Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning and welcome back to our live updates on traffic and travel for the Harrogate district.

Whether you travel by car, bus or train we will keep an eye out for any possible disruption to your journey. All brought to you by The HACS Group.

It’s Connor again back on the travel desk from 6.30am. Spotted an accident or a road closure? Send your updates to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

If traffic is moving well or it’s at a standstill then we will let you know with our updates every 15 minutes.

9am – Full Update 

That’s all from me today on the traffic and travel. We hope you find this service useful. I am heading over to the news desk now but I will be back again bright and early at 6.30am.

Roads

Traffic is building on these roads:

Be aware of a continuing road closure on Dishforth Road, near Ripon, going both ways from New Road to Strait Lane.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

There are also continuing road closures in the Old Barber and Franklin Road areas of Harrogate.

Trains

Buses

8.45am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic is building on these roads:

Be aware of a continuing road closure on Dishforth Road, near Ripon, going both ways from New Road to Strait Lane.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

There are also continuing road closures in the Old Barber and Franklin Road areas of Harrogate.

Trains

Buses

8.30am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic is building on these roads:

Be aware of a continuing road closure on Dishforth Road, near Ripon, going both ways from New Road to Strait Lane.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

There are also continuing road closures in the Old Barber and Franklin Road areas of Harrogate.

Trains

Buses

8.15am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic is building on these roads:

Be aware of a continuing road closure on Dishforth Road, near Ripon, going both ways from New Road to Strait Lane.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

There are also continuing road closures in the Old Barber and Franklin Road areas of Harrogate.

Trains

Buses

8am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic is building on these roads:

Be aware of a continuing road closure on Dishforth Road, near Ripon, going both ways from New Road to Strait Lane.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

There are also continuing road closures in the Old Barber and Franklin Road areas of Harrogate.

Trains

Buses

7.45am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic is building on these roads:

Be aware of a continuing road closure on Dishforth Road, near Ripon, going both ways from New Road to Strait Lane.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

There are also continuing road closures in the Old Barber and Franklin Road areas of Harrogate.

Trains

Buses

7.30am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic is building on these roads:

Be aware of a continuing road closure on Dishforth Road, near Ripon, going both ways from New Road to Strait Lane.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

There are also continuing road closures in the Old Barber and Franklin Road areas of Harrogate.

Trains

Buses

7.15am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic is building on these roads:

Be aware of a continuing road closure on Dishforth Road, near Ripon, going both ways from New Road to Strait Lane.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

There are also continuing road closures in the Old Barber and Franklin Road areas of Harrogate.

Trains

Buses

7am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic is building on these roads:

Be aware of a continuing road closure on Dishforth Road, near Ripon, going both ways from New Road to Strait Lane.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

There are also continuing road closures in the Old Barber and Franklin Road areas of Harrogate.

Trains

Buses

6.45am – Full Update 

Roads

Be aware of a continuing road closure on Dishforth Road, near Ripon, going both ways from New Road to Strait Lane.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

There are also continuing road closures in the Old Barber and Franklin Road areas of Harrogate.

Trains

Buses

6.30am – Full Update 

Roads

Be aware of a continuing road closure on Dishforth Road, near Ripon, going both ways from New Road to Strait Lane.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

There are also continuing road closures in the Old Barber and Franklin Road areas of Harrogate.

Trains

Buses

Harrogate hospital’s intensive care unit completes £1m refurbishment

Harrogate District Hospital’s intensive care unit has completed a £1 million refurbishment.

The 12-week refurbishment has increased capacity, meaning the unit can now care for 11 patients rather than 10, and created a better environment.

Ross Stewart, a patient on the unit for many weeks in 2020 pre-covid, returned today to cut a ribbon before patients were transferred back in.

The unit was stripped down to its shell and rebuilt. Five of the 11 beds now have their own side rooms.

The hospital’s experience of the pandemic shaped the new design. For instance, the side rooms help to contain infections.

The unit has new TVs, flooring, ceilings and doors. Wall cladding and dimmable lights have been installed, and there are wall murals and LED ceiling panels featuring blue skies, clouds and trees in two of the side rooms.

The more open design means nurses can see all the patients from their station.

New ICU unit at Harrogate District Hospital

Daylight, open space and a clean feel are key features of the new design.

The last 12 months have been unprecedented for hospital staff. ICU staff have been caring for numbers never seen before.

Intensive care consultant Dr Sarah Marsh said:

“This has gone above and beyond what we could have expected. It’s not just about surviving it’s about giving that survivorship some quality and the environment in the ICU plays a huge part in that.

