Safety concerns relating to parking and vehicle movements close to two Ripon primary schools have prompted the city council to seek remedies.
Highways authority, North Yorkshire County Council, is being approached with a request to put double yellow lines on Highfield Road, close to the junction with Lead Lane.
A request is also being made for a 7.5 tonnes weight limit to be put in place on Quarry Moor Lane.
Greystone Outwood Academy Primary School is on the busy Quarry Moor Lane.
At last week’s full meeting of the city council, leader Andrew Williams, said:
“I am concerned that parents dropping off and collecting children from Moorside Primary School are creating problems for both pedestrians and other motorists, by parking close to the Highfield Road/Lead Lane junction.
“I have checked on the junction at the start of the school day and at school closing time when the junction is busy with cars parked on either side of the road and sight lines are affected, increasing the risk of an accident.”
Following a request from a resident living in Quarry Moor Lane, the council agreed that a weight limit on the road, which runs past Outwood Primary Academy Greystone, would reduce the risk for pupils attending the school.
Currently, heavy goods vehicles are able to use Quarry Moor en-route to and from the Dallamires Lane Industrial Estate.
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Ripon Civic Society looks to the future for a growing city
The phrase ‘I care about where I live’ is a guiding principle for Ripon Civic Society (RCS) as it looks to the future of a growing city.
The organisation that aims to protect and enhance Ripon’s heritage assets for the benefit of all, is currently formulating its views on the new £6 million plans for the cathedral, the city’s most important and iconic building.
Society chair Christopher Hughes, told the Stray Ferret:
“We have, of course, been looking closely at the proposals and will have our response in due course and hope that residents and visitors will look at the plans and make their views known as well.”
While the ancient building is the city’s dominant feature, RCS, now in its 54th year, is encouraging citizens to play a role in shaping the Ripon of the future.
Speaking at the Civic Day 2022 awareness and recruitment event on Market Square on Saturday morning, Mr Hughes, said:
“We start with the simple proposition of ‘I care about where I live’ and look at what this means in helping to make the city an even better place.
“By the 2030s, Ripon is likely to grow by a quarter and we need to ask questions such as ‘what do we value of the city’s past?’ and ‘what is at risk?’
“That leads on to keeping a watch over vulnerable buildings and threatened trees and how we can enhance the green, blue and natural environment.”
Mr Hughes, added:
“We are not here to say ‘no’ to development, but to encourage those who are investing in Ripon, from retail to residential, to aim for the best possible design, with use of materials sympathetic to the city’s built and natural environment.”
RCS played a key role in setting up the Ripon Museum Trust 40 years ago, establishing an organisation that has developed the Workhouse, Prison & Police and Courthouse museums as linked heritage attractions, that bring the city’s history to life.
While protecting and promoting heritage, the society also had an eye to the future when it supported the construction in the 1990s of the city bypass, which helped in the development of the Dallamires Lane employment zone, where many businesses are based.
RCS has a healthy membership of 150, but welcomes new members and those who want to attend events as non-members. Further details are available at info@riponcivicsociety.org.uk.
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Concerns raised over ‘success’ of rural bus pilot scheme in Ripon and Masham
A pilot scheme designed to provide public transport in rural areas with little or no services looks set to be extended for a year amid concerns restrictions deterring key potential customers will make it unsustainable.
Leading North Yorkshire County Council members will be asked to approve spending nearly £230,000 of taxpayers’ money on trialling its Yorbus demand-responsive bus service for a further year at a meeting on Friday, despite officers behind the initiative estimating it only stands to generate £12,833 in fares.
The authority has repeatedly stated its ambition to roll out its flagship rural transport scheme across the county if the pilot in the Masham, Ripon and Bedale area is a success.
‘Stronger than forecast’
An officers’ report to Friday’s meeting has underlined the pilot was being viewed as successful, partly because “patronage of the YorBus service has been stronger than forecast”.
However, following Freedom of Information Act requests to the council from the Transport Action Network and residents, it has been claimed the council deliberately set extremely low passenger targets to ensure Yorbus would be regarded as a success.
They say target passenger journeys were set at a total of 758 for the trial’s first three months and at 885 for the first six months, equating to just 0.9 and 0.5 passenger journeys per operating hour, assuming just one of the service’s two minibuses was operating for 11 hours a day.
On the same assumption, it transpired passenger journeys per operating hour were 2.9 trips per bus hour in the first three months and 3.4 per hour in the 14-seater vehicles over the first six months.
