Knaresborough Christmas Market returns in two weeks

Knaresborough Christmas Market is making a comeback after last year’s cancellation with the organising committee promising a “Yorkshire experience to remember”.

The market will take place in the town’s Market Square on December 4 and 5.

There will be almost 50 stalls selling Christmas decorations, gifts and locally sourced produce.

While visitors sip on their mulled wine they can also enjoy live entertainment from local dancers, choirs and brass bands.

As in previous years, the market will culminate with a fireworks display over Knaresborough’s iconic viaduct at 4.30pm on Sunday, December 5.

Market chair, Hazel Haas, said:

“Sadly we had to cancel last year’s market, so there is a real buzz in the town about its return. It’s been a difficult 18 months for Knaresborough residents and businesses and we wanted to give everyone something to look forward to.”

The Christmas Market committee has been working with other local organisations to promote all festive events in the town in the hope of encouraging more people to visit.

The not-for-profit committee are also supporting Knaresborough RAF Cadets, Knaresborough Lions, Rotary Knaresborough, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and Knaresborough Cricket Club.

Committee member Charlotte Gale said:

“We hope that visitors to the market will also take the time to explore everything which Knaresborough has to offer. The businesses always make such an effort to decorate their windows for Christmas, which gives a wonderful festive feeling in town on the market weekend.”

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A free park and ride will operate from the GSPK car park, postcode HG5 8LF, from Manse Lane to Chapel Street, near the Market Square.

The Knaresborough market will take place on the same weekend as a new Christmas market in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens.

Organised by Little Bird markets, it will be an artisan markets with 60 local and regional traders and producers selling festive arts and crafts, clothing, homeware and jewellery, as well as food and drink.

Your guide to Harrogate’s three Christmas markets

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…So, with a few changes to the plans this year, we have compiled this guide of everything you need to know about Harrogate’s Christmas markets.

After the loss of the original Harrogate Christmas Market, the festive offering has splintered into three markets.

While some of the original stalls will be at the newly-refurbished Crimple Hall at the end of November, new stall holders will be at events across the town centre and Valley Gardens in December.

Harrogate Christmas Fayre across the town centre

Market Place Europe is taking on the main event in Harrogate but rather than Montpellier Hill this new Harrogate Christmas Fayre will take place across the town centre.

There will be a mixture of local and European stallholders on Cambridge Street, Market Place, Station Square and Cambridge Crescent.

The Harrogate Christmas Fayre will feature around 50 traders spaced out wider than usual to try to encourage social distancing.

Rather than the usual four-day market, the Market Place Europe event will take place over a week from December 3 until December 12.

Market Place Europe is behind the Harrogate Christmas Fayre.

Christmas Market Weekend at Crimple Hall

Brian Dunsby, co-organiser of Harrogate Christmas Market, has worked with some of the stallholders who were planning to go to his cancelled event to get them at a new venue.

Crimple Hall will hold the Christmas Market Weekend, which will feature more than 20 food and craft stalls.

There will also be plenty of children’s activities, a festive animal farm, face painting, treasure trails, wreath making demonstration and live music.

The Christmas Market at Crimple Hall will be held on November 27 and 28, from 8am to 7pm on the Saturday and 10am to 4pm on the Sunday.

There will be a festive offering at the new Crimple Hall.

Artisan Christmas market in Valley Gardens

Little Bird Made, which has made a name for itself across North Yorkshire with its artisan markets, is set to hold a festive version of its market in Valley Gardens.

More than 60 local traders and producers will sell a variety of festive arts and crafts, clothing, homeware, jewellery, as well as locally produced food and drink.

This is a new addition to the town called Artisan Festive Market, with the organisers working with Harrogate Borough Council.

It will be held on the weekend of December 4 and 5 between 10am and 3pm.

The Artisan Festive Market will be held in Harrogate's Valley Gardens.

The Artisan Festive Market will be held in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens.

Masham hosts first Harrogate district Christmas market tomorrow

Masham will host the Harrogate district’s first Christmas market of the year tomorrow.

About 30 stallholders, plus Father Christmas, are expected to attend the event in the town’s market place.

Many of the usual monthly stallholders will be in attendance, plus others, so visitors can expect hand bell ringing and folk music as well as a wide variety of craft and food and drink stalls.

Masham has one of the few licensed market places in the country so alcohol will also be available.

The market opens at around 9am and Santa is expected between 11am and 1pm.

Masham Parish Council has organised the event. The town will host a second Christmas market in the market place and town hall on December 4.

Councillor Ian Johnson said the long stay car park near the cricket field was a good place for anyone travelling in by car to park.

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Valley Gardens Christmas market confirmed for December

Harrogate Borough Council confirmed today that an artisan market will go ahead in Valley Gardens as part of the town’s festive offering.

The market, which will be held on December 4 and 5 between 10am and 3pm, will be one of two Christmas markets in Harrogate.

