New giant book will light up Harrogate this weekend

A new book unlike any you have seen before will light up the Library Gardens in Harrogate for this weekend only.

The light installation will shine bright as authors take to the digital stage for the Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival.

As the sun sets the pages will turn and share well-known tales as well as the story of Harrogate.

The free exhibition will also feature ten-word stories from best-selling authors and Harrogate residents – the same as those that have been popping up around town on posters.

Read more:

The organisers Harrogate Festivals International say there will be plenty of room for watching the book and they will also ensure social distancing measures are followed.

Harrogate’s literature festival is now in its 12th year but will, like many events, be online due to social distancing requirements.

The festival will run from today until Sunday. It will be streamed on HIF Player on the Harrogate International Festivals’ website.

It comes at a difficult time for the organisation, which has been forced to cut more than half of its jobs.

Harrogate International Festivals said it made the cuts after missing out on an estimated £850,000 due to coronavirus. The arts charity, which was set up in 1966, now has just four staff remaining.

Highfield pupils earn ‘eco-points’ for walking and cycling to school

Pupils at Highfield Prep School in Harrogate have been competing for ‘eco-points’ by walking, cycling, and scooting to school as part of an initiative to improve the environment.

The school, which caters for children aged 4-11, organised the Move to School initiative this term to encourage children and their families not to travel to school by car.

The class with the most eco-points at the end of the term will win an eco-trophy.

Lizzie Fee, social media manager at Highfield, which is part of Harrogate Ladies College, said the scheme is about improving the children’s awareness of how their actions affect the world around them.

She said:

“This is a great way to encourage the children to become aware of their impact on their environment, and that everyone can make a difference no matter how small. It all helps!”

For families who travel by car from further afield, the school has encouraged parents to shorten their journeys and walk the remainder of the way.

Ms Fee added:

“We are very proud of the children’s commitment and enthusiasm to eco-initiatives and green activities and we will be promoting six Move to School weeks every term.”

Read more:

There is a national project gaining momentum called School Streets, which bans vehicles from outside school gates during pick-up and drop-off times.

The project aims to make streets near schools safer places for children, increase opportunities for them to walk or cycle and reduce their exposure to toxic air pollution.

School Streets was pioneered in the London borough of Hackney in 2017 and has since expanded across the country, including Yorkshire primary schools in Halifax, York, Leeds and Sheffield.

North Yorkshire County Council has not said it will introduce School Streets but its Open Harrogate project – which encourages active travel – said on Twitter the possibility was being explored.

Sneak peek at Italian restaurant opening in Harrogate

A new Italian restaurant is opening in Harrogate tomorrow to serve up fresh pasta and speciality wines.

Pranzo Italian, at 31-33 Cold Bath Road, is the second restaurant from chef Marco Greco. He opened his first in Ilkley two and a half years ago.

Marco cooking up a mafalde with four-hour braised beef shin ragu.

This new Harrogate restaurant will be open every day from 12pm to 10pm except on Sundays when it will close at 6pm.

Although it has meat, fish and vegetarian options, Pranzo Harrogate does not have a large menu. It believes in serving a few dishes it can perfect.

Read more:

As the restaurant has a large kitchen space downstairs, the chefs will be able to make fresh pasta each and every day.

Marco Greco, on the eve of Pranzo Harrogate’s opening, told the Stray Ferret:

“I have been looking for a new place for about a year. I know it is not the best time to open a new business, it was a bit crazy. But we are already fully booked for the opening night so it is looking good and I think it will be worth it.”

Pranzo Harrogate is the new Italian restaurant on Cold Bath Road.

Pranzo Ilkley is rated as the number two restaurant in the town on TripAdvisor.

Mr Greco has Italian heritage, learned to cook with his grandmother and followed in the footsteps of his dad who also opened an Italian restaurant.

He worked in his dad’s restaurant as soon as he left school and always dreamed of opening his own place.

Pranzo Harrogate has space for 30 people inside the restaurant and a further 20 outside under current covid restrictions.

It has employed 10 staff and intends to recruit more in the future.

Harrogate and Knaresborough pedestrianisation extended

North Yorkshire County Council is extending temporary pedestrianisation measures in Harrogate and Knaresborough until next year.

Parking suspensions and road closures have become a familiar sight and the council confirmed today they will remain until at least January 31.

To improve the look of the scheme, traffic cones on Albert Street and James Street in Harrogate will make way for planters.

