A review into car parking at train stations across the Harrogate district has been criticised as a “lost opportunity”.
Transport officials at North Yorkshire County Council launched the review to look into where parking could be expanded in order to encourage the use of public transport and stop parked vehicles spilling over onto residential streets.
The findings were discussed at a meeting today when councillor Paul Haslam, who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge, said he was “disappointed” that residents were not asked where they believe investment is needed the most. He said:
“There doesn’t seem to have been any discussion with any user groups.
“I would have thought they might have been able to share some very important information – we need to know what our customers want.”
Cllr Haslam said while the review was “very measured,” it was a “lost opportunity” to also look into how access to train stations can be made easier for those travelling on foot or by bike.
He told today’s meeting of the Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee:
“I would have hoped this review could have looked at safe and secure storage for bikes, bus stop provision and other access in terms of cycle routes.
“Train stations are going to be what we will call transport transition hubs in the future and we have to facilitate these changes so people can get off their bike and onto a train, or out of their car and onto a bus.”
His comments were backed by councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at the county council, who added:
“We must look at other means of connecting people to railway stations and not simply in their cars.”
More parking at Pannal
The review highlights how new car parking will be built at Pannal train station as part of the ongoing housing development at the former Dunlopillo site.
Construction work has yet to start on the car park and it is unclear when this could begin.
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Cattal train station has also been identified for improved parking as part of a 3,000-home settlement which is planned for the area because of its railway links.
There are no plans to upgrade parking at train stations in Starbeck, Knaresborough or Weeton, as well Harrogate which a report said already has extra capacity at the Victoria multi-storey car park.
Another area which has been identified for potential improvements is Hornbeam Park train station where previous proposals to expand the car park were met with concerns that it could encourage more car journeys on the already congested Hookstone Road.
Traffic impact
Graham North, strategic support officer at the county council, told today’s meeting that extra car parking had been considered again, although it could have had a “significant” impact on traffic.
Mr North also set out some of the reasons why parking upgrades are needed at other train stations, but can not be achieved.
He said:
Thieves steal money and CDs from Beckwithshaw church“The Harrogate line has had significant improvements in frequency including the recent improvements between York and Harrogate.
“We have also had modern rolling stock, station improvements and the introduction of the LNER services to and from London which are all potentially increasing demand for rail travel.
“The rail industry has looked at each station to identify any land available for car parking close to stations and whilst some land has been identified the cost to purchase, access to and from the sites and the poor business cases have meant that these were not developed further.”
A Beckwithshaw church is appealing for help after a thief stole money and a CD player.
St Michael and All Angels’ Church, on Otley Road in the village, said the church had been targeted twice in about three weeks.
In a Facebook post, the church said someone had tried and failed to prise the cash box from the wall on the last weekend in February.
However, they returned between 11.30am and 6pm yesterday to cut the padlock locking the box and steal what was inside — which the church believes was around £6.
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The church said in its post that the thief had “come prepared” the second time round.
It said:
“The thief has also taken the CD player with two small speakers from the area near to the choir stalls which we used for Sunday music when we don’t have an organist.”
The church added that it believed the CD player was stolen by someone with a large Sainsbury’s carrier bag.
The church was built in the late nineteenth century in the Gothic revival style. According to its website, the building is open from 10am to 4pm daily for private prayer.
Traffic cop posts pic of ‘horrendous shed of a car’ stopped near RiponA Harrogate traffic constable has revealed photos of “a horrendous shed of a car” that was stopped by police near Ripon.
Traffic Constable David Minto said a colleague pulled over the Audi at Baldersby, near Ripon.
He then requested support from TC Minto, who said on his Twitter account:
“It wasn’t a difficult decision for me. All four tyres had defects. The rear offside in particular was in a dreadful state
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TC Minto added two different size tyres were fitted to the front axle and all the tyres were below the legal tread depth.
He added:
“It was a horrendous shed of a car. The driver has been reported and a court date looms.”
One person responded on Twitter to say Baldersby was an apt place for such an incident to occur, judging by the state of the tyres.
1 of 2 My colleague stopped this today on #A1M near #Baldersby #Ripon He requested support in relation to examination for a possible #PG9 #Prohibition It wasn’t a difficult decision for me… All four tyres had defects. The rear offside in particular was in a dreadful state … pic.twitter.com/s9zHTGDWxJ
— David Minto (@TC174_NYP) March 16, 2022
2 of 2 …Two different size tyres were fitted to the front axle and all were below the legal tread depth. It was a horrendous shed of a car. The driver has been reported and a court date looms #DangerousCondition #SaferRoads #RoadSafety #RoadsPolicing #ProtectingOtherRoadUsers pic.twitter.com/uwkjtSzL87
— David Minto (@TC174_NYP) March 16, 2022
Ripon Canal to feature on BBC TV tonight
The historic Ripon Canal will be featured on BBC Four this evening when Robbie Cumming completes the last leg of a 170-mile journey aboard his boat, Naughty Lass.
