Delays are expected until Spring next year on a key junction between Harrogate and Leeds Bradford Airport while roadworks take place on the A660 and the A658.

The Dyneley Arms junction, at the top of Pool Bank, connects Pool-in-Wharfedale to north Leeds, as well as to Bradford, Otley and the airport.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority is spending £2.4m on the scheme, which involves widening roads and adding crossings and turning lanes.

The council said the works will improve journey times between Leeds and Harrogate. The main works will begin on September 12.

Cllr Helen Hayden, Labour councillor on Leeds City Council said:

“This junction was ranked one of the top congested junctions in the Leeds district. I’m pleased to see after a lot of efforts to deliver the scheme, we’re finally able to make a start to improve capacity at the junction.

“The scheme will also provide benefits to improve journey times between Leeds and Harrogate, and the intervening villages when it completes in spring next year. Like many schemes in construction across Leeds, we’re advising motorists to allow more time for journeys and to plan ahead where possible. We apologise in advance of any inconvenience caused.”

Read More:

• New plan to convert former Harrogate post office into holiday apartments
• Towns at centre of North Yorkshire culture strategy

Fresh plans have been submitted to convert Harrogate’s former post office into 23 holiday apartments.

The Post Office on Cambridge Road controversially relocated to WH Smith in 2019 amid claims by Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones the service was being “downgraded”. The building has stood empty since.

Proposals lodged to Harrogate Borough Council by Leeds-based Priestley Group would see the building converted into self-serviced holiday apartments.

It would also see a commercial unit created on the ground floor.

The developer said that guests would book the accommodation online and be given access codes to gain entry to the building and individual apartments. No reception or bar facilities are included in the plan.

In documents submitted to the authority, the developer said:

“The current application proposals would secure the active re-use of a longstanding vacant property located within the heart Harrogate town centre, which is the principal centre within the district providing a wide range of shops, jobs, services, community, civic and public transport facilities.”

Read more:

• Plans to convert Harrogate post office into flats withdrawn
• Historic footage of Harrogate and Knaresborough to be shown at Odeon

Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

The application comes as two previous plans to convert the former post office into housing were withdrawn.

In November 2020, Harrogate-based developer One Acre Group submitted plans for 25 apartments and offices on the site but withdrew the application last year.

Its plans had been welcomed by conservation group Harrogate Civic Society although it was concerned about a proposal to build an additional floor.

Meanwhile, the Stray Ferret reported this month that proposals to convert the building into 11 flats had also been withdrawn.

North Yorkshire County Council has put town centres at the heart of its plans to revitalise culture in the county.

The council has begun to roll out its new cultural framework after two years of consultations across the county.

A report for the framework found that the pandemic had a large impact on town centre visitor numbers.

Along with the growth of online shopping, it argued that high streets needed new ways of staying relevant, with cultural attractions seen as key.

The report states that:

“Town centres traditionally serve their rural hinterland’s needs for retail and civic amenities but as shopping and banking move online culture can help in animating spaces through activity or art, driving footfall and creating a buzz and amplifying sense of identity.”

Ideas on how to do this include promoting different towns’ heritages, installing public art and working with local stakeholders.

Over the last year, more cultural events have returned to the district’s towns as organisers recognise the important role they play in attracting visitors.

In July, Harrogate staged its first carnival since 2019, which saw street theatre, international street food and music performances. In September, the Ripon Civic Society is organising Heritage Open Days across the town and the city is also hosting a four day Poetry Festival which is growing in popularity.

A possible redevelopment of the Royal Pump Rooms Museum in Harrogate was also reported to be in the planning stage.

The 2022 Harrogate Carnival

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• New heritage map reveals Boroughbridge’s rich history
• New royal walk created for Harrogate

The consultation on the state of culture in North Yorkshire began in March 2020, before the first Covid lockdown.

The framework also recognises the impact that the lockdowns had on people’s wellbeing. It found:

“During the Covid pandemic issues of social isolation and loneliness have been exacerbated. A key factor in reducing loneliness is the social interaction experienced while participating in cultural activity.”

Other aspects of the framework concern regeneration, developing and supporting cultural industries, improving health and wellbeing, and supporting community development.

The plans are to be discussed at the county council’s area committees, including the one for the Skipton and Ripon constituency next week.

The framework was developed in partnership between the district and county councils, including Harrogate Borough Council.

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

Harrogate Business Improvement District (BID) is to hold three workshops around saving energy.

The organisation is partnering with energy consultant Ryan Edwards to look at ways of dealing with rising electricity and gas prices.

There will be three events during the day on Monday, September 19.

The first is being held at Hustle & Co on Prince Albert Terrace at 9.30am, the second on Zoom at 11am and the third at 5.30pm at Starling Café on Oxford Street.

The sessions will last between 30 and 45 minutes.

Business who want to attend the Zoom meeting have been asked to email the BID for the link.

