3: Pollution is being addressed, but the Nidd still faces a murky outlook in 2025Confusion over whether MP broke rules on use of public fundsMinister visits Knaresborough to confirm River Nidd bathing water status

Rivers minister Robbie Moore was in Knaresborough this morning to confirm the River Nidd had achieved bathing water status.

All 27 sites that applied for bathing water status were granted it today. The Stray Ferret reported earlier today that Knaresborough’s bid had been granted.

It means the Environment Agency will be obliged to act if tests find the river does not pass water quality checks.

Mr Moore joined Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones. who has led the Nidd campaign, at Knaresborough Lido to announce the news today.

Mr Moore said:

“The value our bathing waters bring to local communities is incredible – providing social, physical and positive health and wellbeing benefits.

“These popular swimming spots will now undergo regular monitoring to ensure bathers have up-to-date information on the quality of the water and enable action to be taken if minimum standards aren’t being met.

“I am fully committed to seeing the quality of our coastal waters, rivers and lakes rise further for the benefit of the environment and everyone who uses them.”

Mr Jones said it had been “a big community effort” and thanked those involved in what he described as “a constructive, positive approach to making our waterways healthier”.

He added:

“The Nidd is used by hundreds of people for recreation and the bid is all about helping them to do that in a consistently cleaner environment with water quality that shows sustained improvement.

“Whilst I was quietly confident we would be successful I am delighted that we did it!”

Designated bathing water status is an official way of recognising that a waterway such as a river, beach or lake is a popular site for water-based activities.

Achieving it means that during each bathing season from May to September, the Environment Agency will test the Lido for pollutants.

If any sites do not meet regulatory standards the Environment Agency will investigate and create a plan to tackle the sources of pollution.

While Mr Jones’ office monitored the number of bathers at the Nidd last summer, Nidd Action Group carried out water quality sampling.

David Clayden, chair of the Nidd Action Group, said:

“The Nidd Action Group welcome the news of the bid’s success and will support and scrutinise the actions of the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water to improve our river’s health in the long term.

“We wish to keep the river as clean as practicable – not just for ourselves, but for all the communities that value the river and the wildlife which lives there. Thanks to the success of the bid we can look forward to a cleaner Nidd, fit for the future.”

“We are grateful to our local MP Andrew Jones and his team who volunteered to drive the bathing water bid forward so effectively.”

However, the clean water campaigner Feargal Sharkey said achieving the status was no guarantee of clean water. He posted on social media that sites currently with the status had not seen improvements.

Every single stretch of river currently designated as a bathing area has a 'Do not swim' advisory posted.

You have been warned. https://t.co/W0g1ptBNG1

— Feargal Sharkey (@Feargal_Sharkey) May 13, 2024

 

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River Nidd at Knaresborough granted bathing water status

The River Nidd has been granted bathing water status at Knaresborough Lido.

Environment minister Robbie Moore is expected to announce the news this morning.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs received 27 applications for bathing water status this year.

Decisions were expected in spring and well placed sources have told us that the application for the Nidd, which was submitted by Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, is among those approved.

It means the Environment Agency will be obliged to undertake measures to improve water quality at the Lido, which will impact the rest of the river.

Andrew Jones (right) and Environment Secretary Steve Barclay discussing the bid.

As part of the Defra submission, Mr Jones’ office ran surveys last summer on the number of bathers using the Lido, which revealed the venue attracted 276 bathers a day on average during summer.

Water sampling work was carried out along the river by Nidd Action Group, which was formed by fly-fishermen concerned about water quality and now also includes academics, charities and volunteers.

River Nidd water sampling

Volunteers involved in water sampling.

Achieving bathing water status will mean that during the bathing water season from May to September, the Environment Agency will test the Lido for pollutants and designate it either ‘excellent’, ‘good’, ‘sufficient’ or ‘poor’.

If it is not rated highly, the government agency will create a plan to tackle the sources of pollution.

Only two rivers, including the Wharfe at Ilkley, currently have bathing water status and the water quality of both is currently rated ‘poor’ so there are concerns about how effective designation is.

The state of the Nidd came under sharp focus last year.

Nidd Action Group sampling revealed high levels of the faecal bacteria E.coli.

Last year Knaresborough Bed Race competitors were advised to keep their heads above water to avoid the risk of swallowing water containing sewage.

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New bus service set for Harrogate’s Wedderburn Road

A new bus service is set to once again serve Wedderburn Road in Harrogate.

The X4, operated by Connexions, will offer two return services a day from Monday to Friday.

