New group to protect western Harrogate from urban expansion

With unprecedented levels of housing planned for the western fringes of Harrogate, a new campaign group has called for developments to have a greater focus on sustainability and infrastructure.

The Western Arc Coordination Group brings together organisations including Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association, Duchy Residents’ Association, Hampsthwaite Action Group, Zero Carbon Harrogate, Harrogate District Cycle Action and Pannal & Burn Bridge Parish Council.

As many as 4,000 houses could be built in the area by 2035. Harrogate Borough Council’s Local Plan includes 800 homes at Windmill Farm on Otley Road and 200 homes at the former police training centre on Yew Tree Lane.

Several other sites have either been recently completed or are under construction, such as Persimmon’s 600-home King Edwin Park development on Pennypot Lane and Stonebridge Homes 130-home scheme on Whinney Lane.

With construction set to continue in the area for at least the next 15 years, the group has produced a document warning of “serious disruption” to people living in what is one of Harrogate’s most popular areas.

Read the document in full here.

Read more:

‘Severe’ congestion

Queueing traffic in Burn Bridge this year.

The new group predicts the majority of developments in the western arc of Harrogate will be car-dependent, which will require a “major upgrade” of roads.

It says since North Yorkshire County Council scrapped plans for a controversial “relief road” last year, there has been little progress in tackling congestion.

It warns “accepted congestion problems” have been left unaddressed and says nearby villages such as North Rigton, Burn Bridge and Pannal will bear the brunt of increased traffic in and out of Harrogate. The document says:

“All the communities we represent already experience severe congestion and the environmental and road safety problems from existing volumes of traffic.”

Tackling climate change

A key focus of the group will be putting pressure on developers and the council to ensure homes are future-proofed to mitigate the effects of climate change.

However, it says current housing developments in Harrogate fall short of the mark when it comes to the environment. It says planners, developers and house builders have a “huge responsibility” to do their bit and recognise that the decisions they take will have ramifications for climate change.

It calls on house builders to ditch their dependence on old fashioned building techniques and move towards renewable energy and off-site construction methods, which it argues will slash carbon emissions during the production process and after residents move in.

The document says:

“We would like to see that any developments in this area are exemplars of the way in which new housing addresses the net zero challenge of the next decades.”

What do local councils say?

A spokesman for Harrogate Borough Council told the Stray Ferret that the Local Plan provided a “clear and robust” framework for developments, including the requirement for a “parameters plan” that will organise infrastructure.

He added:

“North Yorkshire County Council are carrying out a series of sustainable transport improvements following investment from central government, ourselves and developer contributions.

“These improvements, that will include smart traffic lights, improvements to the junction of Harlow Moor Road and Otley Road, a new off-road cycle route on Otley Road and new or improved pedestrian crossings, will help to improve safety and alleviate the current level of congestion and accommodate the future growth.”

Members of WACG spoke at North Yorkshire County Council’s area constituency committee this morning.

NYCC’s executive member for highways, Cllr Don Mackenzie, said the authority hopes to work together with the group going forward.

He said:

“I did comment on the contents of their Campaign for Sustainability of Development publication, asking for more clarity on the group’s precise aims, since it seemed to be calling for new highways infrastructure and downplaying the effectiveness of sustainable travel measures at the same time as advocating low carbon dependency infrastructure.

“I assured the delegates that NYCC wishes to continue the dialogue with their group and to work with them to introduce effective measures in the west of Harrogate to address the challenges of congestion which the high level of residential development in that area will bring.”

 

Covid R number rises to 1.6 in Harrogate district

The rate of covid infections in the Harrogate district is rising sharply and is now well above the national average.

The R number, which refers to the reproduction rate, was 1.4 last week and is 1.6 today. This means every 10 people that test positive in the district will infect another 16.

The latest R number for the UK is 1.1 to 1.3.

The seven-day rolling average rate of infection for the Harrogate district was 160 cases per 100,000 people two weeks ago; last week it was 251 and today it is 279.

The England average is 241.

Read more:

North Yorkshire as a whole appears to be struggling. Four of the county’s seven district and borough council areas — Scarborough, Harrogate, Selby and Hambleton — now have higher rates of infection than the England average.

For many months North Yorkshire fared better than many parts of the country.

Although widely accepted that lockdown will take time to bring down infections, these are worrying figures for county health officials.

Local covid hotspots

The Harrogate district accounts for three of the top 10 covid hotspots in North Yorkshire, according to a breakdown of positive test results in the last seven days by local community area.

Harrogate east is third on the list with 42 infections, one place ahead of Killinghall and Hampsthwaite, which has 41. Harrogate west and Pannal is eighth with 36.

Catterick Garrison and Colburn in Richmondshire tops the list with 52.

The only local area in the bottom 10 is Pateley Bridge and Nidd Valley, which has recorded just seven positive tests.

 

 

 

Pumpkins take over Pannal for Halloween

The 1st Pannal Scout Group is organising a pumpkin parade this Halloween instead of traditional trick or treat activities.

The parade is the scouts’ way of encouraging people to celebrate Halloween in a socially distanced manner.

The group is encouraging Pannal residents to carve, draw or paint pumpkins and then display them in windows or gardens. 

Pumpkin locations can then be shared on the scouts’ map, allowing families to follow the trail around the Pannal and Burn Bridge area every night of half term. 

Winners for the scariest and funniest pumpkins, and the best dressed Halloween garden, will be announced. To be in with a chance, share your creation on the Pannal Scouts Facebook page. 

