Stunning Harrogate district walks included in new guide

Walks around Pateley Bridge, Ripon, Boroughbridge and Harrogate are among those included in a new campaign to promote Yorkshire as the walking capital of the world.

The year-long initiative, known as Walkshire, began yesterday. It includes 365 walks in God’s own county — one for every day of the year.

Tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire, which is behind the campaign, hopes it will encourage more people to discover Yorkshire’s spectacular scenery and history on foot.

Routes in the Harrogate district include:

53 miles of the Nidderdale Way

14 miles Bramhope to Harrogate via Arthington viaduct

9 miles Ripon to Fountains Abbey

8 miles Hackfall woods near Masham

5 miles Thruscross reservoir

6.5 miles Burton Leonard, Copgrove and South Stainley

2 miles Ripon canal

The routes can be viewed here:

Arthington viaduct. Credit: Welcome to Yorkshire

James Mason, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said:

“2020 has been a tricky year for all and certainly a time to reflect on the importance of health and well-being so what better way to start the new year and continue through 2021 than promoting walking in Yorkshire to the world and welcoming visitors to the most diverse of counties.”

The campaign features a daily walk and businesses can sponsor and nominate routes.

There are four big seasonal walks and special plans for Yorkshire Day on August 1, as well as a Tour de Walkshire to replace the postponed Tour de Yorkshire cycle race.

People are invited to participate in Walkshire by sharing their own favourite walks using the hashtag #Walkshire.

Harrogate-based Yorkshire Cancer Research is the official charity partner of Walkshire.

No suspicious circumstances in Pateley Bridge couple’s death

North Yorkshire Police has said there are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding the deaths of an elderly couple in Pateley Bridge.

Officers discovered the bodies at 1.30pm on Wednesday after being contacted by a concerned member of the public.

The police said the man died of natural causes and the woman’s death is at the moment unexplained. Both were in their 70s.

Police cordoned off the scene following the incident in Blazefield in the Nidderdale town.

Enquiries are ongoing to trace the next of kin for the man and the woman.

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Two people found dead in Pateley Bridge

The bodies of a man and a woman have been found at a property in Pateley Bridge.

North Yorkshire Police discovered the bodies at 1.30pm yesterday after being contacted by a concerned member of the public.

Officers entered the property at Blazefield and found the deceased man and woman, who were both in their 70s.

No further details, including names, are available yet.

A North Yorkshire Police statement said:

“Enquiries are being conducted and specially trained officers remain working at the scene, in order to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.”

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My Year: From floods to pandemic, Pateley Bridge shop team pitches in

The Chandler family took over the Spar Shop in Pateley Bridge in 2016 and as 2021 approaches, they hope to put a year of floods and pandemic behind them. Lee Chandler tells their story for the Stray Ferret.

On Valentine’s Day, people were buying wine and chocolates for a romantic night in, but the following morning Storm Dennis hammered the UK and Nidderdale.

Over three days, we went from a relatively quiet start to 2020, into the teeth of gales, deep waters and floods.

As the River Nidd rose to its highest recorded levels and shops and businesses in Pateley Bridge were flooded, who could have known this was just the precursor of worse to come?

Back in February, many members of the community pulled together to save the High Street – among them, James Clarkson, Hillary and Roger Jefferson (even though Roger was recovering from heart surgery), County Councillor Stan Lumley, Aaron Dunn, Chris Hawkesworth and many more.

Flooding in Pateley Bridge at the beginning of the year

Flooding in Pateley Bridge at the beginning of the year. Photo by Sharon Clarkson

Just as we completed the clean-up and, like the town’s other retailers, started putting out the stock for Mother’s Day and Easter, we were back in crisis.

A virus that only medical experts and scientists had heard of came sweeping across the world. Nobody was safe.

While Nidderdale has not suffered the same level of infections and deaths as other parts of the Harrogate district, the lockdowns from March to June and November to early December temporarily closed the majority of businesses in the town.

However, with people isolating in their homes in Nidderdale and the Washburn Valley, we were among the essential retailers allowed to remain open and found our shop transformed into a kind of distribution hub.

Countless boxes and bags containing food and drink, prescriptions, pet supplies, books and DVDs were assembled for delivery by an army of more than 60 volunteers coordinated by Nidderdale Plus with fabulous assistance from the Rev Darryl Hall.

More than 90 deliveries went out on some days – both near and far, including urgent supplies that went up Greenhow Hill by bicycle with trailer ridden by Heather Tuffs, an instructor from Bewerley Park Outdoor Learning Centre – itself in lockdown.

We also had the ‘buddy scheme’ checking on the vulnerable and set up a food bank donation point which remains to this day. It is run by Bewerley Park and Nidderdale Plus.

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Staff at Spar and other shops that remained open worked extremely long hours, in a collaborative community effort – that also saw us, later in the year, clubbing together to support the town’s Christmas lights appeal.

