Work is set to begin this week to install equipment and infrastructure at Harrogate district reservoirs as part of a parking charges trial.
Yorkshire Water is undertaking the work at Swinsty Moor car park today, with Swinsty Stack Point, Thruscross and Fewston set to follow afterwards.
The company is introducing payment machines and automatic number plate recognition cameras at the reservoirs.
It will see charges introduced at the car parks from early 2024.
A spokesperson for Yorkshire Water said:
“We know how important our sites are to local communities and visitors alike. We have thought long and hard about the way people use our sites before implementing this trial, as well as considering approaches at similar sites around the country. We believe a small parking fee and increased security will help to dissuade anti-social behaviour, such as fly-tipping, at our sites but also have a long-term positive impact in terms of the projects we can deliver in the future.
“Our brand-new, in-house ranger team will be supported as a direct result of introducing these charges and we have a wide range of exciting conservation, community and facilities enhancements lined up for the future.
“We will be collaborating with local authorities and local stakeholders to ensure the introduction of these tariffs in 2024 causes minimal disruption and will be working hard to ensure all our visitors are aware of the charges before they arrive at our sites.”
Car park users will be able to pay via card payment on site, by using the RingGo app or telephone.
The proposed tariffs will be one hour at £1, two hours at £2, six hours at £3 and an all day pass for £5.
Meanwhile, an annual pass for all car parks will cost £30.
Parking will remain free for blue badge holders.
Bransby Wilson Parking Solutions, based in York, has been appointed to operate the parking meters.
Read more:
- Reservoir parking costs could cause ‘tremendous problems’ on nearby roads
- Swinsty and Fewston parking charges to include ‘season ticket’
Children’s presenter George Webster to sign books on return to Washburn
Children’s television presenter and Strictly Come Dancing contestant George Webster is to return to a heritage centre near Harrogate where he used to volunteer.
George volunteered as a teenager at Washburn Heritage Centre before rising to fame and becoming the first ever CBeebies presenter with Down’s syndrome.
He will return for a question and answer session and sign copies of his new autobiography ‘This is Me!’.
The picture book aims to teach children that “each one of us is different, just like pebbles at the seaside”.
George will talk about growing up and his rapid rise to success.
He spoke about Down’s syndrome in a video for BBC Bitesize in 2021. He also competed in last year’s Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special, and became an ambassador for the learning disability charity Mencap.
George volunteered at the centre when he was at school.
Washburn Heritage Centre was established in 2011 following an extension to Fewston Church and is used as a hub to promote the Washburn Valley.
It is run by volunteers who host frequent workshops, courses and talks, as well as a tea room on weekends.
The event will take place on Saturday, September 23, from 2pm – 4pm.
Children and adults are welcome and will be able to receive signed copies of George’s book.
Tickets start from £8.
Read more:
Photo of the Week: Fewston Reservoir
This week’s photograph was taken by Vincent Rosenacker, capturing Fewston Reservoir in a break from the rain this week.
Vincent Rosenacker
Photo of the Week celebrates the Harrogate district. It could be anything from family life to capturing the district’s beauty. We are interested in amateur and professional photographs, in a landscape format.
Send your photographs to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk for a chance to be featured next week, we reserve the right to adjust and crop images to fit into our format.
Fewston’s beauty hides harrowing pastWith its picturesque setting alongside Fewston reservoir, and famously good cakes, Washburn Heritage Centre is a popular place to visit.
But the centre’s tranquil location belies a harrowing and less well known past that local volunteers have helped to piece together over the last decade.
In 2009 and 2010, before the centre was built alongside St Michael and St Lawrence Church, volunteers worked alongside academics and archaeologist John Buglass to investigate human remains buried in the graveyard.
Child workers were transported from London to the Washburn Valley to work on mills in Blubberhouses in Victorian times. The bodies of many lay unmarked alongside Fewston.
