Man guilty of indecent exposure at Harrogate library

A Knaresborough man has admitted committing indecent exposure at Harrogate library.

Billy Wood, 30, of Windsor Lane, pleaded guilty to the offence when he appeared before magistrates in York on Saturday.

The incident took place on July 15 this year.

Wood also admitted indecent exposure on Kingsley Drive in Harrogate on Thursday last week.

He pleaded guilty to a third charge of possessing cannabis at Harrogate police station, also on Thursday last week.

Wood was bailed until September 9, when he is due to appear before Harrogate magistrates after a pre-sentence report is prepared.

His bail conditions stipulated that he is electronically tagged and subject to a curfew at home between 9pm and 6am daily.

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Free activities to do with the kids this summer in the Harrogate district

As the cost of living continues to rise, the thought of six weeks of trying to keep the children entertained on a tight budget can be daunting.

Fortunately you don’t always have to spend a fortune to have a fun day out.

We have put together a selection of free activities to enjoy with your family across the Harrogate district.

Pop-up parties – Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon

The Jubilee activities in Harrogate and Ripon were hugely enjoyed, so the summer programme organised by Harrogate Borough Council is sure to be popular.

There will be a chance for young people to enjoy juggling and circus shows, magicians, character meet and greets, and mini discos at three of the district’s picturesque parks and gardens.

Valley Gardens, Harrogate on Thursday, August 11 and Friday, August 12 between 11am and 4pm

Knaresborough Castle on Friday, August 26 between 11am and 4pm

Ripon Spa Gardens on Saturday, August 27 between 11am and 3pm

The venues are also all worth visiting for a free day out, even if you are unable to make the parties.

You could enjoy a picnic and play in the Valley Gardens, plus a walk up to the Pinewoods. You could grab an ice cream and head to Knaresborough Castle, before wandering down the steps to the riverside. Or you could play a game of crazy golf in Ripon Spa Gardens.

 

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A day out at Brimham Rocks, Nidderdale

If you live in the district, chances are you have already visited the unusual moorland rock formations at Brimham Rocks.

However, the summer holidays are the perfect excuse to head up there again with a picnic.

If you haven’t been, you’re in for a treat as it really is nature’s playground for the whole family. Just make sure the kids are wearing decent shoes so they can climb the rocks. Also taking a photo of your children pretending to either push a huge boulder over or hold one up is essential.

The views over Nidderdale are stunning too.

There’s no admission charge at Brimham Rocks. Parking is free for National Trust members.

For non-National Trust members, car parking charges are  £6 for up to four hours and £8 thereafter.

Library events – district wide

On a rainy day, nothing beats a free trip to the library, where you can lose yourself in all the amazing children’s books on offer.

A Summer Reading Challenge is taking place to encourage your children to pick up a book, which isn’t always easy in the holidays.

Children aged four to 11 years just need to call in at their local library to sign up.

The challenge is free to take part in and children get to collect rewards for the reading that they do over the summer holidays. To complete the challenge they have to read six library books between now and September 10.
There are also lots of free activities on offer over the school holidays, including workshops, Lego building and family board games days.
Library visits remain low following pandemic, says council

Library bosses are examining whether the covid-19 pandemic has caused permanent changes to people’s reading habits.

A meeting of North Yorkshire County Council’s partnerships scrutiny committee heard while library visits in the year to April were at about 60% of pre-pandemic levels, book issues had returned to about 85% of the number being borrowed before March 2020.

Chrys Mellor, the authority’s head of libraries, said despite the continued low numbers of people using libraries in North Yorkshire last year, with 304,549 e-books and e-audio items issued it was clear communities still want to use library services.

She said although the county’s “almost unique model” of largely volunteer-run libraries had only reopened partially following lockdowns last year, it still attracted more than a million visits last and saw nearly 1.5 million books issued.

Ms Mellor said it was noteable that about 3,000 people had become library members during lockdowns to borrow e-books, which now represented about seven per cent of items borrowed, and that most of those people had remained as members.

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Earlier this year a Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy study concluded that “only time will tell if this recent shift to digital will prove to be a long-term model for our use of libraries”.

