Bettys reveals Christmas window in Harrogate

It is officially Christmas at one of Harrogate’s most famous locations.

Bettys has installed Christmas windows at its tearooms in Harrogate, York, Northallerton and Ilkley.

Father Christmas popped by the Harrogate tearoom for a sneak preview and to welcome the launch of the company’s festive afternoon tea.

It comes days after Harrogate Business Improvement District partnered with the Rotary Club of Harrogate to announce the start of this year’s Christmas Shop Window competition.

Read more:

 

Christmas-themed bird box walk created for Pinewoods

A new Christmas-themed advent walk has been created in the Pinewoods, featuring decorated bird boxes for visitors to find.

Pinewoods Conservation Group, a charity that promotes the conservation of the woodlands, has teamed up with Ripon-based charity Jennyruth Workshops for the project. 

Jennyruth Workshops, which uses craft to help people with learning disabilities, has built and decorated 24 numbered bird boxes, plus a few extras. Each box will be displayed with a plaque showing the name of the worker who hand painted it.

Lucy Hind, who organised the event for the Pinewoods Conservation Group, said:

“We know residents and visitors alike continue to enjoy the Pinewoods, so we wanted to add some additional interest coming up to Christmas. These new bird boxes are a great addition and in line with our conservation efforts and gives us opportunity to support Jennyruth Workshop too.”

Nicky Newell, chief executive of Jennyruth Workshop, added:

“The Jennyruth Workshop team has really enjoyed being part of this project. The Christmas theme allowed our workers to be very creative with some amazing designs being produced.

“We really appreciate The Pinewoods for involving us and allowing us to showcase a small range of the products we produce and sell.”

Read more:

To help fund the event, Pinewoods Conservation Group is looking for 24 people, businesses, or organisations to sponsor a bird box at £20 each.

In January, following the event, supporters will be able to collect their bird box to keep or donate it to The Pinewoods to support their ongoing conservation efforts.

‘Bleak’ future for North Yorkshire fire service due to underfunding

North Yorkshire’s fire and rescue service faces a bleak outlook due to chronic underfunding, systemic on-call staffing shortages, crumbling buildings and out of date vehicles, a meeting has heard,

North Yorkshire’s police, fire and crime panel was told the Office of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and the fire service, which serves about 824,000 people across the county, was working “exceptionally hard” to break even this year.

Chief financial officer Michael Porter told the meeting the service would be drawing on £638,000 of reserves to balance the books until April, but “next year is looking like it is going to be really challenging”.

Mr Porter said a £390,000 deficit had initially been forecast for 2022/23 from reserves to balance the 2022/23 budget, but that was likely to deepen significantly due to pay awards, soaring utility bills and increases in national insurance contributions.

The meeting heard unless restrictions on fire services increasing their council tax demands were eased by the government, the service would need to make more savings. Mr Porter said:

“There’s an awful lot of additional pressures that are lining up for the fire service for next year. Initial views on the settlement for next year are that it is probably not as generous as it has been for the police and the police have more scope to increase precept.”

The meeting heard members question why some £365,000 had been spent on “minor works” to fire service buildings, before hearing they were built as medium-term premises up to 70 years ago and constructed with interiors designed for a different time, when there were few female firefighters.

Read more:

Mr Porter said the service’s 30 buildings across the county and its fleet of vehicles had been significantly under-invested in for some time.

“There are a significant number of properties within the estate that are in dire need of replacement, as opposed to maintenance. The longer that we leave it or are unable to replace the buildings, the more we will have to spend patching them up.

“We have got an aged estate that doesn’t meet modern requirements and standards it is an inhibitor of what the organisation wants to do as it moves forward. We almost have to borrow every single penny we have to invest in the capital programme as it is. It is not a rosy picture.”

Sharing buildings

The meeting was told the fire service was considering sharing more buildings with other emergency services to cut costs, but the fire service needed to have bases spread across the county to reach emergencies in good time.

City of York Council leader Councillor Keith Aspden told the meeting recruitment issues over on-call firefighters had persisted for a long time, but overall funding was the key issue.

“Every time I see the fire minister I ask about capital grants for fire services and precept flexibility.  Unless something happens nationally things are going to get very difficult, particularly for services like this with relatively small budgets and rural areas.”

Interim Chief Fire Officer Jon Foster told members on-call recruitment remained a challenge due to changes in people’s lifestyles and covid had further impacted on it.

He said the service was examining changing terms and conditions and flexibility of being an on-call firefighter as the system was very outdated, paying a small amount for being available and a larger amount to attend calls.