The planters will be funded by Harrogate Borough Council through the government’s £50m reopening high streets safely fund.

The two councils hope the move will reassure the public it is safe to shop in the towns.

Read more:

However, some business owners on James Street have warned of empty shops to come if the county council persisted with pedestrianisation.

The county council said in response it had listened to those views and will keep the measures under review.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, the executive member for access at the county council, said:

“We are committed to supporting the county’s recovery while ensuring people can visit shops safely and buy local. We hope that these measures are making shoppers feel confident to visit our high streets as we approach the Christmas shopping period.”

Cllr Phil Ireland, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability, said:

“Feedback from both businesses and visitors alike has been positive and I’m glad these measures have encouraged people back to the high street that it so desperately needs.”

Parking spaces between Princes Square and West Park on the A61 in Harrogate will be reopened, it was also announced.

The full list of measures in Harrogate:

The full list of measures in Knaresborough:

Harrogate district braced for ‘huge rise’ in winter fuel poverty

An organisation that combats fuel poverty in North Yorkshire has warned it expects a “huge rise” in referrals this winter, especially in the Harrogate district.

Warm and Well, which is a partnership project between public, private and voluntary sector organisations to reduce the the number of cold deaths, said referrals increased by 196% between July and the end of September compared to last year.

The Harrogate district was responsible for 28% of these referrals in what are usually the quietest months for Warm and Well, which believes the surge in referrals reflects the financial impact of the pandemic.

The organisation said in a statement it “expects a huge rise in referrals this winter as the financial effects of the coronavirus take hold across the region”.

Julia Priestnall, project coordinator for Warm and Well in North Yorkshire, said:

“Our specialist advisers are working very hard to reach out to vulnerable people who are really struggling across the region. As the furlough comes to an end and the inevitable rise in redundancies there is a perfect storm of fuel poverty gathering.

“We have managed to help families in rural areas with properties that are ‘off the grid’ heat their homes when they have had no one else to turn to.”

Julia Priestnall

Project coordinator Julia Priestnall

Read more:

Warm and Well, which is managed by Citizens Advice Mid-North Yorkshire and funded by North Yorkshire County Council, helps people deal with energy debt, switching suppliers or applying for emergency energy support.

Its #GearUpForWinter campaign focuses on fuel poverty within rural areas.

The organisation has visited parts of the Yorkshire Dales to help people keep their home warm during the colder season.

To refer yourself of someone you know to Warm and Well in North Yorkshire, click here.

Harrogate couple open town centre jewellery shop

A couple from Harrogate with an online jewellery business are to open their first physical store in the town’s Victoria Shopping Centre this weekend.

Sam McDermid and Neil Thompson set up Infinity & Co in 2014 selling jewellery gifts.

On Sunday they will open a shop under the same name in the former vaping store Tobacco Not Included in the shopping centre.

Ms McDermid said:

“We are absolutely delighted to be opening our first store in my hometown of Harrogate.

“I started my career in retail and it has always been a dream of mine to open my own shop.”

Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce has helped Victoria Shopping Centre to promote retail space for local organisations needing a boost during the pandemic.

Read more:

James White, Victoria Shopping Centre manager, said he was “thrilled” to welcome Infinity & Co, adding:

“We are very keen to play our part in the recovery of the retail and hospitality sector in Harrogate.

“We would love to hear from anyone who feels we might be able to help them, especially if they are interested in taking on a pop-up store or window display.”

Infinity & Co is giving away a pair of earrings worth £45 with every purchase during its first week.

Why is Harrogate the ‘best place to work from home’?

Harrogate was named as the best place to work from home in a survey published yesterday.

Fast broadband, green space and low crime rates were among the factors that earned the town top spot — but who knows better than the people who live here? So we headed to the Stray to ask Harrogate residents if they agreed with the finding.

Covid has forced many people to work from home and a fifth of people said they wanted to do it more often when the pandemic is over.

Harrogate coronavirus testing site opens with 57 appointments

Harrogate’s new full-time coronavirus testing site opened this afternoon with 57 appointments made available.

The site in the Dragon Road car park, which is run by the Department of Health and Social Care, is capable of testing up to 320 people a day.

The number was expected to be lower during the initial pilot period.

After the pilot period, the facility will be open between 8am and 8pm, seven days a week.

