Dame Emma Kirkby to sing at Bach masterpiece in Harrogate

World renowned soprano Dame Emma Kirkby will be one of the soloists at a performance of J S Bach’s Mass in B minor in Harrogate next month.

The event will take place at at St Peter’s Church on October 8.

The combined choirs of St Peter’s Church and Vocalis chamber choir will be joined by the Harrogate Bach Players.

The other soloists include James Micklethwaite, Aoife O’Connell, Emma Stannard, and Andrew Greenan.

Dame Kirkby, who started as an amateur singer, was awarded the Queen’s Medal for Music in 2011.

Read More:

John Longstaff, director of music at St Peter’s, has organised the performance.

He said:

“it’s a wonderful and very difficult piece of music, extremely joyous and celebratory at times.

“I’ve loved it all my life but never had the opportunity to direct it and to perform it with the line-up of soloists and orchestral players who we have joining us, is a dream come true.”

Tickets cost £15. Call 07425161425 for more information.

Call for police action against Harrogate Asda car park ‘boy racers’

A Harrogate resident has called for police action against ‘boy racers’ who regularly descend on the town’s Asda car park.

The resident, who lives on Mayfield Grove within earshot of the car park, told the Stray Ferret he would organise a demonstration if nothing was done.

He said people on streets near the store were tired of the noise and had safety concerns about vehicles speeding.

According to the resident, who asked not to be named, about four to six cars belonging mainly to young men congregate nightly in the car park and rev their engines and pop their exhausts.

The resident said they had raised the matter with Philip Allott, the police commissioner for North Yorkshire, and a police community support officer had agreed to visit the supermarket this week to discuss the matter,

They said they would now wait to see what ensued before deciding whether to mobilise support for a demonstration.

“Every night for years these idiots gather in the rear part of Asda car park where they rev their engines then race out of the car park and round Harrogate.

“I have video and pics that I gave to Philip Allott of a Mercedes that is there most nights and which nearly wiped out a couple of customers.

“If the police don’t do anything about it, we are going to arrange a demo at Asda.”

Read more:

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said:

“We are aware of anti-social-behaviour problems around the Mayfield Grove area of Harrogate, in particular issues with speeding vehicles.

“We will be actively deploying specialist resource to the area which will include roads policing officers who will be robustly dealing with any offences.

“Officers will also be linking in other local organisations and utilising local CCTV to help us build intelligence.”

The spokesman said these measures were in addition to North Yorkshire Police’s ongoing Operation Crome initiative to tackle anti-social and illegal driving.

An Asda spokesman said:

‘’We thank the vast majority who use our car parks responsibly and we will work with the authorities to ensure that the spaces around our stores remain safe for our customers.’’

91 more covid cases in Harrogate district

91 positive covid cases have been reported in the Harrogate district today, according to Public Health England figures.

It means the district’s seven-day case rate has crept back up above 300 to 309 infections per 100,000 people.

It is the second highest rate in North Yorkshire, with Scarborough’s rate of 318 the highest.

The North Yorkshire rate is 270 and the England rate is 264.

The death toll at Harrogate District Hospital from covid-related illnesses since March 2020 remains at 186.

Read more:

 

‘Political bias’ row in Starbeck over appointment of residents’ group chair

A political row has broken out in Starbeck over the election of a new chair to a residents’ group tonight.

Chris Watt has put his name forward to be on the committee of Starbeck Residents’ Association and to become its new chair.

The association, which awards grants and campaigns to safeguard local facilities, holds its annual general meeting at St Andrew’s Church in Starbeck at 7.30pm.

A vote will take place to appoint a new chair, vice-chair, secretary and treasurer and a new committee will be appointed.

However, Mr Watt’s decision to stand has attracted criticism from a local business owner because he is a member of Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour Party.

Andrew Hart, who owns the Red Box Post Office on Starbeck High Street, told the Stray Ferret he opposed Mr Watt standing because his decisions could be influenced by his Labour affiliation.

The group’s current chair, Geoff Foxall, also has connections with the local Labour party.

Mr Hart pointed to the association’s constitution, which states one of its objectives is to be “a strong non-political community voice” that represents the views of Starbeck residents.

He said this meant active political party members should be prevented from standing for senior positions.

Read More: 

He added:

“I think for the sake of transparency the Starbeck Residents’ Association needs to be dissolved tonight and hold full and proper elections in one month’s time without any political office holders standing.”

Mr Hart set up a group called Starbeck Community Group this year to debate Starbeck issues.

Mr Watt told the Stray Ferret he would not comment until after the AGM tonight.

Longstanding Harrogate restaurant set to make way for pub

A longstanding Indian and Bangladeshi restaurant in Harrogate has closed and could be converted into a pub.

The Ali Raj, on Cheltenham Crescent, was the first Bangladeshi restaurant in town when it opened more than 35 years ago.

