Pateley Bridge Town Council is considering the installation of a pump track.

A pump track is a hard-surfaced circuit that uses the natural bumps and bends in the land to help cyclists and scooter riders generate momentum, would replace the existing BMX track on Millennium Green.

Local resident Will Askew put the idea to the council during September’s meeting – adding he would be “happy to project lead” if it came to fruition.

Suzanne Smith, clerk to the council, said:

“Councillors feel the best first step is the feasibility study to ensure that the whole project is viable. As there is already a BMX track there, hopefully it will be.”

A survey would then be sent to local residents to see if there is sufficient demand for the track.

Wetherby pump track

As the sole trustee of the Pateley Bridge Millennium Green Trust — the charity that manages the land — the council would need to raise money to fund the project.

Mr Askew told the council it could cost anywhere between £30,000 to £50,000, but grants and funding may be available.

North Yorkshire Council recently announced a pump track could also be installed in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens.

The track, which could be installed by April, would replace the existing pitch and putt golf course.

The council is running a six-week consultation on the project until November 30.

Read more:

• Bike track could replace pitch and putt course in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens
• Valley Gardens bike track — further details revealed

Developers behind a former Leon restaurant in Harrogate which was due to become a Starbucks have remained silent on the scheme.

North Yorkshire Council approved plans to change the signage around the Wetherby Road site to Starbucks branding in August but the building remains closed.

Permission was given for a total of 20 signs, just over half of which would be illuminated, including totem signs, menus and directional signs around the drive-through.

Leon, which opened last June, closed its doors on April 2 with the loss of around 20 jobs.

It was operated by Blackburn-based EG Group, which also runs Starbucks franchises as well as brands including KFC and Greggs.

The Stray Ferret asked EG Group for an update on the project and whether it had confirmed an opening date, but received no response by the time of publication.

We also asked Starbucks whether it had a potential launch date for the new store.

In response, a spokesperson for the company said:

“I’m afraid we don’t comment on pieces of planning application.”

Currently, the building has been empty for seven months and has been stripped of its Leon branding and signage.

The coffee brand has only one existing presence in the Harrogate district, on Cambridge Street in the town centre.

Read more:

• No conditions for Wetherby Road drive-thru to be a Starbucks, says council
• Leon confirms Harrogate closure amid speculation over site’s future
• Former Harrogate Leon site to become Starbucks

North Yorkshire Council has proposed new road safety measures for Woodfield Road in the Bilton area of Harrogate.

The project, funded through the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s AJ1 project road safety fund, will see the introduction of traffic calming measures, including speed cushions and a 20mph speed limit.

Cllr Paul Haslam, a Conservative who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge, told the Stray Ferret the measures were being taken “for the safety of children” ahead of the former Woodfield Road Community Primary School re-opening.

There school, which closed at the end of last year, is due to reopen as a secondary school for 80 autistic children in September 2024.

The former Woodfield Road Community Primary.

Cllr Haslam secured a £20,000 budget for the road safety project and a spokesperson for the council said “the cost will be within the £20,000 fund”, with exact costs “still to come from contractors”.

The council hopes the project will be completed before April 2024.

The scheme follows another major road safety package unveiled by the council in September to create an extensive 20mph zone in the Pannal Ash and Oatlands area of the town.

The proposed area for the new zones included seven Harrogate schools. These are Harrogate Grammar School, Rossett Acre Primary School, Rossett School, Ashville College, St Aidan’s Church of England High School, Oatlands Junior School and Oatlands Infants School.

Read more:

• Landmark Harrogate road safety and transport package unveiled
• Harrogate autism school could save £4m a year

Residents have backed a move to launch a crowdfunding campaign and seek expert advice on how to battle against a planned asphalt plant near Knaresborough.

A public meeting called by the Communities Against Toxins group heard residents of numerous villages surrounding the Allerton Park incinerator, beside the A1(M) between Boroughbridge and Knaresborough, voice both bewilderment and anger over Tynedale Roadstone Limited’s ambition.