After the meeting, the panel’s chair, Councillor Carl Les said:

“I think the situation is bleak. The fundamental problem is the overall funding for the fire and rescue service.

“Arguments will be made that the government grant could and should be increased, but also the fact that the precept regime with the fire and rescue service is very limited.

“I think we need to lobby the government that for small rural forces like North Yorkshire it would be useful if there was flexibility to go above the two per cent increase cap and levy an extra £5 or £10.

“We know that delivering services in rural areas is more expensive than delivering services in cities.

“For a number of years resources have been difficult to find to allocate for things like buildings and machinery that are getting older.”

Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning, it’s Leah with you today updates every 30 minutes on the roads and public transport services you use.

There have been a few train delays and cancellations this week so make sure you keep checking in for any that may affect you.

These blogs, brought to you by The HACS Group, aim to keep the district running smoothly.

If you get stuck in traffic or spot something, and it is safe, then give me a call on 01423 276197.

9am – Full Update 

That is it from me this morning, Connor will be back with you tomorrow with regular travel updates.

Roads

Traffic Hotspots:

Traffic is building here:

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

8.30am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic Hotspots:

Traffic is building here:

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

 

8am – Full Update 

Roads

2 lanes closed on the A1 Northbound between junction 48 and 49 due to a collision – 14 minute delay

Traffic is building here:

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

 

7.30am – Full Update 

Roads

2 lanes closed on the A1 Northbound between junction 48 and 49 due to a collision – 10 minute delay

Traffic is building here:

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

 

7am – Full Update 

Roads

2 lanes closed on the A1 Northbound between junction 48 and 49 due to a collision – 7 minute delay

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

 

6.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking quiet so far this morning, with no hotspots just yet.

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

 

Crunch meeting tonight over Harrogate’s £10.9m Station Gateway

Businesses are set to hold crunch talks with council officials over Harrogate’s £10.9 million Station Gateway project.

Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce will hold the meeting at Cedar Court Hotel tonight.

Many business owners have expressed serious concern over the scheme, with some fearing the measures may affect footfall.

Council officials say the project aims to encourage more walking and cycling in the town centre.

Some fear a reduction in parking spaces, the part-pedestrianisation of James Street and potentially a year of major road works would damage businesses already struggling to recover from covid.

Read more:

Cllr Don Mackenzie, the executive member for access at North Yorkshire County Council, which is leading on the scheme, has agreed to take part in a question-and-answer session.

Meanwhile, Cllr Phil Ireland, cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability at Harrogate Borough Council, which also supports the gateway initiative, will also participate.

David Simister, chief executive of the chamber, said:

“Our meeting will hopefully put businesses fully in the picture about the Harrogate Station Gateway Project, and the implications for them and their customers.

“I must stress this is a business meeting and open to our members, those in the Harrogate BID area, as well as members of Independent Harrogate.”

Station Gateway: the story so far of the £10.9m scheme

The Harrogate Station Gateway project is set to reach a crucial stage as the final round of consultation draws to a close this week.

Residents have until Friday to give their say on the contentious proposals, which would change the look of the town centre.

Here is the story of the scheme so far and what happens next.

What is the Station Gateway project?

The Harrogate scheme is one of three projects worth a combined £42 million in Harrogate, Skipton and Selby paid for by the Leeds City Region Transforming Cities Fund, which encourages cycling and walking.

It is led by North Yorkshire County Council in partnership with Harrogate Borough Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Since it was launched back in February, the project has outlined measures such as the part-pedestrianisation of James Street, reducing Station Gateway to one-lane and improvements to One Arch.

Should it be approved, it is anticipated that work in Harrogate will begin by the middle of next year.

What does the council say?

Council officials say the purpose of the scheme is to improve walking and cycling in the town centre.

They also say that it will benefit businesses, despite concern over the project – in particular the pedestrianisation of James Street between Princes Square and Station Parade.

In October, Matthew Roberts, economy and transport officer at Harrogate Borough Council, told an online consultation event the scheme was a case of “short-term disruption for long-term gain”.

He said national case studies from similar schemes had shown they could boost trade by up to 40% by making the town centre more attractive and easier to access for non-car users.

Read more:

He also pointed to a KPMG report, which outlined the impact of covid on town centres across the country and what can be done for high streets to survive the pandemic.

The authority has used the report, as well as a 2019 congestion study in Harrogate, to back up its proposals. However, it is unclear what further impact assessments it has taken.

The council is working against the clock as the Department for Transport has set a deadline of March 2023 for the scheme to be completed.

Recently, the authority revealed that one of the reasons it chose not to fully pedestrianise James Street was because of the threat of a public inquiry if it were objected to – which could delay the project.