The Scouts have shared some ideas to get your creative juices flowing below:

pumpkin

pumpkins

pumpkins

Read more:

 

Pannal prepares for first scarecrow harvest festival

Characters of all shapes and sizes will line the streets of Pannal and Burn Bridge this weekend as part of the first ever Scarecrow Harvest Festival.

It has been set up by St Robert’s Church in Pannal, in place of its usual harvest festival, to raise money for Harrogate District Foodbank.

More than 60 scarecrows have been entered by local families and individuals, as well as Burn Bridge and Busy Bees pre-schools, Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council, and Pannal Methodist Church.

A map of all the locations, covering as far as Walton Park to the south and Beckwith Road in the north, has been put together by organisers Chloe Darcy and Stephanie Cave. They have uploaded it to the St Robert’s Church website, along with a voting sheet and photos of all the entries so far.

Chloe said:

“People have been so keen. We thought we would run with it but you’re never sure what the response will be. It has been really positive. It’s a bit of fun and everyone can get involved – even those who are shielding because we’re putting all the photos online so people can vote.”

Read more:

Entries so far include clowns, nurses, farmers, Minecraft, cartoon characters – and even scarecrows of Pannal School teachers. Each entrant has donated £5 and people taking part are also encouraged to give what they can via the fundraising page.

Chloe added:

“There would normally be a harvest festival and Pannal School would put on harvest services and bring the children to St Robert’s. We can’t collect donations of food this year, so we’re hoping to raise money for the foodbank instead.”

More than £750 has already been donated by the community before the trail has even been launched. The event runs from 9am on Saturday, October 10 until 4pm on Sunday, October 11.

Votes for the best scarecrow will be counted next week, with the winners announced on Sunday, October 18. First, second and third places will be awarded rosettes and prize money.

Harrogate care home adopts door tech to save lives

A care home in Harrogate has adopted new technology in the fight to save lives from coronavirus this winter.

Vida Grange, which is a specialist dementia home in Pannal, has installed alcohol gel-secreting door pads to limit the spread of coronavirus among staff and residents.

The pads are designed to kill germs on doors, which can help to protect people from coronavirus. They could be particularly useful in care homes, where many residents struggle to remember the importance of hand hygiene.

Yorkshire company Surfaceskins, which created the pads last year, has seen a global spike in interest in the pads. But this is the first home in the Harrogate district to introduce them.

Adam Walker, Surfaceskins inventor, with James Rycroft, the managing director of Vida Healthcare, at Vida Grange in Pannal today. They are seen holding the pads.

At an event today at Vida Grange to mark the deal, James Rycroft, the managing director of Vida Healthcare, which owns Vida Grange, described the pads as a “welcome addition to our armoury”, He added:

“Sometimes people forget to use the alcohol gel but you can’t escape the Surfaceskins.

“The coronavirus pandemic took the world by surprise so we are trying to do all we can to protect our residents and staff.”

Read more:

Mr Rycroft said new technologies and strict procedures were helping to protect residents.

Some staff at the care home have tested positive for coronavirus in recent weeks but, so far, none have passed the virus on.

Adam Walker, one of the inventors of Surfaceskins and a Harrogate resident, said:

“This product does not clean your hands but it is designed to keep itself sterile. We still need people to use gel dispensers and wash their hands. However, if you do that and use a dirty door you could still infect yourself. The Surfaceskin helps clean hands stay clean. It is a vital missing link.”

Mr Walker added the product was not a knee-jerk reaction to coronavirus. He said he came up with the idea about 10 years ago.

Power cut affects 6,600 homes in Harrogate

A power cut in Harrogate this morning led to 6,603 homes losing electricity.

The power cut affected homes in the HG3 postcode, which includes Beckwithshaw, Killinghall and Pannal.

Northern Powergrid said power returned at 9.30am this morning.

Read more:

 

Routine traffic stop in Pannal leads to three modern slavery arrests

Police officers made three arrests connected to modern slavery after pulling over a car in Pannal at 3 am last night during a routine traffic stop.

Following checks on the Audi A4 and the occupants, a 47-year-old man from Leeds and a 32-year-old woman from Birmingham were arrested for suspected modern slavery and people trafficking offences. They have been released under investigation while enquiries continue.

A 23-year-old woman from Leeds was also arrested for possession of a Class A drug. No further action was taken against her and officers have provided safeguarding support.

The police is asking anyone who may have information that could assist its investigation to call 101, select option 1, and speak to the Force Control Room quoting the reference number 12200148140.

Read more:

Modern slavery is thought to be one of the most lucrative forms of organised crime, with the International Labour Organisation estimating its global annual worth at £150 billion.

Modern slavery can come in many forms, including forced labour, sexual exploitation and forced criminality linked to drugs.

Costa drive-thru opens this week in Harrogate

A Costa drive-thru will open tomorrow near Pannal with new coronavirus safety measures in place.

The coffee company had planned an earlier opening but the pandemic delayed construction works at the Leeds Road site.

It is a key commuting route into Harrogate from the south of the town.

Most of the work now appears to be complete from the outside with a few workers at the Costa drive-thru today putting in the finishing touches.

Read more:

A Costa Coffee spokesperson told the Stray Ferret:

“The safety of both our team members and customers are our number one priority and ahead of opening we have put in place enhanced safety measures and hygiene procedures that align with government guidelines. We look forward to being an active member of the local community and serving customers a perfectly handcrafted cup of coffee.”

Harrogate Borough Council approved the demolition of a petrol station and shops for the development despite concerns over traffic.

Costa Coffee is taking part in the Eat Out to Help Out scheme so will give a 50% discount on Mondays to Wednesdays throughout August.

This will be the third Costa Coffee in Harrogate with the other two in the town centre and in Starbeck.