A food business based in Nidderdale has been ordered to pay £3,372 to one of its creditors.

Wiltshire-based Trafalgar Fisheries made the claim against Mackenzies Yorkshire Smokehouse at Harrogate County Court yesterday.

Alistair Watret, who appeared on behalf of the claimant, told the court no payment had been made to the company since December 30 last year.

He added there had been “no contact at all” from Mackenzies since that date.

A representative from Mackenzies was not present at the hearing.

Deputy district judge Armstrong said the firm had “failed to provide any contact details” for the hearing.

However, he added this was “not entirely surprising” given that the company had appointed liquidators.

As reported by the Stray Ferret, Mackenzies entered into voluntary liquidation owing more than £1 million last month.

Papers filed with Companies House reveal it owed £1,025,690.40 to 156 other companies. Among its debts is almost £45,000 to HMRC for VAT, PAYE and National Insurance contributions.

As well as a smokehouse, Mackenzies runs a farm shop and cafe, both of which remain open.

Read more:

• Companies ‘unlikely’ to receive pay-out from Bleikers Smoke House, say administrators
• Nidderdale smokehouse and farm shop appoints liquidators

The company hired Clark Business Recovery to oversee its liquidation in February.

Mr Watret told the hearing yesterday that Trafalgar Fisheries still wished to proceed with the claim despite Mackenzies appointing liquidators.

Judge Armstrong ordered Mackenzies pay the sum to Trafalgar Fisheries.

In making his judgement, he also said an order will be sent to the liquidators.

Criminals could meet their victims to apologise rather than go to court under a new restorative justice agreement in North Yorkshire.

The Community Remedy document aims to give victims of low-level crime and anti-social behaviour a greater say in how offenders should be held account.

The updated document was agreed by Chief Constable Lisa Winward and Zoë Metcalfe, the Conservative North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, after a six-week public consultation.

It lists actions that can be carried out without court proceedings by criminals who admit their wrongdoing.

The options include bringing victims and criminals together “in a safe and supported way” to allow greater understanding of each other.

Other options include criminals giving verbal or written apologies or signing acceptable behaviour contracts in which they pledge to improve their behaviour.

Those guilty of offences could also engage in reparations by repairing or paying for damage caused or litter picking, or agree to attend anger management programmes or mediation.

Ms Metcalfe urged victims to “carefully consider using the options so that offending can be addressed and community safety restored”, adding:

“Community Remedy provides a vital opportunity for victims to be consulted and input on the outcome and resolution to an anti-social behaviour offence.”

“The local options provide victims with the opportunity to ensure justice and reparation for an offence, as well as an important opportunity for perpetrators to learn about the impact of the offence and change their behaviour in the future, without being criminalised through court proceedings.”

Read more:

• Criminals in North Yorkshire could make written apologies to victims
• Harrogate crime hotspot gets £6,000 railings to prevent loitering

Chief Constable Winward said Community Remedy “can be a more meaningful resolution to some victims and perpetrators than other criminal justice outcomes and can be more effective in keeping people safe and feeling safe”. She added:

“Anyone who has been a victim of a crime or anti-social behaviour will inevitably feel the impact of that event in some way.

“In some cases, just being able to share how it made them feel with a perpetrator or for a perpetrator to reflect on their actions and offer to put things right can be extremely powerful in the healing process and allow people to move on.”

Community Remedy will only be used when criminals admit their offence and both parties agree to take part.

Harrogate Cricket Club has launched a £75,000 fundraising appeal to buy four cricket nets.

The nets would enable the club, which has four senior teams, 150 junior players and walking cricket for over-55s, to practise using some of the best facilities in the district.

It currently has only two overused nets in poor condition at its St George’s Road ground.

The crowdfunder campaign therefore initially aims to raise £30,000 and would make the new facilities open to the wider community.

