Andrew Jones MP urges Northern to ‘rethink’ cuts to Harrogate trains

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has written to the chairman of rail operator Northern urging him to “rethink” reductions to the service between Harrogate and Leeds.

The Stray Ferret reported last week that the 6.07am from Harrogate to Leeds — the first of the day — will be axed from May 15. Some evening services will also be cut.

Brian Dunsby, of Harrogate Line Supporters Group, branded the move ‘disgraceful’ and called for a rethink.

Now Mr Jones has also said the decision should be reconsidered. The Conservative MP said:

“Over the last 12 years we have seen steady improvements to our local rail services. The hated pacer trains have gone, we have more direct services to London with the Azumas and we had seen welcome increases in services to Leeds and York.

“Many groups and individuals lobbied hard to get those changes and we worked with regional and national rail companies in a positive and constructive way. None of us want to see these hard-won improvements lost.”

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Mr Jones added that some long-term changes were understandable because of the trend towards working from home. He said>

“However these changes won’t be forever and there are other pressures in the local and national economy – such as the increase in fuel prices, the strength of the jobs market, the re-opening of the conference and exhibition business and the emphasis on greener methods of travel – which seem likely to lead to an increase in public transport use.

“It is simply therefore too early to judge whether it is right to consolidate the cuts made during the covid lockdowns into the timetable and add new reductions on top of that.”

Mr Jones said he had written to Robin Gisby, chairman of Northern, “asking him to pause any proposed service reductions between Harrogate and Leeds and consider reversing the earlier reductions in stages so that we get back to the level of service we had pre-pandemic”.

 

Harrogate Christmas Market Ltd gives up battle to bring back Montpellier Hill event

The organisers of Harrogate Christmas Market on Montpellier Hill have given up their battle to bring the event back.

The market, which was staged from 2012 to 2019, attracted over 80,000 visitors, 187 coaches and nearly 200 traders.

But the event was scuppered late into its planning stages last year when Harrogate Borough Council refused its event management plan.

The council then staged an alternative 10-day Harrogate Christmas Fayre in the town centre in partnership with Market Place, a specialist market company from Greater Manchester.

Brian Dunsby, co-organiser of the Montpellier Hill event, had been campaigning to bring back the event but he has now conceded defeat.

‘Fed-up to the back teeth’

He told the Stray Ferret he was “fed-up to the back teeth” with the situation with the council and negotiations had “reached the end of the line”.

“It’s extremely disappointing after eight years of extremely successful events and then two years waiting in the wings trying to keep it going.”

Mr Dunsby added it was too soon to contemplate what might happen when Harrogate Borough Council is abolished next year and replaced by the new North Yorkshire Council.

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A statement from Mr Dunsby and his wife, Beryl, co-organisers of Harrogate Christmas Market Ltd, said:

“The Harrogate Christmas Market team leaders have now decided not to organise any future markets in Harrogate. We thank all our super local volunteers, voluntary organisations, local contractors and traders for all their support over the years.

“We wish those taking up the challenge of providing a good quality Christmas Market in Harrogate all the best as we know how hard it is to create something that is truly appreciated by visitors and traders and which supports local businesses.

“Thanks for your support over the past 10 years.”

Early morning train from Harrogate to Leeds cancelled

Northern is to cancel the 6.07am train service from Harrogate to Leeds due to declining passenger numbers since the pandemic began.

The 6.07am, which is the first service of the day, arrives at Leeds Station at 6.44am. It is also used by business travellers to get to London King’s Cross before 9am.

The change will come into effect from May 15.

A Northern/LNER service, which goes to London via York and leaves Harrogate at 6.41am and arrives at King’s Cross at 9.36am, will remain on the timetable.

There is a direct LNER train from Harrogate to London at 7.36am but it doesn’t arrive in the capital until 10.32am.

LNER has delayed plans to introduce an earlier direct service that leaves Harrogate at 6.35am due to rolling stock issues.

‘We need it’

With the 6.07am service withdrawn, it means the earliest Harrogate commuters will be able to get into Leeds by train from Monday to Friday will be the 6.56 train, which arrives at 7.28am.

Brian Dunsby, of Harrogate Line Supporters Group, said passenger numbers were back to around 80% of pre-pandemic levels and the early service was needed by commuters.

He called the move by Northern ‘disgraceful’ and urged the state-owned operator to reconsider.

He said:

“The service is particularly important for anyone going down to London for a 9am start.

