I consider myself a pretty active person and I have given pretty much everything a go – from climbing and surfing to running and roller skating.

But for some reason, I have always been intimidated by cycling.

I’m fine with a stationary bike at the gym. I used to love a bit of spinning and I don’t mind a BikeErg.

But when it comes to letting me loose on the road, the confidence just isn’t there. I have no idea what bike I would get, what size, what equipment I would need. I am utterly clueless when it comes to cycling.

So when I was invited to an event collaboration between The Personal Cyclist, Sweaty Betty, Hustle & Co and the Electric Bike Shop, I snapped up the opportunity. It is about time I conquered my cycling demons.

The Personal Cyclist

I met Kate Auld, owner of The Personal Cyclist, outside Sweaty Betty. Her passion for cycling is truly infectious.

She said:

“The weekend is all about empowering women in particular to feel more confident on bikes. By taking this experience out of a bike shop, it makes it less intimidating. The number of women who ride bikes is really low.

“Harrogate has got such an amazing cycling heritage and it’s a fantastic town to be in the great outdoors, so why wouldn’t you want to try it?”

Kate said the cycling event had revealed that women in particular are nervous of the roads or unsure what to do.

Cycling

She said:

“It is all about confidence and practice, and that can be learned.

“I’ve seen women of all different ages, experiences and bikes. The one thing they have all got in common is a spirit of adventure to try something new.

“With lockdown, a lot of our worlds have become quite small. So just doing this with your hand held a little bit is getting people off to the right start.”

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• Queen’s Platinum Jubilee: What’s On in the district
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I was given a shiny blue Raleigh e-bike to ride from the Electric Bike Shop, which opened a store on Harrogate’s Leeds Road earlier this year.

My first thought was it looked far too big for my small stature, but it turns out it’s the battery that makes it look intimidating.

Getting kitted out with an e-bike.

I put on my helmet, which Kate explained needed to fit snugly with space for two fingers between my eyebrows and the base.

We walked the bikes through town to Beech Grove, which was closed to through traffic in February to encourage walking and cycling.

Like riding a bike

I then had a go at actually riding the bike under Kate’s watchful gaze and was pleasantly surprised at how quickly it came back to me. It was like riding a bike…

I actually thought an e-bike was like an electric scooter, in that you pressed a button and it moved. But it actually just gives you more pedal power – perfect for those hilly commutes to work.

I practised gear changes, turns and the all-important breaking, and actually felt pretty steady. I also learned how to stop, come out of the saddle and prepare myself to set off again at traffic lights.

It was actually quite a freeing feeling, empowering almost, and I can see how people get hooked on cycling.

Kate said:

“I don’t want people to feel intimidated. When I first started riding, which wasn’t until my 30s, I didn’t know where to go to get a bike.

“Going into a bike shop can be pretty scary. So actually if I can help people to have a positive experience, it’s great.”

Bike2Work scheme

As efforts continue to combat climate change and also tackle obesity, Kate said she had been approached by companies who wanted to encourage their employees to ride more.

She said:

“The government Bike2Work scheme is fantastic for getting hold of bikes.

“Some of my clients say, ‘I don’t want to use my car as much. It’s costing me an arm or a leg to run the car. I only live a mile from town. I don’t know how on earth I’m going to get in and out of town and navigate the traffic. What do I need? What if it’s pouring with rain?’, and there’s not really necessarily someone to ask.

“I want to help people make that a reality and say, ‘this is what you need, here are some routes’.

“Now one of my ladies, who hadn’t ever ridden a bike, is now doing all her errands on a bike and takes the kids.”

I told Kate that I wanted to get out on a bike with my kids and also to escape from my kids.

Hybrid

She said:

“If you’re sporty and active and you have a sense of adventure, that’s a great head start.

“I would recommend a hybrid. This can be ridden through town and you can ride it on the trails, so it’s great for family bike rides.”

When I rode the bike back to Sweaty Betty – using some of my new stopping-at-traffic-lights skills – Kate analysed my technique. Apparently my head position was great, but I needed to work on the positioning of my feet.

