Elderly and disabled Harrogate district commuters face difficulties at Leeds

Elderly and disabled commuters from the Harrogate district face ‘intolerable obstacles’ under proposed changes to Leeds train station.

Taxi ranks are due to be relocated much further from the station as part of a £39.5m revamp of the station’s main entrance and the adjoining area.

Trade union Unite said today commuters would have to travel 165 metres from the station entrance and use a lift as opposed to travel 45 metres now.

Unite regional officer Darren Rushworth, said:

“This proposal will put intolerable obstacles in the way of disabled people and the elderly who will have nearly four times the length to go to seek a taxi.

“Unite and a wide range of disability organisations want the status quo to continue and for people actually running this development to listen rather than dismissing our legitimate arguments, most of which have been outlined to the local council many times.”

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Many commuters use the line to Leeds from the Harrogate district.

Disability campaigners are staging a protest at Leeds Civic Hall at 11.30 on September 14 to lobby councillors to keep the rank where it is. This will be followed by a march from the Civic Hall to Millennium Square.

Leeds City Council, Network Rail and West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which are behind the planned changes, have said the redevelopment will make passenger movements easier.

Meeting next week to plan return of original Harrogate Christmas Market

Organisers of the original Harrogate Christmas Market are holding a meeting next week to discuss moves to bring the event back as soon as possible.

Harrogate Borough Council refused a licence to Harrogate Christmas Market Ltd in July because of safety concerns about the site on Montpellier Hill.

The council subsequently revealed it was holding formal talks with Manchester firm Market Place Europe about hosting a smaller 10-day event in December. The location has yet to be revealed.

In an email sent to supporters, seen by the Stray Ferret, Harrogate Christmas Market Ltd said Harrogate’s White Hart Hotel would hold a meeting on Monday afternoon. It said:

“We have had many communications expressing a desire that this should resume as soon as possible as an annual event in Harrogate’s calendar.

“If this is to be possible then we need a forward strategic plan which will include a succession plan for this limited by guarantee company.”

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Brian Dunsby, one of the volunteers who established the Christmas market in 2012, told the Stray Ferret that he didn’t know yet what his next steps will be. He said:

“I’m very disappointed that events had to be cancelled, when traders have given us a massive vote of support.

“I’m at my wits’ end. We are devastated. We can’t find a way forward.

“I can’t understand the council’s attitude. I think the town centre needs the Christmas market to continue, and there’s no better location than in Montpellier valley.”

Hotel Chocolat to open cafe in Harrogate

A new Hotel Chocolat cafe is to open on Harrogate’s James Street next month.

The nationwide brand currently has a shop on James Street but is set to open a new store across the road for its for chocolate-loving customers.

The new store, in the former jewellers Swarovski, will replace the company’s other shop and include a cafe.

It is due to open on October 18. Builders are currently on site renovating the unit.

The new store is recruiting a full-time retail assistant as well as a temporary position for Christmas.

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In July last year Angus Thirlwell, co-founder and chief executive of Hotel Chocolat, listed Harrogate as one of its “high flying locations” alongside York Designer Outlet and Beverley.

The unit was occupied over summer by Ellie Warburtons pop-up shop, selling premium cakes and hot drinks.

Rossett school bus ‘chaos’ and ‘shambles’ due to overcrowding

Harrogate parents have spoken of “chaos” and “shambles” on a school bus to Rossett School following changes to the service for the new term.

Students on the S3 bus have been subject to overcrowding and reportedly told to leave the bus for an alternative service.

North Yorkshire County Council, which contracts school buses to private bus companies, announced last week that Harrogate Bus Company‘s 780H, 781H, 782H, 783H, 784H services had been cancelled.

The old routes began in the Jennyfields, Bilton and Woodlands areas of Harrogate. Children were instead advised to take the 6, 52, S3, 8A, 620H and 620H services.

However, parents have told the Stray Ferret that since the changes the number S3 service through Jennyfields has been overcrowded and chaotic.

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Ann Lambert, a grandparent of a child who attends Rossett, described the service as chaotic and raised concern that children on free bus passes were affected.

She said:

“There was chaos this morning on the bus from Jennyfields.

