Local artists, craftspeople and photographers are opening their doors to the public this weekend to showcase work as part of NiddArt Trail.

The trail, run by community organisation Nidderdale Art Trail, aims to highlight both the artistic talent on offer throughout the district, as well as keep community spirit alive.

It originated as Nidd Art Fest, which ran from 1997 to 2008, and has been known as NiddArt Trail since 2009.

Venues in upper and lower Nidderdale, Pateley Bridge, Bewerley, Knaresborough and surrounding villages will house the works of both professional artists, such as Claire Baxter Gallery and JOT’s Gallery, as well as amateur groups such as Pateley Bridge Art Club, which will hold its summer exhibition in St Cuthbert’s School, and Lofthouse Art Group.

A number of community venues will also host featured works, including Summerbridge Methodist Church and Sawley Village Hall.

St Paul’s Art Group will have a variety of mediums on display, including photography and crafts, with some on sale to the public. The work will be held in St Paul’s United Reformed Church, Harrogate, on 26 and 27 August. Refreshments will also be available.

Poetry readings will also take place at Darley Methodist Church as part of the trail. Reverend Alastair Ferneley of Dacre and Alan Jordan, Lay Pastor in the Methodist Church, will be reciting their own poetry on Saturday, August 19, and Saturday, August 26.

Paintings, pottery and photographs curated by local artists will all be housed in St Andrew’s Church, in Blubberhouses, on 19 and 20 August, as well as 26 – 28 August too.

Treasurer Charles Mellor said:

“It’s very much a community event and is made from a mix of talent and community effort.

“There is quite a spectrum of activity this year.”

Some pieces will be available to buy from both the professional and amateur artists, however many choose to simply be involved in the trail.

“I think people just really enjoy being a part of it.

“Many of the groups and venues involved become very enthusiastic about the trail.”

The participating venues are free to attend and will be open at various times from Friday, August 18 to Monday, August 28.

The trail has been available to view online from August 1.

Find a full breakdown of the participating artists and venues, as well as their opening times, here.

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A gastro pub near Ripon has been granted an extension to its licensing hours until midnight.

The Sawley Arms, which has eight bedrooms and is popular with diners, applied for an extension until 1am, seven days a week.

But Harrogate Borough Council’s licensing committee decided on Friday that alcohol could only be served until midnight.

Steve Manton, owner of the Sawley Arms, told the committee he had spent more than £1 million refurbishing the pub since he bought it 11 years ago as a retirement project.

Mr Manton, who previously ran several businesses in the Harrogate area, said the pub’s main activity was food.

“It’s a destination pub. The traditional boozer has disappeared.”

Customers, he said, “like to linger and that’s why we have put in the extension until 1am”.

Mr Manton addresses the meeting.

He added:

“That doesn’t mean we will stay open until 1am every night. Last night we closed at 9.30pm.”

Mr Manton, who lives on the Isle of Man, described the venue as “a summer pub”, adding there was “very, very little activity in winter and we close our gardens”.

He said besides diners, the pub attracted weekend walkers, visitors to Fountains Abbey and guests from nearby Grantley Hall, the opening of which he described as “a lifeline”.

Before the meeting, David Taylor, clerk to Grantley and Sawley Parish Council, had submitted an objection to the proposal raising “grave concerns”.  He said:

“The residents of the village are very likely to be disturbed by vehicles leaving the site at times that would extend beyond 1am.

“Although 1am is the requested extended time, there would be ‘drinking up time’ and staff leaving the premises, therefore it would be nearer to 2am when the last cars leave the site.”

Wan Malachi, a licensing enforcement officer at the council told the committee it had received no complaints about the venue.

Ed Darling, the Conservative councillor who chairs the licensing committee, told Mr Manton it had granted the extension on condition that it applied until midnight, seven days a week, rather than the 1am requested. Cllr Darling added:

“There is a right of appeal against this decision to Harrogate Magistrates Court within 21 days of receipt of the decision notice.”

An application to extend drinking hours at the Sawley Arms near Ripon will be decided by the council next week.

The gastro pub has applied for a licence for late-night drinking until 1am, seven days a week.

As part of the application, the pub said it will ensure accompanied children are seated away from other guests, and that staff will be on site at all times. It also said there are 16 CCTV cameras recording constantly in order to prevent crime and disorder.

The application had originally requested the licence for both the bar and the gardens, but environmental health officer Gemma Demaline said that was likely to cause disturbance to nearby residents in Sawley.

Responding for the Sawley Arms, Steve Harryman said:

“This will be predominantly to allow us to serve our guests for a bit longer.

“We are a quiet country pub with the gardens only usable in the summer months and our current licence allows us to use them up until 11pm.

“No noise complaints in our nine-year trading period.”

Mr Harryman then offered to keep the licence for the gardens until 11pm and extend the hours inside only. He said staff would ask guests to move inside at 11pm and signs would be put up asking them to leave the pub “quickly and quietly”.

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He added:

“This is most likely to be hotel guests walking to the rear of the pub to their hotel rooms, no traffic movements.

“We also have night porters on site to ensure noise levels are kept to a minimum, for the benefit of our neighbours and our other hotel guests.”

An objection to the proposal was submitted by David Taylor, clerk to Grantley and Sawley Parish Council, saying the council had “grave concerns”. He said:

“The residents of the village are very likely to be disturbed by vehicles leaving the site at times that would extend beyond 1am.

“Although 1am is the requested extended time, there would be ‘drinking up time’ and staff leaving the premises, therefore it would be nearer to 2am when the last cars leave the site.

“this would present a very real disturbance to the many residents leaving in close proximity to the Sawley Arms.”

The application will be considered by Harrogate Borough Council’s licensing committee next Friday, October 28.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue has warned of the dangers of not checking chimneys after its crews attended two chimney fires in villages close to Ripon within hours yesterday.

Ripon firefighters were called to Sawley just before 3.30pm yesterday and then to Marton-le-Moor shortly after 6.30pm.

The Marton-le-Moor fire was caused by a beehive blocking smoke in the chimney. The cause of the fire in Sawley is unknown.

A North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said they had heard of birds nests causing fires in chimneys but never beehives.

Both fires were confined to the chimneys and left no external damage.

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The homeowners were advised to get their chimneys checked following the incidents in case the heat damaged the chimney stacks.

The spokesperson urged residents to clean their chimneys regularly to clear obstructions, such as nests and leaves and to remove the build-up of soot.

It said chimneys for smokeless fuels should be swept once a year; chimneys for fires that burn wood and bituminous coal should be swept twice a year.