A yellow weather warning is in force across the Harrogate district this afternoon as Storm Eunice brings rain and winds of up to 60mph.

A Met Office yellow weather warning means residents can expect more disruption to roads and public transport and there’s a chance of damage to trees and buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs.

Strong winds are forecast until 9pm today when it is set to subside.

The Met Office has also issued a yellow warning for ice from 6pm this evening until 9am tomorrow.

A yellow warning for rain has been issued for Sunday between midnight and 6pm.

Follow all the latest updates below.

6.30pm: Harrogate town centre traffic lights not working

There are reports the traffic lights at the junction of Station Parade and Victoria Road in Harrogate are not working. It’s not known if it is related to the storm but it is making it difficult to pull out of Victoria Road at the moment.

5.45pm: Trains to Leeds cancelled.

Northern is running a reduced service to-and-from Leeds this evening with several trains cancelled due to the weather.

Trains will be leaving Harrogate Station every hour rather than twice an hour until 20.18. After that, only one more train is scheduled to leave at 23.18.

Visit National Rail for the latest updates.

5.40pm: Father and daughter see tree fall into cabman’s shelter

A father and daughter have told of the moment they watched a tree come crashing down on a cabman’s shelter on West Park Stray in Harrogate.

Colin Reynolds and his daughter, Lauren Reynolds, had just driven around the Prince of Wales roundabout and on to West Park Stray when they noticed the mature tree splinter.

You can read more here.

5.15pm: Tree crashes into cabman’s shelter on West Park Stray

A tree has just come crashing down on to West Park Stray. Traffic is reduced to single lane.

4.59pm: Tree down in Harrogate

Beckwith Head Road.

4.56pm: Gritters out tonight

We are #gritting priority roads across #NorthYorkshire overnight.

Road surface temperatures will widely fall below zero leading to a widespread risk of ice.

Remember gritting doesn't guarantee an ice or snow-free surface.

More info https://t.co/6cnhGrxFu6 pic.twitter.com/itSpVUu2as

— North Yorkshire Council (@northyorksc) February 18, 2022

4.51: North Yorkshire Police issues safety advice

– Check your windscreen wipers and all of your car’s lights are working

– Gusts of wind can unsettle vehicles so keep both hands firmly on the steering wheel at all times
• If a road is flooded, turn around. Never drive through floodwater@HighwaysYORKS for travel updates pic.twitter.com/4YRqTQQCxj

— North Yorkshire Police (@NYorksPolice) February 18, 2022

4.35pm: Increase in calls for firefighters

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has noticed an increase in incidents in the last hour.

We've had a busy day with various incidents but only just getting a few storm related incidents in the past hour – a tree fallen onto a house in #Selby, unsafe chimney stack in #Bentham and a tree blocking the #A162 in #Tadcaster and an unsafe roof in #Harrogate

— North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (@NorthYorksFire) February 18, 2022

4.15pm: Tree down in Weeton

A tree has fallen in the wind on Weeton Lane in Weeton and is blocking the road.

3pm: Tarpaulin in Bilton

A roof tarpaulin has landed on a driveway in Bilton this afternoon.

A father and daughter have told of the moment they watched a tree come crashing down on a cabman’s shelter on West Park Stray in Harrogate.

Colin Reynolds and his daughter, Lauren Reynolds, had just driven around the Prince of Wales roundabout and on to West Park Stray when they noticed the mature tree splinter.

A large section of the tree, which is alongside one of the busiest streets in Harrogate, fell — fortunately in the opposite direction of the road. It damaged the roof of the distinctive green shelter

Lauren said they had just been discussing how the storm hadn’t been too bad when the incident happened.

She added:

“It was lucky it didn’t fall in the other direction or it could have killed someone.”

Read more:

• LIVE: Tree crashes into cabman’s shelter on West Park Stray
• New Harrogate market and popular attractions hit by looming Storm Eunice

The father and daughter, who live in Harrogate, pulled over to check if anybody was hurt. Luckily nobody was passing at the time.

