Harrogate set to get earlier and later direct London trains

Harrogate is on track to get a direct train to London departing an hour earlier than the current first service of the day.

David Flesher, commercial director at LNER, told businesses last night the company wanted the first direct train to leave Harrogate at 6.35am, rather than the current 7.37am.

It would enable commuters to arrive at King’s Cross in the capital at 9.30am rather than the current 10.30am.

People travelling back to Harrogate from London would also benefit from a later last direct service home, Mr Flesher told Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce’s monthly meeting, under plans being formulated.

He said the final train would depart an hour later than the current 5.33pm service.

However, the changes are not due to be implemented until the end of next year.

Mr Flesher, who lives in Harrogate, told the meeting the number of customers using the Harrogate line had risen by 15% this year. He added:

“We want to bring earlier and later London services from Harrogate next year.”

Brian Dunsby, of the Harrogate Line Supporters Group, who organised the guest speakers at last night’s transport-themed chamber meeting, asked Mr Flesher what time the new services would be scheduled for.

Mr Flesher gave the details and said the earlier and later services had been “long-awaited”. He added:

“That will get people into London at a much more helpful and sensible time in the morning.”

A LNER spokesperson contacted the Stray Ferret after the article was first published to say:

“These are ambitions that are being explored with timings subject to change. An hour earlier southbound is the ambition with a new timetable. With reference to the northbound return train in particular, this is in discussion but very much our ambition.”

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Ripon councillor likens trail hunting ban to 1930s Germany

A campaign pressing for a ban on trail hunting on publicly-owned land across North Yorkshire has been rejected after being likened to an act of the German government in the 1930s.

Members of North Yorkshire Council’s ruling Conservative group and two Independent councillors who have formed an understanding with them voted to recommend the notice of motion not be supported when it goes before a full meeting of the authority in November.

After the vote by the authority’s corporate and partnerships scrutiny committee, Polly Portwin, director of the Countryside Alliance’s Action for Hunting campaign said it was “a victory for common sense”.

She said: 

“It would be morally wrong for any local authority to ban a lawful activity and we hope this ideological attack on the rural way of life is voted down at the next meeting of the full council.”

Labour councillor Rich Maw, who had proposed the motion, said the result had been politically motivated.

Cllr Maw said the law surrounding hunting was persistently being flouted across council land and that the League Against Cruel Sports had collated 29 witness reports of suspected illegal hunting, including eight incidents of cub hunting in the county.

He told members trail hunting was being used as a cover for illegal hunting, enabling “the inevitable chasing and killing of animals to be labelled accidental”.

Cllr Maw, who represents Weaponness and Ramshill, was accused of pursuing a “personal crusade”. He said: 

“As a council we have an opportunity, a responsibility to act. It is about recognising the current legislation is being abused.”

The meeting heard claims some 78 per cent of the public supported new laws on hunting to protect animals and called on the council to display a pro-active, preventative approach to animal cruelty, environmental damage and antisocial behaviour associated with hunting.

Labour group leader Cllr Steve Shaw-Wright said the council needed to support the will of the majority of residents.

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However, Damian Readman, a joint-master of the Derwent Hunt, told the meeting how the hunt accessed council-owned land “throughout the season” and that tenant farmers should be able to make their own decisions regarding the land for which they are responsible.

He said: 

“Trail hunting and hound exercising, which are both legal activities, are no different to any other lawful countryside pursuits like dog walking or mountain biking. Wild mammals are no more at risk from the hounds carrying out their lawful activities than they are from any other dogs.”

Tory members questioned the campaigners’ evidence and described the notice of motion as “utterly ridiculous”. They said there was “a danger of prohibiting lawful behaviour”, before claiming there was a “hint of the class war about it”.

After an hour of fierce debate in County Hall’s council chamber, its chairman Cllr Andrew Williams said the proposal would be “largely ineffective and unenforceable”.

He said those behind the proposal were trying to get the council involved in gestures and gimmicks that had no actual meaning.

The Ripon councillor added: 

“It’s a very slippery slope when we start imposing majority will preventing minorities from exercising perfectly legitimate legal rights. I point you to how Germany ended up in the 1930s when it went down a route of imposing majority will as opposed to minorities.

“It is for parliament to change law, not elected councillors.”

