It’s almost two years since a section of church wall collapsed in Kirkby Malzeard, raising safety concerns and causing the closure of one of the principal routes through the village.

The retaining wall at St Andrew’s Church collapsed after heavy rain in February 2020.

Harrogate Borough Council’s plans for reconstruction of the collapsed 10-metre section and refurbishment of a further 30 metres of wall have been revised following drawn-out consultation with villagers and statutory bodies including Historic England.

It means the road to Masham remains shut, with no date for its reopening currently known as Harrogate Borough Council is unable to say when the wall will be rebuilt. However, things could move forward next week.

A council spokesman said:

“An application relating to St Andrew’s Church Wall, Kirkby Malzeard will be considered by the council’s planning committee on Tuesday (15 February), the outcome of which will inform next steps, costs and timescales”.

Lynda English, whose children are pupils at Kirkby Malzeard Primary School, which is across the road from the damaged stone structure, told the Stray Ferret:

“Each time it rains, more debris falls from the graveyard onto Church Street and there are an increasing number of gaps between the stones on the section of wall that is due to be rebuilt.”

Church Street, where Kirkby Malzeard Primary School is located, has been closed to through traffic for almost two years

“Fencing has been put in place to block off the collapsed section but it still doesn’t feel safe to me and other families living in the Church Bank area, who have to pass each day, when taking children to school.

“The whole village is fed-up with the delay in fixing the wall but, at the same time, we want to ensure that a proper and lasting repair job is done.”

Creets Bridge traffic lights

In a further blow for motorists travelling to, from and through Kirkby Malzeard, traffic is being held up at the grade II listed Creets Bridge, which crosses Kex Beck, on the main road between the village and Ripon.

The centuries-old bridge was reconstructed by North Yorkshire County Council after suffering severe damage in the floods of November 2000.

Now traffic lights, cones and a concrete barrier have been put in place and only single file traffic can cross, as the route awaits new repair work,

At the time of publication the Stray Ferret was unable to establish from NYCC how long it will take to carry out the works.

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Ripon City Council has called for a new consultation on plans to build 1,300 homes at Ripon Barracks after a transport assessment was belatedly published.

Harrogate Borough Council’s 30-day consultation on the Homes England scheme is due to close on February 17.

But Ripon City Council agreed this week to urgently contact Harrogate Borough Council, asking it to ‘reset the clock’ to give local residents more time to make their views known.

City council leader Andrew Williams, received unanimous support from fellow councillors after he said:

“Important information, most notably the transport assessment executive summary, was added to the Harrogate Borough Council planning portal after the consultation period began — and anybody who commented on the outline planning application prior to February 3 would not have seen the crucial transport document.”

In April, the city council called for the Clotherholme development to be scaled back to 800 homes because of concerns about the impact of more traffic on Ripon’s road network.

At Monday’s full city council meeting, Cllr Williams said:

“This is the biggest single development in Ripon’s history and while we welcome, in principle, new homes for the city, it is clear that we don’t have the roads infrastructure to support this many, which will come on top of the 390 homes at West Lane and other schemes.

“The addition of a further 1,300 homes will have a negative impact across Ripon.

“We’re asking to reset the clock, so that people have the opportunity to read the documents on the planning portal.”

David Walpole, a consultant commissioned by the city council to report on the traffic implications of Clotherholme scheme, has been asked by councillors to ‘object in the strongest possible terms’.

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The transport assessment in support of the Homes England development says:

“The proposed mitigation measures for the Ripon Barracks site include a wide range of improvements not just in the vicinity of the development itself, but also throughout the western side of the city and into the city centre itself.

“These measures include; the implementation of pedestrian and cyclist improvements by implementing mitigation measures such as traffic calming on Clotherholme Road and Kirkby Road; the introduction of a one way system involving Kirkby Road, College Road and Trinity Lane to accommodate on road cycling while maintaining car parking along College Road; the provision of a gateway junction including segregated cycling facilities at the primary Kirkby Road access to the site; junction mitigation measures to alleviate traffic congestion at key city centre junctions and provide enhanced pedestrian crossing facilities; measures to prevent rat running; and proposed contributions to public transport bus services.

“As a consequence of the mitigation measures identified to support the proposed development (it) will meet the requirements of the NPPF (National Planning Policy Framework) ensuring there will be no unacceptable impact on highway safety or severe cumulative impacts and that sustainable modes of transport will be pro-actively prioritised both to and from the development and across the west of Ripon city centre.”

One of the Harrogate district’s largest employers has said many school leavers are “totally unprepared” for working life and called for more apprenticeships.

Jonathan Lupton, managing director of gritter manufacturer Econ Engineering, issued the plea during National Apprenticeship Week, which started yesterday.

