A Knaresborough car park is set to undergo £30,000 resurfacing works.

Harrogate Borough Council has awarded a contract to Ripon-based AE Duffield and Sons to carry out the work at Fisher Street car park.

The 48-bay car park on Chapel Street is close to the town’s High Street and is open seven days a week.

The work will see the car park relined to offer 45 parking bays, three disabled parking bays, together with directional markings and yellow hatching.

The advertised contract added:

“The works will also involve the removal of the existing timber bin enclosure, with the formation of a new, due to its current dilapidated condition.”

According to the contract, work is expected to start on February 16 and last until February 22.

AE Duffield and Sons have also carried out similar work at Ripon Cathedral Car Park, where the company was awarded a £106,000 contract to resurface the site.

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A Harrogate mum wants to warn others after her disabled son found litter and used needles on the floor of a locked disabled toilet in the town centre.

Pictures from Christmas Eve sent into the Stray Ferret show around six needles with some half-eaten chips on the floor in the disabled toilets at the Jubilee Car Park.

The mum who sent in the pictures would not like to be named but said her 21-year-old son with
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) was shocked to discover the state of the toilets.

Disabled toilets like the one in the car park are only accessible to those with a RADAR Key. However, it’s easy to purchase such a key online without any verification.

The Stray Ferret sent in pictures of the toilets to Harrogate Borough Council, which runs the toilet. We did not receive a response by the time of publication.

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The mother, who also sent in a complaint to the council, told the Stray Ferret:

“I just want to warn other people, my son needed to use the toilet on Christmas Eve but it was in a disgraceful state.

“Public toilets may not have a reputation for being clean but when it’s locked with a key you think it would be in a better state.

“They need to be cleaned more regularly. Harrogate Borough Council should be ashamed. It’s a health and safety hazard.”

Ripon’s biggest car park looks set to undergo an £85,000 resurfacing.

Harrogate Borough Council has advertised a contract to carry out the work at Cathedral car park, on Victoria Grove.

The 193-bay car park sits in view of the cathedral and is used by drivers for long sand short stays.

The council said in its contract notice that the site has become worn and hazardous to members of the public.

It said:

“Over the years the current surface of the car park has become pot-holed, with large areas of loose tarmac resulting in trip hazards to members of the public, and claims for vehicle damage.”

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The contract is for a complete resurfacing of the car park, and to increase the number of parking spaces to 206, along with 10 disabled bays.

The council will also require the contractors to undertake trunking and ductwork in preparation for the installation of electric vehicle charging points.

A separate contract will be procured to install the charging points.

While it is unclear if any disruption will be caused by the works, the resurfacing contract is due to start on November 8 and last for three weeks.

Companies wishing to undertake the work have until October 20 to bid for the contract.

Horrible Histories is heading to Harrogate in April for a car park show at the Yorkshire Event Centre.

The centre, which is based at the Great Yorkshire Showground, will host Barmy Britain shows at 2pm and 5pm on April 3.

The event will also take place at Harewood House on April 5 at 11am.

It will feature the stories of Queen Boudica, King Henry VIII, Guy Fawkes, Dick Turpin, Queen Victoria and more.

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Families sitting in cars will be able to watch actors on stage and on a large screen while listening on their radios.

The audience can get involved by honking horns, flashing lights and turning on their wipers.

Neal Foster, actor and director at Birmingham Stage Company, said:

“I’m over the moon to be back on tour with Barmy Britain after its hugely successful tour last summer.

“It’s weird and wonderful to be performing in car parks and to see the audience having fun behind their windshields. We can’t wait to get back out there.”

The Birmingham Stage Company has produced 18 different Horrible Histories shows and taken them around the world.

Tickets are available here for the Harrogate and Leeds shows and cost £42.50 per car or £62 per car on the front row.

Police are investigating after an individual who claimed to be a police officer approached motorists in Boroughbridge, instructing them to pay thousands of pounds in overdue vehicle tax.

The incident took place in the Morrisons car park in Boroughbridge, when the individual is reported to have taken personal contact details from motorists and repeatedly called them the following day. They were told they owed thousands of pounds in unpaid fines and would be arrested if the amount wasn’t paid immediately.

North Yorkshire Police has warned residents to be vigilant in case they’re approached by the same individual. A police spokesperson said:

“If you are approached by someone claiming to be a police officer, they should be happy to show you their identification if asked and you can also confirm their identity by asking their name and ‘collar number’ and calling 101 to verify these details.

“The police will never contact you over the phone, text or email to request payment or to ask you to transfer money to them so if anyone claiming to be the police does so, hang up immediately.”

The police are asking people to call 101 if they believe they have experienced a similar scam.

https://twitter.com/KnaresPolice/status/1277206489971728389

Harrogate district’s reservoir car parks will remain closed over this coming Bank Holiday weekend.

Yorkshire Water says it has had several reports of people swimming in its reservoirs over the last week despite the closure, something it is trying to deter over safety fears.

With the car parks closed there will be fears of similar scenes to last weekend when people ended up dumping their cars on the sides of busy roads.

Washburn Parish Council told the Stray Ferret that people arrive at Fewston and Thruscross reservoirs to find closed car parks end up wrecking the verges.

Not only is it wrecking the verges but it is causing problems for the emergency services.

Yorkshire Water has said that it is still working on a plan to keep everyone safe while they enjoy the reservoirs but it wasn’t ready yet.

The company’s initial concern is for its key workers who visit the reservoirs regularly to do vital engineering checks.

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Water said today that people should not visit unless they are within walking distance – a policy which is contrary to government advice.

“Unfortunately, lots of people are still visiting our reservoirs despite car parks being closed and we’ve had several incidences of people parking inappropriately on roads nearby causing traffic issues. This has caused issues for emergency services, so please don’t visit this weekend and hopefully we’ll be back open soon.

“We have also received several reports of people swimming in our reservoirs this week. Whilst it might be tempting when the weather is hot, please remember that it is not safe to do so. Reservoir temperatures rarely go above 12 degrees and there is no lifeguard around in case something goes wrong.”