Sally Robinson (left) and fellow volunteer Sarah Stead outside the heritage centre.
Sally Robinson, chair of the management committee at the centre, who led the team of volunteers, said:
“We knew there were remains, but we didn’t know how many.”
The remains of 154 individuals and artefacts were discovered and now form what has become known as the Fewston assemblage.
The assemblage has assumed international significance for archeologists because of the social history it reveals.
Scientists and community volunteers analysing the skeletal remains from Fewston
An academic paper published last month detailed how the investigation led by Durham University pieced together the story of forgotten ‘pauper apprentices’ from Washburn Valley. Many were aged between eight and 20 years when they died.
Analysis showed the children were distinctive from locals because of their stunted growth and malnutrition, as well as evidence of diseases associated with hazardous labour.
Examination of the bones and teeth highlighted many had died from tuberculosis and respiratory disease associated with millwork, or from diseases of deprivation, such as rickets.
Lead author Rebecca Gowland, a professor in the department of archaeology at Durham University, said:
“This is the first bioarchaeological evidence for pauper apprentices in the past and it unequivocally highlights the toll placed on their developing bodies. To see direct evidence, written in the bones, of the hardships these children had faced was very moving.
“It was important to the scientists and the local community that these findings could provide a testimony of their short lives.”
From the excavation site in Fewston where the remains were discovered. Pic: John Buglass Archaeology
The remains were reburied in a ceremony in 2016. Artwork inspired by the analysis and an exhibition are on now on permanent display at Washburn Heritage Centre.
Ms Robinson said:
“It’s easy to forget that the Washburn valley had an industrial past given the beauty of the reservoirs that visitors see today. It was important to us to find out about the children who worked in the mills.
“They were overlooked in life and treated as a commodity — but we hope we have done them some justice by telling their stories and creating a lasting commemoration.”
Read more:
- Swinsty and Fewston parking charges to include ‘season ticket’
- Hollywood star dines at new Harrogate restaurant
No date set for Swinsty and Fewston parking charges, says Yorkshire Water
Yorkshire Water has said no date has been set for the introduction of parking charges at Harrogate district reservoirs.
The company is to introduce payment machines and automatic number plate recognition at Swinsty, Fewston and Thruscross car parks.
It said previously that the revenue generated will help to pay for an in-house rangers team, which would undertake maintenance jobs and tackle anti-social behaviour at its sites.
Proposals for parking machines at both Fewston and Swinsty reservoirs were approved by Harrogate Borough Council in September last year.
The Stray Ferret asked Yorkshire Water this week if it had confirmed an implementation date for the machines.
A spokesperson said a date had yet to be confirmed and that the plans were “still in progress”.
While no date has been set for when charges will come in, Yorkshire Water said they will include season tickets for one or multiple sites.
A spokesperson told the Stray Ferret previously:
“There will be an option for visitors to purchase a ‘season ticket’ for the year which can cover just one car park or all car parks in the Washburn Valley, obviously this will work out cheaper than ‘pay as you go’ option, depending on how frequently people visit.
“The prices for the season tickets will be £30 per annum for a single site and £45 per annum for multiple sites. Blue badge holders, as previously stated, will be able to park free of charge.”
Read more:
- Reservoir parking costs could cause ‘tremendous problems’ on nearby roads
- Swinsty and Fewston parking charges to include ‘season ticket’
Car park users will be able to pay via card payment on site, by using the RingGo app or telephone.
The proposed tariffs will be one hour at £1, two hours at £2, six hours at £3 and an all day pass for £5.
Bransby Wilson Parking Solutions, based in York, has been appointed to operate the parking meters.
Ex-soldier to walk 104km in a day for homelessness charityA former soldier has pledged to walk over 100km to raise funds for a local charity – without ever straying too far from home.
James Bryceson, who lives in Norwood in the Washburn Valley, intends to walk around Fewston and Swinsty reservoirs – which lie just a mile away – 10 times in a row, in an epic 104km trek that he hopes will take just 20 hours.
