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.

Let’s do more to help travellers

What a good idea for districts to provide stops for travellers en route to Appleby Horse Fair.

Having lived in the area for 80 years, I see the slight inconvenience of a couple of nights encampment en route or return as no problem.

Travellers have always stayed in the district. In my youth we had the fair at Boroughbridge. Traffic slowed to let the horses and caravans go along their slow and steady way. We have seen the steady decline in public houses over the years (a very English tradition) and we are in danger of losing our identity.

Yes, hold the travellers to account over how they leave the site and make arrangements for them to pay for a clear up, or block their exit if it is not done, I am sure they would comply as a safe stopover is better for all if put into place. Councils should think twice about costly court orders and put common sense into the mix.

Sandra Theobald, Harrogate

Read more:

• End of an era: Harrogate working men’s club folds after 108 years
• New pop-up shop offers small businesses chance to trade in Harrogate

We need new blood on our councils

Councillor Carl Les talks about fairness but what people want to know is: by how much their bills are going to reduce and what economies he is going to introduce?

There is no mention of this and no plan so until he can produce this, it’s not convincing. We also need new blood in our councillors, not just a reshuffle.

Harrogate people also want to know that their payments are actually spent in the town and not elsewhere in the region e.g. our roads are bad and North Yorkshire County Council’s highways department has consistently dragged its feet about traffic improvements whilst locals have told them how to improve matters.

What we really need, is for Harrogate to become a city and control its own affairs — we are certainly getting to this size.

Until we do, our cash can be siphoned elsewhere with little or no say about it.

John Holder, Harrogate

Harrogate Christmas Market is tacky!

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.

Another 62 covid infections have been reported in the Harrogate district, according to latest Public Health England figures.

Harrogate District Hospital is currently treating seven patients for covid.

However, no covid-related deaths have been reported at the hospital for four months.

The last time a death was recorded was on April 11.

It means the death toll at the hospital from covid since March 2020 remains at 179.

Read more:

• Grab-a-Jab walk-in vaccinations available in Knaresborough all week
• Pateley Bridge says thank you to vaccine volunteers

Meanwhile, the district’s seven-day rate is now at 281 per 100,000 people.

The North Yorkshire rate stands at 270 and the England average is 306.

Elsewhere, 123,564 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 108,313 have had a second dose.

The Harrogate district has recorded another 70 covid infections in the last 24 hours, according to latest Public Health England figures.

No covid-related deaths have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital for four months.

The last time a death was recorded was on April 11.

It means the death toll at the hospital since March 2020 remains at 179.

Read more:

• Grab-a-Jab walk-in vaccinations available in Knaresborough all week
• Pateley Bridge says thank you to vaccine volunteers

Currently, seven patients are being treated for covid at Harrogate hospital.

Meanwhile, the district’s seven-day rate is now at 278 per 100,000 people.

The North Yorkshire rate stands at 260 and the England average is 305.

It means the number of covid deaths at the hospital since March 2020 remains at 179.

Elsewhere, 123,512 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 108,147 have had a second dose.

Some people in the Harrogate district are still without a TV signal after Tuesday’s fire at the Bilsdale mast near Helmsley.

The fire left about 500,000 homes in the north east without TV and radio signal.

Some TV channels and BBC Radio Tees channels had been restored to homes last night. However, Arqiva, the communications company that operates the mast said it was still unsure when all channels would return.

A statement sent to the Stray Ferret said:

“The task to reinstate all the services that were available is a complex one and we are working hard to get as many services back up as quickly as we can.

“We are assessing all options open to us but the process is a gradual one. We apologise for the inconvenience but ask that you bear with us as our teams work hard to deliver solutions for as many people as possible as quickly and safely as we can.”

Read more:

• End of an era: Harrogate working men’s club folds after 108 years
• Ripon mayor Eamon Parkin set to make history

A cordon is still in place sealing off land within 300 metres of the mast whilst engineers ensure the tower is structurally secure.

When this is done, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service will return to begin the process of investigating the cause of the fire.

The fire service said:

“At this time there is nothing to suggest that the fire is the result of any criminal activity but this cannot be confirmed until a closer examination has been carried out.”

Eight fire crews tackled the blaze at the 315-metre mast.

A Harrogate working men’s club has closed after more than 100 years.

The National Reserve Club, on East Parade near the town centre, formally dissolved with the Financial Conduct Authority at the end of July, according to recently published documents.

According to the FCA, the organisation had been registered as a working men’s club since July 11, 1913, when it was known as the Harrogate Battalion National Reserve of the West Riding of York Club.

However, a formal resolution was passed by members in October last year to dissolve the club.

The special resolution said:

“It is with a heavy heart I inform all members that the proposal to dissolve the club was a 93% unanimous decision in favour of the committee’s recommendation from October 1, 2020.”

Read more:

• Two Harrogate district village pubs to be turned into housing
• Famous Knaresborough pub to reopen after eight month refurbishment
• Plans to convert former Lower Dunsforth pub into flats

The club, which had 28 members at the time of closing, donated its remaining cash to charity.

Although the closure of the National Reserve Club represents the end of an era, the district is still served by working men’s clubs.