After a couple of tough years for the hospitality industry, restaurant owner Abdul Rashid, who took over the business from its original owners, decided to close.

Mr Rashid announced the news on the Ali Raj Facebook page, saying it was the “end of an era”.

The Stray Ferret tried to contact Mr Rashid for comment but did not receive a reply by the time of publication.

Read more:

Richard Park, owner of The Little Ale House, which is situated beneath the Ali Raj, has applied to Harrogate Borough Council to change the use of the building from restaurant to pub on both the first and second floors of the building.

Mr Park and his wife Danni opened The Little Ale House in 2016 to recreate a rustic country pub atmosphere in the town centre.

They have been keen to support micro breweries and encourage conversation by shunning TVs and background music.

Electrifying Harrogate’s school buses ‘has to be cost effective’

Yesterday, the Stray Ferret published an investigation that found that children in Harrogate are being taken to school in diesel buses that are amongst the dirtiest and most polluting vehicles on our roads.

We discovered through a freedom of information request that 50% of these buses are over a decade old and almost 20% of these go back at least 20 years.

University of Leeds climate scientist and Harrogate resident Professor Piers Forster told the Stray Ferret that the old school buses will be having a damaging impact on children’s lungs in Harrogate.

He called on North Yorkshire County Council to electrify the school bus fleet.

The County Council’s response: 

Michael Leah, assistant director for transport and the environment at NYCC, said the council is working with Transdev to bid for government funding for electric buses.

However, it is not clear how many of these buses would be used on school routes should the bid be successful.

He said:

“Bus companies are bound by regulatory compliance and as a home to school transport authority we are required to seek best value for money in securing transport provision.   

“We have also set an aspiration of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 or as near to that date as possible; accordingly we work closely with our bus operators moving towards a more modern fleet.

“Indeed we are working with The Harrogate Bus Company, part of Transdev, on a scheme that – if the funding bid succeeds – would see 39 zero-emission buses delivered in Harrogate over the next three years.”

The bus companies response: 

The Stray Ferret contacted the four main school bus providers in Harrogate to ask what they are doing to clean up their fleet.

Craig Temple, managing director of Connexionsbuses said because it is a family-owned business, any upgrades have to be “cost-effective”. He said none of their buses are 20 years old.

“When providing commercial school services, as ours are in Harrogate, our main priority is to provide a value for money, safe and reliable service.

“Each bus carries 70-80 pupils, and as such takes that number of cars off the road. The pollution from this number of cars would massively increase the impact on everyone’s health, and cause congestion (which further damages peoples health).

“I think most people fail to realise what the effect would be on parents through ticket prices if we were to buy much newer vehicles (or even new) at a cost of nearly £400,000 each.

“To purchase vehicles less than 10 years old would add massive costs on to the daily tickets of the children travelling, which, in turn, would no doubt lead to less travelling on the bus and more cars on the road, leading to more congestion and pollution.”

Steve Ottley, general manager of Harrogate Bus Company said some children go to school on electric buses that are part of its main network.

“We are one of 10 operators that run school buses in the district and so this survey is not a representation of our impact as an individual operator. Over 95% of our total fleet is ultra-low or zero emission, running all day and night, compared to school buses which will only run two trips a day.

“As a result of integrating the school bus network into our main network, which improves ticketing and connectivity for customers, the numbers of specific school buses have been reduced, and a third of specific school journeys are now run by electric or ultra-low emission vehicles.

“The remaining five buses are fitted with Greenroad telematics technology to limit fuel usage and idling, and we continue our programme to transform to a fully zero-emission bus operation for Harrogate in the coming years.”

Abbotts of Leeming and York Pullman did not respond.

Read more:

Schools response:

The Stray Ferret also contacted Harrogate’s four public high schools to ask if they were concerned with our findings and what they were doing to encourage cleaner buses. St Aidan’s and St John Fisher did not respond.

Helen Woodcock, the headteacher at Rossett School, said the school actively promotes cycling and walking to its students.

“Technology has moved on in the last 30 years, from a period where leaded fuel was considered acceptable, to a real focus on the need to use sustainable sources of energy for transport.

“Some of our students use the new public electric bus services to get to school and we actively promote the alternatives of cycling and walking to all parents and students. The school student council have focused on recommending other sustainable changes to school life over the years.

“We have a policy that buses directly controlled by NYCC have to enter the school site and turn off their engines whilst waiting for students.

“We look forward to changes in government policy impacting on legal limits for emissions as they move towards fulfilling the promises made in 2019, in the amendments to the Climate Change Act.”

A Harrogate Grammar School spokesperson said it provides in-house new minibuses on four school bus routes.

NYCC provides 11 bus routes to HGS and several are shared with Rossett pupils.

