sediment in the river.
Now the National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded a £1.4 million grant to tackle the problem.
The sum, combined with funding from other sources, will enable the valley to be protected from the effects of climate change and flooding, which has threatened to cause irreparable damage to the abbey.
The Skell valley scheme aims to rejuvenate 12 miles of the River Skell by improving the landscape’s resilience to climate change.
Work on the scheme, led by the National Trust and Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is due to begin in March.
The River Skell, which runs through the Fountains Abbey UNESCO World Heritage site
In 2007, flooding devastated archaeology at Fountains Abbey, inundated the water garden of Studley Royal and caused damage downstream in Ripon.
Despite efforts to tackle the effects of extreme weather, flooding and silt-build up continue to threaten the valley’s heritage and ecology.
But now, with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and other funders, including the European Regional Development Fund, large-scale work to protect the landscape can begin.
The four-year scheme, which has been under development for several years, will involve local partners, landowners, farmers and volunteer groups.
Efforts to reduce flooding will include tree planting, meadow creation and new ponds, which will reduce soil run-off and slow the flow of water.
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The project is designed to boost wildlife in the valley and it is hoped that populations of rare species such as curlew, white-clawed crayfish and golden plover will increase.
Communities will take an active role in the scheme with opportunities to learn conservation skills and undertake archive research.
Councillor Nigel Simms, who represents Masham and Kirkby Malzeard on Harrogate Borough Council and is chair of the Nidderdale AONB joint advisory committee, said:
“We will work closely with local farmers and landowners across the Skell valley to put in place nature-based solutions that will reduce flooding and improve biodiversity in and around the river.”
New walking and cycling routes to wellbeing in Ripon
An initiative to promote walking and cycling for fitness and wellbeing during the lockdown has been launched in Ripon.
The community interest company Ripon Together is behind the Healthy Journeying scheme.
It encourages people to get their daily exercise on foot or bike while enjoying the city’s scenery.
A website which gives details about safe local walking and cycle routes has been set up to support the project.
The Dean of Ripon the Very Revd John Dobson.
The Dean of Ripon, the Very Revd John Dobson, is chair of Ripon Together. He said:
“In this further lockdown it is even more important to look after each other.
“Ripon Together is supporting people’s health and wellbeing through its website where they can find lots of local walks and cycle routes.
“We are also hoping – covid restrictions permitting – to hold the traditional pilgrimage to Fountains Abbey, which could not take place on Boxing Day, on 1 May”.
He said Ripon Together was set up to make Ripon an even better place to live and it was important to encourage people to move around the city and its surrounding area sustainably, adding:
“We want more people to cycle and walk, and we want better access to the city and its countryside for those with disabilities. We need local infrastructure to support this. We would love to hear from anyone with ideas on how that can be delivered.”
Ripon Together is also supporting the creation of local greenways and a walking and cycling strategy for the city, as envisaged in the City Plan approved in a referendum in February 2019.
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The proposed Clotherholme development would significantly increase traffic in the city. Healthy journeying – cycling and walking – would reduce congestion and pollution.
Ripon Together is also asking local people to help walking charity The Ramblers to identify paths that have been in public use but are not shown as footpaths or bridleways so that they can be protected under law.
If you know of any such paths, or want to volunteer to help the project, e-mail info@ripontogether.com
People who find public footpaths or bridleways obstructed or in poor condition can use the same e-mail address and Ripon Together will pass on the information to The Ramblers.
Ripon City Council freezes parish precept
Ripon City Council will not be increasing its parish precept for the 2021-2022 financial year.
In 2020-2021 council taxpayers in the city were charged £71.89, on top of the tax paid to North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council.
The precept in Ripon provided a total fund of £400,000 last year.
A total of £100,000 from next year’s budget is being allocated for public events from summer onwards in the hope that coronavirus will be under sufficient control by then to allow them to go ahead.
Money is also being set aside for the renewal of children’s play equipment at Quarry Moor Park and external decoration of Hugh Ripley Hall – the building on Skellbank named in honour of the city’s first mayor.
City council leader Andrew Williams told the Stray Ferret:
“With the current covid crisis and the impact it is having, we decided to keep the precept at the same level as last year.
“It has been a difficult time for everybody with three lockdowns, causing disruption to, among other things, the city’s retailers and the education of children.
“In addition, public events that have been a feature of life in Ripon over many generations had to be cancelled because of the coronavirus.
“However, we must look to the future and make plans and allocate prudent funding that enables us to move forward safely when the lifting of restrictions allow.”
Ripon’s 2020 Christmas lights were extended after an additional £65,000 from the parish precept was spent on them last year.
During 2020, the council set aside £65,000 for a number of public and civic events, including the 75th anniversary celebration of VE Day, Saint Wilfrid’s Day procession, summer bank holiday entertainment, Remembrance Sunday and Christmas and New Year festivities — all of which had to be cancelled.
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The parish precept money, that would have been spent on these events and others, was subsequently diverted to pay for Ripon’s Christmas lights to be extended to help retailers and make city streets more attractive.
That move attracted criticism from some people who thought the money could have been better spent by providing direct financial support for retailers and other businesses affected by the pandemic.
Pateley’s Harefield Hall determined to survive a year of blows
Elaine Little was looking forward with optimism to 2020, which was shaping up to be a record year for Harefield Hall.
The four-star country guest house in Pateley Bridge, with its restaurant, bar, 14 en-suite rooms and bunk room for groups of cyclists and other travellers, had record bookings.
Then came covid and the first lockdown in March, which proved to be just the precursor to nine months of stop-start misery for the hall, which once belonged to the Archbishop of York.
