Harrogate phone box transformed into community library

A disused red phone box on St Hilda’s Road in Harrogate has been saved from the scrapheap and turned into a community library.

Last year, BT Group announced plans to remove 32 inactive booths across the Harrogate district, 22 of which were built in the traditional red style.

BT encouraged communities to keep the red telephone kiosks under its “adopt-a-kiosk” scheme, which costs £1 and lets community organisations, including councils and charities, transform the kiosks into defibrillator sites, mini-libraries and more.

The Oatlands Community Group has successfully adopted the St Hilda’s phone box, which is now called The Saints Community Library and can be used to store up to 200 books for people to swap, free of charge.

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Jane Kennerley, a member of the group, told the Stray Ferret she believes similar community libraries have been set up inside former phone boxes in Pannal and North Rigton in the Harrogate district.

The new library on St Hilda’s Road will be adapted for themed events, such as Red Nose Day, World Book Day and Pride.

To kick this off, from Monday it will celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight by featuring books from countries that produce Fairtrade goods.

Hand sanitiser is available on entry and people are advised to quarantine all books for 72 hours prior to using them.

Ms Kennerley said the phone box has already generated a great response from the local community.

She said:

“People seem to love it and it’s been really busy, especially with the charity shops being closed in Harrogate.”

Businesses helped post-Brexit by new Harrogate training centre

A new training centre opened in Harrogate yesterday to help businesses and staff better equip themselves for the economy post-Brexit and post-covid.

The Yorkshire education provider, Luminate Education Group, set up The Yorkshire Centre for Training and Development to help businesses navigate the upcoming economic challenges.

Operating out of Harrogate College on Hornbeam Park, as well as at sites in Leeds and Keighley, the centre will work with businesses to offer bespoke training packages.

The team of teachers will offer a range of compliance, professional development and redundancy support courses.

Luminate Education Group includes, amongst others, Harrogate College , Leeds City College and Keighley College.

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The director, Lee Pryor, said:

“With the ever-changing economic climate, we recognise businesses’ need to adapt their employees’ skills, to ensure a successful post-Brexit and post-covid transition.

“Our service will start with a complimentary skills planning session to understand the business, so that we can effectively identify its training needs, and match these to a budget.

“We will be offering in-person as well as virtual sessions that fit around the organisation’s schedule. We will then develop a bespoke training solution that meets those needs.”

He added businesses from a range of sectors, including social care and hospitality, could come to the centre for support.

Live: Traffic and travel updates in the Harrogate district

Good morning everyone and thanks for getting involved in this new traffic and travel service for the Harrogate district.

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.

We will keep across the roads and rail lines. If traffic is moving well or it’s at a standstill then we will let you know with our updates every 15 minutes.

Have a lovely day and keep on top of traffic and travel right here on the Stray Ferret.

Full update – 9am

Thanks for getting involved everyone. I am heading over to the news desk now but will be back again tomorrow morning.

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Traffic is building around the following construction sites:

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Full update – 8.45am

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Traffic is building around the following construction sites:

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Full update – 8.30am

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Traffic is building around the following construction sites:

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Full update – 8.15am

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Traffic is building around the following construction sites:

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Full update – 8am

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Traffic is building around the following construction sites:

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Full update – 7.45am

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Traffic is building around the following construction sites:

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Full update – 7.30am

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Full update – 7.15am

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Full update – 7am

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Full update – 6.45am

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Full update – 6.30am

Vandals thought to have damaged memorial tree on the Stray

An upset Harrogate family discovered this morning its memorial tree on the Stray had been damaged.

Sharon Canavar posted pictures of the tree on Twitter this morning and described her sadness at the incident.

Ms Canavar suspects the tree, planted along Slingsby Walk, was vandalised overnight. The top two-thirds were snapped off and left on the floor.

The tree is one of 50 planted in 2016 to mark Harrogate International Festival’s 50th anniversary. Residents were offered the chance to buy a tree, with many doing so in memory of loved ones.

Ms Canavar, who is chief executive of Harrogate International Festivals, bought a tree for her family. She said:

“I found it this morning on our walk. My kids were more upset. People say it happens a lot and there has been a spate of it happening in the past. It seems they’ve got mine this time.”

She hopes to be able to replace the tree eventually.

This is far from the first tree on the Stray that has been damaged recently.

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In October, local police officer, Sgt Paul Cording tweeted about a number of trees “destroyed and killed” on York Place Stray.

In June, there were reports of vandalism affecting young trees. It occurred when local police officers were attempting to crack down on large groups congregating on the Stray.

