The government faced a backlash this week over its scrapping of the eastern leg of HS2 to Leeds.

Leeds station is regularly used by commuters from Harrogate for changes to London, Manchester and elsewhere.

Ministers have outlined £96 billion plans to scrap the Birmingham to Leeds link of HS2 in favour of upgrades to the existing Manchester to Leeds line in an effort to “cut journey times”.

As far as U-turns go, the decision to scrap HS2 in favour of upgrades to rail track across the north has consequences for the district.

“Disappointed, but not really surprised”

The Harrogate line is one of the busiest lines run by Northern Rail.

Thousands of commuters use the line between York, Harrogate, Knaresborough and Leeds every day.

Leeds station is a connection for commuters to major cities and acts a vital piece of infrastructure for those travelling for both work and leisure.

So, the decision to scrap the eastern leg of HS2 has an impact on those who use the station every day.

While the project would have cut journey times from the north to London, it also would have freed up capacity for more shorter services – such as trains to Bradford and Halifax.

Brian Dunsby, of the Harrogate Line Supporters Group.

Brian Dunsby, of the Harrogate Line Supporters Group, said he was “disappointed, but not really surprised” by the government’s decision.

However, he added that he felt it would be more important for commuters in Harrogate if ministers focused on improving the Northern Powerhouse rail link from Liverpool to Hull via Manchester, Bradford and Leeds.

He said:

“Harrogate passengers are now getting the benefit of a two-hourly service to London Kings Cross and in just three weeks’ time we will see the services between Leeds and York via Harrogate doubled – with the current Leeds-Knaresborough services extended all the way to York every half-hour.

“This east-west connection is I feel more important for Harrogate business and residents and visitors.

“It is not really worth while our passengers to London connecting via Leeds for a few minutes saving on the planned HS2 London services by changing at Leeds on to a proposed “new” high speed train. The convenience of a direct service is what we need.”

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While the news on HS2 will come as disappointment to some, the district is served by London trains. LNER announced earlier this year that it was planning significant changes to its Harrogate to London route.

The operator launched a consultation with a plan to change its timetable, which will see trains leave Harrogate earlier in the morning but also leave London earlier.

LNER said times between Harrogate and London would be about 10 minutes faster as part of the new timetable.

Harrogate MP on HS2

One of the strongest supporters of HS2 when it was announced was former Conservative rail minister and Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, Andrew Jones.

In February 2019, he told a Transport for the North conference that it would be a “betrayal of the north” if the Birmingham to Leeds line did not go ahead.

Mr Jones said in a statement on his Conservative-run site that he was “disappointed” at the decision, but added that the government’s plan was “complex”.

He said:

“My first impression is of the scale of the announcement. £96 billion in spending is a major investment. It is the largest rail investment ever made by any government. This is very positive.”

“The next thing to jump out at me is how many changes there are to previously published plans. I have long been a vocal supporter of HS2 and was disappointed when I read the media stories that HS2 Eastern leg had been cancelled, but it turns out that the picture is more complex.

“Complex because parts of the original plan will happen, for example between the east and west midlands – but then an enhanced midland mainline would bring HS2 services to Sheffield and Leeds rather than an eastern leg of the HS2 line.

“The plan is 160 pages and has only been published a couple of hours, so the opportunity for people to read it has been very limited. I will read it in detail over this weekend.”

“Woefully inadequate”

Mr Jones’ comments were at odds with other leaders in the north of England.

Cllr Louise Griffiths, interim-chair of Transport for the North, said the new scheme proposed by government was “woefully inadequate”.

She said:

“After decades of underfunding, the rail network in the north is not fit for purpose. It is largely twin-track Victorian infrastructure trying to cope with the demands of a 21st Century economy. 

“Leaders from across the north and from across the party political divide came together to ask for a network that would upgrade the North for this century and in line with the rest of the country.

“Our statutory advice asked for an over £40 billion network but the government has decided to provide even less than half of that.”

Government response

Ministers have said a “flexible approach” is needed and the the proposals for upgrades to the Manchester to Leeds line were “ambitious”.

The government has also denied that it has not fulfilled its promise on the eastern leg of HS2 and pointed to a proposal in its Integrated Rail Plan for a study to “look at the best way to take HS2 trains to Leeds”.

Mr Shapps said that the scheme outlined by government will also bring improvements to rail infrastructure in the north earlier than the HS2 project.

