From Ripon’s priceless regalia, to readings for children in the library, today’s Sights and Sounds event had something for all the family.

Seven of the city’s best-known locations opened their doors between 11am and 2pm to provide free entertainment and interactive fun for families.

The programme, organised by Harrogate Borough Council,  included activities ranging from participation in a Victorian school lesson at the Workhouse Museum, to a visit to the bell tower at Ripon Cathedral.

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe, who opened the event.

Visitors to the Prison and Police Museum, on St Marygate were able to find out how fingerprints have been used to catch criminals since the Victorian era, while being able to make their own inky impression to take home with them.

Retired solicitor Simon Crosfield, who works as a volunteer at the Courthouse Museum, let these two youngsters know what it’s like to face a judge.

At the nearby Courthouse Museum on Minster Road, visitors learned about how the city’s criminals were brought to justice in bygone days.

In addition to the array of activities at the three heritage attractions run by Ripon Museum Trust, the cathedral, which celebrates its 1,350th anniversary this year, hosted an exhibition featuring community services provided by 14 local organisations.

The city’s silverware and other treasures, collected over centuries, were on display at Ripon Town Hall where they were the focus of talks in the Mayor’s parlour.

There was an opportunity to watch Ripon Youth Theatre rehearsing at the city’s Arts Hub.

Read more:

• ‘Mr Ripon’ publishes his memoirs
• The curtain rises on Ripon Theatre Festival plans

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In addition to the array of activities at the three heritage attractions run by Ripon Museum Trust, the cathedral hosted an exhibition featuring community services provided by 14 local organisations.

Freddie (left) and Taylor were among those to join in an interactive storytime at Ripon Library

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Those who were seeking more interactive entertainment found it at Ripon Arts Hub on Allhallowgate, where they watched a working rehearsal by Ripon Youth Theatre and were then invited to join in an Oliver! workshop,

Storytime readings were held at the library for children aged 0-6 and 7-11-year-olds, where community information stalls were also on display

 

Candidates could be able to put themselves forward as soon as next week for May’s elections to the new North Yorkshire Council.

The election will be one of the most crucial in the county’s history because it will spell out the end of North Yorkshire County Council and the seven district and borough councils in Harrogate, Selby, Scarborough, Craven, Hambleton, Ryedale and Richmondshire.

They will be replaced by the new unitary authority from April 2023.

Nominations are likely to open on Friday next week for candidates hoping to become one of the 90 councillors who will lead a new era of local government.

That date is subject to new legislation, which is currently passing through Parliament and once approved will fire the starting gun for voting to take place on 5 May.

Speaking at a public briefing last night, Ben Nattrass, elections manager at Harrogate Borough Council, said parliamentary approval of the legislation was expected next week as he also set out some of the next steps.

He said:

“We are waiting for the Structural Changes Order to pass through Parliament and we expect that to be done next week, which would allow us to open nominations on March 18.

“Each candidate who wishes to stand in the elections must submit a set of nomination forms and these must be submitted no later than 4pm on 5 April.”

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• Harrogate man jailed for historic sexual abuse of young girl

Once approved, the Structural Changes Order will be followed by an official notice of election, which is likely to be published on March 17.

Voting on May 5

Candidate nominations will then open the following day before closing on April 5.

After voting takes place on May 5, polling cards will then be counted and the results announced the following day.

The newly elected councillors will represent 89 new divisions on North Yorkshire County Council for one year before serving a four-year term on the new council.

They will play a key role in shaping how public services will work in the future, with all areas from bin collections to road maintenance being transferred across to the new council in what will be a mammoth task.

Richard Flinton, chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council, previously said:

“The councillors elected on 5 May will make decisions on services that affect individuals, families and communities, so we want to make sure that anyone who wants to consider stepping forward as a candidate has all the information they need.

“These elections are important for everyone in the county, so if you are eligible to vote, please make sure that you are registered, then you can be sure that your vote will count.”

The deadline for people to register to vote is April 14.

To find out more on how to become a candidate, tap or click here.

