Harrogate street closure: police investigation ‘ongoing’

North Yorkshire Police has said the closure of a street in Harrogate town centre on Friday night is part of an “ongoing investigation”.

Back Cheltenham Mount was cordoned off for several hours on Friday afternoon and evening.

The closure led to speculation about the nature of the incident but the force had not disclosed any information until today.

Officers also sealed off the steps on Cheltenham Mount and King’s Road that cut across Back Cheltenham Mount.

The steps starting on King’s Road.

A police officer on patrol on Back Cheltenham Mount.

In response to a media enquiry from the Stray Ferret, a North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said this morning:

“A police cordon was put in place in Harrogate town centre as part of an ongoing investigation.

“Enquiries are at an early stage, and a further update will be provided when possible.”

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Tory transport chief urges Lib Dems to back scaled-back Harrogate Station Gateway

The Conservative councillor in charge of transport at North Yorkshire Council has urged local Liberal Democrat members to support the scaled-back Harrogate Station Gateway proposals.

The £11.2m scheme’s most controversial aspects, such as the single-lane proposals for Station Parade and the part-pedestrianisation of James Street, are set to be dropped for it to proceed and to avoid legal peril for the council.

The plans were thrown into doubt over the summer when Harrogate-based property firm Hornbeam Park Developments, which owns several commercial properties on James Street, issued a legal challenge.

Conservative executive member for transport Keane Duncan and the Liberal Democrats have had a turbulent relationship when it comes to the Station Gateway.

In July, Cllr Duncan accused the Lib Dems of “playing politics” after it withdrew support. Then in August, the party called on him to resign due to his handling of the project.

But at a meeting in Northallerton last week, Cllr Duncan made a plea for unity ahead of a final decision on whether the project will move forward.

One Arch

This will be made by the council’s ruling Conservative executive so does not require cross-party support to get it over the line but Cllr Duncan said he still hopes it can be backed by councillors in the town.

He said:

“My sincere hope is that Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors can unite behind a deliverable plan that secures £11m of investment for Harrogate. This is important for Harrogate and it’s important for North Yorkshire too.”

Funding for the Station Gateway is coming from the government’s Transforming Cities Fund but Cllr Duncan warned that if it doesn’t proceed and money has to be handed back to Whitehall it could risk future funding bids for the whole county.

He added:

“We should not return hard-fought money to government. This would be immensely damaging to the reputation of this council and future investment for our county. I am committed to working with Harrogate and Knaresborough colleagues to devise a proposal that commands clear public and business support.”

‘Complete incompetence’

In recent weeks, meetings have taken place between council officers working on the scheme and local councillors, including a walk around the proposed Station Gateway area where councillors of all parties have made suggestions.

Chris Aldred, Liberal Democrat councillor for High Harrogate & Kingsley, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the party accepts changes must be made to the scheme, which he blamed on “complete incompetence” by Cllr Duncan and the Conservatives.

He added:

“While further pedestrianisation of some areas of Harrogate town centre and much-needed improved connectivity for cyclists remain in our long term vision for the town, it is unfortunate that these must remain, in the main, long term aspirations, which can’t now happen within this scheme.

“However we do feel that some of the real positive elements of the scheme remain achievable within the timescale, such as a dedicated bus lane improving access to the bus station, improvements of the public realm in Station Square and One Arch, improved covered cycling storage and better connectivity of traffic lights and crossings for pedestrians and vehicles.

“The Lib Dem group regrets that the engagement with local residents and the town centre business community, as well as local councillors, which we called for back in May, has only just started to happen now. But we look forward to more of it in the next few weeks and hope to play our part in delivering these much needed improvements within the town centre.”

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‘Operational challenges’ delay major Harrogate roadworks

The completion of seven weeks of roadworks in Harrogate town centre has been delayed, Northern Gas Networks has said.

The company has been replacing metal pipes with plastic pipes on some of the main routes, including Parliament Street, King’s Road and Cold Bath Road.

The project was due to end yesterday but Mark Mawhood, operations manager for Northern Gas Networks, said:

“I can confirm that the extensive work taking place in Harrogate will be completed this week.

“We will however need to return to complete a small section of the network, which due to some operational challenges could not be completed in the timeframe. The planning team is currently working on dates for when this work will be caried out and we will then notify the public and media once this is scheduled.

