Hopes are high that Ripon will once again be able to stage a city centre fireworks display as part of the coronation celebrations for King Charles and Queen Camilla on Saturday May 6.
Traditional New Year’s Eve displays in 2021 and 2022 did not go ahead because of safety concerns about the launch site at the rear of the town hall, but a new location on a section of The Arcade Car Park looks set to get official approval.
Ripon City Council leader Andrew Williams told the Stray Ferret:
“Following constructive discussions with officers at the new North Yorkshire Council, I am confident that we will receive the necessary approval required from the authority and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service to hold a city centre display.
“Subject to that approval, the display on May 6, will provide the finale to an evening of free musical entertainment on Market Square, featuring a number of tribute acts.”
Cllr Williams added:
“It will also mean that the city can return to the tradition of holding a fireworks display as the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve.”
Ripon City Council’s programme for coronation celebration activities taking place on the evening of Friday May 5 and Saturday May 6, is still to be published, but will include free live music on both days and free fairground rides for children on May 6.
A Starbeck community group has made a renewed call to bring Harrogate’s “little temple” to the area.
An application was tabled by North Yorkshire County Council in November last year to remove the tempietto in Station Square to make way for the £11.2 million Station Gateway scheme.
The proposal was approved by Harrogate Borough Council prior to its abolition on Friday.
The new North Yorkshire Council has said no work on the tempietto will take place until a decision has been made on the gateway project.
However, Andrew Hart, a postmaster, has reiterated a call to bring the structure to Starbeck in order to “rejuvenate” the area.
Mr Hart, who also founded the Starbeck Community Group, wrote to the borough council in November last year requesting that the tempietto be moved to Belmont Field.
He told the Stray Ferret that any move to demolish the structure would be “shameful”.
Mr Hart said:
“When I formally contacted HBC last November I was assured in writing that the Starbeck Community Groups request for the tempietto to be moved to Belmont Field, Starbeck would be taken seriously and discussed with the councillors.
“To demolish it would be shameful. To dismantle and rebuild it in Starbeck would give the community a focal point of pride. The cost would be negligible against the budget for the Harrogate Gateway.
“It would also add to the rejuvenation of Starbeck and reward the whole community for the fantastic effort it makes in carrying out its own projects such as flowers, Christmas lights, street cleaning, and street decorations.”
Read more:
- Transport chief faces Harrogate businesses on Station Gateway
- Local Liberal Democrats could determine fate of £11.2m Harrogate Station Gateway
- Plan to demolish Harrogate tempietto approved
The tempietto, which is inside Harrogate Conservation Area, was built between 1988 and 1992 as part of the redevelopment of the area to create the Victoria Shopping Centre.
Made of Jedburgh sandstone, its classical design was based on the work of 16th-century architect Andrea Palladio’s basilica at Vicenza in Italy.
The government-funded gateway scheme would see major changes to the public realm opposite the train station to make the gateway to Harrogate more attractive to visitors and more accessible to cyclists and pedestrians.
It would also see part of Station Parade reduced to single lane traffic to accommodate cycle routes and James Street partly pedestrianised. Business groups and residents have voiced concerns about the impact on trade and traffic.
In an email seen by the Stray Ferret, North Yorkshire Council officials said the relocation of the tempietto had been raised with council contractors. However, the move would need to be costed and require planning permission.
Cllr Keane Duncan, executive councillor for highways at North Yorkshire Council, said the authority was aware of requests to move the tempietto.
He said:
‘Unforeseen circumstances’ delay Oak Beck Bridge replacement — again“We are aware that there is some interest from other organisations in relocating the tempietto and we are looking to understand if this could be achieved should the decision be taken to implement the Harrogate Station Gateway project.”
A starting date for a £1 million scheme to replace Oak Beck Bridge in Harrogate has still to be set.
North Yorkshire County Council planned to begin work in January last year after saying the current bridge on Skipton Road was in poor condition.
But in June last year, council bridges manager Philip Richardson said the scheme had been delayed due to “unforeseen circumstances” and it was still in talks with Yorkshire Water.
Ten months on, the Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire Council, which has replaced the county council, for an update.