Colin said:

“We were worried that somebody might be under the tree. There’s also a power chord in a lighting cable that was in the tree.”

The cabman’s shelter

After checking nobody was hurt, they dialled 999.

A council worker was on hand almost immediately to prevent traffic using the inside lane.

An air ambulance was summoned to the Harrogate district today when three people were injured in a car crash.

The air ambulance was called to assist other emergency services at the scene of the collision on the B6165 between Nidd and Brearton.

The incident is believed to have happened at about 1pm this afternoon.

According to reports on social media, three fire engines and three ambulances were at the scene.

It is unknown how many vehicles were involved but Yorkshire Air Ambulance confirmed three people were injured.

A spokesperson said:

“Our paramedics provided on-scene medical support to three patients and those who needed further treatment were taken to hospital by land ambulance.”

The extent of injuries in unclear.

The Stray Ferret has asked North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service for details but has yet to receive a response.

Read more:

• Fresh calls to reinstate Harrogate Wedderburn bus
• ‘End this farce’: Kirkby Malzeard wall to finally be rebuilt

Boroughbridge High School has maintained its ‘good’ Ofsted rating — but the schools inspector indicated the grade “might not be as high” if it had carried out a full inspection.

The 446-pupil school’s Ofsted report was published this week following a short inspection on January 11 and 12.

The school received a ‘good’ grading in its last full Ofsted inspection in 2012.

Schools assessed to be ‘good’ do not receive graded judgements on their next visit.

Instead they are subject to short inspections and if Ofsted finds evidence that they would now receive a higher or lower grade, they are told they will receive a full inspection next time — which is what happened in this instance.

The school was commended for its approach to tackling bullying. Pupils said they know adults will help if it occurs and it is “very rare”. The school was also praised for creating a positive atmosphere where pupils feel safe.

The report added leaders have coped well with the pandemic and have adapted the curriculum to ensure pupils have time to catch-up on missed work, such as science lessons.

Enrichment opportunities and the focus on individual pupils’ needs also earned praise. Safeguarding was deemed “effective”.

Classroom disruption

But the report raised concerns around an ‘inconsistent approach to dealing with low-level disruption’ — a view shared by parents.

It also said ‘teachers do not always make their expectations clear’ and ‘plans to develop pupils’ love of reading are not well embedded’.

Inspectors will return to the school within two years for a full inspection.

The report says:

“In some lessons, some pupils lack engagement. Teachers do not always have high enough expectations of pupils’ behaviour in lessons.  Staff do not consistently apply expectations around uniform. Consequently, pupils’ attitudes are variable.

“Governors do not challenge leaders about standards of behaviour, to ensure that what leaders tell them is accurate.”

Kathryn Stephenson, the school headteacher

Read more:

• Moves to close Woodfield School in Bilton to begin next week
• Foundation to run sports clubs for disadvantaged children in Harrogate

Sixth form closure

School governors decided this month to temporarily close the sixth form in the summer due to issues with funding and declining student numbers.

The Ofsted report says there are currently only 12 sixth form students.

All courses and pastoral support will transfer to King James’s School in Knaresborough. The two schools federated last year.

Warning: some readers may find aspects of this article distressing

A former Harrogate hospital IT worker was labelled a danger to children as he was jailed yet again for downloading images of children.

Martin Richard Shepherd, 50, from Harrogate, was already under lifetime curbs on his internet use after being convicted of downloading three-quarters of a million indecent images of children in 2017.

But when police officers paid him an impromptu visit in September 2020, they found he had been deleting “vast” amounts of data on his computer, York Crown Court heard.

Analysis of his devices revealed that the computer buff had downloaded hundreds more images – including videos featuring child rape – while on prison licence and subject to a lifetime sexual-harm prevention order to stop him trawling the web for illicit material.

Shepherd, who had “curated” the images according to their levels of depravity, told officers he found “irresistible” the urge to view images of children being sexually abused.