He is tackling the epic trek, which he has called The Reservoir Slog, to raise money for Harrogate Homeless Project, and has set £1,000 as his fundraising target.
James, who spent 13 years in the Army, 10 of them in the Military Police, said:
“I’d been out of the Army for a while and wanted to do something to get fit. I thought 100km in a day would be a good goal to set.
“There couldn’t be a better charity to support. This is a local walk, and I’m hoping it will benefit people locally.”
James, who now works as a recruitment consultant, has spent the last six months preparing for the walk by lifting weights and doing daily circuits of the reservoirs.
He plans to set off on the round walk at 8am on Sunday, June 25 and keep the water on his right – heading clockwise – for the duration. He will be accompanied at various stages by family and friends, but is urging wellwishers to join him for as much or as little of the challenge as they like. He said:
“You can come along for one lap, two laps or more. The night part will be hardest, as I’ll be quite tired by then. So if anyone can join me for that bit, that’d be great – they can keep me awake!”
He is also looking for sponsorship, and is asking interested local businesses to get in touch. People wanting to support James’s trek for Harrogate Homeless Project can make a donation online via JustGiving, at The Reservoir Slog.
Read more:
- Harrogate homeless charity re-homes its 100th resident
- 10K run set to be held in aid of Harrogate Homeless Project
- Swinsty and Fewston parking charges to include ‘season ticket’
Swinsty and Fewston parking charges to include ‘season ticket’
Controversial parking charges at Harrogate district reservoirs are set to include season tickets, Yorkshire Water has confirmed.
The company is to introduce payment machines and automatic number plate recognition at Swinsty, Fewston and Thruscross car parks.
Yorkshire Water said previously that the revenue generated will help to pay for an in-house rangers team, which would undertake maintenance jobs and tackle anti-social behaviour at its sites.
Proposals for parking machines at both Fewston and Swinsty reservoirs have been approved by Harrogate Borough Council.
While no date has been confirmed for when charges will come in, Yorkshire Water said they will include season tickets for one or multiple sites.
A spokesperson told the Stray Ferret:
“There will be an option for visitors to purchase a ‘season ticket’ for the year which can cover just one car park or all car parks in the Washburn Valley, obviously this will work out cheaper than ‘pay as you go’ option, depending on how frequently people visit.
“The prices for the season tickets will be £30 per annum for a single site and £45 per annum for multiple sites. Blue badge holders, as previously stated, will be able to park free of charge.”
Read more:
- Parking meters installed in Ripley car park
- Reservoir parking costs could cause ‘tremendous problems’ on nearby roads
- ‘Serious concerns’ over Swinsty Reservoir parking charges plan
Car park users will be able to pay via card payment on site, by using the RingGo app or telephone.
The proposed tariffs will be one hour at £1, two hours at £2, six hours at £3 and an all day pass for £5.
Bransby Wilson Parking Solutions, based in York, has been appointed to operate the parking meters.
While the company said the charges will help to avert anti-social behaviour, Washburn Parish Council and local residents previously raised “serious concerns” about the impact of parking charges on local roads.
The council wrote to Harrogate Borough Council to object to the plans at both Swinsty and raised concern that the charges will “lead to unsafe conditions on local rural lanes”.
‘Serious concerns’ over Swinsty Reservoir parking charges planResidents have raised serious concerns over plans to introduce parking charges at Swinsty Reservoir.
Yorkshire Water has tabled proposals to Harrogate Borough Council to introduce parking machines and automatic number plate recognition cameras at the car park.
The company also plans to trial charges at Fewston and Thruscross reservoirs in the Harrogate district.
The reservoirs are popular beauty spots that attract numerous visitors and dog walkers.
There are fears the charges would encourage them to park on the roadside to avoid payment and block the route for emergency vehicles.
