5 things to do in and around Harrogate this weekend5 alternative Easter activities in and around Harrogate

(Image above: a Frank Sinatra tribute act is performing on Easter Monday at Grantley Hall)

Easter has come early this year and there are some brilliant activities this weekend – see our 7 Easter activities to keep the kids entertained – but aside from this there are other goings-on in and around Harrogate; read on for inspiration aplenty…

Watch a Frank Sinatra tribute act at Grantley Hall

Listen to Phil Fryer belt out some of the most iconic Frank Sinatra songs of all time including My Way, Strangers In The Night and Come Fly With Me.

Dining during the performance is already fully booked for the event, but guests can sip drinks and enjoy the show in newly relaunched The Orchard’s lounge area where Phil will perform some of Frank’s biggest hits. Or you can always make a reservation to dine in Fletchers restaurant pre- or post-show instead.

Free, limited spaces available, first come, first serve, 1.30pm-3pm, April 1, Grantley Hall, Ripon, HG4 3ET.

Learn how to make pasta from scratch

Pixaby

If you’re walking or up in the Yorkshire Dales this Easter weekend and you fancy trying your hand at something a little bit different, why not take part in a pasta making workshop?

Keld resident Chris Giles demonstrates how you can make pasta from scratch using no specialist equipment. All ingredients are included, and afterwards you can savour the fruits of your labour with a hearty bowl of what you’ve cooked.

£30, March 31, 1-4pm, The Keld Resource Centre, Keld, Richmond, DL11 6LJ.

Take part in traditional Yorkshire Dales dancing 

Nidd Music and Dance

Did you know that there’s traditional music and dances that derive from Yorkshire Dales’ villages? Help to keep it alive by taking part in this event at Ripley Town Hall.

Each traditional Dales dance such as the Kendal Ghyll and the Huntsman’s Chorus is explained and walked through before you dance to them, all to the background of live folk music.

Free for children, £10 for adults, 6.30pm-10pm, March 30, Ripley Town Hall, HG3 3AX.

Visit Ripley Castle Markets

Ripley Castle Markets

Taking place on the last Sunday of every month from February to December, this month Ripley Castle Markets is holding a seasonal market. It will bring together more than 40 independent local artisans, producers and creatives to showcase their wares all to the backdrop of the Grade I listed building.

Goodies and treats that will be available include breads and cakes from Baltzersen’s, Skipton’s Antony’s Biltong, cookie boxes from Carlton Kitchen, cheeses from Wharfedale Fine Cheeses, plus something for your four-legged friends, as well as present ideas inspiration aplenty.

You can make a day of it too as on market day, the castle and grounds are free to visit. And there will be extra Easter activities including a bunny hunt, children’s craft activities – click here for more information – and guided tours of the castle.

Free, there’s an additional cost for the children’s craft activities and castle tours and pre-booking for these is advised, March 31, 10am-3pm, Ripley Castle, HG3 3AY.

Laugh out loud at a comedy show

Harrogate Theatre

If you’ve not yet been to one of the regular Hyena Lounge Comedy Club nights at Harrogate Theatre, this Saturday could be the opportune occasion as there’s a trio of brilliant stand-up comedians including Hal Cruttenden, Simon Evans and Jenny Hart, all led by the compere for the night, Danny McLoughlin.

From £20, 8pm, March 30, Oxford Street, Harrogate, HG1 1QF.

Do you have an event that you’d like us to potentially feature in the future? Drop me an email at francesca@thestrayferret.co.uk

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Yorkshire Dales Monopoly edition revealed

There’s nothing quite like a game of Monopoly between friends and family, especially during the holidays. Launched just in time for Easter, the official Monopoly: Yorkshire Dales has been released and highlights iconic places, landmarks and game pieces from God’s own country.

The new Yorkshire Dales game follows on from previous local editions including Monopoly York that was released in 2010, Monopoly Harrogate which was launched in 2019, Monopoly Leeds released in 2008, and Monopoly Sheffield launched in 2007.

Monopoly Harrogate

Bolton Abbey features as the new ‘Mayfair’ as it is the game’s top-ranking space, while other famous Yorkshire Dales sites that the board features include Malham Cove, Fountains Abbey, Masham Market and Settle Railway Station.