In a statement that was identical in parts to the one issued last year, Mr Richardson said:
“We realise the importance of replacing Oak BeckBridge. Unfortunately, we have not been able to progress the scheme as quickly as we would have liked due to unforeseen circumstances.
“We are currently in discussions with Yorkshire Water about diverting a sewer to make way for the project. Please be assured that we will begin work as soon as we are able.”
The volume of traffic using Skipton Road is expected to increase after Tesco was granted planning permission to build a supermarket at the nearby junction of Skipton Road and Ripon Road.
When it was awarded the £1.1 million contract to demolish the bridge and build a new one, Leeds-based Howard Civil Engineering said the project would take 24 weeks.
Read more:
- ‘Unforeseen circumstances’ delays start of Oak Beck Bridge scheme
- Harrogate Oak Beck Bridge project to cost £1m
Cycling signs on Otley Road are ‘temporary measure’
The company rolling out fibre broadband infrastructure across Harrogate has reassured residents that replacement pavement markings are only temporary.
CityFibre said the bicycle signs on Otley Road should be replaced within the next two weeks with a more permanent finish.
The paths were dug up last month to install fibre optic broadband cables as part of a district-wide project.
The trench was filled with tarmac, which partially removed the markings for the shared cycle path. A can of white spray paint was reportedly used by workers to mark up what was previously in place.
Kim Johnston, regional partnership director at CityFibre, said:
“The restoration works are ongoing, with the current cycle marking a temporary measure. We expect work to be completed on or around April 18, dependant on permit approval.
“We would like to thank residents for their patience and reassure them of our commitment to leaving the area in the same way we found it. Works on Otley Road are part of our £46m full fibre rollout in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon, which is set to future-proof the area’s digital infrastructure for decades to come.”
According to the North Yorkshire Council roadworks map, CityFibre is expected to return to the area from April 11 to 18 for the work, with temporary traffic lights to be used around the junctions of Harlow Moor Road and Pannal Ash Road.
Read more:
- Otley Road to be closed for cycle route improvements
- Confirmed: second phase of Harrogate’s Otley Road cycle route scrapped
Separately, North Yorkshire Council had previously said the road would be closed between 7pm and 3am from April 24 to 28 for remedial works to the cycle route.
It has now confirmed that daytime work is also expected to take place between Monday, April 24, and Wednesday, May 3, from 7.30am to 5pm.
The work had been due to take place last year, but was delayed until after the CityFibre project was complete.
Melisa Burnham, North Yorkshire Council’s highways area manager for Harrogate, said:
Christmas market on Harrogate’s Montpellier Hill bids to return this year“CityFibre have agreed to reinstate the cycle route and any associated lining back to appropriate standards. Officers are in discussion with CityFibre to ensure this is addressed.
“After phase one of the cycle path was completed, the need for some remedial work was identified. That included resurfacing junctions between Otley Road and side roads, to the tactile paving and grass verges. It was also recognised that additional signs and street furniture were needed.”
The original Harrogate Christmas Market on Montpellier Hill could be set to make a comeback this year.
Brian Dunsby, co-organiser and founder of Harrogate Christmas Market Ltd, confirmed it had submitted an event management plan to North Yorkshire Council to stage the event from November 2 to 5.
The event was held annually from 2012 to 2019 until it was halted by covid.
Harrogate Borough Council then scuppered its prospects of returning by refusing to grant a licence and organising its own town centre Harrogate Christmas Fayre in conjunction with Market Place Europe, a specialist market company based in Greater Manchester.
But Harrogate Borough Council was abolished last weekend, with the new North Yorkshire Council taking its place.
The original Christmas market, which was organised by local people, had 170 traders and 53 coaches booked to attend in 2021 when the rug was pulled from under its feet.
By contrast, last year’s town centre fayre only had about 50 stalls, and some people have said there were too many food outlets and not enough craft stalls.
The fayre was accompanied by a giant Ferris wheel near the war memorial, an ice rink in Crescent Gardens and the Candy Cane Express free road train, which were popular with many visitors.
Some people welcomed the decision to hold the event in town rather than on the muddy Stray. Others said the new event lacks charm compared to Montpellier Hill.
