The Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee met this morning meeting. Congestion on Wetherby Road and Skipton Road, and the otley Road cycle route, were among the topics discussed.

• The 15-person committee, which is controlled by the Liberal Democrats, advises North Yorkshire County Council, which is controlled by the Conservatives.
• Today’s agenda included 20mph speed limits, Harrogate transport improvements, climate change and culture.
• You can watch the meeting here.

Here’s what happened.

12.31pm: ‘Nightmare’ and ‘flawed’: Harrogate’s Otley Road cycle path under further fire

A lively debate about the Otley Road cycle path took place at today’s meeting. You can read a full report of the discussion here.

12.22pm: Culture report criticised

A lengthy report on a cultural framework for North Yorkshire is widely criticised by all parties for having ‘gaps’ and not consulting enough with groups in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

The report cost £20,000 of which £10,000 came from the county council and £10,000 from Arts Council England.

11.50pm: Call for congestion action on Wetherby Road and Skipton Road

Liberal Democrat leader Pat Marsh (pictured left) questions the focus on Leeds Road. She says the busiest roads are Wetherby Road and Skipton Road. She adds: “It’s chronic. How are you going to introduce safe cycling?”

Talking about Wetherby Road, she adds: “The traffic tails back so far it’s unbelievable. It’s there day and night. Why that road is not being looked at, I do not know.”

Cllr Marsh adds there is also potential for a park and ride at the Great Yorkshire Showground just off Wetherby Road.

She then suggests building a new secondary school in the New Park area. “Harrogate’s secondary schools are all on the same side of town.”

Green councillor Arnold Warneken says it took him 40 minutes to drive from the Kestrel roundabout to today’s meeting at the council office at Knapping Mount.

Liberal Democrat Philip Broadbank expresses exasperation at the slow speed at which active travel schemes progress. “There is so much consultation.”

The officer’s report is merely ‘noted’, after numerous protests of frustration at the rate of change.

11.40pm: Call for action on Harrogate transport schemes

Conservative councillor Paul Haslam says “I’d like to see more action rather than more process” after an officer gives an update on phase two of the Harrogate Transport Improvement Programme.

The officer says the programme is an evolution of the Harrogate Congestion Study, which received more than 15,000 responses in 2020 and showed support for a park and ride bus service plus more active travel. The A61 Leeds Road was identified as the area for potential of the greatest improvements.

The officer says work on the second phase began in July, and she expects to have further details by end of 2022, promoting Cllr Haslam to say the issue is getting bogged down by process.

He also says a train station at Claro Road would ease traffic congestion.

11.15 Call for pilot 20mph zone approved

Nine vote in favour, two against and one abstain from Cllr Warneken’s motion to introduce a 20mph pilot.

But that doesn’t mean it will happen – it will now go to the county council executive, which will decide whether to act on the outcome.

11.01 Should there be a pilot 20mph scheme?

Green councillor Arnold Warneken calls for a pilot 20mph scheme. Several councillors speak in favour of reducing speed limits but Cllr Michael Harrison, a Conservative, says he is against it.

He says he admires the 20’s Plenty campaign for trying but says enforcement and capital spend are problems. He says there are highways issues in his division that have been hanging around for a while, which he would prefer to see dealing with.

10.53am £1m cost of implementing 20mph limits

Asked how much introducing 20mph limits would cost, council officer says the figure would be “looking at something north of a million pounds”, and would take at least 12 to 18 months to implement.

10.43am: Call for default 20mph speed limit

Cycling campaigner Malcolm Margolis (pictured) is reading a statement on behalf of 20’s Plenty calling for a default 20mph speed limit in towns and villages in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

A council officer says the county council recognises the benefits 20mph limits can bring and wants to make the roads as safe as possible and will continue to consider all options.

10.30am: Parish councillor calls for ‘kick up the backside’  

Howard West (right)

Councillor Howard West of Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council says nothing in the Harrogate Transport Improvements Programme, a report which is due to be discussed today, satisfies residents that plans are in place to prevent ‘gridlock’ in Harrogate’s western arc when thousands of new homes are built.

He says the council should “shelve the Maltkiln survey” until it has solved what’s happening now in the west of Harrogate. Cllr West said today’s recommendation is to ‘note the report’, adding:

“Our recommendation is for members to effect the equivalent of a kick up the backside and for meaningful action to get immediate results now rather than for procrastination and excuses.”

