Harrogate commuters frustrated as early trains axed todayHarrogate commuters have vented their frustration as early morning trains to Leeds are axed today.
Rail operator Northern has cancelled the first two services of the day from Harrogate to Leeds at 6.07am and 6.33am.
It means the earliest Harrogate commuters can arrive in Leeds is 7.28am, compared with 6.24am from Bradford, 6.27am from Skipton and 6.31am from Ilkley
It will also inconvenience some Harrogate business passengers travelling to London for early morning meetings.
Martyn Fletcher, who was one of the commuters caught out by today’s timetable change, was left waiting at a wet Pannal station at 6.15am for a service that no longer exists. He said:
“I commute to Kent every week and have done so for over two years with no problems but no longer can get to Leeds to catch my scheduled train.
“I am not the only person living in Harrogate who needs to commute . In my opinion, trains must run every half hour from 5.30am until 8.30am so that those that need to catch connecting services from Leeds to elsewhere can do so.
“This change to schedule makes no sense at all . If you want to save money only run a hourly services during the quieter mid-morning mid-afternoon period . But provide a proper service for workers and business people.”
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Northern has said the cuts are due to be reversed in December but rail campaigner Brian Dunsby told the Stray Ferret he wasn’t convinced.
“They have done this without good reason and without justification. I don’t trust them to reinstate the services.
“I can’t get proper answers out of them or find out who made this decision.
‘Harrogate is being picked on’
Mr Dunsby, of Harrogate Line Supporters Group, said it would be far better to scrap an afternoon service rather than the key early morning trains, adding:
“It’s crazy that the Harrogate line seems to have been picked on when others haven’t been treated this way.”
Tony Baxter, regional director at Northern said:
“The new timetables are designed to deliver high levels of reliability.
“We’ve made decisions about our timetables based on the levels of resource we have available.
“We’ve then prioritised the routes with the highest customer demand, and which support the region’s economic growth.”
Harrogate College art students to showcase their workArtists, sculptors and ceramicists at Harrogate College are preparing to stage their first North Yorkshire Open Studios event.
The artists, who are studying for master’s degrees in creative practice, will showcase their work on June 4. Visitors will be able to view and buy items.
North Yorkshire Open Studios gives artists the chance to open their studios, network, and show and sell their work directly to the public over the first two weekends in June.
The artist-led event is run by a voluntary steering group of North Yorkshire based artists.
Dr Annabel Smith, programme manager, MA creative practice at Harrogate College said the event would give many college students the opportunity to showcase their work, adding:
“The NYOS event has grown to become one of the major events in North Yorkshire’s cultural calendar, as well as one of the north’s most prestigious open studios events.
“The college is honoured to be included this year and is highlighting and showcasing work produced by our year 1 and year 2 MA creative practice students.”
The exhibited work will include ceramics, paintings, printmaking and textiles and will be on view to the public in the college’s canteen.
The show takes place at the college, at Hornbeam Park, from 9am to 5pm.
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Homes England submits 480-home Otley Road planHomes England has submitted formal plans for 480 homes at Bluecoat Wood opposite Cardale Park.
The government housing agency bought the site on Otley Road last year after a previous scheme stalled.
The plans follow a public consultation which was held in December 2021.
Documents submitted to Harrogate Borough Council show that the site is set to be called Bluecoat Park.
The site covers 28 hectares of largely green fields and the homes would wrap around Horticap.
The proposals include plans for a new cricket pitch, which would also act as a village green. The pitch would be used by Pannal Ash Cricket Club.
The site layout for the homes at Bluecoat Wood.
A “football hub” would also be created, which would include changing rooms, a full-size pitch, a youth pitch and two mini pitches, along with car parking.
A new community woodland would also be planted.
As part of the plans, a mixture of one, two, three, four and five-bedroom houses are proposed for the site. Homes England says in its plans that 40% of the houses will be allocated as affordable.
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The housing agency said in its planning documents:
“The proposed development at Bluecoat Park provides a most important opportunity to deliver a new sustainable and thriving community which will form part of the proposed new urban extension to west Harrogate.”
Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.
To view the full details, click here and search using reference 22/01558/EIAMAJ.
