Harrogate drama group returns to the stage with Oliver!

The St Peter’s Players’ annual show returns next week with a production of the musical Oliver!.

The Players, who have been performing for over 20 years, are made up largely from members of the congregation of St Peter’s Church in the centre of Harrogate.

Members range from nine to 80 years old and include the vicar, The Reverend Dr Alan Garrow, who will be playing the comical Dr Grimwig.

The performances will take place daily from November 4 to 6 at St Peter’s Church on Cambridge Street.

After two years apart, the 55-strong group were keen to get back to rehearsing and found inventive ways to deal with covid.

John Hain, the director of the production, said:

“For people who haven’t been in a group, getting together for the first time in a long time, especially for the children, it’s been a joy.”

“The hardest thing has been that people can’t come to rehearsals because they’ve been self-isolating. So, we’ve had a few people attending rehearsals remotely!”

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Last year, the Players were forced to cancel their production, producing a short film instead.

Mr Hain explained:

“The last production we did was during lockdown and was a film cobbled together from everyone’s clips done at home. We wrote the script specifically around the restrictions, and the result was surprisingly successful, raising over £800 for the church.”

Tickets cost £10 and can be bought online. Children under 16 go free. All proceeds go to St Peter’s.

Stray Views: Older people in Harrogate are being ignored

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. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Older people’s needs in Harrogate are being ignored

It’s all very well trying to encourage cycles and walking, but what about the aged population in Harrogate? Does no-one care any more about the largest population in Harrogate, who cannot walk everywhere or who are in wheelchairs and need to be as near as they can to what they have struggled to get out to do? And how many use the cycle lanes anyway, bad weather puts everyone under cover in a car?

It all started to go wrong when they made West Park a one way thoroughfare. When Ripon traffic could drive straight through it saved all that mess of having to do a loop through and round the town to get out to Leeds.

Harrogate planning has a lot to answer to, both in this and in housing and the plans they pass.

Lesley Dalton, Harrogate

Pollution on Cold Bath Road

Regarding your story about pollution and Western Primary School, closure of the road during school drop up and pick up times would reduce car pollution at these times which would be beneficial for the children

Richard Blackshaw, Harrogate

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Sheep killed at Pinewoods

Regarding the recent report of sheep being killed on land adjacent to the Pinewoods. Perhaps the temporary signs being put up could also remind dog owners that farmers can legally shoot any dog caught attacking sheep.

Richard Stobbs, Harrogate

A lovely gesture by a bakery

I would like to give a heartfelt thank you to Avenue Bakery in Harrogate for making stottie cakes for my elderly father who has dementia.

Dad had been reminiscing about stottie cakes and I popped into Avenue Bakery and asked them if it was something they could make for him. They made him two and gifted them to him .

Such a lovely gesture for an old man and he enjoyed them so much.

Joanne Bolton, Knox

Avenue Bakery stottie

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.

Harry Kane’s World Cup shirt auction to fund community groceries

Harry Kane has donated his signed shirt from the England v Poland World Cup qualifier to Resurrected Bites for an auction to raise money for a community grocery project.

The Tottenham striker and England captain scored in the fixture which ended 1-1 on September 8.

Kane’s shirt was signed by all of the players and also comes with a letter of authenticity.

Resurrected Bites usually takes in surplus food but this special donation was thanks to the team’s relationship with Gareth Southgate’s assistant manager Steve Holland.

Michelle Hayes, the founder of Resurrected Bites, said:

“Steve is the nephew of my step-dad Tony. Tony is one of our volunteers and washes up at one of the Resurrected Bites cafés every week.

“When he told Steve about Resurrected Bites, Steve offered to help us with our fundraising. We were over the moon to receive Harry Kane’s shirt which has been signed by all of the England players.

“We think this shirt could really make an exceptional Christmas present for someone. That is in addition to raising much needed funds for our organisation.”

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The auction is being held on the Resurrected Bites Facebook page, where people are invited to share their bids by commenting below the post.

Bidding will end at 8pm on Sunday, November 7. The auction started off at £100 and has already reached £340.

Steve Holland with Gareth Southgate.

All of the money raised will go towards the community grocery project.

