Police are investigating after two quad bikes were stolen from the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate last week.
North Yorkshire Police is appealing for information on the bikes (pictured above), which are believed to have left the show in the direction of Wetherby Road.
Police said the theft happened between 3am and 4am on Wednesday, July 13.
Officers said they were appealing to the public to establish the “full circumstances surrounding the incident”.
A North Yorkshire Police statement added:
“In particular, we are appealing for anyone who has information or who witnessed anything suspicious around the area at the time of the theft.
“Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should email chloe.kinnear@northyorkshire.police.uk or call 101, select option two, and ask for PC 1606 Kinnear.
“If you’d prefer to remain anonymous you can call Crimestoppers on 08000 555 111. Please quote reference 12220121553.”
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Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Show on course for 140,000 sell-out
The Great Yorkshire Show could welcome 140,000 visitors next week, with tickets already sold out for Wednesday and Thursday.
The county’s showpiece agricultural event will take place over four days from Tuesday to Friday next week at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate.
In 2021, organisers capped the number of visitors at 104,000 and made the show a four-day event to spread out the number of visitors due to covid.
This year, the show is back to full strength and the last few tickets are available for Tuesday and Friday. Tickets are available here and won’t be sold at the gates.
As well as the usual animal shows, activities, stalls and competitions, Tuesday will see a royal visit from Princess Anne and a new GYS stage will welcome TV stars Matt Baker, Amanda Owen and Peter Wright.
Show director Charles Mills said:
“We have capacity for 140,000 visitors across the four days and there are no ticket sales on the gate so anyone who wants to come and enjoy the show needs to be buying their tickets as soon as possible.”
The Stray Ferret will be attending the show and will also be giving traffic updates from Wetherby Road and Harrogate town centre each morning.
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Drivers queue outside Harrogate’s new Leon
Drivers were queueing on Wetherby Road this afternoon as Harrogate’s new Leon drive-thru opened.
Although the Mediterranean-inspired restaurant officially opens tomorrow, today it offered free food for customers who provided feedback.
The offer left drivers queuing to get into the restaurant car park at around 1pm today, particularly those turning right when coming from Harrogate.
People were also queuing outside the door of the Leon.
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Some motorists were turned away as the queue for the drive-thru reached the entrance of the car park and began to effect traffic on the already busy Wetherby Road.
Eventually, staff placed a cone at the entrance to deter drivers from blocking the road.
The Stray Ferret captured a clip of the scene outside the Leon this afternoon, which you can watch below.
The restaurant will officially open to the public tomorrow, which will end a saga stretching back several years.
Originally, a Starbucks coffee drive-thru was planned for the site but it was refused by Harrogate Borough Council only for the decision to be overturned by a government inspector.
Concerns remain from residents who live near the site on how the drive-thru will affect traffic on the busy Wetherby Road.
Leon was bought by Blackburn billionaires the Issa brothers in 2021.
Glenn Edwards, Leon’s managing director said:
Harrogate Town plans new scoreboard as part of stadium improvements“Since opening our first drive-thru restaurant last year, we have been eager to grow this style of restaurant in order to bring Leon to more guests and allow them to experience Leon while on the go – something that aligns with our mission to bring naturally fast food that tastes good, does you good and is kind to the planet.
“Our opening in Harrogate is a massive achievement across all fronts.”
Harrogate Town has lodged plans for a new scoreboard as part of its ground redevelopment.
The digital screen would sit in the south west corner of the ground, under plans submitted to Harrogate Borough Council.
The board would be used to show supporters the score, substitutions made during a game and other match information, such as transport or safety news.
Harrogate Town currently has no scoreboard in place.
An example of a scoreboard planned for Harrogate Town as submitted to the council.
A statement submitted to the council said:
“The new scoreboard will complement the stadium and improve the spectator experience.”
The council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.
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The plans come as the club’s EnviroVent Stadium on Wetherby Road is to undergo a £3.5 million upgrade, funded by chairman Irving Weaver.
The club has said it is the board’s ambition to create a “sustainable and thriving club, for future generations to enjoy”.
The club, which recently announced an increase in season ticket prices, 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.
Harrogate’s Leon drive-thru to open on FridayHarrogate’s Leon drive-thru restaurant on Wetherby Road will open on Friday from 7am.
The Mediterranean-inspired fast food chain will be open daily from 7am to 10pm, except Sundays when it will be open from 8am to 10pm. It will have 70 covers, including some outdoor seating.
The restaurant has created 20 jobs and will feature digital kiosks.
Alex Parkinson, a Harrogate local who was originally hired by Leon as the assistant general manager at the firm’s Gildersome drive-thru, is leading the team.
The company describes itself as being good for the environment and its menu includes “carbon neutral” burgers, rice boxes, breakfast muffins, egg pots and cakes.
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The opening will end a saga that has gone back several years.
Originally, a Starbucks coffee drive-thru was planned for the site but it was refused by Harrogate Borough Council only for the decision to be overturned by a government inspector.