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Destination Harrogate, a tourism organisation within North Yorkshire Council, issued a press release yesterday saying this year’s fayre would be extended from 10 days to 18 and run from December 1 to 17.
Because the dates for the seasonal events do not clash, there is the possibility that both could take place this Christmas.
Mr Dunsby declined to comment beyond confirming Harrogate Christmas Market Ltd had submitted its event management plan for what he hoped would be a similar event on Montpellier Hill to those staged up to 2019.
Too many food stalls?
Yesterday’s news release by Destination Harrogate announcing this year’s market extension did not mention North Yorkshire Council.
The Stray Ferret asked Destination Harrogate who was in charge of the market now Harrogate Borough Council no longer existed, who authorised the fayre extension and what response it had to claims that last year’s event had too many food stalls.
It said in a statement:
‘It’s wrong’: New North Yorkshire council criticised for not live streaming all meetings“The Harrogate Christmas Fayre has always been an event owned and operated by Market Place Europe and Destination Harrogate will continue to support them at a local level.
“The decision (to extend) was based on feedback from many of the town centre retailers, hoteliers and hospitality businesses, following the impact that the market made on their December trading. After taking on board the feedback from those sectors in particular, and following discussion with Market Place Europe, we’ve been able to agree the addition of the extra week and weekend.
“The market is open to any trader that wishes to apply to have a stall. We would actively encourage any local traders that would like to be part of the Christmas fayre to apply – as we have done since the new event was introduced in 2021. The variety and volume of stalls are dependent upon those traders that come forward and want to take the opportunity to be involved.”
Councillors have criticised North Yorkshire Council after it confirmed not all meetings will be live streamed online.
North Yorkshire Council replaced the seven district and borough councils, including Harrogate, as well as North Yorkshire County Council on Saturday.
It is the largest council area in England, spanning over 3,000 square miles with most of its meeting taking place at County Hall in Northallerton.
During the covid pandemic, the government passed legislation to allow council business to continue online. Meetings took place on apps such as Microsoft Teams and were live streamed for residents to watch on YouTube.
Since pandemic restrictions were lifted, Harrogate Borough Council continued to live stream all of its meetings whereas North Yorkshire County Council only routinely live streamed executive and full council meetings.
Following a question by a councillor, a senior officer at the new council confirmed in an email that the previous North Yorkshire County Council live streaming arrangement will continue.
County Hall in Northallerton
This means that at the moment, the only chance residents will get to see what is happening in a host of other meetings, including those concerning public health, education and transport, is if they travel to Northallerton.
However, meetings in Harrogate, such as planning committee, licensing committee and area constituency committee, will be streamed using equipment bought by Harrogate Borough Council.
But they will no longer include developments affecting Ripon, Masham and Pateley Bridge as meetings in Harrogate will cover the Harrogate and Knaresborough parliamentary constituency.
The email concludes by saying the new council is reviewing “what is possible and practicable” regarding live streaming meetings in the future.
Three-hour round trip
In some parts of Craven such as Ingleton or Bentham it’s a three-hour round trip to County Hall.
Andy Brown, Green Party councillor for Aire Valley, said residents should not be expected to travel to Northallerton to “watch democracy in action.” He added:
“Working online can save hours of travelling and make the meeting more efficient. It is crazy that I am travelling for 90 minutes to attend meetings that could be done online.
“It is wrong that meetings which could be steamed into the homes of every interested member of the public are not conducted as openly as possible.”
Andy Solloway, Independent councillor for Skipton West and West Craven said:
“The outgoing Craven District Council have been recording meetings for years, and live streaming them, especially decision making ones, would be a good thing for local democracy and for public participation and engagement.”
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Arnold Warneken, Green Party councillor for Ouseburn, also said he was in favour of the council live streaming all meetings:
“Someone should be able to open their laptop in their house and see what the council is up to. Sometimes it’s like watching paint dry but you can have it on in background. That is transparency and engagement.
“The meetings should all be streamed if we’re serious about carbon and the impact we make ourselves. There’s a lot of support for it.”
