Traffic and Travel Alert: Harrogate district update

Drivers using the A658 Harrogate Road should be aware of a roadworks near Huby and North Rigton which is diverting traffic.

Meanwhile, commuters are reminded of upcoming rail strikes in the district this week.

Roads

As previously reported, five days of roadworks on the A658 Harrogate Road started yesterday which may cause delays for drivers.

It will see motorists diverted along Crag Lane, The Sleights and Gravelly Hill Lane through North Rigton and Huby while work takes place.

The work is being carried out by North Yorkshire County Council to resurface the road, with a closure in place between 9.30am and 3.30pm.

Meanwhile, Traffic lights on the A59 York Road near the junction with the A658 in Knaresborough are due to remain in place until November 11.

Yorkshire Water has installed four-way traffic lights as it lays a new water main for a housing development.

Drivers are urged to allow extra time if using the route this morning.

Work to reconstruct the B6265 at Red Brae Bank, Bewerley, near Pateley Bridge, is ongoing.

The road is closed and a diversion is in place via Pateley Bridge, the B6451 Dacre, Menwith Hill Road, Duck Street and Greenhow Hill village. Temporary traffic lights will be in place during the remainder of the work.

Fell Beck Bridge remains closed for works until November 6, with a diversion in place via Burnt Yates and Summerbridge.

Planned gas replacement works in Harrogate will be paused. It means five weeks of traffic lights on Cold Bath Road, which were initially due to take place in September, won’t happen until at least January.

Trains and buses

Northern services between Harrogate and Knaresborough going to York and Leeds are scheduled to run as normal this morning.

However, commuters are being warned of upcoming strike action on Saturday (November 5).

Northern is urging passengers not to travel on the day and to check service times on Sunday (November 6).

Further strike action is scheduled to take place on Monday (November 7) and Wednesday (November 9).

The Harrogate Bus Company is currently reporting cancellations on its 1, 1A, 1B and 1C services this morning. You can get updates here.

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Dower House renovation set to start — but still no opening date

The owner of Knaresborough’s Dower House has said it is finalising the appointment of a contractor.

The hotel closed this year for refurbishment after the hotel was acquired by the Inn Collection Group in December last year.

The decision to permanently close the hotel gym and spa as part of the changes upset some members.

A former member Michael Ward contacted the Stray Ferret last week to say he was concerned by the lack of activity at the site in recent months. The Stray Ferret asked the owner for an update.

A spokesman for the Inn Collection Group said

“Planning permissions have been received and listed building consents are now in place.

“We are now in the process of finalising a contractor appointment ahead of refurbishment works getting underway.”

The spokesman described the renovations as “complex” but said they would “enhance the Dower House’s environment, improve accessibility, and align the site with our food-driven pubs with rooms offer”.

However, he was unable to say when the venue will reopen.

Gym and spa replaced by 16 bedrooms

The works will see an extension to the rear of the Dower House and will include a portico entrance, the installation of an accessible ramp, pergolas, a retaining wall and a keg store.

The renovation will also include the replacement of roof coverings, repairs to brickwork, the creation of a footpath and parking, and the installation of an extract flue.

The spokesman added:

“Once complete, the works will see 16 additional bedrooms created in the space previously occupied by the gym and spa.

“In the public report provided as part of the process, it was noted that ‘the overall the development will preserve the setting of the listed building’.”

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New council plans single taxi licensing for North Yorkshire

Taxi drivers in the Harrogate district could be able to operate in other areas of North Yorkshire, under plans being considered by county council officials.

A consultation is being held into vehicle licensing for the entire of the county ahead of North Yorkshire Council being set up.

As of April 1 next year, the new authority will be responsible for licensing vehicles in the Harrogate district. Harrogate Borough Council, which currently fulfils the role locally, will no longer exist.

County council officials have proposed North Yorkshire operates as one hackney carriage zone in order to offer drivers “flexibility to operate across the county”.

A review of fare rates across the county will be carried out at a later date.

The council said in a statement:

“In accordance with the Department for Transport’s best practice guidance, it is proposed that the new council will operate one hackney carriage ‘zone’ for North Yorkshire.

“Thereby providing drivers with the flexibility to operate across the county, encouraging environmental efficiencies and creating a wider distribution of wheelchair-accessible vehicles.

“There are no plans to impose hackney carriage quantity restrictions on the creation of a new single zone. Hackney carriage fares and fees will also be reviewed at a later date.”

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The consultation will run for 12 weeks and end on January 19, 2023.

You can take part in the survey here.

Sawley Arms granted midnight licence extension

A gastro pub near Ripon has been granted an extension to its licensing hours until midnight.