Padam, technology firm Siemens’ demand responsive transport software arm, estimates that to be fully commercial such services need an average of seven to eight people per vehicle throughout the day.
The Yorbus service covers Ripon, Masham and Bedale
Campaigners say the low patronage was likely to have been artificially increased by Yorbus having a flat fare of £1.20, which would inevitably have to rise if rolled out across the county.
They added features of Yorbus, including the inability to book any trip the day before, will make it very difficult to attract sufficient passengers or be cost-effective, and that in the long-run it will be dropped.
Read more:
- No replacement buses for Harrogate district commuters during strike
- ‘Tough cookie’ Masham councillor becomes final chair of county council
The officers’ report states preventing customers from booking rides in advance offers the service maximum flexibility and also maximises the ability to meet passenger demand.
However, Padam states “encouraging advance booking really helps with both increasing passenger numbers and operational planning” as people can plan their days in advance and depend on the service.
Padam states:
“We see around 75% of passengers booking in advance, which validates our expectation that people use this as reliable public transport rather than a taxi equivalent.”
Mark Parry, chair of Action for Yorkshire Transport, said his group questioned whether the service was value for money. He added:
“Given the nature of the service, I just wonder what North Yorkshire is trying to do by not having advance booking. If you are going to have demand-responsive transport I would certainly say you need some scope with advance bookings.”
Campaigners say while Yorbus’s low patronage figures could be considerably boosted by allowing advance bookings, particularly for people wanting to travel to work, passenger numbers could be significantly increased by offering a door-to-door service for elderly and disabled customers.
‘Virtual bus stops’
After initially only picking up passengers at recognised bus stops, some potential passengers complained that their village had no bus stop, so the council introduced “virtual bus stops”, which campaigners say have not been advertised and are few and far between.
Nevertheless, the council has revealed no intention to offer limited mobility passengers a door-to-door service as part of the pilot extension, but said it would consider introducing limited pre-booking, extending operating hours, and seeking funding to offer Yorbus in other parts of the county.
It added it would also look at developing its telephone contact option for customers, consider how to roll out return booking, and undertake a fares review, including incentivising such options as group bookings.
A council spokesman said the pilot would “enable options for a wider roll-out to be explored in more detail”.
Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.
Dogs without leads ruining Valley Gardens
Yesterday I walked through the valley gardens at 9am and I counted 20 dogs off their leads. One did a huge poo and the owner was oblivious on their mobile.
Another was digging up the amazing flower beds. This has got to stop. I’ve lived in Harrogate all my life and this is preventing me from using the amazing Valley Gardens.
Gale Filburn, Harrogate
Read more:
- Stray Views: How did Woodfield school end up in this mess?
- City council seeks briefing on £6m Ripon Cathedral plans
Ripon Cathedral plans ‘adequately discussed’
Councillor Williams is leader of Ripon City Council and as such has no statuary right of consultation about the Cathedral plans. The Cathedral has more than adequately discussed its plans with the relevant local authorities in Harrogate and Northallerton.
The City Council of Ripon is represented on Ripon Together where local organisations have a voice on all local issues.
I suggest that Cllr Williams’ time be better spent in finding out why the Spa Hotel remains closed in spite of purchase by The Inn Collection, a disaster for Ripon tourism and its economy.
Dr Christopher Bennett, Ripon
Thank you, Stray Ferret
Thank you so much for your coverage of the Great Knaresborough Bed Race.
As I have been laid up with some mysterious illness I was unable to do my usual duties at Bed Race, so therefore I would have missed it all except for being able to watch your videos. So thank you all once again for yesterday.
Pamela Godsell, Knaresborough
Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.
Carers recognised for covid efforts in Harrogate and Ripon at team celebrationA special event has been held to thank a team of carers covering the Harrogate district during the pandemic.
Continued Care, which has headquarters in Harrogate and a base in Ripon, held the Celebration and Thank You Evening to recognise its staff’s achievements in the face of unprecedented challenges over the last two years.
The event was also an opportunity to present long service awards and announce the carer of the year awards for each branch at the home care company. The winners were Sophie Philp in Harrogate and Janet Bettridge in Ripon.
Director Samantha Harrison said:
“Working through Covid has been one of the hardest things we have experienced but through it all our staff have shown great determination and resilience, working together as a team and putting others before themselves.
“Before the pandemic, their jobs were hard enough but our staff have been selfless and focused on doing their best for our clients who are among the most vulnerable in our community.
“Their kindness, compassion and generosity has been inspirational. We wanted to say thank you and tell each of them how amazing they are and how proud we are of them.”