Harrogate garages see increase in pothole repairs despite lockdown

Garages in Harrogate have said they are experiencing a rise in demand for pothole-related repairs despite the national coronavirus lockdown.

It comes as the government announced today £51 million in funding to repair roads in the Yorkshire and Humber region over the next year.

This is the second instalment of a national £2.5 billion “potholes fund”, which Chancellor Rishi Sunak revealed in last year’s Budget.

However, it seems there are plenty of holes for North Yorkshire County Council to fill locally.

The council currently has 781 potholes on its reporting system for Harrogate, Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge. Ripon and Masham have 175.

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While not all the reports require action from the council, those numbers can be a good indicator of the demand it is currently facing.

The recent cold weather has also caused more potholes. When water enters the road and freezes, it expands and creates holes in the surface. Traffic then exacerbates the problem.

Harrogate’s garages then deal with the consequences of damage caused by vehicles driving over potholes.

Finlay Bunce, the manager at Universal Tyres Harrogate, told the Stray Ferret that it recently repaired 10 cars on one day due to potholes:

“People should not be travelling as much but we are still seeing quite a few cars with pothole-related damage.

“One woman last week had only driven 160 miles in her brand new car when she drove over a pothole. She needed two new tyres.”

Sam Burton, manager of Just Tyres in Harrogate, said it had seen a 15% increase in pothole repairs since early January when the country went into lockdown. He said:

“We have had quite a few people complain about Otley Road in Harrogate. I drive down it regularly and it looks as if someone has lost control of a jackhammer. It all needs to be resurfaced.

“Some cars are so badly damaged as a result that we cannot even do a repair. Wagons and cars are driving all over the roads to avoid the holes.”

Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel updates

Good morning and welcome to our new traffic and travel service, designed to keep the Harrogate district moving in a morning.

It’s Connor on the travel desk from 6.30am. Send in any updates you have by sending an email to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

We will keep across the roads and rail lines. If traffic is moving well or it’s at a standstill then we will let you know with our updates every 15 minutes.

Thanks for your interest in our live blog. Have a lovely day and keep on top of traffic and travel right here on the Stray Ferret.

Full update – 9am

Thanks for getting involved this morning. I am now heading over to the news desk for the rest of the day but will be back bright and early tomorrow morning.

Roadworks have been the story of the day. They have been causing delays around the Harrogate district, with a new site being set up this morning at the Leeds Road Roundabout in Harrogate.

Full update – 8.45am

As more people start to get onto the roads the traffic is slowing around the Harrogate district. Traffic is slow around construction sites:

Got any updates to share? Send an email to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Full update – 8.30am

Full update – 8.15am

As more people start to get onto the roads the traffic is slowing around the Harrogate district. Traffic is slow around construction sites:

Full update – 8am

Traffic is moving well around the Harrogate district, except for around construction sites:

Full update – 7.45am

As more people start to get onto the roads the traffic is slowing around the Harrogate district. Traffic is sluggish on Wetherby Road around construction sites:

Traffic is slow around construction sites. Photo: Inrix

Full update – 7.30am

As more people start to get onto the roads the traffic is slowing around the Harrogate district. Knaresborough Road into Harrogate town centre is slow all the way from Knaresborough. Traffic is also sluggish around construction sites:

Full update – 7.15am

Full update – 7am

Full update – 6.45am

Full update – 6.30am

 

Controversial Harrogate road closure starts today

Beech Grove will close to through traffic today as part of a council bid to create a “low traffic neighbourhood”.

The road closure will be in place for six months and, depending on the results of a public consultation, could become permanent.

Work to install the signage, bollards and planters will take three days from Monday, weather permitting.

It is hoped the move will improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists. It will also link to the new Otley Road cycle path, work on which is due to begin in spring.

Residents, refuse collections and emergency services will still have access to the area.

But motorists will no longer be able to get directly from Otley Road to West Park via Beech Grove.

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North Yorkshire County Council revealed the proposals two weeks ago and it quickly divided the town into two camps.

Cycling and green groups were in favour, seeing it as a shift towards a more environmentally friendly town.

Harrogate’s chamber of commerce and business improvement district raised concerns about the impact on the high street, however.

Residents on the streets have also contacted the Stray Ferret to express their displeasure at the town centre detour now needed to head towards Starbeck or Leeds.

When the cycle route is completed, cyclists will be able to turn from Otley Road onto Beech Grove, which would be free from traffic, and connect with another earmarked cycle route on Victoria Avenue.

Charity Corner: Pinewoods Conservation – more than just a pressure group

The much-loved Pinewoods in Harrogate is looked after by a group of dedicated volunteers wanting to preserve the area and make it accessible to all.