He admitted possessing indecent images and appeared for sentence via video link on Thursday.

Jailed for five years in 2017

The court heard he was working as an IT expert at Harrogate District Hospital at the time of his original offences in 2016, when police found about 750,000 indecent images of children on his computer devices.

This led to a five-year jail sentence in 2017 for possessing and distributing indecent images, as well as two counts of voyeurism and computer misuse in relation to his work at the hospital.

Shepherd, described as a loner, served half of that sentence behind bars before being released on prison licence in July 2019.

In September 2020, police monitoring officers made an unannounced visit to his home in Harrogate and found he had been deleting a “vast amount” of data from an Android tablet, in breach of the sexual-harm prevention order. This resulted in a further two-year jail sentence in January last year for four breaches of the order.

However, no illegal images were found at the time and it was not until later that a further police investigation unearthed yet more images of children which Shepherd had stored on five memory sticks.

Deleting images

Prosecutor Jonathan Foy said that Shepherd, formerly of Chatsworth Grove, had started deleting the images – about 125 gigabytes in total – within six months of being released from prison. Mr Foy said:

“When interviewed, he admitted that as soon as he was released from custody, his temptation to (view) pornographic images of children was something he found irresistible.”

Analysis of the devices revealed that Shepherd had downloaded hundreds of indecent images of all levels of seriousness, including 148 photos and videos rated Category A – the worst kind of such material. They included images of girls aged between four and 11 years of age being raped by adult men. One of the children in the depraved movie clips was unconscious.

Read more:

• Harrogate man fined for damaging train
• Man exposes himself at Harrogate’s RHS Harlow Carr

Mr Foy said:

“He troubles himself not only to obtain (the indecent images), but to separately save them (on USB sticks), curate them (in terms of) highest quality”

There were a “large number” of young victims featured in the scenes.

Downloading indecent images since 2002

The court heard that Shepherd, who worked in the hospital’s IT department for 22 years, had been downloading indecent images of children since 2002, but his computer skills enabled him to encrypt the huge stash of material and avoid detection for 14 years.

In 2016, police cyber-crime detectives finally snared him and found that he had amassed about three-quarters of a million indecent images of children.

They found a “massive library collection” of images featuring the serious sexual abuse of “very young” children including 12-month-old babies and youngsters who had been drugged or plied with alcohol.

Shepherd had painstakingly catalogued the images in 22 encrypted volumes and used an “extremely-complex” system of passwords to hide them. He also distributed about 20 depraved videos on a paedophilic file-sharing site.

His previous conviction for voyeurism related to two young women whom he secretly filmed getting undressed and walking around naked at a property in Harrogate after setting up covert video equipment. Those offences occurred between 2005 and 2012.

The previous offence of computer misuse, or gaining unauthorised access to private computer files, occurred at Harrogate District Hospital where Shepherd, who was working in the IT department, had somehow “abstracted” photos from a family computer of a young girl in her underwear, bikini and school uniform.

Resigned from hospital in 2016

Ashleigh Metcalfe, mitigating, said Shepherd had been on custodial remand for over a year and had been working in Hull Prison’s upholstery department.

However, a probation report noted that since being forced to resign from his hospital job in 2016 following his arrest for the original offences, Shepherd had spent much of his time searching for indecent images of children.

Judge Simon Hickey said the discovery of even more indecent images “reinforced” his opinion that Shepherd was a dangerous offender “and that he will simply continue to reoffend”.

He said he had noted the “extremely young” ages of the children featuring in the sordid videos.

He told Shepherd:

“You admitted (to police) that you can’t stop yourself finding children of this age irresistible. You were downloading a vast amount of material. The children depicted are clearly vulnerable and visibly distressed.”

Shepherd, described as intelligent, was jailed for 12 months. He will be released from jail halfway through that sentence but will then have to serve an extended two-year period on prison licence.

Mr Hickey also added 10 new prohibitions to the sexual-harm prevention order for the protection of the public, namely young girls. Shepherd will remain on the sex-offenders’ register for life.