“They could cancel the 6.56am or the 7.14am instead. That 6.07 is very important. It’s the first train of the day and we need it.”

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A spokesperson for Northern said:

“We fully understand the concerns of those using our trains in West Yorkshire and we are doing all we can to provide the best possible service for our customers who are very much at the heart of everything we do.”

“We’re seeing fewer commuters travelling each day, and people travelling at different times of the week and for different reasons. We’ve made decisions about our timetables based on the levels of resource we have available and prioritising the routes with the highest customer demand, and which support the region’s economic growth.

“The timetables currently in place will broadly continue with some amendments from May 2022 and into the summer.”

Businesses surveyed on Harrogate Christmas market preferences

Businesses are being surveyed on what kind of Christmas market they would like to see in Harrogate this year.

The organisers of Harrogate Christmas Market, which attracted almost 200 stallholders to Montpellier Hill annually until 2019, is conducting the survey.

Brian Dunsby, co-organiser and founder of Harrogate Christmas Market Ltd, handed out questionnaires at Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce‘s monthly meeting this week.

He told the meeting his company was “in discussions with Harrogate Borough Council about bringing back the Christmas market in 2022″.

As part of this, it has been asked to find out what businesses think.

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Speaking to the Stray Ferret after the meeting, Mr Dunsby said:

“The council said ‘find out what the business community thinks’. So that’s what we intend to do.

“The council have said they only want one market. We were thinking two or three would be better. So we are asking businesses what they think and will then look at the results and talk to the council.”

Andy Pidgen, operations manager at Marketplace Europe, at the start of last year’s fayre.

The questionnaire gives businesses four options to select from. Options A, B and C are for Harrogate Christmas Fayre, Harrogate Christmas Market and the artisan market in Valley Garden.

The fourth option is for all three “in a planned programme of Christmas events through November and December”.

All change last year

Harrogate Christmas Market Ltd was in advanced planning stages when the council declined to accept its event management plan.

It had 170 traders and 53 coaches booked to attend the annual event on Montpellier Hill in November when their plans were scuppered in July.

Harrogate Christmas Market was held on Montpellier Hill until 2019.

Instead, the council staged an alternative 10-day Harrogate Christmas Fayre in the town centre in partnership with Market Place, a specialist market company from Greater Manchester. It included about 40 stalls, a free road train, a carousel, helter skelter and ferris wheel.

There was also a two-day artisan market in Valley Gardens, organised by the company Little Bird Made.

 

 

Cancelled Harrogate Christmas Market finds new home at Crimple

The Harrogate district’s new shopping and dining venue, has agreed to host the cancelled Harrogate Christmas Market.

The Christmas Market Weekend, which will take place on November 27 and 28, will feature over 20 food and craft stalls, children’s activities, a festive animal farm, face painting, treasure trails, wreath making demos and live music.

Brian Dunsby, co-organiser of Harrogate Christmas Market, which was refused a licence on Montpellier Hill by Harrogate Borough Council this year, said:

“I’ve been working closely with Crimple and I am so pleased they have offered a home to many of the stallholders who should have been at the cancelled Harrogate Christmas Market this year.

“It’s been a tough few years for many independent traders so this is great news and in true community spirit. Crimple provides an attractive under-cover heated location for a Christmas Market, right next door to their popular garden centre and their new food hall.”

Harrogate Christmas Market was traditionally held on Montpellier Hill in November and attracted about 80,000 visitors. Since its cancellation the council has announced plans to stage Christmas markets in town and in Valley Gardens.

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Crimple has undergone a £4 million refurbishment and now has one of Yorkshire’s largest food halls, 160-seat restaurant, bistro and event space, which is due to open this month, employing over 60 staff.

Crimple

The food hall features more than 50 specialist producers, as well as a 12-metre-long butcher’s counter, a juice bar, bakery, patisserie, deli and cheese counter, fresh fruit and veg, milk float, food to go, in-store produced ready meals, pizzas, fresh fish, a horticulture shop, and a grain store.

Keren Shaw, operations director at Crimple, said:

“Our vision for Crimple is a place which brings people together through a dynamic shopping, dining and lifestyle experience.

“Our Christmas Market Weekend is a fantastic example of this, whether it’s supporting local suppliers, musicians or indeed being able to offer a home to the local stallholders from the much-loved Harrogate Christmas Market.”

Richard Van Opstal, owner of Harrogate-based Woodcutter Creations, said he was “saddened and frustrated” when the Harrogate Christmas Market was cancelled. He added:

“It is great news that Crimple will be working with the original Harrogate Christmas Market organisers and hosting many of us at Crimple’s Christmas Market Weekend.”

