Your recent article about plans to extend the Nidderdale Greenway fills me with dismay.

The article refers to ambitious plans to extend the Nidderdale Greenway from Ripley to Pateley Bridge and then to Scar House reservoir.

At a time when the world is trying to reduce its carbon footprint, encourage conservation and care of the environment and preserve historic footpaths and bridleways, it seems ludicrous that there should be a suggestion of a Greenway.

We all know it is not a Greenway, it will never be a Greenway but a Blackway as it will result in 19 miles of tarmac being laid over footpaths, bridleways, disused railway lines and virgin land.

It will destroy bridleways, which are used by walkers and horses, it will destroy footpaths that are used by walkers, it will destroy the environment and destroy flora and fauna. It will destroy and displace wildlife, animals, birds and insects from their homes and it will urbanise what is a beautiful rural dale.

I have no objections to cyclists but there is a perfectly adequate road system in Nidderdale for them to use which in part requires some physical fitness.

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The first cycle route from Knaresborough to Harrogate and Ripley is an urban route that people can access easily by cycle or on foot from the town. The proposed Blackway is not an urban route. It would require people to drive to it and then walk and cycle part of it. That in itself will cause congestion and increase our carbon footprint. The villages do not have adequate parking for an influx of vehicles.

Having viewed the Knaresborough to Ripley cycle route I see there has been a great deal of encroachment on to adjoining countryside and I am appalled to think of the amount of encroachment that would happen on any proposed extension.

I have yet to speak to a landowner who is in favour. I have yet to speak to a resident who is in favour, but I have spoken to many people who enjoy walking and riding on the existing footpaths and bridleways, and they are not in favour.

Instead of this constant misplaced enthusiasm that our local authorities show for cycling it would be better if they tried to spend taxpayers’ money on improving the town centre and its attractions. North Yorkshire has many challenges to deal with and a proposed tarmac track up Nidderdale should not be high on its priority list.

Richard Rusby, Burnt Yates

More than 600 people entered the inaugural Dalesman Triathlon on Sunday, which started and finished at Ripon racecourse.

Triathlons consist of a swim, followed by a cycle ride and run.

There were three different distances, the main one being the full Dalesman, which consisted of a 2.4 mile swim in the lake at Ripon racecourse followed by a 112-mile cycle route in Masham, Dallow Moor and Brimham Rocks and a 26-mile marathon run that returned to Ripon.

The full Dalesman started at 6am and final competitor finished in darkness at 10.30pm. Henry Sleight won in a time of nine hours and 53 minutes.

Event organiser Rob Wilkins, who lives near Ripon, said it was a successful but exhausting day and he hoped it would return next year.

Keen runner, the Rt. Revd Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, the Bishop of Ripon, was among those who answered a call for volunteer marshals put out by Ripon Runners club, of which she is a member.

Dr Hartley said:

“It was a terrific event, and great for the region to attract nationwide competitors.

“In addition, it highlighted the sporting attractiveness of Ripon and its surrounding communities.  It was great fun to be a marshal and I am full of admiration for all those taking part.”

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Olympic cyclist Lizzie Deignan, who has made Harrogate her home, will take to the road tomorrow morning to race for Team GB.

The 33-year-old is known for growing up in Otley but since moving to Harrogate after her wedding in 2016, she has fallen back in love with the town she remembers as a child.

Ms Deignan will represent her country in the road race at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics tomorrow.

The 137km race, snaking from Tokyo’s Musashinonomori Park to the Fuji International Speedway but not climbing Mt Fuji itself, will begin at 5am UK time.

At the London 2012 Olympics she won silver in the road race, claiming the first medal for Team GB that year.

She also competed on the district’s roads during the Tour de Yorkshire in 2017 and the UCI Road Cycling World Championships in 2019.

When did you start cycling?

I didn’t really grow up in a cycling family, though we were certainly active and I took part in every sport at school. Cycling found me when I was 15. British Cycling came to my school with some bikes to try to find potential cyclists as part of a talent ID programme ahead of London 2012. I was happy to skip a maths lesson to give it a try and managed to beat the boys and the coaches must have seen something in me and the rest, as they say, is history.

What are your aspirations for the Tokyo Olympics?

I’m really excited to head to Tokyo, though it will obviously be a very different Olympics to previous games in the current situation. The last Olympics, I was kind of going there as one of the favourites; I was thinking about the Olympics probably every 10 minutes of every day in the lead up. But this time, life is a bit fuller with my daughter and other stuff going on. I can go a day or two without it being on my mind. Then I suddenly catch myself and think, “Ah, I’m approaching this differently”. But I don’t think it’s a bad thing, I’m just a bit more relaxed.