“Something as simple as having more natural light and dimmable lights is very important for the patients. The unit will really help to improve patients’ outcomes for sure.”

Read more:

The increase in patients due to covid forced the unit to relocate into a larger ward, which presented the opportunity to refurbish the unit without disturbing patients.

The Harrogate Hospital and Community Charity donated some of the funds for the work, which enabled a relatives’ room to offer a pull-down bed for relatives to stay in.

Artisan market heading to Harrogate this summer

A Harrogate church in the Duchy area is set to welcome a monthly artisan market from summer until December.

The Little Bird Artisan Market will sell locally produced arts and crafts, ceramics, jewellery, clothing, flowers, food and drink.

St Wilfrid’s Church on Duchy Road will host the first outdoor market on Saturday, June 19 between 10am and 3pm.

The outdoor market will then be at the church every month until December 18.

Read more:

Organisers hope lockdown easing measures permit the market to go ahead as planned.

The team has already launched artisan markets in Boroughbridge, Ripon, Pateley Bridge, Wetherby and Easingwold.

St Wilfrid’s Church will host the market.

Jackie Crozier, from Little Bird Artisan Market, said:

“This will be my first artisan market in Harrogate and I’m really looking forward to welcoming an exciting range of different local stallholders, who’ll be showcasing their fantastic local produce.

“It has been a difficult year for small businesses and so to start a new market and get people out shopping again benefits everyone.

“We hope that visitors to the market will also wander into Harrogate and enjoy a day out. I really hope the community will get behind this and come and meet the makers.”

Each month the market will also offer a free space for local charities and community groups. Interested parties should send an email here.

The market will be at St Wilfrid’s Church on June 19, July 17, August 14, September 18, October 16, November 20 and December 18.

New base for Harrogate mental health crisis team yet to be found

Health bosses have yet to find a new base for Harrogate’s mental health crisis team, despite conceding that it had to return “at the earliest possible opportunity”.

Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, which runs mental health services for the district, moved the team to The Orchards at Ripon following the closure of the Harrogate District Hospital’s Briary Unit in April.

Adult and children crisis teams support people with mental health problems who may otherwise need to go to hospital.

Officials relocated the team, which includes 29 staff, after they were unable to identify alternative accommodation in Harrogate. They said the move was a short-term solution and that work was underway to find a new site.

At a North Yorkshire Health Scrutiny meeting in December, trust managers conceded that the move “cannot be sustained in the long term” and that it had to return “at the earliest possible opportunity”.

Read more:

However, the trust has now said it intends to explore requirements for a new site “in the near future”.

Naomi Lonergan, director of operations for North Yorkshire and York at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“We intend to explore our requirements for a new location for our Harrogate mental health crisis services in the near future, which will include discussions with our stakeholders and partners.

“It remains our priority to offer face-to-face contact and see people who need crisis interventions in their homes or as close to home as possible. Although the crisis team has been relocated to Ripon, most people accessing the services can still do so in the Harrogate area.

“We continue to use rooms in the Harrogate community bases to enable face-to-face contact and we are also offering attend anywhere virtual consultations where clinically appropriate.”

Harrogate District Hospital’s Briary Wing, which offered specialist inpatient care for people suffering with mental health problems, closed in April.

Inpatient mental health services transferred to York.

North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, which buys medical services for the county, said the transfer of inpatient beds “released £500,000”, which could be invested in community mental health services.

Have you been affected by this change in mental health services? Get in touch at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk

Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning and welcome back to our live updates on traffic and travel for the Harrogate district.

Whether you travel by car, bus or train we will keep an eye out for any possible disruption to your journey. All brought to you by The HACS Group.

It’s Connor again back on the travel desk from 6.30am. Spotted an accident or a road closure? Send your updates to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

If traffic is moving well or it’s at a standstill then we will let you know with our updates every 15 minutes.

9am – Full Update 

That is all from me this morning. Thanks again for checking out of traffic and travel blog. Do get involved if you have any updates we may have missed – it helps others to avoid problems. I am heading over to the news desk now but will be back from 6.30am tomorrow.

Roads

Traffic hotspots:

Traffic building in the area:

Be aware of a continuing road closure on Dishforth Road, near Ripon, going both ways from New Road to Strait Lane.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

There are also continuing road closures in the Old Barber and Franklin Road areas of Harrogate for carriageway repairs.

