About 850 scooter riders made the most of yesterday’s sunshine by taking part in the annual Knaresborough to York rally.

The event is one of many ride-outs organised each year by Yorkshire Scooter Alliance.

It was the first gathering of 2023 and gave participants the opportunity to meet up for the first time since winter.

The scooters converged at Conyngham Hall in Knaresborough before setting off through the town and on to York.

Here are some photos from the day.

Pic credit: Mervin Straughan

Pic credit: Mervin Straughan

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• 700 scooters converge on Knaresborough
• Firefighters called to Knaresborough pub

Almost half of the land allocated for the 4,000-home Matkiln scheme has been removed after a landowner pulled out, the Local Democracy Reporting Service can reveal.

Two sources familiar with the matter told the LDRS that fields that would have formed the development’s ‘village centre’ around Cattal train station have been removed.

They also estimate that up to 2,000 homes would have been built on the removed land.

Harrogate Borough Council said in January that one of the landowners had pulled out, without saying which parcels of land were affected. Wetherby-based developer Caddick Group called the decision by the landowner “regrettable” but said it was confident the scheme would continue.

Plans for Maltkiln have been in the works for several years and also include two primary schools. The homes would be built off the A59 towards York near the villages of Cattal, Green Hammerton, Kirk Hammerton and Whixley.

Cattal station is on the York to Harrogate railway line.

Map of Maltkiln, including the removed land.

Last month a meeting was held involving all of the affected parish councils to discuss the proposals. It was also attended by a representative of Caddick Group plus officers from Harrogate Borough Council.

At the meeting, officers confirmed the location of the large section of land that has now been removed from the scheme.

This means the developer will likely have to rethink its village centre because it was due to be located on the land. The Maltkiln website states:

“A new village centre is proposed for Maltkiln, located next to Cattal station with a range of spaces suitable for retail, leisure, health and hospitality uses.

“These will evolve as the community grows and we will encourage local businesses to take up space in the village centre, as well as participating in farmers’ and seasonal markets held in the central village square.”

Read more:

• New settlement plans ‘paused’ after land withdrawn near Cattal
• Concern over lack of secondary school at new Harrogate district town
• Councillor ‘absolutely amazed’ Maltkiln landowner able to pull out

Since the landowner pulled out, Harrogate Borough Council paused work on a development document that was due to be submitted to the government for approval.

The LDRS understands council officers are now looking at whether a scheme can be delivered in the same broad location while still meeting the aims and objectives of the new settlement, which forms part of the council’s Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which outlines where development can take place.

Kirk Hammerton parish councillor Alex Smith said the situation at Maltkiln was a “consequence of choosing the wrong location for a new town.”

Cllr Smith said:

“They’ve had to spend a long time chopping and changing preferred options, trying to fit a distinct new settlement into a very constrained area. It was time they didn’t have, given that a key land agreement – almost half the proposed area has expired.

“Local residents have endured years of uncertainty over this project even when Harrogate Borough Council claimed to be following due process. The last thing we need now is for them to start improvising at the eleventh hour.”

A Caddick Group spokesperson said:

“As promoters of the Maltkiln settlement, Caddick Group continues to have positive and constructive discussions with all parties. We are confident that we can deliver proposals, which not only meet the housing needs of the area, but also deliver the requirements set out in the adopted local plan and meet the policy objectives of the draft Development Plan Document.

“We are currently working closely with our consultant team to update our proposals, taking into account the revised boundaries. We remain committed to developing Maltkiln and look forward to being able to share our revised proposals in more detail.

“We continue to talk constructively with the current and successor local authority planning teams regarding how best to progress and deliver Maltkiln. Throughout this process, we have engaged with stakeholders and local communities, and as soon as we are in a position to publicise revised proposals, we will do so.”

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Following the furore concerning the installation of 10 electric vehicle charging bays alongside the Chapel Street car park, on turning in to the street yesterday, I was astounded to see a large tour bus parked across eight out the ten bays. 

Later, a different tour bus was parked there also. This appears to be yet another own goal by the council, not only do these bays not conform to short stay provision, it appears that tour buses continue to use the site for disgorging their punters into the town.

Nick Bentley, Staveley

Station Gateway proposals ‘highly questionable’

North Yorkshire Councillor Keane Duncan is a welcome breath of fresh air in challenging the supine response of Harrogate Borough Council to the evangelical cycle-lobby which has resulted in many hundreds of thousands pounds being spent on whimsical cycle lanes which the vast majority of Harrogate residents, if properly consulted, would have preferred to be spent on eliminating the pot holes which plague our streets.

There is absolutely no doubt that the public piazza outside the Victoria Centre is tired and needs updating. But the rest of the £11 million plans are highly questionable.

Bus and train visitors would in future have to navigate a two-way cycle lane on what is currently a one direction traffic flow.

The latest London experience statistics show that far less than 50% of cyclists stop at pedestrian lights. At present there are four sets of traffic lights in a 300 metre stretch on Station Parade to help pedestrian visitors to cross the road. It works extremely well. When was the last injury recorded?

