The cost of garden waste collection in the Harrogate district looks set to rise to £43.50 next year.

The service currently costs £41 a year, which is £15 a year more than people in Richmondhsire pay and is also higher than charges in the other five districts. Selby’s is free.

Harrogate Borough Council, which is currently responsible for the service, will be abolished on April 1.

North Yorkshire county councillors, who will transfer to the new single unitary authority North Yorkshire Council on the same date, look set to agree a six per cent increase in the cost of the service.

It would mean Harrogate district households that choose to pay for the service will see the charge increase by £2.50. Hambleton households will pay the next highest at £40, followed by Scarborough and Ryedale at £38, Craven at £36 and Richmondshire at £25.

The service is currently free in Selby.

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Garden waste is a discretionary service, which councils are not legally required to provide.

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for business and economic development, Cllr Derek Bastiman, whose portfolio includes the management of waste disposal, said the service would be fairer because currently households in some districts that didn’t use the service subsidised those who did.

He said:

“This is a service people choose to opt into and it is important that we are clear on the need for it to pay for itself, alongside our commitment to continue to provide it to those residents who would like to receive it.

“There are real benefits to the service, including the environmental benefits of recycling garden waste and the convenience of not having to take your own garden waste to a recycling centre. It may well be cheaper than paying the fuel to get there, too.”

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive members will be asked to agree the new rate when members meet on January 10.

Rescuers came to the aid of an 11-year-old boy who got stuck at Brimham Rocks yesterday.

Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association was called to the National Trust-owned site near Pateley Bridge by North Yorkshire Police.

The boy had reached the top of Castle Rocks but then felt unable to get down safely.

Nine members of the volunteer-run association attended the incident.

Its website said:

“A small team was deployed, rigging a rope and lowering him safely and uninjured to ground level, whereupon he was reunited with his grandmother.”

The association has attended several similar incidents at Brimham Rocks this year.

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NIdderdale Agricultural Society has apologised for confusion caused by sudden changes to parking at Nidderdale Showground car park.

Many people were taken by surprise by the recent introduction of automatic number plate recognition cameras to the car park in Bewerley.

Some were also unaware the annual £12 Pateley Bridge parking permit no longer applied to the showground and they were liable for fines if they continued using the site without paying the daily charge, which ranges from 50p an hour to £1.80 a day.

Pateley’s parking permit traditionally runs from April to April and the decision to change the rules before the current permit has expired drew an angry response from Andrew Murday, the Liberal Democrat county councillor for Pateley Bridge and Nidderdale.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“Whoever is responsible has ridden roughshod over the previous arrangement, which should have been honoured until the end of March.

“People in all good faith bought permits that entitled them to park in the showground car park until then.

“It is a disgrace. People have been blindsided and it’s unfair to issue fines.”

Cllr Andrew Murday

Asked if there had been any consultation on the new system, Cllr Murday said there had been “absolutely none”.

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NIdderdale Agricultural Society, which owns the showground and stages the annual Nidderdale Show, previously leased the car park to Harrogate Borough Council.

‘We don’t receive any revenue from this’

The society published a statement today, which said:

“Due to the council’s 21-year lease ending on the car park, the decision was made to hand over the running of the car park to a private company.

“We also took the decision to keep the charges to exactly the same rate as the council charged.

“We understand that unfortunately some people have prepaid car park passes, which are no longer viable for the showground car park, but these could be used in the other car parks in Pateley Bridge.

“The car park now operates on an ANPR camera system which registers number plates on entry. There is a window of 10 minutes to park, pay or leave. Failure to do this unfortunately results in a fine which in no way is charged by the show society, and who do not receive any revenue from this.

“At present to pay an annual parking pass can be downloaded onto your smart phone or there is a number to ring and pay using card details.

“A card pay machine is to be fitted due hopefully by mid January 2023 to make payment simpler.

“The show society apologises for any confusion.”

Pateley’s annual permit still applies to the town’s Southlands car park, which continues to be operated by Harrogate Borough Council.

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesman said:

“Nidderdale Showground is owned and managed by Nidderdale Agricultural Society so you would need to speak to them regarding the parking system in place.

“Previously we have managed car parking at the showground but this is no longer the case.”

Pupils past and present turned out in force to bid a fond farewell to North Yorkshire’s longest serving lollipop woman.

