Harrogate commuters set for fewer ‘leaves on the line’ delays?Rail operator Northern is fitting new technology to its trains to combat leaves on the line, which can cause autumn frustration for commuters.
Leaves stick to damp rails and are compressed into a smooth, slippery layer, reducing the trains’ grip.
This can delay services so Northern is fitting what it describes as ‘leaf-busting’ technology to 16 of its 170 passenger trains operating between Leeds, Harrogate, and York.
Routes between Sheffield, Doncaster, Hull and Scarborough will also be upgraded. The locations were chosen because they are some of those most affected by leaves.
The technology – Water-Trak – creates rainy-day conditions on the rail surface by spraying a small amount of water from the train onto the track when a slippery rail is detected.
While this might appear counter-intuitive, researchers discovered that leaf-coated rails only become slippery when damp, and that trains stop safely in heavy rain.
Rob Cummings, seasonal improvement manager at Northern, said:
“This is the next step in finding a solution to tricky autumn conditions. One of the biggest risks to our performance during October and November is leaves on the line, but by helping to develop new innovative technology we aim to deliver the very best service for our passengers.”
Two of Northern’s Class 319s fitted with Water-Trak have been successfully operating in passenger service since late October 2021. The trials with Northern are being run thanks to funding from Network Rail’s performance innovation fund.
John Cooke, co-founder at Water-Trak, said:
“We are really excited to be working with Northern to show how Water-Trak can help to solve the age-old problem of leaves on the line.”
Confirmed: Harrogate to have just one night time fire engineNorth Yorkshire Police Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe has today confirmed Harrogate fire station will be reduced to one fire engine at night.
Ms Metcalfe’s decision comes after a three-month consultation that saw the proposal criticised for putting lives at risk.
The move is expected to save £180,000 in the Harrogate district, which will be used to fund fire prevention work, and could see five Harrogate firefighters redeployed to new prevention roles.
The Harrogate changes will be piloted for three years and then could be copied in Scarborough.
Ms Metcalfe, a Conservative who was elected commissioner last year, published her three-year blueprint for fire services in the county in May.
Today’s announcement will also see Huntington full-time fire station reduced to on-call, leaving North Yorkshire with just four full-time fire stations: Harrogate, Scarborough, York and Acomb.
Change is coming to Harrogate fire station, on Skipton Road.
It follows a consultation that included 12 public events, three resident focus groups and an online survey which received 1,300 responses.
Me Metcalfe said:
“Some areas of the service will change, and I know change can be unsettling, but I remain confident that the right people, with be in the right place, with the right equipment at the right time, to support everyone in North Yorkshire and York.”
“I have made these decisions to support the transformation of our fire and rescue service based on extensive evidence and from listening to what is important to you, which you said was increasing and enhancing prevention and protection work to stop incidents from happening in the first place”
How Harrogate fire service will change
Currently, Harrogate fire station has one fire engine which can respond to all emergencies and a smaller tactical response vehicle. Both operate around the clock.
The smaller vehicle will be replaced by a larger fire engine but it will only be crewed during the day.
Ms Metcalfe’s risk and resource model said more fires occur during daytime, and having two fire engines at Harrogate would provide better daytime protection at key times.
But the second Harrogate appliance won’t be staffed between 10pm and 9am, meaning greater dependence on on-call firefighters in Knaresborough when a second fire engine is required at major incidents.
Jonathan Dyson
Jonathan Dyson, chief fire officer for North Yorkshire, said Ms Metcalfe’s proposals provided the correct strategic approach to resourcing fire risk. The service has a £31.5m annual budget for core spending.
He said:
“Our strong focus on prevention and protection activities are the primary way for us to reduce risk in our communities.”
Mr Dyson told the Stray Ferret second appliances from outside Harrogate were already mobilised to tackle major fires in Harrogate because they were better equipped to do so than the tactical response vehicle.
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But he acknowledged the change could “potentially” cause a delay when the main Harrogate fire engine attended an incident and requested back-up, which would now have to come from Knaresborough rather than Harrogate.
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service does not have target response times and no calculations have been done on how long delays brought about by the changes could be.
Job talks to start with Harrogate firefighters
Asked about the impact on Harrogate firefighters, Mr Dyson said:
“We now start a phased approach to the changes because we now need to discuss and engage with the trade unions, we need to discuss and engage with the crews that are affected by this because people are at the centre of this.
“No current staff or jobs are at jeopardy in any form. We are transitioning resources from response into prevention and protection.
“There are a range of duty systems that can introduced to meet the demand that the service requires under the commissioner’s decision.”
