Motorists have endured a morning of misery between Ripon and Harrogate this morning due to lengthy delays on the A61.
Roadworks at Bishop Monkton combined with a broken down bus in Killinghall caused a double delay for people using the main route.
Linda Birnie called the Stray Ferret to say it took her an hour and 10 minutes to get from her home in Ripon to Ripley. She said:
“The traffic this morning was absolutely appalling. I would have gone through Knaresborough if I’d known.”
Ms Birnie set off at 8am and shortly afterwards hit a two-mile queue caused by lights near the garden centre at Bishop Monkton.
According to North Yorkshire County Council’s live roadworks map, there are two-way signals there until Friday due to work being carried out by Yorkshire Water.
It always says there are separate roadworks at Wormald Green until Wednesday this week.
Ms Birnie said after getting through that queue, there was a brief period of respite before she encountered another large tailback before the Ripley roundabout due to a broken down bus in Killinghall.
She had travelled to Harrogate because she is a member of the Harrogate Borough Council-owned leisure company Brimhams Active and her yoga class had been moved because of ongoing work caused by ground stability issues at Ripon’s new leisure centre.
Other motorists got in touch to inform us of lengthy delays on the same route this morning.
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A foggy day of remembrance across the Harrogate district
From Ripon Cathedral to Knaresborough Fire Station, people fell silent for two minutes across the Harrogate district today to pay their respects to the war dead.
Thousands of people stood 20-deep in the fog around the war memorial in Harrogate for the traditional parade and outdoor service.
Thousands of people also gathered at Spa Gardens and on nearby streets in Ripon, where services were held at the war memorial and in Ripon Cathedral.
Ripon Spa Gardens
Starbeck observed a minute’s silence at 11am before the main ceremony at 3pm.
Starbeck war memorial
Further afield, Junior soldiers from Harrogate’s Army Foundation College took part in a Remembrance Sunday service at Merville Battery, France, as part of a trip learning about the Normandy invasion.
Junior soldiers from Harrogate in France today. Pic: Matt Allen / MOD Crown Copyright 2022
Besides the formal ceremonies, many people took time out of their day to observe the two-minute silence.
Firefighters at Knaresborough lined up to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Knaresborough Fire Station
It marked the culmination of commemorations, which started with a minute’s silence on Friday. November 11 at 11am.
Pateley Bridge, which traditionally holds its main service on the 11th whatever the day, did so again this year.
Harrogate’s Ashville College also held a service on Friday before students and staff, along with members of the governing body and former pupils, gathered in front of the memorial to hold a two-minute silence and to lay wreaths and poppies.
Of the 300 former Ashvillians called up in the First World War, 38 died in the conflict. Eight of those were killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
In the Second World War, 465 former pupils and teachers volunteered for the forces, and of those 59 were killed.
Ashville College
North Yorkshire Police crime scene investigators are attending an incident on the corner of Finkle Street and Allhallowgate in Ripon.
The corner site has been cordoned off with blue and white police tape.
A crime scene investigation vehicle, mobile police office and a further police vehicle and officers have been at the scene.
Police at the scene are not giving any details about the nature of the incident.
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Guide to Remembrance Day services in the Harrogate district
No Annual Remembrance services will take place across the district this weekend to honour the fallen.
Below is a list of events. If you know of others, let us know so we can add them to this guide. Email us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.
Ripon
Sunday November 13: 11am – Remembrance Sunday service at the war memorial in Spa Gardens, where there will be a two-minute silence before wreaths are laid in honour of the fallen, by civic dignitaries, members of the armed forces, the RBL and representatives of other organisations.
Those planning to attend are asked to arrive by 10.30am.
Harrogate
Town centre
Sunday November 13:
Town Centre
10.30am – Parade and wreath laying ceremony at the Harrogate war memorial. The service will include the Army Foundation College, the Royal British Legion, regimental associations, uniformed cadets and scouts and guides.
Stonefall Cemetery
1pm – Harrogate Brigantes Rotary has arranged a service for 1pm at the Commonwealth War Graves. Wreaths will be laid by the Harrogate Mayoress, Andrew Jones MP, the Army Foundation College and representatives from the Commonwealth.
Starbeck
11am – gathering of residents at the war memorial on the Starbeck High Street.