Concerns remain from residents who live near the site on how the drive-thru will affect traffic on the busy Wetherby Road.
Leon was bought by Blackburn billionaires the Issa brothers in 2021.
Glenn Edwards, Leon’s managing director said:
Four-mile queues as traffic chaos descends on Harrogate“Since opening our first drive-thru restaurant last year, we have been eager to grow this style of restaurant in order to bring Leon to more guests and allow them to experience Leon while on the go – something that aligns with our mission to bring naturally fast food that tastes good, does you good and is kind to the planet.
“Our opening in Harrogate is a massive achievement across all fronts.”
Motorists are enduring misery on the roads in Harrogate today, with long delays on three of the main routes around town.
Wetherby Road, Skipton Road and Ripon Road have all been affected by incidents, bringing traffic to a standstill on the northern side of Harrogate.
Resurfacing outside the yet-to-open Leon drive-through close to the Woodlands junction is causing long delays in both directions on Wetherby Road and Hookstone Drive.
Resurfacing outside Leon
Traffic heading towards the Kestrel roundabout is backing up all the way from Leon to the Empress roundabout and all along Skipton Road to New Park roundabout – a distance of almost four miles.
The four-way traffic lights at the Woodlands junction, near the Leon site, brought tailbacks to Hornbeam Park.
Many vehicles were turning around in attempts to avoid the queues.
The fallen traffic lights.
The central reservation damaged by the traffic lights.
The situation was made worse this morning when a traffic light at the junction of Skipton Road and King’s Road, near Bilton Working Men’s Club, came crashing down.
That has now been removed but traffic was still queueing for miles in all directions when the Stray Ferret cycled around town at about midday today.
Queueing on Skipton Road
Motorists trying to avoid the delays on Skipton Road by heading into town on Ripon Road were hit by further roadworks outside Cygnet Hospital.
Roadworks on Ripon Road is adding to delays.
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Leon set to confirm Harrogate opening date for early July
A new fast food drive-through restaurant is set to open in Harrogate early next month.
Leon will welcome customers from “early July” to its new Wetherby Road premises, though it has not yet confirmed an exact date.
New manager Alex Parkinson said a 17-strong team is already in training and she is hoping to add three more to that number. She said:
“I love working for Leon as I love the real sense of family within the teams we create – every store I visit has its own family dynamic but you are always made to feel welcome and at home.
“I enjoy the challenge of being a general manager, but my favourite thing about the role and Leon is developing people and watching people grow. Watching my team grow and develop during training has been my favourite part of Leon so far.”
The Mediterranean-inspired restaurant will be open daily from 7am to 10pm, except Sundays when it opens at 8am. It will have a total of 70 covers, including some outdoor seating.
Its menu includes “carbon neutral” burgers, rice boxes, breakfast muffins, egg pots and cakes.
The company has built its reputation on being good for the environment as well as for people – something which is not normally associated with fast food.
Alex, 28, trained with the company in London and helped to open its first drive-through in Gildersome, Leeds. She said she believes Harrogate is ready to welcome a new take on the fast food concept:
“I think it’s something different in the community, fast food that’s good for your gut and a place to come and sit with friends or family…
“We are mindful of our environmental impact in everything we do which is why we have put a number of processes in place to ensure our drive-through [restaurants] do as little damage as possible.”
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The arrival of Leon has proved controversial from the start, long before it was built.
Planning permission was eventually given after the application was initially rejected by Harrogate Borough Council, only for the developer to launch a successful appeal.
It was initially expected to be a drive-through Starbucks, but it was confirmed in March, after construction had begun, that it would instead be a Leon, another brand owned by Euro Garages.
The following month, developers were ordered to remove an 8m advertising sign outside the restaurant which had been erected before planning permission was granted.
However, Alex said now the construction work is complete, she is looking forward to welcoming customers inside.
61 retirement flats in Knaresborough approved at fourth attempt“I am so excited to launch Leon in Harrogate – it’s probably one of my greatest accomplishments of my career, opening a store as a general manager.
“I could not have done it without the help of my team; they are absolutely amazing.”
Plans for 61 retirement flats in Knaresborough have been approved at the fourth time of asking by developers which refused to further reduce the size of the building.
Adlington Retirement Living was today granted approval for the scheme which it said would become “unviable” if reduced in size.
It follows complaints from residents and councillors over the size of the building, parking, traffic and the risk of flooding at the Wetherby Road site.
However, no objections were raised by statutory consultees.
At a meeting of Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee today, Conservative Robert Windass was one of eight councillors who voted in favour of the plans, while three voted against.
Cllr Windass said:
“The applicant has made significant moves to improve this scheme.
“There are no objections from the clinical commissioning group, Environment Agency or highways authority – it is about time we passed this.”
Adlington Retirement Living – which is part of the Gladman group – first submitted its plans in March 2020. Since then, it has had one application refused and been told to rethink another twice.