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- Harrogate care home’s plea to get 100 cards for Olive’s 100th birthday
- Baby group to bring children and Knaresborough care home residents together
Long service certificates and badges were presented to nearly half of Continued Care’s staff – 65 people out of 140 – who have been with the company for five years or more.
Making the presentations, area manager Mike Herrington said it was amazing to have such a high proportion of long-serving staff in the company, given the well-known challenges of employee retention in the care sector.
He added:
National Open Gardens: Gardens taking part across the Harrogate district this summer“This is testament to the quality of our staff and what they do for us, as well as what we do for them, and how we all work together to make sure people get the best service we can give them.”
The temperatures have risen across the Harrogate district this week and that summer feeling has well and truly kicked in.
And what better time than to enjoy some of the stunning flora and fauna that our area has to offer.
There are lots of gorgeous gardens to explore over the next few months as part of the National Garden Scheme.
The initiative gives visitors unique access to over 3,500 exceptional private gardens in the UK and raises impressive amounts of money for nursing and health charities. The scheme also promotes the physical and mental health benefits of gardens.
We have put together a list of the participating gardens in our district from now until August:
Birstwith Hall, Birstwith
When: Sunday, June 19, 2pm-5pm
Admission: Adults £5, children go free
About: A charming and varied four-acre garden nestling in a secluded Yorkshire dale.
A formal garden and ornamental orchard, as well as extensive lawns leading to a picturesque stream and a large pond. There is also a walled garden and Victorian greenhouse.
The gardens can also be visited by arrangement.
Yorke House and White Rose Cottage, Dacre Banks
When: Sunday, June 26, 11am-5pm
Admission: Adults £5, children go free
About: An award-winning English country garden in the heart of Nidderdale.
A series of distinct areas flowing through two acres of ornamental garden. There are also colour-themed borders, as well as a natural pond and stream with delightful waterside plantings. Secluded seating areas and attractive views.
The adjacent cottage has a recently developed garden designed for wheelchair access. There is a large collection of hostas and an orchard picnic area.
The gardens can also be visited by arrangement.
Prospect House, Burton Leonard
When: Friday, June 24, 1-.30am-2pm
Admission: Adults £35, children go free
Booking: A limited number of tickets have been made available for this special event. Tickets must be booked in advance here
About: Following a welcome by the owner, there will be talks on the development of the garden, the creation of a cutting garden and colour-themed borders plus demonstration of cut flower arrangements in the potting shed. Buffet lunch included.
Prospect House features a one-acre walled, landscaped garden with ornamental pond, pergola, large oval lawned area, cutting and vegetable beds.
There is a colour-themed herbaceous long border, ‘hot’ borders, and a physic bed. There is also mature hedging, trees and seasonal interest throughout. Additional new planting areas are being established.
A renovated outhouse has been converted into a potting area used for garden workshops.
The gardens can also be visited by arrangement.
Cobble Cottage, Whixley
When: Sunday, July 3,11pm-5pm
Admission: Adults £4, children go free
About: An imaginatively designed, constantly changing, small cottage garden full of decorative architectural plants and old family favourites.
There is an Interesting water garden, containers and use of natural materials. It also features a black and white courtyard garden and Japanese-style garden with growing willow screen.
The gardens can also be visited by arrangement.
Group openings – gardens that open on the same day
Grafton gardens, Marton-cum-Grafton
Well House.
When: Sunday, July 3,11am-5pm
Admission: Adults £6, children go free
About: These two gardens in adjacent rural villages are also connected by a public footpath.
Paddock House is on an elevated site with extensive views down a large sloping lawn to a wildlife pond. A plant lover’s garden where the house is encircled by a profusion of pots and extensive plant collections combining cottage gardening with the Mediterranean and Tropical. A curved terrace of Yorkshire stone and steps using gravel and wood sleepers leads to many seating areas culminating in a cutting garden and small greenhouse.
Well House, in Grafton, nestles under the hillside, with long views to the White Horse. This one-and-a-half acre garden was begun 40 years ago and is constantly changing. A traditional English cottage garden with herbaceous borders, climbing roses and ornamental shrubs with a variety of interesting species. Paths meander through the borders to an orchard with ducks. Refreshments are available at The Punch Bowl pub, a five-minute walk from Well House.
Dacre Banks and Summerbridge Gardens
Woodlands Cottage.
When: Sunday, July 10,12pm-5pm
Admission: Adults £10, children go free
About: Dacre Banks and Summerbridge Gardens are situated in the beautiful countryside of Nidderdale and designed to take advantage of the scenic Dales landscape.