Clubs are registered with the Club and Institute Union, which represents more than 1,600 societies across the country.

According to the CIU website, nine clubs are affiliated with the union in the Harrogate district.

In Harrogate itself, punters can find clubs in Oatlands, Starbeck, High Harrogate and Bilton.

The town also has the Londesborough Club on Bower Road and Harrogate Traders Hall on Westmoreland Street.

Knaresborough has two social clubs and Boroughbridge also has its own members’ club.

Meanwhile, Ripon has a Conservative club and Pateley Bridge has its own club on the High Street but these two are not affiliated with the CIU.

Look for an in-depth history of working men’s clubs in Harrogate written by historian Malcolm Neesam this weekend on the Stray Ferret .

No covid-related deaths have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital for four months.

The last time a death was recorded was on April 11.

Currently, seven patients are being treated for covid at Harrogate hospital.

The Harrogate district has recorded another 69 covid infections in the last 24 hours, according to latest Public Health England figures.

Read more:

• Grab-a-Jab walk-in vaccinations available in Knaresborough all week
• Pateley Bridge says thank you to vaccine volunteers

Meanwhile, the district’s seven-day rate is now at 280 per 100,000 people.

The North Yorkshire rate stands at 265 and the England average is 302.

It means the number of covid deaths at the hospital since March 2020 remains at 179.

Elsewhere, 123,470 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 108,039 have had a second dose.

Many homes in the Harrogate district are still without a TV signal following yesterday’s Bilsdale transmitter fire.

Freeview TV and FM radio signals in about one million homes in North Yorkshire, Teesside and County Durham were affected and almost 24 hours on it is still not known when the situation will be resolved.

Eight fire crews tackled the blaze at the 315-metre mast near Helmsley yesterday afternoon.

Stray Ferret readers quickly got in touch to report the issue had affected television coverage in the Bilton area of Harrogate as well as in the north of the Harrogate district.

Communications company Arqiva, which operates the transmitter, tweeted today it was still assessing the extent of the damage:

“The fire at our Bilsdale mast site is under control and we can confirm that there were no injuries or casualties. TV and radio services remain off air from the site.

“Our teams are currently mobilising temporary equipment to site however we are unable to provide specific timelines for restoration of any services at this point.”

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has said it will return to the site today to bring the incident to a “safe conclusion”.

A 300m exclusion zone was put in place around the mast and concerns about its structural integrity were reported.

Read more:

• Classic art meets contemporary at Fountains Abbey
• Ripon Together organises a summer of free play for children

New habitats friendly to bees and other pollinators will be created at Fewston, Swinsty, and Thruscross reservoirs.

The initiative is part of a Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust and Yorkshire Water project called Bee Together which aims to help pollinators thrive.

The idea is to create ‘pollinator superhighways’ that weave through the country and link existing wildlife areas together by creating and restoring wildlife patches rich in wildflowers.

Read more:

• Yorkshire Water urges people not to swim in reservoirs after recent tragedies
• Fewston church to rekindle wartime memories

Six Yorkshire Water reservoirs — Fewston, Swinsty, Thruscross, Embsay, Grimwith, and Barden — have been identified as pollinator sites.

Yorkshire Water has provided £30,000 for the project.

Yasmina Gallagher, from Yorkshire Water, said:

“Conservation efforts and improving biodiversity are key parts of our work and often go hand-in-hand with our role managing water catchments.

“We’re pleased to be involved in the Bee Together project and have already identified six of our sites that will provide perfect habitats for pollinators.

“Our colleagues will be volunteering their time to carry out pollinator surveys, create action plans and deliver the habitat the bees require to thrive in our area.”

The Harrogate district has recorded another 60 covid infections in the last 24 hours, according to latest Public Health England figures.

Meanwhile, the district’s seven-day rate is now at 289 per 100,000 people.

The North Yorkshire rate stands at 269 and the England average is 296.

However, Harrogate District Hospital has not reported a covid-related death in nearly four months. 

Read more:

• Grab-a-Jab walk-in vaccinations available in Knaresborough all week
• Pateley Bridge says thank you to vaccine volunteers

The last time a death was recorded was on April 11.

It means the number of covid deaths at the hospital since March 2020 remains at 179.

Elsewhere, 123,394 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 107,875 have had a second dose.

Walk-in covid vaccines are being offered at the former Lidl site in Knaresborough all week from 8am to 5pm.

First and second doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs will be available at the site on York Road from today until Saturday without a booking. Moderna is not being offered.

Latest government figures show that in the Harrogate district, 86% of adults have had their first jab and 76% have had both.

The district is below the UK average for first doses, which is 89%. Across the country, 75% of people have had both doses.

Elsewhere in the district, walk-in vaccinations for Pfizer and AstraZeneca will be offered on Saturday at Memorial Hall in Pateley Bridge.

Earlier this week, Homecare Pharmacy, which runs the site in Knaresborough, reassured patients it was still offering covid jabs after a technical glitch sent messages cancelling appointments.

Read more:

• Knaresborough vaccine site reassures patients after jabs cancelled
• Pateley Bridge says thank you to vaccine volunteers