With our late-night Christmas shopping event another casualty of covid-19, the extended lights have brought us some cheer and we will have them for years to come.

In among all this, we took over the local bakery just across the road, which had closed before the first lockdown – some might call us gluttons for punishment!

It has been a challenging year, but we kept our heads above water, maintained our sense of humour and hope to come out of it stronger.

Homes in Masham and Pannal in peril as flooding strikes

Emergency teams have been summoned to a home that flooded in Pannal as the Harrogate district wakes up to the effects of Storm Bella.

Property, roads and farmland around the Harrogate district have felt the brunt of a night of strong winds and heavy rain and alerts remain in place.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said in a statement a crew responded to reports of flooding in a basement property in Pannal at 00.26am this morning.

The statement added water was pumped away from an electric switchboard and sandbags were requested from Harrogate Borough Council.

The emergency planning team at Harrogate Borough Council, which responds to serious incidents, tweeted at about 4am:

“Following a call from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue our team have deployed to Pannal to protect a property at imminent risk of flooding.”

No further details are available.

Flood warnings are in place on the rivers Nidd and Ure as well as at Swinney Beck in Masham.

Swinney Beck is a particular area of concern: the government’s flood informations service tweeted just before midnight that properties along Westholme Road in Masham were most at risk. It added:

“Please activate any property flood protection products you may have, such as flood barriers and air brick covers and stay away from fast moving water.”

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The flood information service also issued a flood warning for the River Nidd at Low Laithe overnight

“The level of the River Nidd at Pateley Bridge is rising due to persistent rain through the night. Levels are forecast to reach 1.5 metres around 03:00 and will continue to rise until around 06:00 on Sunday morning when the peak at Pateley Bridge is expected to be below 2 metres.

“The B6165 is expected to flood at this level. We are monitoring the situation closely and will update this message on Sunday morning or as the situation changes.”

A flood warning is also in place for the upper River Nidd around Pateley Bridge, with the flood information service advising motorists to plan driving routes to avoid low lying roads near rivers.

Roecliffe caravan park, near the River Ure, is also subject to a flood warning, River levels are expected to rise until mid-afternoon and people are being warned to stay away from fast flowing water.

Nationally, 181 flood alerts and 105 flood warnings are in place.

River Nidd on flood alert as Storm Bella hits

Heavy rain tonight could cause the River Nidd to flood, with Pateley Bridge most at risk.

The government’s flood information service issued a warning at 8.22pm this evening as Storm Bella struck.

The warning said river levels in the upper Nidd were forecast to rise in the next few hours, adding:

“Consequently, the risk of flooding of property/roads and farmland in the majority of locations is expected to be overnight from 00:30, tomorrow morning.

“Areas most at risk are low lying land and roads around Pateley Bridge. We are closely monitoring the forecast and flood warnings may be needed.

“Please plan driving routes to avoid low lying roads near rivers, which may be flooded.”

The flood information service is expected to issue an update in the morning.

Alerts are also in place for the lower and upper River Wharfe and the upper River Ure.

Nationally, 155 flood alerts are in place, along with 77 flood warnings and two severe flood warnings, where lives could be in danger.

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Vaccine to be given at Great Yorkshire Showground next week

The Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate is to be used for the vaccine rollout from next week.

The first vaccination is due to be given on Tuesday and the programme is expected to last for several months.

The government has asked the 17 GP practices in Harrogate and the surrounding district, including Ripon, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Pateley Bridge and Masham to oversee the rollout.

The practices are appealing for volunteers to marshal the car park and signpost patients through the vaccination site at the showground, which is owned by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.

No details have been given to the media about the rollout but a post on the Harrogate covid co-operation Facebook group yesterday on behalf of the GP practices revealed the news. It said:

“Harrogate and rural district are working together in order to plan for delivering a mass vaccination programme and we need to ask primary care staff and volunteers to help.

“We will need staff and volunteers to undertake a variety of roles and we need to plan for vaccinations to be carried out seven days a week, 8am-8pm, including bank holidays.

“This is a huge ask, but we would like volunteers to indicate if they would be willing to help in some capacity.”

The 250-acre showground has ample car parking and is used to staging large events, most notably the three-day Great Yorkshire Show, which was cancelled this year.

But nothing in the Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s 183-year history compares with the task in hand.

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The GPs’ post today said it required 18 volunteers a day. Morning sessions will start with an 8am briefing and the first jabs will be given at 8.30am.

Morning sessions will end at 1.15pm and afternoon vaccinations will take place from 2.30pm to 6.15pm.

The GPs’ post said:

“Unfortunately we aren’t able to offer vaccinations to volunteers at this stage as we have to prioritise certain patient groups.

