LNER has become the UK’s first train operator to offer free sanitary products onboard its trains.

The firm, which operates services between Harrogate and London King’s Cross, said in a statement today it will introduce the scheme across its entire fleet.

Passengers can request a ‘package for a friend’ directly from an LNER team member onboard, or by scanning the catering service QR code next to their seat. A team member will then “discreetly” deliver the products to seats, LNER added.

The move comes after a survey, carried out by YouGov on behalf of LNER, found 22% of people have experienced a time when they, or someone they are with, needed sanitary products but could not access them.

LNER said it first introduced the scheme at London King’s Cross station after recognising “everyone should have access to period care products when they need them”, and has now partnered with organic period product company TOTM to expand the delivery.

Gill McKay, an on-train delivery manager at LNER, said:

“Customer feedback, supported by research, highlighted the upset that can be experienced by not having access to period products.

“We believe everyone should be able to travel with confidence and in comfort and providing free, environmentally friendly products to anyone who needs them is just one way we can provide support, help the planet and break down barriers and stigma.”

Kiley Yale, head of sales at TOTM, added:

“We are really excited to be working with LNER to champion period comfort, wellbeing and dignity across their trains, stations and offices.”

Read more:

• Cycling infrastructure in Harrogate ‘absolutely terrible’
• Trading Hell: ‘We can’t arrest our way out of it’, says police chief 

Councillors have criticised North Yorkshire Council for not prioritising the needs of cyclists in Harrogate.

At a meeting of Harrogate and Knaresborough councillors, Alex Kay, the council’s senior transport planning officer delivered a presentation that included options for future cycle links in the town.

These included Bilton to Starbeck and Jennyfields to the town centre with cost estimates running into the millions.

In recent years the council has built a widely-criticised stretch of cycle route on Otley Road and abandoned the next phase, scrapped a Low-Traffic Neighbourhood on Beech Grove and decided against creating a one-way system on Oatlands Drive.

Meanwhile, funding bids have been rejected by the government for new cycle paths on Knaresborough Road and Victoria Avenue.

Its flagship active travel scheme, the £12.1m Harrogate Station Gateway, has also been drastically scaled back following opposition from local businesses with only a small section of Station Parade now set to include a cycle lane.

Cllr Matt Walker, a Liberal Democrat for Knaresborough West, criticised the state of the cycle infrastructure in the area.

He said:

“To improve things you have to acknowledge there’s a problem. Active travel is absolutely terrible. Roads are gridlocked and full of potholes, buses are missed all the time between Harrogate and Knaresborough.

“We have to make improvements and the council needs to step its game up. It needs to get its act together so people can get out of cars and get around in a quick and environmentally-friendly way.”

Cllr Arnold Warneken, a member of the Green Party for Ouseburn, added:

“The frustration of people who want to cycle in Harrogate and Knaresborough isn’t being taken seriously.”

With several of the proposals put forward by the council years from being built, Cllr Paul Haslam, an Independent for Bilton and Nidd Gorge, said there are not enough “shovel-ready” schemes on the table.

The council’s predecessor North Yorkshire County Council undertook a much-publicised Harrogate Congestion Survey in 2019 which showed there was an appetite for improving walking and cycling infrastructure in the town so people are incentivised to leave their cars at home.

Cllr Philip Broadbank, a Liberal Dem for Fairfax and Starbeck, said:

“I get frustrated with talks and plans and various things we spend time preparing [regarding cycling] yet year-in-year-out nothing happens.”

However, Cllr John Mann, a Conservative for Oatlands and Pannal, defended the council and said it “hadn’t done a bad job” on active travel in his constituency.

Cllr Mann said:

“They’ve installed numerous cycle lanes, several 20mph zones, and school streets. The gateway scheme has not been without teething problems and it’s progressing.

“We shouldn’t be too hard on the highways team. The bigger picture is difficult on financing and funds. Costs of construction projects have gone up enormously and inflation is huge.”

