Visitors to the Harrogate district are staying longer and spending more than they were pre-pandemic, according to new statistics.

However, the number of visitors over the same 2019 to 2022 timeframe fell by 650,000 from 6.47 million to 5.82 million.

Destination Harrogate, the Harrogate Borough Council tourism organisation, said today visitors contributed £637 million to the local economy last year, compared with £606 million three years previously.

The organisation also said the average length of stay increased from 2019 to 3.5 days, compared with 3.3 days three years previously. This is despite the fact the UCI Road World Championships took place in Harrogate in 2019, leading to high hotel occupancy rates in September that year.

John McGivern, destination events manager at Destination Harrogate said it was “fantastic news for our local businesses and residents”, adding:

“The fact that people are staying longer and spending more aligns directly with our objectives of a sustainable tourism model, attracting more revenue into the local economy, whilst minimising the impact on the environment.

“Together with our partners, with whom we share this achievement, we can celebrate the significant impact that our visitors are making on our local economy and can we look forward to further successes going forward.”

The figures are based on a tourism economic impact modelling process called STEAM that uses local supply-side data and visitor survey data. More information on the Harrogate district data is here.

Destination Harrogate aims to grow the visitor economy to £836.7 million by 2030, however its future is unclear after Harrogate Borough Council is abolished to make way for the new North Yorkshire Council in two weeks’ time.

Rudding Park Spa. Pic: Charlotte Gale

Cllr Stanley Lumley, cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport at Harrogate Borough Council, applauded Destination Harrogate for “boosting the economic impact of visits to the area”. He added:

“Harrogate’s visitor economy is the largest driver of the local economy second only to the property sector, and its value cannot be underestimated.

“With such a positive set of results we can look forward to a prosperous future for Harrogate as a major tourism destination within North Yorkshire.”

Since its launch a year ago, Destination Harrogate has delivered activities including a health and wellbeing campaign under the Visit Harrogate brand to attract higher spending visitors to stay longer for healthy breaks, Harrogate Christmas Fayre; events on the Stray marking the Queen’s platinum jubilee and the return of Harrogate Carnival.

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North Yorkshire Police has been urged to start recording acts which breach legislation governing the protection of wild animals and plants.

Wildlife crimes, including badger baiting and hare coursing, emerged as among the five leading concerns of North Yorkshire residents following a public consultation over the statutory police and crime plan to 2025.

A meeting of North Yorkshire and York’s police, fire and crime panel heard despite repeated requests by the watchdog for figures to illustrate how wildlife offenders were being tackled, such details had not been made available.

In response to the public identifying wildlife crime as a priority, the panel announced last July that it would be examining progress on tackling such offences in the county, and during several subsequent meetings called for evidence to show police action.

North Yorkshire has repeatedly been identified by national organisations as having among the worst records for bird of prey persecution.

Nature charity RSPB says much of the persecution is linked directly to driven grouse shooting and has called for the industry to be regulated and in 2020 found North Yorkshire had topped the UK raptor persecution table for the seventh year in a row.

The panel meeting at County Hall in Northallerton heard raptor persecution had been linked to rogue shooting estates and gamekeepers. 

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Concerns have previously been expressed by the panel that due to the difficulty of investigating and successfully prosecuting wildlife crimes “very few” offenders were being brought to justice.

The panel’s deputy chairman, Cllr Peter Wilkinson said: 

“We are still getting bad publicity nationally, where we might not be the worst geographical area, but we’re pretty high up there.”

When asked if she was happy with progress made over tackling wildlife crime and the number of people being taken to court, North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe stopped short of either criticising or praising police action.

She said: 

“I would like to see more progress, but I think we have made significant progress going forward, but obviously we would want those prosecutions to increase.”

Ms Metcalfe did not indicate what she had based her assessment of police performance on, but the meeting heard as there were “no specific wildlife crime offences”, police would face an onerous task of analysing crime reports to find “indicators” of offences against wild animals or plants.

The commissioner told the panel she would keep “a watching brief” over wildlife crime.