He said:

“Our plans go above and beyond the initial ambitions of HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail by delivering benefits for communities no matter their size, right across the North and Midlands, up to 10 to 15 years earlier.”

Knaresborough Christmas Market is making a comeback after last year’s cancellation with the organising committee promising a “Yorkshire experience to remember”.

The market will take place in the town’s Market Square on December 4 and 5.

There will be almost 50 stalls selling Christmas decorations, gifts and locally sourced produce.

While visitors sip on their mulled wine they can also enjoy live entertainment from local dancers, choirs and brass bands.

As in previous years, the market will culminate with a fireworks display over Knaresborough’s iconic viaduct at 4.30pm on Sunday, December 5.

Market chair, Hazel Haas, said:

“Sadly we had to cancel last year’s market, so there is a real buzz in the town about its return. It’s been a difficult 18 months for Knaresborough residents and businesses and we wanted to give everyone something to look forward to.”

The Christmas Market committee has been working with other local organisations to promote all festive events in the town in the hope of encouraging more people to visit.

The not-for-profit committee are also supporting Knaresborough RAF Cadets, Knaresborough Lions, Rotary Knaresborough, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and Knaresborough Cricket Club.

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A free park and ride will operate from the GSPK car park, postcode HG5 8LF, from Manse Lane to Chapel Street, near the Market Square.

The Knaresborough market will take place on the same weekend as a new Christmas market in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens.

Organised by Little Bird markets, it will be an artisan markets with 60 local and regional traders and producers selling festive arts and crafts, clothing, homeware and jewellery, as well as food and drink.

A Harrogate district rambler has urged walkers to follow safety advice amid ongoing problems with cows on public rights of way.

The district is popular with walkers and also has a lot of cattle. Many walkers are nervous about passing the animals, particularly if dogs and calves are also involved.

A blog called Killer Cows, which includes accounts of livestock attacks, recently featured a post from hikers in Little Ribston, between Knaresborough and Wetherby.

It describes how a man and a woman walking a dog were “surrounded” by 50 cows on a public footpath. It says the cows tried to trample the dog and head-butted the man in the shoulder. The post concludes:

“We were both terrified. We are lucky to still be alive.”

It is not an isolated incident and sometimes the issue has tragic consequences,

An inquest in Harrogate in July found that Dave Clark, a deputy headteacher at Richmond School, died after suffering a blow to the chest from a cow which ran at him on a public right of way in a field in Richmond last year.

‘It is a problem’

Andrew Willoughby, who is part of the Harrogate Group of the Ramblers, said clashes on public rights of way between hikers and cattle continued to be an issue.

Farmers are entitled to graze cattle on public rights of way.

However, the number of incidents has prompted both the National Farmers Union and the Ramblers Association to issue advice to walkers and farmers.

Mr Willoughby urged walkers to follow the guidance when cattle start grazing again after winter.

He said:

“Yes, it is a problem.

“The main thing is when you go into a field, you just do not know if there may be some aggressive cattle.”

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What walkers should do

The NFU and Ramblers Association both urge walkers to be “mindful” that the countryside is a “working environment” where cattle graze.

The NFU says walkers should be “vigilant” and “try to stay away from animals and to be aware of their movement”.

Dogs should be kept under close control, but owners are advised not to hang on to them if threatened by cattle. Instead, they should let go of the lead and let the dog run to safety.

The advice says:

“This offers the best chance of a safe outcome to both you and your dog. If you feel threatened by animals protecting their territory or young, do not run. Move to the edge of the field and, if possible, find another way round.”

Further guidance urges walkers not to get close to cattle. Walkers should also avoid getting between cows and their calves, the advice says.

It adds that, if cattle do begin to follow, then hikers should walk on quietly.

Mr Willoughby added that people should avoid bright coloured clothing when walking in fields with cattle in them.

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has so far remained silent on the expected scrapping of plans to extend the HS2 line from Birmingham to Leeds.

The former rail minister has been a vocal advocate of the project. In February 2019, he said that it would be a “betrayal of the north” if it did not go ahead.

However, government sources briefed national media outlets over the weekend about the decision ahead of an expected announcement on Thursday.

Just two months ago Mr Jones reiterated his support for HS2 at the annual Transport for the North conference in Leeds. He said:

“I hope that we do not see any compromise on our desire for big investment in our infrastructure. We have failed spectacularly to invest enough in our infrastructure.

“This has meant it is now too expensive and too difficult to move people and goods around the country. So I do not support the argument that we need to abandon longer term infrastructure investment.”