On Monday, viewers of Canal Boat Diaries saw the YouTube vlogger and TV presenter set off from Wigan in the first episode of the new series.
In tonight’s final episode, which starts at 730pm, he takes in the sights along the route from Knottingley to the Ripon Canal basin at the outer reaches of the English inland waterways network.
The water-borne journey, via a navigable section of the River Ouse, also features Boroughbridge Canal
Almost 250 years of history
At the time of its opening in 1773, Ripon boasted the most northerly canal basin in England at the city end of its 2.5 mile stretch.
But that claim to fame came to an end in 2002, with the opening of the Ribble Link section of the Lancaster Canal.
Just 71 years after its opening, Ripon Canal became virtually redundant overnight with the arrival of the Great Northern Railway in 1841.
Ripon provides the final entry in Robbie Cumming’s Canal Boat Diaries. Picture BBC
Barges could not compete with the new rapid delivery service for coal and other goods and with the loss of trade, the canal’s fate as a commercial enterprise was sealed.
The railways that caused the canal’s demise soon became its owner, as the waterway was purchased by the Leeds and Thirsk Railway in 1844, which subsequently become part of the North Eastern Railway in 1855.
Decades of dereliction followed and at one stage Ripon City Council mooted the idea of filling in the canal to create an extension for the Dallamires Lane Industrial estate.
Prior to this suggestion, the British Transport Commission had obtained Royal Assent for the abandonment of the Ripon Canal in 1956.
Calls for the canal’s regeneration
However, growing calls to regenerate the canal to realise its potential as a leisure and tourist asset for local residents and visitors proved successful, gaining momentum through the formation of the Ripon Canal Society.
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It reopened for navigation as far as Littlethorpe Road Bridge in 1986 and was officially reopened right into the centre of Ripon in September 1996, with the assistance of the society and local authorities and with funding from English Partnerships.
Further improvements have been brought about through a programme of work carried out by Ripon Motor Boat Club, which has its marina and clubhouse on a section of the canal near Littlethorpe.
The waterway is now managed by the Canal and River Trust, which is the charity that succeeded British Waterways. It was awarded a Green Flag for its water quality in July 2018 and the improvements have brought more wildlife to its banks. Otters are regularly spotted hunting for fish.
Previous episodes of Canal Boat Diaries can be seen on BBC iPlayer.
Ripon Arcade signs contract on final two units
Ripon Arcade signs contract on final two units
Ripon Arcade is now fully occupied after Yorkshire Physio and Gladrags Ripon signed contracts on the final two units.
The arcade, in the heart of the city, recently underwent a £100,000 refurbishment. The 16,484 sq ft arcade was bought by Bradford-based property development and investment company Frank Marshall Estates off a guide price of £2.2m from the Westcourt Group in 2019.
Other occupiers of Ripon Arcade include North Yorkshire County Council and retailers, such as Scriven Opticians, Home Bargains, the British Heart Foundation and Westwood’s Barbershop and Social.
Edward Marshall, director of Frank Marshall Estates, said:
“It gives us great pleasure to welcome our two new tenants to the arcade and to announce that the arcade is full. We believe our sensitive refurbishment has given the arcade a new identity, making it much more visible and more of an attraction.
“Ripon is a sleeping giant and we are delighted that our attractive, new-look development has given the city centre the game-changing regeneration boost it needed.”
“Retail has suffered the worst period in history over the last two years but we are now seeing a strong recovery, especially in the smaller towns and cities like Ripon. People want to shop locally and, in a place like Ripon, this means in the Market Square and the Arcade.”
Harrogate law firm offers free wills in return for charity donations
Harrogate law firm LCF Law is offering people the chance to make a will for free in exchange for a donation to a local charity.
Throughout April, the law firm will draft wills in support of Saint Michael’s Hospice. It is part of the charity’s ‘make a will month’ fundraiser, which LCF Law has supported for the past four years.
The law firm hopes to raise a significant amount for the hospice. Head of personal law, Neil Shaw, said:
“According to various polls, around 60% of adults don’t have a will, so we hope that our offer to draft a will for free will help those who haven’t got one, as well as supporting the wonderful work that Saint Michael’s Hospice does. So many of us have family, friends and colleagues who have been supported by the hospice and we are more than happy to play a part in raising vital funds.”
The fundraiser also give people the opportunity to leave a donation in their will to Saint Michael’s Hospice. One in five of the charity’s patients are cared for thanks to gifts left in wills.
The rate of covid in the Harrogate district has almost doubled in just 12 days.
Latest data published by North Yorkshire County Council shows the seven-day rate of infection was 691 per 100,000 people on March 13.
On March 1, the rate was 343 per 100,000 people, the lowest it had been since September 2021.
The Harrogate district has the highest infection rate in North Yorkshire. Ryedale is the next highest at 632. The England average is 661.
The government no longer publishes daily data on how many people have caught the virus.
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Instead, it publishes the number of infections over the past seven days. In the Harrogate district, this was 1,207 people, a rise of almost 50% on the previous week.