Trains

Buses

8.45am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic hotspots:

Traffic building in the area:

Be aware of a continuing road closure on Dishforth Road, near Ripon, going both ways from New Road to Strait Lane.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

There are also continuing road closures in the Old Barber and Franklin Road areas of Harrogate for carriageway repairs.

Trains

Buses

8.30am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic hotspots:

Traffic building in the area:

Be aware of a continuing road closure on Dishforth Road, near Ripon, going both ways from New Road to Strait Lane.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

There are also continuing road closures in the Old Barber and Franklin Road areas of Harrogate for carriageway repairs.

Trains

Buses

8.15am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic hotspots:

Traffic building in the area:

Be aware of a continuing road closure on Dishforth Road, near Ripon, going both ways from New Road to Strait Lane.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

There are also continuing road closures in the Old Barber and Franklin Road areas of Harrogate for carriageway repairs.

Trains

Buses

8am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic hotspots:

Traffic building in the area:

Be aware of a continuing road closure on Dishforth Road, near Ripon, going both ways from New Road to Strait Lane.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

There are also continuing road closures in the Old Barber and Franklin Road areas of Harrogate for carriageway repairs.

Trains

Buses

7.45am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic is building in these areas:

Be aware of a continuing road closure on Dishforth Road, near Ripon, going both ways from New Road to Strait Lane.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

There are also continuing road closures in the Old Barber and Franklin Road areas of Harrogate for carriageway repairs.

Trains

Buses

7.30am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic is building in these areas:

Be aware of a continuing road closure on Dishforth Road, near Ripon, going both ways from New Road to Strait Lane.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

There are also continuing road closures in the Old Barber and Franklin Road areas of Harrogate for carriageway repairs.

Trains

Buses

7.15am – Full Update 

Roads

Traffic is building in these areas:

Be aware of a continuing road closure on Dishforth Road, near Ripon, going both ways from New Road to Strait Lane.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

There are also continuing road closures in the Old Barber and Franklin Road areas of Harrogate for carriageway repairs.

Trains

Buses

7am – Full Update 

Roads

Be aware of a continuing road closure on Dishforth Road, near Ripon, going both ways from New Road to Strait Lane.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

There are also continuing road closures in the Old Barber and Franklin Road areas of Harrogate.

Trains

Buses

6.45am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads look clear so far this morning but there are some areas likely to cause delays later on.

Be aware of a continuing road closure on Dishforth Road, near Ripon, going both ways from New Road to Strait Lane.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

There are also continuing road closures in the Old Barber and Franklin Road areas of Harrogate.

Trains

Buses

6.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads look clear so far this morning but there are some areas likely to cause delays later on.

Be aware of a continuing road closure on Dishforth Road, near Ripon, going both ways from New Road to Strait Lane.

Temporary traffic lights in place:

There are also continuing road closures in the Old Barber and Franklin Road areas of Harrogate.

Trains

Buses

New garden centre opening near Harrogate

A new garden centre creating 40 jobs is set to open at the old Cascades site between Harrogate and Ripon.

The site, just outside of Bishop Monkton on Harrogate Road, has been bought by British Garden Centres, and will become its 58th centre.

British Garden Centres has begun work on the site and plans to re-open it early next month as Harrogate Garden Centre.

The new owner has said it plans to use the whole site but will add covering to some areas to allow for all-weather shopping.

A BGC spokesman told the Stray Ferret the company had visited Harrogate regularly for trade shows and decided to pursue the opportunity to buy the site.

Founder Charles Stubbs said:

“I’m delighted we can bring the unique BGC offer to the Harrogate area and look forward to meeting our new customers.

“I’m excited by the prospect of re-opening the garden centre and we are going to pull out all the stops and open in April with our full gardening range.”

“The first thing we need to do is recruit a team, we’ll be welcoming 40 people to the family in the next few weeks.”

Mr Stubbs also said a further 15 staff would be recruited once the restaurant opens in the summer.

The restaurant will be in the same location as previous years but will have a new look.

Read more:

The centre, which has previously been known as Grass Roots and Cascades Garden Centre, has been closed for over a year. It is seven miles from Harrogate.

BGC is a family-led business that was founded 30 years ago by brothers Charles and Robert Stubbs in Lincolnshire.

Major transport schemes for Harrogate up for debate on Thursday

Four major transport schemes aiming to get Harrogate walking and cycling towards a greener future are set to be debated this week.