More than half a million pounds in carbon reduction cash is to be spent on Harrogate Hydro instead of Harrogate Convention Centre.

The £583,000 was awarded to Harrogate Borough Council for upgraded lighting and air handling units at the convention centre, but the council has now said it won’t be able to complete the works before a funding deadline in June.

The money from the government’s decarbonisation scheme will instead be used for air source heat pumps and solar panels at the Hydro swimming pool.

A council spokesperson said:

“The money has been transferred as owing to market conditions, we cannot deliver the convention centre project within the grant timescales.”

The funding switch comes as the council is pushing ahead with plans for a major redevelopment of the convention centre, with upgrades at the venue’s studio two being made a priority.

These studio two works could start in October after a warning that the venue could miss out on up to £14.9million through cancelled events.

Overall, the full redevelopment plans could cost up to £47million if approved by councillors. The proposals include three exhibition halls being demolished to make way for a new 5,000 square metre hall and a refurbished auditorium.

Read more:

• Harrogate council HQ ‘like the Mary Celeste’, says councillor
• £4.9bn North Yorkshire pension fund struggles to offload holdings in Russia

Under separate plans, 1,077 solar panels will be installed at the convention centre in a move which the council said will save 24 tonnes of Co2 each year.

A further 420 solar panels will also be installed at the Hydro swimming pool. The council said these could reduce the venue’s annual Co2 emissions by 577 tonnes.

The Hydro is also in line for a major redevelopment which will cost £11.8million and get underway next month. These plans include a two-storey extension of the building, as well as a new entrance, cafe and reception area.

There will also be a new diving board structure, fitness suite and refurbished changing areas which could all be completed by April 2023.

The owners of Husk Beer Emporium in Harrogate hope to open a bar this summer that showcases the best craft beers from the UK and abroad.

Danny Duckworth and Tom Gill, both 33, opened the shop on King’s Road just before the first covid lockdown. It sells a wide array of craft beers with idiosyncratic branding and flavours.

They said the next step is opening their own bar and they recently submitted plans to Harrogate Borough Council to do this.

The bar would be in a unit that was previously home to Greek restaurant Souvlaki on Station Square, opposite the Queen Victoria monument.

If all goes to plan, they said the venture could open by May. It will offer live music, meet the brewery nights, food, outdoor seating and an ‘Aladdin’s cave’ of unique beers.

The bar would open in this empty unit on Station Square

‘Weird and wonderful’ beers

The friends met as students at St Aidan’s Church of England High School and are excited by the prospect of moving into a more prominent location in the town.

Mr Duckworth believes craft beer can offer a more immersive experience for drinkers than traditional real ale, due to its taste combinations and flavours.

He said variety was the key to what they offer.

“We pride ourselves on weird and wonderful beers”

As well as selling more traditionally brewed craft beers, Husk also has a well-stocked range of alcohol-free and gluten-free options.

Mr Duckworth said:

“People come here on a Friday and buy eight bottles of beer and they will all taste different.”

Inside Husk Beer Emporium

Read more:

• Top of the hops: Knaresborough brewery’s road to Harrogate Beer Week
• Harrogate charity beer festival to return in March

Craft beer trail

Craft beer muscled its way onto the drinking scene several years ago and the trend has proved that it has staying power.

Harrogate was once not known for alternative, DIY-style bars, but Mr Duckworth said Major Tom’s Social opened the door for places like the Disappearing Chin, North Bar and themselves.

Mr Gill said he hopes Husk bar can be part of a Harrogate craft beer trail, boosted by the Station Gateway scheme that would see the outside area at the end of James Street pedestrianised to allow for al-fresco summer drinking.

He said:

“More and more people are seeking places like this out.”

Mr Duckworth added:

“The craft beer scene in Harrogate is buzzing for us to open, we hope they can support us.”

Homes England will not be allowed to ‘ride roughshod’ over the wishes of people in Ripon and must renew consultation with the city council.

That was the unanimous view this week of elected members, who have described the proposed traffic plan for the 1,300-home Clotherholme development on the barracks site as ‘unacceptable’.

