Harrogate district to resettle three more Afghan families

The leader of Harrogate Borough Council has said Afghan refugees are “settling in well” in the district and that three more families are on the way.

The district has so far welcomed four families under a government scheme targeted at Afghans who worked for the UK military and are fleeing the country because they are under serious threat from the Taliban.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, council leader Richard Cooper said: 

“Four families have arrived under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), one in Knaresborough and three in Harrogate. They are settling in well.

“We have been asked to accommodate three more families under ARAP. ”

British troops left Afghanistan over the weekend, bringing an end to the UK’s 20-year military involvement in the country, which is now under the control of the Taliban.

Taliban leaders have pledged not to allow Afghanistan to become a base for terrorists who could threaten the West.

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But questions are already being asked about how they will govern the country, and what this will mean for women, human rights, and political freedoms.

There are also questions over what will happen to Afghans who are eligible to come to the UK but have been left behind in the evacuation programme.

Speaking on Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he couldn’t give a “definitive” figure for how many of those remained in the country.

Government pledge to resettle 20,000 refugees

Under another scheme for refugees, the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), the government has pledged to take in up to 20,000 refugees over the coming years, with a focus on women and children, as well as religious and other minorities.

The scheme is still being developed and local councils which have pledged their support are now awaiting information on how they can help.

Cllr Cooper previously said Harrogate would take in “more than our quota” of refugees who are “in need of and deserve our assistance”.

He has now added: 

“The details of the long-term Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme have not been released by the government.

“When they are, we will work with North Yorkshire County Council and Migration Yorkshire on the programme.”

Harrogate Air Cadets enjoy ‘unforgettable’ glider flights

After a long time grounded due to covid, Harrogate air cadets have finally been able to take to the sky and enjoy their first flights in a glider.

Along with other cadets from York and Church Fenton, the cadets set off at 5am one morning recently to RAF Syerston near Newark.

Morning weather conditions meant the flights were initially cancelled and the cadets were offered a tour of the hanger instead. However, once the skies brightened in the afternoon the cadets could finally do what they came for.

Ten cadets took part in the exercise and for nine of them it was their first cadet flight.

Flying alongside an instructor over Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, the cadets were able to take control of the Viking glider for about 20 minutes.

All 10 cadets present enjoyed two trips each.

Harrogate air cadets

A Viking glider in action

There are 40,000 air cadets aged 12 to 20 in the UK. The 58 (Harrogate) Squadron is based at Strawberry Dale in Harrogate.

Sponsored by the Royal Air Force, recruits receive hands-on experience of activities and courses that challenge and develop skills.

Corporals George Sharratt and Adam Mir ,of 58 (Harrogate) Squadron, said in a statement:

“After waiting over a year to go flying, being able to take control of the glider on our first flight, was one of those moments we will never forget.

“But it would not be possible without both the help from RAF Syerston’s ground and air crew and from two of the volunteers from the Wing who organised the trip, got up at 5am and transported us back and forth over 200 miles.”

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John Plummer appointed Editor of the Stray Ferret

John Plummer is to take over the reins as Editor of the Stray Ferret.

John succeeds Tamsin O’Brien, who is to become Managing Editor and have a more strategic role.

John began his career as a journalist on local newspapers in his native Fens.

He later moved to London where he worked for, amongst others, The Times and Third Sector, which covers the UK voluntary sector.

In September last year he was appointed Deputy Editor of the Stray Ferret, where he worked alongside fellow Deputy Editor Vicky Carr, who is currently on maternity leave.

John has one daughter and has lived in Killinghall for about 10 years.

The Stray Ferret has seen a rapid growth in readership — last month we had more than 736,000 page views covering every aspect of news in the district.

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Tamsin said:

“John has been a very capable Deputy Editor and I am delighted to promote him to Editor.

“He has brought a wealth of journalism experience to the team and I am sure that under his leadership the Stray Ferret will continue to grow its readership and not be afraid to cover all the important stories in the district.

“It’s the right time for me to take a more strategic role across the whole business”

Have you got a story for the Stray Ferret news team or think there is an issue we need to investigate? Please get in touch on contact@thestrayferret.co.uk

Harrogate mum refused entry to uniform shop for not wearing face mask

A Harrogate mum said she was left in tears after she was refused entry to Rawcliffes school uniform shop for not wearing a mask.

Jude Humphrey, who is medically exempt from wearing a mask due to anxiety, claims she was told to stand outside the uniform shop despite masks no longer being a legal requirement .