The market will take place at Crimple on Leeds Road, from 8am to 7pm on the Saturday and from 10am to 4pm on the Sunday.

Meeting next week to plan return of original Harrogate Christmas Market

Organisers of the original Harrogate Christmas Market are holding a meeting next week to discuss moves to bring the event back as soon as possible.

Harrogate Borough Council refused a licence to Harrogate Christmas Market Ltd in July because of safety concerns about the site on Montpellier Hill.

The council subsequently revealed it was holding formal talks with Manchester firm Market Place Europe about hosting a smaller 10-day event in December. The location has yet to be revealed.

In an email sent to supporters, seen by the Stray Ferret, Harrogate Christmas Market Ltd said Harrogate’s White Hart Hotel would hold a meeting on Monday afternoon. It said:

“We have had many communications expressing a desire that this should resume as soon as possible as an annual event in Harrogate’s calendar.

“If this is to be possible then we need a forward strategic plan which will include a succession plan for this limited by guarantee company.”

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Brian Dunsby, one of the volunteers who established the Christmas market in 2012, told the Stray Ferret that he didn’t know yet what his next steps will be. He said:

“I’m very disappointed that events had to be cancelled, when traders have given us a massive vote of support.

“I’m at my wits’ end. We are devastated. We can’t find a way forward.

“I can’t understand the council’s attitude. I think the town centre needs the Christmas market to continue, and there’s no better location than in Montpellier valley.”

Harrogate council began talks with new Christmas market organiser in March

Harrogate Borough Council began talks with MarketPlace Europe about staging a new Christmas market in March — four months before it dropped the original organisers.

The council has said it refused a licence to Harrogate Christmas Market Ltd, the previous organisers, because the emergency services had raised safety concerns about the site on Montpellier Hill.

However, Brian Dunsby, one of the previous organisers that set-up the market in 2012, has been suspicious of the reasons given and last week accused the council of “having their own agenda”.

The council, which promotes a ‘Buy Local’ message, said yesterday it began “low-level” talks with the Manchester-based events firm in March.

It said this was to ensure a contingency option was in place “in case the Montpellier Hill option was not able to proceed”.

Last week, Conservative council leader Richard Cooper said he expected the new company, which will operate a 10-day Christmas market in December, would bring a “first-class offering” to Harrogate.

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A council spokesperson told the Stray Ferret yesterday:

“Harrogate Borough Council departments speak to external organisations about various service provision matters day-in day-out. It is important to do so to ensure if events or services suffer delivery issues then a contingency option is in place.

“Therefore it should not surprise anyone that we have spoken to MarketPlace Europe, a nationally recognised market provider, as a contingency option in case the Montpellier Hill Christmas market option was not able to proceed.  This has been happening at a low level since March but has, following the refusal of the licence for the Montpellier Hill event, stepped up considerably in recent weeks.

“Bearing in mind the response from our partners to the application for the use of Montpellier Hill it is as well we do have these discussions.  Had we not done so there would be no chance to have a Christmas Market at all.  The fact that we had an open discussion with MarketPlace Europe gives us the chance to put in place an alternative now that the former organisers have decided not to proceed with this year’s Christmas market. The emphasis is on having a brilliant event that pulls people into our town.

“No officers, councillors or departments discussing the licence with the former Christmas Market organisers were involved in any early discussions about markets with MarketPlace Europe.”

The Stray Ferret has contacted MarketPlace Europe about its plans for the Harrogate Christmas market but has not received a response.

Original Harrogate Christmas Market will not return next year

The original Harrogate Christmas Market will not return next year after Harrogate Borough Council entered into formal talks with an organiser from Manchester.

Brian Dunsby, who established the Christmas market in 2012 and built it up to a success, has admitted defeat in his battle to hold the event on Montpellier Hill.

Harrogate Borough Council refused the licence at the end of July and has now revealed that Market Place Europe is now planning to hold a smaller event in December.

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After three weeks of wrangling with the council Brian Dunsby told the Stray Ferret:

“It is a shame for traders we have and for the sake of the town centre businesses which all need the Harrogate Christmas Market.

“Some of the traders may go bust. I think that very few will get into the event being organised by Market Place Europe.

“We created a marvellous event, it was a great success. It is also a distressing situation for the local charities we raise money for.

“Over the years we donated £90,000 from the profits we made.”