“The bus was full and children were told to get off by the time they reached the Co-op, so all other stops were driven past.

“Children were told they can also get a service bus, which not only adds time, but does not account for the children who get a free bus pass provided by North Yorkshire County Council, which is for a specified service only.”

‘Shambles this morning’

Harrogate parent Chris Wingate:

“It was a shambles this morning on the Jennyfields to Rossett bus with mass overcrowding and students turned away after only about half the route complete.

“On the way home the bus was also overcrowded with many students concerned and getting off early as they felt too cramped and unsafe.:

In response to the concerns over the S3 service, Michael Leah, assistant director for travel and the environment at North Yorkshire County Council, said:

“Service S3 is one of a number of commercial local bus services run by The Harrogate Bus Company and we do not financially support it. 

“However, we do buy passes from the company for pupils entitled to free home-to-school transport so they can use the service. The bus company also sell seats to non-entitled pupils where they are available.

“We are aware that the service had an issue with overloading yesterday and we are talking to the bus company about passenger numbers in an effort to resolve the issue quickly. 

“We are not aware that any of our children entitled to free home-to-school passes on the S3 were refused travel today, but we are investigating.”

The Stray Ferret has approached Transdev, which owns the Harrogate Bus Company, for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Council apologises over short notice

Concerns about overcrowding come after parents in Harrogate raised concerns on social media about the lack of notice about the change in service.

Some parents described the changes as confusing and said they should have been announced sooner.

An email seen by the Stray Ferret from the council’s Passenger Transport Department said the authority had experienced delays in the renewal of the contract for the service due to covid and additional work in the procurement process.

It said this left little time to publicise the changes. However, the council added that it had told schools to expect changes to services in September.

The authority said:

“Obviously we apologise for the short notice of these changes and for any inconvenience that it has caused parents and pupils but we are confident that the new service network is efficient and that pupils will soon get used to the changes.”

Has your child been affected by the changes to the school bus service? Email us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk

Local MP under fire for telling campaigner to ‘f*** off’

Local Conservative MP and government minister Nigel Adams has been criticised for telling a campaigner to “f*** off” outside the House of Commons yesterday evening.

Mr Adams, whose Selby and Ainsty constituency includes rural parts of the Harrogate district such as Spofforth, Huby, Weeton and Follifoot, was approached by anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray at about 8pm.

Mr Bray, who is well-known for wearing an EU top hat and taking part in daily protests outside Parliament, asked the MP a question about last night’s vote on the health and social care bill — which provoked an angry response.

Mr Adams said:

“Why don’t you talk to your MP and f*** off, you’re getting on my nerves.”

“I’m not interested in speaking to an odd bloke with a top hat on chasing me down the street.”

The incident was filmed and posted on Mr Bray’s Twitter page. It has so far received 2,700 likes.

Watch the video in full below:

Nigel Adams Tory MP not happy to answer some questions… tells me to fuck off & calls Sylvia a numpty. He also calls me Dave… a far right myth. #BrexitTax pic.twitter.com/OsZyufyuqj

— 4th July – There's gonna be a Tory wipeout! (@snb19692) September 8, 2021

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Arnold Warneken, who stood as a Green Party candidate against Mr Adams at the 2019 General Election, told the Stray Ferret the MP’s comments were “disgraceful”.

He added:

“When you get elected to parliament, members of public asking you questions is part of the job. You don’t tell them to f*** off.

“He didn’t have to say anything. He should hang his head in shame.

“The people of Selby and Ainsty trusted him to argue his case rather than offer two-word expletives. We need to improve standards of ministers.”

The Stray Ferret has approached Mr Adams, who is also the Minister for Asia, for comment.

Bilsdale fire: channels restored to Harrogate district — but problems remain

The company that owns the Bilsdale mast has said TV signals have been restored to people in the Harrogate district — but some residents have told the Stray Ferret they are still missing some channels.

Arqiva said yesterday it had put up a temporary mast at Sutton Bank in Hambleton and it was providing Freeview TV signals to around 100,000 households — including some in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Ripon and Masham.

But a number of district residents told the Stray Ferret this morning that retuning their TVs had brought back some channels but not all.