The club has found donors willing to match fund that amount so the £30,000 target would generate £60,000. A further £15,000 may be required as the cost of the new nets could be as high as £75,000.

The existing nets were damaged in a recent storm.

The crowdfunding page said:

“We want to be able to provide some of the best cricket facilities in the north of England. But we’re currently falling well short of where we want to be.

“We only have two nets for hundreds of players and they are really old and tired. We have constant issues with net congestion, i.e. too many players and not enough nets and this significantly impacts our players’ ability to practise and develop.”

Read more:

• Famous Nidderdale cricket club in danger of folding
• Killinghall Cricket Club applies to build new two-storey pavilion

The nets will, according to the club, “allow each cricketer to develop at their own pace, with enough ‘net time’ to discover their strengths and work on their confidence”.

The first team plays in the Yorkshire Premier League and is coached by former Yorkshire player Matt Pillans.

Female cricket has boomed in recent years and the club’s girls section now has three teams across three age groups.

A club graphic showing how the new nets would look.

The appeal adds:

“There is a real lack of quality net facilities in North Yorkshire. We believe we can build an outstanding facility that will serve our players, their families, and the broader cricketing community for years to come.”

You can support the campaign here.

Twelve primary schools raised about £6,000 for cancer care by performing a charity concert at the Royal Hall in Harrogate.

A total of 258 pupils took to the stage for the sold out concert, which has been held annually since 2015 except for covid.

Sarah Bassitt, who will retire as headteacher of Killinghall Church of England Primary School at the end of the year, was the main organiser of the event.

Funds raised from Friday’s show will go to the Sir Robert Ogden Macmillan Centre at Harrogate District Hospital, which provides cancer treatment.

Ms Bassitt said the raffle raised about £1,000 and the overall tally was expected to exceed £6,000.

“This will mean that over the time that we have been doing the concert we will have raised over £25,000 for local charities.

“It was an amazing evening that was highly appreciated and praised by parents.”

The show included choirs, a wind band, a ukulele group, recorders and dancers.

The finale saw all the children on stage together sing two songs conducted by Helen Potter

Schools taking part were:

Admiral Long and Birstwith CE Primary Schools

Bishop Monkton CE Primary School

Dacre Braithwaite CE Primary School

Hampsthwaite CE Primary School

The Federation of Kettlesing, Felliscliffe, Beckwithshaw & Ripley

Killinghall CE Primary School

The Upper Nidderdale Federation of Schools

Read more:

• County council rejects claim it is watching on as small schools close
• Create a Crown fit for a King, with Ogden of Harrogate

To celebrate Charles III’s coronation, the Stray Ferret and Ogden of Harrogate are holding a competition for children to design two crowns fit for the royal occasion.

The lucky winners will have their dazzling crowns displayed in Ogden of Harrogate’s shop window – showcased alongside Ogden’s very own Imperial State Crown.

We’re inviting school pupils of all ages to get creative. Two winners will be selected: one of primary school age and one of secondary school age.

We will be posting photos of entries regularly across on our social media channels during the competition – so, the more the merrier.

The Ogden Crown: 

Traditional luxury jeweller, Ogden of Harrogate, was founded in 1893 by James Ogden.

The company established its royal connections nearly a century ago, after Prince George, son of George V and Queen Mary, became a frequent customer of the St James’s store in London.

In celebration of George VI’s Coronation in 1937, Ogden of Harrogate’s team hand-crafted two replicas of the Imperial State Crown.

One of Ogden of Harrogate’s replica crowns.

The jewels on the crown mirror those in the Royal crown, including the Cullinan 2 diamond – a cut from the largest diamond ever discovered.

The Ogden crowns boast exact replicas of the diamonds, ruby’s, pearls, emeralds, and sapphires found in the Imperial State Crown.

Robert Ogden, director of Ogden of Harrogate, said:

“It is a treat to have the crown out.

“It is only on display during Royal occasions”.