Matthew Chapman, Manager of Harrogate BID, said:

“We are acutely aware of the struggles our members are continually having when it comes to understanding, managing and securing new energy contracts for their businesses.”

He said Mr Edwards has expertise that will be helpful:

“He will be able to help us have a better understanding of what is happening within the energy market, and offer practical advice on securing energy contracts.

“Ryan works with more than 26 UK Suppliers, so can assure you that he can find the very best contracts on the market at this time.

“He can also bulk buy energy by buying all Members energy, at the same time driving the unit prices down significantly. It goes without saying, the more businesses we can get involved, the cheaper the unit.”

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• Business Breakfast: Harrogate advertising firm wins ferry contract
• Business Breakfast: Knaresborough businesses to be recognised at awards event

Richard Levin of Loop Cashmere, Anne Blanden of Finance Yorkshire, Claire Heathcote of Loop Cashmere and Alex McWhirter, chief executive of Finance Yorkshire

Harrogate cashmere company secures Finance Yorkshire investment

Harrogate luxury cashmere brand Loop Cashmere has secured funding from the business loan organisation Finance Yorkshire.

The company makes its products using sustainable yarn from Inner Mongolia.

The £250,000 it has secured has gone towards opening a warehouse in Leeds and appoint a head of marketing.

Claire Heathcote opened the business with Richard Levin two years ago. She said:

“We saw a gap in the market for a sustainable cashmere brand offering contemporary styles made in the softest high-quality cashmere. Sustainability is the heart of brand from the way we source our sustainably accredited yarn, who we select as expert makers to craft our styles, our small production runs and the use of recyclable and compostable packaging.”

Alex McWhirter, chief executive of Finance Yorkshire, said:

“In just two years Loop Cashmere has developed a strong brand with sustainable credentials which will appeal to fashion-conscious customers. We look forward to supporting them in the next chapter of their growth journey.”

Harrogate pub Christies has reopened after closing for a month-long refurbishment.

The watering hole on Kings Road, owned by Punch Pubs and Co, welcomed customers to take a look at the new-look pub last Thursday.

The building has had a fresh coat of paint and builders have been busy giving the bar and outside a makeover.

Despite some changes, new managers Lee and Ben say every effort has been made to ensure the pub keeps its “traditional unique character and pub-like atmosphere”.

For drinkers there is a choice of five draft lagers, four cask ales and a selection of craft beers.

There is also a finger food menu that includes burgers and hot dogs.

Previous landlords Marik Scatchard and Jo Jarvis left the pub in July after over 14 years.

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• Harrogate district’s floral displays fall victim to hosepipe ban

• Goalkeeper’s journey from Harrogate Railway to the Champions League

Parents struggling to make ends meet during the cost of living crisis have been told their children can have free school meals without facing any social stigma.

North Yorkshire County Council’s director of children’s services, Stuart Carlton, said the authority was talking to both parents and schools as part of a drive to improve the 78% take-up from those entitled to free school meals.

It comes amid concerns that increasingly large numbers of those eligible will not take up the support.

A meeting of the authority’s executive heard concerns were mounting over the rate of take-up. It comes as the number of those eligible for the meals is set to significantly increase in the coming months as inflation and soaring energy bills leave family budgets increasingly stretched.

Ripon Ure Bank and Spa division Liberal Democrat councillor Barbara Brodigan questioned what the authority was doing to find out the reasons behind more than one in five of eligible children’s parents not accepting free school meals.

She also pressed the council’s leadership about what was being done to encourage take-up and what support was being offered to those just outside the criteria to qualify.

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• Harrogate teen becomes youngest ever to complete French Alps trail run
• Ripon student wins University of Oxford translation prize

The council’s executive member for education, Conservative councillor Annabel Wilkinson, said the 15.4% of pupils already eligible for free school meals was forecast to rise due to the cost of living crisis.

She said: 

“We have recognised that there have been some barriers and sticking points in the application process and we have addressed those to make it easier for people to apply and been promoting that extensively.

“As schools go back I’m sure that they will encourage that because obviously they get the pupil premium from people that receive free school meals.”

She said the council was also offering other support, such as its Local Assistance Fund, to those facing financial difficulty and had also simplified the process for applying for free school meals.

Mr Carlton added while the take-up of free school meals had remained at about 20% below the number available for some years, there was a concern “with the numbers going up so significantly with the parents who have not had to access this before”.

He said: 

“There are issues of this feeling like a stigma and something that they are embarrassed about. We have talked to our schools and have worked with our catering service to make free school meals non-stigmatising.

“I would say to any parent if you are entitled to a free school meal please please take it up. If you are worried about any stigma or embarrassment please just talk to your school. It has changed from what it was like 20 years ago. Children can access a free school meal and no one would know any different.”

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.

Selling of council land at Oak Beck

The council have now decided to flog off this last piece of green space in New Park. Apparently to provide a bit of dosh to prop up the
conference centre business in fear of Leeds grabbing OUR visitors.

Piece by piece this lacklustre council having spent lots of dosh on pointless and ineffective plans and schemes, now are evicting wildlife from the final vestiges of natural environment.

