A new crossing could be installed on Wetherby Road in an effort to improve walking and cycling in Harrogate.

The crossing, which could include traffic lights, would be put in place next to Slingsby Walk on the Stray.

North Yorkshire County Council has proposed the measure, which would cost £75,000, which it says could “double the number of people using a popular cycling and walking route”.

Cllr Keane Duncan, North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for highways and transportation, is to consider the proposal at a meeting on Wednesday, December 14.

Cllr Duncan said: 

“We are committed to creating opportunities for people who want to walk or cycle for work, education, shopping or other reasons. This is clear in the Harrogate area through our Transforming Cities Fund gateway project and Active Travel Fund schemes to develop a safe, accessible network for cyclists and pedestrians.

“The Slingsby Walk crossing could offer a significant addition to the town’s infrastructure, providing a safe, formal crossing point for pedestrians and cyclists who might be hesitant about using the link at the moment.

“We recognise concerns around existing traffic congestion on this section of Wetherby Road. While an additional crossing would place extra pressure on the network, this needs to be weighed against the benefit to pedestrians and cyclists that already use this location and those that would if there was a formal crossing.

“We need to consider the benefits a signalised crossing would bring to pedestrians and cyclists and the safety of vulnerable road users in this location to achieve a better balance between different modes of travel.”

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If approved, implementation of the crossing will be subject to a detailed design and safety audit before it could be introduced in 2023/24. 

Funding of £75,000 for the crossing has been secured from Harrogate Borough Council’s sustainable transport budget.

Cllr Phil Ireland, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability, said: 

“If we want to achieve our zero-carbon economy targets, we need to invest in sustainable travel options and help make them as safe as possible.

“Introducing a road crossing on Wetherby Road at Slingsby Walk will ensure people have safe access between the east and west of Harrogate town centre. Especially as this route is frequently used by young people accessing the nearby schools.

“I’d like to thank North Yorkshire County Council as well as Councillor Keane Duncan for considering this proposal.”

Harrogate Town has submitted major new plans to redevelop its Wetherby Road ground.

The club has until April 30, 2024 to provide a capacity of 5,000 fans with a minimum of 2,000 seats to comply with English Football League membership criteria.

It currently caters for 5,000 fans but only has 1,000 seats.

Planning documents published today by Harrogate Borough Council reveal the club has applied to convert the Black Sheep and Myrings standing terraces to seated areas, providing 603 seats.

It also intends to demolish the 1919 venue and construct a new 1919 terrace with seating, a spectator refreshment area and toilets.

The club also wants to install ball stop netting and has submitted a separate planning application for a temporary marquee containing a refreshment bar.

David Smith, associate director of planning consultants WSP, which is acting on behalf of the club, said in a letter to the council:

“The proposed works will provide additional seating and spectator facilities for existing fans.

“The new spectator facility will encourage away fans to get to the ground earlier on match days and ease congestion immediately before kick-off.

“As such, the proposals will not give rise to any significant traffic congestion and road safety problems.

The club needs to create another 1,000 more seats.

The club previously applied to build a new, bigger South Stand.

Mr Smith’s letter said:

“This further application proposes an alternative, less disruptive and more efficient means of achieving the EFL requirement.

“There will be less demolition of existing buildings and a quicker construction programme with this proposal.

“This proposal will also help improve the match day experience. The proposal will mark an important step in the on-going success of the club.”

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‘Aim to start in December’

The Stray Ferret asked Harrogate Town, which secured promotion from the National League to the EFL for the first time in the club’s history in 2020, how much the project will cost and when it hopes work will take place.

A club spokesman said:

“Cost – we don’t know as yet, we are still working through the preliminary work but needed to get the application through early to reach the target date for having 2,000 seats.

“We aim to start in December/January time subject to planning and be ready for the start of season 2023 though we may still have some internal works to finish.”

We also asked how the club will handle the disruption on match days and what happens if the club, which is currently 21st of 24 in division two of the English Football League, gets relegated.

The spokesman said:

“No plans to move any games, work can be done in between games and facilities may be affected on match days at the away end but suitable provisions will be made if that’s the case.

“The plans will progress as we are aiming to improve facilities and match day experience for our loyal supporters and we have more families visiting us now to cater for, plus we hope to attract more first generation fans as we grow.”

Transport officials have been urged not to leave Harrogate’s Wetherby Road and Skipton Road out of long-awaited plans to tackle the town’s “chronic” congestion problems.

