No pacts are expected to be made between opposition parties in the Harrogate district ahead of the May local elections.

Voters will head to the polls in just under six weeks time to elect councillors to the new North Yorkshire Council.

Harrogate and Knaresborough Green Party said it had reached out to both the Liberal Democrats and Labour to discuss a deal to unseat the Conservatives.

However, the Stray Ferret understands that no agreement has been made and that the Lib Dems and Labour are expected to field a candidate in every ward.

Shan Oakes, of the Harrogate and Knaresborough Green Party, said the party had invited opposition groups to come up with a deal.

She said:

“We have invited Labour and the Lib Dems to talk to us.

“Between us, we hope we can get somewhere.”

(Left) Chris Watt, acting chair of Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour Party and Shan Oakes, Harrogate and Knaresborough Green Party.

It follows the Green Party and Liberal Democrats striking a deal in July 2021 when the Greens stood down a candidate and called on supporters to vote for the Lib Dems in the Knaresbroough Scriven Park by-election.

‘We do not agree to any deals’

However, Chris Watt, acting chair of the Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour Party, said the party will be standing a candidate in every ward on May 5.

He said:

“We do not agree to any deals.

“We will be putting forward our case on the doorstep.”

Mr Watt added that the party will be campaigning on housing, public transport and working with police to tackle anti-social behaviour.

Some of the new North Yorkshire Council ward boundaries in Harrogate and Knaresborough. Picture: NYCC.

Meanwhile, Philip Broadbank, who currently represents the Liberal Democrats on both Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council, said it was up to individual candidates to make their case.

He said:

“All we can do is get around as much as we can and get the issues raised.

“We have all got to get out there and press our case.”

The Lib Dems are also expected to field a candidate in every seat with a campaign focus on housing, green policies and transport.

Conservatives hoping to hold onto power

Meanwhile, local Conservatives are hoping to increase their share of councillors at the upcoming elections.

Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservatives currently hold power on Harrogate Borough Council with 28 seats and hold 14 on North Yorkshire County Council – which is also in overall Tory control.

Read more:

• Ed Balls discusses politics and stammering during Harrogate school visit
• New North Yorkshire Council chief executive planned for autumn
• Speculation mounts over Harrogate independent candidates after website set up

Nick Brown, who is a Conservative councillor on the borough council representing Bishop Monkton, said the party was confident ahead of polling day.

“We are very positive and well prepared

“On the doorstep we’ve been explaining what the new authority is going to be about. It is going to be more efficient and it is going to save money.”

Local Conservatives have agreed their list of candidates, which will be published along with other parties on April 6.

Register to vote deadline

A total of 13 councillors will be elected in Harrogate and Knaresborough to the new authority, with an average of 6,194 people to each representative. A further seven will be elected across Ripon, Pateley Bridge, Masham and Boroughbridge.

Those wishing to vote in the upcoming election have until April 14 to register to vote. You can register here.

Meanwhile, events will be held online for residents across Harrogate and Knaresborough to learn more about the upcoming unitary council.

People will be given the opportunity to ask a panel of senior council officials about the changes and what it means for them.

Wallace Sampson, chief executive of Harrogate Borough Council, and Neil Irving, from North Yorkshire County Council, will appear on the panel at the event on April 12. You can find more information on how to attend here.

Vaccination sites in the Harrogate district are preparing to get busy again following the announcement of spring booster jabs.

Covid clinics in Harrogate, Ripon, Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge have wound down or paused since December.

But that is about to change after the government said people aged 75 and over, care home residents and people with weakened immune systems can now book fourth jabs.

Yorkshire Health Network, which is a federation of 17 GP practices in the Harrogate district, operates sites at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate and Ripon Races.

The showground will have its next clinic from 8.30am to 5pm on April 1.

The Ripon Races site.

Dates at Ripon Races are being finalised so they don’t clash with horse race meetings.

Tim Yarrow, operations manager at Yorkshire Health Network, said:

“We anticipate uptake to be high in the 75 and overs as Harrogate has a large population in that cohort.”

Read more:

• Pateley Bridge vaccine heroes treated to thank-you meal
• Harrogate district covid rate more than doubles in 12 days

Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge

Homecare Pharmacy Services’ site in Knaresborough.

Homecare Pharmacy’ Service‘s vaccination site at Chain Lane in Knaresborough is to add Monday covid clinics to its existing Friday and Saturday clinics. Bookings are encouraged to avoid having to wait.

Pateley Bridge Pharmacy, which paused its vaccination programme in December, plans to start again soon.

Samina Khan, who owns the pharmacy, said:

“I think we will restart in April, with bookings from March 25, but we are still finalising details.”

Infections rocketing

It comes as infection rates continue to soar in the Harrogate district.

The seven-day infection rate is now 885 per 100,000 people. It was 343 at the start of the month.