The Sawley Arms, which has eight bedrooms and is popular with diners, applied for an extension until 1am, seven days a week.

But Harrogate Borough Council’s licensing committee decided on Friday that alcohol could only be served until midnight.

Steve Manton, owner of the Sawley Arms, told the committee he had spent more than £1 million refurbishing the pub since he bought it 11 years ago as a retirement project.

Mr Manton, who previously ran several businesses in the Harrogate area, said the pub’s main activity was food.

“It’s a destination pub. The traditional boozer has disappeared.”

Customers, he said, “like to linger and that’s why we have put in the extension until 1am”.

Steve Manton

Mr Manton addresses the meeting.

He added:

“That doesn’t mean we will stay open until 1am every night. Last night we closed at 9.30pm.”

Mr Manton, who lives on the Isle of Man, described the venue as “a summer pub”, adding there was “very, very little activity in winter and we close our gardens”.

He said besides diners, the pub attracted weekend walkers, visitors to Fountains Abbey and guests from nearby Grantley Hall, the opening of which he described as “a lifeline”.

Before the meeting, David Taylor, clerk to Grantley and Sawley Parish Council, had submitted an objection to the proposal raising “grave concerns”.  He said:

“The residents of the village are very likely to be disturbed by vehicles leaving the site at times that would extend beyond 1am.

“Although 1am is the requested extended time, there would be ‘drinking up time’ and staff leaving the premises, therefore it would be nearer to 2am when the last cars leave the site.”

Wan Malachi, a licensing enforcement officer at the council told the committee it had received no complaints about the venue.

Ed Darling, the Conservative councillor who chairs the licensing committee, told Mr Manton it had granted the extension on condition that it applied until midnight, seven days a week, rather than the 1am requested. Cllr Darling added:

“There is a right of appeal against this decision to Harrogate Magistrates Court within 21 days of receipt of the decision notice.”

 

 

 

Traffic and Travel Alert: Harrogate district update

Traffic is moving as normal in the Harrogate district during this morning’s rush hour.

Meanwhile, commuters are being warned of upcoming strikes on the district’s trains this weekend.

Roads

Traffic lights on the A59 York Road near the junction with the A658 in Knaresborough are due to remain in place until November 11.

Yorkshire Water has installed four-way traffic lights as it lays a new water main for a housing development.

Drivers are urged to allow extra time if using the route this morning.

Meanwhile, work to reconstruct the B6265 at Red Brae Bank, Bewerley, near Pateley Bridge, is ongoing.

The road is closed and a diversion is in place via Pateley Bridge, the B6451 Dacre, Menwith Hill Road, Duck Street and Greenhow Hill village. Temporary traffic lights will be in place during the remainder of the work.

Fell Beck Bridge remains closed for works until November 6, with a diversion in place via Burnt Yates and Summerbridge.

Planned gas replacement works in Harrogate will be paused. It means five weeks of traffic lights on Cold Bath Road, which were initially due to take place in September, won’t happen until at least January.

Trains and buses

Northern services between Harrogate and Knaresborough going to York and Leeds are scheduled to run as normal this morning.

However, commuters are being warned of upcoming strike action on Saturday (November 5).

Northern is urging passengers not to travel on the day and to check service times on Sunday (November 6).

Further strike action is scheduled to take place on Monday (November 7) and Wednesday (November 9).

The Harrogate Bus Company is currently reporting cancellations on the 7 services this morning. You can get updates here.

There are some changes to bus timetables on the horizon, taking effect from Sunday (November 6). Most of these are minor, but in a more significant change, the 36 will no longer offer ‘neighbourhood journeys’ from Bilton and Jennyfield to Leeds.

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Knaresborough man jailed for ‘punishment beating’ of ex-partner

A father-of-three has been jailed for subjecting his partner to a vicious “punishment beating” in which she was dragged out of her home, thrown into his car and then driven to another address where she was yanked along the street.

Alan Bell, 47, erupted in a fit of drunken rage at the woman’s home in Knaresborough where he punched her repeatedly after discovering she had recently tried drugs, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Daniel Ingram said the couple, who had drunk three bottles of wine together, got into an argument on Christmas Day last year after the named victim told Bell she had recently taken cocaine because she had been feeling down.

Bell, who worked for Huttons Butchers in Castlegate, Knaresborough, reacted with fury and accused her of cheating on him with another man.

The victim started talking to this man on the phone, whereupon Bell “began hitting her, punched her on the head and dragged her off the settee onto the floor”.

He then threw a pair of Dr Martens boots at her, before dragging her outside to his van, telling her that if she wanted to see the man, he would drive her to his house. Mr Ingram said:

“She begged him to stop (but) he dragged her outside to the van and threw her into the passenger seat.