“Harrogate Grammar School directly manage four bus routes to and from the following destinations including the surrounding areas; Pateley Bridge, Tadcaster, Boroughbridge and Leeds.

“We no longer use external coach providers for the Leeds and Tadcaster routes, we operate these services in-house with our own Ultra Low Emission Zone compliant minibuses. Our minibuses are leased brand new and receive regular services and vehicle checks to ensure high standards are kept.

“The two remaining routes however, Pateley Bridge and Boroughbridge, are too over-populated for minibuses and so we work closely with our coach providers in ensuring the high standards of these vehicles provided. We source the most local firms with capacity to fulfil the route requirements which ensures that emissions are reduced.

“NYCC also manage school routes which combine at least 3 routes with Harrogate Grammar School and Rossett High School which we are happy to support to reduce further vehicles on the road.”

Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning and welcome back to the traffic and travel blog. It’s Connor with you this morning hoping to help you avoid any problems by road or rail.

Give me a call on 01423 276197 or get in touch on social media if you spot anything on the roads or are waiting for a delayed bus or train.

The morning blogs are brought to you by The HACS Group.

9am – Full Update 

That is all from me this morning on the traffic and travel news desk. Leah will be back with you tomorrow morning from 6.30am.

The roads are looking quite busy already around Harrogate, Ripley and Knaresborough this morning. There are several construction works ongoing in the area which seem to be causing issues.

Roads where congestion is building:

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

8.30am – Full Update 

The roads are looking quite busy already around Harrogate, Ripley and Knaresborough this morning. There are several construction works ongoing in the area which seem to be causing issues.

Roads where congestion is building:

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

8am – Full Update 

The roads are looking quite busy already around Harrogate, Ripley and Knaresborough this morning. There are several construction works ongoing in the area which seem to be causing issues.

Roads where congestion is building:

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

7.30am – Full Update 

The roads are looking quite busy already around Harrogate, Ripley and Knaresborough this morning. There are several construction works ongoing in the area which seem to be causing issues.

Roads where congestion is building:

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

7am – Full Update 

Roads

Otley Road is likely to be particularly busy as work has started on a new cycle route near Harlow Moor Road.

Road closures:

Temporary lights:

Trains

Buses

6:30am – Full Update 

Roads

Otley Road is likely to be particularly busy as work has started on a new cycle route near Harlow Moor Road.

Road closures:

  • Leeds Road, outside Marks and Spencer – lane closure
  • Rossett Park Road – road closure, plus temporary lights on Leadhall Lane
  • Kingsley Drive, Starbeck – road closure
  • Chestnut Grove, the road rear of Chestnut Grove, and Birch Grove, Bilton – road closure
  • Whiteley Yard, Knaresborough, across from The Crown Inn – road closure
  • Lands Lane, Knaresborough – road closure
  • A1(M) northbound entry slip and southbound exit slip at Flaxby – closure
  • Copgrove Road, Burton Leonard – road closure
  • Luncarr Lane, Copt Henwick – road closure from 08:00
  • Queen Street, Ripon – road closure
  • B6265 Bishopton to Eavestone – road closure. Diversions through Ripon, Glasshouses and Ripley
  • Westerns Lane, Markington – road closure
  • Main Street to Tanfield Bridge, West Tanfield – road closure

Temporary lights:

  • Leadhall Lane in Rossett Green
  • Ripon Road in Harrogate, near McCarthy’s Storage World
  • Green Lane at the junction with Rossett Avenue
  • Otley Road around the junctions for Cold Bath Road and Harlow Moor Road
  • Wayside Crescent just off Wetherby Road, near Harrogate Town football ground
  • Hawthorne Avenue in Hookstone Chase
  • Station Bridge in the town centre
  • Parliament Terrace in central Harrogate, near Five Guys
  • Ripon Road near Co-op petrol station
  • Hollins Lane, Hampsthwaite
  • Fisher Street, Knaresborough
  • Thistle Hill, Knaresborough
  • Blands Hill, Knaresborough
  • Boroughbridge Road, near Scriven
  • A59 York Road, near the Station Road junction
  • Allerton Park Interchange, at the Flaxby junction of the A1(M)
  • Clotherholme Road, Bishopton near Ripon
  • Minster Road, Ripon, outside the cathedral

Trains

  • All services from Harrogate, Leeds and Knaresborough are on schedule.

Buses

  • Harrogate Bus Company is running a reduced timetable due to driver availability. The 36 bus will run every 30 mins between Harrogate & Ripon, and every 15 mins between Harrogate & Leeds.
Local father starts boxing classes for people with autism

A father to autistic children in the Harrogate district has started boxing lessons for people with the condition.

Dean Lund from Knaresborough has two young children who have been diagnosed with autism.  He decided he wanted to teach boxing to both children and adults with autism while studying Sport Coaching and Development at Harrogate College.