10.21am: Cycling group’s frustration over cycling schemes

Kevin Douglas, chair of Harrogate District Cycling Action, expresses concerns about the slow pace of the various cycling schemes.

The council officer says: “We accept there has been a delay” on the Otley Road scheme and cites “numerous design issues”. She adds consultation on phase two of the scheme is “due imminently”.

She also says plans public engagement on new plans for Oatlands Drive are “due to start this month”.

10.07am: Residents’ group criticises ‘nightmare’ Otley Road cycle path.

A statement is read by a members of Harrogate and Pannal Ash Residents’ Association saying consultation with residents about the Otley Road cycle path had uncovered comments such as it being “fundamentally flawed”, “a nightmare”, “an accident waiting to happen”.

He asks for a full, meaningful and proper consultation for the remainder of the Otley Road scheme “before designs are firmed up”. he adds:

“The general feeling is the scheme will do v little, if anything to offset the huge housing growth for thew west of Harrogate.”

A council officer says it plans to stage a “meet the designer event to make it possible to have those meaningful conversations going forward”.

A Harrogate police officer has said there is “no perfect solution” to town centre anti-social behaviour after businesses asked for help.

A Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce meeting on Monday heard concerns about behaviour on Bower Street and outside McDonald’s restaurant in Harrogate, as well as at Knaresborough castle.

Chief Inspector Alex Langley and Superintendent Theresa Lam started by giving an overview of police issues in Harrogate in which they said Parliament Street was “the busiest ward” in the county for incidents.

A delegate said one business had already been forced to close on Bower Street because of persistent anti-social behaviour and asked whether the police could do anything to prevent people “milling around”.

Chief Inspector Alex Langley

Ch Insp Langley said police had an input on street design but admitted there was little they could do in trouble spots such as Bower Street and outside McDonald’s. Talking about the area outside the restaurant, he said:

“It’s been a problem since I started 19 years ago and will continue to be because it’s the perfect place to sit.

“There’s no perfect solution for moving on people that aren’t committing crimes.”

He said if the problem was tackled in one area it would only move to another.

A Knaresborough businesswoman said late night drinkers congregated in the castle grounds at Knaresborough because the lack of streetlighting made it an “ideal place to go”. But she said they often left broken glass, which was then a problem for dog walkers and tourists the next day.

Chf Insp Langley said he would report the issue to the police neighbourhood awareness team.

He urged businesses and people to report crimes, saying the police could only act if they were aware of problems.

Read more:

• Police start two-week speeding crackdown in Harrogate district
• Business Breakfast: Crime Commissioner and senior police officers to face Harrogate business leaders

The main routes into Harrogate, such as Wetherby Road, Knaresborough Road and Skipton Road, appear to be flowing normally in the approach to rush hour.

Here is your Stray Ferret traffic update.

Roads

Drivers heading towards Wetherby should be aware of temporary traffic lights still in place on the A661 Harrogate Road near Spofforth.

The lights are in place while Northern Gas Networks carries out maintenance work and are now due to last until October 18.

Elsewhere in Harrogate, long-term work on Crescent Road means motorists are unable to turn left at the Parliament Street junction. Traffic coming the opposite way on Ripon Road is unable to turn right.

Montpellier Road remains closed until tomorrow as Northern Gas Networks carries out maintenance work.

Stop go boards are due to be in place on John Street today and tomorrow.

Roadworks on the Boroughbridge Road at Scriven are likely to cause delays for motorists travelling between Knaresborough and Boroughbridge.

Looking ahead, work is scheduled to begin on Monday to reconstruct the B6265 at Red Brae Bank, Bewerley, near Pateley Bridge, which suffered a landslip during storms in  February 2020.

The scheme requires the road to be closed from October 17 to December 9. A diversion will be in place via Pateley Bridge; the B6451 Dacre; Menwith Hill Road; Duck Street and Greenhow Hill village. Temporary traffic lights will be in place during the remainder of the work.

Trains and buses

Northern services between Harrogate and Knaresborough going to York and Leeds are scheduled to run as normal this morning.

The Harrogate Bus Company is not currently reporting any cancellations but you can get updates here.

Read more:

• Gasworks on Cold Bath Road rescheduled until Monday
• Harrogate district businesses ask police for help tackling anti-social behaviour

Council bosses in North Yorkshire are facing calls to explain why a new council tax system will cost taxpayers millions of pounds a year more to run than the current system.