Similar concerns were expressed during covid lockdowns when the car parks were closed.
Cllr Graham Hebblethwaite, who sits on Washburn Parish Council, said:
“We have very serious concerns because everything is working well at the moment with the car parks.
“If they start to charge, then people may start to park on the road.”
He added:
“The area is open to all walks of life. Peacefulness plays a major part in a lot of people’s lives who are in desperate need of this within the present climate.
“The proposed car parking charges may create more stress. It would be nice if Yorkshire Water, who have made very large profits in recent years recent years, seriously considered the need to charge.”
Read more:
Some local residents have written to the council expressing similar fears.
Richard Pullen, who lives in West End, told the authority that the proposal would create “a further divide” between those who live in the area and those who visit.
He said:
“Putting parking meters in will push traffic onto roads causing blockages and damage to the already narrow roads, inconveniencing emergency services, farmers and others who need access.
“It is going to cause a further divide between people that live in the countryside and those visiting.”
Cars parked outside Swinsty reservoir when lockdown restrictions were eased but the car parks remained closed.
A spokesperson for Yorkshire Water said:
“As we said when we announced our plans to trial the parking charges at Swinsty and other reservoirs, the revenue generated from the parking charges will contribute towards the provision of Yorkshire Water’s first in-house Ranger team. Three rangers will be based in the north area, which includes Swinsty, and so this will be one of the sites they focus on.
“They will be engaging with visitors helping to reduce the things such as fires and BBQs, swimming, littering, fly-tipping and genera anti-social behaviour. They will also support the maintenance and conservation of the site making repairs, improving wildlife habitats and litter picking. Money from the parking charges will also be reinvested across Yorkshire Water’s sites to deliver nature conservation, countryside management and improvement of facilities at reservoir sites.
“The project is a trial and impacts, if any, of dispersed parking will be monitored and we will keep in regular contact with the Parish Council throughout the trial period.
“As we aren’t responsible for the roads in the area, we are continuing to work with the local council, the Police and Highways England to look at solutions to deter/prevent unsafe and inappropriate parking.
“We are committed to working with key stakeholders to monitor the impact of the parking charges during the trial period including both negatives and positives.”
Those who use the car park will be able to pay via car payment on site, by using the RingGo app or telephone.
Emergency services and blue badge holders will be exempt from the charges.
The proposed tariffs will be one hour at £1, two hours at £2, six hours at £3, an all day pass for £5 and an annual pass for £30.
Bransby Wilson Parking Solutions, based in York, have been appointed to operate the parking meters.
Yorkshire Water submits Swinsty parking machines planYorkshire Water has submitted plans for payment machines and number plate recognition cameras at Swinsty reservoir.
The moves comes as the company is set to trial parking charges at three reservoirs within the Harrogate district.
Charges will also be introduced at Thruscross and Fewston.
Yorkshire Water said previously that the revenue generated will help to pay for an in-house rangers team, which would do maintenance jobs and tackle anti-social behaviour at its sites.
As part of the plans submitted to Harrogate Borough Council, automatic number plate recognition cameras and machines on the existing Swinsty car park.
The company said in documents submitted to the authority:
“The car parking itself provides an important functional element to ensure the management of parking to Swinsty Reservoir and the wider area.
“The site is a long-established car park, and it is not anticipated that the introduction of pay and display facilities would generate a greater use of or cause any greater impact than that arising from the current usage of the site by visitors.”
Read more:
- Parking meters installed in Ripley car park
- Reservoir parking costs could cause ‘tremendous problems’ on nearby roads
Those who use the car park will be able to pay via car payment on site, by using the RingGo app or telephone.
Emergency services and blue badge holders will be exempt from the charges.
The proposed tariffs will be one hour at £1, two hours at £2, six hours at £3, an all day pass for £5 and an annual pass for £30.
Bransby Wilson Parking Solutions, based in York, have been appointed to operate the parking meters.
Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.