Memories of my cycling proficiency test at primary school started to come flooding back…

Kate’s top tips on buying a first bike:

• Find out if your company is part of the Bike to Work scheme. This way, you only pay a fraction of what bike is worth. If not, try one of Harrogate’s fantastic bike shops like Prologue, Chevin Cycles, Specialized, and the Electric Bike Shop. Alternatively look at second hand options, including Resurrection Bikes. Or you could borrow a friend’s bike and try it. I would advise against buying one online for a first time bike rider. You certainly need to go into the bike shops and have a chat and find out what size you are.
• Think about what you are going to use the bike for. Family errands into town? Big hills? For the Dales I’d take a road bike or gravel bike. For an all-rounder you can’t go wrong with a hybrid.
• You can get your bike tweaked so it’s right for you. Sometimes you overthink these things. You just want to get something that feels comfortable. What you don’t want is to get something you feel wobbly on as you won’t enjoy it.
• Look at things like gear shifters – what type do you need? Look at cycling clothing – the idea you need loads of gear is a myth. You will need a helmet, a puncture repair kit and I would recommend a little pouch with plastic gloves for if your chain comes off.  It’s as expensive as you like. I’d also recommend a Buff, a drinks holder, a rack and pannier if you’re out with the kids, and a waterproof rain jacket.

North Yorkshire County Council has said it will review the design of the second phase of the Otley Road cycle path in Harrogate.

It follows criticism of the first phase from Harlow Moor Road to Arthurs Avenue/Cold Bath Road, which was completed in January.

Some businesses, pedestrians and cycle groups, including Harrogate District Cycle Action and Hedgehog Cycling, have expressed concerns over the design of the cycle path, particularly that some parts are unsegregated and shared with pedestrians.

Safety concerns for cyclists have also been raised about the Harlow Moor Road junction.

The council previously said it hoped to start work on phase two, which will extend the path to Beech Grove, in April.

But a news release yesterday was more vague, saying work was due to begin at some point in “the next financial year” whilst it takes another look at the designs.

A contractor to build phase two is yet to be appointed.

New guidance

New government guidance on cycle lanes in July 2020 said any new infrastructure should be “high quality, with a strong preference for segregated lanes”.

It warned against councils building routes that require a lot of stopping and starting from cyclists.

The guidance was introduced after the designs for phase one and phase two were published in November 2019.

Read more:

• Cycling group to meet council to raise concerns about Otley Road cycle path
• Harrogate residents group raises concerns over ‘dangerous’ cycle path

Council officers met with members of Harrogate District Cycle Action for a “walk-through” of the route last month to listen to their concerns and take on board feedback for phase two.

Creating a safe route

Melissa Burnham, area highways manager at the council, said it recognised there may be parts of the route where the 2020 government guidance “cannot be fully applied”.

Ms Burnham said officers would meet local groups again to review the designs of phase two “in light of this new guidance”.

Work on phase one finished in January.

A council spokesperson stressed that this review would not put the project in doubt, but they did not give further details of what changes might be made, or if they would involve more trees being felled on Otley Road to make room for segregated lanes.

Ms Burnham added:

“We recognise the new cycling guidance and the benefits this brings to users. Where there are such constraints along Otley Road we use the guidance as a starting point to create a safe route.”

The third and final phase, connecting Cardale Park, relies on developer funding and will require detailed planning, including a feasibility study.

A delivery van got stuck in the mud on The Stray in Harrogate when it attempted to take a shortcut over the grass last weekend.

A Harrogate woman captured the images of the beached vehicle during Saturday afternoon’s snowfall.

Tyre tracks indicate the van attempted to bypass the recent road closure on Beech Grove by mounting the Stray. But the ruse backfired when the vehicle sunk in the mud shortly before it was able to rejoin the highway.

Beech Grove closed to through traffic a year ago on an 18-month trial basis.

https://twitter.com/HellyR1/status/1495077805964595201

Helen, who declined to reveal her surname, captured the incident while walking. She said other vehicles had performed the same cross-country detour, adding:

“I live locally, I think the road closure is great but it saddens me when the minority feel they have the right to ignore it and drive over the Stray.

