Free Sunday buses and free weekday parking after 3pm are being introduced this month to encourage shoppers to spend money in Harrogate’s shops this Christmas.

Harrogate Business Improvement District, which aims to boost the town centre, is behind both projects.

The ‘free after three’ parking initiative allows motorists to park in the Victoria car park on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays free of charge after 3pm.

It begins on Monday and will run until Christmas Eve.

The ‘Sunday Freeway’ initiative, which returns this year, gives people the chance to catch a free ride on one of Harrogate Bus Company’s electric buses on a Sunday.

It includes the 2A, 2B, 3 and 6 services, which link Bilton, Dene Park, The Knox, Jennyfield and Pannal Ash with the town centre. The initiative will run through December and into the New Year.

The projects are part of the BID’s Harrogate at Christmas campaign, which encourages shoppers to support local businesses after a difficult year that has seen many closures.

Harrogate BID acting chairman Sara Ferguson said:

“Because of the lockdown, traders in the town have already lost a month’s worth of business and are playing catchup.

“Now we are coming out of the second lockdown, we are launching these two initiatives to bring people into town, via two different modes of transport.”

Read more:

• Harrogate’s independent shops say they will wait to see how many shoppers return before opening late.
• Shops on Commercial Street have banded together to promote the street. 

The Harrogate Bus Company chief executive Alex Hornby said:

“It’s amazing news for our town – reducing emissions and congestion, while making it easier for everyone to support our local economy and get our town’s traders back on their feet.

“Harrogate’s businesses have had an incredibly tough year, with two lockdowns and continued restrictions impacting everyone. It’s now up to us all to support them as they re-open for the crucial run-up to Christmas by taking advantage of free travel.”

The coronavirus pandemic has badly affected the Guide Dog’s programme to train new dogs and the charity’s ability to raise money.

So the fundraising group of the Harrogate branch has combined with 400 other groups to support the ’12 Guide Dogs of Christmas’ event.

From today to December 12 the Guide Dogs charity will showcase a different dog online each day. The aim of the event is to fund twelve new life-changing guide dogs for those in the waiting list across the UK.

Within Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough there are five guide dog owners with a further four people waiting for their special companion. Funds raised from activities such as these go towards dog training.

In 2016 Kate Hammond, from Harrogate, was matched with her guide dog Sheba. She says the support from Guide Dogs and its local branches has meant her and Sheba “bonded very quickly”.

She said:

“Four and a half years ago I hardly ever left my home because my confidence had been shattered by my rapidly deteriorating vision.

“Then I was matched with Sheba. She has been an absolute life changer! Sheba quickly learnt my usual routes and we go for long walks every day with Sheba moving me out of the way of obstructions such as low hanging branches, wheelie bins and even puddles.

“Sheba has given me my independence back and with it a much, much happier life. I am eternally grateful to the Guide Dogs Charity for matching us together.”

This Christmas fundraiser will support owners across the UK.

During the pandemic, the Harrogate branch has adapted its services using online platforms to support its users. It says the pandemic will have a knock-on effect. It’s meant some people have to wait longer to get the right dog for them.

Nicola Ridgway, fundraising relationship manager for the Harrogate area, said:

“Fundraising groups have been unable to carry out the thousands of collections planned across the UK which could equate to a loss of £870,000 in 2020. That is why campaigns like our 12 Guide Dogs of Christmas which we are launching on the 1st December are so important to us right now and we are very grateful for any support people feel able to give to this.”

To support the appeal, click here.

Harrogate Town will open the stadium this weekend to a limited number of fans for the first time since March.

Saturday’s home match against Forest Green Rovers has been designated a test event and the stadium will operate a much lower capacity than usual.

Tickets will not go on general sale. Those with deposits for a season ticket will be able to reserve standing tickets in the main stand and the car park terrace.

Read more:

• Harrogate Town plans for first match with fans
• Just 14 coronavirus cases in Harrogate district today

Currently the club has 450 season ticket deposit holders. It will not sell any new season tickets until further notice.

The club has introduced one way systems, hand sanitising areas and signage for spectators.

Only those in tier one or tier two areas will be able to attend the game, ruling out much of the areas surrounding North Yorkshire that are in tier three.

The club is awaiting approval from the English Football League, the Sports Ground Safety Authority and local Safety Advisory Group to use the fixture as a test event.

Season ticket deposit holders will receive an email with further details and a follow-up call before Friday.

A spokesperson for the club said:

“We are hopeful that should the test event be a success, we may be able to increase the capacity at future games.

