The A1 southbound near Knaresborough was closed due to a police incident this morning.

North Yorkshire Police said the road was closed between junctions 47 and 48.

Officers urged drivers to avoid the area and seek an alternative route this morning.

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The route remained closed while emergency services deal with the incident.

A post on the Highways England website said:

“Delays are likely on the approach to the closure, with additional journey times also expected on diversion routes. Please allow extra time for your journey if travelling in the area or consider alternative routes.”

Update 10.10am – Highways England have confirmed the road is now open.

The locations of up to 34 new electric vehicle charge points in the Harrogate district have been revealed.

The district has seen the largest increase in North Yorkshire of motorists switching to electric vehicles and Harrogate Borough Council aims to get 10,000 on the roads by 2023.

To help hit this target, the authority plans to install charge points at several council-owned locations to encourage motorists to make the switch ahead of the government’s ban on the sale of petrol, diesel and hybrid cars in 2030.

Tom O’Donovan, economy and transport officer at the council, told a meeting on Wednesday the 34 charge points were being rolled out as part of a phased scheme, with more to come later.

The locations include up to four charge points at the council’s Claro Road office, as well as up to five at its civic centre headquarters at Knapping Mount.

There will also be up to four at Harrogate’s multi-storey Victoria Shopping Centre car park and the same amount at Ripon Cathedral car park, plus a hub of charge points at Knaresborough Chapel Street car park.

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There are three options for Pateley Bridge, including the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty office, Nidderdale Leisure Centre and south car park.

The car park at Hornbeam Park railway station could also get up to 10 charge points, while no proposals have yet been put forward for Boroughbridge because infrastructure works would be “too costly”.

Up to 160 charge sites planned

Harrogate Borough Council approved its Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle Strategy two years ago with an aim to provide 61 public charge points by 2024, although this could be increased up to 160 if required.

North Yorkshire County Council is also developing a county-wide strategy but has said it currently has no plans to roll out on-street charging infrastructure on a large scale or in response to individual requests for charge points.

It said this is because of “difficulties” with electricity tariffs and setting out the terms on the maximum time a vehicle can charge in shared on-street spaces.

The council said:

“We will continue to review the overall situation, taking into account demand from residents and funding availability, including external grant funding.”

A one-hour free parking policy in Knaresborough town centre is to end in the week non-essential shops reopen.

North Yorkshire County Council doubled the length of time cars can park for free on Market Place from 30 minutes to an hour last summer.

The temporary move aimed to help businesses while social distancing measures were in place.

But the move will end on April 18 – six days after shops.

Council officials said parking data showed the majority of motorists left within the hour and that reverting back to 30 minutes would encourage a greater turnover of shoppers.

Karl Battersby, the county council’s corporate director of business and environmental services, said:

“While we accept that the current circumstances are not reflective of typical conditions, analysis of the performance of the one-hour free parking offers no basis for it to be introduced permanently.

“The anticipated easing of lockdown restrictions in the coming months supports a return to the normal operation to aid traffic management and to provide better turnover of spaces.”

The one-hour extension was agreed in July and then became operational in September.

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Councillor Ed Darling, who sits on both Knaresborough Town Council and Harrogate Borough Council, said while the return to 30 minutes may be “disappointing” for some, it was backed by data.

He urged shoppers to get behind the town by supporting local businesses when they reopen on April 12.

He said:

“The past year has been exceptionally difficult for town centre retailers who have been forced to close for the majority of the year.

“I do hope that our local community gets behind our town centre, supporting our local businesses and shops to kickstart our local economy once again.”

Bill Taylor, secretary of Knaresborough Chamber of Trade and Commerce, added:

“All town centres struggle with parking generally, and how to charge is a part of that.

“As shops reopen in April then moving back to the original charging system seems reasonable and allows for a higher turnover of shoppers for the greater variety of shops that are open.

“In addition, Knaresborough has a large, good value but under-utilised car park on York Place and Knaresborough Town Council has worked with the county council to install new signs around town for that car park.”