Site history
Housing has been mooted at Bluecoat Wood for many years.
In February 2016, the borough council granted planning permission to a partnership of developers called HTH Harrogate LLP to build 450 homes.
It followed an earlier refusal of permission on the grounds of road safety and traffic flow problems.
However, Homes England bought the site in February 2021 after the developer pulled out.
That summer, Homes England submitted an environmental impact assessment for 530 homes on the site. The number has now been reduced to 480.
Harrogate Homeless Project appoints new chief executiveHarrogate Homeless Project has appointed Francis McAllister as its new chief executive.
Mr McAllister, who lives in Harrogate, was previously deputy chief executive at Leeds homelessness charity St George’s Crypt and previously was part of the senior leadership team at the NSPCC.
He has worked in the charity sector since 1994 when he joined children’s charity Barnardo’s as deputy director of fundraising.
The charity, which receives funding from Harrogate Borough Council, runs a 16-person hostel on on Bower Street that accepts referrals from the council as well as self-referrals from individuals in need of accommodation.
It also operates five bunk beds for emergency overnight accommodation, the Springboard day centre for homeless people at the Wesley Centre in Harrogate and a three-bed house and eight flats where staff provide support to people not yet ready to move on to fully independent living.
According to latest accounts filed with the Charity Commission, it employed 22 staff and had income of £585,000 and spending of £597,000 in the financial year ending August 31, 2020.
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Mr McAllister said Harrogate Homeless Project had “a very clear ambition to increase the positive impact it has on the lives of those who need its support”, adding:
“I have experience of delivering some of the changes that are already being discussed to help widen its reach and I also have an enthusiastic team of staff, volunteers and trustees to work alongside me.”
Harrogate Homeless Project is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2022 with a series of events and a campaign to raise funds to develop its Springboard day centre.
Liz Hancock announced in December she would step down as chief executive after 16 years at the organisation.
Its chair, David Thomas, said:
“Francis’s experience of working alongside other third sector organisations and stakeholders to deliver services very similar to those we operate here in Harrogate will be of enormous value to us at this pivotal moment in our evolution as a charity and we are delighted to have him on board.”
Majority of young people in North Yorkshire have suffered from poor mental healthA report from a Harrogate-based organisation has found that 72% of young people said they had experienced mental health or well-being issues in the past year.
The research is part of a new report published by Healthwatch North Yorkshire. It says mental health services need “significant improvement” so more young people aged 16-24 can access the help they need.
As well as a survey, researchers organised focus groups at Harrogate College and Selby College to gather the views of young people.
Of those who said they had experienced poor mental health, only half said they sought help.
Reasons given for not seeking support included long waiting times to access support, the stigma surrounding mental health, and not knowing where to go.
Of those who did seek support, most respondents sought help from their GP, talked to friends and family, or got support at their school, college, or university.
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Those people who did get support from NHS services had a mixed response.
Some found the services helpful, but many raised concerns about long waiting times and fragmented services.
Helena, a young student involved with this research shared her own mental health experiences:
“Mental health and well-being are important topics that affect us all. However, this area still has a lot of stigmas around it, and there is a lot more that needs to be done to improve the mental health services across North Yorkshire and promote mental health across schools and colleges.
“Through personal experience I have come to value the importance of having support from all people, whether that is my friends or family, or the services provided locally, they are all vital in helping me to manage my own mental health.”
“I would call on all service providers in health and education to read this report and act on its recommendations and findings. Together we need to ensure that mental health services and support are equally provided cross the county.”
Read the full report here.
Stray Views: Harrogate potholes ‘worse than Cairo’Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.
Harrogate’s potholes worse than Cairo
Might I suggest that North Yorkshire County Council either furthers its skills in excavation or takes classes in road repairs.
I return from Cairo, Egypt regularly to visit my home town and many of the roads are a disgrace. St Mark’s Avenue, to name but one. I dare say many are in far worse states than the roads here in Egypt, and ours are bad.
I have watched St Mark’s Ave become like a major dig for some Harrogate archaeological treasure.
Please direct money, repairing many of the roads, to keep cars from becoming premature jalopies and saving the elderly from accidents who will then need emergency repairs, while crossing treacherous roads.