It will depart from Harrogate Bus Station to Wedderburn Road, via Wetherby Road, and will return to the bus station via Knaresborough Road.

The X4 will leave Harrogate at 10.30am and 1pm, and will return from Wedderburn Road at 10.42am and 1.12pm, Monday to Friday.

A Connexions spokesperson told the Stray Ferret the X4 service will begin operating on May 20.

They said, due to “registration reasons”, the service will be free to ride between May 20 and June 3. After that, the £2 bus fare cap will apply.

The spokesperson added:

“We wanted to give people in that area a service since they didn’t have one.

“I just hope as many people use it as possible to make sure it keeps running.”

The service is funded solely by Connexions, the spokesperson said.

The news comes after the 104 service, which ran between Wedderburn Road and Harrogate town centre, was scrapped in November 2018.

Nearby residents and councillors have since called for the service to be reinstated, as one local told the Stray Ferret the removal of the service was like a “slap in the face”.

Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, Andrew Jones, responded to the news:

“It has been many years since there was a bus service from Wedderburn Road into town. Local councillors and I tried repeatedly to persuade bus companies to re-instate a service.

“Whilst this is a low number of services per day I hope that residents are able to use the service and demonstrate to the operators that there is demand for the service to grow.”

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Local MPs support smoking ban

Two local MPs have said they support today’s vote to make it illegal for anyone born since 2009 to ever smoke.

MPs will vote today on Rishi Sunak’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill.

Conservative MPs have been given a free vote on the issue and this afternoon’s Commons debate is being broadcast on Parliament TV.

Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, told the Stray Ferret he supported the bill. He added:

“Smoking is the leading cause of preventable illness and death in the UK and I want people to live longer, healthier lives rather than dying younger following a period of significant illness.

“Also NHS beds and appointments taken up by people with smoking-related illnesses mean there are fewer beds for people with other issues meaning longer waiting lists for treatment so reducing the number smoking is good for everyone’s health.

“Finally there are an amazing number of days lost in the workplace due to ill health caused by smoking.  Fewer smokers is better for our economy and our productivity.”

The Stray Ferret also asked Julian Smith, the Conservative MP for Skipton and Ripon, and Keir Mather, the Labour MP for Selby and Ainsty, if they would vote in favour of the bill.

A spokesperson for Mr Mather said:

“Owing to an urgent engagement in the constituency, Keir will be paired for today’s vote so will be shown as an abstention.

“However, he has asked me to let you that he supports the legislation in principle because it will be a positive step for public health which the Labour Party has supported for some time now.”

Mr Smith said:

“I support the policy and will be voting for it.”

Former Prime Minister Liz Truss told the Commons the idea that the government “protect adults from themselves is hugely problematic”. She added:

“If people want to vote for finger-wagging, nannying control freaks, there are plenty of them to choose from on the benches opposite.”

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Poll predicts Tory general election wipeout in Harrogate district

An opinion poll has indicated the Conservatives are in course to lose all three seats that include the former Harrogate district at the next general election.

The MRP poll of 15,029 adults by Survation, commissioned for the Sunday Times, showed that if an election were held now the number of Tory MPs would be reduced from 348 to 98. Labour would win 468 seats and have a huge overall majority of 142.

The seat projection forecasts that the Conservative casualties would include Andrew Jones, who has represented Harrogate and Knaresborough since 2010, and Julian Smith, who has been the Skipton and Ripon MP since the same year.

It also predicts Labour will win the newly created Wetherby and Easingwold constituency, which includes towns and villages such as Boroughbridge, Ouseburn, Marston Moor, Spofforth and Huby.

The poll, which was conducted between March 8 and 22, predicts Mr Jones’ vote will fall from 53% at the 2019 election to 31%, with the Liberal Democrats’ winning with 36% and Labour third with 24%. Reform would be a distant fourth on 7% and the Greens would get just 2%.

Tom Gordon

Tom Gordon

Tom Gordon, the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said:

“This is now the latest in a series of polls and seat projections that clearly show the Liberal Democrats are in clear contention to win back Harrogate and Knaresborough from the Conservatives.

“Even Electoral Calculus, which was one of the few remaining sources predicting a Conservative hold, is now suggesting local residents will be turning their backs on the incumbent Conservative MP.”

Electoral Calculus says the Lib Dems have a 63% chance of taking Harrogate and Knaresborough. It puts the Conservatives’ chances of retaining the seat at 27% and Labour’s odds of winning at 9%.