Coronavirus has forced a Knaresborough manufacturer to adapt its trolleys and racks for use in morgues, rather than catering venues.

Craven & Co has been in operation for more than 60 years, with 80% of its products used in the catering and hospitality industries.

During lockdown many of these orders dropped off, but the company’s previous work making medical supplies meant that it won a vital NHS contract.

It was tasked with making frontline medical equipment for the Nightingale hospitals, including 12,500 IV stands, which were transported across the country.

Wez Dance, its director, said this came as a “godsend” that led to further NHS work. The new contract also encouraged Craven & Co to move into the mortuary industry as it had previously planned.

Its existing products such as racks and trolleys can be easily adapted for mortuaries.

Mr Dance suspected the high numbers of catering and hospitality orders they received pre-lockdown would never return and that diversifying was necessary.

He said:

“The world changed last March and the impact on the hospitality industry was a massive, massive hit for us. We knew we had to diversify and go into new markets to survive.”

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The company appointed a new sales manager, Trevor Russ, with previous experience in the mortuary industry to help with the expansion.

Mr Dance added:

“We are delighted to welcome Trevor at such an exciting time in Craven & Co’s story. Over 60 years, we’ve become known for our high-quality British-made products, quick turnaround, competitive pricing and great customer service, not to mention our bespoke solutions. We’re hoping these elements, combined with Trevor’s knowledge and expertise, will help us break into a niche market.”

Banks are being urged to consider collaborating in North Yorkshire to create one-stop shops for their services on high streets.

The closure of banks has been keenly felt in the Harrogate district recently.

The Halifax closed in Knaresborough this month, leaving a town with a population of 15,000 without a bank.

This prompted Harrogate Borough Council to conduct a survey on what facilities Knaresborough people would like to see in the town.

Between 2015 and the end of this year a projected 340 bank and building society branches will have closed across Yorkshire, leaving 386 branches.

HSBC recently announced it would shut its branches in Northallerton and Richmond.

A meeting of North Yorkshire County Council’s Richmondshire constituency committee heard a scarcity of banks was proving particularly challenging in rural areas, where people suffer with poor broadband and mobile coverage, and there are higher populations of older customers.

One resident, Georgie Sale, told the meeting the branch closures displayed “a lack of understanding in how rural communities work”.

She said as a result of the closures she had been left feeling “terribly vulnerable” while queuing for 30 minutes to pay in the proceeds from a village hall fundraiser at her local post office, which is now located at the back of WH Smiths.

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• Knaresborough’s last bank to close on Monday
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Councillors said customers wanting to use banking services faced horrendous queues in post offices as their staff had been overwhelmed since the banks closed.

The meeting heard how access to bank services for numerous communities was reliant on just one firm continuing to operate.

A council spokesman told the meeting although the council recognised the issues being highlighted and would continue to raise concerns, neither the authority nor the government had any power to stop bank closures.

Rural areas losing out

Following an inquiry into the issue by the authority’s corporate and partnerships scrutiny committee inquiry in 2019, the council carried out a review of sites where cash machines could be located.

However, Liberal Democrat councillor Bryn Griffiths said the issue was far wider than just cash machines and said places where people could deal with someone person to person, particularly for complex transactions, were needed.

He said:

“Not everybody wants to use or trusts IT. I think we should be encouraging banks to get together and knock their heads together and perhaps join up and provide some sort of banking services facility. I do feel we are losing out in the rural areas significantly.

“What we should be doing is encouraging banks to talk and work together to provide services to rural communities. It is clear they are just upping shop and walking away. It is not good enough.”

The meeting was told one-stop shop banks, offering not only personal banking services and loans, but also investment advice, investment vehicles and insurance policies, were common in other countries, such as Sweden, and the meeting heard calls for the county’s MPs to promote the concept to banks.

