A celebration tinged with sadness is to be held to mark the closure of a 200-year-old primary school near Masham this summer.

Kell Bank Church of England Primary School can accommodate up to 50 pupils but currently has just six.

Because of dwindling numbers, North Yorkshire County Council has issued a closure notice, which means the school will close permanently on August 31.

Staff want to celebrate the school’s history and, as part of this, are asking people to come forward with their memories and old photos for a commemorative newspaper.

The school has also put out a call to find the oldest former pupil. It is hoped whoever it is will join the youngest pupil at a ceremony in July.

All submissions for the celebration need to be in by June 11.

Laurie Hoyes, a school governor, said:

“Kell Bank School was founded in 1820 to provide an education for the local children of Fearby, Healey and the surrounding villages.

“This wonderful local school, ideally placed to learn from nature, has excelled and achieved so many accolades during its long, educational journey and has provided a safe environment and vast source of knowledge to generations of local people.

“The celebrations in July will be tinged with great sadness, as Kell Bank is to close at the end of the summer term.”

Ms Hoyes, alongside other members of the school community, hopes the exhibition will highlight the key role the school has played in local people’s lives.

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North Yorkshire Police is appealing for witnesses after two men died in a collision near Masham yesterday.

The two men, a 57-year-old and a 59-year-old, were travelling in opposite directions on the A6108 when their motorbikes collided.

Both men were certified dead at the scene.

Police were called to the incident at about 11.50am yesterday.

One of the men was driving a blue BMW R1200RT motorbike from the direction of Leyburn.

The other man was on a red Moto Guzzi motorbike travelling towards Leyburn when the two vehicles collided.

Police are appealing for any witnesses or drivers with dashcam footage of the collision of either of the bikes on the A6108 prior to the accident.

If you have information that could help with the police’s investigation, call 101 or email Matthew Tanfield on Matthew.Tanfield@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk with reference number 12210105606.

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Masham residents have expressed frustration that one of the town’s play areas has remained closed for five months.

Tittlibottle Park, near the cricket ground, initially closed in November 2019 due to drainage issues.

By the time it had dried out, all playgrounds had closed due to covid.

It reopened in July last year, with a small section fenced off, but closed again in November and has stayed shut since due to the condition of the ground.

Flooding has caused the park to close intermittently a number of times in few years.

Local parents have accused Harrogate Borough Council of not doing enough to make it usable once again.

The play area sits on a flood plain for the River Ure and often collects water flowing from higher ground. It is also close to a handful of other drainage issues all of these are factors in the flooding.

This is not the first time the park has been unusable to locals.

The loss of this play area has been particularly keenly felt by the local community during lockdown.

Bronwen Thomas, a local parent, visited the park at least once a week with her three boys before it closed. She said they had played at the playground near The Oaks instead but added:.

“There are fewer facilities there though, and it is smaller and more exposed to the elements. More recently there has also been the issue of social distancing, which is much harder in the smaller space.

“I’d like to see the council engage more with the community to come up with a joint solution. Local people have invaluable knowledge of the site and its issues and may be able to provide insight that the council currently lacks.”

Another parent, Iain Burgess, has contacted Richard Cooper, the leader of Harrogate Borough Council, in the hope of finding a solution. He said:

“I have emailed Mr Cooper but his response didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. Unless something is done it will only keep happening. There needs to be action to keep it open.

“It’s such a shame, my son used to meet his friends there after school and now they have to go elsewhere. It’s incredibly frustrating that nothing is being done.”

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Masham Parish Council said it is in talks with Harrogate Borough Council to find a solution. But no confirmed reopening date has been given.

A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council, said:

“We are working with the land owner (Swinton Estate) and the leaseholder (Masham Town Council) to find a more permanent solution.

“The park is monitored regularly and will either open partially or fully depending on the current level of flooding, subject to any covid restrictions.”

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.”

With its Georgian market place, two breweries and idyllic setting beside the River Ure, locals have known for years that Masham is a wonderful place to live.

But now the secret is out. The Sunday Times has included the market town in its annual Best Places to Live guide.

Masham is one of nine runners-up behind Ilkley in the north-east of England category. No other town or city in the Harrogate district was selected.

The Sunday Times judges based their decision on factors such as schools, air quality, transport and health of the high street.

They described Masham as:

“A picturesque market town in its own right that offers the best of both worlds.

“The extraordinary landscape of the Yorkshire Dales is on the doorstep and Ripon, with its top selective school and Curzon cinema, is just a short drive away.”

The judges listed their favourite things as the market, the Black Sheep Brewery and Johnny Baghdad’s ‘funky bright-yellow café on the square’.  

Colin Blair, aka Johnny Baghdad

Independent businesses

Colin Blair, who owns Johnny Baghdad’s, said Masham had got busier in the 20 years since he arrived and now had a good blend of independent businesses. He said:

“It’s a great place and a great place to run a business from.”

Mr Blair, who runs Johnny Baghdad’s with his partner Saeeda Zaman, was delighted to be recognised.

He said the cafe’s eclectic food, which includes everything from falafel and chicken shawarma to bacon rolls, went down well with locals, as well as the numerous cyclists and day trippers that flock to the town at weekends. He added:

“It’s the kind of thing you don’t see often when travelling around the Yorkshire Dales.”

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The cafe is currently open only for takeaways but is due to open with tables and seating on April 12.

The other regional runners up are:

·       Alnmouth, Northumberland 

·       Barnard Castle, Co Durham 

·       Easingwold, North Yorkshire 

·       Leeds 

·       Masham, North Yorkshire 

·       Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire 

·       Todmorden, West Yorkshire 

·       Tynemouth, Tyne & Wear 

·       York 

Masham Steam Rally postponed due to covid

This year’s Masham Steam Engine and Fair Organ Rally has been postponed due to covid.