The council said it had approved an event management plan submitted by market organisers Little Bird Made.

It had previously failed to approve an event management plan for the traditional Christmas market on Montpellier submitted by Harrogate Christmas Market Ltd, meaning it will not take place.

Sixty local and regional traders and producers will sell festive arts and crafts, clothing, homeware and jewellery, as well as food and drink, at the Valley Gardens event.

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Kirsty Stewart, parks and grounds maintenance manager at the council, said:

“The market will showcase some fantastic home-grown traders and producers and what better setting than Valley Gardens.”

Jackie Crozier, owner of Little Bird Made, said she was delighted by the news and urged anyone interested in having a stall to get in touch. She added:

“Our markets showcase some of Yorkshire’s finest small businesses and are a great opportunity to bring some festive cheer and buy that special gift for the holidays.”

The market will accompany a separate council-approved event called Harrogate Christmas Market, which will take place on Cambridge Street, Market Place, Station Square and Cambridge Crescent in Harrogate town centre between December 3 and 12. This event will be run by Market Place Europe.

A ferris wheel, Victorian carousel, helter skelter and road train will also be part the council’s Harrogate’s festive package.

The festivities will last from November 15 to the first week of January.

Ferris wheel, carousel and road train part of huge Harrogate Christmas offering

A Ferris wheel, Victorian carousel, helter skelter and road train will be among the highlights of Harrogate’s festive offering.

Harrogate Borough Council announced a raft of new initiatives today to bring festive cheer this year.

The festivities will last from November 15 to the first week of January.

A road train will operate around the town centre from December 3 until December 12, which coincides with the dates of the new Harrogate Christmas Fayre.

It’s all part of the council’s drive to get people into the town centre to support the new fayre and the artisan market in the Valley Garden, which will also stimulate high street businesses.

The Stray Ferret asked where the attractions will be placed and what the cost will be but a council spokesperson said those details were yet to be confirmed.

To encourage footfall to town centres across the Harrogate district, a magical window trail will also be unveiled.

Funded by the government’s Welcome Back Fund, the window trail will feature 12 festive depictions that have been designed by local people.

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Gemma Rio, head of destination management at Harrogate Borough Council, said Harrogate would be “an absolutely unmissable destination for a festive day trip or weekend away” this Christmas.

She added:

“We have been working hard to ensure festivities return this year in order to drive visitors to our district’s shops, restaurants, visitor attractions, hotels and B&Bs.

“This latest announcement confirms that Christmas is well and truly set to return to Harrogate town centre and I’m really excited about what we’re due to bring.

“We are also about to launch the biggest Christmas marketing campaign in Visit Harrogate history to ensure all towns enjoy the benefits the additional footfall brings.”

Free parking

Matthew Chapman, Harrogate Business Improvement District manager, said it promised to be “one of the most impressive festive offerings Harrogate has seen in many years”.

He added:

“In addition to supporting the Harrogate Christmas Fayre and co-funding the Ferris wheel, Victorian carousel, and helter skelter, in just a few weeks our Christmas lights will be illuminating more streets than in previous years.

“We are again partnering with the Rotary Club of Harrogate for the annual Christmas Shop Window competition and Harrogate International Festivals for their North Pole post office. And on Monday (18 October), we will officially take the Christmas wrapping off our Father Christmas experience.

“We have also been working with Harrogate Borough Council to offer shopper’s free parking in Victoria multi-storey car park at set times during the month of December. Retailers are expecting us to pull out all the stops this Christmas, and I don’t think they will be disappointed.”

Christmas markets

Christmas market operator Market Place Europe have also announced this week that Harrogate Christmas Fayre will be open between 10am and 7pm Monday to Wednesday, 10am and 9pm Thursday to Saturday, and 10am and 4.30pm on Sunday.

The market will take place on Cambridge Street, Market Place, Station Square and Cambridge Crescent and will be a great place to pick up some last minute and unique gifts along with mouth-watering treats for people to enjoy as they wander around taking in the sights and sounds.

Around 50 traders from Yorkshire will take part in the fayre.

In addition, Little Bird Made is set to hold a festive artisan market in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 December, with times to be confirmed.

The artisan market will feature approximately 60 local and regional traders and producers who will sell a variety of festive arts and crafts, clothing, homeware, jewellery, as well as food and drink.

Councillor Richard Cooper, leader of Harrogate Borough Council, said:

“More than 100 traders, as well as our high street businesses, will bring a first-class offering to Harrogate town centre this December that will truly get people in the festive mood.

“With the absence of a number of Christmas markets across the region this year, I have no doubt visitors will arrive by the coach load to see what Harrogate has to offer.

“Whether that’s our district’s shops, restaurants, visitor attractions or hotels and B&Bs, I hope everyone will see the benefit this town centre offering will bring.”

Harrogate to get second Christmas market

A second Christmas market is to be staged in Harrogate on the first weekend of December.