“One lady brought her car inches from my legs when I stopped her and suggested she went back.”

She has notified North Yorkshire County Council, the highways authority, about the incident as well as the parks department at Harrogate Borough Council and sent photos of previous damage.

Read more:

• Stray Views: Beech Grove LTN ‘a brilliant update’ to Harrogate
• New Beech Grove sign to stop cars driving on Stray
• Beech Grove closure officially extended until August 2022

“It was only a matter of time before someone got stuck and sadly it was this DPD driver. The damage is awful. Others have done it — future people will also get stuck as the Stray is so waterlogged.

“I’ve suggested to North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council that large logs could be put between trees — we’ve plenty around after the storms. This would stop cars.”

Urgent investigation

A DPD spokesman said:

“We are aware of the incident and are investigating what happened and what needs to be done as a result, as a matter of urgency.

“Until that work has been done, we can’t really say a great deal more, but I will follow up with the operation and update you as soon as possible.”

Other photos of the incident, sent separately, reveal the tyre tracks of multiple vehicles that have attempted a similar manoeuvre, cutting across a public footpath in the process.

A local authority facing a huge demand to increase cycling infrastructure has revealed it is mapping all non-public right-of-way cycle routes for the first time to make it easier for people to swap their cars for bikes.

North Yorkshire County Council’s highways team is set to produce a cycling route map spanning England’s largest county while also examining moves such as segregating road users as sweeping Highway Code changes are introduced to make cycling easier and safer.

The announcements follow the authority being inundated with proposals for cycle route schemes from residents and community groups after the authority received £1m from Department for Transport Active Travel Fund last year to improve the infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians.

Despite numerous calls for action to enable active travel in rural areas, the council said it would focus the funding on large towns, such as Harrogate, as greater populations meant better value for money.

Harrogate currently has cycling routes planned for Otley Road and Victoria Avenue in Harrogate and Harrogate Road in Knaresborough.

A meeting of the county’s Local Access Forum this week heard safety concerns continued to be a major factor in determining whether people chose to cycle and that the government was trying to discourage segregating cyclists by using white lines, “given that white lines don’t do anything to protect cyclists”.

Instead, highway officers said, the authority was now moving towards physically segregating cyclists and motorists, but it was a more expensive than simply using white lines and would “not happen overnight”.

Read more:

• Killinghall roadwork misery set to continue for extra week
• Scrapping Pannal cycle lane ‘ludicrous’, says cycling group

The forum’s chairman, Paul Sherwood, said action was needed to improve roads for cyclists. He said:

“Is the highways section of the county council aware of the incredibly dangerous situation of the appallingly maintained roads in which cycling is extremely hazardous in the way the roads are at the moment?”

Funding from developers

Officers replied that the roads were subject to a scheduled programme of inspections and the council was looking to gain extra funding through property developers’ contributions for safety improvements. The meeting heard the availability of funding could increase when the forthcoming unitary authority controls most of the county’s planning matters.

The meeting was told it was hoped a county-wide map of non-public right of way routes would make it easier for cyclists to plan.

An officer said:

“We recognise it is not that easy to find out where those routes are. We are moving towards making that more accessible.”

The meeting heard the authority would be taking into account the HIghway Code changes, in which cyclists are encouraged to cycle in the middle of the road, but the changes were unlikely to impact on the design for cycling infrastructure.

Councillors were told the council would examine schemes such as one introduced in parts of York where bollards have been placed at the side of the road to segregate cyclists and motorists, which had increased safety for cyclists while the narrowing of the road had slowed traffic.

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.

Beech Grove a ‘brilliant update’ to the area

The low traffic area on Beech Grove has been a brilliant update to the area. I can walk and cycle down the road safely with my children aged 3,5,8 without having to resort to riding on the pavement. 