Lizzie Deignan posted a photo of her and two Olympic teammates training this week. Photograph: @l-deignan

How long have you been living in Harrogate?

My husband and I made Harrogate our home after we got married a few years ago and we love it. Sadly, we don’t get to spend as much time at home as we would like, as I spend most of my time travelling to race or train overseas and we have a base in Monaco, too.

You’re known as an Otley person, do you have any other connections to Harrogate?

Harrogate is somewhere that we visited as a family so I have happy memories from childhood. As an adult it was a fantastic opportunity to compete on home roads when Harrogate hosted the UCI Road Cycling World Championships in 2019. The support from the crowds was fantastic – despite the weather! It was also very special to win a stage of the Tour of Yorkshire finishing in Harrogate back in 2017.

What is your favourite cycling route around the district?

I’m not sure I have a favourite, but there are plenty of places I like cycling around the area, including to Lofthouse and Leyburn. There is a route out that way that is quite challenging and takes in some of the World Championships route. I love the quiet lanes along the Nidd on the way back from Leyburn and there are lots of nice cafes to choose from in Masham when you are within an hour from home.

How will the course in Tokyo compare with the terrain around Harrogate and Otley?  

Nothing compares to Yorkshire roads! The climbs are very different and the terrain is less rolling than home roads, which are just brutal, but the biggest change will be the conditions as it will be so hot and humid in Tokyo. It has required plenty of heat chamber training to make sure I’m prepared.

Read more:

• Two Harrogate divers will be part of the Team GB squad this year
• From Killinghall Nomads to Team GB, Rachel Daly talks us through her journey

There are a lot of keen cyclists in the area. Do you often get noticed when you pass them on training rides?

When I’m at home I often take the opportunity to ride with friends and family and enjoy seeing people I know on home roads.

Where is your favourite place to visit in and around Harrogate?

I have fond memories of Valley Gardens and nearby I would say Bolton Abbey, where my husband Phil and I had our wedding reception.

A Harrogate mum is campaigning for one of the town’s proposed new cycling routes to be named in her son’s honour.

Mike Hall was an internationally renowned endurance cyclist who won the inaugural World Cycle Race in 2012.

In 2013 and 2016 he won the Tour Divide and in 2014 he also won the inaugural Trans Am Bike Race.

But Mike, who was born in Harrogate and went to Saltergate Junior School and St Aidan’s Church of England High School, died during a race in 2017 when he was hit by a car in Australia. He was 35.

Although he was well known in cycling circles around the world, his mum Pat Hall wants more people in Harrogate to recognise his name.

With North Yorkshire County Council planning to build several new cycling routes in Harrogate, Pat feels like the time is right for her son to get some recognition.

She told the Stray Ferret:

“Mike inspired an awful lot of people to take up cycling. He wanted to make sure it was accessible for everyone.

“I just want people to know about Mike, I am very proud of him. He always had time for people, even when he was getting more famous.

“Hopefully if this goes through then it will help to cement his legacy in Harrogate.”

Work on the delayed Otley Road cycle route is due to begin in October.

North Yorkshire County Council has also secured funding for cycling improvements on the A59 Harrogate Road in Knaresborough, between Badger Mount and Maple Close, and on Victoria Avenue in Harrogate between the A61 and Station Parade.

The county council also revealed last week that it plans to bid for funding for a cycleway linking Knaresborough and Flaxby Park as well as well another scheme to the west of Ripon.

There is a precedent for naming a cycleway after a local international rider.

The Beryl Burton cycle way, which connects Knaresborough and Harrogate, is named after after seven-time world champion cyclist Beryl Burton who raced for Knaresborough Cycling Club. She died in 1996.

Pat Hall is not alone in her view. When she first aired the idea last year it led to hundreds of emails to the county council.

Cllr Don Mackenzie could not confirm if it had any plans to name a cycle route after Mike Hall but told the Stray Ferret that it had received hundreds of endorsements for him.

Local police officer Pierre Olesqui will take on his third annual fundraising challenge this weekend to raise awareness of mental health in memory of his best friend.

Mr Olesqui’s best friend Mick ‘Aky’ Atkinson died in October 2018 after suffering with his mental health.

Aky, an active, “proud Leeds man”, did not tell his friend that he was struggling. Mr Olesqui uses the challenge to encourage people to talk about their own battles.