How to Enter:

To enter: please submit a photo of your crown drawing, painting or creation to our website here.

The competition will run from March 27 until April 21.

The crowns will be on display in the Harrogate store from 28 April until 13 May.

Will you be crowned a winner…?

Concerns have been raised about vulnerable children and families missing out on vital support in the Harrogate district.

Parents and professionals have told the Stray Ferret changes to children’s centres, including the health visiting service, have led to a decline in the support available.

Mum Jen Earl said the support on offer after her son was born in April 2020 was a fraction of what it had been following the birth of her daughter in September 2018.

She said the difference is apparent when looking through her children’s record books, which showed regular checks at health visitor drop-in sessions for her daughter, but barely anything for her son. She said:

“I really missed that input. I didn’t have anywhere to go. You could ring the health visitor and leave a message and sometimes it would be two weeks before someone would phone back. Really, the type of questions you’re asking, you need a quick response.”

She used to attend a weekly breastfeeding support group in central Harrogate in 2019, where there was “always a friendly face and you could ask questions”. She also went to workshops about weaning and baby sleep.

She added:

“It’s so sad when I think of all the first-time mums who have missed out.

“It must be so frustrating for the health visitors because they went into their profession to support mums and babies in that initial phase. To not be able to do those basic things like weighing babies must be hard.”

Bilton Children’s Centre is based on the site of the former Woodfield Primary School

Mum Emily Clough, whose son was born in December 2020, said all her contact with the health visiting service was positive and useful, but she still suffered because of the lack of face-to-face opportunities.

“I felt supported by them directly, although there was no weigh-in, no face-to-face clinics – there was no social space. That’s what was missing for me.

“I’m glad I didn’t have any real long-standing challenges in breastfeeding or my son didn’t have any drops in weight. We didn’t have any concerns, but had those clinics been on, I would have taken him to be weighed.

“By default, that would have initiated other conversations.

“When I say I didn’t struggle, in hindsight I struggled in terms of being really isolated.”

Read more:

• Call for parents to share maternity experiences in Harrogate district
• Midwives launch Harrogate district support service with drop-in session for ‘covid parents’

One perinatal mental health professional, who asked not to be named, told the Stray Ferret local services were already seeing an impact from the reduction in face-to-face health visiting support.

She said she had worked across North Yorkshire for several years and the Harrogate district had previously had the best mental health support in the county, such as through the Mums in Mind support group.

Since covid, she said, there had been a rise in demand for perinatal mental health services. She believes this is because opportunities to spot problems at an early stage are no longer available.

She said:

“A lot of our referrals came from health visitors and midwives. That has significantly dropped. They’re just not out there seeing those women.

“We’re seeing people a lot more in crisis now than we ever did before.”

She added the impact of the changes had also affected health visitors, who she said were no longer able to carry out their roles as effectively as they wanted. She added:

“It’s just complete devastation and absolutely heartbreaking.”

‘Blended approach’

North Yorkshire County Council, which is responsible for support to families including the health visiting service, said children’s centres across the Harrogate district remain open.

Cllr Janet Sanderson, executive member for children and families, said:

“The majority of our children centres are now open and delivering targeted activities to children and their families where a need has been identified. The way we deliver activities has evolved as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Over the past two years, the Early Help service has redesigned the delivery of activities to support children and their families, moving to a blended approach of virtual and face-to-face activities.

“This has enabled the delivery of countywide virtual activities which families are able to access from their home, reducing the need for the number of premises.”

The council has already announced it will consult on the closure of five children’s centres across North Yorkshire, including Pateley Bridge, which have not been used since the pandemic. If that closure goes ahead, the facility is likely to be used by St Cuthbert’s Primary School, based in the same building.

Cllr Sanderson said the council was working alongside voluntary and community groups to develop activities in their areas. She said the Get Going Grant scheme had been used to support 93 groups in the last year.

Meanwhile, she said NYCC had invested in a programme to support parents with their mental health and it was also being used in schools and early years settings to increase access.