What the council says
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for democratic services, Cllr
David Chance, said:
Plan to demolish Harrogate tempietto approved“We are committed to ensuring that the new North Yorkshire Council has local
communities at its heart, despite serving such a vast area across the county.“The online streaming of council meetings has been an important way of making sure that access is available as widely as possible to both councillors and members of the public.
“Meetings of full council and the executive will be routinely streamed online, and we will continue to record and broadcast planning and licensing meetings that were previously overseen by district and borough councils.
“We will consider broadcasting or recording other meetings when there is a strong public interest or where there are facilities in place that enable it to be readily done.
“The new council is the third largest in the country, and now oversees services that were previously delivered by eight authorities in North Yorkshire. There are therefore a significant number of meetings each year, which is in the region of 200.
“We are reviewing what is possible and practicable regarding the recording and broadcasting of meetings, taking into account the facilities which are available across the county, the IT and democratic support that is needed as well as investment in IT infrastructure.”
A plan to demolish Harrogate town centre’s ‘little temple’ to make way for the £11.2 million Station Gateway scheme has been approved.
An application was tabled by North Yorkshire County Council in November last year to remove the tempietto in Station Square.
The proposal was approved by Harrogate Borough Council prior to its abolition on Friday.
However, a county council spokesperson told the Stray Ferret previously that the structure would only be removed if the Station Gateway goes ahead.
The council’s Liberal Democrat-controlled Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee is due to vote on the scheme on May 5, and the council’s Tory leadership has indicated it will abide by its decision.
The tempietto, which is inside Harrogate Conservation Area, was built between 1988 and 1992 as part of the redevelopment of the area to create the Victoria Shopping Centre.
Made of Jedburgh sandstone, its classical design was based on the work of 16th-century architect Andrea Palladio’s basilica at Vicenza in Italy.
The government-funded gateway scheme would see major changes to the public realm opposite the train station to make the gateway to Harrogate more attractive to visitors and more accessible to cyclists and pedestrians.
Read more:
- Transport chief faces Harrogate businesses on Station Gateway
- Local Liberal Democrats could determine fate of £11.2m Harrogate Station Gateway
It would also see part of Station Parade reduced to single lane traffic to accommodate cycle routes and James Street partly pedestrianised. Business groups and residents have voiced concerns about the impact on trade and traffic.
Cllr Keane Duncan, executive councillor for highways at North Yorkshire Council, said:
“Planning approval for the removal of the tempietto does not pre-judge the final decision on the overall Harrogate Station Gateway scheme. Local Harrogate and Knaresborough councillors will have their say on this at a special meeting of the area constituency committee on May 5.
“Removal of the tempietto is key to our plan to create a welcoming and attractive public space in Harrogate town centre. It will only be removed if the overall Gateway scheme receives support and goes ahead.
“We are aware that there is some interest from other organisations in relocating the tempietto and we are looking to understand if this could be achieved should the decision be taken to implement the Harrogate Station Gateway project.”
In a letter to the county council, Matthew Roberts, economy and transport officer at now abolished Harrogate Borough Council, said the borough council also supported the move.
He said:
“Evidence suggests that town centres are at risk of decline in the medium term. Consumer behaviours and expectations are changing and towns must diversify and advance to maintain healthy and vibrant visitor economies.
“The removal of the tempietto from Harrogate Station Square will open the space to provide flexibility for events (e.g. markets) that, in turn, will support town centre diversification and vitality.”
However, Henry Pankhurst, of Harrogate Civic Society, told the council in a letter that no proposal should be approved until the final plans for Station Gardens under the gateway scheme are agreed.
He said:
Harrogate road to be closed until November“We agree that demolition of the tempietto would result in less than substantial harm to the conservation area, but surely no application for demolition should be approved before we know what the final plans are for Station Gardens.
“Demolition in the conservation area must surely be accompanied by knowledge of what its replacement would be.”
The closure of a busy road in Harrogate is to continue until November.
A section of road where Kingsley Road meets Bogs Lane has already been closed for five months to enable Redrow to carry out work at its 133-home Kingsley Manor development.
The closure, which prevents traffic using Kingsley Road and Bogs Lane as thoroughfares, has divided opinion.
It has also heightened fears about emergency vehicle response times as the route can be used as an alternative when Starbeck level crossing barriers are down.