Ripon result on a knife edge? 

According to Survation, Labour would win an extremely close contest in Skipton and Ripon, with 36.66% compared with the Tories’ 36.08%. The Liberal Democrats would finish third, with 11%, just ahead of Reform on 10%.

Labour has yet to select a candidate to stand against Mr Smith in this constituency.

Survation also predicts a close call in Wetherby and Easingwold. It says Labour has a 39% chance of winning compared with 38% for the Conservatives and 10% for the Lib Dems. Reform is given a 7% chance.

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MPs Watch: Spring Budget, Kex Gill and Rwanda Bill updates

Every month the Stray Ferret tries to find out what our local MPs have been up to in their constituencies and in the House of Commons.

In March, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the Spring Budget, which included plans to cut national insurance contributions by a further 2p, and North Yorkshire Council reported a rise in local hate crimes following the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Here’s what we know about analysing their online presence.

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, here is what found on Conservative Andrew Jones:

When we contacted Mr Jones for comment, his office sent details of March engagements.

These included meeting with business leaders in Harrogate town centre, as well as asking the Health Ministers about boosting dental capacity and the role of dental centres of excellence.

Mr Jones also held an AGM for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Transport.

In addition, he asked transport ministers about ensuring train driver vacancies are filled and “appropriate training prioritised”.

Julian Smith, MP for Ripon and Skipton.

Julian Smith, MP for Ripon and Skipton.

In Ripon, here is what we found on Conservative Julian Smith:

We contacted Julian Smith for comment, but his office directed us towards the press releases on his website.

They included visiting Ripon’s Prison and Police Museum to mark English Tourism Week.

Mr Smith welcomed a £60 million government package to help businesses create more apprenticeships, which would be delivered across his constituency.

He also supported news of more than £530,000 of funding to the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Service, which will go towards adult social care.

Mr Smith also visited Whittaker’s Gin, in Dacre, and signed a whisky cask.

Keir Mather, Selby and Ainsty MP.

Keir Mather, Selby and Ainsty MP.

In Selby and Ainsty, which includes parts of south Harrogate, here is what we found on Labour MP Keir Mather:

When we contacted Mr Mather for comment, his office sent a list of some of his March highlights.

These included visiting Kirk Hammerton Primary School to speak to students about Parliament.

He also welcomed the Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper MP, to speak to constituents about rural crime.

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Editor’s Pick of the Week: Bettys Easter egg, sewage and new offices

Easter is a time to ponder the big questions in life, such as: what happens to the giant egg in the window of Bettys in Harrogate?

Reporter Lauren Ryan has been tracking down the answer. Look for her article on Sunday.

The Stray Ferret is now a stone’s throw from Bettys — we moved into our new office on Cambridge Crescent on Monday. I may have a claim for the best view from office in Harrogate. It’ll look even better if the sun ever comes out.

Talking of throwing things, my Wednesday morning routine was abruptly cut short this week when I heard Harrogate’s Parliament Street was closed die to a police incident.

I hotfooted it to the scene in time to find a shocking number of broken windows in the buildings above shops. The ages of the boys arrested was even more hard to believe.

Some of the smashed windows on Parliament Street.

Political shenanigans are hotting up in a year of elections of ever-increasing magnitude: there’s the Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone council by-election in April, the North Yorkshire mayor election in May and a general election further down the track.

The Lib Dems were reported to the police this week when their by-election candidate sent out a leaflet falsely claiming the Green Party wasn’t standing. Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, wrote to Lib Dem leader Ed Davey claiming the local Lib Dems had “totally gone rogue”, which drew a sharp retort that he was “out of touch”.

The political wrangling continued when the Environment Agency released its latest data about sewage discharges, which made unpleasant reading for those of us living close to the Nidd and Ure, i.e. everyone in the former Harrogate district.

Mr Jones and his Lib Dem rival Tom Gordon had vastly different takes on the results.

Politics is a dirty business — and with elections looming, it’s only likely get murkier.

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No 9: River Nidd pollution and politics take centre stage

In this article, which is part of a series on the 12 stories in the Harrogate district that shaped 2023, we look at how the River Nidd rose up the political agenda this year.

National concerns about rivers were magnified locally in a year of intense focus on the River Nidd.

The state of the Nidd has become a major issue in recent years amid reports of bathers falling ill with sickness and diarrhoea and wider pollution concerns.

It led anglers, academics, conservationists and members of the public to set up Nidd Action Group to campaign for long-term improvements on the river, which is a tributary of the River Ouse that flows through Pateley Bridge, Birstwith and Knaresborough before meeting the Ouse at Nun Monkton..