A Grow and Learn project was being run with libraries to deliver activities to support children’s early communication, she said, adding:

“As part of this work, we have developed a training programme which is accessible to all services working with children and families, including the voluntary and community sector.

“That enables agencies to access training to support them with their Early Help offer to children and their families.”

Ms Sanderson said virtual health visitor drop-in sessions had been available online since last summer instead of face-to-face sessions, while the new model of delivery also included sessions on topics including breastfeeding, weaning and other infant advice.

She also said any families with concerns can call the 0-19 service from Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm, on 0300 303 0916.

Have you been affected by the changes to children’s centres and the health visiting service? Email us or call the newsdesk on 01423 276197.

Concern has been raised over tree felling as part of the £69 million Kex Gill realignment.

The project, which is North Yorkshire County Council’s most expensive and ambitious, will reroute a landslip-blighted road between Harrogate and Skipton.

As part of the scheme, the authority has started to clear woodland off the A59.

However, residents have raised concern that the move is “disproportionate” to the highways project.

Sheenagh Powell, who lives nearby, said the move was “distressing”.

She said:

“Hundreds of trees have already been felled which appears totally disproportionate to the scheme. 

“The environmental impact is huge.”

However, county council officials have defended the move and said site clearance had been undertaken now to avoid the bird nesting season.

A spokesperson added:

“The stretch of the A59 at Kex Gill runs through important habitats including a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

“Plans are in place to mitigate the impact on wildlife in the area such as barn owls, bats, nightjars, wild game, toads and badgers.”

Read more:

• Kex Gill: A project seven years in the making
• Minister ‘open’ to inflation funding discussions for A59 Kex Gill
• Government gives final go-ahead for £69m Kex Gill reroute to start

The A59 at Kex Gill, near Blubberhouses, is the main route between Harrogate and Skipton. Since 2000, the route has been closed 12 times following landslips.

Ministers at the Department for Transport gave the final go-ahead for the route last month.

The move will see the road rerouted to the west of Blubberhouses and is expected to be completed in May 2025.

The scheme has faced numerous delays and, following tender returns, the estimated cost of the scheme increased by £7.2 million to £68.8 million, which the council attributed to inflation affecting constructions costs.

The project will be funded by a £56.1 million grant from the Department for Transport, with the council covering the rest from its reserves.

A further £11 million has been factored into the budget to cover any issues with ground conditions or bad weather.

It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. The third in our series of networking events in association with The Coach and Horses in Harrogate is a lunch event on March 30 from 12.30pm.

Don’t miss out on this chance to network with businesses from across the Harrogate district. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

LCF Law held a party at Piccolino in Harrogate to say farewell to partner Tim Axe, who will retire at Easter after 30 years as a lawyer in Harrogate.

Planning specialist Mr Axe is a partner in the law firm, which has offices in The Exchange building on Station Parade in Harrogate as well as in Leeds, Bradford and Ilkley.

Managing partner Simon Stell paid tribute to Mr Axe, who plans to go travelling with his wife in a camper van.

Harrogate finance firm appoints new commercial officer

A Harrogate financial firm has hired a new chief commercial officer.

Dan Baines has joined Tower Street Finance and has been tasked with spearheading the firm’s growth in the probate lending sector.

Dan Baines, new chief commercial officer at Tower Street Finance.

Mr Baines is widely credited as being a driving force behind Age Partnership’s rise to market leadership in the equity release sector and was also a founding director of award-winning equity release provider, Pure Retirement.

He said:

“I’m delighted to be joining the team at Tower Street and look forward to helping this exciting market to reach its potential.

“As was the case with the equity release sector some 15 years ago, I see in the probate-lending market an innovative product set that can significantly improve the lives of customers.

“Probate lending is already the fastest-growing UK consumer credit market, and this is despite consumer awareness still being low.”