In its planning application to North Yorkshire Council the firm has stated there would be “demand” for its materials in the area to help build and maintain road surfaces and represent a “sustainable development”.

The documents state Tynedale has various long-term supply agreements with surfacing and maintenance companies in Yorkshire, while its two asphalt plants are in Newcastle and County Durham.

The firm has claimed there would be “no significant effects” on air quality as a result of the scheme and that traffic generated by the plant was unlikely to cause any safety concerns.

Campaigner Michael Emsley told the meeting at Great Ouseburn Village Hall he had run an asphalt plan and, if approved, the plant would spark a threat of an explosion beside the landmark energy from waste recovery park used by North Yorkshire and York councils.

Ahead of North Yorkshire County Council approving the incinerator in 2014 there was a concerted campaign to get it rejected, backed by two MPs with protestors handing in a petition with 10,000 signatures at Downing Street.

The meeting was told the application documents ignored key issues, such as the predominant wind direction, and that many residents would be downwind of dust particles and “toxic threats” from the plant.

Mr Emsley said:

“I am concerned about the human health impacts of some of the nasty materials. Benzine is a particularly horrible chemical and some of its derivatives are even nastier.

“Benzine has been long recognised as a carcinogen and recent studies have recognised the effects of continuous exposure to low concentrations of benzine both occupationally and environmentally.”

Read more:

• MP rejects company’s offer of Knaresborough asphalt plant discussions
• Campaign launched against asphalt plant proposal near Knaresborough

Residents heard claims the plant was likely to create contaminated water which would seep into watercourses as there was no way of processing it and lorries visiting the asphalt plant would exacerbate the existing queues of waste trucks on the A-road outside the incinerator.

The meeting heard nearly 800 objections had been lodged over the proposal, and residents of numerous villages in a five-mile radius of the site state they had been completely unaware of the proposal until recently.

Residents overwhelmingly supported a move to launch a concerted campaign, backed by crowdfunding, work to attract opposition from residents of Knaresborough and Boroughbridge and urgently seek expert advice ahead of a likely decision by the council’s strategic planning committee early next year.

The meeting heard concerns over the committee’s likely decision, given that there would be a statutory presumption on North Yorkshire Council to pass the scheme, that it would generate a large amount of business rates from the plant and some of the deciding councillors would represent divisions from many miles away.

One resident told the meeting how she and her husband had recently moved to the area to be nearer to their grandchildren in Marton cum Grafton.

She added:

“We came for dark sky, the clean fresh air and now this is happening. We’re appalled, and particularly appalled that the playground for Marton cum Grafton school is so close.

“We are going to contaminate the water and the air and I can’t think of anything worse.”

The meeting heard residents of the surrounding villages had been promised the Allerton Park incinerator would not lead to further industrialisation of the rural area and claims that it would be more appropriate to site the asphalt plant in an industrial zone.

Four council-owned properties in Knaresborough are to be used to house asylum seekers and homeless people.

The flats were due to be sold for a combined estimated fee of £879,000.

But North Yorkshire Council announced today they would be taken off the market and used either for unaccompanied asylum seeking children or as move-on accommodation for homeless people transitioning to independent living.

Conservative Gareth Dadd, who represents Thirsk on the council and is also its deputy leader and in charge of finance, made the decision, according to the online notice.

Explaining the reason, the notice adds:

“North Yorkshire Council is under a legal obligation to house unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

“There are eight children on the national transfer list and 12 in hotels. An urgent decision is necessary for North Yorkshire Council to fulfil its obligation.”

The notice added:

“Whilst there are other properties that have been identified as suitable for unaccompanied asylum seeking children accommodation, these require more significant works and are therefore not available for immediate occupation.”

Harrogate Borough Council bought the properties in 2019 after they had been unoccupied for several years.

The council, which was abolished in April this year, restored them and said last year it intended to sell the leaseholds for an estimated £879,900 and retain the freehold.

Graham Swift, Harrogate Borough Council’s deputy leader at the time, said the properties “had been a blight on the high street in Knaresborough for several years” and the local authority had recognised their potential to provide homes.

