Nature-inspired murals brighten up Starbeck underpass

A striking new set of murals aims to bring the natural world into an unloved urban part of Starbeck, its creator says.

Sam Porter has painted three murals to brighten up the underpass near the level crossing.

They feature wild birds and plants, as well as symbols of the area’s history, on three boards put up along the white walls.

Harrogate-based Sam was commissioned by Starbeck in Bloom to do the work, which was funded by Northern Rail.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“The thing I found quite difficult was, I’m used to painting directly onto the walls and you can work with the environment easier.

“It could have spanned through the whole underpass, but we would have had to close the underpass, which would have been a problem.

“But doing this has been really good, because it has added another strand to my work, using panels if people don’t want things directly onto walls.”

Sam said he was fortunate to be offered space to work in the yard at Amara Jane, the furniture shop next to the station, keeping him close to where the paintings would go on display.

He has struck up a friendship with the business owner, Andreas Mandrekas, and has been offered use of the yard again in future.

Sam Porter's mural in Starbeck underpass

After years of travelling to Manchester, where he was being commissioned regularly, Sam is happy to have been asked to do more work in Harrogate in recent years.

His murals can now be seen in Cross James Street in Harrogate, as well as on Cheapside and near the Two Brothers Grill and Pizzeria in Knaresborough.

He has also created artwork for community buildings, including Aspin Park and Western primary schools.

He will soon be working on a mural for the Kiosk at Conyngham Hall as part of Knaresborough’s Feva Festival.

Read more:

As part of his work, Sam enjoys researching local history to come up with the designs for his murals.

In Starbeck, he has featured some of the local buildings, as well as the Pump Room in Harrogate. He said:

“When people used to come to Harrogate for the waters, they used to get the train to Starbeck and then get coaches up, because people in Harrogate didn’t want the dirty trains coming into town.

“The workhouse was in Starbeck, so it has always been the more working class area of Harrogate, but a vital part of the whole thing.”

Much of his work has been commissioned to brighten up unloved or troubled areas of towns and cities.

Sam said statistics show levels of crime and anti-social behaviour can be reduced if hotspots are improved, prompting more local pride among the community.

His inspiration comes from the world around him, which he began to appreciate more during the pandemic.

“It was during lockdown I reconnected with nature a lot. There are a few things about that time that I miss.

“Obviously it was grim, but for the first time ever, you were told, ‘you don’t have to do anything and you aren’t expected to do anything’, so I focused in on some things I loved and started looking at nature again.

“I became aware of how lucky we are with what’s around us – so much beautiful countryside.

“I like bringing nature back into an urban environment. I think that’s really what needs to happen in the world, in order to save it. You need to live with nature, rather than keep on harming it.”

Harrogate district rail strikes to hit half-term holiday travel

Rail services across the Harrogate district look set to be hit by cancellations over the half-term holiday as trade union members go on strike over pay and conditions.

The strikes are set to effect services to Harrogate and Knaresborough between Leeds and York.

Industrial action by ASLEF and the RMT unions will hit the region’s train services on three days next week. ASLEF, which largely represents train drivers, will stage its action on Wednesday, May 31 and Saturday, June 3. Customers are advised to avoid travel on those days.

The RMT union, whose 20,000 members work as caterers, train managers and station staff, has announced its own action on Friday, June 2. On that day, customers are advised to check revised timetables before they travel as only a limited service will be in operation.

Train operator Northern said that early-morning and late-night services on Thursday, June 1 would also likely be affected, due to the impact that strikes have on fleet displacement.

In a press release about the national industrial action, ASLEF said:

“Most of the drivers have not had a pay increase at all since 2019 and, with inflation still well over 10% and the cost of living spiralling, this is not acceptable.”

Graphic showing which days over the half-term holiday will be hit by RMT and ASLEF rail strikes.

Travellers are advised to check revised timetables before leaving home.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said:

“The government is once again not allowing the Rail Delivery Group to make an improved offer that we can consider. Therefore, we have to pursue our industrial campaign to win a negotiated settlement on jobs, pay and conditions.”

Northern’s new summer timetable came into effect at the weekend. While most services will run as normal, the train operator is urging people who make regular trips on the same trains to use the Check My Timetable feature on its website to see details specific to their local station.

Tricia Williams, chief operating officer at Northern, said:

“We apologise, once again, for the disruption this action by ASELF and the RMT will cause to our customers.

“This latest round of industrial action looks set to hamper people’s opportunity to explore the region during the half-term holidays. It’s understandably very frustrating.

“We all want to see an end to this dispute and the uncertainty that on-going strike action causes to people’s confidence in the railway.”

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.

Read more:

 

Update: Main Harrogate road at North Rigton reopens following major incident

Rail and road travel has been disrupted this afternoon between Leeds and Harrogate.

Police say one lane of the A658 at North Rigton has now reopened, however officers remain at the scene.

Traffic was diverted through North Rigton when the incident happened earlier today.

Police at the scene.

Officers advised motorists to use the A659/A61 or the B6161 as an alternative while emergency services attended.

Meanwhile, Northern Rail tweeted at 1pm that all train services between Harrogate and Leeds have been cancelled or delayed.

A statement on their website said:

“Due to the emergency services dealing with an incident between Harrogate and Leeds all lines are blocked.

“Trains running through these stations will be cancelled or delayed by up to 60 minutes. Disruption is expected until 7.30pm.”

Harrogate commuters braced for ‘inconvenient’ train strikes

As train services prepare to wind down today ahead of the looming rail strike, the Stray Ferret went to Harrogate station this morning to speak to commuters.

No trains will run between York and Leeds on Tuesday and Thursday this week, which will affect rail passengers in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Further strike action is planned on Saturday and rail operator Northern is urging people not to travel on trains between tomorrow and Sunday.

No replacement buses are being put on.

The RMT union has called the strike over pay and conditions. It will see thousands of drivers, signal operators and guards walk out.

Commuters in Harrogate said they had been forced to change their working days this week or work from home. Some have had to rearrange or cancel meetings.

Kevin Dalton told us:

“I’m not a regular train user as I work from home most of the time.

“But I had a meeting this week and I’ve had to rearrange to today just so I can make it. The idea of driving into Leeds or York for 9am just isn’t worth thinking about.”

For others still having to travel into the office, the additional petrol and taxi fees were a concern.

Read more:

Kayleigh, who works at Hornbeam Park and asked not to publish her surname, said:

“I’ve had to arrange for someone to come and pick me up and bring me home each day.

“It is an inconvenience, I work with people from York and Leeds so they’ve either got to work from home or spend two and a half hours on the bus.”

Another commuter, Diane Hitchen, sympathised with the strikers and said the difficulties it is causing highlighted how much rail workers do. She added:

“I have a lot of teacher friends who have taken strike action before so I understand why.

“Clearly rail workers feel they have to make an impact for their requests to be met.”

Northern has said it will publish its Sunday timetable shortly.

Further details on how the strike will affects services are available here.

Harrogate district train station parking review a ‘lost opportunity’

A review into car parking at train stations across the Harrogate district has been criticised as a “lost opportunity”.

Transport officials at North Yorkshire County Council launched the review to look into where parking could be expanded in order to encourage the use of public transport and stop parked vehicles spilling over onto residential streets.

The findings were discussed at a meeting today when councillor Paul Haslam, who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge, said he was “disappointed” that residents were not asked where they believe investment is needed the most. He said:

“There doesn’t seem to have been any discussion with any user groups.

“I would have thought they might have been able to share some very important information – we need to know what our customers want.”

Cllr Haslam said while the review was “very measured,” it was a “lost opportunity” to also look into how access to train stations can be made easier for those travelling on foot or by bike.

He told today’s meeting of the Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee:

“I would have hoped this review could have looked at safe and secure storage for bikes, bus stop provision and other access in terms of cycle routes.

“Train stations are going to be what we will call transport transition hubs in the future and we have to facilitate these changes so people can get off their bike and onto a train, or out of their car and onto a bus.”

His comments were backed by councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at the county council, who added:

“We must look at other means of connecting people to railway stations and not simply in their cars.”

More parking at Pannal

The review highlights how new car parking will be built at Pannal train station as part of the ongoing housing development at the former Dunlopillo site.

Construction work has yet to start on the car park and it is unclear when this could begin.

Read more:

Cattal train station has also been identified for improved parking as part of a 3,000-home settlement which is planned for the area because of its railway links.

There are no plans to upgrade parking at train stations in Starbeck, Knaresborough or Weeton, as well Harrogate which a report said already has extra capacity at the Victoria multi-storey car park.

Another area which has been identified for potential improvements is Hornbeam Park train station where previous proposals to expand the car park were met with concerns that it could encourage more car journeys on the already congested Hookstone Road.

Traffic impact

Graham North, strategic support officer at the county council, told today’s meeting that extra car parking had been considered again, although it could have had a “significant” impact on traffic.

Mr North also set out some of the reasons why parking upgrades are needed at other train stations, but can not be achieved.

He said:

“The Harrogate line has had significant improvements in frequency including the recent improvements between York and Harrogate.

“We have also had modern rolling stock, station improvements and the introduction of the LNER services to and from London which are all potentially increasing demand for rail travel.

“The rail industry has looked at each station to identify any land available for car parking close to stations and whilst some land has been identified the cost to purchase, access to and from the sites and the poor business cases have meant that these were not developed further.”

Northern to increase trains on Harrogate line

Train operator Northern is introducing new timetables with more trains from Sunday May 16.

Northern has been running a reduced service since the current lockdown began in January but the new timetable will return services to similar levels to before the pandemic.

It means the Harrogate line will have more trains during peak hours, and services will start earlier and end later on some days.

Throughout most days there will continue to be a roughly half-hourly service between Harrogate and Leeds, and an hourly service between Harrogate and York.

Read more:

Some of the changes include:

Northern do not expect any overcrowding, although a spokesperson said:

“It’s very difficult to say. There is no official capacity limit, however we are very conscious that people may well be concerned so we’re asking people to tailor their journeys to try and travel outside of the busiest times.”

 

Northern timetable set to change this month

Train operator Northern has announced it will change its timetable on September 14.

The company said the revised timetable will see more services in many areas and the extension of operating hours in others compared with the current situation.

However, a handful of routes will see a reduction in services.

Steve Hopkinson, regional director at Northern, said:

“The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on society and the railway has not been immune from that.

“With limited resources, the timetables we are set to introduce in September reflect the new normal for Northern and have been designed to provide as many services as possible, at the times our customers need them.

Read more:

“We have brought in as many additional services as possible with the resource we have available and have prioritised routes and times where there is the most significant demand. We will do all we can to reintroduce further services when it is possible and appropriate to do so.”

Person dies on train line between Harrogate and Leeds

A person has died after emergency services were called to an incident on the train line at Weeton this afternoon.

British Transport Police (BTP) said they were called following reports of a casualty on the tracks, but the person was pronounced dead at the scene.

A statement from BTP said:

“British Transport Police were called at 3.02pm on August 10 to an area of railway in Weeton following a report of a casualty on the tracks. Officers attended, but sadly a person was pronounced dead at the scene.

“The incident is not being treated as suspicious.”

Northern Rail has said that services may be cancelled or delayed due to the incident at Weeton.

Northern said on its website that the disruption could continue until 5pm. Replacement coach services are being organised.

Read more:

It said:

“All services between York and Leeds (via Harrogate), in both directions, are currently being disrupted due to emergency services dealing with an incident on this line.

“An estimate can not yet be given as to when normal services will resume.”

600 rail replacement bus journeys between Harrogate and Leeds last year

Train operator Northern ordered over 600 rail replacement bus journeys on the troubled Harrogate to Leeds and Leeds to Harrogate services in 2019.

Figures obtained by the Stray Ferret through a Freedom of Information request reveals the scale of disruption to commuters throughout last year, which Northern blamed on “significant” engineering work, poor weather and the UCI cycling event.

Engineering work is carried out by Network Rail who own and maintain the tracks.

In January 2020, the government stripped the Northern of its franchise due to years of poor performance. The government has operated the franchise since March 1.

According to research published earlier this year by the Sunday Times and ontimetrains.co.uk, the 7.13 am Harrogate to Leeds service was the most cancelled in the UK during the first three months of 2020.

Read more:

We also asked Northern for the number of rail replacement bus journeys between York and Harrogate — which was a fraction of the Harrogate to Leeds figure.

So far in 2020, there have been over 80 replacement bus journeys between Harrogate and Leeds, but train schedules have been reduced due to the coronavirus lockdown.

The full figures provided to us by Northern are below.

The number of rail replacement buses on each line. Figures provided by Northern.

A spokesperson for Northern told the Stray Ferret:

“During 2019 there was significant engineering work, carried out by Network Rail, on the Harrogate Line which meant it was necessary to provide much higher levels of rail replacement transport than usual.

“Northern also provided additional standby rail replacement road transport throughout the World Road Cycling Championships and during the prolonged periods of adverse weather which resulted in flooding on the railway and made certain parts of the route impassable.”

Harrogate to Leeds line gets new smart tickets

Commuters travelling between Harrogate and Leeds will be able to get a new smart ticket for discounted travel from today.

It is a step towards a London-style contactless payment system and comes as part of Transport for the North’s (TFN) drive to update public transport.

The new season tickets are available on Northern and LNER services. They give passengers 10 unlimited travel days for the price of nine valid for six months.

Read more:

TFN plans to roll the scheme out on further routes. A Transport Focus survey found that over a third expect to work from home with limited travel to the work place.

TFN hopes the new tickets with a flexible season pass will work well for those workers.

Jeremy Acklam, TFN director of integrated and smart travel, said:

“Now more than ever, due to the impact of coronavirus on our travel habits, passengers need safer, better value and more convenient ways to pay for public transport. Flexi seasons will provide this for thousands of passengers.”

This is part of the £150 million integrated and smart travel programme. The next stage proposes to deliver more contactless payment technology across the North.