Mary Fisher has helped generations of schoolchildren cross the busy Pateley Bridge to Harrogate road outside Summerbridge Community Primary School since 1975. After 47 years and about 18,000 shifts, she retired on Friday.

Mary’s final patrol took longer than usual as dozens of children and adults turned out to cross the road and give her a hug.

At the school, children lined up to say thank you and give three cheers to the woman who has done so much to serve the community.

One of many hugs for Mary on her last day. Pic: Nevin Ward

Nevin Ward, a former chair of governors at Summerbridge school and near-neighbour of Mary, said Mary never forgot a child’s birthday and always gave them a small present. he added:

“She’s one of those lovely, selfless people who believes in being kind.”

An online fundraising campaign, set up to raise £100 to buy Mary a present, generated about £1,600.

A vacancy for a lollipop person now exists.

Friday’s emotional farewell at the school. Pic: Nevin Ward

Mary and her late husband Jim, who was a chimney sweep and volunteer firefighter, came to North Yorkshire in 1954 and moved to Summerbridge two years later.

They had four children, who all went to Summerbridge school and Mary developed an attachment to the school that eventually saw her become a lollipop woman.

Two years ago, when she celebrated her milestone of 45 years, she said:

“I love being outside and active as well. I have to be out and about rather than sat inside. Not a day goes by where I think I don’t want to get up today and do it.”

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Bus tickets in the Harrogate district are set to be capped at £2 for three months as part of a government scheme.

The Get Around initiative is funded by the Department for Transport and will run from January 1 to March 31 next year.

It will see single tickets on services capped for 130 bus companies across England.

Both Harrogate Bus Company and Connexions Buses will be taking part in the scheme.

https://twitter.com/harrogatebus/status/1604777134941167620

Buses Minister Richard Holden said:

“Brits love buses. They’re the most popular form of public transport in England, making up half of all journeys. So we’re investing £60 million to cap single bus fares at £2 to help families, students and commuters and help get people back on the bus.

“The scheme will also take two million car journeys off the road and it’s fantastic to see so many bus operators signing up.”

The scheme forms part of the government’s Help for Households campaign, which provides help with the cost of living increase.

Ministers said the move will help the bus industry continue to recover from the covid pandemic.

North Yorkshire bus services face ‘grave situation’

It comes as concern has been raised over the future of bus services in the Harrogate district.

Last month, Cllr Keane Duncan, executive member for highways and transportation at North Yorkshire County Council, said the county’s bus network was “facing a really grave situation”.

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Cllr Duncan said bus services in the county were facing unprecedented pressure due to higher costs and passenger numbers.

He added:

“The message across the county is use it or lose it. We need people to support these services.”

Liberal Democrat councillor for Pateley Bridge, Andrew Murday, said residents of his division faced having just two services a day to Harrogate.

He said:

“We just have to do something about bus services, and encourage more people onto buses. We need to know how we are going to go about discouraging people from driving and encouraging people on to buses, so bus services can thrive.”

The Harrogate district has had more drink and drug driving arrests in the last week than anywhere else in North Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire Police said today 32 people had been arrested in the last seven days of the campaign — a big increase on 18 in the first week.

Of the 32, 10 were from the Harrogate district. The next highest is York with seven, followed by Scarborough with six, Hambleton with four, Ryedale with three and Craven and Richmondshire with one each.

The campaign started on December 1 and has now seen 50 arrests in total at the halfway stage. Of the 50 arrests, 38 were men and 12 were women.

The highest reading was from a 46-year-old woman in Northallerton who was four time over the legal limit.

Superintendent Emma Aldred, head of specialist operations at North Yorkshire Police, said:

“It’s alarming to see that we have arrested 50 people in just over two weeks for drink or drug driving in North Yorkshire.

“The message is clear; we will not tolerate drink and drug drivers on North Yorkshire’s roads”.

Emmerdale actor Mark Charnock, who plays Marlon Dingle, launched this year’s campaign when he participated in a mock road traffic collision.

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North Yorkshire Police has urged Christmas revellers to “know your limits” as they prepare for one of their busiest nights of the year.

Today is known as Mad Friday because it is the last working Friday before Christmas and many people go out.

It is also one of the busiest nights for the emergency services as a result of alcohol-fuelled disruption.