Mr Lund called his weekly classes ‘The Zone’ and feels that boxing is a great sport for autistic people to focus on as it helps develop fitness and confidence.

Autism is a disability that affects around 700,000 people in the UK.

Read More:

Mr Lund has a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) certified course in Autism, Sport and Physical Activity.

Dean said a qualification from the National Autistic Society was important:

“I needed to know the parameters of autism, how my own boys fall within that, and what to expect when it comes to teaching boxing outside of college.”

“I really want to expand the autism sessions. As its an area that isn’t provided enough, considering how many people have autism”

The Zone provides a safe spaces for people to take a break if their autism is triggered and also teaches boxing in lanes, allowing participants to have their own space.

Parents can come along to do the session with their autistic child.

For more information about ‘The Zone’ click here or email deano@fighting-fit-coaching.co.uk.

O2 apologises for network problems in Harrogate

Mobile network O2 has apologised to customers in Harrogate who have been experiencing network issues due to a faulty phone mast.

The company said in a statement today it had ordered a new part to fix the problem but it had been out of stock for a long time.

The Stray Ferret understands that customers of O2 have complained about problems with calls, texts and data for about four months.

However, there appears to be no end to the problems in sight.

Read more:

A spokesperson for O2 told the Stray Ferret:

“We apologise to customers who may be experiencing network issues in the area.

“This is due to a faulty unit, which we have requested a replacement for but which has unfortunately been out of stock for a long time.

“We are doing all we can to escalate and progress this, our network team is speaking regularly with the site owners so that as soon as we can, we will have engineers on site to fix the equipment and restore full service for our customers.”

There are other masts serving the Harrogate area. However, the fault has meant that customers are struggling to access 4G speeds.

Dates and locations for new Harrogate Christmas market revealed

The new Harrogate Christmas market is to be held on various streets in the town centre across 10 days in December.

New organisers Market Place Europe will stage its version of the seasonal market from Friday, December 3 until Sunday, December 12.

Stalls will be located on Cambridge Street, Market Place, Station Square and Cambridge Crescent.

Harrogate Borough Council revealed the details in a statement today, which also said that due to coronavirus, there will be around 50 traders with stalls spaced wider than usual.

The original Harrogate Christmas Market had around 170 traders and 55 coaches booked to attend and was expected to attract around 90,000 visitors over four days.

The council is working with Market Place Europe, Harrogate BID and North Yorkshire County Council on the new event, which will take the place of the one traditionally held on Montpellier Hill.

The organisers plan to have a larger number of stalls next year, subject to an improved public health situation.

Read more:

However, the Harrogate Christmas Fayre, as the new event is known, still needs to wait to get an approved event management plan.

According to today’s statement, the new event will feature “a number of local traders” as well as those from across Europe. Arts and crafts as well as food and drink will all be on offer.

Cllr Richard Cooper, leader of Harrogate Borough Council, said:

“As operators of award-winning markets in cities such as Belfast and Glasgow, I’m sure Market Place Europe will bring a first-class offering that truly gets people in the festive mood.

“It’s been a difficult 18 months for everyone and I am confident that by working with them, local partners and stakeholders we will be able to deliver a safe, vibrant and attractive Christmas fayre.

“It will drive visitors to our district’s shops, restaurants, visitor attractions, hotels and B&Bs this festive season.”

Nick Rhodes, chief executive of Market Place Europe, said:

“Extensive research has demonstrated that our events provide additional support to town centre economies.

“As Harrogate emerges from a challenging number of months we are looking forward to bringing a quality family friendly yuletide offering to the town centre.

“We have already had several expressions of interest from a number of coach companies who are keen to bring visitors to Harrogate this Christmas.”

Cllr Don Mackenzie, North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for access and member for Harrogate Saltergate, said:

“As always, our priority will be to ensure that the highways arrangements will be safe, with minimal disruption to local businesses and to residents.

“I am sure that the fayre will provide a welcome boost for the town’s businesses and residents after a difficult couple of years.”

What happened to Harrogate Christmas Market?

Harrogate Borough Council refused a licence for the former Harrogate Christmas Market due to concerns about coronavirus, overcrowding and terrorism.

After three weeks of wrangling with the council, co-organiser Brian Dunsby admitted defeat in his battle to hold the event on Montpellier Hill.

It later emerged the council had been engaged in talks with Manchester-based organisers Market Place Europe since March and has now ramped up those discussions about staging an alternative Christmas market in December.

Brian Dunsby, who co-founded the original Harrogate Christmas Market with former mayor John Fox, said:

“We are determined to organise another traditional Harrogate Christmas Market in November 2022 – hopefully in the usual location.

“We also ploughed back over £90,000 into local good causes over the past five years. It will be interesting to see how much the new venture will donate to similar local good causes.”