NHS England figures show that the most recent covid-related death took place at Harrogate District Hospital on February 28.
There have been 232 covid-related deaths at the hospital since the pandemic started almost two years ago.
Teenagers steal equipment from Spofforth primary schoolSix teenagers who stole equipment from Spofforth Church of England Primary School are being hunted by police.
North Yorkshire Police is appealing for witnesses to the incident, which happened on Saturday, March 5, at 5pm.
Officers said they believed the teens attempted to break into the school on School Lane in the village, but were unsuccessful.
The suspects then broke into the school’s equipment shed, stole multiple items and caused criminal damage to school property.
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A police statement added:
‘Irrecoverable’ housing debts written off by Harrogate council doubles“We are requesting the public’s assistance to help identify suspects in relation to the incident. Five of the suspects have been described as teenage boys and one of the suspects has been described as a teenage girl.
“Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for PC Fleming.
“You can also email ethan.fleming@northyorkshire.police.uk. Please quote reference number 12220039590.”
The amount of “irrecoverable” housing debts written off by Harrogate Borough Council has almost doubled this year.
A total of £61,853 in debts owed to the council have been crossed off for 2021/22 – almost twice as much as the £32,277 in 2020/21 and the largest amount in at least the last six years.
A council spokesperson said the increase was mostly down to debts owed by temporary accommodation users who have stayed at council hostels, houses and flats across the district, but were no longer traceable.
The spokesperson also said a large amount of the debts were owed by council tenants who died and had no assets to pay what they owed.
The spokesperson said:
“There are a number of reasons we have decided to write off the debt from former council tenants. The majority of these come from either tenants that have sadly passed away or tenants who left their property and remain untraceable.
“In both instances, there is almost no way that this can be recovered and, if it could, may ultimately cost more than the outstanding debt to try and do so.
“The vast majority of the increase – compared to last year – is due to the level of rent debt being written off for former temporary accommodation tenants.
“If the former tenant applies for council housing at a future date the arrears can still be recovered.”
Before any debts over £500 are recommended for write off, the council said at least two searches are carried out using tools such as the National Anti Fraud Network before further checks are made for housing benefit or waiting list applications.
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Meanwhile, the majority of debts under £500 are considered to be “too small to make the cost of recovery action worthwhile,” the council said.
Largest debt £2,903
There were almost 100 incidents where council tenants had died in 2021/22, with the debts totalling almost £19,000.
The single largest debt was £2,903 owed by a temporary accommodation user who was considered to be untraceable after ending their stay.
A decision to write off all of the debts – some of which predate this year – was taken by the council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for resources, enterprise and economic development, Cllr Graham Swift, at a meeting on Monday.
Cllr Graham Swift
A report to Cllr Swift said the council had made “sufficient bad debt provision” in its finances to accommodate the write offs and that this would not impact on its spending plans.
It also said the amount of the provision made will be reviewed and increased if necessary for any future write offs.
The council spokesperson added:
Developer appeals decision to reject Harrogate district eco-homes“The total arrears represent less than 0.5% of the annual housing debit.
“The money is a loss to the housing revenue account, which is funded almost entirely from rent income from tenants, rather than through council tax.”
A developer has appealed a decision to refuse plans for nine new eco-homes near Flaxby.
Holmes Planning Ltd submitted a planning application to Harrogate Borough Council for the development in October 2021.
It would have seen houses built to environmental standards and include solar panels, air-source heat pumps and super-tight insulation.
It also included self-build and custom homes on the site at York Road in Flaxby.
The council rejected the plan on the grounds that it was outside the development boundary, the affect on the character of the area and because the number of homes was below the council’s requirement per hectare.
However, the developer has appealed the decision to the government.
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In documents submitted for the challenge, the developer argued that there was not enough custom build developments in the district.
It said:
“The appellant submits that the custom self-build deficit is so severe, and likely to get worse, that this material consideration outweighs any departure from the Harrogate District Local Plan and that the appeal site is suitable for custom self-build and the appeal, if allowed, would be secured for custom self-build through the Unilateral Undertaking.”
A government planning inspector will make a decision on the plan at a later date.
Ripon pub set to close this weekendThe Black A Moor Inn near Ripon is to close on Friday after six years under the current landlords.
The inn, based in Bridge Hewick, announced its impending closure on social media today.
In a Facebook post, it said:
“To all of our lovely supporters, it is with a heavy heart that we have to announce that we have made the very hard decision to close.
“We’ll be open for a few drinks on Friday evening at 7pm for a last hurrah and we hope to see as many of you as we can. We’ll be in contact with upcoming reservations over the next few days.
“Thank you to everyone for all your support over the last 6 years.
“Love from all of the team.”
The inn’s website is no longer live but on its social media, it describes itself as a “relaxed, family-run pub and restaurant”.
The inn also has five en-suite rooms and hosted functions.
The Stray Ferret has approached the inn for a comment but hadn’t received a reply by the time of publication.
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