The county’s police force said in a statement it will be deploying extra officers in towns and city centres. The statement added more staff will be working to handle 999 and 101 calls:

“It’s expected that our force control room will receive a 30% increase in 999 and 101 calls compared with demand on an average Friday night.

Superintendent Fiona Willey, the silver commander for Friday’s policing operation, said:

“We understand that people want to let their hair down and we’re not here to spoil anyone’s fun. However, we have a job to do and that’s to keep people safe as well as maintain law and order.

“We’re well-rehearsed at dealing with what’s known as Mad Friday and have additional officers and staff in place to provide resilience.

“My plea to people who are heading out on Friday is to plan your night, think about your own safety and know your limits.”

Update: Yorkshire Water emailed on the morning of Friday, December 16 to say: The repair is complete and our teams will be reinstating and reopening to road as soon as possible. 

Traffic problems caused by a burst water main in Dacre are expected to continue until next week. 

Buses, including school services, were diverted again this morning due to the problem. 

A spokesman for The Harrogate Bus Company said: 

“A burst water main at Dacre is leading to diversions affecting route 24 and school service 620H.

“Currently Yorkshire Water advise that the affected section of road will remain closed until Monday (19 December): if that date is brought forward, we will of course advise customers. 

“In the meantime and until Yorkshire Water’s repairs are completed, buses are unable to serve stops between Fountains Bents and Dacre Banks. 

 He added:

“The 620H is serving the top section of Dacre from Summerbridge. Students waiting at the Providence Chapel bus stop can walk a short distance to board the 620H, which enables the bus to turn around at Dacre Lane before going back past Summerbridge towards Clint Bank, then continuing via Birstwith to resume its normal route at Elton Lane. 

“Early contact was made with all schools involved yesterday (Wednesday) and a regular driver is allocated to the 620H which also helps with communication.”

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The spokesman said the delay to today’s 10am route 24 departure from Harrogate was caused by “mechanical issues with the bus”, adding:

“Our engineer was able to carry out roadside repairs: however this, plus the diversion at Dacre, led to this journey being delayed. Our apologies to customers for this delay.” 

A Yorkshire Water spokesman said:

“Our teams are aware of a leak on a water main in Dacre. We are working to repair this as quickly as possible and apologise for any inconvenience caused.”  

Pubs in the Harrogate district are set to be invaded by a group of scruffy urchins from Knaresborough this Christmas.

Knaresborough Mummers will perform five-minute plays at pubs around Knaresborough this Saturday before moving on to other parts of the district.

Mummers plays, which date back to the 1700s, were originally performed by peasants and beggars to make money at Christmas and Easter.

Knaresborough Mummers, which was founded in 1974 and performed annually prior to covid, donates proceeds from a whip-round at the end to charities.

They will give a version of the Blue Stots play, which is a Mummers play from the Vale of York traditionally presented by agricultural workers in tattered coats and dirty faces, with trousers tied at the knees to stop rats running up them.

Leader John Burrell said the 10-strong team was anxious to get back to playing in local hostelries again after a break due to covid.

He added re-establishing their 40-year-old tours had not been easy as some pubs have closed and others have changed into restaurants, but gradually a full programme of five tours was put together. Details of venues are here.

Mr Burrell, who used to run a folk music club in Knaresborough, said the group was keen to accept new members.

He said no experience was necessary besides “a sense of humour and not minding going into a pub and acting daft”. 

Money raised from this year’s plays will go to Jennyruth Workshops, Follifoot Park Disabled Riders Group, Greatt North Air Ambulance, Yorkshire Air Ambulance and Martin House hospice.

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Students in the Harrogate district are being invited to apply for grants to fund study equipment and travel.

The grants have been made available by Haywra Crescent Educational Trust, which has around £1,000 to share, and are available to those taking post-16 education courses.

The money is available through the proceeds of the sale of a former education property in Haywra Crescent, Harrogate.

As part of the scheme, eligible students can apply for a small sum to go towards books, equipment or fund travel that relates to study.

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The fund, which is administered by North Yorkshire County Council, is available to those who are who are studying at schools, colleges and universities outside the Harrogate borough.

Further information and application forms are available by emailing post16@northyorks.gov.uk

The closing date for applications is January 31, 2023.