North Yorkshire County Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee will meet on Thursday to discuss the next stages of the £7.9m Station Gateway project, Otley Road cycle path, Beech Grove Low Traffic Neighbourhood and schemes under the government’s Active Travel Fund.

The projects are funded from different sources and are at varying stages of development. But all have the same aim to cut carbon emissions by making the towns more accessible by bike or on foot.

Station Gateway

The Station Gateway project has the potential to be the biggest shake-up in the town centre for decades and a report to Thursday’s meeting says it is focusing on “investment in infrastructure to improve public and sustainable transport connectivity”.

What that means in simple terms is giving priority to pedestrians and cyclists, which could involve Station Parade being reduced to one lane of traffic and the full or partial pedestrianisation of James Street.

Under the plans still being drawn up are also two new bus priority areas at Lower Station Parade and Cheltenham Parade, junction upgrades, new cycle lanes and cycle storage facilities, as well as an increase in safe space for people on foot, new flexible public events spaces and water features.

A consultation on this scheme is underway and once it ends on March 24 the aim is to finalise designs for construction to begin by summer 2022 with completion in 2023.

Otley Road cycle path

The long-delayed Otley Road cycle path project was first unveiled in 2017 as part of a wider £4.6m package of sustainable transport measures for the west of Harrogate.

Four years on and North Yorkshire County Council has still not started construction because of delays with utility works and drawn out discussions over changing byelaws so parts of the Stray can be used for the two-way cycle path.

But the report to Thursday’s meeting says preliminary roadworks are now underway and that it is hoped construction of a first phase could finally start in autumn this year.

Read more:

Beech Grove 

The Low Traffic Neighbourhood on Beech Grove caused controversy when it was introduced earlier this year with planters placed on the road to stop through traffic and create quieter streets where residents feel safer walking and cycling.

It has made getting around the area by car more difficult and that is the idea behind it – to drive down car use.

The report to councillors says it should be noted that the Low Traffic Neighbourhood is temporary for now but could become permanent subject to an ongoing consultation, which ends in August.

Active Travel Fund

The final scheme set for debate on Thursday is the Active Travel Fund from which North Yorkshire County Council has received more than £1.2m of government cash to get more people walking and cycling as the nation emerges from the pandemic.

The cash will be used for three projects in Harrogate, including segregated cycle lanes and improved crossings on the A59 between the town and Knaresborough, as well as the same upgrades plus bike storage in the Victoria Avenue area of Harrogate.

There are also plans for cycle lanes and a one-way system for vehicles on Oatlands Drive but this has been met with a hostile response from residents, with 50% of respondents to an online survey strongly opposing the plans.

North Yorkshire County Council previously said it acknowledged the concerns over traffic levels and how much existing cycle lanes are used and added all comments would be taken into account before a final decision is made.

The meeting will start at 10am and can be viewed on the county council’s YouTube channel.

TGI Fridays applies to open venue in Harrogate

TGI Fridays is planning to open its first Harrogate venue in the former Ask Italian restaurant on Albert Street.

The American restaurant chain has submitted plans to Harrogate Borough Council to operate on the site.

The licensing application includes films, live music, recorded music, late night refreshment and the supply of alcohol for consumption on and off the premises from 9am to 0030am Monday to Sunday.

TGI Fridays UK was tight-lipped about the initiative when approached by the Stray Ferret.

But there could be a twist on the usual TGI restaurant offering.

The company has launched a new cocktail-led bar and restaurant venture called 63rd+1st, which is named after the location of the original restaurant in Manhattan.

Read more:

The company has promised that it will be a “vibrant meeting place” and that it will have the feel of a New York loft in the 1960s.

When the new brand was announced last year, Robert Cook, chief executive of Fridays and 63rd+1st, said in a statement that “audiences are becoming increasingly discerning and their attitudes towards food and drink are evolving”. He added:

“We are in a strong position to cater to this audience and, as a result, we are securing other sought-after sites in prime locations.”

The first 63rd+1st was set to open in Cobham, Surrey in January but the coronavirus lockdown put a stop to those plans.

It’s unclear how many UK venues will accommodate the new TGI Fridays brand, or whether they include Harrogate.

Investigation: ‘Shocking’ waits for NHS dentists in Harrogate district

An investigation by the Stray Ferret has found that just two NHS dentists in the Harrogate district are accepting new patients — and both have a waiting time of at least two-and-a-half years.

Our investigation reveals how acute the problem of dental care is for people on low incomes in the district.

John Ennis, who chairs North Yorkshire County Council‘s scrutiny of health committee, described our findings as “shocking”.