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At a previous Transport for the North conference in February 2019, Mr Jones went further and criticised media outlets for reporting speculation over the future of the HS2 Birmingham to Leeds line.

“We have all probably seen some media reports claiming that the northern stages of HS2 might not be built. They are nonsense.

“HS2 was conceived, developed and is now being delivered as a national railway. But in particular to improve links for our area.

“So our commitment to the full network of HS2 is undiminished. To cancel anything would be a betrayal of the north.”

The Stray Ferret asked Mr Jones for his thoughts this morning. However, he did not reply to our request for comment by the time of publication.

Knaresborough viaduct is one of the most photographed places in the Harrogate district.

The viaduct, which crosses the River Nidd, has stood for 170 years and is a magnet for photographers.

But it is less commonly captured from the sky, as Darren Leeming achieved with this photograph when he flew a drone over the site this week.

St John the Baptist church can also be seen.

Mr Leeming, from Starbeck, also took this drone photo of the Stray from Wetherby Road.

The Stray by Darren Leeming

You can see more of his drone photography on Facebook here or on YouTube here.

A total of 22 affordable homes have been proposed to be built in Staveley by developer Jack Lunn Properties.

The company hopes to build three one-bedroom, 13 two-bedroom and six three-bedroom homes in the village, which has a population of 430 and is between Boroughbridge and Knaresborough,

The rural site is not allocated for development in the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which outlines where planning will take place.

But the application has been brought forward through a rural exception scheme, which allows councils to grant planning permission for affordable housing in the open countryside if a developer can prove there is a need for it.

A planning document lodged with Harrogate Borough Council cites affordable housing figures that show a shortfall in the number of new affordable houses built over the last five years.

It says:

“The only sustainable way of making housing more affordable in the long term is to build more homes in the right places. High house prices can prevent people from living near the best job opportunities for them, limiting the productivity of companies that might have employed them.”

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Libraries will give away comic books on Friday as the Harrogate district gears up for the arrival of a comic art convention this weekend.

More than 400 artists and exhibitors are set to attend the Thought Bubble Comic Art Convention on Saturday and Sunday at Harrogate Convention Centre.

Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk and Batman and Sin City artist Frank Miller are among the guests.

Other artists include Joelle Jones (illustrator and writer for Batman and Catwoman) and Doug Braithwaite (artist for many Marvel and DC comics, including Wolverine, Thor and Batman).

Attendees are encouraged to come dressed as their favourite characters, and there will be a competition for the best homemade cosplay outfits.

North Yorkshire County Council, which runs libraries, has teamed up with Thought Bubble to offer free comics and graphic novels for people to take home or give to friends on Friday.

The comic books will be available on a first come, first served basis at libraries throughout North Yorkshire. The giveaway includes titles from Marvel and DC, including stories about the likes of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Avengers and more.

Harrogate’s library will also host an exhibition of artwork, fan-made zines and comics created by art and design students at Harrogate College.

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County Councillor Greg White, executive member for libraries, said:

“Comics are not only fun, but can be a great way for children to develop their love of reading, so this giveaway is not to be missed.

“The county’s libraries has an extensive range of comics and graphic novels for children and adults – both in branches and online – so anyone who enjoys comics or wants to rediscover them should visit their library or search our online catalogue to see what’s on offer.”

Comics will be available from the libraries in Harrogate, Ripon, Knaresborough, Skipton, Northallerton, Selby, Pickering, Malton, Whitby, Filey and Scarborough.

A new primary school catering for a rapid increase in housing in Knaresborough has been delayed, it was announced this morning.

North Yorkshire County Council is building the £5 million school to cater for families moving into the 600-home Manse Farm development on York Road and the 400-home development at nearby Highfield Farm.

It will provide 210 places for pupils, with the capacity to be expanded to 420.

The council said delays building the homes had impacted on the schedule for the school, which is now not due to open until September 2024.

It is the second time the opening has been delayed. It was initially planned for September 2022 but covid delayed it for 12 months.

The council said the housing-building delays meant pupil numbers were not rising as rapidly as expected .

Stuart Carlton, director for children and young people’s services at the council, said:

“While this is disappointing, it does not change our commitment to delivery of the school as soon as we are able. The current delay to housing delivery means that pupil numbers are not rising at the predicted rate.

“We will continue to monitor closely the availability of school places but our assessment of the current birth rate data is that a delay by one year will be manageable.”