The gardens are linked by attractive walks along the valley, but each may be accessed individually by car.
Low Hall has a romantic walled garden set on different levels around the historic C17 family home (not open) with herbaceous borders, shrubs, climbing roses and a tranquil water garden. The gardens can also be visited by arrangement.
Riverside House is an atmospheric waterside garden on many levels, supporting shade-loving plants and features a Victorian folly, fernery, courtyard and naturalistic riverside plantings. The gardens can also be visited by arrangement.
Woodlands Cottage is a garden of many rooms, with exquisite formal and informal plantings, and an attractive wildflower meadow which harmonises with mature woodland. The gardens can also be visited by arrangement.
Yorke House has extensive colour-themed borders and water features with beautiful waterside plantings. The newly developed garden at White Rose Cottage is specifically designed for wheelchair users. The gardens can also be visited by arrangement.
Read more:
- Top gardening tips from Harrogate horticulture experts
- The £2.25m eco-house for sale that ‘blends in’ to the Nidderdale countryside
The Priory, Nun Monkton
When: Thursday, July 7,11pm-5pm
Admission: Adults £6, children go free
About: A large country garden surrounding William and Mary house (not open), at the confluence of the River Nidd and River Ouse.
It features species trees, calm swathes of lawn, clipped yew, beech and box, formal rose garden and mixed borders.
There is a new area of soft perennial planting and informal parkland. There area also kitchen gardens with a greenhouse and swimming pool where teas will be served.
The Nun Monkton Ferryboat will be running a special service on this day, connecting Nun Monkton with Beningbrough and Moor Monkton, from the riverbank next to The Priory.
Markenfield Hall, Ripon
When: Tuesday, July 12, 2pm-3pm
Admission: Adults £5, children go free
Booking: By guided tour only (max 10 people). Tickets must be booked in advance here
About: The work of the hall’s owner Lady Deirdre Curteis and gardener Giles Gilbey.
Mature planting combines with newly designed areas, where walls with espaliered apricots and figs frame a mix of hardy perennials.
In 2018 the farmhouse border was replanted to eventually blend seamlessly with the hall’s main east border.
Goldsborough Hall, Goldsborough
When: Sunday, July 24, 11pm-5pm
Admission: Adults £5, children go free
About: An historic 12-acre garden and formal landscaped grounds in parkland setting around Grade II*, 17th-century house, which was the former residence of HRH Princess Mary, daughter of George V and Queen Mary.
Goldsborough Hall boasts Gertrude Jekyll inspired 120ft double herbaceous borders, a rose garden and a woodland walk.
There is a large restored kitchen garden and glasshouse which produces fruit and vegetables for the hall’s commercial kitchens.
Greencroft, Littlethorpe, Ripon
When: Sunday, August 7, 12pm-4pm
Admission: Adults £5, children go free
About: A half-acre informal country garden created by the owners. It features long herbaceous borders packed with colourful late summer perennials, annuals and exotics culminating in a circular garden with views through to large wildlife pond and surrounding countryside.
Special ornamental features include a gazebo, temple pavilions, formal pool, stone wall with mullions and gate to pergola and cascade water feature.
The gardens can also be visited by arrangement.
Council shelves Knaresborough and Ripon travel plansPlans for a 7km cycleway in Knaresborough and other active travel improvements in Ripon have been shelved after a bid for government funding failed.
North Yorkshire County Council applied for £1.5 million – but did not receive any money from round three of the government’s active travel fund.
The council said in a statement that “there will be no progress with either project at present” following an announcement of funding allocations to councils across England last month.
If successful, £50,000 would have funded feasibility work for a segregated cycleway and footpath between Knaresborough and Flaxby Green Park.
In Ripon, around £550,000 would have been spent on the development of “sustainable travel corridors” in the west of the city. This could have included widened footpaths, better pedestrian crossings and traffic calming measures.
Also included in the £1.5 million bid was proposals for other schemes in Selby, Ryedale and Craven, which have not received any funding.
Read more:
- No replacement buses for Harrogate district commuters during strike
- New pothole machine could be coming to Harrogate district roads
Separately, the council has announced final designs for cycling and walking improvements on Harrogate’s Victoria Avenue and the A59 near Knaresborough are “likely” to be revealed this summer as part of a consultation.
This comes after more than £1 million was awarded to the council, which had hoped to start construction works by now.
The proposals include cycle lanes, improved crossings and reducing the A59 speed limit from 50mph to 40mph.
