Our story yesterday about the Harrogate district being left to grow wild to improve biodiversity and attract bees, birds and insects provoked a huge amount of interest.

Harrogate Borough Council has left large swathes of green spaces untouched by mowers and strimmers.

Even the neat and orderly Stray has a different look to previous years.

It’s a thorny subject for the district, which prides itself on its well tended, floral appearance.

Almost 100 people commented on our Facebook page, and the vast majority gave the new approach the thumbs-up.

One person praised the wildflower “anarchy” on display.

“I love it! Wild flowers are never untidy – just a bit anarchic!!”

‘The wilder the better’

Another reader called Harrogate Borough Council “brave” for taking the new approach.

“The wilder the better for wildflowers, insects and other wildlife. Well done Harrogate Borough Council for taking such a brave approach and not bowing to the ‘tidy brigade’. Currently it’s only a tiny percentage of our green space but it’s a start!”

Read more:

• Harrogate’s ‘rewilding’: untidy or biodiversity boon?
• Wildflower planting starts on the Stray tomorrow

Someone on our Twitter page said other parts of Harrogate were also looking better:

“It’s great – not just on The Stray but also in other places like along Wetherby Road near Woodlands. Looks great with the buttercups in flower.”

However, there were some dissenting voices. Several people accused the council of not cutting the grass to save money.

Another accused it of “hypocrisy” due to the scale of housebuilding in the district.

The Stray Ferret reported last year that green spaces the size of over 700 football pitches will be lost to housing.

“The crocuses and planted up flower beds also attract many bees and many insects but oh wait, the council are selling the horticulture nurseries on Harlow for yet more housing. 

“Total double standards but they they’ll cut maintenance costs and make money from developers.”

How wild is your neighbourhood? Send us pics and give us your views. Email us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk

Harrogate Town’s under-19 coach Paul Barker is asking young people and their families in the district to donate sports equipment to disadvantaged youngsters.

He’s collecting football boots, balls, and other sporting gear which will be sent to a new charity called Action For Sport, which was set up to improve sporting participation for young people living in poverty. Donations will mainly help people in Bradford but also in other parts of the UK.

Mr Barker has worked in sport all his life and said its impact can be profound on young people. However, poverty can be a barrier to entry, with some parents unable to afford the essentials.

He said:

“Without sport some youngsters could go down a different path, sport can change that.”

“The charity is about giving them access to play sport in cities and getting them off the street.

Mr Barker said he has a friend whose son plays for Leeds United’s youth team. He receives three new pairs of goalkeeper gloves each month, which he was going to send to the tip but instead donated them to the charity.

He said even a small donation could make a big difference:

“An old ball, boots or trainers and you’re off”.

To donate, email Mr Barker at pbjfc@live.com or contact him through his Twitter page. He said you can arrange a time to drop the equipment off at his house.

Read more:

• English Football League approves Harrogate Town’s bid to create academy
• Former Harrogate Town footballer launches counselling service for young athletes

It’s not the first time Mr Barker has launched a drive for football equipment for those in need.

Two years ago he collected over 400 pairs of football boots, which were donated to the Namutumba orphanage in Uganda.

The people of Harrogate rallied behind the appeal, which was a huge success and created some new Town fans in a different continent.

He added:

“There are young people wandering around Uganda now wearing Harrogate Town shirts!”

The founder of a Harrogate dog rescue charity has resigned after a disagreement with the trustees over kennel fees.

Moorview Rescue was set up by Joanne Brydon in 2009 and based at her farm in Bewerley. Over the years it’s housed hundreds of neglected and mis-treated dogs whilst they were found new owners.

The disagreement came because, alongside the charity, Ms Brydon also ran a kennel business where the charity paid for the rescued dogs to stay.

In recent weeks the trustees and Ms Brydon disagreed on the price the charity paid for kennel fees leading to Ms Brydon’s resignation.

She said:

“They have now decided to move to new premises. I’ve had no choice but to resign. I’ve changed the name but I will be keeping all the farm animals. They thought the rescue fees were too much, we had conflicting ideas.”