Read more:

• Business case approved for £12.1m Harrogate Station Gateway
• Demolished Harrogate charity flats set to be completed by December

Flautist Alannah Saphir was crowned Young Musician of the Festival and actor Isabella Withy won the Speech & Drama Championship at the final concert of this year’s Harrogate Competitive Festival for Music, Speech and Drama.

Alannah, a sixth former at St. Aidan’s, performed the last two movements of Carl Reinecke’s challenging sonata Undine, the same work that won her the woodwind section final two weeks before.

Alannah, who is about to take her A levels, has been playing the flute since the age of six. She already holds a performance diploma and is also a talented pianist. She currently studies both instruments with her mum Nichola, herself a professional musician and Royal College of Music alumnus. Nichola said:

“We are so delighted and proud of this achievement. It has come just at the right time for her.”

Alannah hopes to study at one of the London conservatoires next year and will be preparing for auditions after leaving school.

Isabella, who attends Ripon Grammar School, reached the finals of the competition after coming first in the Shakespeare category with a solo piece from Twelfth Night. She also performed a duo from the play Bird with her fellow student Amber Stevenson-Mian. 

The 18 year old has ambitions for a career in theatre and television, and is hoping to pursue an acting degree next year. She has already secured offers from the prestigious Guildford School of Acting and the Chichester Conservatoire. 

Isabella entered the festival with a group of students from the Upstage Academy in Ripon, which she joined when she was nine. Her win marked the fourth year running that Upstage have won the festival’s overall speech and drama trophy. The academy’s founder, Amelia Urukalo, said: 

“Issy has been entering the festival since primary school and this is her last year before she leaves us, so for her to win is incredible.”  

The Harrogate Competitive Festival has been a mainstay of the town’s artistic life since 1936 when it was established as an educational trust by the then Harrogate Town Council.

This year’s festival, which attracted more than 1,000 entries, was held over three weekends at Harrogate High School this month.

Nowadays, it is run by a large team of volunteers and a committee that works all year round.

Read more:

• Harrogate youngsters shine but competitive festival faces uncertain future 
• The Stray Ferret is moving into the heart of Harrogate town centre
• Concern as school suspensions rise by 40% in Harrogate and Knaresborough

This is the fourth in our Trading Hell series of features investigating anti-social behaviour and crime in Harrogate town centre.

Levels of crime and anti-social behaviour have increased so much in Harrogate town centre that traders are desperate for a stronger police presence, the Stray Ferret has found. 

The Trading Hell survey we carried out recently found that more than two in three town-centre businesses (68%) want to see more bobbies on the beat. 

So when the Stray Ferret met Chief Inspector Simon Williamson of North Yorkshire Police (NYP) in town to ask him about our findings, it came across as a signal of intent when he was accompanied by a squad of police officers, who headed off in twos with a NYP photographer to patrol the main shopping streets. The officers’ hi-vis stab-vests make for an arresting sight – in recent years they’ve been conspicuous by their absence. 

It was, of course, choreographed. More than seven weeks after first asking for an interview, our request was finally granted on the very day Ch Insp Williamson wanted to publicise a new initiative. 

Project Spotlight 

North Yorkshire Police says Project Spotlight will mean increased patrols and activity in Harrogate town centre to tackle street crime, retail theft, begging, rough sleeping, substance abuse and anti-social behaviour.

Yet despite repeated requests, North Yorkshire Police would not tell us how many officers have been patrolling the town centre up to now, or how often, citing “operational reasons”. So it’s impossible for us to accurately report just how much of an increase Project Spotlight represents. Nor is it clear how long Project Spotlight is set to last. 

But in a statement, a spokesperson said:

“Harrogate Inner Neighbourhood Policing Team, which is leading the project, has 20 officers and police community support officers (PCSOs) who will deploy on Project Spotlight patrols. Other officers from other teams will also support the project and can add to patrol numbers when available.”