Referring to the difference between library visitors and books being issued, Ms Mellor said: 

“As yet, it is unclear whether that is the people who came in to use the computers were not coming in quite as much because they had bought them or the people who came in for our social activities who are not quite ready to come back in.

“Certainly these last few months has seen a rapid increase in visits. Whether people were simply coming in less and actually borrowing more, that’s still to be worked out.”

She said North Yorkshire had been among the country’s highest performing areas for last summer’s reading challenge for children, but that it had seen about 50 per cent of the usual number of youngsters take part.

Ms Mellor said: 

“Considering people were still being fairly wary about coming in we were quite pleased with that.”

The meeting heard while libraries were nearly back up to pre-pandemic opening hours, the council was working to help libraries across the county facing issues finding sufficient volunteers to run them.

Ms Mellor said: 

“Some volunteers have decided they have found something different to do in the last year, others are still a little bit wary about coming in. We equally have had reports of a lot of new and younger volunteers joining us.

“We still had over 100,000 [volunteer] hours last year when we weren’t even open full time.”

Harrogate council to create specialist public toilet with £40k funding

A new Changing Places toilet will be created in the Harrogate district after the council was awarded funding for the project.

Harrogate Borough Council has been given £40,000 to deliver the facility, which offers specially adapted facilities for people in wheelchairs and with very limited mobility.

The funding is part of a national £23.5m investment from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. It will see the total number of Changing Places toilets across England increase from 1,300 to more than 1,800.

They are expected to be installed in public parks, tourist attractions, museums, art galleries, cathedrals, shopping centres, libraries and other public buildings.

Ministerial disability champion Eddie Hughes MP said:

“People with severe disabilities and their families or carers should not have to think about whether there are suitable toilet facilities when they go out shopping, plan a day out or travel.

“That is why it is great to hear that our funding will help provide over 500 new Changing Places toilets in England enabling them to go about day-to-day activities like the rest of the population with more dignity and freedom.“

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Changing Places toilets feature adaptations including hoists and changing benches. They also have enough space to move wheelchairs around all the furniture and for carers to support people using the room.

There are existing Changing Places facilities at Harrogate and Starbeck libraries, the Hydro, Morrison’s and the Yorkshire Event Centre in Harrogate. In Knaresborough, they have been installed at Gracious Street Methodist Church, Knaresborough Pool and Henshaws Arts and Craft Centre.

There are no city centre facilities in Ripon, but there is a Changing Places toilet at Lightwater Valley theme park.

The Stray Ferret asked Harrogate Borough Council where the new facility would be installed, but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Harrogate library to close for two weeks on Saturday for maintenance work

Harrogate library will close on Saturday for just over a fortnight to enable large-scale maintenance work to be carried out.

The project, which involves all three floors, includes remedial damp works, redecoration and the replacement of energy-efficient lighting.

The building will close at 4pm on Saturday and is scheduled to reopen at 9am on Monday,  April 4. Customers will be able to borrow additional books to cover the closure period.

Harrogate Library

North Yorkshire County Council, which is responsible for libraries, announced the news today.

Neil Irving, assistant director for policy, partnerships and communities at the council, said:

“These much-needed improvements will have lasting benefits to Harrogate library; one of our largest and busiest in the county.

“We apologise for the inconvenience it will cause to library visitors but we are encouraging people to come and borrow a selection of books to keep them going over the closure period.”

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The nearest alternative libraries are Starbeck Community Library, Knaresborough Library and Customer Services Centre and Nidderdale Plus Community Library.

You can also browse, reserve and renew items and access your library account online here or via the library app.

The work was previously scheduled to take place from January 22 to February 7.

Harrogate Library to close for two weeks

Harrogate Library on Victoria Avenue will close for two weeks due to building works.

The facility will be shut from 4pm on Saturday, January 22, until February 7 as maintenance is carried out at the library and customer services centre.

North Yorkshire County Council said due dates for books will be altered to take the closure into account.

Nearest alternative libraries are Bilton and Woodfield Community Library, Starbeck Community Library, Knaresborough Library and Customer Services Centre and Nidderdale Plus Community Library

 North Yorkshire County Council said:

 “We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and look forward to welcoming you back to the library.”

