Towns at centre of North Yorkshire culture strategy

North Yorkshire County Council has put town centres at the heart of its plans to revitalise culture in the county.

The council has begun to roll out its new cultural framework after two years of consultations across the county.

A report for the framework found that the pandemic had a large impact on town centre visitor numbers.

Along with the growth of online shopping, it argued that high streets needed new ways of staying relevant, with cultural attractions seen as key.

The report states that:

“Town centres traditionally serve their rural hinterland’s needs for retail and civic amenities but as shopping and banking move online culture can help in animating spaces through activity or art, driving footfall and creating a buzz and amplifying sense of identity.”

Ideas on how to do this include promoting different towns’ heritages, installing public art and working with local stakeholders.

Over the last year, more cultural events have returned to the district’s towns as organisers recognise the important role they play in attracting visitors.

In July, Harrogate staged its first carnival since 2019, which saw street theatre, international street food and music performances. In September, the Ripon Civic Society is organising Heritage Open Days across the town and the city is also hosting a four day Poetry Festival which is growing in popularity.

A possible redevelopment of the Royal Pump Rooms Museum in Harrogate was also reported to be in the planning stage.

The 2022 Harrogate Carnival

Read More:

The consultation on the state of culture in North Yorkshire began in March 2020, before the first Covid lockdown.

The framework also recognises the impact that the lockdowns had on people’s wellbeing. It found:

“During the Covid pandemic issues of social isolation and loneliness have been exacerbated. A key factor in reducing loneliness is the social interaction experienced while participating in cultural activity.”

Other aspects of the framework concern regeneration, developing and supporting cultural industries, improving health and wellbeing, and supporting community development.

The plans are to be discussed at the county council’s area committees, including the one for the Skipton and Ripon constituency next week.

The framework was developed in partnership between the district and county councils, including Harrogate Borough Council.

 

Pateley’s Harefield Hall determined to survive a year of blows

Elaine Little was looking forward with optimism to 2020, which was shaping up to be a record year for Harefield Hall.

The four-star country guest house in Pateley Bridge, with its restaurant, bar, 14 en-suite rooms and bunk room for groups of cyclists and other travellers, had record bookings.

Then came covid and the first lockdown in March, which proved to be just the precursor to nine months of stop-start misery for the hall, which once belonged to the Archbishop of York.

Ms Little, the director of the hall, told the Stray Ferret:

“Just as we prepared to come out of the first lockdown and were getting ready for re-opening, a cloudburst on 28 June devastated the building.

“The rainstorm was so severe that the gutters and fall pipes were overwhelmed and the ingress of water damaged ceilings, furniture and carpets.”

The insurance claim is still to be resolved, as the pandemic has delayed the settlement processes.

The damage caused in June meant the hall could not reopen in July. Accommodation and restaurant bookings were lost, as were bar takings.

Harefield Hall

Harefield Hall once belonged to the Archbishop of York.

The premises remained closed until mid-October, then within a fortnight of reopening the second lockdown in November, effectively wiped out the pre-Christmas trade.

Now the third lockdown has dealt another huge body blow. Ms Little said:

“We’ve gone from crisis to crisis, unable to make any money to cover our overhead costs and trying to survive on a small discretionary grant and a bounce-back loan, that will need to be repaid.

“It’s so ironic, because at the beginning of 2020 we had record bookings – more than 50 per cent up on our previous best year.”

In spite of all this, Ms Little is determined that a rainstorm and three lockdowns will not blow her and her remaining team of four off-course.

Read more:

She said:

“In business, you must remain positive and focused and we are determined to turn things around because we have total belief in what we are doing here.

“We hope a similar change of fortune is not far away for other small businesses in the Pateley Bridge area – some of whom are among our suppliers.”

Amid the countless calls to insurers and suppliers, Ms Little is looking to the future.

She sees potential in attracting more cyclists who are seeking hospitality and an overnight stay at Harefield, with its woodland and riverside setting.

Nature lovers, looking for the abundant variety of birds that are attracted to Nidderdale’s natural environment, also offer business opportunities, as does the opening later this year of a self-catering holiday cottage within Harefield’s grounds.