Harrogate Christmas Fayre begins today. With plenty of stallholders to buy gifts from, attractions to enjoy and festivities to embrace, it looks like being a memorable few days.

Market Place Europe is running the event in conjunction with Harrogate Borough Council from today until December 12.

It is a new venture so there are lots to look out for. The event will be spread out over more locations and days than the previous Harrogate Christmas Market, which took place on Montpellier Hill.

Here is everything you need to know:

Where will the stalls be?

There will be about 50 local and European stallholders on Cambridge Street, Market Place, Station Square and Cambridge Crescent.

For this weekend only there will also be stalls in Valley Gardens, where more than 60 local traders will sell a variety of festive arts and crafts plus food and drink at a separate artisan Christmas market.

When will the fayre be open?

It will be open between 10am and 7pm Monday to Wednesday, 10am and 9pm Thursday to Saturday, and 10am and 4.30pm on Sunday.

Little Bird Made’s Artisan Festive Market in Valley Gardens will be open from 10am to 3pm on Saturday, December 4 and Sunday, December 5.

Do you have to wear a face mask?

Harrogate Borough Council has advised visitors to wear face masks around the fayre and on the free Candy Cane Express road train, which will shuttle people around town.

A map of the Christmas road train.

The government brought in new rules this week stipulating people must wear face coverings in shops, shopping centres, transport hubs and on public transport.

Children under 11 and those with a health condition or disability which means they cannot wear a face covering are exempt.

What will the weather be like?

According to the Met Office, outbreaks of rains and drizzle will clear in the morning to leave a largely dry day. It will be cloudy at first with some brighter spells in the afternoon.

Temperatures are set to increase tomorrow but it is not set to stay mild for long.

From then we are set for a chilly weekend with some sunny spells and showers. It will be occasionally windy with some rain and snow possible on Monday morning.

Will there be rides and transport?

A free road train will take visitors around Harrogate from today as part of the Harrogate Christmas Fayre.

The Candy Cane Express will stop at James Street, St Mary’s Walk and Crescent Road. It will also pass Montpellier Hill, Cheltenham Parade, Station Parade and Victoria Avenue.

Not only that but there are also festive rides, including a carousel and ferris wheels at Crescent Garden and a helter skelter at the war memorial. All of those rides cost £3 for a ticket.

The Helter Skelter next to the war memorial in Harrogate town centre.

Free parking at Harrogate multi-storey

Parking will be free after 3pm in Harrogate’s Victoria multi-storey car park on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

The initiative will last until December 23 and will be paid for by Harrogate Business Improvement District to encourage Christmas shoppers and revellers into the town midweek.

The practice manager of Kingswood Surgery on Wetherby Road has said it’s necessary to issue parking fines for its car park to deter non-patients from using it.

Kingswood Surgery and Well Pharmacy are separate entities that happen to share the same building called Kingswood Medical Centre.

On Tuesday, the Stray Ferret reported how a woman collecting a prescription at Well Pharmacy was fined £100 for parking longer than the allowed 15 minutes of free parking for non-patients of the surgery.

Shirley Hopkinson said the short time period was unfair on people collecting prescriptions when the pharmacy was busy.

However, Liz Walker, practice manager at Kingswood Surgery, said patients of the surgery, rather than visitors to the pharmacy, had priority for the car park.

Difficult to park

Ms Walker told the Stray Ferret the car park has been managed by a private company for four-and-a-half years.

The company, called Civil Enforcement, was brought in because visitors and staff at nearby Harrogate Hospital would use the car park for extended periods of time, making it difficult for patients at the surgery to find a place to park.

Ms Barker said:

“We were therefore left with no option but to introduce the current system.”

Read more:

• Woman ‘horrified’ at £100 parking fine outside Harrogate pharmacy
• Free parking at Harrogate multi-storey to encourage Christmas shoppers

Ms Barker said that signs explaining the rules were well advertised and understood, and patients of the surgery were “very supportive” of the arrangements.

“Any patient or visitor to our site can benefit from unlimited free parking through a simple car registration process on entering our reception area. We would not wish to make any changes that would have a detrimental impact on our patients’ ability to access appointments at the surgery.”

She added that the current system of fining non-patients who use the car park for longer than 15 minutes would not be changing.

“Following the publication of your article, we consulted our Patient Group who agreed that they would not like to see any changes to the current arrangements.”

Parking will be free after 3pm in Harrogate’s Victoria multi-storey car park on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

The initiative will last until December 23 and will be paid for by Harrogate Business Improvement District (BID) to encourage Christmas shoppers and revellers into the town midweek.

Harrogate BID Manager Matthew Chapman said:

“Free parking in the run up to Christmas is what the town’s retailers have asked for, and I’m delighted to say it’s what we are now giving, four days a week, right up to the Thursday before Christmas.