Will the plans improve life for cyclists wanting to go to the train station? Not really. They can do that already via the dedicated cycle lanes on East Parade.

Councillor Duncan has promised that “ traffic flows will be revisited and re- assessed”.It is wonderful to me to hear that ,at last, someone on the new NY council seems to be giving balanced consideration to the welfare of residents of Harrogate.

But will the NY council have the guts to turn down the free £ 11m government grant or the wit to redefine the plans to recognise that the interests of many potentially adversely affected residential council tax-payers should also be given due consideration? I have my fingers – crossed.

Tim Emmott, Harrogate

Read more:

• Stray Views: Rossett Nature Reserve ‘has been slashed back’
• Stray Views: Otley Road cycleway a “scandalous waste of public money”
• Stray Views: North Yorkshire rural transport ‘desperately inefficient’

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

Firefighters are dealing with an incident at the Castle Inn pub in Knaresborough.

The aerial ladder platform was called to the pub, where smoke was seen coming from the roof.

Early indications suggest it may be a chimney fire. Eye-witness accounts so far do not report seeing any flames.

The pub, on Castlegate, is widely known as The Vaults.

North Yorkshire Police has reported road closures are in place.

We will update this article when further details are available.

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• Commissioner rules out Harrogate fire engine rethink despite faulty data
• Police and fire crews rescue homeless man from Starbeck bin

Cycle schemes in Harrogate and Knaresborough will not go ahead after the government rejected the bids for funding.

North Yorkshire County Council applied for £3.19 million from the fourth round of the Department for Transport’s active travel fund.

It would have paid for segregated cycle routes on Victoria Avenue in Harrogate, a section of the A59 between Mother Shipton’s Cave and Harrogate Golf Club and a project in Richmond.

But the DfT allocated the £200 million to bids from other local authorities instead.

The council indicated in a news release last month it had been allocated £1.08m from the fourth funding round and been invited to bid for an additional £2.16m. But it said today it had actually not been awarded a penny.

The news is another blow for attempts to encourage cycling in the Harrogate district after phase two of the Otley Road cycle route was abandoned and traffic calming measures on nearby Beech Grove were reversed.

There is still no final decision on the £11.2 million Station Gateway, which would improve cycling around the train station.

It also appears to leave wider plans to create a connected, segregated cycle route from Cardale Park to Harrogate town centre in tatters.

Read more:

• Council bids for £3m for cycling projects in Harrogate and Knaresborough
• Andrew Jones to stand for election again in Harrogate and Knaresborough

North Yorkshire County Council’s Conservative executive member for highways and transportation, Cllr Keane Duncan, said:

“We are inevitably disappointed that our ambitious £3.19 million bid to enhance facilities for cyclists and pedestrians through the fourth round of the government’s active travel fund has not been successful.

“We believe we put forward strong proposals for the three schemes.

“We are seeking detailed feedback from Active Travel England so we can understand the reasons behind their decision. We hope to work with them to progress schemes in these areas and elsewhere in the county successfully in future.”

An air ambulance has landed in Knaresborough after a man was injured in a serious collision this morning.

Police cordoned off part of the market place at about 11.30am this morning. The road has now reopened.

Shortly afterwards an air ambulance landed in the castle yard. It has now left the scene.

The man was injured near Appleton’s butchers and the library.

North Yorkshire Police issued a statement at 12.40pm today, which said:

“We’re with ambulance colleagues attending a serious collision in Knaresborough’s Market Place.

“It happened at about 11am and involved two cars and a pedestrian. A man has been taken to hospital.

“Please avoid the area while the emergency services work at the scene.”

Read more:

• Greggs opens new shop in Knaresborough
• Knaresborough to get new fish and chip shop

The government has no current plans to house migrants at a former RAF base on the edge of the Harrogate district, Immigration minister Robert Jenrick has said.

The government scrapped plans last year to house 1,500 asylum seekers at Linton-on-Ouse after a fierce backlash from local people and politicians.

The former airfield is nine miles from Boroughbridge, 13 miles from Knaresborough, and even closer to Harrogate district villages such as Great Ouseburn, Little Ouseburn and Nun Monkton.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick told the Commons yesterday the government was now considering housing migrants at at Catterick Garrison in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s constituency.

Ex-military bases in Essex, Lincolnshire and East Sussex are also being assessed for suitability as part of plans to cut down on hotel use.

Former Home Secretary Priti Patel, who was behind the Linton proposal, said the proposed Essex site “is no different in rurality and village size from a former site, Linton-on-Ouse”, adding:

“Why is it deemed appropriate for asylum seeker accommodation for single men to be placed in a rural village in Essex, where there is no infrastructure and no amenities, when it was not appropriate for somewhere like Linton-on-Ouse?”