The option to part-pedestrianise was the least supported during its first consultation, with most people backing a full pedestrianisation.

But officials said the move struck an “appropriate balance between the wishes of respondents and risks to delivery of the scheme”.

They added in the Gateway proposal document:

“This extension in delivery timescales would likely result in funding deadlines being missed, which would prevent implementation of the full scheme, and so full pedestrianisation is not considered viable at this time.”

What do the public say?

A number of consultation events have been held in an effort to offer people a chance to have their say on the project.

In the early stages, events were only online due to the covid pandemic and the national lockdown.

Following the first consultation, council officials released a 160 page report which summarised the 1,101 responses to their proposals.

Of 935 people who replied to a consultation question about traffic on Station Parade in the survey, 49% preferred the one-lane option, 27% preferred the two-lane option and 24% preferred neither.

Of the 934 who replied to a question about pedestrianising the northern section of James Street, between Princes Street and Station Parade, 54% said they were either positive or very positive about it while 38% were negative or very negative towards it.

Read more:

The publication of the report led to an agreement to move onto the detailed design stage and another round of consultation.

This time, the meetings have been held both in public and online. Three in-person consultation events have been held in Harrogate’s Victoria Shopping Centre.

Last month, the first physical event in Harrogate saw tensions flare as residents quizzed council officials over the proposals.

A further meeting raised concern over “no-go areas” amid fears for public safety at night. However, others did feel the scheme overall “was a good idea” despite potential traffic fears.

But concerns over the project has seen some local residents take action.

Some members from the Granville Road Area Residents Association have set up the Gateway Action Group to oppose the gateway scheme.

They said the consultation has been rushed and failed to take into account their views

What do businesses say?

Many businesses have remained sceptical over the multi-million pound scheme amid fears of a drop in footfall as town centre traders recover from the covid pandemic.

Much of the concern is over the impact of reducing Station Parade to one-lane and the part-pedestrianisation of James Street.

Latest Station Gateway visuals which show Harrogate's James Street pedestrianised.

Latest Station Gateway visuals which show Harrogate’s James Street pedestrianised.

Back in August, local business organisations launched their own survey in an effort to canvass opinion on the scheme.

The survey was sent to more than 900 businesses and 180 replied.

Of those that responded, a total of 79% believed that reducing Station Parade to a single carriageway would be of no benefit to town centre businesses, and 68% felt likewise about pedestrianising James Street.

Ahead of the lifting of restrictions and public gatherings being permitted, businesses called for a public meeting with council bosses to have an “adult conversation” on the matter.

Those crunch talks will take place tonight at a Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce meeting.

What happens next?

People in the district have until November 12 to have their say on the detailed design stage of the project.

Following the closure, final proposals for the scheme will be drawn up ahead of a decision on whether or not to implement the scheme.

If approved, it is anticipated that construction will start in spring 2022 for approximately 12 months.

For more information and to have your say, visit the West Yorkshire Combined Authority website.

Stray Views: Station Gateway ‘a waste of money’

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.

Traffic concern over Beech Grove

Since the closure of through traffic along Beech Grove, the daily count of (mainly) cars using Victoria Road has increased by over 300%. The Project Engineer attributes most of this increase to cars driving southbound from A61 Ripon Road to A61 Leeds Road using Victoria Road as a cut-through thus avoiding the Cheltenham /Station Parade congestion.

There is now an experimental scheme, about to be installed, which will stop movements from Victoria Road to Otley Road. Hence the extra 300% of cars using Victoria Road will be pushed back on to Cold Bath Road and Cheltenham Parade which are already the subject of complaints about increased traffic.

Richard Wright, Harrogate

Station Gateway “a waste of money”

Having attended the consultation meeting on October 29, I left feeling that the general consensus of attendees was that the project was a gross waste of public money irrespective of the source of that money.

When asked the source and integrity of the data being used to support the scheme the project team spokesperson appeared more coy mentioning ‘social media’ and local surveys without being specific, although the council leader’s strong support of cycling was mentioned by an attendee. The council leader sees a vote of just over a thousand people (mainly cyclists) as being a significant majority vote in support of the planned cycle lane’s scheme incorporated in the Gateway project. The town’s population of over seventy five thousand seemingly being overlooked i.e. Less than 2% appear to support the introduction of many of the proposed changes.

It was indicated that forty thousand survey letters would be sent out shortly but the area of coverage was unknown.

Bearing in mind that the consultation was indicated to be the final opportunity for public comments to be made this seems a little late in the planning process.