Resurrected Bites set up its first grocery at New Park Academy Community Hub but plans to open a second in Knaresborough in December.

At the community grocery people pay £5 a year to sign up as members. They are then entitled to pay £3, £5 or £9 depending on the size of their family, for items that would typically cost £30.

It stocks a wide range of tinned, fresh food and frozen food as well as toiletries, sanitary products and nappies in various sizes.

Harrogate ex-prison governor raises £5,000 for charity

A former prison governor from Harrogate has raised almost £5,000 for charity by giving speeches about her 35 years in the prison service.

Veronica Bird, a Harrogate resident of over 20 years, worked with some of the most notorious criminals in the country, including Moors Murderer Myra Hindley, and Charles Bronson, a man labelled ‘the most violent prisoner in the country’.

Proceeds from Ms Bird’s speaking engagements will be handed to nine local and national charities at an event on Tuesday. The event, which will be held in a garden on Cornwall Close, will be opened by Brackenfield school choir.

Ms Bird, who received an OBE for her work in the prison service, said:

“I came from a big family, a lot of poverty, and so I know what it is to be without food, without clothes.

“My school motto was ‘not for oneself, but for all’ and that is what I try to follow. Without it, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

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She has chosen local charities Saint Michael’s Hospice and Girlguiding’s Birk Crag Centre. Cheques will also go to Jacqui’s Million, Barnsley Hospice, St Leonard’s Hospice, and Mind, alongside the MS Society UK, Royal British Legion, and the NSPCC.

The event begins at noon, at 100 Cornwall Close, Harrogate, on Tuesday 2nd November.

Harrogate creeps back up to third highest covid rate in North Yorkshire

The Harrogate district has creeped back up to the third highest covid rate in North Yorkshire.

It comes as the area records another 198 coronavirus cases today, according to the latest Public Health England figures.

That takes the seven-day coronavirus rate for the district up to 524 per 100,000, which is only lower than Craven and Ryedale in North Yorkshire respectively.

North Yorkshire’s average is 504 per 100,000 and England’s is 438.

Although daily cases remain relatively high, Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any further covid patient deaths today. It reamins at 93 covid deaths in total.

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The hospital was treating 19 covid patients as of Monday.

It was also announced this week that 12-15 year olds can now book their covid vaccines appointments.

As of today, a total of 130,616 first doses have been delivered and 122,087 second doses of the vaccine. No figures are currently available for boosters.

Station Gateway: Too much money and creates no-go zones, say residents

Local residents said Harrogate’s £10.9 million Station Gateway scheme could mean unsafe “no-go zones” in the town centre and bottleneck traffic on Station Parade.

The second face-to-face consultation into the project was held today in Victoria Shopping Centre.

The scheme, which could lead to a reduction in parking spaces, the part-pedestrianisation of James Street and potentially up to a year of major road works, received a mixed response.

The main comments from people were about whether the total cost was balanced by the impact on the town and if pedestrianisation will create unsafe areas.

Chris and Maria Littlefair, from Killinghall, questioned whether it was enough to reduce the number of cars on the road. They said:

“Why isn’t there more money being spent on updating the bus station? If they want more people on it they need to make it look more attractive.

“If there’s no alternative to it or a way of getting cars out the centre completely then they need to do something, but I don’t know if this is the solution.”

Gordon Pearson, who will be directly affected on Mount Parade, said:

“Overall I think it’s a good idea but I live on Mount Parade and there will be traffic regulations on the street. The turning from Cheltenham Parade to Mount Parade seems ridiculous to me.

“I think they’re spending a lot of money making the town look pretty but I don’t think it will make much difference.I’d like to see some improvements but I don’t think the amount of spending is acceptable.”

James Street could become a “no-go zone”

Local resident Emma Knight said:

“I think it’s a lot of money to spend on one small thing when it’s a bigger problem we have. Harrogate had a bit of a disadvantage as it’s on a hill and I’m a keen cyclist but its geography is against it. There needs to be infrastructure around the town not just one spot.

“All these streets that might be pedestrianised won’t be safe, when they shut the town down like that it becomes a no-go zone.”

Louise echoed Ms Knight’s concerns:

“My other major concern is pedestrianising the top of James Street. At night if you have to get to the train station, which they’re promoting, you have to work through yet another pedestrianised area which isn’t something I would be happy doing.