“Supporters unable to attend Saturday’s fixture can continue to watch the action via our streaming service.

“Thank you for your continued patience and support.”

Coronavirus cases in the Harrogate district have continued to fall as the end of the second lockdown approaches.

Public Health England reported just 14 additional cases in the district today, down from a peak of 95 on November 9.

The Harrogate district now has the lowest infection rate of the seven district and borough council regions in North Yorkshire.

Its seven-day average rate is 97 cases per 100,000 people, which is also well below the England average of 160 per 100,000.

Read more:

• Pateley Bridge: no covid cases for 10 days but pubs stay shut
• All 285 year 11 pupils at Harrogate Grammar sent home due to covid
• ‘Time to hand Harrogate Nightingale back to council’

Selby has the highest rate in North Yorkshire at 155 cases per 100,000 people, which is still below the national average.

The R number in the district has also fallen to 0.6. Any number below one means the spread of the virus is declining.

Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any additional coronavirus deaths.

The hospital has recorded 99 covid deaths since the start of the pandemic. The last death was recorded over the weekend but happened on Thursday last week,

Harrogate’s independent shops say they are hesitant to stay open late in case there isn’t the footfall to make it profitable.

The government is to relax rules on late night opening to help stores recover sales after lockdown.

Store owners are gearing up to reopen on Wednesday but some want to see how many people return to the high street before spending money on additional staff.

In previous years, Harrogate’s shops have opened late one night during the week but this year shops are being precautious.

What do the shop owners say?

Louise Chesters, owner of Dizzy Duck in Harrogate, said:

“We’ll have to see how we go, if we get busy I will extend them to accordingly. It’s hard to tell if we will be inundated so it’s just a case of embracing it all. It would also take extra organising to extend the hours so we will have to see how it goes on Wednesday but I’m excited.”

Georgie Roberts, owner of Georgie’s, said:

“If someone asked I would stay open of course or if someone asks for a private appointment later in the day to feel safe then of course I would accommodate it. I’ll be flexible and see what happens but because I am out of the centre late nights tend not to work for me.”

Bob Kennedy, owner of G23 and Porters, said:

“Late nights don’t always work for us. It could be different this year with people supporting the high street, but I don’t know if it would be worth it. We will have to see how shoppers react when we reopen. It has been a difficult year and we need people to support local retail.”

After another month of closure the shops were eager to reopen. They are hoping a festive boost in sales can begin to make up for lost time.

Sandra Doherty, Chief Executive of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, was sceptical of the impact of the new guidelines. She said:

“Permitting shops to open for extra hours will, in a few instances, allow the retailers to benefit from a potential increase in trade, however, in most cases the extra costs in staffing will actually cut into profits.

“The temptation to stay open when others are closed will be tremendous, but there is only so much money to go around, and opening more hours will just spread the ‘spend’ over a longer time frame.”

Police have made six arrests after a spate of overnight burglaries in Harrogate.

Thieves broke into four homes in the Rossett, Oatlands, High Harrogate and Pannal Ash areas in the last week alone.

Homeowners reported that jewellery, cash and electronic devices had all been stolen.

North Yorkshire Police arrested six men aged in their 20s to their 50s. The police released them all under investigation.

Read more:

• Police investigating Killinghall burglary appeal for jogger
• Ripon man tried to save kittens thrown from moving car

As a result of the burglaries the police have warned residents to be vigilant in the run up to Christmas.

Detective Sergeant Tom Barker, from Harrogate’s proactive team, said:

“It’s a common trend that during the lead up to Christmas we have a spate in burglaries.

“As a result, we have a dedicated team of officers out in the areas we know that are being targeted.”

The force has put out advice asking people to lock doors and windows, leave a light on when heading out and never leave valuables on show.

All 285 students in year 11 at Harrogate Grammar School have been told to stay at home to self-isolate for two weeks.

The school contacted families yesterday after the number of infections gradually increased between Thursday and Sunday to eight.

Only pupils in close proximity to those who test positive should isolate.

But the school decided to put the whole year group into isolation when the number of cases rose to eight.

It comes at a difficult time for the students, who were preparing to take mock GCSE exams this week.

A school spokeswoman acknowledged the outbreak had occurred at a bad time but added “the safety of pupils and staff must come first”.

Read more:

• The government has explained how Harrogate avoided tougher restrictions.
• District hotels felt some relief following the district’s tier two announcement. 

Pupils will now use school computers to complete some of their exams at home – at the same time as they would have done at school.