The event was not due to take place until July 17 and 18, after lockdown restrictions were lifted.

But the organisers said there were “still too many uncertainties to proceed”.

The two-day event, which raises money for Masham Town Hall, is one of the highlights of the summer not only in Masham but the wider Harrogate district. It attracts 4,000 to 6,000 visitors.

This will be the second year running that covid has forced its cancellation.

A statement by the rally committee and trustees of Masham Town Hall said:

“This has been a very difficult decision to make, especially as the next rally to take place will be the 55th anniversary event.

“However, as our planning for the 2021 event has now reached a critical stage and notwithstanding that the dates announced by the government are not set in stone, there is still a lack of detailed health and safety guidance and information on what restrictions will be in place for public outdoor events of the scale of the rally.”

The statement adds rally finances are in “a very strong position” and to commit to spending on an event that might not take place would be “foolhardy and not within keeping with charitable financial governance”.

https://twitter.com/VisitMasham/status/1367486013581516818

The next rally is now due to be staged on August 16 and 17 2022.

The rally committee is looking for “innovative ways to celebrate and focus on out fabulous industrial, agricultural and food heritage” on the weekend when this year’s event was due to take place, and has appealed for suggestions.

Masham Sheep Fair is still due to go ahead on September 25 and 26.

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St Mary’s Church in Masham has begun the process of extending its graveyard to ensure it has the capacity to cope with burials for another 50 years.

The church is negotiating with the Swinton estate to buy 0.7 acres of land next to the current graveyard.

It is also seeking permission to proceed from the Church of England and Harrogate Borough Council.

The extra land, if bought, would accommodate another 813 graves.

Jim Hunter, church warden at St Mary’s, told the Stray Ferret the current graveyard was not expected to be full for another two or three years but the process of buying the land and seeking the relevant permissions was lengthy, which was why the matter was being dealt with now.

Anybody who lives in Masham can be buried in the graveyard when they die. The painter Julius Ibbotson is amongst those buried on the site.

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Formal moves have begun to close a primary school in the Harrogate district that has just six pupils.

Kell Bank Church of England Primary School, Healey, near Masham, can accommodate up to 50 pupils aged four to 11.

The number of pupils fell to 15 in September 2019 and is now six, five of whom are girls.

North Yorkshire County Council has now given the go-ahead for publication of a closure notice with a view to the school closing on August 31.

Stuart Carlton, director of children’s services at the council, said the proposal was being done with a “heavy heart”. He added:

“We know the value of village schools but such low numbers cannot financially sustain a school and can have a negative impact on the social and educational interests of children remaining.”

A council consultation on the closure proposal runs until March 5.

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Mr Carlton said responses so far “appear to indicate an acceptance of the situation here given only six pupils remain on roll”.

He added the council welcomed any further views before a final decision is made.

The remaining six pupils will have to transfer to other schools.

According to the council, seven other primary schools within reasonable travelling distance have places available.

Anyone who wishes to view the closure proposals or make a representation can visit the council’s consultations page here.

A Masham town councillor has been given an award for his efforts to keep the town’s market going during the pandemic.

Cllr Ian Johnson is a well-known resident of Masham and has been volunteering at the town’s two weekly markets to make sure they run smoothly during lockdown.

Most locals will also recognise Cllr Johnson’s alter ego Miss Yvette Nightingale who often attends the Saturday market to “raise a smile”.

Cllr Johnson said he was happy to step in after Masham’s long-running market superintendent, Mr John Todd, 87, was forced to self-isolate.

He has been in charge of arranging the layout of the market, providing PPE and dealing with all the stall holders and collecting rents during the three lockdowns.

Read more:

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His hard work has been commended by the National Association of British Market Authorities (NABMA) with a Friends of the Market award.

Cllr Johnson said:

“It was all a bit of surprise, it was the council clerk that put my name forward. It was very nice but it’s more of an achievement of the town, our stallholders kept going and our residents supported them.”

The award was given to Cllr Johnson during a virtual ceremony alongside a dozen other winners.

The NABMA market heroes awards were to recognise the service that markets and their workers have offered despite the challenges of the pandemic.

The Great British Dig, Channel 4’s new archeology documentary, has unearthed Masham’s hidden past.

The show includes four episodes running through February and March and Masham is the focus of episode two. The show works with local people to dig up their back gardens in search of hidden parts of history.

The show is hosted by actor and comedian Hugh Dennis who is working with a team of archeologists.

The production company behind the show, Strawberry Blond, had to work around lockdowns to film. Executive Producer, Steve Wynne, said the people of Masham were eager to get involved.

The researchers knocked on numerous doors in Masham in hope everyone would say yes to archaeologists digging up their gardens.

The production team knew of a lost cemetery in Masham and wanted to see what could be unearthed around the rest of the town. They used the Town Hall and the square as their base and began their dig.

Hugh Dennis stood in front of Masham’s blue plaque for the lost cemetery. Photograph: Strawberry Blond TV

The show promises to reveal “incredible discoveries” including a number of skeletons. Some were used to show how people lived 1000 years ago.

Steve Wynne said:

“I cannot tell you how incredibly warm and welcoming the people of Masham were.  From the amazing bacon sandwiches from Lucy at Bordar House Teas, to Colin at Johnny Baghdad’s on the Square.

“The residents were only too happy for us to turf up their gardens (and beer garden at The Bruce Arms).  The team at the Town Hall gave us the run of the place for our unit base, and the local vicar was a fountain of knowledge about the history of the town.”

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The episode featuring Masham will air on More 4 on February 24.

The series also features digs in South Shields, Nottingham and Newcastle.