Walking into town is more pleasant, the air is cleaner and sound pollution is less on that route. It is basically the only concession to active travel in the Harrogate central area – but at least it gives a vision of what a difference changes can make.

Imran Shaikh, Harrogate

Visions to improve Harrogate

I read the article the other day by Malcolm Neesam about the numerous planning travesties, and with money being no object approach to how things could be improved in mainly the town centre, and something occurred to me.

Though we largely have less and less power over planning travesties any more, and council tax being a finite resource that every council tax payer has something to say about. There is a realm whereas I think it would be possible to make his dream, as well as numerous others a reality. The example that I would like to give is with the Copthall Tower. 

Indeed, let’s demolish it, along with the railway station, and give the town back a portal to be proud of. Of course, in reality, or at least in our lifetime, this wouldn’t happen, both because it’s just too good an idea, and it cost a shedload of money. 

But in the augmented reality computer generated world, this would be able to be made possible. Now this is just one example, and the possibilities are near enough endless, you could even have a comedic augmented town centre, whereas most of the shops are boarded up save for the odd fried chicken takeaway and massage parlour. 

So this is the idea, to set up a computer generated forum of augmented reality, whereas the travesties of local planning are replaced by its members wildest, most beautiful money no object creations, or not for that matter.

Miles Dixon, Harrogate

Read more:

• Malcom Neesam: My radical blueprint for Station Parade and Cambridge Street
• Strayside Sunday: ‘tarting up’ Station Parade misses the real problem of Harrogate town centre
• Stray Views: Beech Grove LTN is ‘expensive folly’

Beech Grove and other traffic schemes ‘never have desired effect’

Councillor Don Mackenzie’s support for highways department in this [Beech Grove], and in fact it seems everything they propose, never seems to bring the desired effect.

The M&S traffic scheme is perhaps the worst example of incompetence by his department and to say they are working to reduce traffic congestion needs to be demonstrated by results of which there are none.

They have been advised on how to improve matters but don’t react. Driving round town shows anyone what needs doing but Zilch’.

Jon Holder, Harrogate

My own Beech Grove survey

The Stray Ferret has reported that I counted how many people cycled on Beech Grove in an hour when I conducted my survey in September, and that my figures were (several times) higher than the averages quoted by the County Council.

In case any readers wonder whether I exaggerated the numbers I want to make it clear that I was accompanied throughout by your reporter, Thomas Barrett, who interviewed me and also made a mark in his notebook each time someone cycled by. We both counted 21 cyclists over the course of the hour. Nor, by the way, did I include my own bike.

Malcolm Margolis BEM, Harrogate

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.

Nothing generated more debate on the Stray Ferret’s social media this year than schemes to promote cycling in and around Harrogate.

There was the Otley Road cycle path, Beech Grove Low Traffic Neighbourhood, plans to make Oatlands Drive one-way to vehicles and funding for cycle schemes on Victoria Avenue in Harrogate and Harrogate Road in Knaresborough.

But the £10.9 million Station Gateway scheme proved the most controversial of all.

Gateway: petitions and legal threats 

The scheme aims to transform the gateway to the town near the bus and train stations by reducing traffic on part of Station Parade to single lane and part pedestrianising James Street while encouraging cycling and walking.

How James Street would look.

With funding for the initiative secured from national government, North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council, which both support the scheme, ran two public consultations this year.

Both revealed a deeply divided town: some welcomed the opportunity to create a greener town by encouraging cycling and reducing car use; others felt the scheme would merely move traffic off the A61 Cheltenham Crescent and onto nearby residential streets, cause delays on Station Parade and damage town centre businesses.

Matters came to a head at a feisty Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce meeting in February when pro-gateway representatives, led by Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at the county council, gave a presentation to a sceptical audience.

Don Mackenzie speaking at the chamber meeting.

It ended with businesses threatening to mount a judicial review to halt the process.

The results of the second consultation, published this month, revealed that of 1,320 replies to an online survey, 55% felt negatively, 39% positively and five per cent neutral towards the scheme. One per cent said they didn’t know.

A consultation event in Victoria Shopping Centre.