Fiery exchanges erupted as North Yorkshire County Council approved levying close to the maximum permitted council tax rise after hearing residents were facing a financial “perfect storm”.

The last full meeting of the authority ahead of elections for a new unitary authority in May saw the authority’s chairman repeatedly intervene in debates to restore “dacorum and dignity” to proceedings as councillors accused each other of failing to protect the most needy residents.

Conservative councillors claimed as much of the rise was to cover soaring social care costs, it would be “reckless not to fund our responsibilities”, while opposition members told the meeting the increase would prove impossible to meet for many households.

Proposing a below-inflation council tax rise of 3.99%, which will mean the authority’s bills for the average Band D property increase by £56 to £1,467, its deputy leader and finance boss Cllr Gareth Dadd said the council’s budget aimed to protect services for vulnerable people while leaving “a legacy” for the new authority to inherit.

Read more:

• Energy crisis could mean £796 increase for Harrogate district households
• Harrogate ranked most expensive place in Yorkshire for first-time buyers

He told the meeting the increase struck a balance between those key ambitions and protecting taxpayers as “our instinct has always been to maintain a council tax rise as low as practically pragmatically possible.”

Cllr Dadd said the authority had “gone some way to reducing the burden on the tax-paying public of North Yorkshire” by not levying the maximum 4.49 per cent council tax precept increase.

Cllr Stuart Parsons, leader of the council’s Independent group, said the authority was banking on residents not noticing the council’s precept increase, alongside others being levied by the police and fire services and borough, district and parish councils, due to the government’s £150 council tax rebate for some households.

He said: 

“What we have to remember is that £150 will disappear in a year. Then there is the cost of living crisis and we do not appear to be making any effort to help people with that.”

Cllr Parsons said there was a significant section of society that just missed out on financial help such as free school meals that could not afford the council tax increase.

Harrogate district council tax hikes 2022/23

• North Yorkshire County Council – £1,467 – 3.99% increase
• Harrogate Borough Council – £255.92 – 1.99% increase
• North Yorkshire Police – £281.06 – 3.69% increase
• North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue – £75.61 – 1.98% increase

Total Band D bill: £2,079.59

Independent councillor for Malton Lindsay Burr added with high inflation, wages effectively falling and national insurance increases being introduced at the same time as the council tax hike in April, the authority had a chance to ease pressures on residents.

She said: 

“Surely there has never been such a justified time to freeze the council tax and listen to all those residents who are pleading with us to try and help them. Average families are now having to use food banks.

“The perfect storm is gathering as we all know. Maybe it is time we stop and help a little bit and not add fuel to the fire.”

Cllr Bryn Griffiths told the meeting was Liberal Democrat group was also opposing the rise as adult social care was an urgent national issue.

Ahead of 53 councillors voting for the increase, three abstaining and three against the rise, Cllr Eric Broadbent said the Labour group “reluctantly” supported the regressive tax increase as “the last thing we want to see is any reduction in critical services”.

An amber weather warning is in force across the Harrogate district this evening as Storm Dudley brings rain and strong winds.

A Met Office amber weather warning means residents can expect more disruption to roads and public transport and there’s an increased risk of power cuts and fallen trees.

Gusts of up to 50mph are expected. Follow all the latest updates below.

20.11 – Flood alert extended to entire River Nidd

The River Nidd flood alert has been extended to the Lower and Middle Nidd in the last 10 minutes.

Heavy rainfall this afternoon means flooding of low lying land is expected tonight and tomorrow.

The flood alert area in the Middle Nidd includes land around the Middle River Nidd and its tributaries including Thornton Beck, Newton Beck, Oak Beck, Cow Dyke Beck, Bilton Beck, Frogmire Dike and Syke Dike.

For the Lower Nidd, it includes the Lower River Nidd and its tributaries including Sand Beck, Sike Beck, Pool Beck and Great Gutter

The alert says:

“River levels are expected to fall during Thursday morning. Further heavy rainfall is expected on Friday.