“Next week is the first stage of the vaccination programme and we are going to need volunteers from the New Year onwards to fulfil the same types of roles for probably a number of months.”

Anyone interested in volunteering is invited to register their interest and complete the questionnaire here.

County council to build 20 homes in Pateley Bridge

North Yorkshire County Council’s housing company has been granted planning permission to build 20 homes in Pateley Bridge.

The council-owned former Highways Depot on Millfield Street will be demolished to make way for the development, which will be called Millwright Park.

It will include six two-bedroom, two three-bedroom and 12 four-bedroom properties.

The homes will all have an electric vehicle charging point and will include 37 car parking spaces in total.

Four of the homes will be classed as affordable, which has received criticism.

Because the depot was derelict, Brierley Homes was able to use a Vacant Building Credit (VBC) to reduce the number of affordable homes in the development from five to four.

The VBC is a planning mechanism to encourage developers to bring vacant properties back into use and can be used to reduce the number of affordable homes.

Pateley Bridge Town Council submitted an objection to the plans, saying the homes will be out of reach for young people.

“The council considers that this is a one-off opportunity for NYCC to provide accommodation for local people, particularly the young who often cannot afford to live where they have been brought up, and have to move away, which inevitably changes the demographics of the town.

“On what is in effect public land, NYCC are selling it to their own development company at the expense of providing badly needed affordable and social housing for local people.”

Karl Battersby, chairman of Brierley Homes, said:

“We are delighted that Harrogate Borough Council has approved our scheme for 20 new Brierley Homes at Millfield Street in the heart of Pateley Bridge. The development on the former highways depot will bring back into use this important brownfield site.

“The scheme includes four affordable homes, which complies with Harrogate Local Plan policy. On completion, these homes will be transferred to a local housing association.

“The homes will be energy efficient thanks to a timber frame, electric car charging point and low-energy appliances. They will be built in stone with quality finishes and come with a ten-year NHBC Buildmark warranty.”

Construction on the homes will begin early next year.

The site in Pateley Bridge was originally a railway depot for the defunct Nidderdale Valley Light Railway, before being used by the council from the mid-1950s.

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The former depot is highlighted in red.

Brierley Homes was established in 2017 by North Yorkshire County Council. All profits are used to support frontline council services in the county.

Last month, Brierley Homes was granted planning permission to demolish its Woodfield House care home in Harrogate to build 20 new homes.

The council received criticism from Harrogate Civic Society because none of the homes will be classed as affordable, after Brierley applied for a Vacant Building Credit.

Pateley Playhouse launches £35,000 renovation appeal

A £35,000 fundraising campaign is underway to install a lift for people with disabilities at the Pateley Playhouse.

Pateley Bridge Dramatic Society, which is based at the theatre, is coordinating efforts to raise the sum.

The society said it is eligible for a £15,000 grant and hopes to raise the additional £20,000 via a crowdfunding page.

Renovating the historic 1930s Playhouse will be a complex project but the society has said the character of the building will remain intact.

Currently the first floor auditorium is only accessible via two steep staircases and a lift is required to comply with building regulations regarding disabled access.

The lower floor, which includes the bar, foyer and actors’ changing rooms will be re-arranged to accommodate the lift. Depending on funding, work is scheduled to start early 2021.

Interior of Pateley Playhouse

The Playhouse can seat up to 73 spectators but is currently closed due to the pandemic.

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The society said it hoped that undertaking renovations during this period of covid-enforced closure would enable it to hit the ground running when it reopens next year.

Eileen Burgess, one of the founding members of The Playhouse in 1968, said:

“The Playhouse is such an important part of the community in Nidderdale and these renovations will make it even more inclusive for all members of the public.

“I can think of no better time to make these upgrades in the current circumstances and I hope the public will be enthused to pull together and raise the funds needed to start the process as soon as possible.”

To support the fundraising effort, click here.

Harrogate district covid rates fall by two-thirds during lockdown

The Harrogate district is set to end the second lockdown with a far lower rate of covid than when it started.

Government figures today reveal the district has an average seven-day rate of infection of 92 people per 100,000, compared with 277 people per 100,000 on November 5.

This means the rate has fallen by about two-thirds since lockdown began.

The England average is currently 154 and the North Yorkshire average is 107.

The R number has fallen from a peak of 1.6 last month to 0.6 today. This means every 10 people with covid will infect another six.

Public Health England recorded another 18 positive test results today, which is well below the 95 on November 9.

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There were no further deaths reported today at either Harrogate District Hospital or in the district’s care homes.

Killinghall and Hampsthwaite remains the district’s covid hotspot, with 26 infections in the last seven days.

The next highest is Ouseburn, Hammerton and Tockwith with 18.

Pateley Bridge and Nidd Valley, Masham, Kirkby Malzeard and North Stainley and Ripon North and West have not recorded a single new infection for at least seven days.