Ms Little, the director of the hall, told the Stray Ferret:
“Just as we prepared to come out of the first lockdown and were getting ready for re-opening, a cloudburst on 28 June devastated the building.
“The rainstorm was so severe that the gutters and fall pipes were overwhelmed and the ingress of water damaged ceilings, furniture and carpets.”
The insurance claim is still to be resolved, as the pandemic has delayed the settlement processes.
The damage caused in June meant the hall could not reopen in July. Accommodation and restaurant bookings were lost, as were bar takings.
Harefield Hall once belonged to the Archbishop of York.
The premises remained closed until mid-October, then within a fortnight of reopening the second lockdown in November, effectively wiped out the pre-Christmas trade.
Now the third lockdown has dealt another huge body blow. Ms Little said:
“We’ve gone from crisis to crisis, unable to make any money to cover our overhead costs and trying to survive on a small discretionary grant and a bounce-back loan, that will need to be repaid.
“It’s so ironic, because at the beginning of 2020 we had record bookings – more than 50 per cent up on our previous best year.”
In spite of all this, Ms Little is determined that a rainstorm and three lockdowns will not blow her and her remaining team of four off-course.
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She said:
“In business, you must remain positive and focused and we are determined to turn things around because we have total belief in what we are doing here.
“We hope a similar change of fortune is not far away for other small businesses in the Pateley Bridge area – some of whom are among our suppliers.”
Amid the countless calls to insurers and suppliers, Ms Little is looking to the future.
She sees potential in attracting more cyclists who are seeking hospitality and an overnight stay at Harefield, with its woodland and riverside setting.
Nature lovers, looking for the abundant variety of birds that are attracted to Nidderdale’s natural environment, also offer business opportunities, as does the opening later this year of a self-catering holiday cottage within Harefield’s grounds.
Call for volunteers as Pateley Bridge rallies for new lockdownAn appeal has been launched to find more volunteers as Pateley Bridge looks to support its most vulnerable residents through lockdown.
In the first lockdown, the Spar on the High Street became the centre for community support, delivering food and other essentials to people who were shielding or could not get out.
Tilly Chandler, whose family owns and runs the shop and Yorkshire Born and Bread bakery, said it was still making 30 free home deliveries a week to people in isolation in Pateley Bridge and neighbouring villages.
Pateley Bridge in lockdown.
However, extra volunteers will be needed if demand increases as more people in Upper Nidderdale self-isolate or shield. Ms Chandler told the Stray Ferret:
“At one stage we were handing up to 90 deliveries a day, with support from 60 volunteers. If there is a sudden surge in demand, we will need more volunteers to come forward. Anybody wanting to lend a hand can call the Spar shop number.”
In addition to the 30 weekly home deliveries that are ongoing, there is a click and collect service for people able to come to the store. Ms Chandler added:
“Some people who have been stuck at home have found it good for their physical and mental health to get out in the fresh air and use the visit into town as part of their exercise.”
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Oliver’s army fights on as Ripon returns to lockdown
Yesterday morning Ripon Market Square was busy, but as dawn broke on a city entering Covid lockdown today the area fell silent – except for the sound of the on-going sewer repair work.
In Market Place East, the Edinburgh Woollen Mill shop – an earlier retail casualty of the spring and summer lockdowns – had already had its final day of trading after years of featuring on the Ripon high street.
Hairdressing salons, gyms, barbers and a bookmakers, along with all other businesses classed as ‘non-essential’ shut their doors last night and headed for weeks of uncertainty.
In Fishergate, the message from cafe owner Lou Grant was that Oliver’s army fights on. She told the Stray Ferret:
“We have decided to give it a go and see if a takeaway-only service can sustain us and carry us to safe shores when this virus is under control.”
Lou Grant, co-owner of Oliver’s Pantry
Mrs Grant, who is co-owner of Oliver’s Pantry with her husband, Tim, added:
Ripon road closure to last six weeks“We are entering our ninth year and have taken every measure possible to keep our staff and customers safe, with screens, sanitisers and signs calling for people to maintain social distancing.
“Having come this far, we were not going to give up – as we feel we are in touching distance of the end to all of this hardship that we are other small businesses have had to face.”
A six-week road closure affecting the circulation of traffic around Ripon city centre is now in place after being delayed over Christmas.
Workers are back on site just a month after an initial closure of the junction of Market Place East with Kirkgate, lasting two weeks.
Sewer repairs being carried out by contractors on behalf of Yorkshire Water were suspended in early December to minimise disruption to Christmas trade in the city.
The suspension also followed complaints from members of the public on social media, saying that a temporary building site with fencing and cabins on it had blocked the view of the Christmas tree in front of Ripon Town Hall.
The unfamiliar sight of a 36 bus heading in this direction out of Ripon Bus Station on its diverted route to Harrogate.
Complainants also said at the time that the placement of temporary buildings on Market Square detracted from the look of the city’s festive lights, which had been extended at an additional cost of £65,000.
The new six-week road closure is required so that urgent sewer repair and renewal works can be carried out.
With the road closure preventing traffic from turning right from Market Place East onto Market Place South, the circulatory route around Market Square is affected and a number of diversions are in place.
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Among traffic movements impacted by the closure is Transdev’s regular double decker 36 bus service to Harrogate.
To ensure that all bus stops in Ripon are served, drivers are using a circuitous route that takes in Allhallowgate, Stonebridgegate, Rotary Way and the Ripon bypass, with a right turn at the Wolseley building roundabout seeing the bus head back towards the city centre before the onward journey to Harrogate.
As Market Place West is not affected by road closures, the route into Ripon Bus Station up High Skellgate and along by the Obelisk currently remains unchanged.