Read more:

• Ouseburn councillor welcomes decision to scrap Linton asylum centre
• Greggs opens new shop in Knaresborough

In response, Mr Jenrick said:

“We do not have a current plan to proceed with the Linton-on-Ouse proposition, but the sites I have announced today are just the first set that we would like to take forward, because we want to remove people from hotels as quickly as possible and move to this more rudimentary form of accommodation, which will reduce pull factors to the UK and defend the interests of the taxpayer.

Labour shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper described the announcement as “an admission of failure” on asylum policy.

Greggs has opened a new shop in Knaresborough.

The shop, in the former Fultons Foods unit on on High Street, has created 10 jobs.

The bakery will stock the usual range of sausage rolls, steak bakes and treats, as well as vegan alternatives.

It will be open from 7am until 6pm Monday to Saturday and from 9am until 4.30pm on Sundays.

The location also includes a heat-holding Nuttall Unit so customers can also purchase hot items such as southern fried chicken goujons and potato wedges.

People will also be able to collect from the store using the click and collect option on the Greggs app.

Shop manager Ash Ishfaq said: 

“We can’t wait to welcome both Greggs fans and new customers to our brand-new shop.”

Gillian Long, retail operations director for Greggs, said: 

“Our new shop in Knaresborough has brought 10 new jobs to the local area, as well as providing customers with a modern, convenient new place to experience their favourite Greggs food.”

Read more:

• New restaurant adds to Ripon’s hospitality offer
• Harrogate fast food restaurant Leon to close

A new fish and chip shop is set to open in Knaresborough.

Fish-a-rama is expected to begin serving customers at around Easter on the site of a former Chinese takeaway on York Place.

Owner Aytach Sadik ran a fish and chip shop in London before moving to Harrogate 22 years ago.

Since then he was been involved with Chico’s and Bambino’s takeaways in Harrogate.

Mr Sadik said he had spent about £200,000 on the new family-run business, which he said will be a family business selling the best fish and chips around:

“We will only use fresh fish. The quality isn’t there with frozen fish. We will also serve grilled sea bass and bream on a barbecue.”

“Everything is brand new – from the electricity and gas to the fittings. We knocked it back to the bare walls.”

The family-run business is preparing to open.

Mr Sadik said the business intended to apply for planning permission to open an outdoor seating area with a retractable roof on the large forecourt outside.

In the meantime, customers will be able to take their orders and eat them at tables on the patio at the front.

Mr Sadik, who is 67, is coming out of retirement for the venture. He said:

“I did retire two years ago but it’s just not for me. How many days can you play golf?”

Read more:

• New restaurant adds to Ripon’s hospitality offer
• Harrogate fast food restaurant Leon to close

A Knaresborough institution closed its doors for the last time this afternoon, after its owners were surprised by an impromptu party to mark their retirement. 

Andy and Elaine Grinter opened Art in the Mill, in Green Dragon Yard, in 2007 as a commercial art gallery with a picture-framing business, Green Dragon Framing, running alongside.

But over the years it has become something of a community hub, hosting weaving workshops, life drawing sessions, children’s art classes, poetry evenings, book signings for local authors, and even a wedding. 

In a Facebook post, Elaine said: 

“We’ve given it our all, as if we were raising a child – well twins, actually, if you count two separate businesses – and the rewards have been beyond measure. 

“It’s always been about ‘the people’ for us – the artists and the customers – and we want to thank you for the trust you placed in us to occupy the space in the middle.” 

Since the couple took over the premises 16 years ago, they have held more than 60 exhibitions by 250 artists, as well as hosting primary school visits and working with young artists. 

They have also worked extensively to further the interests of the local business and cultural communities, being heavily involved with Knaresborough’s Festival of Visual Arts (feva), Knaresborough Civic Society and Knaresborough & District Chamber, and starting the Visit Castlegate traders’ association.

Pimms was served in Green Dragon Yard during a Castlegate family fun day.

They have organised Castlegate family fun days, eve of feva parties, and Knaresborough’s celebrations when the Tour de France came to Yorkshire in 2014, as well as raising money for various charities, including funds for the town’s defibrillator. 

Their daughter Holly said:  

“Mum and dad have just worked so hard to push Knaresborough and benefit the whole community – they’ve never really taken holidays or switched off. They’ve done so much for the town over the years – I’m sure they’ll be really missed.” 

Andy and Elaine, who have been married for 36 years, plan to use their retirement to travel and see friends and family. It is understood that their premises, in a converted flax mill built in 1808, have been sold and will be converted for residential use.

Art in the Mill occupied a converted Georgian flax mill in Green Dragon Yard, off Castlegate.

In her Facebook post, Elaine wrote: 

“The mill is an amazing space and has served us all so well that on the eve of our departure we’re predictably sad to be leaving it, and our beloved Green Dragon Yard community, but we have many happy memories to be thankful for.” 

Read more:

• Knaresborough unveils blue plaque to celebrate its ancient market
• ‘Time to come together’ for Knaresborough businesses after BID row
• Art exhibition raises money for Harrogate cancer centre