Harrogate should be beautiful and well kept, everywhere.
Janice Walker, Heliopolis, Cairo
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Harrogate needs flexible travel choices
I write this as someone who visits old friends in Harrogate regularly, with a flexible approach to travel choices, since I might ‘step off a train’ at Skipton, Kirkstall Forge, York or Leeds, and then get a bus, train or cycle (there’s a neat connection option Headingly-Kirkstall Forge this way – less good uphill though).
So to hear the rumblings about loss of late and early trains with Northern makes me wish that there was scope for a formal deal with the 36 and Transdev’s Harrogate Buses. As a more flexible traveller, I’ve done this mix & match a few times, when an event in Leeds ended in the evening ‘hole’ in the train service, or after the last train.
So Alex, (boss at Starbeck) how might the deal work, no handy train, eg with a through ticket for an early Leeds-London service or similar, then show your rail ticket and pay £1 to use the 36? Some might even switch for more trips?
Of course the deal might work even better with a public bike hire scheme in Leeds and Harrogate – less than five minutes on a bike gets you from Leeds Bus Station to Leeds City Rail Station, and two-wheels in Harrogate on a bad day is practically immune to traffic jams, or allows me to cut over from Bilton to Starbeck with the ‘short cut’ to catch a train for York (and its cheaper too with fares pricing).
From a bike you’d be shocked at what you’ll see drivers doing as you ride past – I saw an estate agent doing paperwork on a clip board balanced on the steering wheel as she slowly drove along in the queue and mobile phone use is as bad as it ever was, despite the more severe penalties
So instead of Northern also having the expense of running a separate bus (or several?) for those trains, work with the local bus service, and perhaps an eight-seater to deal with stations just too far away from the bus route (perhaps Pannal-Headingley?) and the smaller number of passengers for those connections?
I last owned a car 46 years ago, but for nearly five years have been able to drive a near-new electric car whenever I need to, but in that time my total spending on ‘motoring’ has been less than £200, and the wide choice of other options isn’t coloured by that ton or two of 4-wheeled indulgence that I’m paying for 24/7, but the surveys show sits idle for over 22 hours in every 24, easily costing £12-£20 per day in finance, insurance, servicing, depreciation.
Many poorer households have worked out that it’s cheaper to get a taxi to get home with their weekly shopping, and use buses (less than £2 per day unlimited travel with a bus pass) where they have worked out exactly how to get around with. Its an even better deal once you’re old enough for a bus pass, and drive a lot less.
Dave Holladay, Glasgow
Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.
New group launches for Harrogate women with menopauseA proposal to set up a group for women dealing with symptoms of the menopause has received an “overwhelming” response from the community.
Vic Smith-Dunn, who runs Harrogate-based social enterprise MyLifePool, posted the idea on the group’s Facebook page this week.
Within just a couple of hours she had numerous comments from people saying it was desperately needed. With a date for its first meeting arranged, more than 25 people signed up straight away.
Vic said:
“When you go to your GP, they haven’t necessarily been given a full in-depth education about perimenopause. Being able to say, ‘is this a possibility?’ and ‘maybe I could do this or that?’ can be helpful, but where do you find the information in the first place?
“The idea of the group is to share information – it’s about women supporting women.”
The inspiration for the group came from Vic’s own experience of perimenopause, which she said left her worried about her health. However, speaking to other women going through the same thing gave her reassurance that hormonal changes were to blame for her symptoms, including loss of memory and depression.
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When the group first meets on May 25, biochemist and nutritionist Linda Le Floch from Quality Health Foods in the Westminster Arcade will give some tips on ways to manage symptoms.
There will also be opportunities for women to submit questions in advance or ask them on the night, and to share their own stories and advice about dealing with the impact of menopause.
The way the group operates will be guided by its members, who will be able to meet for coffee, nights out and other events as frequently as they wish.
Vic also hopes to put on a larger event in future, including information for husbands and partners supporting women through menopause. She said:
“My husband did a whole load of research and got to understand the hormone imbalance so he was able to explain to me what was going on. I just wasn’t able to do that at the time.
“Without that understanding, so many marriages break down because men don’t understand what their wives are going through – the women don’t always understand it themselves.”
To book a place at the event on May 25, click here.