The chamber has called for the scheme to be halted and two residents groups have filed petitions opposing the project in its current form.

The county council is expected to decide next month whether to proceed with the scheme but the early indications are it will press ahead with final designs in the hope that work will start in spring.

Read more:

• New data reveals dramatic impact of Beech Grove closure on nearby roads
• Majority are negative towards Harrogate Station Gateway, consultation reveals
• ‘Severe weather’ delays Otley Road cycle path in Harrogate
• Victoria Road one-way scheme will stop ‘rat run’, says cycle group

Beech Grove: barriers and cuts across the Stray

North Yorkshire County Council’s decision to ban through traffic on Beech Grove caught many people by surprise in February.

The move aimed to link Beech Grove with the forthcoming Otley Road cycle path and the proposed Victoria Avenue cycling improvements, creating a more connected cycling route around Harrogate.

Tyre tracks on the Stray next to the planters on Beech Grove.

Planters blocking traffic were initially introduced on a six-month trial basis in February but this was extended to 18 months, meaning a decision on whether to extend the scheme will be due after August 2022.

Some vehicles on Beech Grove initially flouted the law by driving on Stray land to bypass the planters.

Data obtained by the Stray Ferret this month following a freedom of information request to the council revealed the move has so far had little impact on cycling journeys on Beech Grove.

It has, however, had a considerable impact on traffic on nearby streets Victoria Road and Queens Road. But the council claims the data reveals there is “no evidence” to support claims that traffic has increased on Cold Bath Road.

Malcolm Margolis on Beech Grove

Harrogate cycling campaigner Malcolm Margolis conducted his own survey, which produced higher figures for cyclists. He claimed it proved the initiative was working well.

The issue looks set to rumble on throughout the year until a decision is made on whether to continue the experiment after August.

Otley Road: work finally begins

Work finally began on the much-delayed cycle path in winter when phase one of the project, from Harlow Moor Road to Arthur’s Avenue, got underway.

North Yorkshire County Council hopes the path will improve safety and alleviate congestion along the Otley Road corridor.

Phase one work gets underway.

Phase one was due to finish before Christmas but the council blamed ‘severe weather’ for another delay and said work should now finish in January.

Phase two, from Harlow Moor Road to Beech Grove, is due to start in March.

It is unclear when phase three, from Harlow Moor Road to Cardale Park, will start. That stretch of the cycle lane relies on developer funding from housing built in the west of Harrogate.

The county council is currently working on various plans, including a feasibility study, for phase three.

Oatlands Drive plans scrapped

North Yorkshire County Council announced in February it had received £1m from the Department for Transport’s Active Travel Fund for four schemes to improve the infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians.

Three of the schemes were for the Harrogate district. They were: the A59 Harrogate Road, Knaresborough, between Badger Mount and Maple Close; Oatlands Drive, Harrogate between Hookstone Road and Knaresborough Road and Victoria Avenue, between the A61 and Station Parade.

The projects for Knaresborough and Victoria Avenue are still due to proceed.

But plans to make Oatlands one-way to traffic and improve the narrow cycle lanes were shelved after 57% of consultation respondents opposed the proposal. They cited the impact on school buses and the creation of a ‘rat run’ on surrounding residential streets at peak times.

Oatlands Drive, Harrogate.

Subsequent traffic proposals for the saints area were also dropped after opposition.

The council said it would commission an Oatlands constituency feasibility study’ to “re-assess opportunities” for infrastructure improvements but so far nothing has been forthcoming.

Traffic continues to park in the cycle lanes on Oatlands Drive. Harrogate Borough Council introduced signs urging motorists not to do it but they appear to have had little impact.

One of the signs on the Stray alongside Oatlands Drive.

New data has revealed the Beech Grove Low Traffic Neighbourhood has had a dramatic impact on traffic on nearby roads — but the number of cyclists using it remains around three an hour.

North Yorkshire County Council closed the Harrogate road, which connects the A61 and Otley Road, to through traffic in February, initially for a six-month trial. It later extended the trial to 18 months.