Many people have been unable to watch TV since the Bilsdale mast caught fire nearly a month ago.

Siobhan McKenna, from Harrogate, said:

“I retune every day and have received some more channels back ITV comes on but every now and them pixels appear. At this point I will put up with that.”

Paul Donovan, chief executive of Arqiva, has said television signals should be restored in a little over three weeks, said yesterday:

“This morning Freeview television services were restored for over 100,000 more homes in the region.

“However, this is a complex task and there is clearly a lot more to do, so we are working with our partners as quickly and safely as possible. I would like to extend a special thank you to all those people who have been supporting friends and neighbours who may not have access to the internet or other sources of information and entertainment. We will prioritise the most vulnerable people affected.”

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A spokesperson from Freeview said:

“The new Sutton Bank transmitter serves households across North York, Harrogate, Pickering, Ripon, Masham, and Leyburn.

“If you are in one of these areas please try retuning your TV to make sure your channel list is up to date.

“If you know anyone that might be affected but doesn’t have internet, we also have an automated freephone number, on 0800 121 4828, which will take callers through all the latest news and the viewing options available to them.”

Harrogate Conservative peer under investigation over financial interest

A Harrogate Conservative peer is under investigation by the House of Lords standards commissioner over a financial interest.

Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate is alleged to be in breach of the Lords code of conduct because his register of interests did not make clear the nature of business of one of the companies of which he is a director.

First reported by Open Democracy, the allegation was made by UnlockDemocracy, a pressure group based in London, in a letter to Martin Jelley, the House of Lords Commissioner for Standards.

It says Lord Kirkhope did not make clear the nature of business of Reading-based Brass Trustees Limited, of which he has been a director since June last year.

The letter, which was sent by Tom Brake, director of the pressure group, says that under paragraph 53 of the House of Lords code of conduct a peer should “give a broad indication of the company’s business, where this is not self-evident from its name”.

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Mr Brake goes on to list 39 other peers, including Lord Sugar and Lord Pickles, who he alleges appear to have done the same. However, he adds that the alleged breach may be unintentional.

He said in the letter:

“I believe that the following peers, unintentionally I imagine, are in breach of this paragraph of the code of conduct and that greater clarity about the business of the companies listed below would be welcomed by the public. 

“I do not believe it could be claimed that the nature of their business is self-evident.”

The standards commissioner has since opened investigations into 24 peers over their register of interests, which includes Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate.

As Timothy Kirkhope, he was MP for Leeds North East and MEP for Yorkshire before being created a life peer in 2016. He has a keen interest in local radio.

Lord Sugar, the former Tottenham Hotspur chairman and founder of electronics company Amstrad, is also part of the probe over his interest as director of Harper Fox Partner Ltd.

The Stray Ferret approached Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate for comment on the investigation, but did not receive a response by time of publication.

Harrogate town centre offices to be converted into apartments

A plan to convert an office block in Harrogate town centre into new apartments has been given the go-ahead.

Harrogate Borough Council approved proposals to transform the building on Cambridge Road into eight apartments.

Developers Lake House Investments, which is based near Brighouse, submitted the plans for the three-storey building.

The plans would see the first and second floors converted for residential use. The ground floor is currently occupied by bakers Greggs and a YMCA charity shop.

In its proposals, Lake House said the site had “excellent transport links” and was just a few minutes walk from the train station.

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As a result, the developer said no parking would be necessary.

It said in its planning documents:

“Given the sustainable town centre location close to a range of services and amenities, no off street parking is considered necessary as any impact to any pre- existing problems of access, road safety or traffic flow would be minimal.

“Visitor parking will be provided by local pay and display on street spaces.”

A similar application to convert the offices to apartments was approved by the council in 2019.

Tesco to revive controversial Skipton Road supermarket plans

Tesco is to revive controversial plans to build a new supermarket on Skipton Road in Harrogate.

No formal planning application has been submitted but multiple well informed sources have told the Stray Ferret discussions have taken place between the supermarket and Harrogate Borough Council with a view to submitting a bid before the end of the year.

The supermarket would be built on the old gasworks close to the New Park roundabout, which is on the junction with Ripon Road.