“We apologise for inconvenience caused during these works, and we thank the public for their patience during this large-scale scheme.”

The roadworks are the second phase of delayed works  that were “paused” a year ago.

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Harrogate’s pantomime season starts tomorrow

Harrogate’s much-loved Christmas pantomime returns tomorrow (Wednesday) with a new production of Dick Whittington. 

The rags-to-riches story of the poor orphan boy attracted to the capital by promises of streets paved with gold and becoming Lord Mayor of London will follow the familiar format, but with a few local twists. 

Co-writer and chief executive of Harrogate Theatre David Bown told the Stray Ferret: 

“It’s a fresh take on the old Harrogate formula. With pantomime, there are certain expectations and conventions, and we work with those, and add in some of the events that have happened in Harrogate over the past year to make it relevant. So, it’s a combination of satire and slapstick, and it’s just great family fun.” 

The panto will run for 76 performances over seven-and-a-half weeks, finishing on January 14. Anchoring the piece will be perennial favourite Tim Stedman, with newcomers including Naail Ishaq and Faye Weerasinghe.  

Harrogate’s annual pantomime is widely regarded as one of the best in the north, and Mr Bown says that’s no accident. He said: 

“We work hard at every element. We concentrate very much on the story, and make it nice and clear and imaginative, so that it’s accessible for the younger members of the audience. Then we layer it with jokes for the adults, although we never do innuendo. 

“We work really hard to find jokes that work, and mix it all with newer music that’s in the charts now, and older music that more people will recognise, so there’s something for everyone.” 

Dick Whittington will open on Wednesday, November 22 and close on Sunday, January 14. Tickets are available online from the box office. 

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Business Breakfast: Investment to supercharge growth at Harrogate firm

Are you already thinking of how to reward your employees this Christmas? Why not choose the Harrogate Gift Card?

The Harrogate Gift Card can be spent in over 100 businesses in Harrogate town centre including retail, hospitality and leisure, whilst keeping the spend locked into the local economy.

Complete a corporate bulk order of over £250 and receive 15% discount from November 1 to 15 with the code ‘HGT15’.

A commercial property management business in Harrogate is on target to achieve 33% growth this year after receiving a six-figure investment from NPIF – FW Capital Debt Finance, which is managed by FW Capital and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.

Robinsons Facilities Services will use the money – which follows a first round of funding in 2020 – to plan for its next phase of growth and create new jobs.

The company was spun out of Robinsons Group in 2013, and since then it has experienced year-on-year growth and has broadened its service offering to include fire, security and life safety systems and many other commercial building services. It now has more than 500 sites in Yorkshire, and deals with a variety of sectors including leisure, industrial, healthcare, multi-property residential landlords and education.

Managing director Luke Kitchen said:

“Today, the business is over almost four times the size it was in 2013 and we’ve broadened our services to include everything that’s needed to maintain and repair commercial buildings.

“The investment received from FW Capital has provided us with a secure platform to grow our business with confidence. We’ve also expanded our workforce and recently taken on an engineer and two more admin roles.”

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

Council’s new economic growth plans

North Yorkshire Council has adopted a new five-year economic growth strategy.

The purpose of the plan is to accelerate economic growth across the region, and it includes measures to create a carbon-negative economy, maximise investment, support business growth, increase innovation and productivity and improve skill levels.

Carolyn Frank, York and North Yorkshire Federation of Small Businesses development manager, said:

“Businesses will welcome the joined-up approach recommended in the strategy, and the ambitions outlined, but will be focused on the ‘making it happen’ steps to follow.

“There is widespread economic uncertainty and it is crucial that the council works in partnership with business owners of all sizes to make sure that North Yorkshire continues to be a great place to do business, with businesses and self-employed needs understood.

“There are many exciting opportunities ahead through devolution and these will only be realised by the public and private sectors working in partnership. In a turbulent economy and time of rapid change, a strategy can only make a lasting difference if the implementation is action-oriented, agile and impact focused.”

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LGBTQ+ event in Harrogate to focus minds on Pride parade in 2024

Members of Harrogate’s LGBTQ+ community will be holding a free event at Revolución de Cuba on Parliament Street this week. 