The move aimed to reduce traffic and encourage cycling and walking on the road, which runs alongside the Stray. Beech Grove was chosen because it would connect to other planned cycle schemes in the town.

But some residents and motorists were angered by the sudden loss of the thoroughfare and said it would just push traffic elsewhere.

The council has released new data about the controversial LTN following a freedom of information request from the Stray Ferret. The council’s press office had refused to provide the information, saying it wanted to wait until the trial had ended.

The council also provided a letter sent in October to residents living close to the LTN. The letter includes data that reveals road traffic has reduced on Beech Grove by as much as 85% since the closure.

The council compared current data with a traffic count on the road undertaken in 2015 that found, on average, 2,712 vehicles a day used its mid-point.

Displaced traffic

The data addresses the question of whether the closure has pushed traffic onto nearby roads.

An automatic traffic counter on Victoria Road found there has been a 230% increase in vehicles using the northern section since the LTN was introduced. In February, 300 vehicles a day used the road. The number increased to 1,058 a day in April then fell slightly in subsequent months.

Information by North Yorkshire County Council. AADT stands for annual average daily traffic.

Queens Road has also seen the number of vehicles using it double from around 500 to over 1,000 a day.

However, in the letter sent to residents the council disputed claims that Cold Bath Road has born the brunt of displaced traffic from the LTN. It said its traffic counter found “no evidence” to support the suggestion that traffic levels have increased.

It said around 8,500 vehicles used Cold Bath Road a day pre-covid 2019 and the number had fallen to 7,200 in 2021. However, it added the the latest numbers from August this year suggested traffic had now returned to pre-covid levels.

Read more:

• Beech Grove closure officially extended until August 2022
• Beech Grove closure to remain in place, despite petition objecting

• ‘It’s working well’: Campaigner counts cyclists using Harrogate’s Beech Grove

The number of cyclists using the Beech Grove LTN remains between two to three an hour, although the number increased in November.

North Yorkshire County Council does not record what time of day cyclists use the road and only has the figures for a 24-hour period.

In August 2020, before the LTN was introduced, around 50 cyclists used the road each day. This has stayed broadly the same throughout 2021.

Council officers believe the automatic traffic count numbers are “light” compared to casual observations they have made when visiting the LTN. The council said it planned to conduct manual surveys on this.

Information by North Yorkshire County Council

Conservative county councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for access, said:

“We are committed to encouraging active travel, easing congestion and improving air quality in Harrogate. Experimental traffic restrictions on Beech Grove and Lancaster Road will run until August 2022. At that point we will compile an extensive report of cyclist data which will span the 18-month period to paint a full comprehensive picture.

“We will consider this alongside the consultation responses, vehicle data, ongoing site observations and other active travel measures in Harrogate before a formal decision will be taken on the way forward.

“Other schemes such as the Otley Road cycle route, the Station Gateway project and the Active Travel Fund proposals for Victoria Avenue are all at various stages of design and construction so when work is complete we anticipate a further increase in cycling.

“A reduction in traffic levels on Beech Grove has resulted in a reduction in the speed of vehicles and an increase in cyclists. More people are likely to cycle – for both commuting and leisure – when improved infrastructure is in place that reduces conflict with vehicles.”

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.

Low Traffic Neighbourhood is expensive folly

As someone who lives adjacent to the Beech Grove LTN, I must say I have rarely seen such expensive folly. The council seem intent on installing ever more restrictive road barriers simply to, as effectively as possible, funnel more and more traffic onto Lancaster and Queens Road. 

All of this to give around 60 cyclists a day the most cossetted and relaxing trip into town. Seemingly, by the council’s own admission, there is no evidence that cycling traffic will meaningfully replace motorists on local roads. Especially so, in the depths of winter, as they face icy cold, driven rain.

As a leisure cyclist I am inherently supportive, like most people I suspect, of reducing the use of cars where it makes sense to do so. As far as I can see though this is not that. This appears to be virtue signalling with no meaningful impact on future car use and with material detriment for residents.