Robert Husband, chief executive officer of Tower Street Finance, added: 

“We are thrilled to have Dan come on board at this exciting time in our development.

“We have already experienced significant growth and made good strides towards building this new and innovative sector. Dan brings a wealth of experience which will help us to continue this journey.”

Read More: 

• Business Breakfast: Ripon engineering firm announces new sales manager
• Business Breakfast: Harrogate hotel owners hire project manager ahead of refurbishment

With Harrogate Borough Council in its final days, the Local Democracy Reporting Service looked at five major moments that defined it.

From controversy over the Harrogate conference centre to the move from Crescent Gardens to the Civic Centre — the council has played a major role in the look, feel and development of the district for the last 49 years.

As well as searching the archives of the Harrogate Advertiser we spoke to some of the people who were involved at the time to give a picture of how these five events unfolded.

1992: The future of shopping comes to Harrogate

Speak to a Harrogate resident over the age of around 40 it’s likely they will talk with fondness about the town’s former indoor market that was demolished in 1991.

For some, shopping has never quite been the same since the council approved the demolition so it could be replaced with the £50m Victoria Shopping Centre.

The old market was well-loved and included butchers, fishmongers, florists, needlecraft shops, second-hand book and record shops and much more.

But the late 20th century was the era of the shopping mall and there were hopes in Harrogate that a more modern facility would revitalise the town centre and attract major national brands. The market traders would be invited to take the space downstairs as part of the project.

Funding came from National Provident Institution and it was developed in partnership between Harrogate Borough Council and Speyhawk Retail plc.

The plans included a council-owned 800-space multi-storey car park on the other side of the train tracks with a bridge to connect shoppers.

Read more:

• Explained: What happens to Harrogate taxis after devolution?
• What will be the legacy of Harrogate Borough Council?

But the scheme was developed during the recession of the early 1990s that hit the town hard.

Harrogate’s bus station had been boarded up due to financial difficulties and the letters pages of the Harrogate Advertiser was full of fears about the town becoming a wasteland of empty shops and buildings.

During construction, market traders were moved to a temporary market on Station Parade while they eagerly awaited their new home to open.

Excitement was building and in early 1992 the Harrogate Chamber of Trade and Commerce suggested good times were finally around the corner. It called on the Harrogate public to be more positive.

The business group had a punchy statement published in the Advertiser. It said:

“We’ve had enough! We’re sick and tired of the Harrogate and district moaners. All they do is complain, complain, complain and never look for the encouraging signs all around us.”

The Victoria Shopping Centre was designed by architects Cullearn & Phillips and was inspired by Palladio’s Basilica in Vicenza.

But its most controversial aspect were the sculptures depicting customers and staff on the balustrade around the roof line.

Harrogate historian Malcolm Neesam desribed the statues as “quite hateful” resident Simon Townson told a reporter they were “grotesque and not for Harrogate” and the Harrogate Civic Society led calls to see them removed.

However they are still there to this day after the developer insisted they were a fundamental part of the design.

In the summer of 1992, Speyhawk revealed that 40% of the units had been filled by brands including Tie Rack, Levi’s and the Body Shop.

The underground market hall was opened on October 20 by then-mayor of Harrogate Barbara Hillier, with the rest of the shopping centre opening on November 9.

There was a wave of optimism from shoppers who described the town’s new venue as the future of shopping.

There were 54 units for market traders on the ground floor and they were quickly occupied. Butcher Brian Noon told the Advertiser in 1992:

“I think its brilliant! The developers have thrown a lot of money at it to make sure the building is tip-top.”

Harrogate Wools owner Bill Lee was similarly optimistic about the building’s future. He said:

“It will bring people back to Harrogate because they definitely have not been coming. I haven’t heard one complaint.”

The Victoria Shopping Centre was built in the years just before internet shopping took hold, which was perhaps not to have been foreseen.