One Love, which is organised by Harrogate Pride Events, is intended as an inclusive event where like-minded people can meet up, drink, dance and relax in a safe space. 

Organiser and DJ Craig Joynson told the Stray Ferret: 

“We’re not charging any money for this. It’s really somewhere you can be yourself and relax with other people who are being themselves too. 

“It’s also a way of letting people know that there is an LGBTQ community here in Harrogate.” 

One Love is the latest in a series of such events that have been held at various places around the town, including a packed evening at Major Tom’s Social on the August Bank Holiday, quiz nights at Lilypad and a regular evening at The Disappearing Chin on the first Friday of each month.

Mr Joynson and other members of the LGBTQ community hope these events will all help to focus efforts to put on a Pride parade in Harrogate next year. He said: 

“That’s the ambition over the longer term. There were a few Pride parades held in Harrogate before the lockdowns and they were very successful, so we’d really like to bring them back. 

“We’ve got a committee now, which is in talks about the council about holding an event, but we don’t know yet where or when it will be held, or even if we have permission, so it’s very much in its infancy.” 

One Love will be held at Revolución de Cuba on Friday, November 24, from 7pm. 

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Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal 2023: ‘Carers are losing their loved ones before their eyes’

This year’s Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal is to raise £30,000 for a much-needed minibus for Dementia Forward in the Harrogate district. 

The appeal is kindly sponsored by Vida Healthcare.

Please give generously to support local people and their families living with dementia. Let’s not forget those that need help this Christmas.

Today, Flora spoke to people at the wellbeing café.

“People are here for three hours of fun, no matter what stage they’re at with this horrible illness.”

This is how Gordon, a volunteer at Dementia Forward’s wellbeing café, described the weekly group.

The café takes place every Tuesday at Christ Church in Harrogate. It provides a safe space and good company for those living with dementia, as well as some much-needed respite for carers.

People enjoy a bowl of soup, coffee and cake followed by a range of activities. Some members played table tennis and curling, while others painted their nails and tackled jigsaws.

Margaret Kingston, a regular at the café, said:

“My son found out about the café for me. I come every Tuesday now.

“I like to play table tennis and draw – it’s helping people that maybe don’t have any family.”

Many people battling dementia can feel extremely lonely, even with their loved ones by their side. The café, along with Dementia Forward’s other social groups, helps to combat that isolation.

Another member said:

“I try to come every week – I like to be involved. I’ve made friends since coming here.”

 

The café also offers a place for carers – often a spouse or offspring – to discuss the devastating effects of this evil disease: a place to feel understood.

Sheila, who has volunteered at the café since 2018, added:

“The carers need as much care as the clients.

“The team have fun and the clients and carers all recognise that.”

Members of the wellbeing café.

The Dementia Forward team work tirelessly to improve the lives of those living with dementia and those around them.

The wellbeing café is one of many amazing services on offer. Gordon said:

“Carers are losing their loved ones before their eyes – it is the most wretched thing to see. They are the bravest people.

“That’s why they need the support.”

Thousands of families across the Harrogate district are fighting this evil disease every day. Dementia Forward eases the pain as much as it can – but can only do so with the help of charitable donations.

Every donation to our campaign will go directly to Dementia Forward, helping us hit our £30,000 target to buy the charity a new minibus and bettering the lives of those living with dementia and the people around them.

Dementia Forward’s current bus is old and urgently needs to be replaced. The charity would seriously struggle to afford a new one, which is why they need your help to keep this vital service going. Without it, many people living with dementia simply wouldn’t be able to access the help and support they need. 

Please click here to donate whatever you can – you never know when you, your family or a friend may be in need of Dementia Forward’s help too.

Thank you.

The NHS found that one in 11 people over the age of 65 in the UK are living with dementia. If you need urgent help or have a dementia-related enquiry, call 0330 057 8592 to speak to a helpline adviser.

Starbeck tap dancers take part in world record bid

Forty dancers from Starbeck took part in a bid to break the world record yesterday for the largest number of people to perform the same tap routine at multiple venues simultaneously.

Children and adults from Summerbell Dance Academy took to the floor of the Victoria suite at the Crown Hotel in Harrogate as part of BBC Children in Need’s fundraising activities.