Mr Lupton, who began his career as a 16-year-old apprentice at Econ, urged businesses to work with school and colleges to solve the skills gap.

He said:

“Not everyone wants to go to university, and for those who don’t, apprenticeships offer them an opportunity to learn and earn at the same time. However, before stepping foot in the workplace, they need to be moulded for life after school.

“In recent years, some of the school leavers that have come through our doors have been totally unprepared for the rigours of the working life. And speaking to colleagues in other businesses this isn’t unique to us.”

Read more:

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• Harrogate College to host week of networking events for businesses

Mr Lupton said Econ, which employs 240 staff, has employed apprentices since it was founded in 1969. He said this enabled recruits to get to know the business inside out by learning from experienced staff.

He added:

“In my view, businesses need to be working in partnership with local schools and colleges to help shape and prepare our future workforce, one that is better skilled, and one that can help take our great manufacturing heritage to the next level.”

Econ, which manufactures 85 per cent of the winter maintenance vehicles on UK roads, highlighted its latest apprentices — 17-year-old Oliver Merrin, and 21-year-old Michael Urban, who are both welders.

They will work under the supervision of Eddie Herron, who began his career at Econ as an apprentice 45 years ago.

Mr Lupton said:

“We are lucky with both Michael and Oliver. They have the right work ethic and under Eddie’s supervision, will become masters of their trade.”

Harrogate College launched an employers’ network last year to encourage local firms to talk about their training needs with a view to the college adapting its courses accordingly.

Forty-one schools from across the Harrogate district took part in Friday’s walk to school day, which aims to tackle the impact on the climate from transport.

The event, which was the first of 2022 and the fourth since its launch in June 2021, saw pupils from across Harrogate, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge and Ripon take part.

Parents and children who were unable to stop using their cars completely were encouraged to “park and stride” by parking further from the school gate and continuing the journey on foot.

Kettlesing Fellscliffe Primary School won the district’s “Zero Hero” primary school award with 100% of pupils taking part.

Meanwhile, Harrogate Grammar School won the secondary school prize with 90% participation.

Winning pupils from Kettlesing Felliscliffe Primary School.

Holly Whyte, interim head of school at Kettlesing Felliscliffe Community Primary School, said:

“At Kettlesing Felliscliffe Primary School we are committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing for our pupils.

“While many of our children are local to the village, some of our families made the extra effort to take public transport for part of their journey to school before walking the final kilometre into school.

“This ties in with our schools plans to reduce the carbon footprint in the area with our child-led eco-committee.”

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Sarah Bissett, events coordinator for Zero Carbon Harrogate, the volunteer-led charity that runs the initiative, said:

“We have been positively overwhelmed by the level of support received from schools, families and children since the Harrogate District Walk to School Day initiative launched last summer. 

“This first event of 2022 has demonstrated the continued enthusiasm towards positive transport choices both on the day and beyond; building habits which benefit our environment and the health of participants in both the short and long-term.

“Encouragingly, there has also been an increase in the geographical spread of schools taking part across the district: a trend which we hope is set to continue throughout the year.”

The next walk to school day is set to take place on Friday, March 25.

Two of the three lanes heading southbound on the A1 (M) are closed following an accident, delays are reported to be up to 20 minutes.

The accident is affecting the road heading towards J49 for Ripon and Dishforth.

National Highways is warning motorists about delays of up to 20 minutes if heading southbound.

The Stray Ferret has changed the way it offers Traffic and Travel alerts.

We will now notify you instantly through app notifications and flash tweets when there is an urgent alert. This could include heavy traffic, dangerous weather and long delays or cancellations of public transport.

The alerts are sponsored by The HACS Group.

There is still no opening date for Ripon’s new swimming pool as the multi-million pound project continues to run over budget and into more construction problems.

Harrogate Borough Council had originally aimed to open the pool in May 2021, but the project is now nine months overdue and £4 million over budget.

This is after several construction problems, most recently including a fault in the lining of the pool. An underground void has also been discovered at the adjoining leisure centre site which has prompted an £110,000 investigation.

Cllr Stanley Lumley, cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport at the council, previously said he anticipated the pool would open in January.

But the council has now confirmed that a revised opening date has still not been set.

Speaking in December, Cllr Lumley said: 

“New swimming pools go through a significant amount of testing to ensure they are safe to use for years to come and provide the best experience for the customer.

“During the testing period of the new six-lane 25-metre swimming pool at the leisure centre on Dallamires Road in Ripon, an issue was identified with the lining of the pool.

“In order to resolve this issue, Myrtha – the pool manufacturer – will be carrying out additional work, at no expense to the borough council, to prepare the pool for opening.”

