Bilton garages could be demolished for social housing

Harrogate Borough Council is proposing to demolish seven garages in Bilton to make way for social housing.

The garages are on Woodfield Close, close to the iron bridge in the Harrogate suburb.

A report presented this week to the council’s cabinet member for housing, the Conservative councillor Mike Chambers says two one-bedroom homes could be built on the site, and more homes might be possible subject to planning permission.

The report says there are 24 garages but only 12 are occupied. Of these, four are used by local residents. It proposes demolishing seven to allow for the development.

The council also plans to build a two-bed property for social rented housing on grassland it maintains on the corner of Poplar Crescent and Poplar Grove.

According to the report, the grassland “is not used for any particular purpose and has no amenity value”.

If the council goes ahead with the plan, it would apply for funding from the government’s £433 million Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme, which aims to get up to 6,000 rough sleepers into longer term accommodation.

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The council owns and rents out garages across the district and has increasingly looked at the pockets of land as a way to build social housing.

There are currently over 1,700 people on the council’s social housing waiting list.

Last month, the council approved a plan from its own housing team to build three council houses at the sites of two disused garage blocks in Ripon.

Could the Ginnel closure be permanent? Decision looms at end of month

A decision will be made at the end of the month on whether to keep the Ginnel in Harrogate closed to traffic.

Traffic was barred from the narrow road last year from 5pm until 9am each day as part of social distancing measures and to support the nighttime economy.

More than a fortnight after lockdown restrictions ended, the route remains closed to vehicles for 16 hours a day.

The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire County Council, which is the highways authority, when it would reopen or whether the closure would be made permanent.

Melisa Burnham, highways area manager at the council, said:

“The closure of the Ginnel supports a number of local businesses with outdoor seating.

“While we recognise that customers can use indoor space, we feel that the continued support for outdoor space should remain in place over the summer months to help businesses and to enable customers to meet in the open air.

“This closure will be reviewed at the end of August.”

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Harrogate organic food shop to close after less than a year

An organic food shop on Cold Bath Road in Harrogate is to close next week, less than a year after opening its doors for the first time.

Nicola Mawdsley opened Joy In Store as an environmentally-friendly one-stop shop that would change stock with the seasons.

Ms Mawdsley hoped the venture would compete with smaller supermarkets but it has been unable to attract enough customers to make it work so it will close for good on Saturday, August 14.

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Like other businesses, Joy In Store has endured a series of lockdowns since it opened in November.

Although the shop is closing, Ms Mawdsley told the Stray Ferret it might return in a different form:

“There are potentially opportunities down the line. I will keep the online shop that is now ready and I could also do some pop-up shops.

“People loved the idea of organic, sustainable and plastic free shopping. It just seems to take a long time for people to change their habits.

“It is a real shame. Had I known that there would have been more lockdowns down the line I would not have gone ahead with it at that time.”

A sale in the 10 days before closure will see Joy In Store sell off its remaining stock for 25% discounts.

The shop will include not only the food but also the shop fixtures and fittings, including crates, trollies and more.

Staff absences force Harrogate council to delay bin collections

Harrogate Borough Council has warned residents that some waste collections will be delayed this week due to staff absences.

The council tweeted this afternoon that refuse, recycling and garden waste pick-ups will be delayed through the week but it hopes to have outstanding collections caught up by 5pm on Saturday.

It is not the first time waste and recycling collections have been disrupted in recent months.  In June, an outbreak of covid among staff working for HBC caused delays.

Last month, Cllr Richard Cooper, the Conservative leader of HBC, said people should not expect public services such as bin collections to be “immune” to the same disruptions seen in the private sector brought on by the NHS covid app “pinging” people.

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Due to a number of staff absences, some garden waste, refuse and recycling collections may be delayed this week.

If your street isn’t collected as normal, you don’t need to worry about reporting it to us… [1/2]

— Harrogate Borough Council (@Harrogatebc) August 3, 2021

New Harrogate Beer Week raises glass to local pubs and breweries

Local pubs and breweries will be the focus of the first ever Harrogate Beer Week, which starts next month.

The beer week will run from September 20 to 26. During the week there will be a programme of special events across different venues in Harrogate.

There will also be an indie beer trail, live local music and a home brewing competition on the the cards. It will all culminate with a big beer weekend in the town centre.

If successful, the organiser hopes that she will be able to bring it back on an annual basis.

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Rachel Auty, who founded Women on Tap, is behind the new project. She said:

“This brand new event will be a spotlight on the very best of what’s on offer in Harrogate and will be created and delivered by people who actually live and work here.

“I would love it to become an annual flagship event that is proven to deliver direct benefit to the town centre, independent beer and food businesses.

“It’s been such an awful 15 months and I am determined to bring some beer-themed joy back to our indies and communities this autumn.”

She believes that, with five big breweries in the district, there is nothing to stop Harrogate from standing shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Leeds and Sheffield.

Harrogate BID is helping to finance Harrogate Beer Week. BID manager Matthew Chapman said:

“We’re really excited to be supporting September’s Harrogate Beer Week, particularly as it will involve a host of local bars and pubs.