“Victoria Car Park has acres of spaces and connects directly with the Victoria Shopping Centre, giving easy access to the heart of the town centre and the wonderful shops, bars, restaurants and entertainment venues it’s home to.

“With our Christmas lights now dazzling, Harrogate is looking absolutely fabulous and really  is well worth a visit for shopping, eating and drinking.”

Read more:

• Harrogate Christmas lights switched on by ‘Harry’s Heroes’
• First Harrogate Christmas Fayre set to showcase local charities

Harrogate Borough Council has vowed to replace missing and damaged signs that warn drivers not to park on the Stray.

The signs went up in September in response to concerns that parked cars were regularly straddling the cycle lane and the Stray on Oatlands Drive.

The signs say this is a breach of the Stray Act and could result in a £100 fine.

Harrogate District Cycle Action welcomed the move and the council and the Stray Defence Association hoped the move would prevent tyre damage on Stray land.

However, soon after the signs appeared the Stray Ferret published pictures of motorists ignoring them and cars have continued to line the Stray as before, most commonly at weekends when activities like football take place.

Read more:

• New signs will ‘make people think twice’ about parking on Stray, says council
• Cycle group welcomes new ‘no parking’ signs on Harrogate’s Oatlands Drive
• Drivers defy new ‘no parking’ signs on Harrogate Stray
• Stray Views: Double yellow lines would solve Stray parking problems instantly

Despite the evidence, the council told the Stray Ferret it had not yet handed out any fines for breaches.

A council spokesperson said:

“The signage on Oatlands Drive, that reminds people not to park on the Stray, will be reinstated as we continue to work with the county council to try and find a more permanent solution.

“To date, no fines have been issued.”

It is unclear if the signs have been vandalised or fallen over. But some of the dozen installed are damaged and strewn on the other side of the road.

Some of the signs are damaged.

New double yellow lines are set to be painted on Harrogate’s roads to stop cars waiting on streets and causing a hazard.

A new order by North Yorkshire County Council will see new yellow lines appear on some roads across Harrogate, Pannal and Burn Bridge as well as others being lengthened and shortened.

The council has said the new measures are to encourage road safety and avoid obstructions in some busier areas.

Some of the roads included in the measures are:

• Green Lane, near Ashville College
• Harlow Avenue around its junction with Pannal Ash Road, near Rossett School
• Leeds Road near St George’s Road, off the roundabout
• Arthurs Avenue, near Harrogate Grammar School

The times parking is restricted and whether there will be double or single yellow lines can be found here.

Read more:

• Calls to improve safety of children walking to school in Starbeck
• Overnight road closures on A1(M) near Harrogate

Melisa Burnham, highways area manager at the council, said:

“Traffic regulation orders of this type are commonplace. These orders relating to Harrogate, Knaresborough, Pannal and Burn Bridge are to prevent motor vehicles being left on yellow lines for various reasons, predominantly road safety, by preventing obstructions or regulating vehicle movement or parking.

“All these ordered were publicised and comment invited in April. This included responses from residents.

“The restrictions will come into force at the earliest opportunity, as soon as specialist road marking contractors can undertake the work.”

Drivers have already defied the new “no parking” signs on the Stray despite warnings from Harrogate Borough Council that they risk a £100 fine or being towed away.

Within days of the council erecting the signs on Oatlands Drive at a cost of £63, pictures of vehicles parked right next to them have emerged.

The lack of compliance will add to the frustration of cyclists who are blocked from using the cycle lane when vehicles park on the Stray. This usually happens when activities, such as football matches, take place.

One side of Oatlands Drive has double yellow lines but the other side — where cars park — does not.

Read more:

• Cycle group welcomes new ‘no parking’ signs on Harrogate’s Oatlands Drive
• New signs will ‘make people think twice’ about parking on Stray, says council

We asked the council whether it has fined or towed any vehicles away since putting up the signs but we have not yet received a response.

A council spokeswoman said previously it was working with North Yorkshire County Council to find a “more permanent solution” to the parking problem.

She added that parking on the Stray breached the Stray Act 1985:

“A breach of the act allows the borough council — as custodians of the Stray — to issue a £100 fine to anyone caught parking on the Stray, or to have their vehicle towed away.

“We hope that the signage will make people think twice about parking on Oatlands Drive and allow cyclists to use the cycle path as intended.”

A Harrogate woman has sent an appeal to Harrogate Borough Council after a parking warden fined her for parking in a disc zone area.

Laura Vance took her son to King James’s School in Knaresborough for an induction session yesterday morning.

She had left her disc, which entitled her to park for free for two hours, in another car so wrote a note.

The note, which she left on her dashboard, stated that Laura had parked at 9am.

She headed to a shop to pick up another disc after dropping off her son but when she returned to her vehicle 40 minutes later she found she had received a penalty notice, which gave her 14 days to pay a reduced fine of £25 or £50 if she leaves it for up to 28 days.