Business Breakfast: Knaresborough businesses sponsor Knaresborough Celtics FC

Two Knaresborough businesses have agreed to sponsor Knaresborough Celtics girls football team.

Kelly Teggin Hair and Beauty and Huttons will sponsor the under 16s side this season.

It will see the businesses provide kit and training wear for the girls.

Kelly Teggin, owner of Kelly Teggin Hairdressers, said:

“Kelly Teggin hairdressing have sponsored the team for five years buying a kit every year so they can pass it down so all the age groups have a kit to play in moving forwards.

“Huttons have sponsored the training tops that the girls keep as they have their initials on and they will have them as a keep sake for all the hard work both the parents, team and coaches have put in over the last eight years.”

Pictured above (left to right) Kelly Young, Jaden Rigg, Issy Colbert, Lily Howliston , Lilly perry, Issy stobbs, Grace Denny, Amelia Trougton, Poppy Naylor, Poppy Johnson, Bella Richardson, Camilla Rishton ,Abigail Rushworth, Bella Bere, Freya Welbourne

Council awards Harrogate maintenance contract

North Yorkshire Council has awarded a contract for maintenance of public buildings in Harrogate to a Bingley company.

Europe Air Conditioning Ltd, which is based in Cottingley near Bingley, has been commissioned to cover “reactive call outs” in the area.

The contract is valued at £86,723.47, according to the council website.

It adds:

“This work forms part of legal compliance and is essential for the continuation of business and health and safety of our staff, occupants and public.”

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Council prepares alternative options to save £11.2m Harrogate Station Gateway

Council bosses are preparing to submit alternative options for Harrogate’s £11.2 million Station Gateway project.

In a report due before senior councillors next week, North Yorkshire Council recommends coming up with a ‘descoped’ gateway scheme after the previous proposals were paused last month.

The report, which does not mention cycling once, said the revised scheme would retain the popular elements of the gateway.

It said it would focus on “a high quality pedestrian-focussed public realm scheme, with improved access into the bus station, and better traffic flow through co-ordinated signal timings”.

It added the Department for Transport, which funded the gateway through its Transforming Cities Fund, had “indicated initial support for a modified scope but have not yet formally responded”.

The council halted the scheme immediately after lawyers acting on behalf of local property firm Hornbeam Park Developments launched a judicial review.

Now it is hastily preparing new measures to prevent the funding from being lost.

Richard Binks, head of major projects at the council, said in the report:

“Other options could be to progress with the scheme originally conceived, either with the proposed Traffic Regulation Orders, but having objections considered at a public inquiry or alternatively revisiting some of the TRO proposals, such as not restricting loading hours; or to cancel the scheme in its entirety.”

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Councillors will consider the report at an executive meeting on September 19.

Council officers are then expected to bring further options for the gateway to an executive meeting in October or November.

Cllr Keane Duncan, executive councillor for highways at the council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he remains hopeful the £11.2 million of government funding will be spend on a transport improvement scheme for Harrogate.

Cllr Duncan told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the scheme was “not dead yet”, but was “on life support”.

However, he added that the project will have to be altered for it to stand a chance of succeeding.

Cat charity to open new Harrogate shop

Cats Protection is set to open a new shop in Harrogate.

The store, which will operate under the charity’s boutique retail arm called Cattitude, will be located at 8 Oxford Street.

The shop, which will sell fashion items and accessories, is seeking volunteers.

Sarah Jordan, retail operations manager at the charity, said: 

“We have been hoping to open a store in Harrogate for many years and we’re delighted to finally be able to make this happen.

“The final touches are being put together as we speak and we hope to be able to announce an opening date very soon. In the meantime, anyone looking for new, exciting retail positions is invited to get in touch.”

Cats Protection helps an average of 157,000 cats and kittens a year through its national network, which includes around 210 volunteer-run branches and 34 centres. 

Its retail arm helps to raise funds to ensure as many cats as possible can go on to live happy lives.

For more information about volunteering at the charity, visit the Cats Protection website.

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Felled Harrogate oak tree defaced with graffiti

A felled oak tree in Harrogate has been defaced with graffiti which inaccurately claims it was killed for cyclists.

The tree at the junction of Bilton Lane and Woodfield Road was taken down due to its decaying condition last month.

At the time, the council said it was “regrettable” that the 300-year-old oak had to be felled.

The tree has now been defaced with graffiti, which says “killed 4 cyclists”.