Tomorrow, Mr Olesqui will set off from Hunslet Warriors rugby club, where Aky used to coach, alongside 98 other riders to complete the Tour de Aky challenge.

This year nearly 100 cyclists have registered to take part in the fundraising challenge

The 106.6-mile route heads towards Leeds, past Elland Road – Aky called the stadium “his church” – on to Otley and through the Harrogate district to Kirkby Overblow, before heading back to York and Hunslet.

The distance is a reference to Aky’s collar number: 1066.

Over the past two years just under £40,000 has been raised, but this year Mr Olesqui hopes to reach £50,000.

To donate, click here.

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The pair started working together in 2001 for North Yorkshire Police, where Aky was a dog handler, and bonded over their love of sport – Aky was even Mr Olesqui’s best man.

Mr Olesqui, who works in Knaresborough, said:

“He was my best friend and I want to keep his memory alive. I want to raise awareness for mental health, especially for men it’s a secret battle like Aky.

“It’s incredible how many people will come on the ride and tell us their own struggles. It’s great to talk and we all understand. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

The money raised from this weekend’s cycle will go towards Mind, Yorkshire Air Ambulance and Macmillan Cancer Support. These have been chosen by Mr Olesqui and Aky’s family.

North Yorkshire County Council looks set to bid for further government funding for walking and cycling projects.

Louise Neale, transport planning officer at the authority, told a Transport scrutiny meeting this morning that the Department for Transport had announced plans for further funding last month.

While no detail has been revealed on the bid, officers are expected to submit an application for funding by August.

Ms Neale told councillors this morning that a report on the bid would be made public later this week.

She said:

“We will hopefully find out the outcome of that in the Autumn and we will have until March 2023 to spend that funding.”

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive county councillor for access, told the Stray Ferret that he hoped the government would award the county council “roughly the same” funding as in the last bid.

He said:

“I’m hopeful that what we will get is the same as the last tranche. But I would be happy to get more.”

Cllr Mackenzie said no detail was yet available on what projects would be included in the bid, but added that Harrogate had “its fair share” in the last tranche of funding.

The county council has already outlined two projects in Harrogate as part of a previous bid to the government’s active travel scheme. A third is planned in Whitby.

Read more:

• The woman shaping the Harrogate district’s roads
• Controversial Oatlands Drive active travel scheme scrapped

Ministers awarded the county council £1,011,750 last year to help fund the projects, despite the authority bidding for more.

It includes plans for cycle lanes and junction upgrades on the A59 between Harrogate and Knaresborough, as well as a scheme on Victoria Avenue in the town centre.

Meanwhile, a proposal to make Oatlands Drive more friendly to cyclists met with fierce backlash from local residents.

The plan originally included a scheme to make the whole of Oatlands Drive one-way. However, this was dropped in March after 57% of respondents to a council consultation opposed the scheme.

The scheme moved forward and included making nearby St Winifred’s Road and St Hilda’s Road one way but this was similarly unpopular with residents.

In May, the council decided to withdraw the scheme altogether from its bid.

Instead, the council has commissioned an ‘Oatlands Constituency Feasibility Study’, which it says will “reassess opportunities” for infrastructure improvements across a wider area than the government scheme allows.

The £10.9 million Station Gateway scheme is one of the biggest and most controversial transport policies in Harrogate for years.

The scheme aims to transform the way people travel in the town centre by encouraging cycling and walking and reducing traffic.

Harrogate Borough Council, North Yorkshire County Council and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority have received UK government funding for the initiative.

Two proposals have proved particularly divisive so far: reducing traffic on Station Parade to one lane and pedestrianising the northern section of James Street.

Some businesses fear these moves could damage trade but many individuals and environmental groups support them.

Detailed designs are now being drawn up after the publication of a consultation document.

Here are edited extracts of what some stakeholders said in their consultation responses.

Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce

In the case of James Street, whilst we are against full pedestrianisation, we are not adverse to its semi-pedestrianisation, beyond its junction with Princes Square. We would also advocate retaining some of the parking bays.

Harrogate Business Improvement District

The BID supports the two lane proposals but with one dedicated to buses and taxis only. We don’t agree with the proposed two-way cycle lanes as it doesn’t form part of a connected and segregated cycling route and would result in reduced space for pedestrians — we would prefer to see some pavement widening.

We are concerned that the current consultation process hasn’t engaged the wider Harrogate community and urge you to consider sending details of the proposals via email and post to all Harrogate residents a this is such a significant step change in travel.