North Yorkshire County Council recently revealed it is exploring new proposals to ease traffic and improve safety on the A61/Leeds Road as part of its Harrogate Transport Improvement Programme.

This comes after calls to revert the Parliament Street section of the road to two-way traffic were last year rejected by the authority which said the costs would exceed £30 million.

The latest plans could now include bus lanes, junction upgrades and cycling and walking improvements.

Also proposed is a Harrogate park and ride service, as well as a bypass around Killinghall where residents say the existing roads can no longer cope with the area’s population explosion.

Louise Neal, transport planning team leader at the county council, told a meeting on Wednesday that the A61/Leeds Road presented the “greatest opportunity” to tackle the town’s traffic jams through the measures that are being explored.

But councillors frustrated with slow progress have questioned why there is such a great focus on the road when others are suffering from similar congestion woes.

Traffic queueing on Skipton Road.

Councillor Pat Marsh, leader of the local Liberal Democrats, said Wetherby Road and Skipton Road needed to be given greater consideration as they are the “busiest” in the town. She said:

“You have only got to go to the Empress Roundabout to see that.

“On Wetherby Road the traffic tails back so far it is unbelievable. Why that road is not being looked at I do not know.”

Councillor Marsh also said the “biggest issue” in her Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone division was the decline of bus services as she also argued that there is potential for a park and ride scheme to serve passengers from the Great Yorkshire Showground.

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After looking at more than 100 possible park and ride sites, the county council is focusing on the A61 as it wants the scheme to link with the 36 bus service.

‘It just goes on forever’

Although more detailed plans could finally be revealed next year, there is still frustration that all the proposed measures to cut congestion could still be several years away despite the alarm bells ringing over climate change.

Fairfax and Starbeck Liberal Democrat councillor Philip Broadbank said:

“The number of reports, consultants and investigations we have – it just goes on forever.

“Skipton Road 30 years ago was the most congested road in North Yorkshire and there were all sorts of promises then.

“We now need to focus, get on and deliver.”

After launching in 2019, the Harrogate Transport Improvement Programme has been hit by recent delays because the work is “extremely time consuming and complex,” the county council said.

It added the latest data gathering stage will take several more months to complete, with a report on the next steps to be revealed “in the first half of 2023”.

A 90-year-old man from Harrogate will perform a skydive to help buy wheelchairs at a care home where his wife lives.

Frank Ward’s wife Margie has vascular dementia and lives at Berwick Grange care home on Wetherby Road.

As Mr Ward approached his 90th birthday in November, he decided to mark it by doing something special.

The energy crisis has increased costs at the care home for heating and food and Mr Ward hopes the fundraiser will help it buy some much-needed wheelchairs for residents.

He is especially looking forward to the jump because the last time he did a skydive was in the 1950s during National Service.

Mr Ward said:

“It occurred to me that a skydive would be a nice thing to do to mark my 90th — and I could try and do some good at the same time. 

“I’ve raised over £1,500 so far, that’s marvellous and will buy a lot of wheelchairs. 

“If I get to 95 I might do another one!”

To donate, visit the JustGiving page.

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Harrogate Town has had plans for a new clubhouse at its Wetherby Road stadium approved.

The club tabled a planning application to build the two-storey facility in the north-west corner of the ground back in March this year.

It would be used to serve fans refreshments on match days and include an upper floor area for supporters to gather.

Harrogate Borough Council has now given the go-ahead for the plan.

The facility would be needed for the club to meet its English Football League membership criteria, which requires all member clubs to provide refreshment facilities for home and away fans in separate areas of the ground.

A planning report by Harrogate Borough Council said:

The club has already seen a number of developments approved by the council since promotion, including a new ticket office and turnstiles at the EnviroVent Stadium which were backed by the council in April 2021.

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A new scoreboard at Harrogate Town has been approved as part of the club’s stadium redevelopment.

The digital screen will sit in the south west corner of the EnviroVent Stadium.

Besides displaying the score, it will show substitutions made during a game and other match information, such as transport or safety news.

Harrogate Borough Council has now given approval for the plan.

The EnviroVent Stadium on Wetherby Road is due to undergo a £3.5 million upgrade, funded by chairman Irving Weaver.

A statement submitted to the council said:

“The new scoreboard will complement the stadium and improve the spectator experience.”

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The club has said it is the board’s ambition to create a “sustainable and thriving club, for future generations to enjoy”.

The club also has to abide by English Football League criteria for its ground following Town’s promotion to League Two in 2020.

The proposals include a new seated stand, match day bar and improved ticketing facilities.