3pm — Ceremony at Starbeck war memorial. The service will include the Royal British Legion, uniformed cadets, the brigades, students from Starbeck Primary Academy and local churches.
Knaresborough
Sunday, November 13: 11am – ceremony at Knaresborough war memorial attended by local officials and Harrogate Army Foundation College.
Nidderdale
Friday, November 11: A service takes place at the Cenotaph in the Pateley Bridge & Bewerley Recreation Park led by the Church in the Dales and the last post will be sounded. There will also be a contingent of 40 junior soldiers attending who will be marching in public for the first time since joining the Harrogate Army Foundation College.
Following this the young soldiers will march to the Pateley Bridge & Bewerley Memorial Hall on Park Road.
There will also be a display of the Nidderdale people who went to war and returned and those who didn’t, displayed by Folk Finders Family History.
Sunday, November 13: 10.15am – ceremony at Summerbridge war memorial
Boroughbridge
10am Service at St James’s Church followed by a parade and wreath laying at Boroughbridge war memorial from 10.45am.
If you want to make a donation to the Royal British Legion click here.
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Business Breakfast: Executive search firm moves to Harrogate’s Windsor House
Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal.
A n executive search firm the global chemical, medical and industrial sectors has moved into Harrogate’s Windsor House.
George Thomas, which was founded in 2018, helps with recruitment for senior management, executive and c-level placements.
The company has joined more than 115 other businesses in Windsor House, the former Grand Hotel, on Cornwall overlooking the Valley Gardens.
Thomas Flaherty, director of George Thomas, said:
“We are delighted to have recently moved into Windsor House, the building is the perfect location for us to operate in and offers us all the facilities we need to run our business.”
Windsor House is undergoing major refurbishment to its ground floor, which is seeing its communal areas modernised and the creation of new co-working spaces.
Karen Winspear, property manager at Boultbee Brooks which manages the building, said:
“We are delighted to welcome George Thomas and his 14-strong team to Windsor House.
“The company, our latest tenant, chose Windsor House because of the quality of office space, affordability, its proximity to the town centre, and onsite car parking.”
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Grantley Hall wins best countryside hotel award
Grantley Hall has won a national award for best countryside hotel.
The hotel near Ripon picked up the award as part of the Condé Nast Johansens Awards for Excellence 2023.
Condé Nast set up the scheme to “acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across our recommended properties”.
Grantley Hall posted on its social media:
Bid to save bus linking Ripon, Thirsk and Northallerton“This would not have been possible without our loyal guests and our incredible staff.
“Thank you to all who voted for Grantley Hall.”
Ripon councillors are bidding to save the number 70 bus service that links the city with Thirsk and Northallerton.
They have agreed to contact North Yorkshire County Council and call for a re-think following an email to the city council that said funding for the service will come to an end from April.
The news from the passenger transport authority was met with disappointment at Monday’s full city council meeting, at which leader Andrew Williams, said:
“The loss of this service will mean that people from Ripon will not be able to use public transport to travel to Northallerton and go to North Yorkshire’s new seat of local government.
“This seems a ridiculous situation at a time when the COP 27 conference is being held in Egypt and world leaders are talking about the need to reduce carbon emissions by using more environmentally-friendly means of transport.”
Ripon residents can currently travel on the 36 bus to attend Harrogate Borough Council meetings or deal with matters such as planning applications.
Cllr Williams said:
“With devolution, this will all change from April when the new North Yorkshire authority comes into being and Harrogate Borough Council ceases to exist.
“That’s why we need to both protect and promote the valuable number 70 service and encourage more people to use it and make it viable.”
Cllr Julie Martin-Long said:
“The service is also a means of accessing mainline trains for travel to the north of England and onward links to airports in the north east.
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New tree avenue to be planted on Harrogate’s Stray
An avenue of apple and maple trees will be planted on Harrogate’s Stray this month.
They will be among 800 trees planted by Harrogate Borough Council as part of National Tree Week.
The council will also be planting native trees, including oak, lime and sycamore, at Hay a Park in Knaresborough and at Paddies Park and Gallows Hill in Ripon.
About 500 of the trees have been nurtured at the council’s Harlow Hill nursery.
National Tree Week, which begins on November 26, is the UK’s largest annual tree celebration.
Councillor Sam Gibbs, the council’s cabinet member for environment, waste reduction and recycling, said:
“Planting more trees is a priority for us and this project supports a number of schemes – the White Rose Forest, for example – that will help address the climate situation and deliver carbon reduction initiatives throughout the Harrogate district.