The initiative officially launched last Wednesday, but it’s a project that Ch Insp Williamson has been considering since he took up his post as officer responsible for North Yorkshire Police’s neighbourhood teams in December. He said: 

“I’m conscious that some concerns have been raised to us, and that’s why we’re responding with Project Spotlight. It’s a multi-agency operation which involves partners. Some of the issues that we see in Harrogate and in towns across the country at the moment are complex, multi-dimensional problems and often they involve very vulnerable people, so it’s not a policing-alone sort of solution to resolve.”

Project Spotlight will see increased patrols in Harrogate town centre to deter crime and restore public confidence.

‘Lawless’ 

Whatever the reason for the timing of Project Spotlight, it is sure to be welcomed by traders in Harrogate town centre, but only if they experience noticeable, sustained improvement.  

Our survey covered almost all the businesses on Oxford Street, Cambridge Street, Cambridge Road, Market Place and the Victoria Shopping Centre, as well as parts of Beulah Street and James Street. When we spoke to traders, the message came across loud and clear that many of them were sick of the problems that are prevalent in parts of central Harrogate and wanted to see change. 

Almost every business polled (96%) said that anti-social behaviour is a problem, and more than two thirds said street-drinking (74%), rough sleeping (70%), begging (68%) and drug misuse (66%) were also problems. One in five (20%) experienced threats to staff at least once a week.

Nearly three in every four businesses (74%) said they had lost trade as a result of some or all of these behaviours. 

Some traders used words such as “crisis” and described the town centre as “lawless”. 

Ch Insp Williamson is unsurprised. He said: 

“No-one should feel unsafe or intimidated within their workplace or within their daily life. These issues you’ve identified all seem to form part of the same picture. Whether that’s the fear of an incident happening because they’re witnessing street drinking or anti-social behaviour, or whether that’s experiencing threats or coercion of any kind, they’re all fundamental to community confidence. They’re part of a picture that I think we need to tackle, and it’s fundamental to our success in policing to restore that confidence.” 

Grey area 

Official figures reveal that North Yorkshire Police could have been tackling the problem with more vigour, and in fact were doing so until 2020. In that year, the force used the Vagrancy Act 13 times to arrest people for offences such as persistent begging and street drinking, but hasn’t used it once since then. When asked why not, Ch Insp Williamson told us: 

“My understanding is that the Act has been repealed.” 

But this turns out to be a grey area. The Act was indeed repealed in 2022 by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, but remains in force until it is replaced. Alternative legislation in the form of the Criminal Justice Bill is making its way slowly through parliament, but in the meantime, the Vagrancy Act can still be used, and is being by police forces across the country. Last year, The Guardian revealed that officers from 29 police forces across England and Wales arrested 1,173 people between 2021 and 2023 – showing that it was an option open to North Yorkshire Police. 

‘Organised bands of beggars’ 

Its continued use would likely be welcomed by Harrogate’s town-centre traders. In our Trading Hell survey, 50% said they would like to see the police given more powers to move people on. 

Another concern raised by several store managers was the persistent rumour that some of the problems they face are caused by people from neighbouring cities. We heard stories of “gangs of shoplifters” and “organised bands of beggars” commuting from Leeds, Bradford and elsewhere to take advantage of the “rich pickings” to be found in Harrogate. 

But Ch Insp Williamson said the rumours were largely unfounded. He told us: 

“I can’t advise exactly how common or frequent it is. It is an issue that occurs nationally, with people travelling to various locations, sometimes seasonally. People do move around.

“I don’t think we have a specific, identified problem of people targeting the Harrogate area – there’s no evidence to support that – but there are anecdotes to suggest that people have come on occasion.”

This contradicts what several other sources have told us. For example, Matthew Chapman, manager of Harrogate BID (business improvement district), said:

“We know of national people-trafficking gangs that come in and target places like Harrogate.” 