The ground on Wetherby Road has been home to the Sulphurites since 1920, but in recent years it has struggled to keep pace with the club’s rapid rise up the divisions into the English Football League.

Temporary lights on Harrogate’s Wetherby road and Knaresborough road will remain in place until Thursday, Yorkshire Water said this afternoon.

Yorkshire Water is working to repair pipes near Harrogate Town AFC on Wetherby road and near Drake’s Fish and Chip Shop on Knaresborough Road.  Both have caused traffic delays.

The work comes as the problem was first identified by the company yesterday, when it said customers in the area could be experiencing low water pressure as a result.

The company issued a statement:

“Both bursts caused significant consequential damage to the road surfaces, which will need to be repaired before the roads can reopen.

“We are expecting both roads to reopen on Thursday.

“We apologise for the inconvenience and are working hard to keep the disruption to a minimum with manned operation of the lights throughout the day”.

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Work on the water main on Wetherby Road.

Temporary lights on Harrogate’s Wetherby Road continue to cause delays for drivers as work enters a second day.

Yorkshire Water is working to repair a pipe in the area near to Harrogate Town AFC and said it has to put up the temporary lights in order to do so.

The work comes as a problem was first identified by the company yesterday, when it said customers in the area could be experiencing low water pressure as a result.

Temporary lights were also in place on Knaresborough Road, but the company said it expected to complete work in the area by today.

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The Stray Ferret asked Yorkshire Water for an update on the works, but has yet to receive a response.

Last night, the company issued the following statement:

“We’ve experienced two burst water mains in the centre of Harrogate over the last few days.

“Our teams are working hard to minimise disruptions, but to allow them to work on the repairs safely, traffic management will be in place on Knaresborough Road and Wetherby Road.

We apologise for the inconvenience while we carry out the work.”

Temporary lights have been put up on Wetherby Road and Knaresborough Road in Harrogate this evening after burst water mains were reported in both locations.

Yorkshire Water is working to repair both pipes and said it has to put up the temporary lights in order to do so.

The Wetherby Road lights are outside Harrogate Town’s Envirovent Stadium, while on Knaresborough Road the affected stretch is near Drake’s Fish and Chip Shop.

The works are likely to cause some delays during this evening’s rush hour.  Yorkshire Water said it expected Knaresborough Road to re-open tomorrow morning.

A problem was first identified by the company earlier today, when it said customers in the area could be experiencing low water pressure as a result.

Tonight Yorkshire Water issued this statement:

This story is sponsored by Stray Podiatry.

A new podiatry clinic has opened in Harrogate aimed at tackling a growing need for the service in the area.

Stray Podiatry, which is located on Wetherby Road, was opened by Maxine Wrightson and Katie Bradley earlier this year.

The pair, who are both fully qualified podiatrists and have a background in the NHS, set up the business after spotting a need for podiatry in the town.

Both Maxine and Katie had different routes into the industry, but share the same passion to offer patients a quality service.

For Katie, it was after suffering with plantar fasciitis and a painful crack on her heel. She went on to see a specialist podiatrist, who inspired her to enter the industry.

Meanwhile, for Maxine, a career in healthcare stemmed from watching her family receive great care while ill and realising “what a difference it can make”.

She said she settled on podiatry after seeing the “real improvement” she could make to a person. 

She said:

“I decided on podiatry because there is a lot of variety in the role and you can make a real improvement to a person’s comfort and mobility, often after just one appointment.”

Providing gold standard care

As a result, the pair came up with the idea to set up their own clinic and Stray Podiatry was born.

The clinic, which is just off the Woodlands junction on Wetherby Road, is newly renovated with modern facilities.

Katie Bradley and Maxine Wrightson, founders of Stray Podiatry in Harrogate.

There is free parking and new patients are being taken on daily.

Maxine and Katie said the goal of the clinic is to offer gold standard care, as well as excellent aftercare.

“We are a newly established, rapidly growing practice, who are continuously adding new services and committed to providing the gold standard of care for our patients.

“We both work as a team, bringing different strengths and complimenting each other. We are passionate about patient education and providing excellent aftercare for our patients.”

Stray Podiatry offers a range of services, including nailcare, corns, verruca treatment, ingrowing toenails, nail surgery, biomechanical assessments and orthotics.

Both Maxine and Katie also offer home and care home visits.

All are welcome to arrange an appointment. There is no waiting list and all new patients receive a free foot health check.

Book your appointment on the Stray Podiatry website. Alternatively you call them on 07874141634, message them on Facebook or send an email to straypodiatry@gmail.com.