North Yorkshire County Council has revealed the cost of administering the unitary authority’s council tax scheme is expected to be £37m, £2.4m more than the current structure run by North Yorkshire’s district and borough councils.

A cross-party group of councillors has proposed unifying council tax bills across the seven districts over the next two financial years as some areas are paying higher rates than others.

Yesterday the Stray Ferret reported on how the Harrogate has the highest council tax in North Yorkshire.

The move would mean Harrogate’s average bills for a band D property would fall by £23.47 during each of the two years on a current bill of £1,723.27 whilst other areas might see a rise.

The proposed increases and cuts in council tax charges do not include what increases the new unitary authority, police and fire services and parish councils may levy from April 1.

Read More:

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The county council’s executive member for finance, Councillor Gareth Dadd said the authority was acutely aware of the financial pressures which everyone is under with rising inflation and the cost of energy and food soaring.

He said:

“A great deal of work has gone into the proposed scheme to harmonise council tax bills across all seven districts, and we believe that the plan that has been drawn up to introduce the changes over the two years represents the fairest way forward for everyone involved.”

As part of the proposals, the executive committee will consider providing up to 100 per cent reductions on council tax bills for households on the lowest incomes.

However, opposition politicians said the rising cost of administering the new council tax system raised a red flag, particularly after as the county council had estimated savings brought about by creating abolishing the district and county councils and establishing a unitary authority should reach £252m over its first five years.

Councillor Andy Brown, the authority’s Green Party group coordinator said:

“We were assured that combining into one council would be simple and would reduce costs. We are already seeing how complicated it is and how hard it is to achieve the cost savings.”

Leader of the council’s Independent group, Councillor Stuart Parsons added:

“Big is supposed to be better. One is supposed to be cheaper than eight and this is an area where one is certainly not cheaper. How many other areas will there be.

“This is against all the logic of the massive savings that they claim would result from unification. What other extra costs are envisaged as a result of local government reorganisation and what savings are envisaged to come up with the magnificent £50m a year they have claimed would be found.”

Cllr Parsons said it would take many years for the new authority to iron out inequalities between services in the seven boroughs.

He added:

“I would like a full explanation of how the council has come to this £2.4m figure and how they are going to make it cost neutral. Eventually they should be able to make savings on staff as they establish a single team, but it’s going to take a long, long time.”

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

Ripon BID, in partnership with Harrogate Borough Council, is to fund free car parking on selected dates in the run up to Christmas.

The aim is to encourage shoppers from further afield to visit Ripon for all their Christmas shopping needs.

Free parking will be available from 3pm-6pm on the following Fridays November 25 and December 2 , 9 and 16  in the Cathedral, St Marygate & Marshall Way car parks.

The BID is also sponsoring live seasonal music in the Market Square on the above dates between 3- 6pm to add to the festive spirit.

Councillor Phil Ireland, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability, said:

“I am delighted that Harrogate Borough Council can support Ripon BID to offer free parking in Cathedral, St Marygate and Marshall Way car parks between 3pm and 6pm on the four Friday’s running up to Christmas.

We want to encourage people to shop locally and I hope that scheme gives them a good incentive to do so.”

Read More:

• Loss of 15-day festival will have ‘limited’ economic impact on Harrogate
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Harrogate estate agent, Verity Frearson, have sponsored of one of the town’s junior football teams.

The company is sponsoring Pannal Ash’s U11s Jaguars and Leopards teams.

Thanks to the deal, the young players, who play in the Harrogate and District Junior Football League, are now sporting new kits for the 2022/23 season bearing the company’s name.

Verity Frearson Director, Matthew Stamford, said:

“We are delighted to sponsor the U11s teams.

“Our company’s link to Harrogate stretches back 100 years, and whilst our association to the football club is more recent, it is nevertheless a strong one.

“We were asked if we would consider sponsoring the teams, which we jumped at the chance to do. It is so important that companies support local grassroots clubs, as often they are the ones that train the talent of the future.”

Pannal Ash’s U11 team, Jaguars, sport the new Verity Frearson kit

A Harrogate police officer has gone on trial accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a property in North Yorkshire.

Joseph McCabe, 27, “stroked” the woman on her arm then badgered her for sex, prosecutor Richard Blackburn told York Magistrates’ Court.