Read more:

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The council awarded a £10 million contract for the pool build to construction firm Willmott Dixon in January 2020. As of last month, £13,422,309 had been spent on the project with a further £584,690 allocated.

The leisure centre

This includes money spent on investigation works after the underground void was discovered at the site. It was found in 2020, but only became public knowledge last May when the investigation launched.

These works are currently underway and are likely to continue into spring.

Gypsum deposits

Initial studies suggest there has been a “significant deterioration” of the ground beneath the older half of the centre which was built in 1995 and like much of Ripon sits on gypsum deposits.

It is likely that ground strengthening works will be needed, although the council has insisted the leisure centre is still “safe to use”.

The new pool is being built as a replacement for Ripon Spa Baths which closed in November, leaving the city without a pool for the last three months.

The 116-year-old baths was put up for sale by the council in a move which sparked concerns that the venue could lose its community use and also prompted Ripon City Council to successfully apply for the building to be nominated as an asset of community value.

This protected status means any sale has now been put on hold for several months to allow time for community bids to come forward.

A robot polar bear and an 18 metre beached whale are among the attractions travelling round the Harrogate district this month as part of an environment-themed week of events.

Visit Harrogate, Harrogate Borough Council’s tourism body, has organised the week of events named ‘Our Planet, Your World’, to offer free acitivities for families with an over-arching message of protecting the environment.

Events will take place between Monday, February 21, to Saturday, February 26, in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Masham and Pateley Bridge.

The week will begin in Boroughbridge with earth-themed storytelling sessions at the library between 10am and 1pm. On Tuesday, there will be sea inspired craft activities available to children at Masham Town Hall.

The Masham event is on between 11am and 4pm and children are encouraged to attend both days in fancy dress.

Robot polar bear to highlight the plastics crisis

On Wednesday February 23, an animatronic polar bear will roam Ripon’s Market Square with its keeper throughout the day. Visitors are also being invited to help an artist to create a five foot sculpture out of plastics, which will then be donated to a local school.

The two spectacles are there to highlight the urgent plastic crisis affecting the oceans. There will also be live music, face painting and crafts going on nearby between 11am and 4pm.

18 metre whale to arrive in Valley Gardens

Harrogate’s Valley Gardens is the venue for Thursday, February 24, which involves a 18 metre whale, two life-size kangaroo impersonators, The Roo’s and a huge animatronic tortoise all to fascinate visitors.

This day’s aim is to educate families about sea-life preservation. Alongside the three main attractions there will also be a sea fairy glob, with a magical sea fairy inside,  and Bob the Lobster to entertain children.

Craft activities will also be held throughout the day between 11am and 4pm.

Two life-size kangaroo impersonators will arrive in Harrogate.

On the Friday, an earth-themed craft session is being held in Pateley Bridge between 11am and 4pm.

The week concludes in Knaresborough Castle Grounds on Saturday. Boat-About, a life-size boat cruise with actors, will move around the grounds to entertain visitors between 11am and 4pm.

Read more:

• Harrogate district libraries offer self-care toolkit for young people
• Wanted: entertainment with ‘wow factor’ for Harrogate town centre

Gemma Rio, head of Destination Harrogate said:

“Our Planet, Your World is the perfect family-friendly event to kick off what we hope will be an exciting year of live events across the Harrogate district. Events like this increase footfall to our town centres, and attract visitors from further afield, which in turn helps support our local businesses. I would encourage everyone to come along this February half term, enjoy the events, celebrate the world we live in and learn about how we can protect it.”

Organisers have said some activities are weather dependent so are asking visitors to follow the Visit Harrogate social media channels.

The event is being funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the government’s Welcome Back Fund.

Fire crews from Ripon and Lofthouse rescued two passengers from a car trapped in water in a ford at Dallowgill yesterday.

Emergency services were called when the vehicle got submerged in water half a metre deep at around 11am.

Dallowgill is situated between Ripon, Pateley Bridge and Masham.

According to North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service‘s incident log, one passenger had managed to get out of the vehicle by the time firefighters arrived but two others required assistance.

Firefighters then used a winch to lift the car to safety.

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Comments on a Facebook group for the area said the car was stuck on Belford Lane in Kirkby Malzeard.

The occupants are believed to be from Leeds and there was some debate over whether the road was either open to traffic or suitable, given the amount of rain.

Residents also said they saw an air ambulance attend.

The fire and rescue service incident log said:

“Crews rescued two passengers from the vehicle by assisting them to walk to the bank side from their car, which was stuck in water half a metre deep. Crews used a winch to remove the vehicle from the ford.”

Ripon photographer Mike Smith has shot a series of photos showing some of the city’s most beautiful winter scenes.

