Harrogate district unemployment falls by 30% in 6 months

The number of people on out-of-work benefits in the Harrogate district has fallen by over 30% since the height of the third covid lockdown in February, latest government figures show.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show 2,720 people were claiming out-of-work benefits as of August 3 — down from 3,625 on February 11.

Currently, 3.4% of the local population are claiming the benefits, which is below the UK average of 5.4%. Financial support for those out of work includes Universal Credit and Job Seekers’ Allowance.

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Commenting on the latest figures on his website Community News, Conservative MP for Harrogate & Knaresborough Andrew Jones said predictions of “soaring unemployment” following the end of the furlough scheme have not come true.

Mr Jones said:

“The worst-case predictions of soaring unemployment as the furlough scheme was rolled back have not materialised.  At the end of September, ten weeks after most restrictions have been lifted, the furlough scheme ends completely.

“Although the Office for National Statistics say that there is no sign of redundancies starting to pick up ahead of this, we should remain cautious.”

“It is clear though that our local economy has bounced back strongly and empty shop rates in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Boroughbridge are lower than pre-pandemic.“

Still no TV or radio services for district residents after transmitter fire

Thousands of homes across the north of the Harrogate district remain without TV or radio freeview services, a week after a major fire at a transmitter mast.

The blackout was caused by the fire last Tuesday that put the 315-metre Bilsdale transmitter out of action.

The loss of the transmitter is affecting parts of Harrogate, Boroughbridge, Kirkby Malzeard, Knaresborough, Masham, Pateley Bridge, Ripon and other locations that rely on a signal that serves the Tyne Tees region.

An update issued on Friday by Arqiva, owners of the transmitter, estimated that the repair work will take up to 14 days.

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As viewers and listeners ask questions about when they can tune in once more to freeview on TV and radio,  one resident has contacted Julian Smith MP requesting that the government look at the bigger picture, in relation to critical infrastructure that serves millions of people.

Julian Smith, MP for Ripon and Skipton.

James Thornborough, who lives in Sharow and whose work saw him specialise in disaster planning, recovery and business continuity, told the Stray Ferret:

“I emailed Mr Smith to raise wider concerns about the potential ramifications of the loss of the service from the mast.

“There is clearly a need to have robust contingency plans in place that anticipate the potential for this kind of occurrence at the Bilsdale transmitter and how to resolve it. ..

In my email to Mr Smith, I said – I am sure you will concede that a TV service being lost to one million viewers qualifies as the loss of a critical national infrastructure service, not least because it deprives the broadcasting companies of the ability to share public safety communications (breaking safety news) by TV or Radio to the design scope audience.”

In an email response, Mr Smith said:

“I note the concerns you have raised in this respect, and have sent a copy of your email together with an email of my own, to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, to pass your points on to him.

“I will write to you again as soon as a reply is received.”

In its statement on Friday, Arqiva, provided an update on on-going reinstatement works at the existing site and efforts to bring a television signal back to thousands of properties.

It said:

“We have had some success during phase 1 of our recovery plan using the Eston Nab site to restore services for some areas.

“Eston Nab is unfortunately unable to reach all the areas served by the larger Bilsdale mast, as broadcast signals rely on line-of-sight between transmitter and receiver (your rooftop aerial).

“This is the reason why masts such as the one at Bilsdale need to be so tall, and why they are located where they are – to reach as many homes as possible.”

For many avid TV watchers and radio listeners, a two-week wait is too long and they are looking for other means of tuning in to their favourite programmes.

This can range from re-setting digital TV boxes, to calling in professionals to have their aerials turned to pick up the signal from the Emley Moor Transmitter, which serves the Yorkshire television area.

People can also tune in via the BBC iPlayer.

 

Crunch talks to save Harrogate Christmas Market

Harrogate Borough Council and the organisers of the Harrogate Christmas Market are set to hold crunch talks to try to save the event for this year.

It will be the first time that the two groups have held a meeting since the council refused a licence for the market on Montpellier Hill just over two weeks ago.

The meeting will take place tomorrow morning and will centre on alternative locations for the Harrogate Christmas Market.

Brian Dunsby and his team of directors are set to talk with Alison Wilson, the head of parks and environmental services at the council.

Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the Lib Dems at Harrogate Borough Council, set up the meeting but has been told by the council not to attend. She said:

“I felt very upset and saddened that this annual event would not be going ahead.

“I contacted the council to see if a meeting could be set up to resolve the issue, either by getting the event licenced or looking for alternative sites.