Ch Insp Williamson denies this. He said: 

“There isn’t a strong evidence case for that. Certainly, most of the team know their community very well, they know some of the persistent callers have identified various groups and they’re all well known to us. 

“That’s not to say that on occasion we haven’t had people coming from other areas – it does happen – but I wouldn’t suggest that that’s a significant issue for us in Harrogate.” 

Response to thefts 

One issue that is significant for North Yorkshire Police is the public’s perception of the job they’re doing. When the Stray Ferret spoke to shopkeepers and store managers in central Harrogate, several told us that the police “didn’t do anything” when thefts were reported. One said “they don’t bother if it’s worth less than 200 quid”. Some have even stopped reporting thefts.

Is Ch Insp Williamson worried? He said: 

“It worries me that that view is held, and I am concerned that they have that opinion, because that’s not the case. All thefts should be reported to us and should be investigated.

“The way that we investigate them has changed over the years as technology has advanced. Now, our Initial Inquiry team take initial calls for shop theft and will routinely send out an information pack to be completed by traders.

“So, the methods have changed slightly, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t take shop theft extremely seriously, and the impact that can have on traders and their livelihoods.”

‘The solution isn’t to arrest our way out of it’ 

Equally concerning for the police is the response to another question in our survey. Asked “Which organisations, if any, do you think are failing to meet their responsibilities in tackling these issues?”, 40% of traders explicitly named the police – far more than named any other organisation. 

Ch Insp Williamson responded: 

“We have a significant part to play in resolving any issues within the community, particularly around community confidence and reassurance, and I take those complaints very seriously.

“The issues are very complex, and they often are involving vulnerable people who are in need of social care and health care and other support, so by no means is it a singular police problem.

“The solution to this problem isn’t to arrest our way out of it. However, I acknowledge that concern and I do take it seriously.”

Tomorrow, we hear from Matthew Chapman, manager of Harrogate BID, about one possible solution to the problems faced by town-centre businesses.

Read more:

• Trading Hell: A Stray Ferret investigation reveals how Harrogate shop workers routinely face threats, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour
• Trading Hell: Shocking rise in shoplifting in Harrogate town centre
• Trading Hell: ‘We cannot force people to do something’, says homeless charity

New supported living flats on Ripon Road in Harrogate look set to be completed by the end of 2024.

Harrogate Skills 4 Living is behind the scheme and now expects the project to be on track and finished by December.

The flats were partially built on the site, near New Park roundabout and opposite the former gasworks due to become a Tesco supermarket. One storey of the three-storey project had been built but was demolished earlier this month.

Hadyn Moorby-Davies, chief executive of Harrogate Skills 4 Living, said:

“It was necessary to demolish the existing structure so that the new contractor Studfold Ltd. could recommence the build.

“Hopefully, there won’t be any further delays and the project will be ready for occupation mid-December.”

The partially built flats at 212 Ripon Road

At the site, 212 Ripon Road, the charity aims to create assisted living accommodation for adults with learning disabilities and autism.

Plans submitted to North Yorkshire council show that the building is set to include six flats for people who need constant carer support, plus sleeping accommodation for staff. Harrogate Skills 4 Living was granted planning permission last year.

The plans approved by North Yorkshire Council said:

“The apartments are for accommodating adults with learning disabilities/ autism in order that they can achieve a better lifestyle in a supported living environment while benefiting from the independence that this environment provides.”

Computer generated images of the proposed HS4L site

Earlier this month, Mr Moorby-Davies said:

“The site has been demolished to allow new contractors to re-start the development.

“My understanding is that the building wasn’t being constructed as it should have been and so the decision was taken, to achieve the standard that Harrogate Skills 4 Living and its partners were entitled to expect, it would be best to start again hence the demolition of what had been built thus far.

“Whilst this may appear a backwards step, it had to be done for the project to move forwards.”