“It will be a fantastic opportunity for beer lovers to have a pint or two in different venues, which as an organisation dedicated to driving footfall into all parts of the town centre appealed to us.

“And whilst it’s still a few weeks away, we are happy to raise a glass to its undoubted success, and say ‘cheers, Rachel’.”

Police arrest two men after damage to properties in Bilton

North Yorkshire Police arrested two men in Bilton last night following reports of damage to properties.

Officers were responding to reports from the Woodfield Road area of the Harrogate suburb last night.

The force’s Dutch Herder police dog, PD Bobby, was brought in to find the suspects.

The two men are currently in custody.

If you were involved in any of these incidents and have not yet reported this to the police, please call 101.

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Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning and welcome back. It’s Connor with you this morning bringing you all your latest traffic and travel news.

The aim of these blogs, brought to you by The HACS Group, is to make sure your journey is as smooth as possible.

I’ll include all the latest roadworks, traffic hotspots and any delays to public transport.

If you spot anything or get stuck in a jam, give me a call on 01423 276197.

9am – Full Update 

Thank you for checking in with the traffic and travel blog this morning. We do hope you find the service useful. I am heading over to the news desk now but I will be back from 6.30am tomorrow.

Roads 

The roads are looking clear so far this morning except for a few spots around the Harrogate district:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

8.45am – Full Update 

Roads 

The roads are looking clear so far this morning except for a few spots around the Harrogate district:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

8.30am – Full Update 

Roads 

The roads are looking clear so far this morning except for a few spots around the Harrogate district:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

8.15am – Full Update 

Roads 

The roads are looking clear so far this morning except for a few spots around the Harrogate district:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

8am – Full Update 

Roads 

The roads are looking clear so far this morning except for a few spots around the Harrogate district:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

7.45am – Full Update 

Roads 

The roads are looking clear so far this morning except for a few spots around the Harrogate district:

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

7.30am – Full Update 

Roads 

The roads are looking clear so far this morning, today’s traffic hotspots are likely to show up a little later. Keep checking in.

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

7.15am – Full Update 

Roads 

The roads are looking clear so far this morning, today’s traffic hotspots are likely to show up a little later. Keep checking in.

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

7am – Full Update 

Roads 

The roads are looking clear so far this morning, today’s traffic hotspots are likely to show up a little later. Keep checking in.

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

6.45am – Full Update 

Roads 

The roads are looking clear so far this morning, today’s traffic hotspots are likely to show up a little later. Keep checking in.

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

6.30am – Full Update 

Roads 

The roads are looking clear so far this morning, today’s traffic hotspots are likely to show up a little later. Keep checking in.

Temporary traffic lights are in place here:

Trains

Buses

Second tap terminal in Harrogate to help homeless people

Harrogate District Street Aid has launched a second contactless tap terminal to help homeless people.

The second terminal is at the Victoria Shopping Centre and follows in the footsteps of the first at Marks and Spencers on Oxford Street.

With each tap of a bank card, £3 goes to Harrogate District Street Aid. Since the launch in October 2019, people have donated more than £14,000 to the project.

Harrogate Borough Council is behind the project which provides financial support for those in need. Homeless people can apply for grants up to £500.

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To date the Harrogate District Street Aid has given out 16 grants for training courses, clothing for job interviews and wellbeing support.

Cllr Mike Chambers, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for housing and safer communities, said:

“Harrogate District Street Aid is about making a real change to people who find themselves on the street and I am delighted that we have been able to provide a second tap terminal in Harrogate town centre.

“Some people assume that giving a few pounds to a beggar is helping them. Sadly, in some instances it may actually keep them on the street.

“Through Harrogate District Street Aid, we can work with our partner organisations to make best use of the money that has been kindly donated, work with homeless people and make a real difference to their lives.”

Firefighters rescue teens from Harrogate school roof

Firefighters rescued four teenagers who had climbed onto the roof of a school in Harrogate.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service took a call for help at a building on Wetherby Road just after 6pm yesterday.

The group had made their way up to the roof of the school but when it came to climbing back down, the teenagers got into some difficulty.

When the crews arrived they used a ladder to get them to safety.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said after the incident:

“Crews assisted four teenagers that had climbed onto the roof of a school and then were unable to get down. Crew used a ladder.”

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Daily Harrogate district covid infections lowest since June

Just 45 covid infections have been recorded in the Harrogate district — the lowest 24-hour figure since June 26.

Today’s data, from Public Health England, reduces the district’s seven-day average rate of infection to 260 per 100,000 people.

The rate peaked at 534 on July 18 and has more than halved in the fortnight since.

The current rates for England and North Yorkshire are 291 and 260 respectively.

Harrogate West and Pannal has had the most infections in the district in the last seven days, with 42, followed by Ripon South and East with 35.

At the other end of the scale Pateley Bridge and Nidd Valley has had just 12 cases.

There has not been a covid-related death at Harrogate District Hospital for almost four months now.

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