The students will upload their exam results into a secure folder.

A spokesperson for the school said:

“We know and respect that the students have worked hard to prepare for these exams so we wanted to give them the opportunity to complete them.

“We have made it achievable with the iPads, and so far we have had positive feedback.”

Staff from a Harrogate construction company travelled to London yesterday to deliver this year’s Downing Street Christmas tree.

HACS Group employees took the tree, which was chosen at a competition in Harrogate, from York to the country’s most famous house.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the 20 ft tree was the “first step to bringing us some festive cheer”.

The tree was grown by York Christmas Trees, which won last month’s annual Champion Christmas Tree Grower of the Year competition at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

After the HACS Group erected the tree it was decorated by an Oxfordshire company.

Yorkshire shepherdess Amanda Owen, from Channel 5’s Our Yorkshire Farm, and Peter Wright from The Yorkshire Vet, were among the judges.

Heather Parry, managing agent of event organisers the British Christmas Tree Growers Association, which is based at the Great Yorkshire Showground, said:

“Today is a symbolic moment which shows the start of a Christmas which we have all been so focussed on.

“It was a significant boost that the government supported our members, recognising that Christmas trees are essential at this time of year and that the selling season is short; whilst understanding consumers are particularly keen to get their decorations up this year.”

HACS, which is based in Ripley, is an independent building and construction services contractor.

Read more:

• Harrogate’s Wesley Centre is raising funds to offer local homeless and lonely people a hamper for Christmas Day. 
• The search for Harrogate’s most festive shop window has begun.

A new post box with a direct line to the North Pole has opened in Harrogate offering children the chance to write to Father Christmas.

Harrogate International Festivals has turned its Cheltenham Parade office a magical makeover.

As well as the post office, the site has snow flurries and Christmas music, and Father Christmas also makes appearances in the window.

The North Pole Post Office, which will be open right up to Christmas eve, aims to bring some festive cheer to children denied the chance to visit Santa due to covid.

Children posting letters should include their name, age, what they would like for Christmas and something they like doing. Those who would like Santa Claus to write back should also include their address.

---

 

 

 

 

Read more:

• Stockeld Park opens Christmas tree site in heart of Harrogate
• Search to find Harrogate’s best Christmas shop window

Lizzie Brewster, Harrogate International Festivals’ head of development and communications, said:

“Because Santa’s grottos will be few and far between, we are inviting the town’s children to write a letter to Father Christmas and then pop it into our post box.

“And naturally we would also ask that social distancing is adhered to at all times. The last thing we want is Father Christmas and his elves coming down with covid!”

Harrogate Business Improvement District has sponsored the North Pole Post Office as part of its Harrogate at Christmas campaign.

Sara Ferguson, acting chair of Harrogate BID, said:

“Harrogate International Festivals are known for their creativity. The North Pole Post is simply genius. We are delighted to partner with them for this end of year treat.

“It is a feature of our Harrogate at Christmas campaign, designed to bring residents into town all through the week, not just at the weekend when it’s at its busiest.”

Harrogate Civic Society is to oppose plans to convert the town’s former post office into offices and 25 flats.

Post Office Ltd wants to add a fourth floor on to the three-storey sandstone terraced building, which closed last year after more than 100 years as a post office.

The society, which is a charity that aims to keep Harrogate beautiful, said in a statement it welcomed the principle of redeveloping the site into a mixed-use facility but added:

“We are, however, concerned about the impact of an additional floor to this building in the conservation area, as the proposal does not address the whole of the building as originally designed.

“The appearance of the new floor results in a design solution which is not fully considered or refined and therefore does not enhance the existing roofscape in its present form.”

Read More:

• Bid to turn former Post Office in Harrogate town centre into 25 flats and offices
• Tier 2 restrictions still give hope to Harrogate hoteliers

Property development company One Acre Group has submitted plans on behalf of Post Office Ltd to Harrogate Borough Council to convert the building. If approved, work could start in the summer.

The post office controversially relocated to WH Smith last year amid claims by Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones the service was being “downgraded”.

The society said the application would encourage retail and make the area more vibrant. It added:

“We support the principle of re-use of vacant upper floors in the town centre for residential purposes.

“We believe this concept should be encouraged and developed in all areas of the town centre so that buildings and streets as a whole appear to have life at all times.”

But the organisation said it was “concerned about the relationship of the proposed extension to the existing buildings along Cambridge Terrace”, adding:

“The society is of the opinion that the developer’s proposal as it stands should be resisted.”