It is the highest rate in North Yorkshire and above the England rate of 833.

Harrogate West and Pannal Ash is the worst affected area in the county. It has recorded 135 positive cases in the last seven days.

About 60 volunteers who gave up their time to help administer over 10,000 covid jabs in Pateley Bridge have been treated to a thank-you meal.

Samina Khan, owner of Pateley Bridge Pharmacy, and Dr Lewis Caplin, a GP who played a key role in the Nidderdale town’s vaccination programme, organised the event.

The pharmacy wound down its programme in December but is now set to provide more clinics following the announcement that people aged 75 and over, care home residents and those with weakened immune systems can book spring boosters.

Pateley Bridge Pharmacy was awarded an NHS England contract to give jabs at its third time of applying.

Some opposed the move, saying local people could attend the GP-run vaccine centres in Harrogate and Ripon. But not everyone was able to get to those locations easily.

Ms Khan said:

“A lot of our patients were relying on transport to get to the other places and it was costing them £60 for round trips, which is a lot of money.”

The pharmacy began giving jabs in April and administered 350 a day at its peak.

Read more:

• Plea for better drains after Pateley Bridge floods again
• Bride’s disappointment as Harrogate Register Office maintains covid guest limit

Ms Khan said if Dr Caplin, a retired GP in Pateley Bridge, hadn’t agreed to oversee the vaccinations “I don’t think I would have been able to pursue it”.

The volunteers, who included vaccinators, marshals and administrative staff, enjoyed a free Indian meal at Cardamon Black restaurant in Harrogate on Sunday.

Ms Khan, who has also given volunteers gift vouchers, said:

“It was just to say thank you to them because they have given up their time to help protect the local community.”

The pharmacy plans to start providing jabs again in April.

All photos by Natasha Audsley

Children were so excited by seeing hundreds of tractors parading through their town a week ago that they have been using the experience to learn.

Many youngsters from Sunflowers Day Nursery in Pateley Bridge watched Knaresborough Young Farmers Club’s tractor run on March 13. Some even rode alongside adults in tractors.

The event, which attracted a record 383 tractors, started at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate, stopped in Pateley Bridge for lunch and ended in Knaresborough.

Children were overwhelmed by the site of so many tractors.

It made such a big impression on young minds that the nursery adopted tractor-themed learning last week.

Nursery manager Heather Clark Kelly said:

“Many of our little Sunflowers were totally overwhelmed by the amount of tractors they saw and their experiences have totally impacted on our learning this week.

“We have been talking about tractors, counting tractors, classifying tractors be colour, lining up tractors, sharing pictures of our own tractors and finally concentrating on our different skills to colour and cut out tractors to make a huge picture.

“Everything which happens in the children’s lives presents a learning opportunity, and this was no exception.”

Read more:

• Record turnout for return of Knaresborough farmers’ tractor run
• Dogs saved after falling down hole near Pateley Bridge

Public leisure centres in the Harrogate district are experiencing their greatest investment ever.

Harrogate Borough Council is spending more than £40m on new pools in Ripon and Knaresborough and on a major refurbishment of The Hydro in Harrogate.

Mark Tweedie, managing director of Brimhams Active, oversees 250 staff responsible for delivering services at these sites as well as several others.

Brimhams is the council-owned company set up last year to promote health and wellbeing in the district.

It operates swimming pools in Harrogate, Ripon, Knaresborough, Pateley Bridge and Starbeck. All of these sites, except the magnificent old Starbeck Baths and the soon-to-be-rebuilt Knaresborough Pool, also have leisure or fitness centres.

Mark Tweedie with Jack Laugher at the opening of Ripon’s new facility.

Brimhams also oversees Fairfax Wellbeing and Community Hub in Harrogate, Jennyfield Styan Community Centre, a children’s nursery and the Harrogate Turkish Baths.

Mr Tweedie, 54, a former PE teacher with considerable experience of the leisure sector, was hired by the council in November 2020 to support the creation of Brimhams before transferring to his current role in July last year.

He says he was attracted by the council’s vision of using leisure to improve the health and wellbeing of people in the district, backed by its willingness to invest serious money to make it happen.

Difficult start

It hasn’t been an easy ride. There have been costly delays at the new Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre in Ripon due to sinkhole issues that long pre-date Mr Tweedie. A report due imminently will determine how much more work needs to be done before the site can fully open. He says:

“I’m absolutely confident it will be resolved. Yes, it’s been frustrating. I know customers have been desperate to come back since Spa Baths closed.”

There has been some discontent about the consultation and need for a new leisure centre in Knaresborough, where work is due to begin next month on a 65-week building programme due to finish in July next year.

How Knaresborough’s new pool will look.

Mr Tweedie says the transition from old to new site will be “seamless”, with the current facility operating until the new one opens — something that didn’t happen in Ripon, where the Spa Baths closed four months before the new pool opened due to delays.