“We couldn’t do it without the help of volunteers so I’d like to thank everyone who has either provided a sapling or will be planting a tree.”
More information about National Tree Week is available on the Tree Council website.
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Ripon museums secure more than £400,000 from Arts Council
Ripon Museum Trust has secured three-year funding from Arts Council England worth more than £400,000.
The trust operates the Workhouse, Prison and Police Museum and Courthouse museums, which welcome around 30,000 people per year.
The grant means the trust will continue to be funded through the Arts Council’s national portfolio scheme. It will receive £142,576 each year for the years 2023-26.
The funding will help pay for jobs as well as a programme of community engagement, creative programming and improvements.
Last week Harrogate Theatre , which had received just over £140,000 a year from the national portfolio scheme since 2015, announced it had missed out on an award this time.
Richard Taylor, chair of the trust, said:
“This crucial grant funding allows us not only to continue to provide a range of inspiring experiences but to also look ahead to how we can find new and innovative ways to inspire and engage our visitors both digitally and in person.
“This is good news for Ripon and the wider community of North Yorkshire. It will help to raise the cultural profile of our city and everything it has to offer.”
Applications for funding were determined against criteria laid out in the Arts Council’s Let’s Create strategy, which requires organisations to demonstrate how the work they do will contribute to the principles of inclusivity and relevance, ambition and quality, dynamism, and environmental responsibility.
Trust director Helen Thornton said:
“It is hugely exciting to be part of Arts Council England’s next portfolio and to be able to respond to Let’s Create. It’s a vote of confidence that what we are doing here has real impact and potential to grow our cultural offer.
“We hope to be able to reach out to and work with new communities, strengthen and develop what we do for our local communities, our volunteers and the general visitor – to ensure they have a really creative and inspiring time in our museums”.
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City council opens funding scheme to more Ripon organisations
Community groups in Ripon are being invited to apply for funding up to a maximum of £3,500.
Ripon City Council has reviewed its partnership funding scheme to allow more organisations to apply for assistance covering an extended period, rather than making repeat annual applications via the council’s small grants scheme.
Funding will be approved for the council’s current term of office and will be subject to agreed outcomes defined in service level agreements and a regular review.
The partnership funding scheme will no longer be limited to those organisations who have previously benefited from it on a year-on-year basis.
Local not-for-profit, charitable and community organisation are invited to submit applications by November 30.
The partnership funding scheme, which was launched in 2016, was designed to provide core annual funding to a number of local organisations.
It has previously run alongside the small grants scheme, for which the council has regularly received repeat applications from other local groups and organisations that require additional funding to allow them to carry out their work.
The partnership funding scheme is designed to be a medium-term pledge of financial support to local organisations.
It is open for applications from any Ripon organisation which has charitable status or which runs as a not-for-profit, community organisation where membership is open (i.e. no discrimination on the grounds of gender, race, religion or sexuality).
Funding applications must clearly be of benefit to the people of Ripon as the scheme is funded by the precept money collected through the council tax levied on Ripon residents.
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New films capture royal celebrations in village near Ripon over 70 years
Two films made by a local history group in a village near Ripon about jubilee celebrations during the late Queen’s reign are now available to view online.
The first film, called The Village Likes To Party, is a record of the many celebrations held in Bishop Monkton near Ripon during the reign of the late Queen, including the coronation in 1953, the jubilees of 1977, 2002, 2012 and this year’s platinum jubilee.
It contains archive film and interviews with people about their memories. It can be viewed here.
The second film, called Bishop Monkton Platinum Party Celebrations 2022, is a more detailed record of this year’s platinum jubilee celebrations, including both professionally shot film as well as videos and photos taken by people on their phones during the jubilee weekend. It can be viewed here.
Both films were funded in part with money from Harrogate Borough Council’s platinum jubilee community grants fund.
They were screened in the village hall in Bishop Monkton this year but the producers wanted to make them available for people everywhere.
Colin Philpott, co-producer of the films, said:
“Bishop Monkton Local History Group is delighted to make these films available for anyone, anywhere to enjoy forever.
“They may be about one small village but we believe they are a special record of royal celebrations in a Yorkshire community which will interest people everywhere and provide valuable historical material for future generations.”