Enthusiasm slowly ebbed away during the 1990s and 2000s as the market traders on the ground floor left one-by-one.

Today, the Victoria Shopping Centre still features big high-street names like WHSmith, TK Maxx and HMV. The town’s post office also moved there in 2019.

It’s now owned but not run by Harrogate Borough Council. The Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed last year its value has fallen by more than 80% in 10 years.

Harrogate Borough Council said it could receive a boost in shoppers if another controversial scheme, the Station Gateway, goes ahead.

But that will be a decision for North Yorkshire Council.

2008: A dilapidated Royal Hall brought back to former glory

The Royal Hall’s halcyon days saw it host the likes of the Beatles as well as the music, arts and comedy stars of the time.

But by the turn of the twentieth century, Harrogate’s grandest council-owned building had fallen into rack and ruin. In 2002 it closed to the public after part of its famous ceiling collapsed.

It’s downfall was in part, due to the town’s conference centre being such a drain on the council’s resources, according to the book Kursal – a History of Harrogate’s Royal Hall.

Royal Hall by Jim Counter

It was in such a poor state of repair that the unthinkable was being broached by councillors — after almost 100 years the Royal Hall could be condemned and demolished.

Refurbishment was originally estimated to cost £8.56m with the council likely to having to stump up £2m from its own coffers. The remaining amount would come from a Heritage Lottery Fund grant.

However, there were fears the risky project could potentially bankrupt the authority.

Its emotional importance to the town was not only felt by residents in the town but by performers too.

David Hirst, who led the world famous brass band the Brighouse and Rastrick Band, made his plea from the stage of the Royal Hall in 2000.

He urged the audience, reduced in capacity because the theatre’s upper circle has been closed due to the crumbling concrete, to “get those letters in” to the council and back restoration. He said:

“This building is part of the Harrogate heritage, part of the tone of Harrogate.”

The Royal Hall Restoration Trust was formed in 2001 after then-leader of the council, Cllr Geoff Webber, suggested to the chairman of Harrogate Civic Society, Lilian Mina, that the council would welcome the support of an independent organisation whose prime role would be raising money for the refurbishment.

Then followed tea dances, school concerts, charity balls and other events, which raised £2.7m for the restoration — far more than the £1m it originally expected.

Lilian Mina died in 2008 and Geoff Webber died in 2021 but his son Matthew Webber, who is currently a Liberal Democrat Harrogate councillor, paid tribute to those who spearheaded the campaign to save the Royal Hall.

It was officially re-opened by patron of the trust Prince Charles in 2008 after six years of works.

Cllr Webber said:

“I am very proud of the work done by my late father as council leader at the time in conjunction with the Lilian Mina and the Royal Hall Preservation Trust that led to the Royal Hall being returned to its continued use today.”

2017: Goodbye to Crescent Gardens and a new home

Like the conference centre throughout the 1980s, it was Harrogate Borough Council’s move away from Crescent Gardens that dominated council-business during the mid-2010s.

Crescent Gardens had been used by HBC since 1974 and before that was used by the predecessor council in Harrogate ever since it opened on Halloween 1931.

But by the 21st century, the neo-classical building was showing its age and had become expensive to maintain for the council.

In 2010, the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government came to power and councils were ordered to find savings under its programme of austerity.

The civic centre at Knapping Mount.

For the council, Crescent Gardens was an obvious place to look.

The council put forward several proposals, which included refurbishing Crescent Gardens, but it ultimately decided to build new offices on land it already owned at Knapping Mount off King’s Road.

At the time, it said the build would cost £8m although the move, as well as the selling off of other offices, would save around £1m in year due to reduced costs involved with maintaining the older buildings.

Tantalisingly for the council, there were hopes it could sell Crescent Gardens to a luxury developer. 

Then-council leader Don Mackenzie was quoted saying it could generate an investment of up to £30m into the district’s economy.