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Carringtons and Pinocchio’s: Harrogate adverts from the 70s and 80s

Fascinating adverts placed inside Harrogate tourist brochures in the 1970s and 80s offer a glimpse into the town’s recent past.

The adverts are available to view upstairs in Harrogate Library on Victoria Avenue.

The retro adverts range from luxurious quilts made at the Dunlopillo factory in Pannal to swimming at the long-demolished Coppice Valley pool.

They also include staples of the era such as Carringtons nightclub on Station Parade and Pinocchio’s Italian restaurant on Cheltenham Parade.

Other businesses such as Olivers fish and chips on Cold Bath Road are still going strong.

Library supervisor Jane Trigoso has been posting some of the images on the library’s Facebook page.

Ms Trigoso said Pinocchio’s is the “number one” best remembered former Harrogate business.

She said:

“People have so much affection for some of these businesses. They like to reminisce about how it used to be.”

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View our image gallery below. How many do you remember?

Harrogate Library to launch Lego club for children with autism and disabilities

Pride in Diversity is helping Harrogate Library set up a Lego club for children with autism and disabilities and it is asking the public to donate Lego.

Lego has been found to be beneficial to children on the autism spectrum as it can help them build an interest in something they can share with their other children.

Lego that is either new in a box or sets that have been used can be donated. For used sets, they need to be complete and include the instructions.

Lego can be dropped off at the library on Victoria Avenue with a note for ‘Laura Hellfeld, Pride in Diversity’. 

Ms Hellfield said:

“I have been now working with the staff at Harrogate Library for a few years in creating inclusive events. The staff have always been kind and welcoming and very keen to increase programmes that benefit everyone in Harrogate.”

The Lego club will likely be starting in the new school term after Christmas.

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Harrogate library set to host activities fair

Harrogate library will host an activities fair from 10.30am to 2pm on September 23.

The fair will feature activities such as arts and crafts, dancing and photography. Anyone can drop in.

Cllr Greg White, executive member for libraries at North Yorkshire County Council, said:

“Getting out, taking part in activities and meeting people is a really good way to boost your mood and combat loneliness.”

Groups taking part include Harrogate Chess Club, St Paul’s Art Group and Harrogate Photographic Society.

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Groups that are unable attend on the day will still have information available for those attending to see.

The library, on Victoria Avenue, hopes the activities fair will be an opportunity for Harrogate district residents, especially retired people, to meet new people and learn new skills.

For more information see the Harrogate Library Facebook page.

Harrogate library turns back time on town landmarks

Volunteers from Harrogate library have been turning back the clock on the town’s historic landmarks.

The team have worked with a local photographer to compare what Harrrogate looked like in the early 1900s to today.

Most of the work is currently on display at the library and will be until the end of July but the volunteers have also shared others on social media.

Our featured image shows the boating pool in Valley Gardens, which was taken by a Mark E. Mitchell in 1930.

It shows a few small sail boats in the water, which has clearly captured the imagination of visitors to Valley Gardens.

Today’s image, which was taken by Jonathan Turner, captures a much quieter boating lake in October 2020. The project has also captured life in the coronavirus lockdown.

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The below image shows the former J.Chippindale & Co shop taken by Asquith & Son in the early 1900s.

Today’s image shows how the building is now occupied by the Cardamom Black restaurant, with cars replacing the scores of bicycles on display.

The building has stood the test of time.

The Then and Now project was funded by a £5,000 grant from Libraries Connected Yorkshire and Humber.

Using photo editing software freely available on the library PCs, volunteers were able to produce side-by-side and composite images.

Cllr Greg White, the executive member for libraries, said:

“We’re really pleased with how the project has developed at Skipton, Scarborough and Harrogate.

“I understand that feedback from the groups was extremely positive.

“They all enjoyed learning about the history of their town and connecting with its past, and gained new skills using the free photo-editing software.”

Did you know that the Stray Ferret has teamed up with Harrogate Historian Malcolm Neesam to produce audio walking tours of Harrogate? The walks are sponsored by the Harrogate Business Improvement District (BID) and take you back to the Golden Age of the Harrogate Spa and a walk through the Commercial Heart of Harrogate.  

Why not take a walk back in time and learn about Harrogate’s glorious past.. They’re easy to do and a great day out. For more information click here.