Players will ‘pass GO’ on more than 30 local landmarks that are on the board such as The Forbidden Corner, with well-known Yorkshire hotels including the Stone House Hotel and Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa also on the board.

John Keen-Tomlinson, custom games executive at Winning Moves UK said:

“We have been absolutely spoilt with choices when putting this Monopoly game together, including the customised wording on Community Chest and Chance playing cards.

“For example, some players could be penalised for ‘wild camping’, whilst others could be rewarded for ‘quality sheepdog trials.’ Very Yorkshire!”

The board also features miniature game pieces of a dry stone wall, a slab of Wensleydale cheese, a pair of walking boots, a Craven Ram, a cricket bat, and a bicycle, instead of traditional tokens like the Scottie dog and boot.

Jason Bunn, proud Yorkshire resident and Britain’s only Monopoly world champ said:

“It’s a real slice of Yorkshire.

“I have a one of the world’s largest collections of Monopoly editions – more than 300 different themes, from Elvis to the Wizard of Oz, but Monopoly: Yorkshire Dales edition could very well be my favourite now.”

Did you know?

The first game of Monopoly was launched in 1935, and today the game is enjoyed by more than one billion players in 114 countries across the globe. In total it is licensed in 103 countries and printed in 37 languages.

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Barn conversion ‘free for all’ could lead to ‘destruction’ of Dales, say national park leaders

National park leaders have criticised a government proposal to allow landowners to redevelop barns in protected landscapes into homes without planning consent.

Leading officers at both the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors national parks have said the potential relaxation of the planning system outlined in a Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities consultation were very concerning.

National park bosses are dismayed a proposal to give farmers permitted development rights on barns has resurfaced less than a decade after the government abandoned the same proposal amid an outcry.

In 2014, park authorities and MPs raised concerns about the suburbanisation of rural areas if a swathe of barns was turned into homes, saying the proposal flew in the face of protecting national parks.

Impetus for the latest proposal has been linked to the government abandoning housing targets and an attempt to find ways to increase housebuilding in the face of a national housing shortage.

The consultation states: 

“Allowing our town and village centres within protected landscapes (such as national parks) to benefit from the right could help ensure the longer-term viability and vitality of these community hubs, supporting the residents and businesses that rely on them.

“We also want to support the agricultural sector by providing further flexibilities to farmers to undertake works on their agricultural units and enable farm diversification without having to submit a planning application.”

Chris France, director of planning at the North York Moors National Park Authority, said agricultural buildings played a key contribution to cultural heritage of the country’s national parks.

He said: 

“We don’t say you can’t do anything with them, but the whole point in having a planning system in a protected landscape is to carefully control those changes.

“The proposal to take barn conversions outside the planning process completely disenfranchises local populations, neighbours and in national parks, the nation, because we wouldn’t have any input into whether we think a proposal is acceptable.

“In national parks this isn’t going to deliver more housing for local people, which is what’s needed, it will just deliver more holiday homes and destroy our finest landscapes at the same time.”

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The national park leaders said the move would do nothing to ease the need for affordable housing in either area as developers would not have any restriction on the type of homes they created.

Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority chief executive David Butterworth said the proposal would mean up to 6,500 field barns across the 841sq mile area could be converted into homes, “decimating” the landscapes.

He added: 

“If I was trying to devise a policy that would essentially lead to the destruction of Yorkshire Dales national park, this would be the policy. These are permitted development rights to convert a property without any planning restriction.

“It is one of the most bonkers examples of environmental destruction I could think of. I am extremely concerned that this has been introduced now with an eight-week consultation. It is just crackers.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: 

“This consultation remains open and we will consider all responses, including that from National Parks UK, before coming to a decision. We have been clear that any developments must be beautiful and enhance the environment.”

Criticism as ‘affordable’ Yorkshire Dales national park houses marketed at up to £320,000

Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority is facing criticism after it emerged properties built as part of a flagship affordable housing scheme designed to enable young people to get a “first foot on the property ladder” are being marketed at up to £320,000.

A Yorkshire Dales community leader and local families have said the shared ownership properties at The Hornblower Court development in Bainbridge, the cost of which averages at £278,000, are in no way affordable and have done nothing to ease the housing crisis in Wensleydale or the national park.

The development in the highly protected area was only given consent on condition that it delivered affordable housing.