“Compared to Cambridge Street and near the theatre, James Street is the safe route in the town because there are cars through the night. So my compromise would be to allow cars to use it at night so people feel safe.

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Concern was raised over an increase of traffic on King’s Road and Station Parade when it becomes one lane.

John said the emissions created by waiting cars could put people and cyclists off visiting:

“At the moment I think it’s a vanity project, there’s money available and this is how it’s being used. They are talking about gentrifying Victoria Gardens but it will still be a main through-fare so the emissions fromt he vehicles will still be present, will people still sit there?”

For more information and to have your say on the project visit the consultation page here.

Harrogate becomes battleground for National Trust woke and hunting rows

Harrogate became the battleground today in the ongoing debates about wokeness and hunting at the National Trust.

The charity held its annual general meeting at the Harrogate Convention Centre today. Local people passing the building this morning may have noticed a wave of green protesters outside from the League Against Cruel Sports.

But there was also another group, Restore Trust, campaigning for change on the inside at the meeting.

The trust, which has more than 500 properties including Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden near Ripon, held various votes today to determine how the organisation moves forward.

Some of the motions to have attracted national media attention were for a ban on hunting on trust land and for the protection of volunteers who refuse to support political movements.

Orna NiChionna Turner, deputy chair of the National Trust, speaking at the event today.

Emma Judd, deputy director of policy, campaigns and communications at the League Against Cruel Sports, told the Stray Ferret:

“I am overwhelmed by how much support we have got, they have come from near and far to give up their time because they are passionated about animal welfare.

“Hunting was made illegal in 2004. But after the ban came trail hunting. We have been saying for a long time that it is often a smokescreen for illegal hunting.

“So by allowing trail hunting, the National Trust is risking criminal activity on their land. Hopefully we can make history in Harrogate today if the National Trust bans it.”

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Cornelia van der Poll, a spokesperson for Restore Trust denied any interest in wokeness despite it being the centre of a great deal of media coverage in the run up to the AGM. She told the Stray Ferret:

“We have put forward three resolutions today on remuneration, on curators and on volunteers. The woke debate is not something I am interested in.

“Restore Trust is interested in proper consultation of staff, members and volunteers. We are interested in proper curatorship and the things the National Trust looks after.

“It should not be Disneyfied or dumbed down but presented in a scholarly way that presents understanding. That is the way. We should not be amused or entertained but to understand and appreciate.”

Women’s Equality Party puts forward police commissioner candidate

The Women’s Equality Party (WEP) has put forward a candidate for the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) by-election following the resignation of Philip Allott.

Dr Hannah Barham-Brown, who is well-known for her campaigning work on both women’s and disabled people’s rights, is set to contest the role.

While some candidates for this election stood at the previous election in May when Mr Allott won, this is the first time that Dr Barham-Brown has put herself forward for North Yorkshire’s PFCC.

If elected, she said her first step would be to launch an independent inquiry into misogyny and sexism in North Yorkshire Police.

Dr Barham-Brown, the Women’s Equality Party candidate for the North Yorkshire PFCC by-election said:

“If elected as PFCC I will put ending violence against women and girls at the top of the policing and political agenda.

“Women and girls in North Yorkshire deserve to live their lives free from the fear and the threat of violence, and that is why I am contesting this election.

“We were let down by Philip Allott as our PFCC who proved he didn’t understand the importance of ending violence against women and girls with his disgraceful, victim blaming comments.

“But our community did not accept that and now it’s time to finish the job.”

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The PFCC is being held following the resignation of Mr Allott, who stepped down after his comments on the murder of Sarah Everard led to hundreds of official complaints and a vote of no confidence.

Voters will head to the polls to elect a new police commissioner on November 25.

Mandu Reid, leader of the Women’s Equality Party, added:

“Ending gender-based violence must be at the heart of this election, so we can build a better future for women and girls in North Yorkshire.

“I am delighted that Dr Hannah Barham-Brown is contesting this election for the Women’s Equality Party.

“We need real political leadership that focuses on accountability and preventing violence against women, not just managing it.”