Read more:

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Ms Vance, who is waiting for a reply from the council, told the Stray Ferret:

“I thought that because I left a note that would be enough for the parking warden. I do think it is quite unfair.

“What is the difference between my note and the disc? Both just say what time it was when you parked up.

“It is just a bit rubbish. It’s not going to put me off going to Knaresborough because I love it there but I can see how it might put some people off.”

Disc parking is common in the Harrogate district. The discs are free and entitle users to park for free for a period of time stated on the street.

The Stray Ferret contacted Harrogate Borough Council for a response. A council spokeswoman said:

“If a customer believes that have received a penalty charge notice in error then they should follow the appeal process provided.”

A pensioner with a bladder problem, who was fined after parking in Harrogate for four minutes to use the toilet, has won his appeal.

Lee Chadwick, 78, was able to get the fine overturned at the second time of asking by sending proof of his medication.

Mr Chadwick, who lives in Markington, parked at the back of the taxi rank on Station Parade to use the public toilet, leaving his wife in the passenger seat.

When he returned his wife was explaining the situation to the traffic warden. Mr Chadwick also talked to the warden but he still issued a fine.

Harrogate Borough Council wrote to Mr Chadwick saying he could either settle in the next 14 days at the discounted rate of £35 or pay £70 if he waited longer.

Read more:

• ‘Victory for the people!’: Harrogate’s plastic grass removed this morning
• Parkrun tentatively scheduled to return to Harrogate and Knaresborough

He thought the fine was unreasonable so appealed. The council initially rejected the appeal but asked for a doctor’s letter as proof of his bladder problem.

Mr Chadwick was not prepared to bother with such a request. Instead he sent proof of medication, which has now worked.

Mr Chadwick told the Stray Ferret his good news, adding:

“Harrogate Borough Council has just advised me that they have cancelled the parking penalty notice.

“It means that my anticipated appearance in the Supreme Court will not come.”

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.

Does Marilyn not know about climate change?

Does Marilyn Stowe really not understand? The growth in cycling provision in Leeds or Harrogate is not to provide for the few people that already cycle.

The intention is to persuade a lot more people to cycle. Does she not know about climate change and melting polar ice?

Her article on Stray Ferret is just so incredible.

Andrew Willoughby, Knaresborough

Why prioritise cyclists when Harrogate needs parking?

I wrote to North Yorkshire County Council twice last year about the experiences of towns that have installed harmful, counter-productive cycling lanes and low-traffic neighbourhoods.

I wrote that the planners of those towns might be forgiven for not anticipating how damaging the reality of their schemes was going to be – because there were no precedents. Our councils here have no such excuse, not with the evidence from other towns writ large since 2017.

Throughout five different journeys by car, in and out of town, Monday to Friday last week, I counted 12 cyclists — in mild and sunny weather. We really don’t have many homegrown cyclists – for good reason.

The hills on Harrogate’s town-centre access routes, together with wet and windy weather, discourage cycling for local residents. Dedicated cycling lanes will never change that.

It is different for hobby cyclists. They are mostly the ones to be seen on high days and holidays, often grouped on the roads, identifiable by their distinctive apparel and indifferent to bad weather. They are rarely spotted using our shops and cafes or services.

Are we really going to make changes that prioritise cyclists over our entire population, when our town is in dire need of footfall, residents and visitors to shop and pile goods into their cars, or to drive into town to enjoy cafes and restaurants again? Surely we should be welcoming all comers and that means providing plentiful parking if we are to support the prestigious services and the famous retail heart of Harrogate.

On account of working-from-home there are already fewer cars coming into town, and perhaps fewer cyclists – a trend that may progress. Changes are coming and I think we should wait and see.

Jacky Little, Harrogate

Ripon people have chips on both shoulders

The attitudes expressed by both Harrogate borough councillors Swift and McHardy are insulting to the Scottish Nationalist Party, which exists to promote and advance the people of Scotland, and have nothing at all to do with Harrogate or Ripon.

Councillor McHardy’s response is quite typical of the constant whinging from people in Ripon, which is completely unwilling to accept that in 1974 Ripon was absorbed into the Harrogate district. We fail to see any similar grouses from other towns in the district, such as Knaresborough, Boroughbridge or Pateley Bridge, who seem prepared to work with Harrogate Borough Council to get the best deal for their locality.

Ripon seems to live in the past and many Ripon city councillors, who incidentally are often Harrogate borough councillors and North Yorkshire county councillors too, seem to regularly be elected on the basis of their anti-Harrogate Borough Council attitudes.

It’s often said that Ripon people are well-balanced because they have a chip on both shoulders.

John Edmonstone, Ripon

Read more: 

• Marilyn Stowe: They’ve made a dog’s breakfast of cycle lanes in Leeds
• Ripon grievances ‘like listening to the SNP’, says councillor

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.