Read more:

• Knaresborough banking hub to officially open next week
• Knaresborough bridge to close tonight for nighttime resurfacing

A community hub in the heart of Masham has been awarded a £145,000 grant by North Yorkshire Council, but the purpose of the cash is as yet unclear.

According to the council’s website, the money, which comes from the government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund, will go towards the “decarbonisation and purchase” of Mashamshire Community Office.

But MCO bought the building at the end of August, having successfully completed a year-long campaign to raise the £215,000 asking price. 

Hayley Jackson, MCO manager, told the Stray Ferret: 

“We haven’t got the money yet, and nothing’s been signed off, so I wouldn’t want to comment until we have the funding in place.” 

She said she hoped to make an announcement publicly by the time of MCO’s annual general meeting on November 28. 

Set up in 2003, the MCO is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving community life. The building it occupies and now owns, the Old Police Station, is also home to Masham Community Library, Acorns Preschool, Masham Parish Council clerk, tourist information and local art and craft shop Masham Flock.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is scheduled to provide £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025, of which £16.9 million has been allocated to North Yorkshire.

Read more:

• 36 community groups in Harrogate district awarded £92,000
• Masham community scheme pioneers wool insulation
• Cowpat makes Masham woman £2,000 richer

Failed tourism body Welcome to Yorkshire owed £3m to creditors, according to the latest liquidator report.

The organisation was placed into administration in March 2022 after officials blamed the impact of covid and the “task of securing sufficient funding”.

A report by Armstrong Watson, which was appointed liquidator in August last year, showed that it owed £3 million to unsecured creditors.

A previous administrator’s report from April 2022 had initially estimated Welcome to Yorkshire would owe £1.8 million to 67 creditors.

Among them is North Yorkshire Council, which is due £1.3 million in relation to the North Yorkshire Pension Fund.

The Stray Ferret has approached the council to ask whether it is still pursuing the money and if it expects a repayment from liquidators. However, we had not received a response by the time of publication.

Armstrong Watson said in its report that it was unable to confirm what payment would be made to creditors at this stage.

It said:

“I am currently in the process of reviewing and agreeing unsecured creditors’ claims as there will be sufficient funds to pay a dividend.

“Unfortunately, at this stage I cannot confirm the level of the dividend payable as this is contingent upon agreeing both secondary preferential and unsecured creditor claims.”

Meanwhile, staff claims totalling £9,570 have been repaid in full.

A sum of £296,000 owed to HMRC is also expected to be paid in full, but liquidators are continuing discussions with the body.

Keith Tordoff, who is running for independent mayor of York and North Yorkshire, said the loss of the brand was “a massive failure”.

He said:

“The loss of the Welcome to Yorkshire brand and of course the invested monies is a massive failure by some members of the North Yorkshire Council who were either on the board of Welcome to Yorkshire or those authorising the unsecured loans.

“The taxpayers deserve better and those councillors on North Yorkshire who were involved should consider their position.”

The move comes after administrators sold the tourism body’s assets and website last year.

Yorkshire Dales business, Silicon Dales, purchased Yorkshire.com, its social media accounts and the rights to the Tour de Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire Council had initially bid for the assets, but was outbid by the private firm.

Read more:

• Welcome to Yorkshire enters administration
• Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive resigns
• Chief executive defends Welcome to Yorkshire after accountability allegations

Safety rails were installed around Pateley Bridge war memorial today ahead of this weekend’s Remembrance Day service.

It comes after an elderly veteran tripped when laying a wreath during last year’s service.

Suzanne Smith, clerk to Pateley Bridge Town Council, said the man was not hurt but the incident “highlighted the need for a handrail”.

Ms Smith added:

“In a joint venture, Pateley Bridge Town Council and Bewerley Parish Council had to jump through a lot of bureaucratic hoops to get the necessary permission to install the handrails.

“Fortunately, we succeeded, just in time for this years’ service.”