The developers had agreed to remove a fourth storey of the building and also pay for a new footpath on Grimbald Bridge.
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It will also pay £40,000 to the NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCC) which previously raised concerns that another care facility in the area could “overload” local health services. The CCG later withdrew its objection once the payment had been agreed.
Despite these changes and agreements, residents had continued to push for the plans to be turned down.
Speaking at today’s meeting, resident Steve Benn said:
“This development is twice the height of any current building on Wetherby Road. The developer claims it has been to a minimum of 60 apartments to be viable, yet its flagship scheme in Otley is only 48.
“Knaresborough town centre and local facilities are a mile uphill from the site, and residents will be unable, without personal transport, to make it to churches and community events.”
The risk of flooding was another concern raised by Mr Benn, as well as Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrat group, who previously asked for the building to be moved further away from the River Nidd.
Adlington Retirement Living refused to do this after including a flood storage basement in its plans. The company also previously said there is “no record” of the site flooding.
However, residents claim the River Nidd has overflowed at the site as recently as February.
Cllr Marsh also told today’s meeting:
“I sent every member of this planning committee a photograph of a building literally just down the river from this site which has been badly flooded for the last five years. We know this area floods.”
She added:
Reduction in Knaresborough retirement flats ‘unviable’, says developer“This scheme is an overdevelopment and I still have very serious concerns about it.
“The developer hasn’t done anything to allay those concerns.”
Developers behind plans for 61 retirement flats in Knaresborough have said reducing the size of the scheme would be “unviable”.
Adlington Retirement Living, part of the Gladman group, wants to build the flats with additional care facilities on land adjacent to the single-track Grimbald Bridge on Wetherby Road, alongside the River Nidd.
Councillors on Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee have twice delayed making a decision on the proposals after concern over its size, flooding and impact on local health services.
Now, the developer has said reducing the scheme’s size and moving it further away to reduce flooding fears would not be “necessary or indeed achievable”.
In a letter to the council responding to its deferral, Robert Gaskell, planning manager at Gladman Retirement Living Ltd, said:
“The applicant has investigated both of these requests and concluded that neither are necessary or indeed achievable.
“A further reduction in the number of units (bearing in mind the loss of over 11,000 sq ft to date) would make the scheme unviable, mean care and support cannot be provided as efficiently, and lead to unaffordable service and well‐being charges.”
Mr Gaskell added:
“The applicant asks that the council decide on the application as it stands‐ which has been assessed to accord with every single relevant development plan policy and relevant elements of national policy, has no objections from any statutory consultee, has significant material benefits, and has continuously been recommended for approval.”
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The response follows concern at a planning committee meeting in May that the apartments amounted to “overdevelopment”.
Cllr Pat Marsh, a Liberal Democrat member of the committee, said at the time:
“It is the numbers that are being asked for on this site which are problematic.
“It is too large. If they want to do it, I would like to see them cut the numbers down considerably and move that building further away from the river.”
North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group also raised concern over the impact on local health services.
However, this objection was later withdrawn after a £40,000 developer contribution was agreed.
The scheme will now be considered by the borough council’s planning committee at a meeting on Tuesday, June 21.
Council officers have recommended that the development be approved.
Fans hopeful new Harrogate Town ticketing system will boost crowdsHarrogate Town fans are optimistic that a new deal with US ticketing giant Ticketmaster will solve some of last season’s problems at the turnstiles.
The club announced this week that Ticketmaster will become its official ticketing partner on a ‘long-term contract’ with immediate effect.
Last season, well-documented problems with the club’s ticketing system soured the matchday experience on occasions and left some fans unable to attend a home match against Stevenage in September.
Throughout the season, fans were unable to buy tickets at the ground after 11am on matchday and tickets were only available online until midnight the night before a game.
It meant the club’s shop on Commercial Street was the only place to pick up a ticket close to kick off.
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Jordan Ford, Harrogate Town Independent Supporters Group, called the previous system “not fit for purpose” and had put fans off going to games.
He said:
“An improvement in the ticketing system will be welcomed by all supporters. It was apparent that what was in place wasn’t fit for purpose, and no doubt impacted on the number of fans coming to the ground. It’s good to see the club recognising areas of improvement, and this is definitely a positive move for both the club and its fans.”
The club said details on ticket prices for next season will be announced soon.
The new ticketing system is part of a £3.5m investment by chairman Irving Weaver into the club’s EnviroVent Stadium on Wetherby Road.
Hamilton Mattock, Harrogate Town ticket office manager, said:
“We are delighted to have come to an agreement with Ticketmaster Sport and are looking forward to improving our ticket purchasing journey for supporters. Given the problems faced over the 21/22 season, Ticketmaster will make the entire ticketing process much smoother for both staff and supporters with their support and range of solutions. The platform will continue to develop and meet the needs of our fans as we continue with our ambition of growing the crowd.”