Speaking at Monday’s city council meeting, Conservatives Stuart Martin and Mike Chambers, who are also district and county councillors, joined Conservative parish councillors and the ruling Independents in voicing concerns.

Cllr Martin said:

“At the outline planning stage, this is the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we have to get things right on the traffic front.

“If we don’t, the city will suffer the consequences for years to come.”

City centre roads ‘at capacity’

Cllr Chambers added:

“The city centre roads are at capacity and we must make it known to Harrogate Borough Council that this plan does not work and will not work, if Homes England doesn’t come forward with new traffic mitigation measures.”

Homes England, which is the government housing agency also owns the West Lane site in Ripon where 390 homes will be built by Taylor Wimpey after outline planning permission was granted last month.

City council leader Andrew Williams said:

“Between the two sites they have almost 1,700 houses and I recommend that we say we are willing to accept 800 homes at Clotherholme and hold back on making a decision on the other 500 until this council is satisfied that Homes England has properly and thoroughly addressed the traffic issue.

“We will not allow people who don’t live in Ripon to make decisions from afar that ride roughshod over the wishes of local residents, who don’t want a city that is in perpetual gridlock.”

The busy junction of Somerset Row with High and Low Skellgate, where vehicles would not be able to turn right under the Homes England traffic plan.

“One of the unacceptable proposals in the plan is to prevent traffic at the junction of Somerset Row with Low Skellgate from turning right, meaning a detour for thousands of motorists a week.”

Cllr Williams’ proposed staged approach to handling planning for the Clotherholme scheme, was supported by all councillors, who also called for Harrogate planners and Homes England to come to the city council to hear the views of members.

Read more: 

• City council to make formal complaint about Ripon policing
• Ripon Barracks scheme could see destruction of military heritage

Cllr Pauline McHardy said;

“We haven’t met with them for over a year and it’s about time for them to get around the table with us, so we can let them know about the concerns people from all parts of the city are expressing about the traffic impact that the barracks site will have.”

Support for Ripon Military Heritage Trust

Prior to their discussion about the Clotherholme scheme, Christopher Hughes, chairman of Ripon Civic Society and Alan Skidmore, a trustee of the the Ripon Military Heritage Trust, addressed the council.

They provided an update on proposals to seek protection for historically-significant structures at the barracks site, which are currently threatened with demolition to make way for the new homes development.

It was agreed that in its correspondence with Harrogate planners, the city council will confirm that the trust’s proposals have the unanimous support of the council.

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Skipton and Ripon MP Julian Smith urged Boris Johnson to adopt a “more humane approach” to Ukrainian refugees at Prime Minister’s Questions today.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Smith, a Conservative, said to Mr Johnson:

“People across the country are genuinely concerned at our response on refugees, on the bureaucracy, on the tone of our response.

“He’s shown with vaccines that government change really comes from the very top. Please can I urge him to look again at resetting our policy and taking control of a more humane approach to those women and men fleeing from Ukraine.”

Mr Johnson replied that this government “have done more than any other to resettle vulnerable people since 2015”.

Mr Johnson responds to Mr Smith.

He added:

“I think there is a huge opportunity now for us to do even more and that’s why my friend, the Rt Hon Secretary of State for Levelling Up will be setting out a route by which the British people — not just the family reunion route which can run into the hundreds of thousands — but also a route by which everybody in this country can offer a home to people fleeing Ukraine.”

Mr Johnson said further details would be revealed “in the next few days”.

Just over a week ago Mr Smith urged the government to “rip up the usual bureaucracy and let’s just say they are welcome and we will make it as easy as possible to be here”.

Harrogate Conservative leader defends local response

Harrogate Borough Council leader Richard Cooper has accused the opposition Liberal Democrat leader Pat Marsh of appearing ignorant after she asked what steps the Tory-controlled council was taking to help the people of Ukraine.

Cllr Pat Marsh

Cllr Marsh asked in an email:

“What is being planned? Have we earmarked possible accommodation, have monies been allocated to help to feed, possibly clothe people?