When the alleged victim rejected his advances, Mr McCabe, who had been drinking, grabbed her hair and pulled her off a bed, before demanding she had sex with him, added Mr Blackburn.

He said that Mr McCabe, a devout Roman Catholic, placed his hand on the woman’s inner thigh and on her back and then lifted her onto a bed, before lying next to her.

“He took hold of her arm and began to stroke it,” said Mr Blackburn.

When the woman – who was not in a relationship with Mr McCabe – asked him what he was doing, he made no reply, it was alleged.

Mr McCabe, a police constable who had recently got married, apologised to the woman but about half an hour later he grabbed her by the hair and tried to pull her off a bed.

Mr Blackburn said the woman was scared and again asked Mr McCabe what he was doing, and made it clear she didn’t want to have sex.

About 30 minutes later, Mr McCabe started shouting, “Get into…bed now”, added Mr Blackburn.

She again spurned his advances, said the prosecutor.

Mr McCabe later apologised for his behaviour, telling the woman he had “reverted back to being my teenage self” and had made an “ill-judged, romantic” advance. However, he denies his actions were sexual in nature.

The woman, who can’t be named for legal reasons, later reported the incident to police.

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Mr McCabe, of Kingsley Park Road, Harrogate, was brought in for questioning and gave police a prepared statement claiming he was drunk at the time. He admitted lifting the woman and putting her down on a bed but denied that his behaviour was sexual.

He said it appeared that “matters were developing” between them during the incident in the early hours of the morning, and that he had “stupidly” tried to kiss the woman.

“He said she made it clear that was not what she wanted and he then apologised,” added Mr Blackburn.

He denied pulling the woman’s hair and demanding that she get into bed with him, and said he fell asleep after she made it clear she didn’t want sex.

The alleged victim gave evidence via video link on the first day of the trial today.

She said she only had a little to drink and was sober on the night in question and claimed that Mr McCabe “didn’t seem overly drunk”.

She said Mr McCabe picked her up and placed her on a bed and that “nothing was said, which I found quite creepy”.

“He laid on the bed next to me and then he took hold of my hand and (his hand) went up my arm in a stroking motion,” she added.

She claimed that Mr McCabe was moving his hand towards an intimate part of her body, but no contact was made.

“At first I was a bit shocked and couldn’t work out what he was doing,” she said.

“I said, ‘What do you think are you doing?’ I perceived that he was trying to have sex with me.”

She said she pointed to the Crucifix that Mr McCabe was wearing and said: “Aren’t you meant to be religious? What are you doing?”

“I turned away from him at that point because I didn’t want him to think I was interested in him,” she added.

However, she then “felt my (hair) bun get pulled and I was ragged to the floor”.

She said she was “shouting and swearing” and telling him: “Don’t touch me.”

“I remember shaking a lot and I didn’t know what to do,” she added.

“I just froze in fear.”

She said that during the “horrible” incident, Mr McCabe had “terrified” her and at one stage she feared she might be raped.

Mr McCabe’s barrister Kevin Baumber questioned the veracity of the woman’s claims that she’d only had a small amount to drink and suggested she had drunk more than she had claimed on the night in question.

Mr Baumber claimed there were no sexual motives in Mr McCabe picking her up and placing her on the bed.

Mr McCabe, who was suspended by North Yorkshire Police pending the outcome of the trial, denies one count of sexual assault. The incident occurred last year.

The trial resumes on December 5 at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court when the defence will set out its case.

Investigations into a collision between a car and a bicycle on Cold Bath Road are continuing, two months after the incident happened.

North Yorkshire Police said a woman in her 50s was arrested and released under investigation while officers continue to make inquiries.

It follows the collision at the junction of West Cliffe Grove on Friday, August 12, between a white Vauxhall Viva travelling up Cold Bath Road from the Crown roundabout and a pedal cyclist coming down the road in the opposite direction.

The cyclist – a man in his 50s from the Richmond area – was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

An air ambulance landed on the Stray and most of Cold Bath Road was closed for several hours while police dealt with the scene.

At the time, officers appealed for the driver of a dark-coloured hatchback who stopped at the scene to come forward. They have now said they have traced the driver.

However, they are continuing to appeal for information from anyone who saw either the car or the bicycle.

Witnesses to the collision or anyone with CCTV or dash cam footage is asked to call North Yorkshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 122201422867. Alternatively, email 001282@northyorkshire.police.uk quoting the same reference number.