Ms Brydon has set up another business called the Moorview Sanctuary, caring for her rescued farm animals. She said she will continue to run the kennel business and only care for rescue dogs once she has raised the funds.

Read more:

• Ripon dementia charity wins royal aware for voluntary service
• Charity Corner: the Masham charity’s ‘vocation’ to save dogs

The charity’s trustees now control of the charity and said they’re looking for new premises to house the dogs.

A charity spokesperson said:

“We decided to part ways as the cost was a challenge area and now everyone has gone their separate ways. Our aim is to continue helping animals and to continue doing the great work of this charity.”

The charity was unable to give further details on the new premises but said it would continue to care for neglected and mis-treated dogs.

Rossett Sports Centre in Harrogate is to begin repairing its 3G artificial football pitch after achieving its £10,000 fundraising target.

The appeal was launched last month after the pandemic affected finances and delayed the repairs.

The pitch is usually open to 1,000 people each week but covid meant this number was massively reduced.

But a successful crowdfunding campaign means work can begin.

In a statement on the fundraising page, the centre manager, Josh Lyon, said the total cost of the repairs is £160,000.

He added the pitch was set to reopen to the public later this month:

“A massive thank you for your support in helping us reach our £10,000 target. This money is going directly towards the 3G pitch replacement project. Works on the new pitch is imminently commencing and the new state of the art facility should be back open to the local community in late June.

“Your support is massively appreciated by Rossett and your local sporting community.”

Read more:

• Equestrian teams from Harrogate Grammar School have reached the national championship finals
• Ripon diver Jack Laugher has been selected for this year’s Olympic team

The current total is nearing £11,000. Mr Lyon has said any extra funding would go towards new goals.

The sports centre on Pannal Ash Road is run by Rossett School and is open to the public outside of school hours, seven days a week.

Its full-sized 3G pitch provides space for both five-a-side groups and full team matches.

Harrogate district residents may have noticed the town is looking different this year — as swathes of green spaces, including on the Stray, have been left alone by mowers and strimmers so nature can grow free.

‘Rewilding’ is one of the words of the moment, with councils across the country hoping to improve biodiversity and attract bees, birds and insects.

The new look in Harrogate has been welcomed by many, who see it as a sign that Harrogate Borough Council, which manages our parks and green spaces, is serious about improving biodiversity.

But others who cherish Harrogate’s long reputation for organised and elegant planting, believe it makes the town look untidy.

In the eye of the beholder

Shan Oakes from the Harrogate & District Green Party told the Stray Ferret that prim and proper Victorian-style floral displays can look old-fashioned.

In recent history, wildflower meadows have slipped into a dramatic decline as the species-rich grasslands are ploughed up for housing, farming and roads.

She said wildflowers will encourage pollinating bees as well as insects which can good food for birds.

“It’s excellent the council is thinking seriously about this from nature’s point of view.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It doesn’t have to be a mess.”

“One or two people might think it looks untidy and not respectful. But isn’t it more respectful to be kinder to nature?

“If bees go, we all go.”

‘Very unattractive’

Alison Freeman lives near the Stray but said rewilding makes the town look “untidy and unsightly”

She said she fears broken glass and bottles lurking in the undergrowth which she believes poses a safety risk.

“It’s very unattractive and it has the potential to be dangerous. Beer bottles could get dumped in the long grass.I t’s unusable and I can’t walk on it.

She criticised Harrogate Borough Council’s approach to grass cutting this year.

“Don’t they care about the town? They are driving Harrogate down.

“The whole verge by the West Park Stray looks like the council hasn’t bothered to look after it.

“Bees are important, we are not anti-bee. But I haven’t seen any bees on the buttercups by the Stray”.

Read more:

• Wildflower planting starts on the Stray tomorrow
• Watch: Volunteers plant wild flowers on Harrogate’s Stray

Judy D’Arcy Thompson from the Stray Defence Association took a more balanced approach to the issue.

She called rewilding “a very emotive subject with passions running high both for and against the wilding”.