It is unclear who is responsible for the graffiti or when it was carried out.

However, the message is inaccurate as council officials confirmed to the Stray Ferret that the tree had been assessed in June and its decaying roots meant it was a “risk to the public”.

North Yorkshire Council also claimed it is possible that work carried out by Northern Powergrid in April near to the oak on Woodfield Road in Bilton “would have accelerated the death of the tree”.

Jonathan Clubb, the council’s head of parks and grounds, said a “thorough examination” would now be carried out into the tree.

He said:

“It is always regrettable when we have to remove a tree and we do not do so lightly. However, after a detailed assessment of the risks posed, a decision was taken to remove this specimen due to its condition.

“Oak trees can live for centuries and this particular tree was around 300 years old.

“However, the extent of the root decay meant the stability of the tree may have been affected. Because of its location on a main road, the risk to the public was considered too great to allow it to continue to stand.”

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Hopes to extend Nidderdale Greenway to Pateley Bridge

A survey has been launched to assess the popularity of extending the Nidderdale Geenway to Scar House Reservoir north of Pateley Bridge.

The idea to build an off-road path between Harrogate and Nidderdale was first proposed in 1996.

In 2014, the first four-mile section of the greenway was opened between Nidd Gorge in Bilton and Ripley and it’s proved to be a popular route for cyclists, wheelchair users, horse riders and pedestrians.

Backed by sustainable transport charity Sustrans, the route follows an old railway track and extending it deeper into Nidderdale could give more parts of the area an economic boost, similar to how Ripley has benefited from the first section.

But an extension is problematic due to the fact that some of the tracks have now been built on.

Liberal Democrat councillor for Pateley Bridge and Nidderdale, Andrew Murday, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service discussions with landowners between Dacre Banks and Pateley Bridge revealed difficulties as it would require North Yorkshire Council to pay a a substantial amount of money up front to establish rights of way.

For example, he said creating a path along a former railway line in Upper Wensleydale is likely to cost the council several hundred thousand pounds.

He hopes the survey by action group the Hampsthwaite Pathfinders will show the public are behind the plans so it can be brought before North Yorkshire Council.

Cllr Murday said public money wouldn’t be used to built the path and that it would come from Sustrans to the tune of between £10 million to £15 million.

He said:

“I know there are economic problems in the country. People have said how can we afford to do this when people can’t afford to eat. But in my own personal view, if this exists in 30 years’ time, people will say — it’s great.”

Rob Lloyd, a member of Hampsthwaite Pathfinders, said:

“Whilst the survey will help Hampsthwaite Pathfinders to focus on improving local paths the survey is open to all who have an interest in the greenway extension and whose comments may be used to shape our input to the North Yorkshire Council steering group.”

The survey is available here and closes on September 18.

The results will be published next month.

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Harrogate Station Gateway ‘on life support but not dead yet’

North Yorkshire Council’s transport leader Keane Duncan has said he remains hopeful that £11m of government money will be spent on a transport improvement scheme around Harrogate Station.

But he admits the troubled Station Gateway project will have to be altered for it to stand a chance of succeeding.

The Conservative councillor discussed the scheme, which was paused last month following a legal challenge from Hornbeam Park Developments, in an interview with the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Cllr Duncan, who is standing for the Conservatives in next year’s first York and North Yorkshire mayoral election, talks about how the council got into this situation, whether it has failed cyclists and pedestrians in the town and what will happen now.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive will meet on Tuesday, September 19 to decide its next move regarding the project, which aims to improve walking and cycling.

Lay out the options for the Station Gateway and what the most realistic outcome is?

There are essentially three options now open to us. The first option is to push ahead with the current gateway plan – a plan that will almost certainly be challenged again and therefore time out.

The second option is to axe the gateway completely – a decision that will see £11m of investment lost and diverted elsewhere by the government.

The third is to produce an alternative scheme that achieves public support and has a realistic chance of success.

My sincere hope is to find a way forward that secures £11m of investment for Harrogate.

Did the council prepare contingency plans for the gateway money and could it be spent elsewhere in Harrogate?

The Transforming Cities Fund investment cannot be spent on anything other than some form of Transforming Cities Fund project. While it would be possible to revise the current gateway scheme, it is incorrect and insincere for anyone to suggest funding can be directed to entirely different projects.