This is a lovely area of peace, where we can hear the birds, and listen to the beck gurgling it’s way (sometimes sewage as well).

Where are all these creatures to go? Where can we go to escape the stresses of life in Harrogate? Another rotten plan from a soon to be defunct council.

William B Thompson, New Park, Harrogate

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• Starbeck KFC withdraws expansion plan
• Harrogate fire station changes won’t increase risk to life, says commissioner

Starbeck should support KFC expansion – a response

 William Powell makes some good points in his call for Starbeck’s KFC to be expanded, but he is wrong to dismiss the views of local people.

He is right that Starbeck is in a wonderful strategic position between Harrogate and Knaresborough, with excellent transport links. He is right that empty premises on our High Street are a bad thing.

He is right that Starbeck has a vibrant economy, but this is driven by the local residents of our diverse area who use these shops and facilities. But they are also impacted by those businesses, whether its litter, noise, traffic or a range of other issues that local people regularly raise with the Residents’ Association.

So the Starbeck Residents’ Association (SRA) asked people who live locally what they thought about KFC’s plans and others. And views were split. Some thought it was most important to fill empty premises. Others wanted a wider diversity of businesses on a High Street that already has plenty of takeaways. Both are right and not contradictory.

The SRA recognises that we cannot force particular enterprises into a particular area. That’s why we are in touch with the local Chamber of Commerce and others about what more we can do to promote Starbeck. It has a well used library, swimming pool, successful sports clubs and facilities like Belmont Park and a real sense of community, with numerous local voluntary groups attached to our vibrant church communities and many others.

So let’s be ambitious for our area. I know I’m not alone in being proud to live in Starbeck and together we can make it better.

Chris Watt, Chair Starbeck Residents’ Association

Members of an acting dynasty will be in Harrogate next month for the premiere of a play about their ancestor.

Samson Fox will be the focus for The Man Who Captured Sunlight at the Royal Hall, exploring the inventor’s life and his controversial legal battle with author Jerome K Jerome.

The play has been penned by Doctor Who writer Gavin Collinson and aims to celebrate the former mayor of Harrogate’s achievements – including building the Royal Hall.

It will be seen by Samson Fox’s great great grandson, the actor Freddie Fox, and his mother and fellow actor Joanna David, as well as other members of the famous family.

They will take part in a Q&A after the matinee on Friday, September 23, along with the actors and director Sian Murray.

Freddie, recently known for playing Mark Thatcher in Netflix series The Crown, said:

“Regardless of my connection with the Royal Hall, which I just think is the most amazing building anyway, I just think the notion of celebrating great new work, particularly as the story of Samson is so intrinsically tied to Harrogate, is utterly vital.”

Samson Fox grew up in poverty but went on to become a wealthy man and renowned inventor, responsible for revolutionising train travel, engine construction and street lighting.

On his death in 1903, King Edward VII sent a telegram of condolence to his adopted home town of Harrogate – but that, along with many of his other letters, medals and awards, were lost or destroyed over the years.

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• Free heritage days revealed for Harrogate
• ‘My 50-year friendship with kind, generous Malcolm Neesam’

The late Harrogate historian Malcolm Neesam found the royal telegram disintegrating in a skip when much of the former mayor’s heritage was ripped out in the 1970s.

Now, however, his story is being brought to life in a new play produced by Harrogate agency Cause UK. Director Clair Challenor-Chadwick said:

“Harrogate owes a great deal to Samson – as does the world, not just for his inventions and engineering legacy but his vital role in the arts.

“It’s fitting that the play has been written by Doctor Who writer Gavin Collinson, as it’s a bit of a time-bending scenario that without Samson, we wouldn’t have this incredible acting dynasty.

“As well as Freddie, Edward, James [and] Emilia, there’s also Robert Fox – the acclaimed theatre producer behind David Bowie’s last production, Lazarus.”

Freddie added:

“No-one would really know who Samson was, and yet if you trace the history of his inventions and the legacy of what they created now, he is probably one of the most important names in industry for this country.

“So yes, a bit of celebration of Samson’s genius is long overdue.”

Police have warned Harrogate residents not to be alarmed by a “loud noise” this afternoon as a controlled explosion is carried out.

Officers have been dealing with a report of a suspected unexploded grenade from the Second World War in a rural area on the outskirts of the town.

Posting on social media around noon, North Yorkshire Police said a controlled explosion would be carried out around half an hour later. The post said:

“Earlier this morning a member of the public contacted us after they found an item, they believed, could have been an unexploded grenade from WW2.

“They were using a metal detector in a rural area on the outskirts of Harrogate at the time of the find.

“A 100 metre cordon has been put in place there has been no need to evacuate homes or businesses due to the rural location.

“Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians are on their way to the scene to make the area safe.”

Read more:

• How did a First World War bomb end up in Knaresborough?
• Bomb squad detonates First World War bomb in Knaresborough