Malcolm Neesam: we should create a history time-line for HarrogateThis article is written for The Stray Ferret by celebrated Harrogate historian, Malcolm Neesam.
The recent installation of a York history timeline into paving in the vicinity of Clifford’s Tower appears to be causing great public interest. These timelines usually consist of a chronologically arranged list of events relating to the locality where the timeline is set, and can be adjusted to fill the amount of space available.
The best timelines consist of a bold line set into a pavement from which short entries are placed at right angles. Both the line and the entries can be made of stone, slate, tile or plastic, on to which the information is engraved. Should a suitable length of pavement not be available, the timeline can be set into a wall or put on line.
With the various proposals for alterations to the areas covered by the “Gateway” and other local projects, now is as good a time as any to consider a Harrogate History timeline for which several locations present themselves. The pavement from the entrance to the Railway Station, across Station Square and down James Street is one attractive possibility. So is the Elgar Walk from Valley Gardens entrance as far as the New Magnesia Well Cafe.
A handsome curved timeline could be inserted to the pavements around the War Memorial, to include Prospect and Cambridge Crescents. But if a dead straight line is preferred, how about Prospect Place from Victoria Avenue to the War Memorial?
Typical entries could include: “1571 William Slingsby discovers mineral qualities of the Tewit Well”; or, “2023 Council abolished as Harrogate merges with North Yorkshire”. Thus could the whole of Harrogate’s history be made clearly and easily accessible to the general public, and it is reasonable to assume that sponsorship could be found for such a high-profile undertaking.
In my opinion, a Harrogate History timeline would be a marvellous project. It could provide residents and visitors alike with an interesting and free attraction, the making of which might involve all the local schools. Harrogate has only one local museum, which despite the best efforts of the devoted staff, lacks the Council input to make it the equal of the Mercer Gallery, or indeed the three Ripon Museums, which are run by Trusts. A timeline would help focus attention on Harrogate’s past. Our Council really should give more attention to the town’s heritage.
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Did you know?
The Stray Ferret has worked with Malcolm Neesam to produce two fantastic history audio tours of Harrogate. Both last about an hour and are easy to do. The first will take you back to the golden age of Harrogate’s Victorian Spa days, the second will take you through the heart of the shopping district, stopping to learn about historic buildings as you go. To take a look click here.
Malcolm has also recently published a second major history of Harrogate. “Wells and Swells” covers the town’s Victorian heyday from 1842-1923. To find out more and how you can order a copy, click here.
Harrogate district raises flags for jubilee celebrationsWith less than three weeks to go until the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations begin, preparations are already under way across the Harrogate district.
Bunting has gone up in Harrogate town centre, while knitters in Ripon have put together a fitting royal display.
Knaresborough Business Collective has joined in the fun by putting up commemorative flags outside shops across the town, with even more being added this week.
Knaresborough
The town has plenty of plans for celebrations throughout the jubilee weekend, as do many communities across the district.
Ripon and Harrogate have also dressed up the streets in preparation for the four-day party.
The Stray Ferret has put together a comprehensive guide to what’s happening across the four days. You can find the full details here.
Knaresborough
Bunting on High Skellgate in Ripon.
Bunting going up in Harrogate this week.
If your street, village or town is putting up decorations to mark the occasion, let us know by emailing details and photographs to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.
Betty’s Cookery School has reopened and it continues to be the ‘icing on the cake’“It’s so good to be back”, said product and innovation manager Lisa Bennison as I stepped into Bettys Cookery School.
This sentiment was echoed from the whole team, who were all clearly grateful to be doing what they love again.
The school, which launched in 2001, has recently opened its doors to customers again following a two-year closure during the pandemic.
So it genuinely felt quite emotional to be back in the warm glow of the familiar classroom. It served as a stark reminder of the hardship the hospitality industry has had to endure.
The team at Bettys Cookery School.
The icing on the cake
I was there for the ‘The icing on the cake‘, a full day’s course, which would see me attempt to emulate Bettys’ world-renowned sugar craft skills.
With the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee coming up, it was perfectly fitting for all the impending afternoon teas and picnics. I hoped it was going to inspire me to get in the kitchen and avoid my usual quick-fix M&S visit.