We looked into the availability of free NHS services at the 18 Harrogate district dental practices listed on the NHS website.

Many have not updated their information for years. But they all fall into one or three categories: they have a long waiting list; they have such a long waiting list that they are not taking on new patients; or they no longer hold an NHS contract.

We found of the 18 only MyDentist in Knaresborough and AW Jones Dental Practice in Boroughbridge are taking patients — with wait times of two and a half years and three years respectively.

Read more:

The situation looks like it will get worse: Chatsworth House Dental Centre, one of the few dentists in the area providing NHS services, is proposing to close and move its NHS patients to a dental practice in Starbeck. Chatsworth House has not yet made a formal approach to the NHS but it has revealed its plans in letters to patients.

John Ennis, a Conservative councillor who represents Harrogate Stray on North Yorkshire County Council, and chair’s the council’s scrutiny of health committee, told the Stray Ferret that Harrogate and Knaresborough are some of the worst affected areas in the county. He added:

“I have been on the scrutiny of health committee for the last seven years and it has been an issue bubbling along for all of that time.

“Coronavirus has made the issue worse. Between June and December last year the NHS only expected dentists to carry out 20% of their usual appointments.

“That should increase to 45% soon but that is still too low. Dentists do have to clean between patients, given the nature of their work, so that has created delays.

“Harrogate and Knaresborough has a particular problem. While I am not entirely surprised by your findings, I do think that those delays are shocking.

“We have just started to investigate the provision of NHS dentists in North Yorkshire. I am currently trying to gather as much information as I can.

“I will then prepare a report and share my findings at the next committee meeting in June.”

Cllr Ennis added the county council only has power to scrutinise when a practice proposes a closure. He suggested the committee would have greater powers if the proposed reorganisation of the NHS devolved decisions on NHS dentistry to a more local level.

National bodies raise concerns about NHS dentists

The provision of NHS dentists has been a contentious local and national issue for some time.

Healthwatch England, the national watchdog, has said the coronavirus pandemic has stretched services to crisis point and even forced some patients to attempt their own treatments.

Healthwatch England and the British Dental Association (BDA) have both recently published damning reports into NHS dentistry.

The BDA found in October that NHS dentist treatments were at a quarter of the level prior to the coronavirus pandemic. It also found that dentists face an uphill struggle to catch up because they missed more than 14 million appointments in 2020 than the previous year.

A Healthwatch England survey of 1,300 people found that 73% said it was difficult to access help and support when they needed it. Many were only offered private treatment.

The accompanying report also suggested that the scarcity of information about whether dentists were taking NHS patients was ‘a real problem and is masking a potentially bigger issue’.

Harrogate buses are the best, says Transport Secretary Grant Shapps

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has held up Harrogate’s bus service as an example of what other places should aspire to.

The government published a national bus strategy yesterday.

Ministers say the strategy ‘will deliver better bus services for passengers across England, through ambitious and far-reaching reform of how services are planned and delivered’.

Speaking in the House of Commons yesterday, Mr Shapps said successive governments had failed to invest sufficiently in buses, which carry twice as many passengers as trains. He added:

“Buses can and should also be the transport of choice, in my view.

“London, Brighton and Harrogate have already proved this, with frequent modern services and dedicated lanes attracting millions of journeys a year from the private car.

“We want to do that everywhere throughout the country, yet in most regions outside London services have been in decline for decades.”

The strategy praises the 36 bus that links Ripon, Harrogate and Leeds, which is run by the Harrogate Bus Company.

According to the document, it “offers a sophisticated and comfortable service which has transformed the passenger experience and encouraged people to make the switch to bus”.

The strategy also says bus operators and councils will have to negotiate agreements on how buses are run, which will require local authorities to take greater responsibility for bus services.

Read more:

The agreements must be reached by June 30 if buses are to receive further emergency funding from the covid bus services support grant.

Mr Shapps added:

“I can confidently predict that they will all be on board. Local authorities, in collaboration with operators, will then produce bus service improvement plans by the end of October this year.

“Future government financial support will depend on local authorities and operators coming together under an enhanced partnership or franchising agreement.

“For our part, we will work with councils to introduce bus priority schemes this year, and we will roll out marketing to attract millions of new passengers to the network—people who have never used buses before.”

Shadow Transport Secretary Jim McMahon said:

“This strategy should have been used to revolutionise the bus industry, but I am afraid it lacks ambition and does not even touch the sides of the cuts and rocketing prices that passengers have witnessed over the past decade.”