Mr Dyson added today’s overall measures had the “potential” to save £1.5m a year across North Yorkshire by 2025 although the calculation was done before recent high inflation.
He added the decision “isn’t about cuts, it’s about transition of funding from response into prevention” and savings would also be spent on improving on call stations in rural areas.
Extinction Rebellion to bring bus to Harrogate district tomorrowClimate activists from Extinction Rebellion (XR) will drive a bus to Pateley Bridge and Harrogate tomorrow to talk to people about climate change.
But although the bus has solar panels on its roof, the bus is not electric and is powered by diesel.
A fleet of multicoloured buses have been travelling the country as part of XR’s Change Is Now tour.
The idea is to visit different XR groups and have conversations with local people about their climate change hopes and fears.
Tomorrow morning, the bus will be in Pateley Bridge to promote a film called 2040, which is showing at Summerbridge Methodist Chapel from 6.30pm that evening. Entry is free.
They will then park up in Harrogate and head to Cambridge Street between 12pm and 4pm to talk to people and canvas views.
A petition calling on the government to take firmer action on climate change will be available to sign.
People can also bring along plain t-shirts or fabrics to get them block-printed with XR graphics.
James Smith, from XR Harrogate, said:
“People really want to talk about climate change.
“When they talk, it becomes more real to people and they then might take action.”
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Mr Smith said he was expecting some criticism about XR using a diesel bus rather than an electric one.
He added:
“Even a group of totally committed green activists have to use a diesel bus, there are no viable, affordable electric buses.
“But this is the point — no matter how green you are you can’t always take the eco, fossil fuel free option that you’d like. We’re calling on the government to plan and fund a zero-carbon economy. “
Extinction Rebellion’s visit will also coincide with the Green Party’s national conference, which is taking place from Friday until Sunday at Harrogate Convention Centre.
Business Breakfast: Harrogate district hotels win national awardsBusiness Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal.
Two hotels in the Harrogate district have won national awards.
Grantley Hall in Ripon won hotel of the year for 2022/23 at the AA Hotel and Hospitality Awards.
Meanwhile, Swinton Estate near Masham won the sustainable award at the ceremony, which was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.
Iain Shelton, chief executive at Swinton, said:
“We are delighted to be recognised for the work we are doing and look forward with working with the AA over the next 12 months in championing sustainability and launching their new initiatives.”
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Harrogate firm awarded £762,522 for heat pump project
A Harrogate company has been awarded £762,522 of government funding to carry out a project to make heat pumps cheaper.
GenGame, which is based at Hornbeam Park, has outlined a scheme to use data from smart meters to help optimise the running of a heat pump in a household energy system.
The project comes as part of funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
A total of 24 projects in England and Scotland have won funding in the second round of the Heat Pump Ready programme.
Lord Callanan, business and energy minister, said:
“In light of rising global gas and oil prices, getting low-carbon heating technology into homes is a priority for this government as it will help households ditch the costly fossil fuels that are driving up bills.
“Heat pumps are a proven, reliable technology that uses cheaper renewable energy produced in the UK.”
Harrogate BID manager to leave roleHarrogate Business Improvement District manager Matthew Chapman will leave the organisation in November to take up a new position at North Yorkshire Council.
Mr Chapman, who took up the role in May last year, was previously Leeds BID operations manager in 2016 before becoming Huddersfield’s BID manager in November 2019.
Businesses within Harrogate’s town centre pay the BID 1.5% of their rateable value a year on top of their usual business rates.
Harrogate BID brings in around £500,000 from local firms, which it spends on projects to improve the town and increase the number of visitors.
During Mr Chapman’s 18 months in Harrogate, BID campaigns include power washing 80,000 square metres of the town centre, painting drab walls with colourful murals and buying over 500 pieces of outdoor furniture for businesses to use.
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He is set to take up a managerial role within North Yorkshire Council, which is the new council that will replace Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council from April.
Harrogate BID chair Sara Ferguson paid tribute to Mr Chapman in a statement and said the search for his replacement had begun.
“Since joining us in May 2021, Matt has been a highly effective, dedicated and extremely popular BID manager. I have certainly enjoyed our working relationship, and that is echoed by all my fellow directors.
“During his time with us, he has become one of the most recognised faces in the town centre. He’s built terrific relationships with the district and county councils, business organisations and business owners and their employees.
“We will be extremely sorry to see Matt go, but the good news for us, and the town centre, is that he will continue to play a role within the organisation, offering guidance and support to the board and BID team, within a part-time role to aid the recruitment process and ensure a smooth transition and handover.
