What’s happening at Harrogate’s Wicked Wolf?Union warns strikes could ground Christmas flights at Leeds Bradford AirportHarrogate Bus Company apologises for Jennyfields and Bilton cancellations

The Harrogate Bus Company has apologised after a number of bus journeys in the Harrogate area were cancelled this morning.

Passengers in the Jennyfields and Bilton areas faced delays and cancellations, especially around the morning rush hour.

The number 2, Harrogate to Bilton, and number 3, Harrogate to Jennyfield, buses were among those affected.

Sylvia Young got in touch to say she and many others were “sick of the bus service”. Ms Young sent this photo of this morning’s cancellations.

She added:

“It’s not now and again it is nearly every day the buses people need for work are cancelled. Two hours of no buses in or out of Jennyfield. It’s a disgrace.”

The cancellations attracted numerous social media comments, with some people claiming the problems were due to problems with the company’s new electric buses, including charging the batteries.

The Stray Ferret put these claims to the Harrogate Bus Company, which is owned by French firm Transdev.

We also asked if services would continue to be affected.

A spokesperson for the company said:

“We are aware of a small number of journeys to Jennyfield and Bilton which were unable to run this morning due to a vehicle-related issue.

“We apologise to any customers affected and remind our customers that they can track their buses in real time using the free Transdev Go app.”

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Pleas to reinstate cancelled Harrogate to Leeds rail service ‘ignored’

Rail campaigner Brian Dunsby has said his pleas to reinstate the cancelled 6.07am train from Harrogate to Leeds have been ignored by publicly-owned rail operator Northern.

The Stray Ferret reported last month that the weekday service — the first of the day — will be axed from May 15. Some evening services will also be cut.

Mr Dunsby, of Harrogate Line Supporters Group, branded the move ‘disgraceful’ and called for a rethink. He said the service is vital for commuters and voiced his concern that losing it will damage Harrogate’s business community.

Since the decision, he said he’s been lobbying Northern as well as Transport for the North and local Conservative MP Andrew Jones, but he’s been left disappointed.

He said:

“There’s been no progress at all. It’s quite unjustifiable. We can’t understand why they are cancelling them. It’s very unsatisfactory.”

Northern blamed lower passenger numbers, issues with rolling stock and staffing problems for the cuts, which has seen a raft of services across Yorkshire withdrawn.

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Northern will put on a bus to replace the lost early train service from Harrogate to Leeds, but it could be December at the earliest until Northern will look at reintroducing the rail service. Mr Dunsby said this was “not good enough”.

He added:

“That’s eight months away. People need this train for business trips.”

Tony Baxter, regional director at Northern, said:

“Customers are at the heart of everything we do, and the new timetables are designed to deliver high levels of reliability.

“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.”

All Harrogate trains delayed due to fallen tree

Update: National Rail staff have now cleared the tree but there are still some delays on all Harrogate lines this afternoon.

All trains in the Harrogate area are facing delays and cancellations this afternoon after a tree fell in the Starbeck area.

National Rail said it first received reports of an incident at around 2.15pm and expects the disruption to continue until at least 4pm.

Staff from National Rail are on their way to remove the tree but it is unclear how easy the process will be at this time.

Those travelling between Leeds and York will be able to find another route through Micklefield but others may need to wait for road replacement services.

Rail replacement buses are in operation between Harrogate and York:

This is a breaking news story. We will update this page when we get more information. Have you been affected? Send an email to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Blow for Tockwith as firework display cancelled

Firework displays will be in short supply this year after social distancing regulations prevented many of them from going ahead. 

This comes as a double blow for Tockwith and District Agricultural Society, which organises the event.

The annual agricultural show was cancelled in August, and this is the second year in a row the fireworks display has not gone ahead, thanks to poor weather conditions in 2019. 

Norman Waller, who represents Marston Moor on Harrogate Borough Council, said: 

“Unfortunately because of safety issues and our inability to organise refreshments or catering, there will be no bonfire and firework display. Obviously we are devastated, as in normal times it is a key fundraiser to help with cash flow for the staging of the show.

This combined with the cancellation of other fundraising events this year [means] we forecast that potentially we have lost income in the region of £8,000.” 

Meanwhile, the annual Harrogate Charity Stray Bonfire has already postponed its 50th anniversary bonfire until 2021. Now many other organisers in the district are following suit. 

The Stray Ferret spoke to groups that have previously organised an annual fireworks display, and nine organisers have confirmed that due to coronavirus they have cancelled this year’s display. We could not find any which were still expecting to go ahead.

Among the firework displays to be cancelled are those at Bilton Cricket Club, Lightwater Valley, Scotton Cricket Club and Stockeld Park. 

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