Read more:

• Trading Hell: ‘We cannot force people to do something’, says homeless charity
• Spofforth Golf Course re-opens after lengthy closure 

For the past few weeks, we’ve been introducing you to the team behind The Stray Ferret.

The spotlight is on John Grainger this week, our senior journalist.

Although John’s childhood ambition of being a stuntman may never have been realised due to a ‘keener sense of self-preservation’ as an adult, his career has still featured plenty of excitement – albeit the journalistic kind.  

25 years in the industry has meant he’s covered his fair share of genre-defining news events, but his first story is still one that he recalls as being of particular significance.  

“The first one I ever wrote – about the rise of Islamic finance – was a pretty big one in hindsight.

 “That industry was tiny at the time, and no-one was writing about it, but it’s now worth hundreds of billions of pounds and is very well established worldwide. It was like glimpsing the birth of a star.” 

 Longer-form, investigative content is one of the many areas that John is lending his expertise to at The Stray Ferret. 

Since he joined the team, he’s been responsible for raising important questions such as whether the Stray should be rewilded, as well as his slew of exclusives about the anti-social problems in Harrogate town centre.

 Explaining his approach to tackling such a vast and complex subject, John said: 

“I carried out a survey of more than 50 businesses and listened to shop owners and store managers as they recounted their experiences, then sifted through the data to pull out the main findings. 

“I also interviewed the manager of Harrogate BID and the area police commander, went out with police officers on patrol, and spoke with people living on the street to hear their stories.

“At the same time, my colleague Calvin Robinson combed through reams of government statistics, spoke to Shelter and Harrogate Homeless Project, and submitted multiple Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.

“The result is a piece of work that really sets a new standard for journalistic reporting in this district.”

John Grainger speaking to Chief Inspector Simon Williamson of North Yorkshire Police

Having both the time and resources available to fully follow every lead, to provide accurate, detailed and trusted journalism is very important to John, and an area he feels that The Stray Ferret truly shines.  

 He said:

“We’re the best at breaking news, but we also have time to put into more in-depth journalism about people and places you might not have heard about before. A lot of news outlets don’t have the resources to do that anymore.” 

 Originally heralding from Harrogate, John moved away when he was 18 before returning later in his career, having previously lived in cities across the UK and mainland Europe. 

 He believes that having lived in the area throughout many different stages of his life – ‘as a child and as an adult, as a school pupil and as a parent’ – have all given him a greater depth of insight into North Yorkshire life.  

 John added:

“Charles Dickens said that Harrogate was ‘the queerest place, with the strangest people in it, leading the oddest lives’. That is, arguably, still true today, and it makes my job all the more interesting. 

“We have two National Parks close by; the coast is a just a day trip away; Leeds, York and even Durham are all driveable. 

“Where I live, I can walk one way and get into town within 15 minutes, or walk the other way and be in the countryside within five. It’s on the right side of the Pennines – and the tap-water’s good.” 

 If you think you’ve got a story that might be of interest to John, you can email him at grainger@thestrayferret.co.uk. 

Residents who live in the shadow of Harrogate Convention Centre say they are struggling to park outside their own homes due to spots being taken by visitors to the facility.

John Birkenshaw told Harrogate and Knaresborough councillors that a group of 61 residents living on Springfield Avenue, Spring Grove, Spring Mount and Springfield Mews had signed a petition calling for parking restrictions to be toughened up around the area to stop the current system being “abused” by visitors to the town.

On these streets, the North Yorkshire Council allows motorists to leave their vehicles for up to three hours for free if they display a parking disc.

However, after 6pm parking restrictions end until the morning.

Mr Birkenshaw said spaces are being filled by people attending events at the convention centre and shows at the Royal Hall with the problem worsening in recent years.

He said:

“They regularly park in these streets, often overnight, to save on parking fees.”

Mr Birkenshaw said residents had purchased residential parking and visitor permits from the council but “can’t benefit from the privileges they are paying for.”