Bettys Cookery School.
After a coffee and a warm pain au chocolat, we headed over to the demonstration bench where we were introduced to our tutor for the day, Jenny Culver.
Jenny has worked her way up through the ranks at Bettys and is like a walking encyclopaedia for the brand. Desperate to know how the famous fondant fancies are made? She’s your gal.
Her enthusiasm is infectious and she’s obviously incredibly skilled at what she does too.
I was relieved to be told that we didn’t have to make the Genoese sponge or buttercream, as I knew then it would at least be edible.
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I was even more delighted when Jenny explained that one of the changes that had been brought in was no washing up! This meant more time to perfect those culinary skills.
The course is split up into three sections throughout the day. This sees Jenny demonstrate up to a certain stage, before you are then let loose in your own mini kitchen area, complete with all the equipment you need. In my case, all the gear and no idea.
Course tutor Jenny Culver leading a demonstration.
‘Preparation is key’
Jenny started by showing us how to create the decorations, in this case intricate flowers, using petal paste.
“Preparation is key,” said Jenny, as she demonstrated how to delicately colour and work the paste.
She then rolled it out thinly, using oil on her hands to stop it drying out, and sprinkled cornflour on the worktop to prevent it from sticking.
My flowers and leaves before adding the edible lustre.
Jenny then cut out the decorations and thinned the petals and leaves with a small plastic tool that resembled a crochet hook. She then added definition and brought them to life with edible lustre.
She made it look ridiculously easy, so I set to work feeling pretty confident.
Harder than it looked
This misplaced confidence quickly diminished when I realised it was a lot harder than it looked. The secret is cutting them out quickly before the paste dries out and hardens.
I couldn’t understand why my edible lustre was so dark and grainy until Jenny pointed out I’d been wetting my brush, like a painter, when it should be applied dry…
Our second demonstration saw Jenny teach us how to assemble the cake. After removing “the crumb” and cutting the cake in half, Jenny filled it with raspberry jam and buttercream.
Jenny applies the buttercream to the sponge.
To make it more pliable, she advised giving both a good stir so it’s easier to apply. And with the buttercream, more is more, apparently. Apply a lot more than you need and then smooth it out with a palette knife dipped in hot water to make it more spreadable.
At this stage, I had to keep reminding myself not to eat all the buttercream before smothering it on the cake.
Rolling
After an exquisite two-course lunch – a salmon salad and zesty cheesecake – we were then taught how to roll the icing and marzipan out.
Lunch at Betty’s Cookery School.
I didn’t realise that the best way to work out the ratio of icing to the cake was to simply measure it with string. Mind blown.
Plastic rolling pins are also better than wood, as the grain then doesn’t leave marks. You also use it to carefully lower the icing on to your cake.
My sponge just before I added the buttercream, marzipan and icing.
Once you’ve done this, you smooth it all out and cut off any excess. I naturally cut off too much so had to patch it up slightly.
At this point my cake definitely resembled a bowler hat – bulbous in shape – which apparently is really difficult to achieve. Obviously this was intentional…
Final demonstration
Our final demonstration saw us learn how to hand pipe with royal icing and carefully attach our decorations.
It’s recommended to practise your writing skills on the counter, before attempting it on the cake. I stuck with little dots, which were significantly easier.
And then it was finished off with a pretty gold Bettys ribbon.
I actually surpassed my own expectations as it wasn’t terrible.
It was incredibly rewarding to create something so intricate, and actually quite therapeutic and mindful. Maybe I should tap Bettys up for a job?
On second thoughts, considering how long it took me to make the flowers, it would probably be best to leave it to the professionals.
(L-R) Me and my fellow bakers, Beth Windsor and Victoria Turner with our finished cakes.
- The Icing on the Cake course costs £185 and includes refreshments and a two-course lunch.
Your chance to enter the Bettys Jubilee Bake Off
Bettys is looking for a special baker who can create a cake fit for a Queen.
Our shortlist of five incredible bakers will then take their cake to Bettys Cookery School on June 1 for judging.
The lucky winner will take home a place on a course of their choice at Bettys Cookery School as well as bragging rights.
Find out more about the competition and how to enter here.