Other candidates for the PFCC role

Major Harrogate employer CNG ‘enters liquidation’

A member of staff at one of Harrogate’s biggest companies has told the Stray Ferret that it has gone into liquidation today.

The CNG Group, which is based on Victoria Avenue and employs about 180 staff, is one of numerous companies affected by the spiralling increase in wholesale gas prices.

According to the source, staff were today informed they have lost their jobs.

The company supplies about 15 to 20 retail energy companies through its wholesale business arm and also has around 50,000 business customers.

The Stray Ferret understands that CNG has entered into the Supplier of Last Resort (SOLR) system and the administration and liquidation process.

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The employee, who requested anonymity, told the Stray Ferret:

“The staff were told to stay on and help the company close, they said that there was £12 million in the pot for redundancy pay outs.

“Just a couple of days later and today they have said that we will only be entitled to statutory redundancy through the government.

“There will be plenty of staff in a tricky financial situation, some have told me they are unsure how they will be able to pay their bills while they wait for the money to come through.”

The Stray Ferret has approached the CNG Group for comment but had not received a reply by the time of publication.

How would Harrogate’s ‘Dutch-style’ roundabout work?

Harrogate could get the county’s first ‘Dutch-style’ roundabout as part of the £10.9 million Station Gateway project.

But why is it being proposed and how would it work?

The junction changes have been put forward for the existing East Parade, Station Bridge, Station Avenue and North Park Road roundabout in front of the Odeon cinema.

Inspired by road layouts in the Netherlands, the roundabout would give priority to pedestrians and cyclists with improved crossings and an outer ring for cycling, which in parts would be segregated from traffic.

The aim is to encourage sustainable travel and improve safety for those travelling on foot or by bike. But it would also demand greater awareness from motorists who would give way as they both enter and exit the new roundabout.

‘A big step forward’

North Yorkshire County Council – which is leading on the gateway project – said the proposed layout “balances the need for increased protection and priority for pedestrians and cyclists with maintaining capacity for vehicles”.

The council has also won the support of Harrogate District Cycle Action, whose chairman Kevin Douglas described the proposals as a “big step forward” in the town’s sustainable transport future.

But these roundabouts have not always gone down smoothly elsewhere, with the UK’s first in Cambridge drawing some criticisms.

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While Cambridgeshire County Council says the roundabout has improved safety overall, a safety audit team reported several problems, including a risk of exiting drivers finding it difficult to observe multiple cyclists approaching from behind.

Planners up and down the country are keeping a keen eye on the roundabout, and other areas have already shown an interest in replicating it, including Barnsley and North Tyneside.

Mr Douglas said he was confident the plans for Harrogate would improve safety for all road users and that he would like to see more of these roundabouts introduced.

He said: 

“The roundabout will hopefully show people what can be done in terms of improving safety and will only encourage more people to cycle into the town centre.

“At the moment, going into and coming out of a roundabout can be a risk if people don’t see and give cyclists priority, whereas with this you are going to get that.”

He added: 

“If we are going to take action on climate change then we do have to reduce the number of vehicles in the town centre and give people that confidence to go out on their bikes.

“That is what we should be aiming for here – people being able to get into town safely without using their cars.”

A CYLCOPS junction for Harrogate?

These plans are not the only new roundabout proposals for Harrogate, with transport officials currently considering a CYCLOPS (Cycle Optimised Protected Signals) roundabout for the Station Parade junction of Victoria Avenue.

This is part of a separate active travel scheme and would work similar to a ‘Dutch-style’ roundabout but with traffic lights.

Cyclops active travel scheme

An example of a cyclops junction.

North Yorkshire County Council said the CYCLOPS roundabout was put forward as an “aspiration of what might be achieved” at the junction and that it is now being considered at the detailed design stage of the scheme.

Under the gateway project, there are also plans for a part-time pedestrianisation of James Street and a reduction of Station Parade to a single lane of traffic to create room for a cycle lane, as well improvements to Station Square and the One Arch underpass.

The latest consultation on the project is currently underway with residents and businesses having until November 12 to have their say before more detailed proposals are drawn up and a final decision is made.

If approved, it is anticipated that construction will start in spring 2022 for approximately 12 months.

For more information and to have your say visit the consultation page here.