Harrogate train station could be set to have unmanned barriers on the exit leading to East Parade.

The barriers are currently monitored by staff, who help with ticket queries.

But a source contacted the Stray Ferret to say rail operator Northern planned to remove staff from the East Parade exit.

The source was concerned this posed safety risks if people needed to leave the station quickly and would also particularly inconvenience disabled people who require help at the barriers.

The Stray Ferret asked Northern if and when it planned to implement the new system and what response it had to the concerns.

Tony Baxter, regional director for Northern, said in a statement:

“We’re always looking at ways to improve the customer experience and passenger flow across our station estate, including Harrogate.

“Any improvement plans are always subject to rigorous safety and accessibility checks.”

Northern did not respond to a further email seeking clarification on when any changes would be implemented.

We also asked rail union the RMT if it had any concerns but it did not issue a response.

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People with disabilities in the Harrogate district have been invited to attend a debate tomorrow night about accessible housing.

Harrogate-based charity Disability Action Yorkshire has assembled a panel of four experts for the event, which will take place at the Cedar Court Hotel in Harrogate at 5pm.

Titled ‘Accessible Housing for Everyone in North Yorkshire’, the event gives disabled people the chance to have their say and influence decisions on assisted living.

Jackie Snape, chief executive of Disability Action Yorkshire, said:

“The aim of the evening is for disabled people to tell us, and more importantly our panellists, about their housing needs.

“Our hope is that their comments will help influence future assisted living decisions made by the new North Yorkshire Council, which in turn will deliver benefits to those disabled people looking to live in their own homes.”

The panel includes:

• Richard Webb, North Yorkshire County Council corporate director for health and adult services
• Sarah Roxby, Wakefield Clinical Commissioning Group‘s associate director of health.
• Cllr Mike Chambers, Harrogate Borough Council cabinet member for housing and safer communities
• Christina McGill, Habinteg Housing Association‘s director of social impact and external affairs

Disability Action Yorkshire chair, Neil Revely, will head the panel.

New 36-bed home

This year, Disability Action Yorkshire, in partnership with Highstone Housing Association, was granted approval by Harrogate Borough Council to replace its 20-bed care home on Claro Road, Harrogate with a new 36-bed care home.

The £7.5 million complex will also include a base for Disability Action Yorkshire staff, who will be on site 24-hours a day.

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Ms Snape said:

“Our assisted living scheme, which will be completed by this time next year, is one of the most significant developments in our 85-year history. It fulfils one of our key ambitions, to give disabled people the independence they crave.

“Whilst our panellists have a wealth of expertise in this area, we believe it’s vital that they hear from the district’s disabled community. These are the people who more often than not need some form of assistance to live independently, and we need to ensure these needs are properly met.”

If you would like to participate in the debate, contact Jackie Snape via email or telephone at: 01423855410.

The breaking ground ceremony at Claro Road with, from left to right, Disability Action Yorkshire chair Neil Revely, The Mayor of the Borough of Harrogate Cllr Victoria Oldham, Harrogate & Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones, and Highstone Housing Association executive director Joanne Hawley.

Plans for a new 36-flat supported housing development in Harrogate have been given the go-ahead today.

Jackie Snape, chief executive of the Harrogate charity Disability Action Yorkshire, made an impassioned plea to councillors for the scheme to go ahead. She said disabled people wanted to be given more control of their lives.

Ms Snape told Harrogate Borough Council‘s planning meeting that the need for supported housing was growing ever greater as disabled people “want so much more than residential care”.

She was speaking in support of plans to replace the charity’s existing Claro Road care home with 36 flats, which will allow residents to live more independently.

Ms Snape said:

“Disability Action Yorkshire has provided residential care for disabled people in the Harrogate area for the past 60 years, and for at least the last six years we have been working towards stopping that part of our service.

“The reason for this is that the disabled people we work with are telling us very loudly that they don’t want residential care.

“I asked the young disabled people currently living in 34 Claro Road what they thought I should say to you today.

“They said ‘just tell them we are ready, we want choice and control over our own lives, we just want our own front doors, we want what everyone else has.’”

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• Plan for new Claro Road care home set for approval

Disability Action Yorkshire, which this year celebrates its 85th anniversary, is working with Highstone Housing Association to build three apartment blocks at the Claro Road site.

Residents ‘no longer want residential care’

Ms Snape said the need for this type of accommodation has been growing over the last decade, but became in even greater demand during the pandemic which “solidified the resolve” of Claro Road residents that they no longer want residential care.

She said:

“For the past two years they have been treated differently to the rest of society, at one point not being able to have visits from friends and family while the rest of the country went out to eat out.

“Nearly every day somebody said we wouldn’t be in this situation if we had a home of our own.”

The charity’s plans – which included a mix of one and two-bed flats – were approved with “open arms” by Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee today.

Works will now start later this month to construct the first of the flats on the grounds of the current home and on a derelict playground which was sold off by the council last year.

The existing care home will be replaced with flats, as well as a base for support staff who will be on site 24-hours-a-day.

Speaking at today’s meeting, councillor Stuart Martin said:

“This is exactly the sort of development we should be building and it’s one of the easiest decisions I’ve taken on this planning committee.”

A new cafe will open in Harrogate next month to help people with disabilities learn skills and get into the job market.

Artizan International will open the South-American themed cafe in the former Game unit on Cambridge Road, just around the corner from its shop on Oxford Street.

The charity has taken on a large space set over three floors. The ground floor will be the main cafe and craft area, the first floor will have more cafe seating and the second floor will be for offices and storage.

With such a big space, the cafe will be run by four to six staff and volunteers who are there to support up to four adults with disabilities.

When it opens the cafe will serve its speciality of Peruvian hot chocolate. All of its coffee, tea and sugar will come from Fairtrade sources. It will also stock a range of soups, paninis and cakes.

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Susie Hart, who founded Artizan International, told the Stray Ferret why she wanted to invest in the cafe:

“We are going to be training young adults. The idea is they get training here and get to a level of proficiency where we could then help them find work in other cafes in town.

“At the minute everybody in the hospitality industry is desperate for workers. Meanwhile there are loads of young people with disabilities who would love to have a job in a local business.

“It really could be a win-win for those who want the work and those who need the workers, it is a really exciting time for the charity.”

Ms Hart was originally planning to replicate the success of cafes she ran in Tanzania which were staffed by deaf people.

She worked with North Yorkshire County Council and found that local deaf people were managing to find work.

However, she found out that there were “countless” young people with other disabilities on the council’s records looking for practical training, work experience and employment.

Artizan International is looking for more volunteers to join the team and help run the cafe, which will be open Monday to Saturdays from 9am to 5pm.

Are you interested? Send an email to Sarah Davis by clicking or tapping here. Alternatively call 01423 561556 more more information.