“Harrogate needs this market, it is a part of Harrogate’s events calendar and we cannot and should not lose it.”

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This comes after council leader Richard Cooper formalised talks with a new set of organisers and described Mr Dunsby’s team as the “former Christmas market organisers”.

If the council were to proceed without Mr Dunsby’s team it is unclear what would happen to the 170 traders and 53 coaches which are already booked to attend this year’s event.

Brian Dunsby told the Stray Ferret ahead of his meeting:

“The agenda is alternative locations. I don’t think there are any other locations which are suitable for the Christmas market.

“We have got everything set up and ready to run at Montpellier Hill.

“I am hoping they will explain why the event is not suitable on Montpellier Hill, that is something the council have not yet done.

“We just have to wait and see.”

Council to reject 42 requests for extra gritting despite warnings

More than 40 requests for extra gritting on North Yorkshire’s huge roads network are set to be rejected despite warnings over “dangerous” conditions and salt bins running empty.

North Yorkshire County Council, which spends about £7m every winter to treat more than half of the county’s 5,753 miles of roads, considers requests for routes to be added or given greater priority on an annual basis.

This year it has received 42 requests from residents, councillors and businesses, but none have been recommended for approval at a meeting on Friday.

These include 14 requests in the Harrogate district, 15 in Richmondshire, seven in Craven and six in Hambleton.

Councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at the county council, said the authority already treated a large proportion of roads and that routes are rarely added due to the time and costs involved.

However, he added safety and efficiency were always priorities when deciding how to use resources.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:

“An efficient winter gritting service is one of our top priorities.

“We are in a part of the country with some very remote and exposed roads, but we still have got to make sure people can go about their daily lives safely in bad weather conditions.

“We have not often made changes simply because we already treat a bigger proportion of our highways network in a routine winter than any other local authority.

“And of course, we do have to prioritise in order to keep the main roads and bus routes open in periods of bad weather.”

Motorways and trunk roads are the responsibility of Highways England, while the county council looks after all other routes.

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The county council is also responsible for treating pedestrian footpaths and aims to cover all busy shopping areas and main footpaths before 9am in severe weather.

Between October 1 and April 30, road gritters are on call 24 hours a day, while farmer contractors, duty managers and overnight patrols are all on standby when necessary.

Roads are treated with rock salt on a priority basis and where icy and snowy conditions are at their worst.

But some residents believe more roads should be added or given greater priority, with one resident describing Regent Road in Skipton as “dangerous” during bad weather conditions.

They said in a request:

“Regent residents wishing to travel to work are faced with a hazardous task. I would imagine some people will be genuinely fearful for their safety.”

Another resident said salt bins in Harrogate are often running empty, while another claimed cars were abandoned on Kent Road in the town last year due to a lack of gritting.

Councillor Mackenzie added:

“We will always look very carefully at requests, especially if there are concerns about safety on busy routes or travel to school.

“But generally speaking, officers will recommend rejection of a request if there are perfectly good alternative routes for a person to get from A to B safely under the current gritting routes.”

The Harrogate Clinic staff go litter picking to ‘spruce up’ Harrogate

Staff at The Harrogate Clinic were out litter picking in Harrogate town centre yesterday after seeing an increase in discarded rubbish.

The colleagues said they have seen an increase in litter since lockdown was loosened and finally decided something had to be done.

In just a few hours the team collected bags of rubbish filled with food packaging, wine and beer bottles and drug paraphernalia.

Walking into work each day, Dr Shoreh Ghasmi, says her and her colleagues often comment on the amount of litter and wanted to get a group together to tackle it.

Dr Ghasmi said:

“We wanted to take it upon ourselves to do something. We are so lucky to work in such a beautiful town and its really disappointing to see some people take it for granted.

“We are just wanting to give it a bit of spring clean.”

The litter pickers in Harrogate yesterday.

The team, from The Harrogate Clinic on Prospect Crescent, have said they plan to make this a monthly scheme with other local businesses already saying they want to get involved.

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Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning, I hope you’re good this morning. It is Leah here with you today. The roads have been a little quieter this week in terms of traffic but numerous roadworks are adding time to people’s journeys.

This blog, brought to you by the HACS Group, brings you live travel updates until 9am.

Please give me a call on 01423 276197 or join our Facebook group ‘Harrogate district traffic and travel’ to give any updates.

9am – Full Update 

That is it from me this morning, Connor will be back with you tomorrow morning from 6.30. Have a lovely day.

Roads

The roads are looking clear so far this morning, today’s traffic hotspots are likely to show up a little later. Keep checking in.