Now there is the looming nine-month closure of The Hydro, which will leave Harrogate without a council-run pool.

Staffing has also been difficult — Brimhams has been consistently operating with 20 to 30 vacancies. Opening hours have been affected. Mr Tweedie says:

“It’s been a significant challenge, and it’s shared across the sector nationally.”

Read more:

• Ripon leisure centre named after local Olympic hero Jack Laugher
• £28m contracts for new Knaresborough pool and Harrogate Hydro upgrades approved
• Harrogate Hydro set to close for nine months

But there is little doubt that when all the projects are completed, the district’s facilities will be significantly better than they were pre-Brimhams. He says:

“We are through the worst and back on track and people in the Harrogate district and our staff have got a lot to look forward to.”

Aim to nearly double membership 

The aim is to increase total membership at the sites in Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough to 5,000 within six months of the new facilities opening. Membership totalled about 3,000 at its pre-covid peak so it would be a considerable achievement but Mr Tweedie is “very confident” of achieving it. He says 400 people joined the Ripon centre in the fortnight after it opened.

How the refurbished Hydro will look.

Brimhams’s current monthly rate is £38.95. Customers at The Hydro are being offered a reduced rate of £32 to use the other sites while it is being refurbished. They will also be able to take part in group exercise sessions at the nearby Jennyfield Styan Community Centre.

Large private gym chains such as Pure Gym and Coach Gyms, which offer membership at about £20 a month, have extended their tentacles into the district, which can’t make life easy for council-run alternatives, but Mr Tweedie insists they are serving different markets.

“The private sector is dealing with the 15% that want to join a gym. The question is, what happens to the other 85%? How do we use public facilities to reach out to them?”

He talks about Brimhams taking “a more holistic approach” that leads to a “deeper and more purposeful relationship” with customers. People won’t come just to use the pool or gym, he says, but also to access a wider range of service that are being developed, such as mental health support, nutritional advice and mindfulness. It’s no coincidence that two Brimhams Active sites now include ‘wellbeing’ in their names — it’s clearly the way ahead.

A new software system, due to go live at the end of the month, will enable online booking and a “better digital relationship with customers”, as well as capturing footfall data that Brimhams can use to improve services.

Will it consider 24-hour opening, as many private gyms are? Mr Tweedie says:

“We have no plans for 24/7. We feel we can deal with our customer base between the hours of 6.30am and 10pm.”

Starbeck Baths

The scale of the council’s investment in leisure leads Mr Tweedie to say confidently there are no plans to reduce services or close Starbeck Baths, which is a constant threat to such an ageing facility. He adds:

“What the commercial approach is not about is reducing wages and staff and providing the bare bones of a service.”

All change next year

But his reassurances are tempered by the fact that Harrogate Borough Council will be abolished next year and control of Brimhams will transfer to the new North Yorkshire Council.

Brimhams staff will have a new employer from April 1 and, in time, a new strategy run by different managers.

Mr Tweedie, who lives in Morpeth and divides his time working from home and in the Harrogate district, says it could take at least a couple of years to implement whatever model the new council introduces so his role could exist for some time yet. He says:

“I want to deliver our three-year strategic plan and I am already working with other district leisure service leaders and North Yorkshire colleagues to manage the transition to the unitary authority.”

The important thing, he adds, is that customers don’t notice any sudden changes next year and that frontline staff, such as lifeguards and receptionists, are looked after. He says:

“It’s business as usual for us. We have a vision. We have a strategy. We have a plan we will deliver on that with a high level of tenacity.

Nidderdale Pool and Leisure Centre in Pateley Bridge.

Almost 400 tractors took part in Knaresborough Young Farmers Club‘s annual tractor run yesterday.

A large crowd gathered for the start of the event, which returned after a covid interruption last year, at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate.

The tractors left at 9am and drove around Nidderdale, stopped for lunch in Pateley Bridge at noon then finished in Knaresborough by late afternoon.

The event combines fun and fundraising, by raising money through entry fees and donations for Yorkshire Air Ambulance — a cause close to the heart of many farmers working in isolated areas.

The previous event in 2020 attracted about 360 vehicles and raised over £20,000.

Passing Mother Shipton’s Inn in Knaresborough. Pic: Charlotte Gale

Showing support for Ukraine.

This event exceeded that, with 383 tractors taking part and raising £21,000.

It started as a private club event in 2012 but was opened up in 2018 to allow anyone to take part and has grown in scale since.

People lined the streets in towns and villages to cheer on the farmers, some of whom had decked their tractors out especially for the occasion.

Passing through Birstwith. Pic: Ann Lilley

Some had adopted yellow and blue to show support for people in Ukraine.

Donations to the air ambulance can be made here.

Leaving the showground.