Cllr Tim Grogan, a former police officer, said while he did not expect the force to use vast amounts of resources trawling back through its records to identify wildlife offences, it should be simple for officers to start recording wildlife crimes from April 1.

He said: 

“I don’t think it’s beyond the wit of man to record wildlife crime. If that’s too difficult I’m sad because it’s what my residents asked for.”

North Yorkshire County Council is estimating that its Brierley Group of companies will return to profit by the end of the financial year.

According to a performance report for the group, the businesses are forecast a £2.69 million profit before tax by the end of 2022/23.

The figure is against a budgeted profit of £2.61 million.

It comes as the companies had previously posted losses of £327,000 for the previous financial year due to the covid pandemic.

The county council puts the performance down to a “positive outlook” for sales in Brierley Homes sites and other companies performing above budget.

A report due before the council’s shareholder committee said that while revenue was ahead of budget, the group still faced cost increases, inflation and high energy and labour costs.

It said:

“Revenue remains significantly ahead of budget, however all market segments continue to experience material cost increases, with inflationary pressures in the UK acting to drive up general costs of sale.”

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Brierley Homes saw completion of two of its housing sites last year, which is expected to see sales “fully realises this financial year”, the report added.

The sites include Woodfield Square in Bilton and Millwright Park in Pateley Bridge.

The company expects further sales for its Yew Tree Farm site in Marton-Cum-Grafton.

Meanwhile, Align Property Partners is expected to publish a profitable position with “new external client contracts being acquired” and the firm having a “significant outperformance” against budget.

The company is expected to operate on a commercial basis under North Yorkshire Council as the authority sets up a new council-owned estates firm.

However, North Yorkshire Education Services is expected to post a loss for the financial year.

The council has put this down to “ongoing issues in the education market” due to covid, including rise in food costs in school catering and low pupil attendances levels.

The report said:

“Meal uptake in schools has not recovered in many areas to pre-covid levels which has led to dis-economies of scale.”

Rail workers and teachers will be on strike in the Harrogate district today as part of the latest wave of industrial action.

More than 400,000 workers in various sectors took part in strikes yesterday in the biggest day of industrial action since unrest began last year.

They included the first of two planned teachers’ strikes by members of the National Education Union. Picket lines are expected to form outside schools in the district again today.

Today also sees RMT members at 14 train operators, including Northern, stage the first of four planned 24-hour strikes. The next one is due on Saturday.

Northern, whose services include those passing through Harrogate and Knaresborough, will run an amended strike timetable on the affected days, with a 12-hour operation on selected routes from 7am to 7pm.

Northern’s guide to services in the days ahead.

Tricia Williams, chief operating officer at Northern, urged customers to check before they travel.

Ms Williams said:

“We’re expecting the skeleton services we can run to be very busy – so customers should plan ahead and check before they travel.

“Given the reduced timetable only runs until 7pm, I’m very keen to stress that people should check their ‘last train home’ on those dates – so that customers don’t find themselves stranded at the wrong end of the line as a result of this action by the RMT.”

Junior doctors staged a picket line on Wetherby Road near Harrogate District Hospital on Monday as part of a 72-hour strike that finished yesterday.

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Harrogate Borough Council is set to receive a £2.5 million from central government to help buy 21 homes for Afghan and Ukrainian refugees.

A report will go before the council’s Conservative-run cabinet next week that asks councillors to accept the grant and continue Harrogate’s “long and proud history” of welcoming refugees that dates back to the First World War.

Many Ukrainian families have found homes in the Harrogate district since Russia’s invasion through the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme.

Afghan families have also arrived through resettlement schemes but there is still a “pressing need” to provide homes for those fleeing war zones, according to the report.

The money will come from the Local Authority Housing Fund, which is a £500 million grant fund launched by the government so English councils can provide housing for those unable to find accommodation.

In the Harrogate district, just over £2 million will go towards buying 19 homes for Ukrainians and just under £500,000 will help buy two larger four-bedroom homes for Afghan families currently in temporary accommodation.

Funding from the LAHF equates to 40% of the cost of a single property. A total of £20,000 per property is also available to cover administrative and repair costs.