Set up in 2002 the Pinewoods Conservation Group group has around 100 volunteers working to keep the Pinewoods a place everyone can enjoy. That may be for their daily dog walk or as a meeting point for a flask of tea with a friend.

The group works to maintain and conserve the 96 acres of Harrogate woodland, that can be found between the Valley Gardens and Harlow Carr Gardens.

Pinewoods Harrogate

The volunteers have been preserving the woods for nearly 20 years.

One of its founding members, Geoff Scurrah, visits the Pinewoods every morning to fill the bird feeders and walk his dog. He is a committed member of the group and a lover of the outdoors.

Mr Scurrah, along with other members, works hard to protect the natural habitats of wildlife in the Harrogate area. He said:

“What we wanted to do was to make the woods accessible to a greater cross-section. I got involved because I’m a country lad and I have an interest in the great outdoors.”

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Recently, it has taken a stand against proposed plans to build on an area of the woodland known as Rotary Wood.

It fought against Harrogate Spring Water’s plans to expand its bottling plant from 0.77 hectares to 0.94 hectares this would have destroyed public woodland planted by local families in the area of Pinewoods.

The decision was rejected by Harrogate Borough Council last month.

Pinewoods footpaths

Improving the footpaths in the woodlands was one of the main aims for the charity to make it accessible to all.

The fight to stop the bottling plant’s expansion might have given the group a higher public profile but beyond this is a great deal of daily work by a dedicated team who turn out not regardless of the weather.

Since setting up nearly 20 years ago the group has reinstated footpaths to make the woods accessible to those with wheelchairs and prams.

Mr Scurrah said the charity has raised and spent around £80,000 on the woodland.

The group has also erected fingerposts and information boards for visitors. A binocular was also installed to show the ‘Pinewoods Panorama’, the group spent around £4,000 on this to show off wood’s views.

The group is continuously planting trees and bulbs around the site. It also encourages local wildlife to live in the woodland by fixing bird and bat boxes to the trees.

Pinewoods Panorama

The Pinewoods Panorama was a big achievement for the charity.

Rudding Park works with charity to spread love to older people

Rudding Park has worked with a local charity to send 250 treat packages to older people this Valentine’s Day.

The hotel and spa teamed up with Supporting Older People to give people a lift after another month in lockdown.

Chefs at Rudding Park made hundreds of homemade treats for the packages. They include passion fruit chocolate truffles, heart shaped biscuits and more.

Julia Lightfoot, Supporting Older People’s befriending and activities manager, said:

“These delicious little treats that Rudding Park have so kindly arranged will certainly bring a smile to their faces and help them feel loved this Valentine’s Day!”

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The charity added that the deliveries have been meticulously planned to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Julia Featherstone, Rudding Park’s front office manager, spearheaded the project and said:

“Being furloughed for much of the last 11 months has not diminished the team’s desire to do what they can to make people smile.

“With this in mind, we are delighted to have teamed up with Supporting Older People to support the amazing work they do in our wonderful community.

“As it is Valentine’s Day on Sunday, we wanted to let their members know that we are thinking of them.”

Harrogate mother talks of daughter’s childhood cancer to support charity

A Harrogate family is supporting a Yorkshire cancer charity in raising awareness for International Childhood Cancer Day by talking openly about the impact on families.

Candlelighters is based in Leeds and helps families across Yorkshire affected by childhood cancer.

The Downie family from Harrogate have praised the charity after it helped them during their daughter’s cancer treatment.

Marnie Downie-Keally, aged six, was diagnosed with Low-grade Pilocytic Astrocytoma (a type of brain tumour) when she was two years old. In late 2018 after an MRI scan, it was decided that Marnie would need to go through chemotherapy for 18 months.

Her mum Sally had to stop working to take care of her daughter. Candlelighters was able to offer some financial support during this time as well as emotional support.

Sally said:

“I had worked full time in the pharmaceutical industry but at that point had to stop work to care for Marnie.”

“There are far too many things to list that Candlelighters have done for us since Marnie’s diagnosis and, unless you are being supported by them, I don’t think you can ever fully appreciate what they do.”

Marnie is now doing well after finishing her treatment in June 2020.

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In Yorkshire alone, 150 children are diagnosed with cancer each year. Candlelighters says its aim is to offer support to these children and their families whether that is by offering respite to parents or financial grants.

Candlelighters chief executive, Emily Wragg, said:

“We are proud of the many ways we support families emotionally, practically and financially – which has continued throughout the pandemic. We also bring hope to families by investing in vital research, education and training, helping to improve long-term outcomes for patients.”