The youngest tapper was aged two and the oldest was 86.

They performed a routine they had been learning since September to Wham!’s Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.

The figures are being collated today to see whether the tapathon world record of 7,596 was beaten.

Regardless of whether the target was achieved, the local dancers managed to raise £380 for Children in Need.

Performing their routine at the Crown Hotel.

Jennie Summerbell, the principal of Summerbell Dance Academy, said:

“It was a national initiative but it gave us a challenge and something to aim for.”

Summerbell Dance Academy, which is based at St Andrew’s church hall in Starbeck, has 200 students.

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£20m funding bid for Harrogate Convention Centre refurbishment rejected

North Yorkshire Council’s hopes of winning £20m from the government to go towards a major refurbishment of Harrogate Convention Centre were dashed today.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced the winners of the third round of the Levelling Up Fund, with more than £1.1bn awarded to 55 schemes — but Harrogate was not on the list.

Unlike the first two rounds, councils were not invited to make formal bids for funding.

Instead, the government selected the best bids from round two that were not chosen last time.

The government scored each bid out of 100, with criteria including deliverability and the characteristics of each place.

The news will come as a blow but not necessarily a surprise to North Yorkshire Council.

Previously published feedback on the convention centre bid described it as “relatively strong” but said it lacked “evidence and rationale” into how the proposals would increase business.

The council has still not decided if it will proceed with a £49m refurbishment of the facility which it inherited from the defunct Harrogate Borough Council.

A contractor has been appointed to draw up more detailed plans for the redevelopment and a final decision was expected this year.

The convention centre opened in 1982 with conferences providing a boost to the town’s bars, restaurants and hotels, however, it has struggled to turned a profit.

It’s hoped the refurbishment would help the facility compete with other conference venues in the north but it remains unclear how North Yorkshire Council, which is looking to slash £70m from its budget over the next three years, will pay for it.

Nic Harne, the council’s corporate director for community development, said:

“We received £19m from the second round of levelling up funding for redeveloping Catterick Garrison’s town centre.

“We are disappointed that other projects have not been allocated funding under the department’s assessment process and will be seeking feedback on why those schemes were not prioritised.

“Our bids were submitted by the former councils and we could not put any further bids in.”

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Call to hold Harrogate town council elections next year

A Liberal Democrats councillor has called for elections to be held for a future Harrogate town council in May 2024 rather than 2025.

In July, North Yorkshire Council agreed to pause work on the new council to undertake a third public consultation about how it will be formed.

Harrogate and Scarborough are the only two areas in the county without a parish council and the council is creating them at the same time.

But the Lib Dems have raised concerns that another consultation will mean a longer wait for Harrogate residents to be represented on a town council.

Harrogate Town Council would have far fewer powers than North Yorkshire Council or the former Harrogate Borough Council but it could run some local services.

Philip Broadbank

Cllr Philip Broadbank

Cllr Broadbank, who represents Fairfax and Starbeck, raised the subject at a meeting in Northallerton last week.

He asked if Harrogate could be treated separately from Scarborough and if the process could be speeded up so elections can take place in six months’ time.

Cllr Broadbank said:

“Whilst new warding proposals for Scarborough will of course be new and take longer to formulate, boundaries for Harrogate town already exist.

“A consultation on whether Harrogate has single member or two member wards can be done quickly and allow elections next year rather than 2025 as currently envisaged.”

However, his proposal was knocked by Conservative executive member for corporate services David Chance, who said a decision had already been taken by councillors in July.

Cllr Chance said:

“The proposals for Harrogate and Scarborough have been brought forward together and delivered in tandem to deliver parity in our approach.”

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Last month, the council revealed the winners and losers of the 12 ‘double-devolution’ bids from parishes that would like to take control of assets in their areas.

These included Ripon City Council, which wants to take over the running of assets including the town hall and market square.

Knaresborough Town Council has been invited to develop a business case to run the town’s weekly market.

Harrogate was excluded from the process because it doesn’t have a parish council. If a Harrogate Town Council were created, it could bid to run services in the town such as looking after its parks or the Stray, operating car parks or managing the Royal Hall.

It has previously been suggested by North Yorkshire Council that residents would pay between £40 and £60 on top of their council tax each year to pay for the new council.