We have never had that ability, and we do not have that ability now.

It is always easiest for politicians to walk away, to give up, to standstill. Doing nothing is always more expedient than trying to do something.
But I believe very strongly we should exhaust every avenue before rejecting £11 million out of hand.

This section of Station Parade would be reduced to single lane traffic under the scheme.

What do you think about Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones’s comment that the gateway is a “timed-out dead scheme”?

The Gateway is not timed out – yet. The gateway is not dead – yet. But it is fair to say the gateway is on life support. Andrew wants to secure investment for Harrogate. The Liberal Democrats say they want to secure investment for Harrogate. I do too, and I will do my best to deliver on that objective.

Will the Department for Transport extend the Transforming Cities Fund deadline if you decide to put forward a different scheme or make changes?

We must spend TCF funding by March 2025 at the absolute latest.
We are now in a race against time to meet this deadline and secure investment for Harrogate.

While the timetable is very tight, it does remain possible to deliver a scheme, albeit perhaps not necessarily exactly as first planned.

We are working very closely with the Department for Transport and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. Their support will be absolutely critical.

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The council has admitted errors were made in the consultation stages. Who is being held accountable and do you feel let down?

The gateway decision was rescinded for the simple reason that the loading restrictions proposed for James Street require a public inquiry to be held if an objection is received.

Our legal team quickly accepted this requirement had not been met.
It is surprising that the legal counsel we engaged failed to advise us of this key, fundamental point and it is right that the council pursues that.

But my focus right now is not on apportioning blame or on looking back at the past. It is on the tricky challenge of determining what to do next.

As executive member you inherited the project from your predecessor Don Mackenzie. If you had the project from the beginning what would you have done differently?

I was not involved at the start. I wasn’t part of the discussions. When I inherited the scheme, I pursued the fairest and most democratic possible course of action I could. I made clear I would let Harrogate’s councillors decide the way forward.

The majority backed the scheme and I followed their will. The Liberal Democrats have since wobbled in the face of pressure and backtracked. They have shown they cannot provide leadership or direction for Harrogate. They cannot stand by a decision.

I am prepared to do what I takes to deliver investment. The Liberal Democrats are not being quite so clear and straightforward with the people of Harrogate.

James Street traffic order

Cllr Duncan says he’s “surprised’ the council’s legal counsel didn’t say the loading restrictions proposed for James Street required a public inquiry.

Harrogate District Cycle Action has criticised the council’s track record in delivering active travel in the town. Do you accept this criticism and will the gateway situation make it more difficult to win funding from government for future schemes?

While fair challenge and scrutiny is very much welcome, relentless criticism from some cycling campaigners is totally counterproductive to delivering the active travel improvements they are seeking.

A further, significant deterrent to progress is unhelpful division between motorists and cyclists, sometimes stirred up by deliberate provocation. It creates a very difficult context to deliver any change or progress in Harrogate.

I have attempted to heal divisions in my role. I removed Beech Grove so we could take a step back and think of an alternative. I halted phase two of the widely-condemned Otley Road cycleway. That’s allowed us to devise a £585,000 transport package with much wider benefit.

We can make progress and we are making progress, but this is never straight forward. We need a more strategic view and looking ahead to devolution we will have that opportunity.

Chris Bentley is a wealthy local businessman who owns Hornbeam Park Developments. He could effectively put a stop to £11m of investment, which narrowly has the support of the public, into Harrogate town centre. How do you feel about this?

Legal challenge is a risk to any project. It is a fact of reality. We cannot eliminate that risk, but we should be mindful of it and we should do what we can to minimise the risk as we seek to secure positive investment for Harrogate.

Since the Uxbridge by-election, the Prime Minister and the Conservatives have come out against some active travel schemes. If the gateway is shelved, will this help or hinder your hopes of becoming mayor?

My position on gateway will not be determined by whether it helps or hinders me electorally. Chasing popularity is not governing. It is not acting in the public interest. It is knee-jerk, reactionary politics that will continue to let Harrogate down.

I will be a mayor who is prepared to make decisions, even if they are tough, to fight for what I believe in, even if it may not be universally popular, and to be honest about the steps we need to take to address the very serious and growing transport issues Harrogate is facing.

Harrogate head welcomes plan for new crossing outside school

A Harrogate headteacher has welcomed plans to introduce a crossing point on the busy road outside the town’s largest primary school.