Under the scheme, potential buyers wanting a 25% share in a £320,000 end of terrace three-bedroom property would pay a weekly rent of £126.92 while also paying off their £80,000 contribution.

The homes are being marketed under shared ownership following the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority being threatened by a neighbouring resident to the site with High Court action over its decision to approve the original scheme, which saw the most expensive property priced at £196,000.

In 2019, averting potential huge court costs, the park authority conceded £196,000 was not affordable for many local residents and started working with Broadacres Housing Association on an alternative scheme.

After the house prices were revealed, Bainbridge residents described the development as a missed opportunity to stem the departure of young people from the area.

One resident, whose name is withheld, said: 

“How can a house that was not affordable at £196,000 for 100% ownership become affordable when it now costs £320,00 for 80% ownership? It absolutely stinks.”

Upper Dales councillor Yvonne Peacock added: 

“How can anyone local possibly afford to live in them?

“If the park authority had gone ahead with the original scheme the houses would have cost up to £124,000 less than they do now. When challenged they were not brave enough to stand their ground and by members’ convictions.

“The original affordable housing scheme was passed twice, unanimously, by members and after a resident threatened a judicial review they backed down and went for affordable housing through shared ownership and look what we are left with.”

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Member champion for sustainable development at the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Richard Foster, said the authority was examining how it could ensure a range of affordable housing tenures were available in its forthcoming Local Plan.

He said: 

“We are in a desirable area and it does price the lower end of the market out.

“These houses may not be affordable to everybody, but hopefully there will be locals out there who can afford these houses.

“It is not affordable in the purest sense of the word, but it is making a type of housing affordable for people who can’t afford because they live in a national park and have a job in a national park.”

Broadacres’ director Helen Fielding said the housing association fully understand many local people in rural parts of North Yorkshire found it difficult to buy a home in their home communities because prices are so high, particularly in the national park.

She added: 

“Our shared ownership homes at Bainbridge offer people with a connection to the area the opportunity to buy as little as a ten per cent share in their home, in the first instance, for just £24,000 and then pay a subsidised rent on the remaining share.

“This means that people can get that all important first foot on the property ladder with a smaller initial deposit and in future, if their circumstances permit, they may buy additional shares in their home, further reducing the amount of rent they pay on the unsold share.

“We know how important it is to rural life for local people to find suitable homes in the communities they grow up in, and we’re committed to helping people find their forever homes close to family, friends and work.”

Ripon to stage public meeting on new tourism strategy

A public meeting is being held in Ripon next week to hear views on how to shape a new tourism strategy for North Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire Council, which came into existence last month, is devising a strategy to boost the county’s multi-million pound tourism industry.

As part of this, the council is staging three free workshops, including one at the Old Deanery in Ripon from 11am to 1pm on Wednesday.

A council press release this week said the events would “gather information and views from key organisations and enterprises involved in the tourism sector to develop the first countywide destination management plan”.

Attendees will be asked about their priorities and aspirations for the tourism industry as well as the strengths, opportunities and challenges being faced by North Yorkshire’s visitor economy.

Newby Hall 1 by Mervin Straughan

Newby Hall. Pic: Mervin Straughan

The council’s Conservative leader, Cllr Carl Les, said:

“The opportunity to develop the first county-wide plan to promote tourism is a major milestone for North Yorkshire.

“The views of businesses and organisations involved in tourism will be key to developing the strategy and the future of the industry as a whole.”

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In-person events will also be held in Ripon, Skipton and Scarborough followed by two online sessions from 5.30pm to 7pm on Tuesday, May 23, and then from noon until 1.30pm on Thursday, May 25.

The draft destination management plan is due to be finalised by the end of June, before being presented to councillors the following month.

A bid is then due to be submitted to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in September for North Yorkshire to be home to a Local Visitor Economy Partnership, which would involve both the private and public sectors and would need to follow a new national process to be eligible for support and potential funding from the government.

Tourism in North Yorkshire accounts for 11 per cent of the county’s overall economy and employs 41,200 workers.

The county is home to two National Parks for the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors, as well as Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, which is one of only two World Heritage Sites in Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire also has stately homes, including Castle Howard, Kiplin Hall and Newby Hall, as well as 23 English Heritage sites, including Whitby Abbey, Richmond Castle and Rievaulx Abbey, along with the recently acquired Thornborough Henges.