In essence as a percentage of the total populace it seemed to highlight how few people were fully aware of the proposed project details or cost of it.

Comments expressed, as a generalisation, was the council do what they want anyway, appearing to endorse seeing the town as their ‘fiefdom’ without cognisance of the ‘silent majority’ Ie. those who are just too weary of the local politics and money wasting schemes over several years to further engage.

John Marsden, Harrogate

Read more:

Spofforth homes would be a “disaster”

The site of Yorkshire Housing Ltd’s new development is on a green field site. The field is in a conservation area, and to quote the local news website, The Stray Ferret,  “more than 300 people and organisations, including Natural England, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, have raised concerns about the scheme”.

As well as being in a beautiful setting (where my son and his family live), the roads and infrastructure are not suitable for the increased amount of traffic, not to mention the small bridge that spans the Crimple Beck, which is very narrow and cannot possibly take the strain of the extra HGVs vehicles that the construction would necessitate.

There does not appear to be any proper access/exit roads to the site? The increase of 72 cars plus, would turn this into an ecological disaster and a dystopian nightmare for the residents of the village.

Denis Ffoulkes Standing, Spofforth

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.

Harrogate man hosts event to raise awareness of suicide prevention

An event with speakers and charities dedicated to mental health and suicide prevention is to be hosted in Harrogate next month.

The Hope for Life conference has been organised by The Jordan Legacy, a community interest company set up by Steve Phillip, from Harrogate, after his son died of suicide.

The aim of the conference is for people to come and listen to the experience and advice of experts and learn more about protecting your own or someone else’s mental health.

Speakers such as James Ketchell and Jonny Benjamin are there to spread the message of hope and share their own stories of overcoming challenges.

The Jordan Legacy was set up by Mr Phillip when Jordan took his own life in December 2019. It works with businesses to encourage workplace wellbeing and mental health training and to ensure they have people and facilities in place to support staff.

“We want everyone to leave feeling really inspired, we have inspirational speakers, actors, musicians all there to inspire people.

“We have had a mix of people book tickets; some work in mental health, some have lost people to mental health and some are facing their own challenges. Everyone is welcome.”

Read more:

The event takes place at the Pavilions of Harrogate on December 1. Tickets can be booked here.

The organisation has already begun planning for its 2022 projects, it hopes to reach out to local schools to talk to young people about mental health.

Mr Phillip said he was aware of the rise in anxiety in young people during the pandemic and felt the organisation could help offer students the tools to recgnise their struggles and seek help.

It also hopes to reach charitable status in the new year.

Post-covid shopping trends push independents to Harrogate pop-up

Three independent businesses have come together to rent a pop-up in Harrogate for two weeks.

The three owners started their ventures over the past three years but said, with the move towards online shopping, opening a permanent shop individually was unviable.

They said high rents, long-term contracts and the need to constantly stock a shop, meant craft fairs and pop-up shops suit their businesses better.

Jane Gales, of Jane Gales Design, Julia Gabler, who owns 2 Little Mice and Rachel Locke, of R.Locke Designs, said they felt town centres would prosper with independents if more spaces like the Harrogate pop-up shop opened.

Ms Gabler said:

“I had looked into a shop, yes, but with the overheads and the fact I would have to make all my products whilst serving in a shop it doesn’t work for a lot of businesses like ours.

“Also, some places I looked into wanted me to sign a five-year contract and I just can’t commit to that. It’s important for me to stay fresh and not saturate the market.”

The three businesses have shared the shop space.

The current retail climate, post-covid, has been a challenge for some of these businesses. Ms Gabler said her online orders flourished but Ms Gales said being un-eligible for a government grant made it difficult.

Ms Gales said:

“It wasn’t great for me, I’d only started the previous year so I didn’t have a website. As a new business there was no government grant available. It was really, really hard. I had a private commission that luckily for me saved my business.

“I think small businesses especially will look for more pop-ups as it gives you the visibility without worrying about the big overheads.”

Read more:

Rachel Locke said:

“After lockdown sales went down again, but then getting back out there to markets again exposed me to new customers. But for me social media.”

The three businesses will be in the Harrogate pop-up shop until the end of next week.

Barker Proudlove and Victoria Shopping Centre came up with the idea to rent out the outlet opposite Cafe Nero back in August.

Businesses can rent the space for between one and six weeks and the £400 weekly cost includes rent, business rates, water, electricity and furniture.

In Depth: Why Harrogate success story CNG ended in collapse

A sentence on CNG‘s website on Wednesday afternoon spelled the end of a company that for the majority of its 27 years was regarded as a Harrogate success story.