Read more:

• Explained: Who will make planning decisions in Harrogate district after devolution?
• Explained: What happens to bin collections in Harrogate after devolution?

Another former Conservative council leader, Anthony Alton, told a meeting the move was probably the biggest decision the council has taken since 1974. He added:

“We are in a continuing economic downturn which means that we have to make every penny count.”

The move to the Civic Centre was always contentious.

The Liberal Democrats argued that £2.5m should be spent on a refurbishment of Crescent Gardens and the Knapping Mount site should be sold for affordable housing.

They also criticised its circular design, saying it would increase costs.

By 2015, rumblings of another local government reorganisation in North Yorkshire were beginning to gather pace and questions were being asked about what would happen to the Civic Centre if there was no longer a council in Harrogate.

Vicky Carr is a former reporter at the Harrogate Advertiser and current deputy editor at the Stray Ferret. 

She remembers the subject coming up at a heated Harrogate Chamber of Trade and Commerce meeting that year. 

She said:

“Someone wondered whether it made sense to be spending millions on a new headquarters for a local authority which, under government policy, was likely to be abolished within a decade.

“HBC offered reassurances that, should devolution go ahead, a shiny new civic centre would make Harrogate an ideal place for a new unitary authority to have its headquarters.

“Fast forward eight years and, while North Yorkshire Council will use the civic centre for some staff and services, it is keeping its headquarters firmly rooted in Northallerton.”

In 2020, the Stray Ferret published an investigation that estimated the land at Knapping Mount was worth £4.5m to the council, taking the project’s overall cost to £17m. However, the council has always disputed this.

Apart from during the covid lockdowns, council staff have been using the Civic Centre since December 2017.

Crescent Gardens on the other hand is still empty, almost five years’ since Harrogate Borough Council moved out.

The council originally announced it would sell it to property developer Adam Thorpe who had plans for a £75m redevelopment including luxury apartments, an art gallery, underground car park, swimming pool and restaurant.

But two years later, Mr Thorpe’s company ATP Ltd fell into administration with debts of almost £11m, including £24,394 owed to the council.

Crescent Gardens then went back up for sale and was eventually bought for £4m by Impala Estates in 2020.

The Harrogate-based developer was granted planning permission last year for a major refurbishment of the building that will see two-storey extension, rooftop restaurant, gym and new office space.

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Town centre residents are once again up in arms regarding the announcement of road traffic orders for the Harrogate Station Gateway project.

Having raised concerns over the past 18 months by each person writing into object, they have written to every single councillor involved in the scheme and they have democratically voted against it.

The results of the last three consultations results show that the people of Harrogate Town as well as the Granville Road Residents Group are not in favour of this Scheme going ahead.

They have received an ‘Official Notification’ to raise their concerns again, about this scheme, along with any other residents in Harrogate.

However, the local Granville Road Area Residents have concerns on many levels about the whole scheme in its entirety including the construction works and access to their homes during this. Many of the town centre residents also run small businesses and need to access local roads.

They feel democracy is failing them in this ‘consultation process’ after already voting against this gateway scheme, in the last three consultations. Results have shown over 56% of the whole of Harrogate town have voted against the Harrogate Gateway Scheme.

They have now another opportunity to raise their concerns and vote democratically against it, but who is listening and taking notice of these results.

Rachael Inchboard, Harrogate

Read more:

• Stray Views: Rossett Nature Reserve ‘has been slashed back’
• Stray Views: Otley Road cycleway a “scandalous waste of public money”
• Stray Views: North Yorkshire rural transport ‘desperately inefficient’

‘Ugly box’ destroys Knaresborough flower bed

Would someone please take a look at where Swish Fibre have placed an ugly large box at the junction of Manse Lane/York Road in Knaresborough. 

Not only have they placed it directly in front of the flower bed (planted & looked after by Harrogate council) but in doing so have also destroyed lots of Daffodil bulbs.

Shaun Carrick, Knaresborough

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.