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The Department for Education has appointed Elevate Multi Academy Trust to run the school.

Nigel Ashley, chief executive of the trust, said:

“We remain committed to the project and look forward to developing future educational excellence for new families who will be moving into the Manse Farm estate area.

“Our utmost priority is quality provision where we all can achieve together and we look forward to opening the doors to our new free school as soon as this is possible.”

The Thirsk-based trust, which was created in 2017, has 12 members schools in north and west Yorkshire, including three in Knaresborough.

They are Meadowside Academy, Aspin Park Academy and Knaresborough St John’s C of E Primary School.

North Yorkshire’s fire and rescue service faces a bleak outlook due to chronic underfunding, systemic on-call staffing shortages, crumbling buildings and out of date vehicles, a meeting has heard,

North Yorkshire’s police, fire and crime panel was told the Office of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and the fire service, which serves about 824,000 people across the county, was working “exceptionally hard” to break even this year.

Chief financial officer Michael Porter told the meeting the service would be drawing on £638,000 of reserves to balance the books until April, but “next year is looking like it is going to be really challenging”.

Mr Porter said a £390,000 deficit had initially been forecast for 2022/23 from reserves to balance the 2022/23 budget, but that was likely to deepen significantly due to pay awards, soaring utility bills and increases in national insurance contributions.

The meeting heard unless restrictions on fire services increasing their council tax demands were eased by the government, the service would need to make more savings. Mr Porter said:

“There’s an awful lot of additional pressures that are lining up for the fire service for next year. Initial views on the settlement for next year are that it is probably not as generous as it has been for the police and the police have more scope to increase precept.”

The meeting heard members question why some £365,000 had been spent on “minor works” to fire service buildings, before hearing they were built as medium-term premises up to 70 years ago and constructed with interiors designed for a different time, when there were few female firefighters.

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Mr Porter said the service’s 30 buildings across the county and its fleet of vehicles had been significantly under-invested in for some time.

“There are a significant number of properties within the estate that are in dire need of replacement, as opposed to maintenance. The longer that we leave it or are unable to replace the buildings, the more we will have to spend patching them up.

“We have got an aged estate that doesn’t meet modern requirements and standards it is an inhibitor of what the organisation wants to do as it moves forward. We almost have to borrow every single penny we have to invest in the capital programme as it is. It is not a rosy picture.”

Sharing buildings

The meeting was told the fire service was considering sharing more buildings with other emergency services to cut costs, but the fire service needed to have bases spread across the county to reach emergencies in good time.

City of York Council leader Councillor Keith Aspden told the meeting recruitment issues over on-call firefighters had persisted for a long time, but overall funding was the key issue.

“Every time I see the fire minister I ask about capital grants for fire services and precept flexibility.  Unless something happens nationally things are going to get very difficult, particularly for services like this with relatively small budgets and rural areas.”

Interim Chief Fire Officer Jon Foster told members on-call recruitment remained a challenge due to changes in people’s lifestyles and covid had further impacted on it.

He said the service was examining changing terms and conditions and flexibility of being an on-call firefighter as the system was very outdated, paying a small amount for being available and a larger amount to attend calls.

After the meeting, the panel’s chair, Councillor Carl Les said:

“I think the situation is bleak. The fundamental problem is the overall funding for the fire and rescue service.

“Arguments will be made that the government grant could and should be increased, but also the fact that the precept regime with the fire and rescue service is very limited.

“I think we need to lobby the government that for small rural forces like North Yorkshire it would be useful if there was flexibility to go above the two per cent increase cap and levy an extra £5 or £10.

“We know that delivering services in rural areas is more expensive than delivering services in cities.

“For a number of years resources have been difficult to find to allocate for things like buildings and machinery that are getting older.”

British Transport Police has put out an appeal to find a man in his 20’s following a report of a robbery at Knaresborough Train Station in September.

The man the police are looking for was described as 20 to 25 years old, of slim build and wearing a grey tracksuit top and bottoms. He was with a woman with blonde hair.

The robbery was reported between 6.25pm and 6.30pm on Saturday, September 25 on the Leeds bound platform.

A British Transport Police statement said:

“A man is reported to have been assaulted and had his bank card stolen. Officers are appealing for information from anyone who was in the area at the time.”

To report information contact the British Transport Police by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40. Use the reference number 529 of 25/09/21.

Or to remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers  on 0800 555 111.

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