Harrogate Civic Society

There is a problem with making comments on these specific options (which focus on a relatively small section of Harrogate town centre) when there is no indication of these being part of a longer-term, integrated traffic policy for the wider area. As with previous proposals (some of which have been implemented) there is the very real possibility that, without a clear traffic policy for the whole of the town, these changes will in the future be seen as having been unnecessary or detrimental.

The need for major change to Station Square is questioned. The principal problems with this space relate to inadequate maintenance and poor collection of litter.

Commercial Street Retailers Group

An overwhelming majority of 81.25% of Commercial Street retailers voted for the two-lane option.

We are concerned and disappointed about the length, geographical reach and visibility of the consultation. With something as significant as this, all households in the Harrogate district should be consulted.

Harrogate District Friends of the Earth

Cyclist Lizzie Deignan, who has homes in Harrogate and Otley, has been picked to represent Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics this summer.

Ms Deignan, 32, who won a silver medal at the London 2012 Olympics and was the world road race champion in 2015, was named in British Cycling’s 26-person Olympic team this week.

She will represent her country in the road race at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which are due to take place from July 23 to August 8.

Ms Deignan, nee Armitstead, becomes the third Harrogate district person selected for the Olympics, along with Ripon diver Jack Laugher and US-based Harrogate footballer Rachel Daly.

She told her 95,000 Instagram followers:

“It’s official. I have been selected to represent Great Britain in Tokyo at my third Olympic Games. If Phil West didn’t come to my school when I was 15 to look for kids with talent my life would have been so different, I didn’t even own a bike, it’s still a bit surreal. Tokyo here we come.”

Read more:

• Olympic diver’s mum says her son still loves coming home to Ripon
• Celebrity cycle road set to close Nidderdale roads on Friday

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. See below for details on how to contribute.

Do something about these awful bins!

I totally agree that the large commercial waste bins that seem to be permanently kept in Princes Street are an eyesore.

These bins obstruct the highway (carriageway and footway). A loading bay marked on the carriageway is surely for use by vehicles loading and un-loading, not for waste bin storage.

The county council highways department is surely responsible for ensuring that the highway is not obstructed. The business owners are also responsible for removing their bins to their premises immediately they have been emptied. If these owners do not remove their bins they become liable to prosecution for obstruction.

The county council commercial waste management must manage its waste collection service much better to avoid this public health situation.

Angus Turner, Harrogate

Cycling to work? No, thanks

The whole point of cycle lanes is being missed.

Cyclists will, of course, like them. The issue is that the lanes need to encourage non-cyclists to start riding bikes.

I rode my bike to work from near Harrogate Grammar School to ICI when I was on Hornbeam Park for about three years, every working day, in all weathers.

The difference between cycling and riding a bike to work is immense. If you cannot have a shower on arrival at work you WILL stink all day. If it’s raining you will have, at a minimum, wet legs for half a day.

Once I had a car I only rode my bike for fun, and it can be fun. But as a means of daily travel for work, shopping and the rest? Not for me thanks.

Chris Knight, Bilton

Roads used as race tracks 

I live in a house on East Parade in Harrogate and the road from Bower Road to Skipton Road is used as a race track in the evening for noisy cars.

I can’t understand why all the other roads around East Parade, eg Chudleigh Road, have a 20 mph limit while East Parade, where two cars can’t even pass, has a 30mph limit.

The antisocial driving is well in excess of that 30 mph limit.

Vicky Taylor, Harrogate

Cut the verges

I have noticed on my travels around Ripon, Harrogate and various other North Yorkshire areas the lack of cutting of the grass verges on all types of roads.

There is now a situation on some roads where the height of the grass is impeding the view of oncoming cars, cyclists and motorcyclists

Peter, Ripon

Read more:

• Police pledge to crack down on fast and noisy cars in Harrogate
• Harrogate council leader: Sustainable transport ‘will always cause controversy’

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.

Plans have been submitted for a 48-bike rack at Harrogate District Hospital.

Harrogate And District NHS Foundation Trust has submitted proposals to Harrogate Borough Council to build the new secure cycling storage.

It would be built to the right of the main entrance to the hospital next to the disabled car parking bays.

The rack would give staff and visitors a safe place to park their bikes following a spate of thefts at the hospital last year.

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Last summer, the Stray Ferret reported that there had been seven bicycle thefts at the hospital in three months, which North Yorkshire Police called “clearly outrageous”.

Some of the thefts affected key workers who found their bikes missing after long shifts.

The force offered hospital staff and local residents the option to have their bikes security marked in an effort to discourage the crime.