North Yorkshire County Council issued a temporary prohibition of traffic order that came into effect on November 7 last year.
The order was for 12 months but at the time David Faraday, technical director for Redrow (Yorkshire), said “we don’t anticipate the works will take the full six months to complete”.
But signs have now appeared saying the closure will be active until November.
Kingsley Road, shortly before the road closure.
Mr Faraday said today:
“Unfortunately due to reasons beyond our control, essential works at the entrance to our Kingsley Manor development have been delayed. We informed the local authority of this and in January they granted permission for road closures to be extended until November 2023 in the interest of safety.
“We are pushing to complete the works, which include bringing new high voltage electricity cables to the site as quickly as possible so that the roads can be reopened. We would like to thank residents for their patience and understanding while the works are being undertaken.”
Knaresborough Road ‘saturated’
Local resident Clare Ayres said she was disappointed and wanted the road to re-open as soon as possible because it would ease “the saturation of traffic on Knaresborough Road” and surrounding routes.
Ms Ayres added:
“It won’t be long before they start building on the land on Kingsley Drive, which will mean more lorries and congestion. I’m also concerned about access for emergency vehicles.”
Cllr Chris Aldred, a Liberal Democrat who represents High Harrogate and Kingsley on North Yorkshire Council, said there was no obligation on Redrow to consult on the matter as the traffic order applied for 12 months.
He also said the developer had been obliging by maintaining a footway for pedestrians and cyclists, who would have otherwise faced a 1.4-mile diversion.
Cllr Aldred also said he supported moves to permanently close the road at the bridge where Kingsley Road and Bogs Lane meet. He said:
“It would stop the notorious Kingsley rat run, once and for all, so a further six months actually allows time to continue this experiment whilst the works continue.”
Read more:
- Kingsley anger reaches ‘boiling point’ as another 162 homes set for approval
- Kingsley developers open safe route for walkers and cyclists
Partially sighted Ripon man thanks highways workers for removing trip hazards
A severely sight impaired Ripon resident has thanked highways workers for their swift action in attending to trip hazards near his home.
Graham Wilkey who lives in the Bondgate area, raised concerns about cracked and uneven pavements that made him wary of walking into the city centre, even with the assistance of Riley, his three-year-old guide dog.
He told the Stray Ferret:
“Riley can ensure that I cross roads safely and avoid obstacles such as signage blocking pavements, but he can’t stop me from falling if I trip on a broken paving stone and that’s why I decided to contact the council.”
Workmen patching the pavement near Mr Wilkey’s home
Following Mr Wilkey’s call, a highways engineer responded quickly to inspect the pavements and identified eight stones in need of removal.
On Thursday, two days before North Yorkshire County Council became the new North Yorkshire Council on April 1, workmen arrived to remove the damaged paving and replace it with tarmac.
Mr Wilkey said:
“I’d like to thank them for sorting out the problem so quickly and making the walk into the city centre safer for me and other sight-impaired people and those with mobility issues.
“There’s a lot of Ripon roads and pavements still in need of repair, but this is an encouraging start.”
Read more:
Temporary gym installed at Ripon leisure centre
The building that will house the £300,000 temporary gym at the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre has been located in the car park near the entrance to the swimming pool.
The prefabricated structure was put into position yesterday morning using a long-reach mobile crane and while the opening date has yet to be confirmed, a spokesperson for North Yorkshire Council told the Stray Ferret:
“I believe it will be towards the end of the month (April) that customers will start to use the alternative gym.”
The temporary building
Once up and running, the temporary facility will enable the closure of the existing gym on the upper floor of the 28-year-old leisure centre next to the new swimming pool that opened last March.
This will pave the way for ground stabilisation works costing £3.5million to be carried out under the building.
The temporary gym, operated by Brimhams Active on behalf of the newly-formed North Yorkshire Council unitary authority, will be fitted out with Technogym equipment currently available in the existing leisure and wellness centre, and expert advice and guidance will be available.
Customers will still be able to use the changing and shower facilities in the new pool area – as well as the sauna and steam suite – as they will remain open as normal.
Group exercise classes will also continue to be provided at Hugh Ripley Hall.
Read more: