Traffic is moving normally across the Harrogate district this morning.
Despite strike action, train services are expected to operate as normal today – however Northern has warned that some disruption is possible.
Here is your Stray Ferret traffic and travel roundup.
Roads
Traffic is running as normal this morning, but, as always, be aware of the usual traffic build ups on Wetherby Road and Knaresborough Road heading towards Harrogate during rush hour.
Trains and buses
Trains to between York and Leeds are due to run as normal today despite industrial action.
Strike action is due to continue tomorrow and Saturday.
However, Northern has warned that disruption still could take place on non-strike days and previously warned commuters not to travel this week.
You can check train times from Harrogate and Knaresborough here.
Tomorrow (June 23), there will be no trains through Harrogate and Knaresborough due to strike action.
Meanwhile, the Harrogate Bus Company is reporting some early morning cancellations on the numerous routes this morning.
The 36 from Harrogate to Leeds at 7.40am is cancelled.
Other services including the 1A, 1B, and the 1C are affected. You can find out more here.
Read more:
- No trains for two days in Harrogate next week as strike action hits
- No replacement buses for Harrogate district commuters during strike
No trains in Harrogate and Knaresborough as strike begins
No trains will run through Harrogate and Knaresborough today as a national strike gets underway.
Harrogate station was deserted this morning with no picketers outside. However, the ticket office was still manned.
The RMT union has called the strike, which is also scheduled for Thursday and Saturday, over pay and conditions.
Thousands of drivers, signal operators and guards will walk out, crippling services.
Timetables published by Northern don’t show any trains on the Harrogate line on Tuesday or Thursday this week and there will be no replacement buses.
The train operator is currently expecting to run limited services on Saturday, although the company has warned of disruption and urged people to seek alternative travel.
LNER will also be running no services to London King’s Cross from Harrogate on all three strike days.
Read more:
- Harrogate commuters braced for ‘inconvenient’ train strikes
- Council shelves Knaresborough and Ripon travel plans
Some trains are expected to run on non-strike days, however Northern has warned that services could still be affected.
The company is advising passengers not to travel on trains on any day between Tuesday and Sunday.
No trains for two days in Harrogate next week as strike action hitsNo trains will run through Harrogate and Knaresborough for two days next week as thousands of workers go on strike.
Northern, which operates services through the two towns, has published its timetable for the industrial action on June 21, 23 and 25.
The RMT union has called the strike action over pay and conditions. It will see thousands of drivers, signal operators and guards walk out next week.
In Harrogate and Knaresborough, no trains will run between York and Leeds on Tuesday, June 21, and Thursday, June 23.
However, Northern services are currently expected to run on Saturday, June 25 although the company has warned of disruption and urged people to seek alternative travel.
LNER will also be running no services to London Kings Cross from Harrogate on all three strike days.
Read more:
- Harrogate rail campaigner ‘optimistic’ early morning train could be reinstated
- No replacement buses for Harrogate district commuters during strike
The industrial action on the railways is expected to hit commuters, schools and major events.
The disruption will affect cricket fans travelling to Headingley as England take on New Zealand in the third Test of a three-game series on Thursday.
Trains are expected to run on non-strike days, however Northern warned that services could still be affected.
The company warned passengers earlier this week not to travel on any day between Tuesday and Sunday.
It said in a statement:
“There will be no replacement buses or alternative travel provided.
“On strike days there will be extremely limited availability of both train crew and signalling staff and as such we will not be able to operate services on most routes.
“Unfortunately, as we will not be able to position our fleet how we normally would, the significant impact of the strike will also be felt on non-strike days.
“Therefore, we regrettably advise customers not to travel on any day from Tuesday 21st through to Sunday 26th June.
“Where we are able to operate trains, services will be very limited, and trains will not start as early as normal and will finish much earlier than normal.”
Buses expect surge in demand
Meanwhile, Harrogate Bus Company has said it is expecting additional passengers next week due to the strike action.
Steve Ottley, general manager at the bus company, said:
No replacement buses for Harrogate district commuters during strike“We are expecting additional customers to travel with us next week due to the rail disruption.
“Our advice is to plan ahead of travel, using our Transdev Go app to track your bus before making a journey. Our website and Twitter feed @harrogatebus will be updated across the day with any planned alterations to services.
“We will closely monitor demand and will provide additional capacity where possible with the resources we have available.”
Rail operator Northern has urged people to make alternative travel plans next week during planned strike action.
The RMT union has called a nationwide rail strike for three days on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday next week.
Northern, which operates services running through Harrogate and Knaresborough, said in a statement today :
“There will be no replacement buses or alternative travel provided.
“On strike days there will be extremely limited availability of both train crew and signalling staff and as such we will not be able to operate services on most routes.
“Unfortunately, as we will not be able to position our fleet how we normally would, the significant impact of the strike will also be felt on non-strike days.
“Therefore, we regrettably advise customers not to travel on any day from Tuesday 21st through to Sunday 26th June.
“Where we are able to operate trains, services will be very limited, and trains will not start as early as normal and will finish much earlier than normal.”
The statement added that customers would be entitled to a refund for dates affected by strike action if not travelling.
Read more:
- Harrogate rail campaigner ‘optimistic’ early morning train could be reinstated
- Crowds line streets of Knaresborough to cheer on Bed Race
Teens left in tears by Northern train guard’s ‘heavy-handed’ fine
The parents of three teenagers left “in tears” after being issued with a fine on a train journey have criticised the guard’s “heavy-handed” approach.
Freddie Fulford, 15, and his friends Evie and Oscar Bartle were travelling from Cattal to York on Saturday, June 3.
It was the first time the three had gone into York together and Freddie’s dad, Tony, said they were looking forward to a day out on their own.
“They jumped on the train with no tickets because it was in the station when they arrived.
“There is a ticket machine at the station, but they didn’t know you couldn’t pay on the train.”
Cattal Station
Once the guard realised the teens didn’t have tickets, he issued them with fines of £20 each. The teenagers said they were told in an “intimidating and frightening” way that the maximum penalty was three months in prison.
Upset by the fine and the threat of a criminal record, the teens called their parents from York station in tears.
Mr Fulford, who lives in Harrogate, said:
“They could have paid there and then or the guards could have said ‘buy at ticket on the app and we’ll come back in a minute’. It was just so heavy-handed.
“The obvious answer would have been to let them buy the tickets on the train and explain what they should do for next time.”
He said both families have submitted complaints and appealed against the fines. They had heard from other parents whose children had been fined for similar situations and had successfully appealed.
Read more:
- Harrogate rail campaigner ‘optimistic’ early morning train could be reinstated
- Harrogate district train station parking review a ‘lost opportunity’
Both sets of parents are in a position to pay the fines, he said, but he was concerned about other families who were not. He added:
“The main point is to stop it happening again.”
The Stray Ferret contacted Northern for a response to Mr Fulford’s concerns about their handling of the situation.
In response, Tony Baxter, regional director for Northern, said:
Harrogate rail campaigner ‘optimistic’ early morning train could be reinstated“Customers have a duty to buy a ticket for travel before they board a train.
“They can do so in advance via our app and website or, if they wish to purchase at an un-staffed station, they can do so from one of the more than 600 ticket machines we have installed across the network – one of which is at Cattal station.
“Customers should arrive at the station in time to purchase their ticket before they travel. Anyone issued with a penalty fare has the right to appeal the decision to an independent appeal service.”
Rail campaigner Brian Dunsby has said he is “optimistic” that the 6.07am Harrogate train to Leeds could be reinstated sooner than expected.
Mr Dunsby, of the Harrogate Line Supporters Group, met officials from rail operator Northern last week.
The cuts, which came into force on May 15 and have also affected services across Yorkshire, led to widespread disappointment from commuters.
The early service from Harrogate was popular with business travellers as a way to get not only to Leeds but also to London King’s Cross before 9am.
However, Northern has maintained the cuts are necessary.
Read more:
- Harrogate commuters frustrated as early trains axed today
- Northern to continue with Harrogate train cuts despite pressure from MP
Mr Dunsby and the group’s chairman, Andrew Whitworth, met with senior Northern officials Tony Baxter and Pete Myers to discuss the changes to the timetable.
Following the meeting, Mr Dunsby said:
“I am optimistic that the 6.07am early morning service from Harrogate to Leeds will be reinstated as soon as the threatened industrial action has been settled.
“Failing that happening in quarter three then I am confident that December 2022 will see the reinstatement of the original December 2021 timetable if all else is going to plan.”
Members of the RMT union, which includes Northern employees, voted to strike over pay last week with industrial action expected to take place this month.
Tony Baxter, regional director at Northern, said previously:
Andrew Jones MP says Harrogate and Knaresborough train cuts ‘a bad mistake’“The new timetables are designed to deliver high levels of reliability.
“We’ve made decisions about our timetables based on the levels of resource we have available.
“We’ve then prioritised the routes with the highest customer demand, and which support the region’s economic growth.”
Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has told Parliament that cuts to train services in the towns will damage business and make it impossible for some commuters to be at work on time.
The two early morning weekday services from Harrogate to Leeds were axed this week, meaning the earliest commuters can arrive in Leeds is 7.28am
Speaking in a Commons transport debate yesterday, Mr Jones said it was a “bad mistake” to think that the decline in passenger numbers due to covid was now at a fixed level and “service levels can be cut back accordingly”.
He added:
“We have seen some of the implications of this locally on the Leeds-Harrogate-Knaresborough-York line.
“The services that have been cut back are the early morning services to Leeds, although many people from Harrogate commute to Leeds for work.
“Some will now find it impossible to be in work on time. For other service users, it is now impossible to connect with the Leeds to London services that get into our capital before 10am.
“That is not good enough for business people, and Harrogate has significant conference business at its convention centre, with many people travelling to it from across the country.
“Other rail cuts have created long gaps in the evening services and an earlier finish on the Knaresborough service. These cuts are obviously bad for our night-time economy.”
Mr Jones, a former transport minister, said the cuts were “not great to see” because rail services had been “making such great progress after all of the years of Labour’s no-growth northern franchise”.
He cited the six daily direct London services and better rolling stock as examples.
Read more:
- Harrogate commuters frustrated as early trains axed today
- How did a First World War bomb end up in Knaresborough?
Mr Jones said he’d had a “very positive meeting” with Robin Gisby, the chair of rail operator Northern, who he said “recognised the significance of the services that have been cut, and he is working on reinstatement for later this year”.
One of the key issues, he added, was training more drivers.
Praise for local buses
Mr Jones also used his speech to praise the “excellent leadership” of Don Mackenzie, who was the North Yorkshire county councillor in charge of transport until the local elections on May 5, for securing £8m from the government for a scheme with Harrogate Bus Company to bring 39 electric buses to Harrogate and Knaresborough.
Mr Jones added:
Harrogate commuters frustrated as early trains axed today“The bottom line is that the new electric buses are very popular, and the customer response has been excellent.
“I have checked this with the bus company and with passengers. People like the ride quality and the quietness, alongside the fact that the vehicles are bright, airy and pleasant to be in. They are obviously also emission free, which is highly popular.”
Harrogate commuters have vented their frustration as early morning trains to Leeds are axed today.
Rail operator Northern has cancelled the first two services of the day from Harrogate to Leeds at 6.07am and 6.33am.
It means the earliest Harrogate commuters can arrive in Leeds is 7.28am, compared with 6.24am from Bradford, 6.27am from Skipton and 6.31am from Ilkley
It will also inconvenience some Harrogate business passengers travelling to London for early morning meetings.
Martyn Fletcher, who was one of the commuters caught out by today’s timetable change, was left waiting at a wet Pannal station at 6.15am for a service that no longer exists. He said:
“I commute to Kent every week and have done so for over two years with no problems but no longer can get to Leeds to catch my scheduled train.
“I am not the only person living in Harrogate who needs to commute . In my opinion, trains must run every half hour from 5.30am until 8.30am so that those that need to catch connecting services from Leeds to elsewhere can do so.
“This change to schedule makes no sense at all . If you want to save money only run a hourly services during the quieter mid-morning mid-afternoon period . But provide a proper service for workers and business people.”
Read more:
- Andrew Jones MP urges Northern to ‘rethink’ cuts to Harrogate trains
- Harrogate Homeless Project appoints new chief executive
Northern has said the cuts are due to be reversed in December but rail campaigner Brian Dunsby told the Stray Ferret he wasn’t convinced.
“They have done this without good reason and without justification. I don’t trust them to reinstate the services.
“I can’t get proper answers out of them or find out who made this decision.
‘Harrogate is being picked on’
Mr Dunsby, of Harrogate Line Supporters Group, said it would be far better to scrap an afternoon service rather than the key early morning trains, adding:
“It’s crazy that the Harrogate line seems to have been picked on when others haven’t been treated this way.”
Tony Baxter, regional director at Northern said:
Pleas to reinstate cancelled Harrogate to Leeds rail service ‘ignored’“The new timetables are designed to deliver high levels of reliability.
“We’ve made decisions about our timetables based on the levels of resource we have available.
“We’ve then prioritised the routes with the highest customer demand, and which support the region’s economic growth.”
Rail campaigner Brian Dunsby has said his pleas to reinstate the cancelled 6.07am train from Harrogate to Leeds have been ignored by publicly-owned rail operator Northern.
The Stray Ferret reported last month that the weekday service — the first of the day — will be axed from May 15. Some evening services will also be cut.
Mr Dunsby, of Harrogate Line Supporters Group, branded the move ‘disgraceful’ and called for a rethink. He said the service is vital for commuters and voiced his concern that losing it will damage Harrogate’s business community.
Since the decision, he said he’s been lobbying Northern as well as Transport for the North and local Conservative MP Andrew Jones, but he’s been left disappointed.
He said:
“There’s been no progress at all. It’s quite unjustifiable. We can’t understand why they are cancelling them. It’s very unsatisfactory.”
Northern blamed lower passenger numbers, issues with rolling stock and staffing problems for the cuts, which has seen a raft of services across Yorkshire withdrawn.
Read more:
- Northern to continue with Harrogate train cuts despite pressure from MP
- Early morning train from Harrogate to Leeds cancelled
Northern will put on a bus to replace the lost early train service from Harrogate to Leeds, but it could be December at the earliest until Northern will look at reintroducing the rail service. Mr Dunsby said this was “not good enough”.
He added:
“That’s eight months away. People need this train for business trips.”
Tony Baxter, regional director at Northern, said:
Hot Seat: Farewell to the Harrogate district’s transport chief“Customers are at the heart of everything we do, and the new timetables are designed to deliver high levels of reliability.
“We’ve made decisions about our timetables based on the levels of resource we have available and prioritising the routes with the highest customer demand, and which support the region’s economic growth.”
In less than a month’s time, the curtain will come down on the career of one of the most influential — and divisive — politicians in the Harrogate district this century.
Don Mackenzie served 16 years as a Harrogate borough councillor, but will be best remembered for his current role as executive member for access at North Yorkshire County Council.
His portfolio includes transport, which means he has led on key decisions, such as the Harrogate Station Gateway, the junction 47 upgrade of the A1(M) near Knaresborough, realignment of the A59 at Kex Gill and numerous schemes to promote cycling and walking.
In an era when some politicians pick and choose which media to talk to, and hide behind press officers, Cllr Mackenzie has always been willing to pick up the phone and front up. He believes in transparency, he says. Colleagues say he’s on top of his brief, and some think he would have made a good county council leader.
But the judgement of the people is more brutal. Barely a day passes without references to ‘Dismal Don’ or calls for his resignation on social media. Complex transport schemes rarely please everyone and rarely progress swiftly and he is remarkably relaxed about the fallout:
“If I let these things upset me, I would have given up years ago. The only thing that occasionally annoys me is social media, especially anonymous posters.
“Tough decisions have to be made and all they do is sit in the comfort of their own home posting anonymous criticism. It’s cowardly.”
‘Right time to go’
On the day we met Cllr Mackenzie, who has lived in Harrogate since 1973 and represents Harrogate Saltergate, he received an email asking how dare he approve 770 houses being built on Otley Road — the decision has not been made yet and will be taken by Harrogate Borough Council, of which he has not been a councillor since 2018.
Such confusion will end when North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council are abolished next year to make way for North Yorkshire Council, which will become the new unitary authority for the county.
New weather stations have been introduced to help drivers in difficult conditions.
That looming seismic change has persuaded Cllr Mackenzie, 72, not to seek re-election on May 5. He is the only one of 10 members of the county council executive not to do so. Wasn’t he tempted to continue?
“No I wasn’t. It’s a five-year commitment. I felt that my time as a county councillor had come to a natural end. Many of my colleagues have great difficulty deciding when and if to retire. Many people say a career in politics always ends in tears so I feel this is the right time to go.”
Read more:
- Harrogate bus plans in tatters after government rejects £116m funding bid
- £7.8 million awarded to help make Harrogate Bus Company’s fleet all-electric
- Transport leader Don Mackenzie to step down next year
Nevertheless he will be sad to depart.
“I’ve enjoyed almost every minute of it.
“Most councillors set out to do something for their local community. Most people like me are in it to make a difference and sometimes it’s difficult to make that difference. There are inevitably disappointments. We’ve been disappointed this week with our Bus Service Improvement Plan.”
The county council’s plan involved bidding £116m to the Department for Transport to improve bus services in North Yorkshire. It received none. A significant chunk would have been spent easing congestion in Harrogate. But in March the government awarded the council and Harrogate Bus Company £7.8m to make the firm’s fleet all-electric.
There have been other successes, such as the Bond End double mini roundabout in Knaresborough, which eased congestion at one of the most polluted spots in the Harrogate district.
“It was a highlight because many people thought it would not work and were worried about safety and taking away the traffic lights.”
Junction 47, trains and Kex Gill
Cllr Mackenzie lauds the A1(M) junction 47 upgrade, due to end end anytime now, as a rare example of infrastructure investment coming before development.
He says train services are far better now, with more frequent direct trains to London, than before he became a councillor despite rail operator Northern’s announcement last month of cuts to Harrogate services. He says:
“Northern have assured me these reductions will be short-term only.”
He admits to being a “little frustrated” the Kex Gill realignment won’t be completed before he leaves office. Delays, he says, are inevitable when “taking a major trans-pennine highway across a sensitive area of countryside”. Peat deposits are among the vexed considerations. But the project has levered £56m from the Department for Transport and should start this year.
Walking and cycling schemes
Active travel schemes have been the most contentious, particularly the Harrogate Station Gateway. It was one of three initiatives worth £42million funded by West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
Making the case for the Station Gateway at a business meeting.
Cllr Mackenzie says the Selby and Skipton projects “have been problem free”; Harrogate has been anything but, with strong opposition from businesses and residents to reducing Station Parade to single lane and pedestrianising part of James Street. He remains a staunch advocate:
“It’s bringing £11million of much needed investment into the town centre. It will be a radical improvement to a part of town that needs improving and it will be good for the visitor economy.”
He says he would be “inclined to continue’ with the closure of Beech Grove in Harrogate to through traffic when the 18-month experiment ends in August, with the caveat that he “would be guided by the data”.
As for Otley Road cycle path, he was “a little surprised to hear complaints from the cycling lobby” because “what we have delivered is exactly what the plans showed so they had plenty of time to raise concerns then”.
He says the council will conduct another round of consultation on phase two “so people are absolutely clear” about the plans this time.
Why have these schemes provoked so much anger?
“In Harrogate, when one attempts change — in this case to improve facilities for walking and cycling — you get roughly half the population behind you and half against you.
“Also, many people feel any restrictions on car driving is a bad thing whereas if you want to overcome congestion you have to have a realistic alternative.”
Conservative for 40 years
Don Johannes Josef Mackenzie was born in Germany and is bilingual — his dad stayed there after the war and met a German woman. The family moved before Cllr Mackenzie’s first birthday and he grew up in Ipswich.
He became managing director of MMP International, which supplied industrial repair and maintenance products worldwide. The job brought him to Harrogate 49 years ago.
MMP was acquired by US company ITW in 1998. Mr Mackenzie was a minority shareholder and stayed on for 10 years as business manager. He then became self-employed, “doing small things representing British manufacturers worldwide”.
A Conservative Party member for 40 years, he cut his political teeth as a Harrogate borough councillor in Pannal from 1987 to 1991 before a 15-year hiatus to concentrate on his career and raising his daughter, who would later become the agent for Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough. Who are his political heroes?
“I liked Mrs Thatcher but I don’t have any political heroes. I also liked David Cameron — I thought he was very good.”
He returned to serve three terms in Harrogate from 2006 to 2018, during which he became the cabinet member for planning and transport for three years — a role that included oversight of the creation of the original Local Plan — a document that outlines where planning can take part in the development.
Speaking at an online county council meeting.
The plan allocated 390 new homes a year in the district — a number that was rejected by the government’s Planning Inspectorate as too low and was eventually bumped up to around 700, leading to ongoing concerns about the number of new developments. He says:
“In hindsight 390 was a little low. Now it’s nearer 700. I don’t have a problem with 700 but recently it’s been much higher than that.”
Cllr Mackenzie was appointed executive member for public health at the county council in 2013 until council leader Carl Les moved him to his access portfolio in 2015.
It’s a bruising role but says the only time he gets real abuse is when he’s knocking on doors canvassing. It doesn’t seem to bother him — he likes a good argument. Or as he puts it:
“I can’t say I enjoy it but I wouldn’t shrink from it.
“I belong to that generation when a candidate didn’t rely on social media. I relied on public meetings. But there’s far less of that face-to-face stuff and that has led to a decline in behaviour because people think their behaviour doesn’t matter as much.”
Bird watching
Cllr Mackenzie, who is 72, doesn’t intend to retire. He has applied to become a non-executive director of a British public sector organisation and wants to keep busy.
“I wouldn’t like to think I didn’t start each day without an active programme ahead.”
He’s a keen bird watcher who engages in his hobby on family holidays in Norfolk. He doesn’t cycle but walks a lot. He often catches the bus or strolls into town from his home, near Leeds Road about a mile from the town centre. He says it’s too close to go by car.
He claims not to have any major regrets. What does he think his legacy will be?
“I would like people to think that whatever decision I took, I took with the best of motives and I thought the decision was right. I can’t claim to have got every decision right – but they were all taken with the best of intentions.”
With many of his schemes set to outlast him, his legacy will be felt in the district for years to come.