“Please start some proactive actions now, the people of Harrogate district would support all efforts to help these desperate people fleeing a war zone, not of their making. We cannot just sit by and do nothing.”

Read more:

• Ripon MP Julian Smith urges UK to ‘rip up’ red tape and welcome Ukrainian refugees
• Harrogate council HQ ‘like the Mary Celeste’, says councillor

She also urged the council to lobby the UK government to grant more visas to Ukrainians.

Cllr Cooper’s response, seen by the Stray Ferret, says Cllr Marsh was “entirely wrong to allege that Harrogate Borough Council has sat by and done nothing”.

Cllr Richard Cooper

He added:

“For a start I have asked the council housing team to identify available properties so that we can react quickly to accommodation refugees as we did for Syrian and Afghan refugees.

“We have established contact with Jenny Travena, a former independent councillor, who is working with the Harrogate District of Sanctuary to coordinate our efforts when refugees arrive.

“We will take part in the government’s matching scheme to provide suitable accommodation with individuals and families fleeing the war when the final arrangements for it are announced.

“We have also determined that we have no contracts with Russian companies nor investments with them. We have cancelled performances at the Royal Hall from Russian linked companies and we have shown our solidarity with the people of Ukraine by hoisting their flag at the Civic Centre and the war memorial.

“I am concerned that your email gives an impression – granted that it appears to be from ignorance – that the borough council is taking no action whatsoever to prepare for Ukrainian refugees. This is entirely untrue. The action you have asked for is already being taken and I am rather surprised you didn’t know about it.”

Harrogate Islamic Association has said the “goodwill” of the local community helped it overcome a campaign against its plans to open the town’s first mosque.

The plans to convert the former Home Guard Club on Belford Road into a place of worship were approved last week after several residents received letters in January which said they should object because the mosque would “only serve one section of the community”.

Bristol-based planning lawyer Gavin Boby – who calls himself “the mosque buster” – also said in a YouTube video that he had been asked to help campaign against the plans.

Harrogate Islamic Association member Zahed Amanullah has now said he believes the support of most residents – and other religious groups – helped the association win approval from Harrogate Borough Council.

Mr Amanullah told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:

“We are very pleased the plans have been approved and particularly grateful to the Harrogate community for supporting us.

“We have spent many years building bridges with other faith groups and we have always felt welcome here.

“We have really relied on the goodwill of community members to address the campaign.

“We have also made sure that we are communicating with everyone effectively through social media. We want to have an ongoing dialogue with our neighbours and I think this really helped.”

Read more:

• Plans for Harrogate’s first mosque approved
• Harrogate district church leaders back mosque

The planning application was submitted in October 2021 and has proved to be divisive, with 109 people writing to the council in support of the plans and 69 against.

The objections stem from concerns over parking and traffic on Belford Road which is a one-way residential street with a primary school.

The former Home Guard club in Harrogate.

In response, Harrogate Islamic Association said in its plans that the mosque “would not have an unacceptable impact” on the surrounding roads because it is near the town centre and there are public transport links.

The association – which currently meets in the Quakers’ Friends Meeting House – has been looking for a permanent home in Harrogate for around a decade.

Previous attempts to lay roots at other buildings have fallen through and the group has now raised around £400,000 of the £500,000 needed to buy the former Home Guard club.

The association said it wants to convert the boarded-up building into a space that can be used for religious, community and charitable events.

Mr Amanullah said additional funding will be needed to carry out these works as much of the roof structure and ground floor will have to be replaced.

He said: 

“Purchasing this building has meant raising additional funds to ensure that it is renovated sensitively and appropriately, given its history.

“This means we have to raise more money than we planned for, so we have launched a crowdfunding campaign to help us make up the difference.

“Fortunately, we have had pledges from community members that were contingent upon planning permission.

“However, we will need to raise more than that for emergency repairs, so we have set a target on our crowdfunding page of £200,000 to cover these costs.

“If all goes to plan, we hope to open the building, or at least part of it, by autumn.”

A bride-to-be has expressed disappointment after discovering Harrogate Register Office is still imposing covid restrictions on the number of wedding guests.