B6161 Pot Bank is closed at Beckwithshaw – Diversion in place

Traffic is building in these areas:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

8.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking clear so far this morning, today’s traffic hotspots are likely to show up a little later. Keep checking in.

B6161 Pot Bank is closed at Beckwithshaw – Diversion in place

Traffic is building in these areas:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

8am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking clear so far this morning, today’s traffic hotspots are likely to show up a little later. Keep checking in.

B6161 Pot Bank is closed at Beckwithshaw – Diversion in place

Traffic is building in these areas:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

7.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking clear so far this morning, today’s traffic hotspots are likely to show up a little later. Keep checking in.

B6161 Pot Bank is closed at Beckwithshaw – Diversion in place

Traffic is building in these areas:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

7am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking clear so far this morning, today’s traffic hotspots are likely to show up a little later. Keep checking in.

B6161 Pot Bank is closed at Beckwithshaw – Diversion in place

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

6.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking clear so far this morning, today’s traffic hotspots are likely to show up a little later. Keep checking in.

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

 

Stray Views: Let’s do more to help travellers

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. See below for details on how to contribute.

Let’s do more to help travellers

What a good idea for districts to provide stops for travellers en route to Appleby Horse Fair.

Having lived in the area for 80 years, I see the slight inconvenience of a couple of nights encampment en route or return as no problem.

Travellers have always stayed in the district. In my youth we had the fair at Boroughbridge. Traffic slowed to let the horses and caravans go along their slow and steady way. We have seen the steady decline in public houses over the years (a very English tradition) and we are in danger of losing our identity.

Yes, hold the travellers to account over how they leave the site and make arrangements for them to pay for a clear up, or block their exit if it is not done, I am sure they would comply as a safe stopover is better for all if put into place. Councils should think twice about costly court orders and put common sense into the mix.

Sandra Theobald, Harrogate

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We need new blood on our councils

Councillor Carl Les talks about fairness but what people want to know is: by how much their bills are going to reduce and what economies he is going to introduce?

There is no mention of this and no plan so until he can produce this, it’s not convincing. We also need new blood in our councillors, not just a reshuffle.

Harrogate people also want to know that their payments are actually spent in the town and not elsewhere in the region e.g. our roads are bad and North Yorkshire County Council’s highways department has consistently dragged its feet about traffic improvements whilst locals have told them how to improve matters.

What we really need, is for Harrogate to become a city and control its own affairs — we are certainly getting to this size.

Until we do, our cash can be siphoned elsewhere with little or no say about it.

John Holder, Harrogate

Harrogate Christmas Market is tacky!

I’m glad the Harrogate Christmas Market has been declined permission.
Harrogate is supposed to be posh but the market, along with the Christmas decorations, make it really tacky.
Susan Monk, Harrogate

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.

Malcolm Neesam History: Harrogate’s thriving working men’s clubs

This week the National Reserve Working Men’s Club closed on East Parade after more than 100 years. It’s prompted celebrated Harrogate historian, Malcolm Neesam to look back at the birth and growth of Working Men’s Clubs in the district. 

Harrogate’s first known club for working men was set up shortly after the 1841 Harrogate Improvement Act, which stimulated the town’s urbanisation, which in turn attracted numbers of working men to the town. 

This club does not seem to have thrived, as the press for November 9, 1867 reported “…On Wednesday evening last, a grand amateur concert was given by members of the funds for liquidating the debt remaining on the late Working Men’s Club…”  However, attitudes appear to have changed by the end of the century, and between 1899 and 1913 no fewer than eight working mens clubs sprang into existence in a remarkable burst of enthusiasm.

The first seems to have been the Oatlands Working Men’s Club, which first met on 16 October 1899 in Oatlands Board School, before moving into Florence House in Hookstone Road. By the 1960’s it had a membership of 420 men and 110 women. Then, a year later in 1900, Starbeck Working Men’s Club was founded, which had a high number of railway workers in its membership, which by the middle of the century had reached 1,250, including ladies. In 1901, the High Harrogate Working Men’s Club opened in a local public house before moving into no.5 Devonshire Place, and by the middle of the century, it had 682 members, including 200 women.

Step forward two years to 1903, when Trades Hall opened in Westmoreland Street, originally founded for members of Trade Unions only. By the middle of the century, this Club had a total of over 400 members, and the spacious building was thoroughly renovated a couple of years ago.

High Harrogate Working Men’s Club 1911

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There is some uncertainty as to the founding date for the Londesborough Club, one source stating it was founded in 1911 as the Legion of Frontiersmen Club, the premises of which were in the Westminster Arcade, before the move to 19 and 12 Bower Road was made in c.1914. Another version has the club founded by workers at the Royal Baths. The name Londesborough was adopted in 1916, and at one time, only people whose fathers had been members were allowed to join.

Oatland’s Working Men’s Club 1967

The next working men’s club to be established was the Harlow Hill Working Men’s Club, which opened in 1912. Finally, April 12 1913 saw four detachments of the Harrogate Battalion of the National Reserve marching to East Parade for the opening of the National Reserve Club at 29 East Parade, the closure of which has just been announced. In its day, this Club had many distinguished members, such as Prince Christopher of Greece, and it would be fascinating to examine any archive the Club may possess. In this same year of 1913, the impressively Gothic building of 1868, located in Skipton Road, became home to Bilton Working Men’s Club, an institution which like so many of the above, continues to thrive.

In my short account of these clubs, I have ignored such special organisations at the political clubs, or the Home Guard Club, which are equally deserving of examination. The greatest change with all these clubs over the last century must be the increasing participation of ladies in their membership, which in some cases began earlier than some might have guessed.

Did you know that the Stray Ferret has teamed up with Malcolm to produce audio walking tours of Harrogate? The walks are sponsored by the Harrogate Business Improvement District (BID) and take you back to the Golden Age of the Harrogate Spa and a walk through the Commercial Heart of Harrogate. Why not take a walk back in time and learn about Harrogate’s glorious past. They’re easy to do and a great day out. For more information click here. 

Swift action led to Harrogate shop thieves being caught this afternoon

Harrogate police were able to respond swiftly to a shop theft this afternoon after an officer walked into the shop soon after it happened.

The Harrogate police officer happened to be heading into the M&S BP garage in Pannal this afternoon for a coffee when the shop worker told him three men had just driven away with stolen food and drink.

Officers were able to quickly apprehend the three men in a van on Park House Green.

The three men were dealt with using the community resolution disposal procedure which is used for low-level crime such as minor theft and criminal damage.

A release by North Yorkshire Police explained the method:

“By encouraging suspects to face up to the impact of their behaviour and to take responsibility for making good any harm caused, a Community Resolution can reduce the likelihood of their reoffending. There must be an acceptance of responsibility on behalf of the suspect to undertake a Community Resolution response.”

The suspect’s van was also seized for being un-taxed.

The three men will now have to pay for the items stolen, which added up to around £30.

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Ex-guest house owner from Harrogate, 73, jailed for three-and-a-half years

An Albanian drug gang who ran a half-a-million-pound skunk-cannabis factory in quiet residential streets in Harrogate have been jailed for a combined 22 years.

Their “facilitator” was 73-year-old former guest-house owner Yoko Banks, who rented out her properties for “industrial” cannabis production “in the expectation of significant” profit”, Leeds Crown Court heard.

The disgraced businesswoman, who owns a string of “highly marketable” properties in some of Harrogate’s most desirable areas, is now starting a three-and-a-half-year jail sentence.

She and the six Albanian gangsters appeared for sentence on Friday after they each admitted playing a part in the audacious drugs plot worth at least half a million pounds.

Prosecutor Martin Bosomworth said the “professional”, London-based gang had invested tens of thousands into the three cannabis factories at Banks’s properties on Alexandra Road, Woodlands Road and Somerset Road near Harrogate town centre.

The brazen criminals had even dug a trench outside the three-storey Edwardian villa on Alexandra Road through which they fed electricity cables to the house to power the “highly sophisticated” cultivation system and bypass the electricity grid.

On one occasion, neighbours in the affluent street spotted the gang digging the ditch underneath a pavement and up the driveway. When they asked them what they were doing, they were told they were laying cables “for a fast-fibre broadband connection”.

The gang’s audacious plot finally unravelled when police were called to the five-bedroom villa at about 8.30pm on September 26 last year after reports of a “disturbance” in the street involving what appeared to be two rival gangs vying for the mega-money cannabis farm.

Crossbow found in house

Officers found 283 plants in the four growing rooms inside the mock-Tudor house, which was fitted with CCTV cameras. Chillingly, police also found “large” crossbow and arrows next to the front door. The plants had a potential yield of up to 21 kilos.

Mr Bosomworth said the “organised” gang had operated the lighting, electrical and “security” systems remotely through broadband technology and were even able to watch a “live feed” of the drugs bust over the internet.