“He drove to the male’s address and dragged her out of the van. He (then) punched her to the face and pushed her over.”

Taken to hospital

The victim was dragged along the ground towards the unnamed man’s house and then “dragged back (again)”.

She said she “smashed her face on the floor” after being pushed to the ground and was then kicked to the body, but Bell denied this. Mr Ingram added:

“(Bell) then moved away, leaving her lying on the floor.

“She was helped by strangers who called police and she was taken to hospital.”

The victim, who had since separated from Bell, discharged herself from hospital before she could be seen by medical staff.

When she returned home, she found her plants pots, Christmas presents and a glass candle had been smashed, and drink had been “poured all over (the presents)”.

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Bell had gone into her house and damaged the items as part of a “revenge” attack which lasted into the early hours of Boxing Day.

The victim also alleged that in the first attack at her home, Bell had kicked her to the body and hit her over the head with a TV remote control and her own shoes.

Bell denied these allegations but admitted punching her in the face “four or five times” before throwing her Dr Martens at her and dragging her into his van.

Mr Ingram said the victim suffered “nasty” bruising to her arms, face and body, a black eye, cut forehead and an ear injury after her earring was ripped out. He added:

“She said she was sore all over and in pain for a long time afterwards.

“She said she felt the need to hide away from others as a result of the bruising and…that at the time she thought she might die.”

Bell, of Castle Yard, Knaresborough, was arrested and charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and damaging property.

He admitted both offences on the basis that he didn’t kick the victim or hit her with the TV remote. He appeared for sentence today after the prosecution accepted his plea.

Never been violent before

Peter Minnikin, for Bell, said his client had led an otherwise “blameless” life.

He added that Bell, who divorced from his ex-wife in 2016, had never been violent in previous relationships.

A character reference from his employer at Huttons Butchers, where he earned a good living, described Bell as a “hard-working man”.

Mr Minnikin said Bell met the victim in 2019 but their relationship became “toxic” and they were both drinking heavily.

Judge Sean Morris branded the attacks a “disgraceful incident”. He told Bell:

“This was a prolonged incident of degradation. You dragged (the victim) out of the van and dragged her back again in the street and she’s ended up with all these injuries.

“While she is out without any shoes on, looking for help, you are ripping all (her) Christmas presents and spoiling them with drink.

“It was a cowardly offence and you were inflicting punishment which you are not allowed to do.”

Mr Morris said the violence was “just too prolonged and too serious” for anything other than an immediate jail sentence. He added:

“I know that this is going to have an effect both on your employer and your family, but these kinds of domestic assaults have to be deterred so that people know what happens if they subject their partners, wives, girlfriends, to prolonged, humiliating punishment beatings.”

Bell was jailed for 10 months and given a five-year restraining order, which bans him contacting the victim or going to her house in Knaresborough.

Traffic and Travel Alert: Harrogate district update

The long-term gas works on Crescent Road In Harrogate town centre are due to be paused this week.

Motorists are still unable to turn left at the Parliament Street junction and traffic coming the opposite way on Ripon Road is unable to turn right but by next week the restrictions should have ended.

Roadworks near the Harrogate Town ground on Wetherby Road in Harrogate are due to end tomorrow.

According to North Yorkshire County Council’s roadworks map, two sets of traffic lights will be active on Skipton Road, between the Empress roundabout and King’s Road.

Traffic lights on the A59 York Road near the junction with the A658 in Knaresborough are due to remain in place until November 11.

Yorkshire Water has installed four-way traffic lights as it lays a new water main for a housing development.

In Ripon, roadworks are due to be active on Heckler Lane and New Road today and tomorrow.

Work to reconstruct the landslip-hit B6265 at Red Brae Bank, Bewerley, near Pateley Bridge, is ongoing.

The road is closed and a diversion is in place via Pateley Bridge; the B6451 Dacre; Menwith Hill Road; Duck Street and Greenhow Hill village. Temporary traffic lights will be in place during the remainder of the work.

Trains and buses

Rail operator Northern is not reporting any problems on the line passing through Harrogate and Knaresborough this morning but the live departure and arrival board for Harrogate shows the 7.37am LNER service to London is cancelled.

The Harrogate Bus Company is reporting cancellations on the 36 bus, the 9am and 10.55am Harrogate to Leeds services are cancelled, as are the Leeds to Harrogate 7.40am, 9.55am, 11.55am services and the Starbeck to Leeds 6.23am bus.

You can get updates here.

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Staffing a ‘significant challenge’ for Harrogate district food hygiene checks

Harrogate Borough Council has said staffing is a “significant challenge” for food hygiene inspections, which face long backlogs after covid.

During the pandemic, the Food Standards Agency advised all councils to prioritise “high risk” food businesses as inspections resumed last July.