Read more:

• Cyclist remains in hospital after crash on Harrogate’s Cold Bath Road
• Witness appeal after collision on Harrogate’s Cold Bath Road

Residents of the Harlow Hill and Pannal Ash areas of Harrogate will gather tomorrow night to discuss the issues they face as a community.

From housing developments and cycle lanes to the upcoming reorganisation of local government in North Yorkshire, Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents’ Association (HAPARA) has a busy agenda for its AGM.

Chairman Rene Dziabas said the long-delayed West Harrogate Parameters Plan – setting out a plan for infrastructure to support thousands of new homes in the area – was likely to be among the topics generating the most interest.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“We still have over-riding concerns about the infrastructure for these successive developments – public transport, paths, cycle paths, hospitals, schools.

“We work with a number of parish councils and they hold similar views to us.”

This will be the first time HAPARA has held an in-person AGM since 2019, thanks to the covid pandemic. In the intervening three years, many new households have arrived in the area, and the group is keen to welcome them alongside long-standing residents.

Though it encourages people to sign up as members, anyone can go along to the AGM and, unlike a parish council, it has no defined geographical boundary, so is open to anyone who wants to join.

Read more:

• Contractor for Harrogate’s Otley Road cycle route to be appointed in autumn
• Council approves long-awaited West Harrogate Parameters Plan

As well as the changes that have taken place in the area in recent years, the group will look at what is ahead for local residents.

While phase one of the Otley Road cycle path has been largely completed, and phase two is scheduled to begin “shortly”, according to North Yorkshire County Council, phase three – from Harlow Moor Road to Cardale Park – remains contentious among residents, according to a survey of residents by HAPARA this year.

Mr Dziabas said he hoped the new North Yorkshire Council would keep to its word of engaging added:

“We are also trying to introduce some local issues. A couple of residents are doing a presentation on low traffic neighbourhoods.

“If we can get something like that, an idea from grass roots, and if we can make the beginnings of something, that would be nice.

“Money is going to be tight and there is going to be less money around over the next few years than there is now.

“If you engage with local organisations, the people you are engaging with are doing it for free and there’s a lot of knowledge and a lot of professional people in those organisations. If you keep an open mind, you can tap into it.’

The HAPARA AGM takes place at Harlow Community Centre (The Green Hut) on Harlow Avenue on Wednesday, October 12 from 7pm. The full agenda is available here.

There is set to be some glitz and glamour injected into Sunday evening as Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK sashays into Harrogate.

The tour of the popular BBC Three show is hitting the convention centre at 8pm, with all 12 queens from series three appearing live on stage.

Acclaimed for its impressive production values, the audience can “expect the unexpected in this glittering tour”, which will include series three finalists Kitty Scott-Claus, Krystal Versace, Vanity Milan and Ella Vaday.

Ben Hatton, director of theatre touring for event promoter Cuffe and Taylor, said:

“RuPaul’s Drag Race UK is an exciting show and it will undoubtedly be an incredible and outrageous night of live entertainment.”

Tickets are available here.

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Food waste organisation Resurrected Bites has issued a plea for help to businesses after warning it might not survive another year.

The community organisation, which saves food from landfill, has helped thousands of people struggling to get by since it started in January 2018. It operates Give As You Can cafes and shops in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Founder Michelle Hayes appealed for support at last night’s Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce meeting. She said Resurrected Bites had generated £87,000 and spent £91,000 this year, adding:

“A huge number of people rely on us so we need to look at ways we can still be around in 12 months’ time.

“Since the jubilee, our food supplies have dropped off. We are going to have to start paying for it.”

Michelle Hayes speaking at last night’s chamber meeting.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret afterwards, Ms Hayes said Resurrected Bites currently had sufficient income to survive another six months.

She said it was becoming harder to find supplies because more people were buying reduced price items from supermarkets that might otherwise go to Resurrected Bites.

Ms Hayes also said some supermarkets’ decisions to scrap best before dates was a good move overall but it contributed to there being less food waste in the system for organisations such as Resurrected Bites. She said:

“Fundraising is more challenging because of the economic challenges people are facing.

“We’ve got six months’ income left. I don’t wan’t to go much below that.”

Read more:

• Knaresborough concert raises £800 for Resurrected Bites
• Loss of 15-day festival will have ‘limited’ economic impact on Harrogate