Deanna Contreras and Sean Wilkinson are due to tie the knot at the register office on May 27.

They have been told the maximum amount of guests permitted remains 32 rather than 55 — which was the number pre-covid.

Ms Contreras, who got engaged shortly before covid struck two years ago, said:

“We were supposed to get married last year but postponed it because we wanted all our family there.

“It never entered my head that the limit would still be 32 people.”

It means the couple have had to restrict family invitations as well as partners of guests.

The register office on Park Parade.

Ms Contreras, who lives in Starbeck, said:

“We thought ‘let’s wait and have a happy time in 2022’ — and it will be a happy time but this has put a dampener on it.

“I’m not going to get stressed about it. I’m 56 and have been married before but I do feel sorry for young brides.

“I think this is a bit over the top. We can’t keep putting everything on hold for covid.”

Read more:

• Covid rate falls from 1,300 to 344 in Harrogate district over last month
• Coming soon! New pothole machine to improve Harrogate district roads

Last month Ms Contreras wrote to Harrogate Borough Council leader Richard Cooper about the matter.

Cllr Cooper replied to say:

“From my point of view I cannot see what possible justification there can be for restrictions in numbers to be given when all national restrictions have been lifted and the event is three months away.”

He added he would contact the leader of North Yorkshire County Council, which is responsible for the register office, urging it to think again.

‘Reviewing arrangements’

Neil Irving, assistant director for policy, partnerships and communities at the county council, told the Stray Ferret:

“Until April 1 we are required by law explicitly to consider covid transmission risks around public events.

“Government continues to advise that space and ventilation are important factors in minimising covid transmission.

“We are currently reviewing all our arrangements for events such as weddings and to bring in changes from the beginning of April, but for the present we continue to take steps to minimise covid transmission as rates, though falling, continue to be relatively high.”

A councillor has compared Harrogate Borough Council‘s headquarters at Knapping Mount to the abandoned ghost ship the Mary Celeste, due to the number of staff still working from home.

The multi-million-pound Civic Centre opened in 2017 and can accommodate up to 500 council workers. However, the council is still encouraging many staff to work from home despite lockdown restrictions being removed.

Nick Brown, the Conservative councillor for Bishop Monkton and Newby, told the Stray Ferret yesterday that he was unsatisfied with the response of Conservative council leader Richard Cooper to a question he asked at a council meeting last week.

Cllr Cooper said decisions about working practices should be made by senior officers rather than councillors.

Cllr Brown told the Stray Ferret:

“We councillors agreed to spend £13m on a new Civic Centre, opened in 2017, for officers to work in. Yet the leader now tells us that it is not members’ business to require council officers to work there.

“Prior to the covid pandemic, the Civic Centre was a busy place where I as a councillor could find the officers that I wished to speak to. Now it is like the Mary Celeste!”.

Cllr Brown believes ending the work from home policy would “benefit the local economy”.

He added:

“Our Conservative Prime Minister has given a clear message to end working from home in the public sector, in order to boost the economy.

“As a Conservative-led council, I believe we should get officers back at their desks and using the Civic Centre.”

Read more:

• Harrogate council still expecting staff to work from home
• Harrogate council staff still working from home – despite change of guidance

The public sector workers union Unison said it “broadly supports” the council’s decision to allow staff to work from home.

David Houlgate, branch secretary for the Harrogate district, told the Stray Ferret council staff proved during the pandemic they can work from home effectively.

He added:

“We believe the government’s Living with Covid strategy to scrap all remaining covid rules in England was reckless.

“So we broadly support this cautious approach taken by Harrogate Borough Council about returning to the Civic Centre at this time.

“Staff have demonstrated over a two-year period that they can deliver vital public services whether or not they are in the office or working from home.

“We’re confident that that can continue, though poor pay does present an ever increasing risk.”

‘Agile working’

The Stray Ferret has asked the council for the number of staff currently working from home who would normally be in the Civic Centre.

A council spokesperson said:

“Following the updated guidance in relation to the end of Plan B measures, staff are permitted to work from the office should they wish to or are required to do so.

