Today’s Ripon Market has fallen victim to the weather.
The market normally opens at 7.30am and runs until 3pm but our photo shows the scene on Market Square early this morning, with no stalls or traders in sight.
A number of traders posted on Facebook yesterday evening to say that the market was cancelled due to the weather.
Storm Dudley brought winds of around 50mph to the Harrogate district yesterday and Storm Eunice is due to arrive tomorrow.
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Flood alert extended to entire River Nidd as Storm Dudley continues
An amber weather warning is in force across the Harrogate district this evening as Storm Dudley brings rain and strong winds.
A Met Office amber weather warning means residents can expect more disruption to roads and public transport and there’s an increased risk of power cuts and fallen trees.
Gusts of up to 50mph are expected. Follow all the latest updates below.
20.11 – Flood alert extended to entire River Nidd
The River Nidd flood alert has been extended to the Lower and Middle Nidd in the last 10 minutes.
Heavy rainfall this afternoon means flooding of low lying land is expected tonight and tomorrow.
The flood alert area in the Middle Nidd includes land around the Middle River Nidd and its tributaries including Thornton Beck, Newton Beck, Oak Beck, Cow Dyke Beck, Bilton Beck, Frogmire Dike and Syke Dike.
For the Lower Nidd, it includes the Lower River Nidd and its tributaries including Sand Beck, Sike Beck, Pool Beck and Great Gutter
The alert says:
“River levels are expected to fall during Thursday morning. Further heavy rainfall is expected on Friday.
“Plan driving routes to avoid low lying roads near rivers, which may be flooded.”
19.22 – Flood alert issued for Upper Nidd around Psteley Bridge
The government’s flood alert service has issued a flood alert this evening for the Upper Nidd. It says:
“Flooding of low lying land is expected on Wednesday evening and overnight into Thursday.
“River levels are expected to fall during Thursday morning. Further heavy rainfall is expected on Friday.
“Areas most at risk include land around the Upper River Nidd and its tributaries including How Stean Beck, Blayshaw Gill, Ramsgill Beck, Lul Beck, Foster Beck, Fosse Gill, Fell Beck and Darley Beck.
17.54 – Strong winds expected all night
Although reports of serious disruption in the Harrogate district appear rare so far, the storm is far from over. The Met Office forecast is for winds to remain close to 50mph throughout the night.
The district’s amber weather warning remains in place until midnight, when it will be replaced by a less severe yellow warning. But another amber warning is in place from 3am Friday until 9pm the same day. Things should start to calm down then.
17.05 – LNER warns of train disruption
London North Eastern Railway is operating a reduced timetable and implementing speed reductions over the next two days.
A reduced timetable will be in place across parts of the route on Friday. The company said in a statement:
“People who are booked to travel in either direction between York and London King’s Cross or Leeds and London King’s Cross are being advised not to travel on Friday but where possible, make their journey tomorrow, Thursday 17 February.”
Refunds are available.
Network Rail has introduced speed restrictions on the East Coast route with possible damage to infrastructure as a result of the anticipated conditions.
16.31 – Power cuts in HG3 and HG4
According to Northern Powergrid’s live updates of power cuts,180 homes are currently without power in HG3 and nearby LS21. Power should be restored by 5.45pm. Also, fewer than 10 homes are currently without power in HG4 but they should be back on by 6pm.
16.26 – Police issue warning
North Yorkshire Police is urging people to be careful as Storm Dudley continues to rage across the Harrogate district. It says there are reports of several fallen trees in Craven.
What’s the situation like in the Harrogate district? Send us your updates at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.
The wind & rain is picking up across #NorthYorkshire as #StormDudley blows in.
Please take care if you are out & about. Be aware of fallen debris and flood water.
We currently have reports of several fallen trees in the #Craven area across several routes.
#drivetoarrive pic.twitter.com/BDCFOO95Si— N Yorks Police Traffic Bureau & Road Safety Team (@NYTrafficBureau) February 16, 2022
15.38 – 100mph gusts in north Yorkshire
The situation may be bad in the Harrogate district, bit other parts of the county are faring worse. Hawes has just recorded a gust of 100mph.
How badly is your area affected by the storms? Let us know at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.
https://twitter.com/northyorkswx/status/1493971521139785734
1.10pm – Amber warning to come into place in the next hour
The Met Office has issued an amber warning for the Harrogate district from 2pm with winds forecast to reach 50mph.
The forecast also shows the heaviest rain is set to fall between 2-4pm. Amber warnings mean the likelihood of more fallen trees and power cuts is likely.
The amber warning is in place until midnight tonight when it moves down to a yellow warning for tomorrow.
https://twitter.com/metoffice/status/1493933183116759045
11.13am – Fountains Abbey reopens Studley deer park
Fountains Abbey has confirmed that it has reopened Studley deer park this morning, but higher paths at the water garden have no access.
***Update at 11am – Studley deer park has now reopened as well as the abbey and water garden. There is no access to the higher paths in the Water Garden. ***
— Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal, National Trust (@fountainsabbey) February 16, 2022
10.23am – Tree down in Starbeck
Strong winds have brought a tree down on the cycle path on Nidderdale Greenway at Starbeck.
9.21am – Fountains Abbey opening update
Fountains Abbey in Ripon has issued an update on its opening hours ahead of forecast strong winds today.
Update at 9:14am – The abbey and water garden will open at 11am today (16/02) through the visitor centre and West Gate entrances. Studley deer park remains closed until further notice.
— Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal, National Trust (@fountainsabbey) February 16, 2022
9.10am – Tree down on Stray
A tree has been blown over on the Stray and is blocking the footpath next to the Prince of Wales roundabout.
However, it is not on the road and traffic is moving freely.
9am – RHS Harlow Carr closed
RHS Harlow Carr will be closed today due to strong winds caused by Storm Dudley.
In a tweet, RHS Harlow Carr said the decision was made in the interests of the safety of visitors, staff and volunteers.
⚠️ CLOSED Wednesday 16th February
Unfortunately, due to high winds today we've taken the decision to close the garden. This is for the safety of our visitors, staff and volunteers.
We hope to re-open the garden soon, please check back for further updates. pic.twitter.com/GpSHz9eLOr
— RHS Harlow Carr (@RHSHarlowCarr) February 16, 2022
8.30am – County council urges care during Storm Dudley
North Yorkshire County Council has urged drivers to take care on the roads following the amber weather warning in place today.
The winds are picking up across #NorthYorkshire as #StormDudley blows in.
The @metoffice has issued an amber #weather warning for very strong & disruptive winds.
Please take care if you are out & about & be aware of fallen debris on the roads.
More: https://t.co/nyJZTWirOP pic.twitter.com/4kUStzQnfi
— North Yorkshire Council (@northyorksc) February 16, 2022
8.10am – RHS Harlow Carr and Fountains Abbey opening hours
As previously reported, both RHS Harlow Carr and Fountains Abbey in Ripon have adjusted their opening hours today due to the forecast strong winds.
Due to the forecast of high winds, the woodland (including play area) and glasshouses will be closed Weds to Fri this week.
We apologise for any inconvenience, but the safety of everyone is paramount. We will continue to monitor the situation, please check for further updates. pic.twitter.com/2CBsh0gMVT
— RHS Harlow Carr (@RHSHarlowCarr) February 15, 2022
It's likely we'll be opening the mains site & deer park later tomorrow (Wed 16 Feb) to allow the worst of Storm Dudley to pass and make the site safe.
Our team will make a decision on opening in the morning so please check in with our website for the most up to date information. pic.twitter.com/Rltps8lVCC— Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal, National Trust (@fountainsabbey) February 15, 2022
7.45am – Power cuts in Beckwithshaw
Residents have reported power cuts in Beckwithshaw following the storm this morning
Northern Powergrid is reporting cuts in the HG3 and LS17 areas.
According to the company’s website, around 70 properties have been affected and power is expected to be restored at 9.15am.
This morning, Northern Powergrid said in a statement that it expected Storm Dudley to cause disruption “above typical levels”.
A spokesperson said:
“We expect that the storm will create levels of disruption that are over and above typical levels.
“If it does, we will be applying the lessons learnt from Storm Arwen in relation to keeping customers updated on our progress. In the early stages, we will give longer estimates of likely restoration times that reflect the fact that we won’t know the extent of the damage to the network.”
7.38am – Met Office updates amber weather warning
The Met Office has updated its weather warning to amber for parts of the Harrogate district. It means disruption to public transport, roads and power cuts are likely.
The warning is in place from 4pm today until midnight.
However, a yellow weather warning remains in place until tomorrow.
Find the latest on the Met Office warning below.
7.25am – Tree down on Pennypot Lane
A Stray Ferret reader has got in touch to report a tree down on Pennypot Lane near to the bridge with Harlow Moor Road.
Drivers are urged to avoid the area.
Picture: Kimberley Harness.
A video sent to the Stray Ferret appears to contradict Harrogate Borough Council‘s claim that its fleet of bin wagons can not accept wheelie bins for recycling.
Currently, residents in the Harrogate district use blue bags to recycle paper and card and lidless black boxes for tins, plastic and glass.
In some other areas of the country, people use large wheelie bins for recycling.
Today’s storm has once again see recycling left out for collection blown across streets, prompting some residents on social media to call on the council to introduce wheelie bins.
A spokesperson for the council said this month this was not possible. They said:
“Another challenge we would need to overcome is the wagons used for collection. At the moment they cater for black boxes so any change would require adaptation of the fleet.”
However, the video, which was taken in Harrogate this week and sent to us by a resident, shows council workers emptying recycling from black boxes into garden waste wheelie bins and then into the refuse trucks.
Read more:
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by the bin workers, who are clearly carrying out their jobs efficiently.
After showing the footage to the council, a spokesperson said it operated 10 bin lorries and only two could operate wheelie bins.
Writing today on the Bilton Community Group Facebook page, Matt Scott, the Conservative councillor for Harrogate Bilton Woodfield, explained why the council prefers to use black boxes over wheelie bins.
He wrote:
“When recycling is processed the clean plastic etc. is sold on with the money raised going into council services. Dirty recycling has to go to landfill as it can not be processed. In Harrogate less than one per cent of our plastic goes to landfill. Much of this is down to us all cleaning the recycling before it goes into the box.
“Councils that use wheelie bins have much higher landfill rates often of around 15%. Recycling wheelie bins are often treated simply as bins with the contents not cleaned before being put in. This means higher costs for the council and more landfill waste. I do not want to see either of that happening locally.
“The issue is not as straightforward as it may seem. Any changes would require significant expense for the bins themselves though also changes to how it is collected. This may mean new vehicles, changing routes and working patterns for existing refuse collectors. Any change to bins I would expect to be trialled first in certain areas to see if our excellent plastic purity rates are maintained. If they are not we would be spending money to lose even more money and send more to landfill.”