The government asks that local authorities secure match-funding to raise the remaining money needed to buy a property and the report says Harrogate Borough Council has come to an agreement with Broadacres Housing Association, which is based in Northallerton.

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The LAHF grant will be managed by Broadacres, which will identify and buy the homes with the council’s approval.

They will then be refurbished by the housing association so they can meet the decent homes standards.

The government says all homes should be bought and ready to be moved into by November this year.

The report says:

“Harrogate has a long and proud history of welcoming those fleeing violence and oppression in their home countries. In the past, this has included Belgium victims of the First World War and Jewish people escaping the Nazis.

“More recently the area has welcomed Syrians, vulnerable children, Afghans and Ukrainians.

“The acceptance of these funds will help the UK’s humanitarian duties to assist those fleeing war and ultimately provide a lasting legacy by increasing the supply of accommodation available to local authorities to address homelessness pressures.”

Teachers at schools across the Harrogate district are staging another walkout tomorrow.

Members of the National Education Union are striking tomorrow and Thursday in a dispute over pay.

The union argues a 5% pay rise in 2022 was insufficient to combat the impact of inflation at 10%, leaving many teachers effectively facing a pay cut.

The move will affect education across the district, with some pupils taking lessons remotely.

How Harrogate district schools are affected

Tomorrow, Harrogate Grammar School pupils in years 9, 11 and 13 will be asked to attend school as normal.

However, those in years 7, 8, 10 and 12 will take lessons remotely.

On March 16, years 10, 11 and 13 will be asked to attend school while years 7, 8, 9 and 12 will work from home.

Meanwhile, St Aidan’s Church of England High School has told parents it will “endeavour to provide their usual suite of lessons” for those who are required to attend school.

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Years 8, 9, 11 and 12 have been told they should take lessons at home, while years 7, 10 and 13 should attend as normal on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the school has informed years 7, 9, 10 and 13 to work from home while year 8, 11 and 12 should attend lessons.

Elsewhere, Rossett School has informed parents that it intends to keep the same arrangements for both strike days.

The school said:

“As a leadership team, we have decided that Year 8, 11, 12 & 13 will be in school and Year 7, 9, and 10  will be working remotely.”

St John Fisher Catholic High School in Harrogate will remain open to year 11 and 13 only on March 15 and year 10 and 12 on March 16.

Outwood Academy in Ripon will remain open to year 9, 11 and vulnerable students tomorrow.

On March 16, it will be open to year 11 and year 10. Other pupils not due in school will be expected to work from home on both strike days.

Details of how other secondary schools are affected will be posted as we get them.

The organisers of the Knaresborough tractor run have revealed that this year’s event has raised £23,340 so far.

It means Knaresborough Young Farmers, which started the event in memory of former member Mike Spink, have now raised £107,840 over the years for Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Almost 400 tractors took part in the 25-mile route on Sunday, which started at Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground.

The convoy passed through Ripley, Knaresborough, Staveley, Burton Leonard, Markington, Bishop Thornton and Glasshouses before stopping in Pateley Bridge for lunch.

It then continued to Bewerley, Dacre, Darley, Birstwith and Hampsthwaite before finishing in Knaresborough.

A statement on the event’s Facebook page said:

“Big thank you to all those who attended yesterday.

“Thank you to our sponsors, marshals and anyone who helped on the day, without you we couldn’t have reached this total.

It is still possible to donate here.

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Local children face waits of up to two years after being referred by a doctor for autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments, a meeting has heard.

North Yorkshire’s scrutiny of health committee heard there were 377 children currently waiting for an autism spectrum disorder assessment, of which 27 had been waiting more than 12 months.

Councillors were told a further 400 children had been waiting for a ADHD assessment, 76 of which have been waiting for more than a year.

The figures from Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust follow it revealing three months ago that the number of children in contact with its Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in York had jumped by more than 40 per cent over the previous two years.

A Healthwatch report into the service showed young people are facing delays, lost paperwork and other issues when trying to get support.