“The BID team is now primed to continue delivering the high impact projects which benefit the town as a whole, and the job of finding Matt’s replacement has now begun.”
Harrogate hospital staff selling days off to cope with cost of living crisisSome staff at Harrogate District Hospital are selling their annual leave and applying for further financial help in a desperate bid to make ends meet.
The hospital is allowing NHS workers to trade time off for extra payments until the end of the year, while a hardship fund has also been set up to help with the soaring costs of energy, fuel and food.
This comes at a time when staff are set to vote on strike action over a below-inflation pay offer which unions have described as another real-terms pay cut.
Jonathan Coulter, chief executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, told a board meeting today that he had “always been against” staff selling annual leave, but the cost of living crisis now meant that providing support was “absolutely vital”.
He said:
“My justification for this is that the financial position of some staff is putting them under more stress than the benefit of having a holiday.”
A total of 17 staff have so far applied for extra payments instead of time off, while 271 applications have been made to the hospital’s hardship fund, which is offering grants of up to £500.
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Wallace Sampson, hospital trust board member and chief executive of Harrogate Borough Council, said he had “mixed feelings” about staff being able to sell annual leave as he believes it is “very much needed” to help with their wellbeing.
In response, Mr Coulter said he agreed but this was the preference of some workers and that a five-day limit on the amount of time off that can be traded would ensure staff do get some down time.
He said:
“There is an absolute maximum of five days, so staff can’t sell all of their annual leave.
“We have agreed the policy for this year as a one-off, partly recognising that people have a lot of annual leave because of covid.
“We will need to review the initiatives, but at the moment they are absolutely vital.”
Winter strike possible
His comments come as strike action could span across several months this winter after the Royal College of Midwives union notified hospital bosses that it will ballot its members over pay.
Other unions including GMB and Unison are also said to be making preparations for a vote.
The prospect of staff striking at what is always a busy time for under-strain services in winter has been described as “worrying” by senior officials at Harrogate District Hospital, which has begun making contingency plans.
Around 100 of the hospital’s lowest-paid staff will see an uplift from a rise in the legal minimum wage to £10.90 in October.
However, Dr Suzanne Tyler, executive director at the RCM union, said the government needed to go further and give all workers a better pay rise after its members rejected a 4% increase offer.
Dr Tyler said in a statement:
“Our members have spoken and just like us they believe a below inflation pay award is not good enough, they deserve more.
“The results and turnout speaks volumes about the feelings of a fragile, exhausted, and undervalued workforce, because taking industrial action is always the very last resort for midwives and maternity staff.
“They obviously now see no other alternative to getting a fair and just pay award from their governments.”
Harrogate Spring Water investigating new water sources on council landHarrogate Borough Council granted permission for Harrogate Spring Water to test the council’s borehole at its horticultural nursery on Harlow Hill, documents reveal — so the company could explore a potential new water source.
The Stray Ferret has obtained emails between the company and the council via a freedom of information request. They reveal Harrogate Spring Water tested the borehole in May this year and is continuing to investigate groundwater in the area.
Boreholes are used to extract water from the ground. Harrogate Spring Water bottles water from a bore hole at its headquarters on Harlow Moor Road, on land owned by the council and leased to the company.
Much of the land surrounding the facility, including the Pinewoods and Harlow Hill nursery, is also owned by the council.
As part of the firm’s lease agreement with the council, water is extracted from two boreholes on the Harlow Moor Road site. There is a third borehole on Pennypot Bridge.
The council grows its floral displays at Harlow Hill nursery and sells plants, pots and compost to the public there, although it plans to sell the site for housing and move the nursery elsewhere. It also has a on-site borehole that it uses to water plants.
Investigations in the area
Harrogate Spring Water is set to submit fresh plans to increase the size of its bottling plant within the next few months and emails suggest the company may also be looking for new sources of water to help the company expand.
An email from Harrogate Spring Water to the council, dated June 6, reveals the council gave the company permission to perform “some testing work” on its borehole at Harlow Hill nursery in the previous month.
However, it says the results “weren’t what Harrogate Spring were looking for”.
Email from Harrogate Spring Water to Harrogate Borough Council on June 6
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The email continues to say the company would like to survey the land around Harlow Moor Road to find out “where the best potential for water might be and how the water is working”.
Follow-up emails between two council officers, whose names were redacted, query if these tests are to identify new water sources.
A spokesperson for Pinewoods Conservation Group, the charity that looks after the Pinewoods, said the testing of boreholes in the area was a “major concern”.