Harrogate Borough Council said in a statement today it had agreed a partnership with Little Bird Made to hold a festive artisan market in Valley Gardens on December 4 and 5.

The statement added that subject to an acceptable event management plan, the artisan market will feature around 60 local traders and producers.

The stalls will sell a variety of festive arts and crafts, clothing, homeware, jewellery, as well as locally produced food and drink.

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It will accompany the new Harrogate Christmas Fayre, organised across town by Market Place Europe, which will run from December 3 until December 12.

The fayre will see 50 stalls erected in Cambridge Street, Market Place, Station Square and Cambridge Crescent.

Harrogate Borough Council is also working with Harrogate BID and North Yorkshire County Council on the fayre, which will take the place of the one traditionally held on Montpellier Hill.

‘Festive cheer’

Little Bird Made’s website says its markets offer a “diverse, quality, shopping experience that celebrates independent producers”.

Ripon resident Jackie Crozier, who set up Little Bird Made in 2018, said:

“I am delighted to be working with Harrogate Borough Council to bring an additional Christmas market to Harrogate this year.

“Our markets showcase some of Yorkshire’s finest small businesses and are a great opportunity to bring some festive cheer and buy that special gift for the holidays.

“We are always looking for new traders to join our growing portfolio of markets, so anyone looking for a stall should get in touch.”

Cllr Andy Paraskos, cabinet member for environment, waste reduction and recycling, said:

“We’ve said for some time that we want to ensure festive cheer returns to Harrogate town centre this year and I’m delighted that Little Bird Made will complement Market Place Europe’s offering.

“They provide fantastic artisan markets that showcase the best home-grown traders and producers and I’m confident there will be something for everyone. I’m eager to see what will be on offer.

“Hopefully this leads to a longer-term relationship with Little Bird to deliver a monthly artisan market in the Valley Gardens in the future.”

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.”

Stray Views: Greed and high house prices are forcing people out of Harrogate

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. See below for details on how to contribute.

Greed has made Harrogate homes unaffordable for many

I read your series of articles about Harrogate’s high housing costs and its impact on hospitality workers with interest.

However, I read Alex Goldstein’s contribution with increasing incredulity. I’m not sure whether he was being deliberately provocative or is completely heartless.

I was brought up in one of Harrogate’s less affluent areas in the 1950/60s and many of my neighbours and my friends’ parents worked in the hospitality sector. Strangely enough, they were able to support a family on their earnings, possibly because they lived in either council houses or reasonably priced rental accommodation.

It must be plain for everyone to see that the disparity between high priced accommodation and hospitality sector wages means it is inevitable that those wishing to work in this sector are no longer able to afford to live in Harrogate.

My heart bleeds for the buy-to-let investors who would be hurt by rent caps.  Their greed has made Harrogate unaffordable for more and more ordinary workers.

I do hope that Mr Goldstein will soon be able to afford his Lamborghini and drive off to Mayfair where his despicable ideas may be better appreciated.

Margaret Fox, Harrogate

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The Montpellier Hill Christmas market experience was a nightmare

I’m sorry, I’ve totally lost my rag with this nonsense. What person thinks there is “no more appropriate” a site than Montpellier Hill for this event?

In a town with more than 200 acres of readily accessible open space and a half vacant town centre, we persist year after year on shoving hundreds of traders and tens of thousands of visitors on a muddy slope in the most cramped and inappropriate part of green space Harrogate has to offer.

As a local of more than 15 years, you soon learn to stay well clear of the Christmas market, such are the miserable circumstances under which it is delivered. Its absolutely horrid — thousands pushing past one anther in an obscenely small space, with narrow alleys and a sense that if you browse, you are blocking the crowds and inconveniencing everyone else.

If we had a modicum of common sense, we would relocate to another part of the Stray and have wide, airy corridors, with space between units so people can take a leisurely stroll and browse at their own pace, thus probably spending far more than they might have otherwise.

I love the concept of a Christmas market, I am ashamed of the way Harrogate delivers it simply because of the location. Look at Leeds, Durham, York — anywhere else as a better example of how it can be done without it being a positively suffocating (and covid-breeding) experience.

Mark Fuller, Cold Bath Road, Harrogate

Universities offer more than degrees

I have just read Marilyn Stowe’s column about the anxiety of not getting the A level grades you would have hoped to get.

As a lecturer for almost 40 years in a post-1992 university and an admissions tutor for much of that time, I spoke to and advised many university applicants in that position and I am gratified to say that my institution provided a more than satisfactory and welcoming academic, social and diverse community to a great number of them.

I am particularly proud of those who took up places at our university who saw the opportunity afforded to them not just as a chance to rise to the top but to serve the wider community, including an international one, in a professional capacity.

The pandemic has shown us just how much we need and rely on those whose work supports as a matter of course the wider community and those of every social constituency who find themselves in need.

Glyn Hambrook, Harrogate

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

 

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.

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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