Conservative Upper Dales councillor Yvonne Peacock said local solutions were needed as every community was different. She added: “That is probably the only way forward. We can’t tell these big banks what to do unfortunately, that is their businesses.”

Fire crews were summoned twice in half an hour last night to two deliberate fires in the woods in Knaresborough.

The callouts were part of a busy night in the Harrogate district for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, which also attended two incidents in Harrogate.

The first woodland fire occurred at 6.55pm when bracken and tree branches were set alight at the bottom of Nidd Bank cul-de-sac, close to the River Nidd.

Less than half an hour later more branches were set ablaze on the other side of the river, opposite Conyngham Hall.

A crew from Knaresborough extinguished both fires using water backpacks.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said:

“We can’t say for certain but it looks like the two fires were caused deliberately.”

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Crews from Harrogate and Knaresborough were then called to reports of a dishwasher emitting sparks in Rutland Road, Harrogate shortly after 11pm.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue’s incident summary says:

“The occupier of the property used a dry powder extinguisher before fire crews arrived.

“Crews disconnected the appliance from the mains and checked it over as well as giving advice. They used a thermal imaging camera only.

“The cause is believed to be an electrical fault.”

At 2.39am this morning, two crews from Harrogate and Knaresborough attended a small bag of rubbish set on fire in flats on Robert Street. A security guard had put out the flames by the time they arrived.

Police were also called to the scene.

People in Knaresborough are being asked to comment on a proposed 78-home housing development on the site of the now demolished Trelleborg factory on Halfpenny Lane.

Countryside Properties, which is part of the Pegasus Group, is behind the scheme. They are yet to submit a formal planning application but say comments will help inform the types of homes it will include.

The site is not allocated for housing in Harrogate Borough Council’s Local Plan, but it is included on the council’s Brownfield Land Register which identifies sites that are considered to be appropriate for redevelopment for residential use.

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A website for the development claims the company specialises in homes that focus on “energy efficiency and green living, making people’s lives and the environment a better place to be.”

The consultation ends on April 7 and people can submit their comments here.

Meanwhile, work recently begun on a separate development on Halfpenny Lane where Persimmon Homes is building 74 homes. The first homes are expected to be completed this Autumn.

“Please be considerate of others who are desperately trying to get appointments in the area.”

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Double, double toil and trouble. Fire burn and cauldron bubble. This hidden gem of a lockdown business inspired by witches has been brewing up a different kind of magic.

Coven Bakehouse, set up by friends Mark Gibson and James Paylor, started out of a small home kitchen in Harrogate earlier this year.

While a conventional oven is working for now they are keen to upgrade to a professional kitchen as soon as possible.

Orders are already picking up for their brownies and cookies – with more treats are on the way – so they now have an eye on a shop unit on Knaresborough’s High Street.

Both Mark and James, who are both 27 and met when they were 16, work in industries that have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

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However, the pair hope to have the doors open to customers in Knaresborough by the end of summer.

Indulgence is the name of the game here. Coven has a limited collection of caramel egg brownies, chocolate orange brownies and various gooey cookies.

James Paylor, a graphic designer and co owner of Coven Bakehouse, told the Stray Ferret what inspired the branding:

“That came from my partner, she works at Mother Shipton’s Cave and she is obsessed with witches. You have to be to work there.

“We were throwing around lots of names and as soon as she said it we knew it was the right thing. From then things started to fit into place.

“So it would perfect to start out our first shop in Knaresborough.”

Mark Gibson, who is a chef by trade, also told the Stray Ferret:

“It was halfway through the first lockdown when we saw lots of businesses selling cakes and stuff.

“We were looking at what they were doing and knew we could do it a hell of a lot better.

“So we knew if we were going to ever start a business, which is what we have always wanted to do, then now was the perfect time.”

This is part of the Stray Ferret’s ‘hidden gem’ series. We are trying to highlight small independent businesses. They need to be tucked away but growing in popularity with an eye-catching and unique product or approach. Send us an email with your nominations.