They said the charity had received reports from visitors of investigative works taking place in the Pinewoods recently, adding:
“We’ve had assurances before around no further expansion plans but confirmation that more boreholes are being investigated around the Pinewoods area is a major concern for us.
“Several visitors reported seeing investigative works happening within the Pinewoods itself recently, without any notice of this from either Harrogate Spring Water or Harrogate council.
“We would encourage all parties to be transparent on their longer terms plans and involve the relevant stakeholders as required.”
Harrogate Spring Water’s statement
A spokesperson for Harrogate Spring Water confirmed it had performed testing at the council borehole at Harlow Nurseries. It said this was to “understand the potential availability of water” from beneath the ground.
They said it is also exploring the land around Harlow Moor Road and the Pinewoods for similar reasons.
They described this as a “routine part” of the management of their water sources.
The spokesperson also said the company had “no immediate plans” for a new borehole, but that if “an opportunity to enhance our water security arose”, they would consider it.
The full statement is below:
“Over the summer, we have been doing a geophysical survey of parts of the land to the rear of our facility in order to create a 3D map of its geology.
“The reason for the survey is to better understand the bedrock geology in the area as part of our aquifer management and to better understand the potential water capability of the aquifer. This is a routine part of the responsible management of our water source, alongside work such as weekly monitoring of borehole performance via depth and meter readings and weekly rainfall recording.
“We work with a local family-run company that helps us manage our boreholes and explore the areas around Harrogate for new sustainable sources of high-quality water, which is a prudent part of responsible water management.
“We have no immediate plans for a new borehole, but if an opportunity to enhance our water security arose, and a landowner showed an interest in having us drill on their land, we would work with that landowner and the Environment Agency to ensure that any source was 100% sustainable, in compliance with the regulatory regime.
“The boreholes which we use take up only a few square metres of land, which is normally in a corner of a field or hidden by a screen of shrubs or trees.”
Missing man from Harrogate district found safeA missing man from the Harrogate district has been found safe.
North Yorkshire Police issued an appeal this afternoon for information to find the man, who was last seen leaving his home on Tuesday this week.
But the force reported tonight that the man had been traced.
We have therefore updated this article and removed the man’s name and photo.
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Yorkshire Water gives £70 account payments to low-income householdsYorkshire Water is to give low-income households in the Harrogate district £70 payments to help with the cost of living crisis.
The company announced today it will automatically award the payment to customers on its social tariffs.
It comes as people across the district has seen energy bills increase and the price of goods and services hike with inflation.
Yorkshire Water said that up to 45,000 people will receive an automatic discount on their bills. However, it also estimates that a further 200,000 could be eligible for support.
Angie Markham–Nock, customer support manager at Yorkshire Water, said:
“We know a lot of customers are worried about money at the moment and we’re seeing more people than ever benefit from our financial support schemes. We hope this £70 payment will provide some relief to households across Yorkshire this year.
“We don’t want our customers to worry about paying their next bill – our financial support schemes are there to help and can provide some relief to those who need it.”
The company has urged people who may be eligible for a discount to get in touch. You can find out more information on the support on water bills here.
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Electric-powered gritters coming to Harrogate district roadsTwo gritters powered by electricity are to join North Yorkshire’s winter fleet to save money and reduce carbon emissions.
The North Yorkshire County Council-owned company NY Highways has bought the gritters, which are supplied by Dorking-based Bucher Municipal.
According to the council, the vehicles have an anticipated fuel saving of up to 20 per cent compared to standard, diesel-powered gritters. It said in a media release:
“The gritting bodies which deploy the salt will run on an electric battery that can charge in just over 30 minutes. The battery will be able to do multiple runs before needing to be recharged.”
North Yorkshire has a 5,753-mile network of roads. The council’s winter gritting programme to maintain key routes lasts from October to April.
Cllr Keane Duncan
Cllr Keane Duncan, the council’s executive member for highways and transportation, said:
“The electric-bodied gritters are a first for the council’s winter service delivery.
“Innovation is high on our agenda and it is another way we are showing our commitment to achieving net carbon neutrality by 2030.
“The two gritters don’t have any hydraulics which mean there’s less chance of mechanical failure. This increased reliability is vital when we are against the clock trying to deliver the best winter service that we can.”
Picture shows: From left, Andrew Park and Chris Mitchell of Bucher Municipal, Nigel Smith, head of highway operations at North Yorkshire County Council, Rory Hanrahan and Craig Winter of NY Highways, and Mike Francis, operations manager at NY Highways.
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