Brian Cranna, care group director at the health trust, told the scrutiny committee meeting at County Hall in Northallerton the last 12 months had seen 9,000 referrals into CAMHS across North Yorkshire and York.

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He said while 5,000 children were active referrals or currently receiving interventions, the service was facing challenges over assessing developmental disorders.

Mr Canna said the length of wait depended on which part of North Yorkshire a child lived in, adding It could be up to two years for an assessment.

Community mental health teams

The meeting heard the trust had created mental health teams working in schools to prevent the need to access specialist services, and referrals to them were being seen within four weeks.

He added while people could expect to be seen by community mental health teams within eight weeks of routine referral, the majority of children and young people were being seen within 28 days.

Mr Canna underlined 86% of children referred to the crisis team were being seen within four hours.

However, the meeting heard the delays were being exacerbated by a struggle to recruit staff, ranging from consultant psychiatrists and psychologists to administrative staff.

He said raised public expectations of the service had increased the pressure on staff.

He added: 

“People expect a better level of care. They expect a level of support that’s tailored to their individual needs and that increases the demand on the services.”

Mr Canna said staffing pressures varied across the county. 

He said Harrogate had a range of healthcare providers who people living there could work for instead, while it had proved difficult to attract people to move to Scarborough.

Nevertheless, he said the trust was examining what it could do to attract people into the area and following some success recruiting staff for its eating disorders team the trust was hopeful that “this positive trajectory” would continue.

He said: 

“Maintaining staff wellbeing in a pressured environment is a significant challenge for us and a challenge we are responding to.”

An appearance by TV historian Lucy Worsley will be among the highlights of this year’s Northern Aldborough Festival.

The line-up for the nine-day festival, which is one of the annual highlights of the Harrogate district arts scene, was revealed today.

Ms Worsley will give a talk on crime writer Agatha Christie on June 19.

Trumpeter Matilda Lloyd, pianist Sunwook Kim and the Armonico Consort will also head to the Roman village for the festival, which runs from June 15 to 24.

Now in its 29th year, the event offers audiences the chance to experience performances normally seen in the world’s biggest concert halls in a rural village setting.

Tickets went on sale for Friends of the Festival today and will be available to the wider public on March 27.

Italian opera and Beethoven

BBC Young Musician of the Year brass winner, trumpet-player Matilda Lloyd will perform a programme from Italian Opera.

Matilda Lloyd. Pic credit: Benjamin Ealovega

The first Asian winner of the Leeds International Piano Competition, Sunwook Kim will play Beethoven’s final sonatas in St Andrew’s Church.

There will be a rare double bill of Haydn’s comedies, The Diva and The Apothecary, presented by the nationally-renowned, Bampton Classical Opera company.

This year also includes the inaugural New Voices Competition, a nationwide hunt for the best classical vocal talent.

Festival director Robert Ogden outside St Andrew’s Church

The jazz ensemble, The Tim Kliphuis Sextet, will perform at the Old Hall in North Deighton and the vocal ensemble, Armonico Consort, will perform Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 in St Andrew’s Church.

Further details are available here.

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Junior doctors formed a large picket line on Wetherby Road in Harrogate this morning as a 72-hour strike got underway.

Up to 61,000 junior or trainee doctors began a walkout at 7am today in a dispute over pay.

Many cars sounded their horns in support of those taking part in today’s action on Wetherby Road, close to Harrogate District Hospital.

The British Medical Association and Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association have defied calls from Health Secretary Steve Barclay to call off the strike.

They are calling for a 26% pay increase to “reverse the steep decline in pay faced by junior doctors since 2008/9”, according to the BMA.

A statement on Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust‘s website says the strike will impact services to patients. It says:

“Outpatients appointments and planned activity may be affected.

“Patients should continue to attend appointments as planned unless contacted to reschedule. We will be re-arranging any postponed appointments as a priority.

“We appreciate this situation is frustrating for patients affected and apologise for any inconvenience caused.

“Nobody should put off seeking urgent or emergency care during the strikes, and key services will continue to operate.”

The full statement is here.

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