He added: 

“Many of us park hundreds of yards away which is a safety issue for residents when there’s poor weather, dark nights and uneven pavements.”

A statement was read out on behalf of senior council transport officer Melisa Burnham that said traffic regulation orders could eventually be issued on the streets.

However, she added there are several stages in the council’s process before it could finally be implemented.

Cllr Peter Lacey, Liberal Democrat councillor for Coppice Valley & Duchy division, said this illustrates the “tortuous” routes residents need to go through from the council to get a “blatantly obvious” solution to their problem.

He added: 

“The local group are not warriors, they just want to see sense. I’ve wanted to champion their cause because it’s perfectly reasonable and sensible.”

Read more:

• Trading Hell: ‘We cannot force people to do something’, says homeless charity 
• The Stray Ferret is moving into the heart of Harrogate town centre 

A Harrogate restaurant is set to reopen after being closed for several months.

Saranda Bar and Grill has been on Station Bridge since 2018 and offers Greek, Albanian and Mediterranean meat, seafood and à la carte dishes.

The restaurant was forced to shut in October 2023 due to rising costs and issues with staffing. 

Now, the bar and grill is set to reopen tomorrow (March 21) much to the excitement of its owner.

 Leonardo Mersinllari, who owns Saranda Bar and Grill as well as Espresso House on Beulah Street, said:

“I am really excited to reopen tomorrow and welcome back our lovely customers after a long time away. We’ve not even opened yet but we already have a lot of reservations for the next couple of weeks, so it is great to be back.”

The restaurant won Restaurant Guru awards in 2021 and 2022 for ‘Best Atmosphere in Harrogate.’

Saranda’s website said:

“Saranada Bar and Grill is the perfect place for those seeking a casual, warm, relaxed atmosphere.

“We look forward to welcoming friends, new and old when we reopen on Thursday, March 21.”

Read more:

• Trading Hell: ‘We cannot force people to do something’, says homeless charity 
• The Stray Ferret is moving into the heart of Harrogate town centre 

Bus fares for young people in the Harrogate district will be capped at £1 as part of a one-year pilot scheme.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive members yesterday accepted £3.5 million of funding from the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Network North Bus Service Improvement Plan, which will be used to introduce the scheme.

The pilot will include expanded bus timetables, improvements to bus shelters and £1 travel fares.

£2.1 million of the money, which has been allocated to local authorities in the north and the midlands after plans for the HS2 rail project were halted, will fund additional weekday bus services during peak times across three Harrogate district routes.

These include:

• Services 21 and 22, which runs from Knaresborough to York via Ripon and surrounding villages.
• Service 70, which runs from Ripon to Northallerton.
• Service 1, which runs from Harrogate to Knaresborough via Aspin, Carmines, Starbeck and the Pastures.

A further £715,000 of the funding will be used to provide £1 bus fares for people aged under 19, which will apply county-wide, while £158,000 will be used to hire more staff to improve boarding times and information services at bus stations across the Harrogate and Scarborough districts.

Maintaining and improving bus stops, additional cleaning services and repairs to Ripon bus station’s waiting facilities will also fall under the scheme at a cost of £76,000.

Cllr Keane Duncan, the council’s executive member for highways and transport, said:

“As a result of our efforts, bus services in North Yorkshire have seen a significant reversal of fortune since the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Passenger numbers are up and we’ve protected at-risk services. Now, I am pleased we can go further.

“With £3.5 million of extra funding, we are able to introduce lower fares for under-19s, invest in bus stops and fund expanded routes in all corners of the county.

“This is very welcome news for passengers, but it is of course vital that services are supported so they can continue in the longer term.”

The council has urged the public to “get on board with the pilot” to ensure the services will continue beyond 2025.

Read more:

• North Yorkshire mayor to be paid £81,300
• Harrogate businessman charged with stalking