It is believed the supermarket, which would be built on land between Electric Avenue and Oak Beck, would be smaller than the one previously proposed during the 2010s.

However, it would be Harrogate’s first full size Tesco. There are Tesco Express stores on Cambridge Road and Knaresborough Road and one is being constructed in Killinghall, about a mile from where the new one could be built.

A 20-year history

Tesco has harboured ambitions to build a supermarket on the site for almost 20 years.

The Stray Ferret has obtained Land Registry documents that reveal Tesco bought the site for £2.8m in 2003.

It submitted a proposal to build a supermarket there in 2009, which was approved by Harrogate Borough Council in 2011.

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However, Tesco pulled out in 2016 following years of opposition from retailers, which said the supermarket would damage local trade. An Aldi supermarket opened on the retail park just off Skipton Road in 2016.

A computer generated image of the abandoned 2009 plans.

In a media statement in 2016, Matt Davies, Tesco’s UK chief executive at the time, said the site would be sold. He said:

“Our priority now will be to ensure the site is sold so that it can play a positive part in Harrogate’s future development.”

In 2018 Consolidated Property Group said it had agreed to buy the site from Tesco to develop a retail park but the plans never materialised, despite obtaining planning permission.

Land Registry document reveals that Tesco held on to the site and is its current owner.

Tesco declined to comment when approached by the Stray Ferret.

Temporary Bilsdale mast should be in place in three weeks, says transmitter boss

Television signals should be restored in a little over three weeks to 90 per cent of residents across the north hit by the Bilsdale transmitter fire, the boss of the firm which owns the mast has claimed.

Arqiva chief executive Paul Donovan said he was optimistic that European environmental regulations over the protected site would be overcome imminently and the firm was ready and eager to install a temporary 80m mast in a disused quarry on the North York Moors.

The loss of coverage has affected parts of the Harrogate district, including Masham and Ripon.

After almost a month of escalating anger over the length of time it has taken to restore television signals to the BBC North East and Cumbria area, Mr Donovan issued an unreserved apology to the hundreds of thousands of residents that have been denied services since a fire wrecked the 306-metre structure on August 10.

The cause of the fire, which started between 25m and 50m up the mast, is being investigated by forensic consultants employed by the firm. The firm has ruled out arson.

He said: 

“I know it seems like four weeks is a long time since the fire, but we have been working 24/7 to make sure we deliver those technical solutions as fast as we possibly can.”

Mr Donovan, whose firm delivers television services to 17 million homes, said he appreciated the lives of elderly people had been severely impacted, as his customers on average watched television for 240 minutes a day.

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He was speaking to the media on the edge of an exclusion zone surrounding the damaged transmitter, just days after the national park authority raised concerns over the speed that Arqiva was working to install an 80m temporary mast at the site.

Brushing aside suggestions from the North York Moors National Park authority that Arqiva had “lost several weeks” due to inaction and focusing on access issues at the site, Mr Donovan said his firm prided itself on “providing super reliable services”.

He said: 

“When was the last time you switched on your TV and wondered whether it would work or not? This is a very unusual and irregular event for us that has very significant impact and we would like to apologise for that.”

“Working tirelessly” to restore coverage

Mr Donovan said Arqiva had been working tirelessly to restore services and by introducing temporary sites, such as a new one at Sutton Bank, near Thirsk, bringing signals back to a total of 500,000 homes.

He added: 

“We are very close, in fact I use the word imminent, to gaining full planning approval for a temporary 80m mast in a disused quarry.”

He said following legal concerns with landlords Mexborough Estate over access to the site a fleet of helicopters had been booked to do more than 100 trips to the remote moorland site, bringing up hundreds of tonnes of concrete and construction materials.

Mr Donovan said: 

“As soon as we have planning permission and we are really ready to go for this it will take around 21 days for that to be in place.”

He said Arqiva would work to mitigate the impact on remaining 10 per cent of homes which did not get their signal restored with the temporary mast by tuning the network and looking at additional infill sites for temporary coverage.

He added:

 “However, there will be areas, a little bit like a mobile phone network, which have some not-spots.”

Mr Donovan said the firm had opened talks with North Yorkshire County Council and charitable organisations about what it can do to help the most vulnerable people in those not-spots.