She added:

“Our Stray is arguably Harrogate’s most important environmental asset and of tremendous benefit to the whole area. Throughout the past difficult months during the pandemic it has been an amazing green sanctuary for everyone to use.

“It is essential to strike a balance between the need for safeguarding and enhancing its ecological role alongside its open and free use by people.”

Great news for wildlife

As well as letting some areas grow free, Harrogate Borough Council recently planted 5,500 wildflower plugs on two areas of the Stray near Leeds Road and York Place. They were helped volunteers from Bilton Conservation Group.

A council spokesman said the new biodiversity areas will provide habitats and green corridors for some of the 1,500 species of insect pollinators across the district.

He added:

“Residents and visitors may have started to notice that some areas of the Harrogate district are being left to grow and not mown. 

“This is great news for wildlife as the longer grass and wildflowers will provide food and homes for pollinating insects, as well as supporting our aim of reducing our carbon footprint.

“As well as leaving specific areas to grow and encourage biodiversity, we have also planted – with the help of volunteers – more than 5,000 wildflower plugs on specific areas of the Stray in Harrogate.

“We’ll be keeping an eye on how things progress and will be providing regular updates on social media channels.”

Harrogate Borough Council have created a flower mural in the town centre to celebrate 100 years since the founding of the Soroptimist International women’s organisation.

Soroptimist International is an organisation aimed at empowering and improving the lives of women worldwide. It tackles issues such as domestic violence, child marriage and human trafficking.

The organisation has its’ own Harrogate and District branch which is reaching its 90th anniversary.

It consists of 37 members who work locally to support women’s refuges, food banks and other women’s causes.

In July of 2019 they held a Zoom conference for women in the organisation to speak to their ‘friendship links’ worldwide during lockdown.

The name ‘soroptimist’ comes from the Latin for ‘better sister’.

The mural can be found in Harrogate town centre on Montpelier Hill.

Read more

• Drag queen visits care home to celebrate Pride 2021
• The heyday of Harrogate’s cinemas

Two gay men from Harrogate have welcomed the opportunity to donate blood from next week, as rules relax across the UK.

Under the previous rules, men who have sex with men had to abstain from sex for three months in order to donate.

But from June 14, gay men will be able to donate if they have had the same sexual partner for the last three months or if they have not had sex with a new partner.

Read more:

• Harrogate park and ride scheme still being considered
• Police pledge to crack down on fast and noisy cars in Harrogate

CJ Allison, who is in his early 50s and from Harrogate, was a regular donor before he accepted that he was a gay man. He told the Stray Ferret:

“I have donated more than 30 pints of blood in my lifetime but had to stop when I came out in my late 40s.

“There were so many changes at that time so I just accepted it. But on reflection it is a very clear form of discrimination, it does not seem right.

“This is a welcome change but it needs to go further. I can donate now but my partner who has two other partners cannot.”

Jamie Carter, who is in his 20s and works as a hairdresser in Harrogate, also told the Stray Ferret:

“I have always thought that the rule is disgusting, it is so backwards. I just want to help people, it’s always baffled me.

“When my best friend had leukemia I had the right blood type and was in the position to donate blood but could not because I am gay.

“It’s a step in the right direction but we do not have complete equality just yet.”

Feasibility work will be conducted this summer on plans to build a park and ride bus service for Harrogate.

A park and ride scheme was proposed in January as part of a series of transport initiatives to reduce traffic and ease congestion.

Two locations in Pannal on the 36 bus route were identified as possible sites.

Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at North Yorkshire County Council, said at the time the scheme “could happen fairly quickly” depending on developments.

But there has been no news since as other proposed transport initiatives, such as the £7.9m Station Gateway project, have dominated the headlines.

This prompted a reader who supports the creation of a park and ride service to contact the Stray Ferret asking what had happened to the idea.

In response to requests for an update, Cllr Mackenzie told the Stray Ferret:

“All of the proposals in the Harrogate Transport Improvement Programme are in the feasibility stage and further work will be commissioned this summer.

“Nevertheless, a park and ride remains one of the measures we are considering to reduce traffic and ease congestion in and around Harrogate.

“The development of park and ride proposals would require more detailed modelling, testing of options and public consultation.