CNG had two business arms, supplying wholesale gas to around 20 energy providers as well gas to 41,000 small and medium-sized businesses, including several in the district.

But spiraling wholesale gas prices over the past few months meant CNG’s collapse was swift and unforgiving.

When was CNG founded?

CNG was founded by Colin Gaines following the deregulation of the gas industry in 1994.

The company began in a single office on the top floor of the Schlatter building on York Place but expanded to employ 145 staff with many in customer service and sales roles.

CNG president and former managing director Jacqui Hall told Insider Media in 2016 about the early days of the company:

“When we started we would knock on doors, word of mouth was critical. Lots of the staff used to work for British Gas and the clients were pubs and restaurants; independent businesses because we could make more margin.

“You could have easily built it on big contracts but if one went bust then the whole business would fall; the plan was lots of little, bigger-risk, bigger-margin clients – that was a strategic decision.”

Mr Gaines died in 2006 as did a second major shareholder within two days.

The company then had a number of partners including conglomerate Glencore, but in 2012, Ms Hall led a management buyout of the business.

CNG continued to expand and in 2014 moved from an office on Victoria Avenue into the former HM Revenue and Customs building on the other side of the road.

By 2016 it had posted revenue of £250 million — rising from £25 million in 2006.

CNG’s head office on Victoria Avenue

CNG was also synonymous with Harrogate Town football club, becoming the first-ever sponsor of their Wetherby Road ground from 2008 until 2020 when it was called the CNG Stadium.

The company was also well-known in Harrogate as a supporter of local charities and community projects. Garry Plant, Harrogate Town’s commercial director, told the Stray Ferret that the club was “deeply troubled” by their downfall.

He said:

“The club’s association with CNG was spread over many, many years and we are all deeply troubled by their demise.

“As a company they engaged in community projects across the district and they willingly gave a great deal back.

“We wish everyone at CNG the very best of fortune going forward.”

Timeline of CNG’s collapse

Why CNG failed

There has been a global squeeze on energy supplies with the price of gas rising by 250% since January.

This is, in part, due to a cold winter last year and increased demand from China.

CNG’s troubles became public on October 14 when Mr Stanley sent a letter to customers saying it was exiting the wholesale market.

The Stray Ferret understands the company was in talks with the government in an effort to save the business.

But the talks were to no avail. In a statement published this week after it ceased trading, Mr Stanley said the global energy crisis meant it could not continue trading.

The company had offered fixed-term tariffs to businesses over several years, but with wholesale prices rocketing it meant it had to pay the difference, which was ultimately unsustainable.

Mr Stanley said:

“The global energy crisis and extremely high wholesale energy costs have affected many suppliers already and unfortunately CNG is the next casualty. We have tried and exhausted all options to remain in business.”

Jamie Hailstone, former news editor of specialist energy website Utility Week, told the Stray Ferret that due to the current market crisis, it was inevitable that CNG would go out of business.

He said:

“CNG is the 19th business supplier to go out of business to September. The current crisis in the energy sector has been caused by the massive hike in prices, which has puts smaller suppliers like CNG under immense pressure, because they do not have the reserves of larger suppliers.

“It’s unlikely they will be the last casualty this Autumn, as the sector is bracing itself for more suppliers to go under.”

What happens next

CNG has now entered the Supplier of Last Resort process operated by the government’s energy regulator Ofgem.

The SoLR procedure was established by Ofgem as a safety net to ensure that when a company stops supplying energy, affected customers are guaranteed continuity of supply through other companies.

Administrators are expected to be appointed to wind up the company. All 145 jobs have been lost and staff have been told that wages for days worked this month are not guaranteed to be paid.

Businesses supplied by CNG also are unprotected by an £1,277 annual price cap, which is only for domestic consumers.

These business owners, including Grantham Arms landlord Simon Wade in Boroughbridge, will now be exposed to much higher gas bills.

He said last month:

“I’m facing a massive hike and it’s nothing to do with us.

“We’re completely shackled and it’s put us in a bad position”.

David Simister, chief executive, Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce told the Stray Ferret that the collapse of one of Harrogate’s best-known businesses is a “real blow” to the town.

“I feel incredibly sad for those 145 employees who have lost their jobs.

“Over the years, CNG, became one of the best-known business names in the district. It was a great supporter of local charities and a proud sponsor of Harrogate Town Football Club.

“It is the latest victim of the surge in wholesale energy costs, and more than likely it won’t be the last. For those firms who were supplied by CNG, they will now be contacted by a new supplier and placed on a new tariff, which I’m afraid to say will be higher than their previous agreement.”