Read more:

• 350 tractors set to take to Harrogate district streets tomorrow
• Bus leaves Knaresborough on 1,550-mile mission to help Ukrainians flee

About 350 tractors are expected to take to the Harrogate district streets tomorrow when Knaresborough Young Farmers Club’s tractor run returns.

The event, which was cancelled last year, raises funds for Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Tractors will converge at the Great Yorkshire Showground for a 9am start and then pass through Knaresborough and Birstwith before stopping for lunch at Pateley Bridge at about noon.

The route passes through Pateley Bridge

They will then continue along country roads to Markington before finishing in Knaresborough at about 3.30pm.

The tractor run started as a private club event in 2012 but was opened to the public in 2018.

This year’s route.

Club member Mike Spink was a great supporter of the air ambulance before his death and the organisation continues to fundraise for it.

Steven Brown, chairman of the tractor run, said:

“Air ambulance is a cause close to the heart of farmers and anyone in rural communities.

“We work in solitary areas and they are always there when we need them.”

About 360 vehicles participated in the last tractor run, which was completed a week before lockdown in 2020. It is one of the largest tractor runs in England.

Anyone can turn up at the showground with a tractor and take part.

Although the event causes some traffic disruption, the route includes many minor and private roads to minimise disruption.

You can support the event by pledging a donation to the air ambulance here.

Spring has arrived in the Harrogate district, with temperatures rising to 13 degrees centigrade in some areas.

Few places are more beautiful in spring than Nidderdale, as highlighted in this image by David Benson, a keen amateur photographer from Summerbridge.

Mr Benson shot this image of Gouthwaite Reservoir this morning.

He said:

“I drive by Gouthwaite Reservoir almost daily so decided to try my hand at a bit of photography and share the beautiful scenery with people that aren’t so lucky to live with it on their doorstep as I am.”

Have you taken any great photos of the Harrogate district? We enjoy showing the best ones. Please send your suggestions to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Read more:

• Dramatic photos show firefighters saving Bilton tree in storm
• Photos reveal hidden history of Harrogate’s abandoned railway tunnel
• Nidderdale landowner sets up curlew conservation project

As the war in Ukraine wages on, the Harrogate district has stepped up its response to help those fleeing the conflict.

The Stray Ferret will be providing updates on where to give donations and how the district is responding to the ongoing war.

If you have any details on where to donate to those fleeing the conflict or any other information, write to us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Harrogate

Ukrainian woman opens house for donations 

Olga Whiting, from Ukraine, is opening up her home so she can take donations to be sent to her Mum’s village in Ukraine.

Ms Whiting now lives in Harrogate but is in regular contact with her mum who has said the items they’re most in need of are:

• personal hygiene eg feminine hygiene, toothpaste and soap
• baby food
• baby nappies
• wet wipes
• non-perishable foods

Ms Whiting has a friend who has been transporting donations into Ukraine every three weeks. Her friend will now add her native village of Nova Borava to his list of drop-off points.

People can drop donations off at anytime at 14 Yewdale Road, Harrogate, HG2 8NF. Ms Whiting has said if no one is in call her on 07307876103 and she will describe a safe place for them to be left.

Tiger Fifty 7 taking donations

The children’s store on Cold Bath Road has opened itself up as a drop-off point for donations.

It is asking for:

• Unopened toiletries
• Baby food
• Nappies
• Baby blankets
• Phone chargers
• Phone adaptors and power packs
• Dog food
• Sleeping bags

For anyone who would rather donate money via JustGiving link, click here.

Boroughbridge

Car dealer accepting donations

Charltons of Boroughbridge is accepting donations for those feeling the conflict in Ukraine.

Items collected will be sent to a large depot at Thirsk and then forward to Eastern Europe.

Organisers will accept:

• Unopened toiletries
• Baby food
• Nappies
• Baby blankets
• Phone chargers
• Phone adaptors and power packs
• Dog food
• Sleeping bags

The dealership has said it is open for donations from 8.30am to 6pm Monday to Friday and Saturday 8.30am to 5pm.

A team of volunteers hopes to fill more than a thousand sandbags in Harrogate tomorrow.

Harrogate Borough Council keeps a stockpile of around 3,000 sandbags to support communities across the Harrogate district when they’re threatened with flooding.

The recent floods have depleted its stock so the council wants to prepare for future floods by filling up sandbags from 7am at its depot on Claro Road in Harrogate.

During floods in Pateley Bridge in February, some residents reported difficulties in getting hold of sandbags to help protect their properties.

Volunteers will come from Ready for Anything, which is a database of North Yorkshire County Council volunteers that are called upon in times of emergency.

If you are interested in coming along contact Harrogate Borough Council’s emergency planning officer Ash Demaline at ash.demaline@harrogate.gov.uk

Read more:

• Mother Shipton’s delays reopening due to flood damage
• Flooding reveals ‘major unresolved problem on West Park Stray’