Appointments are available to book online and officials expect the site to be used predominantly by Harrogate residents.

Read more:

Forty-four covid cases were confirmed in the district in the last 24 hours, according to Public Health England figures today.

The total number of cases in Harrogate since the start of the pandemic now stands at 1,805.

A further 207 positive cases have been reported across North Yorkshire.

 

Harrogate district to mark Remembrance Day at home this year

Harrogate district organisations are urging people to commemorate Remembrance Day at home this year after covid restrictions forced traditional annual services and parades to be cancelled.

The Poppy Appeal, organised by the Royal British Legion, will continue to go ahead but collections and activities have been disrupted by social distancing requirements.

Remembrance Sunday activities on November 8 have also been affected, forcing local branches of the Royal British Legion and other groups involved to adapt.

The Knaresborough branch of the Royal British Legion is asking residents to hold their own two-minute silences at home as the church service and parade through the town will not go ahead.

David Houlgate, vice-chair of the branch, said:

“Arrangements are being made to lay wreaths safely but townsfolk are discouraged this year from attending at the war memorial.

“We are having to limit the number of collection boxes we can distribute this year to 20% of our usual number of boxes.”

Despite the limitations, the branch is asking people to continue to support the Poppy Appeal, as funds help servicemen and women, veterans and their families.

Read more:

The service at Harrogate war memorial has also been cancelled. The Harrogate Mayor, councillor Stuart Martin, said:

“I urge people across the district to observe the national two minutes silence with your family and show your support for the armed forces community by displaying a poppy in your window.”

Stonefall Remembrance 2019

The annual remembrance service at Stonefall Cemetery has been cancelled. Credit: Guy Wilson

The annual service at Harrogate’s Stonefall Cemetery, organised by Harrogate Brigantes Rotary Club, has also been cancelled.

A private wreath laying and blessing ceremony has been organised instead.

At least 13 wreaths will be laid on behalf of British and Commonwealth forces. Event co-ordinator Guy Wilson said:

“While this year we cannot meet together to remember those who gave their lives for us and the freedoms we now enjoy, we nevertheless recognise that the act of remembrance is important and will see that it is done with proper respect. Over 1,000 lives given for us lie in Stonefall. We will be there to honour them all on November 8.”

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which maintains Stonefall, has launched a tool that allows people to find out about the lives of local servicemen and woman who died in battle.

Barry Murphy, CWGC’s director general, said:

“This year has been like no other, and sadly this will have an impact on the usual traditions around Remembrance Sunday.”

Dr Lincoln Sargaent, director of public health at North Yorkshire County Council, said it was working with local safety advisory groups and the police to ensure the day is recognised with public health in mind. He said:

“Where an event is planned well and follows the covid-safe rules and the government advice, we have no objections.

“Some events will have already taken the initiative to modify or cancel and we follow the organisers’ better judgement on these matters.”

D-Day looms for Coach and Horses

Concerns have been raised about late night noise at the Coach and Horses in Harrogate ahead of a key decision on the pub’s future.

Samantha Nelson, daughter of previous landlord John Nelson, has applied for a licence to sell alcohol from 10am to midnight seven days a week.

Ms Nelson has also applied to serve late night refreshments from 11pm to 12.30am every day of the week.

Harrogate Borough Council’s licensing sub-committee will consider her requests on Thursday next week.

The council revoked her father’s licence in July after council officers claimed Mr Nelson showed a “blatant disregard” for coronavirus social distancing rules. This decision is due to be appealed at York magistrates court.

A report for the licensing sub-committee says the council has received two letters in support and two opposed to Ms Nelson’s application.

One in favour describes the Coach & Horses as “Harrogate’s best pub”.

Read more:

Another says: “The last thing the town needs is another permanent pub closure with an unsightly empty building on a major thoroughfare or, even worse, a convenience store opened in its place.”

The same person describes Ms Nelson as “a very capable person” and says “responsibility for past indiscretions should not be visited upon the applicant”.

Those opposed mainly express concerns about “excessive noise” for local residents. One suggests restricting the opening hours until 11pm.

Lawyer Paddy Whur, acting on behalf of Ms Nelson, told the council the hours applied for replicated those of the previous licence and that late night refreshments allowed for the sale of hot drinks: Mr Whur added:

“Mr Nelson is now to retire from the business and have no business interest or management control at the premises. Samantha Nelson will run the premises after a significant re-investment in them.”