Mr Dunsby does not plan to hold the Harrogate Christmas Market this year of next but thinks there may be an opportunity for it to return in 2023. He added:

“By 2023 North Yorkshire County Council will be in charge. So whether we have another go then, I don’t know. It’s too early to say.

“I will not try next year because I do not think there is any point when Harrogate Borough Council is still in charge.”

The orginial Harrogate Christmas Market had around 170 traders booked in, 55 coaches and it expected to attract around 90,000 visitors for the four-day event.

Harrogate Borough Council refused a licence for Brian Dunsby’s event at the end of July.

It said that the event management plan did not fully take into account overcrowding, counter-terrorism and the ongoing risk of coronavirus.

However, Market Place Europe is planning to host 45 stalls with a mixture of European and local traders over 10 days at a yet undisclosed location in the town centre.

New event organiser set to take over Harrogate Christmas Market

Harrogate Borough Council has said it will now ‘actively work’ with a new event organiser on a Christmas market this year after unsuccessful talks with the current organisers this morning.

Representatives from Harrogate Christmas Market Ltd, which created the market on Montpellier Hill, met two council officers to resolve a dispute that erupted when the council refused to grant a licence for this year’s event due to safety concerns.

But after 90 minutes of talks the council issued a statement saying alternative locations “have been refused” and that it would now “move forward to ensure Harrogate hosts safe, vibrant and attractive Christmas festivities this year”.

A spokesman added:

“Another event organiser has approached us with great enthusiasm to bring their business and expertise to Harrogate town centre this Christmas. And we will now actively work with them to help formalise that discussion.”

He declined to say who the event organiser was.

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Brian Dunsby, one of the current organisers, told the Stray Ferret the council officers at today’s meeting had agreed there was no better alternative to Montpellier Hill.

An assessment of alternative Christmas market locations conducted on behalf of the organisers this year considered Valley Gardens, the Great Yorkshire Showground, Victoria Avenue and Princes Square, Cambridge Street and Oxford Street, West Park Stray and Oatlands Drive Stray, the Dragon Road car park, the Majestic Hotel, the Cairn Hotel, Hornbeam Park, Harrogate Convention Centre – and concluded the current location was the best.

Mr Dunsby, who has been warned by council leader Richard Cooper not to try to galvanise support for his cause, said:

“We’ve been through every conceivable location and can’t find one that has anywhere near the capacity of Montpellier Hill and it just doesn’t work as well anywhere else.”

Two Christmas markets?

Mr Dunsby said he was “absolutely livid” at the prospect of losing the market he and his team have built up into such a major event. Nevertheless they planned to resubmit their event management plan to address issues raised by the council about the current site.

Mr Dunsby said he was open to the town centre hosting a second Christmas market in December in addition to the established one.

His team currently has 170 traders and 53 coaches arranged for this year’s event, which was expected to attract 85,000 people and generate £2.5 million for the local economy from November 18 to 21. Mr Dunsby said he had received “massive support” from traders, adding.

“It’s a very frustrating situation. The event has been successful for the last eight years. Harrogate needs a Christmas market and this is the right place to have it.”

 

Harrogate Christmas Market: council refuses meeting with organisers

Harrogate Borough Council has told organisers of the Harrogate Christmas Market it will not meet to discuss plans for the event on Montpellier Hill.

The market organisers called for a meeting at the end of July after the council declined to issue a licence for the event, placing it in jeopardy.

A total of 170 traders and 53 coaches had booked to attend the market, which was expected to attract 85,000 people to the town from November 18 to 21, boosting its economy by £2.5 million.

But in an email seen by the Stray Ferret, Wallace Sampson, chief executive at Harrogate Borough Council, told Brian Dunsby, one of the three market organisers:

“To be clear, the council will not meet to discuss the reasons for declining a licence for Montpellier Hill as the reasons have already been set out to you in writing.”

Mr Dunsby told the Stray Ferret last night:

“We had no response to our request for a meeting until today. I think Mr Sampson’s position is immoral.

“Since the news broke about Harrogate Christmas Market we have been inundated with messages of support from both traders and retailers.

“We believe that there is no viable alternative location near to the town centre – which is vital in terms of attracting visitors into the town centre.”

If Montpellier Hill is no longer an option, the organisers may have to consider moving the event to a different location although they have insisted they do not believe there is a viable alternative.

Harrogate Borough Council has said it is working on alternative festive arrangements and may consider doing so without the current organisers. It has said it has already received “a number of expressions of interest” from potential partners.

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