“The number of staff using said office(s) differs day-by-day so it would be difficult to provide a comprehensive figure. Staff also come and go from the office depending on their job role; housing and planning officers for example.

“And while covid has seen a significant increase in staff working from home – and rightly so – many staff were already doing so. The civic centre was designed in such a way that staff could hybrid work or ‘hot desk’ if they so wished.

“Agile working is something adopted by many local authorities and companies long before covid and is one of the many benefits of working for Harrogate Borough Council.”

Key parts of Ripon’s military past could be demolished to make way for the proposed 1,300-home development at the city’s barracks.

Homes England is seeking outline planning permission for the Clotherholme housing scheme, which would be the biggest single residential development in Ripon’s history.

Ripon Civic Society has now highlighted the potential loss of rare items that are part of Ripon and the UK’s military heritage.

The vital role Ripon’s military establishment played in both world wars and the Cold War has been highlighted in new research by the society.

Christopher Hughes, its chairman of the society, said:

“The site at Laver Banks is important in the history of Ripon’s past and in the defence of Britain in World War II and since.

“We have done detailed work on the Homes England proposals for the whole of the army camp site.  We encourage them, and Harrogate Borough Council, to take a revised look at proposals for demolition of some of the structures our research has identified, and to protect them for the future.”

 The society has been closely engaged in the planning process and has been keen to stress the importance of the last remaining remnants of the city’s vast World War I camp, in which the poet Wilfred Owen was stationed.

The heavy girder bridge, which crosses the River Laver on the Barracks site, was the next generation of the bridge designed by Sir Donald Bailey.

Setting up Ripon Military Heritage Trust to aid further research, it has now discovered that from the start of World War II the remaining site was the test-bed for developing and trialling demountable bridges, including the world-famous Bailey bridge.

 The School of Military Engineering was evacuated from Chatham in Kent to Ripon at the start of the war.

Military heritage structures

Ripon architectural historian, lecturer and writer, David Winpenny,  who is a vice-president of the society, said:

“As well as providing training for engineers on the Bailey bridge, the school also developed the massive Bailey Suspension Bridge, capable of spanning up to 400 feet.

“It was tested in Ripon at the Laver Banks site of Ripon Camp by British, Canadian and American troops before being deployed in Burma and other theatres of war.

 “From 1946 a new heavy girder bridge was developed; by 1955 60 had been ordered.  The first to be put in place was over the River Ure in Ripon. It was mainly used in West Germany as well as in Malaya.

“Development continued in the following decades.  The only surviving heavy girder bridge was installed in Ripon as late as 1992.

“Ripon also has the larger of only two surviving  k‘demolition’ training bridges, designed with cavities in which explosives could be packed to eliminate the bridges before an enemy assault.

Read more:

• Consultation on 1,300-home Ripon Barracks site closes on Wednesday
• Artworks honour Ripon’s military past

Mr Winpenny added:

 “As well as these rare survivals, and the still-extant infrastructure of the testing site, the Ripon Camp also has the last four Twynam Huts remaining; these were the successors to the Nissan Huts and were developed in 1959 for use as accommodations for personnel, offices and stores.

“They were deployed worldwide, including in Cyprus, Aden and Libya, as well as on Ascension Island during the Falklands War and at Long Kesh Camp in Northern Ireland.”

‘Amazing how significant Ripon was’

The society has shared its findings with Homes England, which is responsible for the transition of the site from army camp to housing and employment site, and with Harrogate Borough Council, which will determine the planning application.

It has said that these significant but vulnerable remnants of Ripon’s military past require special protection as part of the planning process. The society wants to work closely with all parties to establish a community legacy for Ripon and the wider area by promoting and interpreting the site.

 Guy Wilson, creator of the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds, and one of the Ripon Military Heritage Trust trustees, said:

“It is amazing how significant this quiet part of North Yorkshire was in the Second World War.  What was happening in Ripon helped us to win the war and our research has discovered how important Ripon was in the development and perfection of the Bailey bridge and its successors.

“It is a story hitherto unknown but one very worth telling and remembering.”