“Plan driving routes to avoid low lying roads near rivers, which may be flooded.”

19.22 – Flood alert issued for Upper Nidd around Psteley Bridge

The government’s flood alert service has issued a flood alert this evening for the Upper Nidd. It says:

“Flooding of low lying land is expected on Wednesday evening and overnight into Thursday.

“River levels are expected to fall during Thursday morning. Further heavy rainfall is expected on Friday.

“Areas most at risk include land around the Upper River Nidd and its tributaries including How Stean Beck, Blayshaw Gill, Ramsgill Beck, Lul Beck, Foster Beck, Fosse Gill, Fell Beck and Darley Beck.

17.54 – Strong winds expected all night

Although reports of serious disruption in the Harrogate district appear rare so far, the storm is far from over. The Met Office forecast is for winds to remain close to 50mph throughout the night.

The district’s amber weather warning remains in place until midnight, when it will be replaced by a less severe yellow warning. But another amber warning is in place from 3am Friday until 9pm the same day. Things should start to calm down then.

17.05 – LNER warns of train disruption

London North Eastern Railway is operating a reduced timetable and implementing speed reductions over the next two days.

A reduced timetable will be in place across parts of the route on Friday. The company said in a statement:

Refunds are available.

Network Rail has introduced speed restrictions on the East Coast route with possible damage to infrastructure as a result of the anticipated conditions.

16.31 – Power cuts in HG3 and HG4

According to Northern Powergrid’s live updates of power cuts,180 homes are currently without power in HG3 and nearby LS21. Power should be restored by 5.45pm. Also, fewer than 10 homes are currently without power in HG4 but they should be back on by 6pm.

16.26 – Police issue warning

North Yorkshire Police is urging people to be careful as Storm Dudley continues to rage across the Harrogate district. It says there are reports of several fallen trees in Craven.

What’s the situation like in the Harrogate district? Send us your updates at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

The wind & rain is picking up across #NorthYorkshire as #StormDudley blows in.

Please take care if you are out & about. Be aware of fallen debris and flood water.

We currently have reports of several fallen trees in the #Craven area across several routes.
#drivetoarrive pic.twitter.com/BDCFOO95Si

— N Yorks Police Traffic Bureau & Road Safety Team (@NYTrafficBureau) February 16, 2022

15.38 – 100mph gusts in north Yorkshire 

The situation may be bad in the Harrogate district, bit other parts of the county are faring worse. Hawes has just recorded a gust of 100mph.

How badly is your area affected by the storms? Let us know at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

https://twitter.com/northyorkswx/status/1493971521139785734

1.10pm – Amber warning to come into place in the next hour

The Met Office has issued an amber warning for the Harrogate district from 2pm with winds forecast to reach 50mph.

The forecast also shows the heaviest rain is set to fall between 2-4pm. Amber warnings mean the likelihood of more fallen trees and power cuts is likely.

The amber warning is in place until midnight tonight when it moves down to a yellow warning for tomorrow.

https://twitter.com/metoffice/status/1493933183116759045

11.13am – Fountains Abbey reopens Studley deer park

Fountains Abbey has confirmed that it has reopened Studley deer park this morning, but higher paths at the water garden have no access.

***Update at 11am – Studley deer park has now reopened as well as the abbey and water garden. There is no access to the higher paths in the Water Garden. ***

— Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal, National Trust (@fountainsabbey) February 16, 2022

10.23am – Tree down in Starbeck

Strong winds have brought a tree down on the cycle path on Nidderdale Greenway at Starbeck.

9.21am – Fountains Abbey opening update

Fountains Abbey in Ripon has issued an update on its opening hours ahead of forecast strong winds today.

Update at 9:14am – The abbey and water garden will open at 11am today (16/02) through the visitor centre and West Gate entrances. Studley deer park remains closed until further notice.

— Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal, National Trust (@fountainsabbey) February 16, 2022

9.10am – Tree down on Stray

A tree has been blown over on the Stray and is blocking the footpath next to the Prince of Wales roundabout.

However, it is not on the road and traffic is moving freely.

9am – RHS Harlow Carr closed

RHS Harlow Carr will be closed today due to strong winds caused by Storm Dudley.

In a tweet, RHS Harlow Carr said the decision was made in the interests of the safety of visitors, staff and volunteers.

⚠️ CLOSED Wednesday 16th February

Unfortunately, due to high winds today we've taken the decision to close the garden. This is for the safety of our visitors, staff and volunteers.

We hope to re-open the garden soon, please check back for further updates. pic.twitter.com/GpSHz9eLOr

— RHS Harlow Carr (@RHSHarlowCarr) February 16, 2022

8.30am – County council urges care during Storm Dudley

North Yorkshire County Council has urged drivers to take care on the roads following the amber weather warning in place today.

The winds are picking up across #NorthYorkshire as #StormDudley blows in.

The @metoffice has issued an amber #weather warning for very strong & disruptive winds.

Please take care if you are out & about & be aware of fallen debris on the roads.

More: https://t.co/nyJZTWirOP pic.twitter.com/4kUStzQnfi

— North Yorkshire Council (@northyorksc) February 16, 2022

8.10am – RHS Harlow Carr and Fountains Abbey opening hours

As previously reported, both RHS Harlow Carr and Fountains Abbey in Ripon have adjusted their opening hours today due to the forecast strong winds.

Due to the forecast of high winds, the woodland (including play area) and glasshouses will be closed Weds to Fri this week.

We apologise for any inconvenience, but the safety of everyone is paramount. We will continue to monitor the situation, please check for further updates. pic.twitter.com/2CBsh0gMVT

— RHS Harlow Carr (@RHSHarlowCarr) February 15, 2022

It's likely we'll be opening the mains site & deer park later tomorrow (Wed 16 Feb) to allow the worst of Storm Dudley to pass and make the site safe.
Our team will make a decision on opening in the morning so please check in with our website for the most up to date information. pic.twitter.com/Rltps8lVCC

— Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal, National Trust (@fountainsabbey) February 15, 2022

7.45am – Power cuts in Beckwithshaw

Residents have reported power cuts in Beckwithshaw following the storm this morning

Northern Powergrid is reporting cuts in the HG3 and LS17 areas.

According to the company’s website, around 70 properties have been affected and power is expected to be restored at 9.15am.

This morning, Northern Powergrid said in a statement that it expected Storm Dudley to cause disruption “above typical levels”.

A spokesperson said:

“We expect that the storm will create levels of disruption that are over and above typical levels.

“If it does, we will be applying the lessons learnt from Storm Arwen in relation to keeping customers updated on our progress. In the early stages, we will give longer estimates of likely restoration times that reflect the fact that we won’t know the extent of the damage to the network.”

7.38am – Met Office updates amber weather warning

The Met Office has updated its weather warning to amber for parts of the Harrogate district. It means disruption to public transport, roads and power cuts are likely.

The warning is in place from 4pm today until midnight.

However, a yellow weather warning remains in place until tomorrow.

Find the latest on the Met Office warning below.

7.25am – Tree down on Pennypot Lane

A Stray Ferret reader has got in touch to report a tree down on Pennypot Lane near to the bridge with Harlow Moor Road.

Drivers are urged to avoid the area.

Picture: Kimberley Harness.

The Harrogate district’s covid rate is continuing to fall rapidly and now stands at 756 cases per 100,000 people.

It’s the lowest the rate has been since December 20. At the peak of the Omicron wave in early January, the rate had risen to almost 2,000 cases per 100,000 people.

A total of 132 more positive covid cases were reported today in the district, according to UK Health Security Agency data.

Meanwhile, the number of positive patients with covid who have died at Harrogate District Hospital since March 2020 remains at 221.

The latest death was reported on February 5, according to NHS England figures.