The principal achievement of the LTN, as far as I can see, is to make it more hazardous for the large numbers of children walking to and from Western Primary and Harrogate Grammar School each day. They are put at risk as they try to cross tentatively between often inappropriately fast-moving cars, rat running from south of town to Otley or Leeds Road.

If we want to get people out of cars and using alternate forms of transport, we need to look more closely at who those car drivers are, why they are driving and how we make it easier for them to do otherwise. Shoehorning additional, random, road furniture onto small roads to deliver ineffective trophy projects is not the answer.

I would simply ask the council to stop, stand back, think and reflect, and then look for genuinely considered ways of improving all forms of transport around Harrogate. Until that happens all they are doing is robbing Peter to pay Paul. As a concerned parent I would be more than happy to contribute to the thinking on the best way forward into 2022.

Carl Howard, Queens Road

Harrogate apply for city status?

Instead of complaining about the previous Housing Minister’s decision, why don’t the Harrogate councillors get a grip and apply for city status in view of the massive expansion of our “town”?

John Holder, Harrogate

Read more:

• Stray Views: Valley Gardens was the perfect place for Xmas market
• Stray Views: Station Gateway will benefit far more people than cyclists

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.

Marks & Spencer has submitted plans to expand its Simply Food store on Leeds Road, Harrogate and close the cafe.

M&S was granted planning permission to demolish a car showroom and build the store at Oatlands Retail Park in 2012.

It now plans to expand into the adjoining sofa.com unit.

The company actually had permission to occupy the sofa.com site in 2012 but did not want as much space then and chose to sub-divide the unit instead.

A planning document sent to Harrogate Borough Council by commercial real estate agents Avison Young (UK) on behalf of M&S reveals the retailer now plans to expand and ‘remove’ the cafe. It says:

“The current works to reverse the unit’s sub-division reflect changes in consumer demand for food products in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and a wider business strategy by M&S to invest in and expand its food retail offer.”

A Stray Ferret reader got in touch to say the potential loss of the cafe had not gone down well with customers and some were considering a petition calling on the company to reconsider.

An M&S spokesperson said:

“Our expansion plans at M&S Harrogate Oatlands are designed to deliver a bigger, better and fresher new-look food hall for shoppers and mark a significant investment in the local area.

“Whilst these plans involve closing the in-store café, they will allow us to transform the store to deliver the very best of M&S for our customers in Harrogate, with a bigger range of M&S food products than ever before.”

Read more:

• Jaeger to return to Harrogate inside Marks and Spencer
• New digital and tech office space to open in Harrogate

North Yorkshire County Council has officially extended the closure of Beech Grove by 18 months in a bid to encourage cycling and walking.

The experimental closure has been in place since February. The council said at the time it would end in August 2021 but it will now stay until August 2022.

Ahead of August 2022 the council will take a formal decision on how to move forward with Beech Grove.

The closure of Beech Grove has been controversial. Some see it as the way forward but others believe it just shifts traffic onto other roads.

County Councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for access, said:

“Taking into account the consultation responses, traffic survey data, ongoing site observations and other active travel measures in Harrogate, we have decided to maintain the modal filters until summer 2022.

“A reduction in traffic levels on Beech Grove has resulted in a reduction in the speed of vehicles and an increase in cyclists.

“The various lockdowns have had an impact on traffic levels.

“So an extension means we can collect further data before a decision is made on whether to make the measures permanent or set aside the scheme.”

Read more:

• Victoria Road one-way scheme will stop ‘rat run’, says cycle group
• Transport leader expects Harrogate’s Beech Grove closure to become permanent

Cllr Mackenzie believes that when other projects on Otley Road, Station Parade and Victoria Avenue are all complete there will be a further increase in cycling in Harrogate.

Harrogate Borough Council leader Richard Cooper also said:

“We appreciate that some local residents remain sceptical about these new sustainable transport measures. But extending the trial is important to be able to make an informed decision.

“We cannot pretend that traffic congestion, poor air quality, a diminishing environment and climate change can be solved without radical changes.”