“We need to develop these plans along with other Harrogate Transport Improvement Programme priorities such as cycling and walking, bus priority and junction improvements.”

Cllr Mackenzie added council officers “are continuing to consider both the A61 and A59 to assess ways of improving provision for pedestrians and cyclists, provide bus priority and also seek to tackle some of the most problematic junctions”.

He said:

“By turning our attention to active travel models we hope to reduce congestion and improve the network without the need for additional, costly construction.”

Read more:

• Stray Views: Harrogate park and ride was a great idea — what happened?
• Harrogate park and ride could be built in Pannal

The Harrogate and Knaresborough parliamentary constituency could be reduced in size, under proposals outlined today by the Boundary Commission for England.

Under the plans, Harrogate and Knaresborough’s electorate would be shrunk and areas, including Boroughbridge, would fall under a new constituency.

Harrogate and Knaresborough’s constituency would see its electorate fall from 74,319 to 72,850. The Conservative Andrew Jones currently holds the seat.

The commission has carried out a review of parliamentary seat boundaries and opened a public consultation.

Following further consultation next year, it will publish a final report on boundary changes in 2023.

Read more:

• Harrogate councillor’s countryside home approved at third time of asking
• MPs watch: Timid flowers, Eurovision and Knaresborough banks

Under the current proposals, the number of constituencies in Yorkshire and Humber would remain at 54.

But Conservative Nigel Adams’ seat of Selby and Ainsty, which includes the south of Harrogate, would be scrapped.

The current constituency boundaries in and around the Harrogate district.

Instead, Selby would have its own seat and the north of the district would fall under a new constituency called Wetherby and Easingwold, which would take in areas including Wetherby, Boroughbridge and Green Hammerton.

A map of the new constituency and reduced Harrogate and Knaresborough seat under the Boundary Commission plans. Picture: Boundary Commission.

Kirby Hill and Bishop Monkton would become part of the new Wetherby and Easingwold seat.

The Skipton and Ripon constituency, which is currently represented by Conservative Julian Smith, would include Ripley, which is currently part of Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Tim Bowden, secretary to the Boundary Commission for England, said:

“Today’s proposals mark the first time people get to see what the new map of parliamentary constituencies might look like. But they are just the commission’s initial thoughts.

“Help us draw the line to make the number of electors in each parliamentary constituency more equal.

“Each constituency we recommend is required by law to contain between 69,724 and 77,062 electors, meaning there will be significant change to current boundaries.

“We want to hear the views of the public to ensure that we get the new boundaries for parliamentary constituencies right.”

The review will increase the number of constituencies in England from 533 to 543.

Just under 10% of existing seats remain unchanged as part of the proposals.

Members of the public can have their say on the proposals as part of an eight-week public consultation on the Boundary Commission for England website.

The consultation will close on August 2.

Police have pledged to take a zero tolerance approach to fast and noisy drivers in Harrogate town centre this summer.

Harrogate often attracts drivers, sometimes in modified vehicles, racing around the main roads, particularly during summer.

North Yorkshire Police said today it has already handed out three traffic offence reports and one more serious section 59 warning for antisocial driving behaviour, which could lead to the car being seized.

It pledged in a statement to keep up the pressure during the summer months on “the irresponsible behaviour of some drivers which is not only unsafe but also highly disruptive”.

Operation Chrome, which began last summer last year, has restarted and will see increased police patrols in hot spots, more speed cameras across town, vehicle stops and detailed CCTV reviews.

Read more:

• Ripon suffers further violent and anti-social behaviour
• Major incident opened into River Nidd ‘disaster’

Superintendent Steve Thomas said:

“As the weather improves we see a surge in the number of vehicles driving antisocially around the town centre.

“Residents and visitors should not have to fear for their safety or have their days blighted by this excessive noise.

“We are taking a zero tolerance approach to this dangerous behaviour.

“Rest assured if you receive a warning and continue driving irresponsibly, we will be watching and your vehicle will be seized.”

Have you noticed more fast and noisy cars on your street? Tell us your experience contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.