Read more:

• Moves to close Woodfield School in Bilton to begin next week

• Energy crisis could mean £796 increase for Harrogate district households

The Stray Ferret reported yesterday that Harrogate District Hospital reached maximum bed occupancy this month, with all 292 beds filled.

Figures published by NHS England show that on February 4 the hospital was at maximum capacity although the situation has improved slightly since.

The hospital is currently operating at 90% bed occupancy, as it battles covid and winter pressures, say trust managers.

Formal moves to close Woodfield Community Primary School in Bilton will begin next week.

North Yorkshire County Council revealed plans in October to ‘technically close’ the school and merge it with Grove Road Community Primary School.

Now, after a two-month consultation, the wheels are to be set in motion.

A report by Stuart Carlton, corporate director for children and young people’s services at the council, recommends councillors vote to approve the closure on Tuesday next week.

If they agree, the council will issue statutory notices on March 3 proposing to amalgamate the schools from August 31 this year.

Mr Carlton’s report says:

“While it is acknowledged that the proposed closure of Woodfield Community Primary School will cause uncertainty and disruption for pupils, parents and staff, Grove Road School would work closely with parents, as both schools do now, to meet the needs of individual children.”

Read more:

• Parents vow to fight closure of ‘fantastic’ Woodfield primary school
• County council ‘would give Woodfield school more time to improve if it could’
• Woodfield primary school set to close in September

Woodfield has been unable to find an academy willing to take it on since it was rated inadequate by Ofsted in January 2020.

The council says it therefore has little option but to close it.

Walking bus between sites

Two online public meetings were held on January 10 and 17 as part of the closure consultation.

According to council notes of the meetings, concerns were raised at the meetings about problems for parents picking up and dropping off children at both sites, leadership arrangements, provision for children with special educational needs and use of the Woodfield site.

Parents rallied to oppose the closure when it was announced.

If the plans go ahead, all nursery children would be based at the current Woodfield site from September and all other children would be at Grove Road. From September 2023, reception children would join nursery children at Woodfield and eventually all early years and key stage one children would be located at Woodfield.

There are plans to organise a ‘walking bus’ between the two schools, which would see pupils move between the two sites accompanied by staff via the Nidderdale Greenway cycle route, the iron bridge and a school crossing patrol on Skipton Road.

One parent said during the consultation that children would be:

“Absolutely freezing and there is going to have to be half an hour at either end of the day to allow for walking. It doesn’t seem feasible.”

Another parent raised safety concerns.

There are plans to re-open a rear entrance to the Woodfield site to shorten the journey.

Pupil numbers fall to 41

Documents to councillors reveal that pupil numbers at Woodfield have slumped from 49 to 41 since the closure proposal was announced.

Some parents told the consultation that the closure was already a done deal, with one saying “the children will have to suffer for it”.

But another response said it provided “unprecedented” opportunities, adding:

“I believe the benefits to our current pupils and prospective ones will be enormous.”

Harrogate has been ranked as the most expensive place for first time buyers in Yorkshire in a survey published today.

The survey shows homes in Harrogate typically cost £401,747 compared to the national average of £287,830.

With residents typically earning £34,634 a year, a couple who’d saved a 15 per cent deposit would need to borrow 4.93 times their salary for a mid-market home.

This ranks Harrogate as the 21st least affordable place in the UK in a list of 100 locations analysed by online mortgage broker Mojo Mortgages.

The top 20 most expensive towns and cities are all in or around the south of England, apart from Stratford-upon-Avon in 18th. Bath is the most expensive place, followed by Oxford and London.

Read more:

• Harrogate house prices soar in just one year
• House prices in North Yorkshire increase by 22.8% in a decade

The survey ranks York (4.7), Wakefield (3.81) and Leeds (3.56) as the next least affordable locations in Yorkshire after Harrogate.

Hull is the UK’s most affordable location, with 2.03 of a couple’s average income multiple required, followed by Bradford (2.35) and Barnsley (2.59).

The full research is available here.