Ms Humphrey had booked an appointment at the East Parade shop on a recent Saturday morning so she and her husband could take their daughter to buy her new uniform for next week’s return to school.

She said it was an “awful experience”:

“She said instantly ‘Where’s your mask?’ and then said ‘You either have one or you leave’ I explained I was medically exempt but it didn’t matter, she made me leave.

“I burst into tears outside, it was so disrespectful. My daughter had to keep coming out to show me the uniform.

“It left me feeling anxious and panicky, just a really awful experience.”

Ms Humphrey and her husband Keith said the most confusing part was that the shop worker herself wasn’t wearing a mask, insisting she was double-jabbed so didn’t need to.

Mr Humphrey questioned this once his wife had left the shop and the shop worker said she was insistent on masks to “protect her younger staff”.

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Mr Humphrey said:

“I was so upset for Jude. We rushed through the whole experience, which was such a shame because it’s meant to be a memory getting your child’s first uniform.

“I just think it’s ridiculous, how can they insist on mask wearing but not wear one themselves?”

Rawcliffes Schoolwear declined to comment on the Humphreys’ claims when contacted by the Stray Ferret.

A note on its website requests customers to wear face masks.

Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

A very good morning to you on another cloudy day in Harrogate, it’s Connor with you today bringing you all the latest traffic and travel news.

Ring me on 01423 276197, if it is safe, or get in touch on social media.

Let’s help everyone have a better journey by letting me know so I can add it to the blog, brought to you by the HACS Group.

9am – Full Update 

That is all from me today. I am heading over to the news desk now, hopefully you have found the service helpful this morning. Leah will be back with you tomorrow.

Roads

Our traffic system is currently showing heavy congestion on Skipton Road, Wetherby Road and Knaresborough Road in Harrogate as well as the High Street in Knaresborough

Road closures:

Temporary lights

Trains

Buses

8.30am – Full Update 

Roads

Our traffic system is currently showing heavy congestion on Skipton Road, Wetherby Road and Knaresborough Road in Harrogate as well as the High Street in Knaresborough

Road closures:

Temporary lights

Trains

Buses

8am – Full Update 

Roads

Our traffic system is currently showing heavy congestion on Skipton Road and on Otley Road in Harrogate.

Road closures:

Temporary lights

Trains

Buses

7.30am – Full Update 

Roads

Our traffic system is currently showing heavy congestion on Skipton Road in Harrogate

Road closures:

Temporary lights

Trains

Buses

7am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking quiet so far this morning with schools still away for the summer holiday. But, keep an eye on the blog to see how it goes today.

Road closures:

Temporary lights

Trains

Buses

6.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking quiet so far this morning with schools still away for the summer holiday. But, keep an eye on the blog to see how it goes today.

Road closures:

Temporary lights

Trains

Buses

Cycle group welcomes new ‘no parking’ signs on Harrogate’s Oatlands Drive

A cycling group has welcomed new signs on the Oatlands Drive section of the Stray in Harrogate saying it is an offence to park on the land.

Cars frequently mount the kerb to park when activities take place on the Stray, blocking one of the cycle lanes — much to the fury of cyclists.

One side of Oatlands Drive has double yellow lines but the side where vehicles park does not.

Oatlands Drive

Cars mounting the kerb and blocking the cycle lane on Oatlands Drive.

The issue became a particularly sore point this year when proposals to make Oatlands Drive one-way for traffic and improve the cycle lanes were rejected after protests by residents.

So the newly-installed signs, warning that parking on the Stray could lead to a fine or vehicles being removed, has been hailed as a “step forward” by Kevin Douglas, chairman of Harrogate District Cycle Action, which promotes cycling.

He said:

“The principle of putting signs up is a step forward.

“It’s something that we have been asking them to do for some time. People parking there is forcing cyclists into the middle of the road.

“We support any action which helps improve cycling.”

The Stray Ferret has approached Harrogate Borough Council, which erected the signs, for further details.

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Roadworks begin tomorrow on one of Harrogate’s main roads

Roadworks are set to begin tomorrow morning on North Park Road, which is one of the main routes serving Harrogate town centre.

The works, which involve replacing street lights, are set to continue until Friday next week.

Stop and go boards will be used to control traffic along the street.

The works, carried out on behalf of North Yorkshire County Council, are likely to cause delays.

Further works are set to arrive further up the road on September 9.

A county council spokeswoman said:

“The work is part of a street lighting column replacement programme. It will be closed from Marlborough Road to Knaresborough Road.”

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Keep an eye on the morning’s delays via our live traffic blog updated every 30 minutes.