The handrails have been made by Chiltondale Architectural Wrought Ironsmiths, which is based in Summerbridge. Ms Smith said:

“They are high quality, galvanised and powder-coated to ensure they are almost maintenance free.

“They have been designed to match the existing handrails on the bandstand in the Recreation Ground and also the very small rail that runs round the bottom of the war memorial.”

The production and installation of the handrails cost £927.42 and has been funded by North Yorkshire Council’s Locality Fund – a £10,000 budget given to councillors to support local communities.

Ms Smith added:

“Bewerley Parish Council, Pateley Bridge Town Council and the Royal British Legion are very grateful that at the Armistice Day event this Saturday, the handrails will ensure that veterans and parishioners can safely and independently access the memorial to lay wreaths.”

The annual Armistice Day parade and service will take place at the Pateley Bridge war memorial on Saturday, November 11, from 10.30am.

Read more:

• Remembrance Day: A guide to services in the Harrogate district
• Harrogate district adorned in poppies as Remembrance Sunday approaches

North Yorkshire Council has blamed “teething issues” for an increase in missed bin collections in the Harrogate district.

Latest figures from the council show there were 1,579 missed collections in the first quarter of the year. The number is an increase on 1,535 in the same period last year.

Council officials said part of the reason for the missed collections, most of which were for garden waste, was due to a “route optimisation process” carried out by Harrogate Borough Council, which was abolished on April 1.

This included changing routes and removing one lorry from the rounds.

However, Michael Leah, North Yorkshire Council’s assistant director of environmental services, described the process as an “overall positive”.

He said:

“I am pleased of the level of waste collection services provided across the county. For the Harrogate area, the optimisation of the garden waste collection service has been positive overall for the council, both in terms of efficiency and reduction in its carbon footprint.

“We noted some ‘teething issues’ from this work with a slightly higher rate of missed garden waste bins during the first quarter of the year. We are already well ahead with resolving any issues arising from that work.”

Read more:

• Metal fences to remain in Harrogate’s Crescent Gardens until next year
• Lib Dem leader accuses Tories of ‘pinching’ Harrogate Station Gateway ideas

It comes as Harrogate and Knaresborough councillors raised concern over missed collections after it was claimed just 129 bins were missed across the county in the first 100 days of the new council.

Cllr Hannah Gostlow, a Liberal Democrat who represents Knaresborough East, raised the issue at a full council meeting in July when she challenged council leader, Carl Les, over the accuracy of the authority’s figures.

She said:

“Talking with my colleagues across the former Harrogate borough and hearing from my own residents, I understand that there has been a much higher than normal missed general, garden and recycling waste bins.

“Unfortunately it also includes assisted bin collections.”

Cllr Les apologised for the inaccuracy and later sent the correct figures to Cllr Gostlow.

Thirty-six voluntary organisations have celebrated being awarded a total of £92,828 by The Local Fund for the Harrogate district.

The fund awards grants of between £200 and £3,000 each year to small organisations with charitable aims in the Harrogate district where a small amount of money can make a significant difference.

It is funded by The Local Lotto, with support from North Yorkshire Council, Harrogate and District Community Action and the Harry Bolland Trust Fund. Two Ridings Community Foundation, which coordinates local giving in North and East Yorkshire, administers the fund.

Two Ridings organised Monday night’s celebration at West Park Hotel in Harrogate, which recognised volunteers from the organisations awarded grants.

They provide services ranging from providing lunches for the homeless, tackling domestic abuse and enabling people in Nidderdale to run safely to improve their wellbeing.

North Yorkshire high sheriff Clare Granger, who joined local councillors at the event, said the successful applicants provided ‘literally a lifeline’ for many people in North Yorkshire.

Celia McKeon, chief executive at Two Ridings, said the fund supported groups with basic running costs, to ensure they can keep their doors open.

Read more:

• Metal fences to remain in Harrogate’s Crescent Gardens until next year
• Remembrance Day: A guide to services in the Harrogate district

Here is a list of the successful applicants, how much each one received and for what purpose.