The group bookended 2023 with two public meetings in Knaresborough. In between there was unprecedented activity that included water sampling and a campaign to achieve bathing water status.

The need to act was starkly highlighted in May when Professor Peter Hammond, a mathematician who analyses data on sewage discharges, published research showing the equivalent of 317 Olympic pools of raw sewage was discharged into the River Nidd at four sewage treatment works at Pateley Bridge, Harrogate, Darley and Kirk Hammerton in 2020.

The following month Knaresborough Lions, which organises the town’s joyfully insane annual bed race, issued a warning urging participants to “keep your head above water”.

Bed race competitors were told to keep their heads above water.

During summer, scores of volunteers monitored usage of the Nidd at Knaresborough Lido as part of the bathing water campaign led by Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Water quality has become a highly charged and politicised issue and not everyone welcomed Mr Jones’ campaign.

Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough, made rivers one of his main campaigning issues in 2023. He said local waterways were “being pumped full of raw disgusting sewage” under the Tories’ watch and accused water firms of awarding bosses “insulting pay-outs” after it was revealed Yorkshire Water paid £2.09 million to four executives in the year ending March 2023.

Mr Jones said he was taking a pragmatic approach to tackling an important local issue that is as much about farming and ancient sewers as government policies.

He even called for a parliamentary debate on the subject in January, when he told MPs:

“Rainwater run-off from farmland, which can include animal waste and pesticides, is a big factor affecting the quality of our waterways. It is a complex issue, and local farmers produce some of the highest quality food in our country, so can we have a debate to explore how the government can support farmers in mitigating this issue?”

Mr Jones’ bathing water campaign focused on Knaresborough, where leisure use of the Nidd is at its highest. There is an large wild swimming group, Lido bathers and boating on Waterside, as well as angling and riverside holiday homes.

If the bid, which the government is expected to adjudicate on in spring, is approved then agencies will be required to take measures to clean the Lido that should impact a much wider stretch of the river.

andrew jones-mp-and-frank maguire

Andrew Jones (left) with the owner of Knaresborough Lido.

Besides the bathing water bid, action group volunteers organised two rounds of water sampling along the entire length of the Nidd in August and October to establish scientific data on water quality.

The results confirmed high levels of the faecal bacteria E.coli. in much of the river. Tributaries in the middle and lower Nidd catchment, including Ripley Beck, Oak Beck and Crimple Beck, had the highest concentrations of E.coli, with Bilton Beck the worst.

River Nidd water sampling

Nidd Action Group volunteers learning to take water samples.

 

Photo of volunteers from Nidd Action Group sampling water quality in Oak Beck.

Sampling at Bilton

The results were discussed at the action group’s December meeting, at which some of the early fervour to tackle pollution had given way to a more hard-headed and strategic long-term approach.

The presence of Yorkshire Water at the meeting may have surprised some, but many felt the company was an integral part of whatever plans are drawn up.

Professor Jonathan Gray of the Wild Trout Trust told the meeting the creation of channels that took the river off its natural flood plain “with hindsight was not a good idea” and spoke about the need to reverse this.

Nidd Action Group

Nidd Action Group’s meeting in March.

David Clayden said there had been some initial “naivety” about what could be achieved and both he and James McKay, a Knaresborough resident and academic who has been at the forefront of analysing the water samples, agreed a lot has been achieved in 2023 — but it will take time for this to filter down to actual measures that improve water quality.

Megan Godden, the wild swimming representative on the action group, said people entering the Nidd should avoid swallowing water at all costs and consider avoiding it for a couple of days after heavy rainfall when e.coli levels are at their highest. But she was optimistic action could eventually make a difference.

Maddy Wright, a PHD student at Leeds University, said

“E.coli is the most problematic factor and exists in levels that could pose significant risks”, adding she hoped bathing water status would lead to data about the state of the river being published so “people can see and they will know the risks before they go bathing”.

The clean-up campaign was boosted in November when Yorkshire Water agreed to pay £1 million for polluting Hookstone Beck in Harrogate in 2016.

Half of the sum was awarded to the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust, which will use what is now known as the iNidd project to clean-up the River Nidd. The name is similar to the iWharfe campaign on the River Wharfe.

Charlotte Simons, a senior project manager at the trust, said:

“The sad thing is we have the money because something went wrong. But we have been given a lump sum that can lead to long-term improvements on the River Nidd.”

River quality is a murky business.

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