Harrogate beauty queen sets sights on UK crown

A 23-year-old supermarket worker has been crowned Miss Harrogate Galaxy and is now ready to take on other beauty queens in the final of Miss Galaxy UK.

Victoria Hind, from Sharow, near Ripon, was crowned Miss Harrogate in her first pageant last month and will now compete in November’s final.

Ms Hind said she always wanted to compete in pageants but prior to lockdown didn’t think she had the confidence.

After suffering with anxiety for some years, she is hoping this competition will boost her confidence and teach her to “grab every opportunity that comes my way”.

Pageant life is a little different to Ms Hind’s day job at Sainsbury’s in Ripon.

The Miss Galaxy UK final at the Park Hall Hotel in Lancashire consists of four rounds; an interview round, an evening wear round, a fashion wear round and a swimwear round.

If she wins she will have the chance to travel to America to compete in the Miss Galaxy International final next summer.

Ms Hind said:

“I’m really excited, its something I’ve wanted to do for a while but I was too nervous.

“It’s not just a beauty pageant; it’s about girls supporting girls. This gives me a reason to step out my comfort zone.”

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Ms Hind has already made an appearance as Miss Harrogate Galaxy at Ripon Races and is looking forward to attending more events during her reign.

She also plans to use her platform to raise money for the charity Dogsforgood, which trains dogs to live as assistance dogs in people’s homes.

The charity helped find her step-dad, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, an assistance dog so she is determined to raise as much as she can.

Night buses between Harrogate and Leeds set to return

Night buses linking Harrogate with Leeds and Knaresborough are to return in just over a week’s time.

Harrogate Bus Company, which is part of French company Transdev, will reintroduce late night services on Saturday nights on the 36 route linking Harrogate and Leeds on September 11. Covid has affected the service since last year.

Hourly services from Leeds to Harrogate will run on Saturday nights until 3.15am. The last bus from Harrogate to Leeds will run at 2.20am.

Night buses between Harrogate and Knaresborough will also return on Saturday nights, connecting with incoming 36 buses from Leeds at Harrogate bus station.

Rossett School bus services boosted

In another change, students using the bus to get to Harrogate’s Rossett School can get cheaper fares from Monday.

Until now, pupils have paid £14.50 a week to use designated North Yorkshire County Council school buses.

But the council services are now being integrated with the Harrogate Bus Company’s regular service network, meaning the company’s under-19 weekly ticket, which costs £9.60, will now be valid for all journeys on dedicated school buses between stops within Harrogate and Rossett School.

Pupils can also use this weekly ticket for regular buses as far afield as Wetherby, Knaresborough and Harewood.

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Steve Ottley, general manager of the Harrogate Bus Company, said:

“Our late night services will make it much easier – and cheaper – for our customers to enjoy all the nightlife of Leeds and Harrogate and then travel safely home by bus with us.

“Our changes to services to and from Rossett School are also great news for parents and students as they will save a third on the cost of travelling to and from school every week compared with the old school-only passes, with free travel seven days a week across Harrogate, Knaresborough and Wetherby thrown in.”

Also from Monday next week, an extra school day-only bus on Harrogate Electrics route 2A will run at 8am from Bilton Community Centre to Harrogate – where the same bus becomes a number 6 bus, so students going to Rossett School can stay on board and get off at Wellfield Court for their school.

New times are also being introduced on dedicated school buses S2, S3 and 620H. Further details are available here.

Approval for 420 solar panels to be installed at Harrogate Hydro

Harrogate Borough Council has given approval for 420 solar panels to be installed on the town’s Hydro leisure centre.

The move is part of a wider decarbonisation initiative, which could also see 1,000 solar panels installed at Harrogate Convention Centre.

Council officials said in planning documents that the panels will help to improve energy efficiency and cut emissions at the ageing facility, which replaced the old Coppice Valley pool when it opened in 1999.

It added that the scheme could reduced the council’s annual Co2 emissions by 577 tonnes.

The council successfully bid this year for funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy‘s public sector decarbonisation scheme, which will help fund the panels.

The bid saw the council granted £2.4 million for projects at the Hydro and convention centre.

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A total of £1.8 million will be spent at The Hydro to install the solar panels as well as replace gas boilers with air source heat pumps and put in place new energy monitoring and control systems.

Kathryn Daly, head of place-shaping and economic growth at the council, previously said:

“We have ambitious plans to ensure our own operations and buildings will be clean, efficient and have a net zero carbon economy by 2038.

“This government funding provides a significant step to allow us to achieve this.”