The council said in a statement:
“Designs are currently being finalised and costed. A public consultation will need to take place before any contract is awarded.
“This is likely to happen over the summer but dates have not yet been confirmed.”
Kevin Douglas, chair of Harrogate District Cycle Action, said he was disappointed that the Ripon and Knaresborough schemes failed to secure funding and that he believed the government’s decision partly came down to the council’s record on getting projects done.
Mr Douglas said:
“Their track record on delivering schemes that have got funding isn’t good,
“It is unusual not to get any funding, but you can see why when the council has schemes that are outstanding.
“The Knaresborough scheme hasn’t been delivered, Victoria Avenue hasn’t been delivered, the Otley Road cycle path hasn’t been delivered, as well as the plans for Oatlands Drive – they are all a way off.”
The Oatlands Drive plans originally included a one-way traffic system, but this was scrapped last year after a backlash from residents who warned the changes would be “disastrous”.
Plans for Oatlands Drive were dropped following public opposition
It was then agreed that government funding would be used for a feasibility study looking into improvements for the wider area.
However, the council has yet to go out to consultation and the new proposals won’t be ready until at least autumn – more than a year-and-a-half after the original plans were abandoned.
A council statement last month said the consultation is “still being finalised” and was “likely to start soon after” the Queen’s platinum jubilee bank holiday weekend.
The statement also said the new proposals will be made public at the end of the study, “which will be in the autumn”.
Meanwhile, it was also revealed this week that a third round of consultations will be held on the £10.9 million Harrogate Gateway project after further traffic concerns were raised.
It means a final business case for the scheme has yet to be submitted and construction works could now be delayed until at least winter.
Ripon firefighters save pony stuck in mudRipon firefighters helped to a free a pony that got stuck in the mud this week.
The pony, called Monarch, was unable to get up after lying in mud at the side of a small stream.
He panicked and soon became exhausted.
The owner called for help from a vet, who summoned the assistance of fire crews from Ripon, Malton and Richmond.
The vet sedated Monarch and the firefighters were eventually able to free him from the stream in Ravensworth, Richmondshire.
Swale Veterinary Surgery, whose vet Lesley responded to the incident, posted on its Facebook page:
“Amazingly Monarch had no severe injuries and was just a bit sore and stiff after the ordeal.
“Amazing work Lesley and a massive thank you to North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service for helping get Monarch out safely.”
Monarch recovering afterwards.
Read more:
- City council seeks briefing on £6m Ripon Cathedral plans
- Councillors raise concern over Harrogate fire station cuts
Harrogate girl, 13, charged with drunken assault on police
A 13-year-old girl from Harrogate has been charged with assaulting three police officers.
The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is also accused of being drunk and disorderly on the same day.
North Yorkshire Youth Court, sitting in Harrogate, heard on Friday that the teenager assaulted a police constable and a police community support officer in Ripon Market Place, where the girl was said to be drunk, on March 24.
She is also charged with assaulting another police constable twice on the same day at Harrogate police station on Beckwith Head Road.
In a separate case also heard on Friday, the same girl was accused of using threatening behaviour against a male in Harrogate’s Victoria Shopping Centre on April 3 this year.
Both cases were adjourned until June 26.
Read more:
- Police investigating brawl in quiet Pateley Bridge street
- Ripon man who tried to meet underage girls pleads guilty to carrying knife
- Harrogate’s Nelson Inn sold to pub restaurant chain
Eco business park near Ripon set for expansion
Melmerby eco business park set to expand
A business park at Melmerby, near Ripon, has been granted planning permission to build a further three units at its 60-acre site.
The park, owned by Potter Space, is located close to the A1 (M) and has previously won awards for its carbon neutral unit.
The new units will add 70,000 square foot to the site and include solar panels, electric vehicle charging points and cycle stores.
Potter Space operates five business parks across England with a business model that prioritises sustainability, biodiversity and wellbeing.
Jason Rockett, managing director at Potter Space, said:
“We’re pleased to be able to bring our latest investment plans to fruition at our Ripon business park and create more high-quality warehousing and industrial space to meet demand.”
Read more:
- Harrogate’s Nelson Inn sold to pub restaurant chain
- Harrogate district unemployment figures remain low
Nominations open for Knaresborough Business Awards
Nominations for the first Knaresborough Business Awards are now open.
The awards, which will be held in August, have been organised by Knaresborough Business Collective.
Members of the public can now nominate their favourite Knaresborough business in 15 categories, including business of the year, favourite family run business, favourite group or class and favourite place to stay.
To nominate, click here.