There were other large grows at two of Banks’s other properties which had the “capability of producing industrial amounts” of the highly potent skunk.

She had rented the properties to the Albanians through an “unidentified individual who goes by the name of Francesco”, who sub-let the houses to the gang’s ringleader Visar Sellaj, 33, in the spring or summer of 2020.

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Sellaj, Kujtim Brahaj, 50, Indrit Brahaj, 27, Bledar Elezaj, 36, Andi Kokaj, 23, and 31-year-old Erblin Elezaj, an illegal immigrant, admitted various charges relating to the production and supply of cannabis but only at the Alexandra Road property.

Banks, of Scargill Road, admitted three counts of being concerned in the supply of cannabis.

Cannabis worth £300,000 found in van

Mr Bosomworth said that just before the “disturbance” on September 26, two unidentified men turned up at the property in a Citroen van and forced the door open. They left the property “carrying bundles of vegetation to the van”. He added:

“An Audi was (then) seen to arrive in the street from which five males exited – these being the Albanian defendants.

“They chased the Citroen through the street, but the van made off.”

Following the run-in with what appeared to be a rival gang, and realising they’d been rumbled, the six Albanians went into the property and “made a hasty clearance of such mature cannabis plants as they could find”.

They loaded the plants into a rented Transit van which was then driven, along with the Audi, back down south.
Police found the remaining 283 plants in the growing rooms and a “large, loaded crossbow” next to the front door.

The Transit van and the Audi were “trapped” on the M1 by police in Hertfordshire and were finally stopped on the M25 just after midnight.

Police found 30kg of “saleable”, harvested cannabis plants inside the van worth about £300,000.

Inside the £26,000 Audi SQ5, which belonged to Sellaj, police found £3,675 cash and an 18-carat-gold Rolex watch worth £28,000.

‘Industrial’ operation

The court heard that on September 22, four days before the drugs bust, Sellaj — who had a “large amount of money” in his bank account — booked a four-star B&B at the historic Arden House on the quiet, tree-lined Franklin Road.

As well as the 283 plants at the Alexandra Road factory, there were also 143 “root balls” from previous harvests and 6kg of cannabis flower buds. The “industrial” operation would have yielded between 11kg and 33 kilos worth up to £330,000.

A total of 59 cannabis plants, worth up to £83,000, were found at Banks’ Somerset Road property and 86 plants, with a “bulk value” of up to £62,000, were discovered at the house on Woodlands Road.

The total potential yield of the 395 plants was 45 kilos, with a combined value of up to £456,000. This was in addition to the 30 kilos found in the vans and did not include previous harvests.

Although Banks was not involved in the cultivation, she had played a “facilitating” or advisory role in the plot. She was in “regular communication” with ‘Francesco’ and Sellaj through Whatsapp messages and constantly “pressing to be paid by them”.

Banks, who had previous convictions for health-and-safety offences through her work, was due to be paid at least £12,000 a month in rent for the three properties and was also receiving “high” deposits.

‘Supplementing her pension’

Benjamin Whittingham, for Banks, said she had let out the properties to “supplement” her weekly pension due to financial pressures.

Indrit Brahaj, of Whitings Road, Barnet; Kokaj, of no fixed address; Sellaj, of Newnham Road, London; and Erblin Elezaj, of no fixed abode, all admitted being concerned in the production of cannabis and possessing a Class B drug with intent to supply.

Kujtim Brahaj, of Wellington Road, Enfield, and Bledar Elezaj, of no fixed address, each admitted being concerned in the production of cannabis.

Defence counsel for the Albanian men said they had each been working in construction or “odd jobs” in the south.

Importing crime to Harrogate

Judge Tom Bayliss QC said the “organised crime group” had “cynically chosen to import a criminal enterprise to Harrogate.”

Sellaj, who had been “directing operations”, was for six years and nine months.

Erblin Elizaj was jailed for five years and two months and Indrit Brahaj was jailed for four years and four months. Kujtim Brahaj and Bledar Elezaj were each jailed for three years for their lesser roles.

Jailing Banks for three-and-a-half years, Mr Bayliss told her:

“You have in your time been a successful businesswoman.

“You were, at the time, in some financial difficulties (which) may explain why you were – a woman in your seventies, a widow with a number of health problems – prepared to get involved with a gang from London.

“You knew that by doing that you were bringing drugs and criminality to Harrogate, a town where you have lived and worked for many years.”

Andi Kokaj, the last remaining defendant to be sentenced, will learn his fate on Monday, August 16.