The county also has a wealth of famous food and drink producers responsible for brands including Bettys Café Tea Rooms, Wensleydale Cheese, Harrogate Spring Water and Yorkshire Tea.

Further details of the workshops are available here.

You can complete a 10-minute questionnaire on North Yorkshire’s visitor economy here.

Dance event in Ripley hopes to revive old Dales traditions

A dancing event will be held at Ripley Town Hall with the aim of reviving traditional music and dance of the Yorkshire Dales.

The evening is being hosted by The No Lazy Dancing Dance Band, which was formed specifically for the event.  It aims to host regular dances within different communities afterwards.

Some of the traditional dances of the Dales include the Kendall Ghyll, the Huntsmans Chorus and Heel & Toe Polka.

The band will perform live folk music to accompany the dances and songs will be played for guests to enjoy in between dancing.

Guests can look forward to a variety of songs, including Buckden Feast, Swaledale Lasses and I’ll Get Wedded in my Auld Claes.

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People of all ages are welcome. The organisation said it would offer something  “different from the digital world” for children.

No prior dancing experience is necessary. A caller will be present at the event to teach the steps, as well as prompting the dances throughout.

There will also be a bar for people to enjoy refreshments.

Mark Wallace, member of The No Lazy Dancing Dance Band, said:

“It’s a simple way of getting together and having a dance.

“A little like an old-time rave”.

The event will take place on Saturday 1 April from 6.30-10pm.

To reserve a space on the dance floor, guests can email nidd.music.and.dance@gmail.com or call 07714 939646.

Payment will be taken on the door.

Popular artist Lucy Pittaway ‘blown away’ by Harrogate gallery launch

This story is sponsored by Lucy Pittaway.

One of the UK’s favourite artists says she has been “blown away” by the reception since opening her new gallery in Harrogate before Christmas. 

Lucy Pittaway already has four other galleries across the North – in Richmond, Yarm, Keswick and near her home in Brompton-on-Swale – where she sells original artwork and prints of her paintings, which she calls “art that makes you smile” – but wanted a presence a little further south. 

She said: 

“We’ve been blown away by the reception we’ve had in Harrogate – not just from other traders, but from local people coming into the gallery too.The feedback’s been wonderful. The gallery has been really well received, which makes us feel we’ve definitely made the right decision opening here.

“Footfall’s been incredibly strong. We were getting people wanting to come in before we’d even opened. It’s actually been quite challenging, because we’ve had to take on more people just to cope with demand.”

Lucy Pittaway graduated from Northumbria University with a degree in Graphic Design, and went on to teach and lecture at Darlington Technical College of Art and Design. It was only after she had started a family with childhood sweetheart Neil that she felt it was the perfect time to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a professional artist.  

Her pictures, which often feature scenes, animals and characters from the Yorkshire Dales, can now be found in homes and galleries across the UK and beyond. 

She has won an armful of prestigious awards from the Fine Art Trade Guild, including Best Up-and-Coming Artist, Best Art Website of the Year, and the UK’s Most Popular Published Artist in 2018, 2019 and 2022. 

Nevertheless, when Lucy decided to open her gallery in the heart of Harrogate, on Prospect Place at the end of James Street, she had little idea of how local traders would respond – but she needn’t have worried. 

She said: 

“Coming to Harrogate has been really eye-opening. It’s a very welcoming town. From a business-to-business point of view, we were really quite overwhelmed by the help we received from [tourism body] Destination Harrogate. They took a lot of time out to answer all our questions about recruitment, seasonality, advertising and business organisations.

“Other businesses have been very supportive too, and I think that says a lot about the genuine nature of businesses in Harrogate. They want to do the best for their customers and are interested in improving choice on the high street.”

Buoyed by the success of the Harrogate opening, Lucy is now hoping to repeat the achievement in other towns in the region. 

She said:

“We’ve just gone through some major renovation at our head office in Brompton-on-Swale, and have invested a lot in new warehousing and office space, which will help us feed more galleries and expand. 

“We want to bring a vibrancy to the high street to make people smile. We’re planning to open more galleries this year – so watch this space!” 

Find out more:

Discover why Lucy Pittaway is the UK’s most popular published artist by visiting her newest gallery at 21 Prospect Place, Harrogate.

Or check out her latest paintings on her award-winning website, lucypittaway.co.uk.