Tim Broad has campaigned for several years to improve safety outside Western Primary School on Cold Bath Road. Three years ago he spoke of his fears a child could be killed crossing the road to the 500-pupil school.

Mr Broad and parents lobbied hard for two vehicle-activated signs to be installed notifying drivers of their speed in the 20 miles per hour zone.

Now North Yorkshire Council has revealed plans to spend £10,000 creating a crossing point outside the school.

The crossing point would be uncontrolled, meaning it would not have traffic lights.

An uncontrolled crossing in Lincolnshire. Pic: copyright Bob Harvey

Mr Broad said:

“Obviously I support any measure which results in improved safety for our children and road users in general.

“I would have preferred a controlled crossing as this would be much safer – children will still be dependent upon drivers being aware and considerate as I assume there will be no compulsion for them to stop to allow people to cross at this point.

“This is also something we will have to make very clear to our pupils to ensure they don’t have the expectation that vehicles will stop.”

Western Primary School

Mr Broad said he was unaware of the precise location of the crossing or the timescale for completion. He said

“The only concern I have is around the potential narrowing of an already narrow and busy road.

“This is likely to cause congestion, with more vehicles stationary outside the school, emitting pollution and further damaging the air quality. It would be interesting to hear the thoughts of the planners on this issue.”

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He added he “saw no reason” not to keep the vehicle activated speed signs outside the school and said he supported plans to introduce a 20mph speed limit around seven nearby schools but added:

“This needs to go hand in hand with efforts to change the culture of drivers in relation to these speed limits such that it becomes socially unacceptable to drive faster than 20 in these areas. Sadly, our experience on Cold Bath Road is that the majority of drivers, including a police van on Tuesday, ignore the signs.”

North Yorkshire trail hunting ban ‘unenforceable, but the right thing to do’

Councillors behind a push to prevent trail hunting activities on North Yorkshire Council’s vast estate say a ban is “the right thing to do” even though it may be unenforceable.

Councillors Rich Maw and Arnold Warneken said local politicians across the largely rural county had a moral duty to ban trail hunting, exempt hunting, hound exercise and hunt meets outright across all council land, where legally possible, including any new tenancies.

The Labour and Green councillors issued the call ahead of a meeting of the local authority’s corporate scrutiny committee today (Monday), which will seek to agree a response to a notice of motion for the ban to be put before all the council’s elected members.

The motion has been condemned by the Countryside Alliance as “anti-rural” and by some Conservative councillors as “a waste of time”.

An officer’s report to the meeting states trail hunting is “a legal, although controversial, alternative to hunting animals with hounds” in which a scent trail is laid “ostensibly to recreate the experience of chasing a real animal”.

It has been claimed that trail hunting is designed to replicate hunting as closely as possible, but without the deliberate involvement of live prey, however campaigners in North Yorkshire say they have ample evidence of animals becoming targets.

The land owned by the council mostly affected by a ban would be its farm estate portfolio, which is thought to be about 3,500 acres.

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The report highlights how recent years have seen several major landowners, such as the National Trust and the Church of England, suspend or ban trail hunting on their land.

It states while some local authorities such as Nottinghamshire County Council had banned trail hunting, Cornwall Council had agreed banning a lawful activity would be a direct attack on rural people.

The report states: 

“In considering the notice of motion put to the council earlier this month, members will recognise there may be issues around enforcement if a decision were taken to ban trail hunting on council owned land i.e. the huge amount of property/land owned by the council, and the possible financial implications and other resources it may require.”

In response to the report, Weaponness and Ramshill division Cllr Maw said trail hunting was “a smokescreen” for the act of actually hunting wild animals.

He added: 

“A ban would mean on the common lands we have got control over and building that into new tenancies going forward.

“It’s really about the messaging rather than policing it. With video or photographic evidence there is a way for it to be policed. If the hounds are in front of the horses and the hunt doesn’t technically have control of the hounds in a public area then they are breaking the law.”

Cllr Warneken said was also not possible to enforce every 30mph limit, and bans on people dropping cigarette butts or not wearing seatbelts, but that had not stopped those rules being approved.

He said: 

“Do we not do the right thing because we can’t enforce it? We are condoning breaking the law if you don’t think we should ask our new tenants if they would consider signing up to not allowing trail hunting on their land.”