Mr Smith, who moved to the city from West Yorkshire in 2018, is a keen photographer who has sold numerous images over the years.

The main image here shows blue skies over Ripon canal basin last weekend.

This swan below was photographed passing below Rentons Bridge at Littlethorpe.

Ripon’s famous cathedral celebrates its 1,350th anniversary this year and, as this photo shot at sunrise shows, it remains perhaps the most striking and beautiful building in the Harrogate district.

Mr Smith said:

“I have combined my passion for photography with my enjoyment for walking and exploring the area around our new home.

“I share a lot of my photos on local social media as there are a good number of elderly Riponians far and wide who either cannot get out into the countryside any longer or who have moved away from the area.

“They enjoy seeing my photos. Local folk asked me to produce a calendar each year and to date I have sold around 1,000.”

Local charities have benefited through part of the proceeds of sales.

Mr Smith, who used to work in financial services, has given talks to local groups and had work published magazines.

Have you taken any great photos of the Harrogate district? We love receiving readers’ images and occasionally publish them alongside the name of the photographer. Send them to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

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.

It’s time Killinghall had a bypass

It’s time Killinghall had a bypass. We live in Killinghall on the A62. The noise/air pollution/risk to life and limb on this road is now a serious problem.

Lives and health are worth more than minimal loss of green space. The planners have allowed thousands of new builds in this village, using up suitable routes and causing additional congestion to the already heavy commercial traffic on the A61, without making any provision.

John Hirst, Killinghall

Another historic Harrogate tunnel

Thought the Brunswick Tunnel story was very interesting. I don’t know if you are aware there is a tunnel on Knox Lane. Harrogate. It was the Old Gasworks Line Bilton to New Park, the old abandoned railway embankment is in the opposite field.

Susan Wrightson, Harrogate

‘Horrific’ walk in Ripon

What a horrific walk in Ripon. ten dog mess, three trolleys, six road signs and two open bags of rubbish. Ripon councillors and the mayor should be held to account. That’s just 100 yards of river walk and Ripon should be ashamed.

I lived in Ripon all my life when I was small and love fishing on the River Skell. However today’s visit really shocked me the full length of the river from Williamson’s bridge to Fisher Green is a disgrace to everybody that lives in Ripon. I am contacting Harrogate Borough Council, the dog wardens need to film and fine heavily. It is a disgrace to think tourists would come to Ripon and leave with those images in their mind.

Paul Taylor, Ripon

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Can you help reunite a family with a long-lost relative?

We’re hoping that your readers can help us trace a long-lost relative as part of our increasingly complex task of reuniting descendants of 8 brothers born in Aberdeen just over a century ago.

What started as a favour to my mother-in-law during lockdown to help rediscover her Scottish family has included the formation of a private Facebook group where members can share and exchange all sorts of information, and this is helping to gradually fill in the many gaps.

One of these unknowns is Fred Smollet – one of my mother-in-law’s cousins – who would be around 74 years old, and whose last known address and contact details – although proven to be now out-of-date – show that he lived in Franklin Mount, Harrogate in the 2000s.

Fred lost his mother at a young age and spent a lot of time with his uncle Lewie and aunt Maisie, and his cousins Alistair (sadly no longer with us) and Ronnie (who recalls smoking together as teenagers).

Our research, primarily carried out using the resources accessible via the Ancestry and ScotlandsPeople websites, indicates that Fred married his first wife Catherine in the Claro area of the Yorkshire West Riding in 1968, and subsequently emigrated Down Under.

Reaching out to Facebook members with the Smollet surname has recently unearthed Fred’s two daughters, who were born, and still reside, in Australia. They have said to us that they would understand if he didn’t want to make contact, however if they knew that he was alive and well at the very least then that would be OK.

Fred, Catherine, Jackie and Jane returned to the UK in the late 1980s, but by the early 1990s they had divorced, with Catherine and the two girls returning to Australia, where she passed away in 2020.

Fred remained in the UK and later married, but then separated from, his second wife Patricia in the early 2000s.

The photo (above), taken at my mother-in-law’s grandfather’s funeral wake in Aberdeen in 1966, shows the eight Smollet brothers with their recently widowed mother Barbara.

Back Row (left to right): Fred (Senior, Fred’s father), Jock, Lewie, Jim (my mother-in-law’s father) and Doug; Middle Row (left to right): Dod, Don and Bill.

Fred’s father, also called Fred, lived for some time in Knaresborough, and passed away in the early 1980s, so there are apparently no family members in that branch of the tree other than Fred – hence this appeal for information!

We are happy to act as intermediaries if he doesn’t wish to have direct contact with his daughters.

Lee Everitt, Southampton

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.