 

Yorkshire Dales’ key purpose could change for climate change

Custodians of the Yorkshire Dales National Park have questioned whether its main purposes need to change to help tackle climate change.

A meeting of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority heard the organisation was expected to lead the way over tackling climate change, but a consultants’ study found the level of emissions generated by visitors  were similar to those created by its residents.

The meeting heard that mainly due to the lack of public transport, visitors generated about two-thirds of residents’ emissions by just travelling to the area and returning home.

However, the carbon footprint of the residents of the national park is estimated to be around 18 per cent higher than the UK average.

The residents’ emissions from flying are estimated to be around 48 per cent higher than for an average UK resident.

Member champion for the natural environment Mark Corner told the meeting although the park authority could not dictate how visitors travelled to and from the park, it could encourage greener transport.

He said:

“Once drivers get to the park they have a very limited ability to get round other than the cars they come in. We need to look again at our public transport approach.”

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Nick Cotton, the authority’s recreation management member champion, questioned whether national parks should continue to promote themselves as international destinations given the large volumes of greenhouse gases that air travel generates.

He said:

“If we are saying come to beautiful Britain to the wealthy, developing countries in the Far East then aren’t we shooting ourselves in the foot a bit because we are actually encouraging more flights and more greenhouse gas emissions.”

Another member, Kevin Frea, called for the authority to relook at alternative ways of travelling to and around the park, pointing out how 36% of the park’s carbon emissions related to car travel.

Richard Foster, the leader of Craven District Council, also questioned whether it was right for the park be promoted nationally and internationally, through events such as the Tour de Yorkshire cycling race.

In response, the authority’s chief executive David Butterworth said while the authority had some influence on the park, it was not among the top five organisations that could make significant changes.

He said the national park was still being promoted to British and foreign tourists because the law had not caught up with the reality of climate change.

Mr Butterworth said he believed there was a contradiction between needing to tackle climate change and national parks’ statutory purposes.

He said he was optimistic the new government would review whether the climate change and nature emergencies should be enshrined in national parks’ main purposes.

Mr Butterworth told the meeting:

“The law says national park authorities exist to promote understanding and enjoyment. We have taken that over 50 years to mean that means promoting visitor numbers.”

He said national parks were in need of “better and stricter guidance” from central government over how they should be responding to climate change.

Action to tackle Yorkshire Dales second homes receives ‘overwhelming support’

Further action to tackle rising amounts of second homes and holiday lets in the Yorkshire Dales National Park looks set to become part of a plan which will shape the area until 2040.

A meeting of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority today will consider responses to a consultation on its Local Plan, which features policies designed to increase housing for local residents.

The proposed policies come ahead of North Yorkshire County Council’s executive considering introducing a 100% council tax premium on second and empty homes in the Dales.

The North Yorkshire Rural Commission concluded last year that the shortage of affordable housing was among the greatest challenges to resolve.

An officer’s report to the park authority meeting states the consultation has confirmed “overwhelming support” for all new housing to be for permanent residents.

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However, officers have highlighted some respondents had dubbed the measure too weak and had stated all new housing should be targeted at local need only, as permanent occupancy would still mean younger residents faced competition from retirees.

While community leaders say it is only fair people retiring from working a lifetime in the Dales, such as farmers, should be able to continue living in the area, concerns have also been raised that about 30% of national park residents are aged over 65, about double the national average.

The consultation has also found support for the authority attempting to get housing built on specific sites it has identified, as finding suitable land for housing in the national park has proved to be a major hurdle in developing affordable housing.

Views were split over whether requiring developers to provide up to 50% affordable housing on sites in certain areas of the park is achievable.

Ahead of the meeting, Upper Dales councillor and park authority member Yvonne Peacock said the current policy of restricting new housing to those with local connections often prevented “desperately needed new blood from coming in and working here”.

She said fostering the economic wellbeing of local communities was made a higher priority by the authority.

Cllr Peacock said: 

“Having a policy restricting new homes to people who permanently live in them is a better policy as many of the barns that have been converted have ended up as holiday cottages.”

National park officers said the next stage of the Local Plan would see a consultation on the possible housing sites. The target is to provide sufficient land for 850 new homes between 2023 and 2040.

Officers are currently assessing and mapping potential sites and updating housing development boundaries around 100 settlements.

A list of potential sites and maps will be issued for public comment in the next few months.