Since then the council said it has visited all establishments in this category during the first year of its food service recovery plan.

But there are now almost 1,100 “low risk” businesses which are due an inspection from officers – and that figure is more than double the 415 pending inspections in 2019.

The council said in a report that staffing has become a “significant challenge” in the last year as it deals with difficulties in recruiting and also prepares to hand over services to the new North Yorkshire Council.

It also said that another wave of covid infections this winter could mean staff once again have to shift their focus to other enforcement work.

The council said.

“There is a risk that the winter period may see an increase in covid.

“Should further local or national controls be put in place, team resource may need to be dedicated to advice, enforcement and infection control again.”

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Food businesses are given ratings between zero and five, and there are currently 549 pending inspections due at businesses in the lowest risk category E, while 531 are due in category D.

The council said in a statement that inspections at these firms would be carried out “when resources allow”.

It comes after the authority warned that food safety standards at some Harrogate businesses had “deteriorated significantly” during the covid lockdowns when full inspections were postponed.

And since restrictions were lifted last year, the council said large events have increased “in number and complexity every year” with extra pressure on staff.

These events have included the Great Yorkshire Show, Knaresborough Bed Race, Deer Shed Festival near Ripon, Harrogate’s Autumn Flower Show and new regular food markets, the council said.

It added:

“Events are attracting traders from out of district with a huge variance in compliance.”

Around 200 new food businesses register in the Harrogate district each year and the council is currently responsible for enforcement at 2,073 establishments – roughly the same amount as York.

Traffic and Travel Alert: Harrogate district traffic update

Motorists should be aware of roadworks at Knaresborough which are causing delays during rush hour.

Here is your Stray Ferret traffic update.

Roads

Roadworks in Knaresborough are causing delays for drivers during the morning rush hour.

Yesterday, motorists reported queues of more than an hour on the A59 near the junction with the A658.

Yorkshire Water has put in place four-way traffic lights as it lays a new water main for a housing development.

The lights will remain in place until November 11. Drivers are urged to allow extra time if using the route this morning.

Meanwhile, work to reconstruct the B6265 at Red Brae Bank, Bewerley, near Pateley Bridge, is ongoing.

The scheme requires the road to be closed and a diversion will be in place via Pateley Bridge; the B6451 Dacre; Menwith Hill Road; Duck Street and Greenhow Hill village. Temporary traffic lights will be in place during the remainder of the work.

Also, lights will be installed on the B6265 at Red Brae Bank, Bewerley. The road suffered a landslip during storms in February 2020 and a weight limit has been in place since.

It was expected that the work will be carried out until December 9.

Meanwhile, roadworks are also set to be implemented on Wetherby Road in Harrogate from Monday as temporary traffic lights are put in place.

According to North Yorkshire County Council’s roadworks map, maintenance work will be carried out by Northern Gas Networks until October 28.

In Harrogate town centre, long-term work on Crescent Road means motorists are unable to turn left at the Parliament Street junction. Traffic coming the opposite way on Ripon Road is unable to turn right.

Trains and buses

Northern services between Harrogate and Knaresborough going to York and Leeds are scheduled to run as normal this morning.

The Harrogate Bus Company is currently reporting cancellations on the 7 services this morning. You can get updates here.

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Harrogate district MPs backing clear favourite as new PM set to be confirmed

Two Harrogate district MPs look to have backed the right candidate with the announcement of the next Prime Minister set to be made later today.

Rishi Sunak is on course to win the Conservative leadership contest after Boris Johnson withdrew from the race last night.

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, and Julian Smith, Skipton and Ripon MP, are among the 155 MPs who have declared their support for the former chancellor.

Penny Mordaunt, who is also running for the leadership, currently has the support of 25 MPs.

Writing on his Community News website, Mr Jones said on Friday:

“I’m backing Rishi because he has the experience, ability and energy to tackle the problems facing our country.

“He instinctively reaches for the right solutions and now, more than ever, we need someone who will bring those qualities to our national politics. He has demonstrated proven, economic judgement in unprecedented times.”

Nigel Adams, Selby and Ainsty MP which includes rural Harrogate, had backed Johnson for the leadership before the former Prime Minister withdrew from the race.

General Election calls

It comes as opposition parties, including Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, have called for a General Election to be held.

The Stray Ferret asked the Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative party what it made of the current situation in Parliament and whether it supported the suggestion of an election being held.

A spokesperson for the local party said:

“Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative Association is here to serve its members who hold a wide range of views and opinions.

“We strongly support democracy and believe general elections should take place when called through the appropriate channels.

“It is our understanding that the election timetable is already published unless the government of the day makes alternative arrangements.”

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