Scotton to take on Harrogate in cricket final tonightHarrogate team take on coast-to-coast cycle on a quadtandem

Four people from the Harrogate district have set out on a coast-to-coast quadtandem challenge for charity.

Thebike ride along 170 mile Way Of The Roses began yesterday in Morecambe at 8am and is set to end tomorrow evening in Bridlington.

The team are raising money for Yorkshire Cancer Research and Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Their target is £5,000 and will be split between the charities.

On the way the team have passed through Pateley Bridge and Ripon, they stayed in Applewick last night and will dismount in York tonight.

The quadtandem is handmade using parts from four scrap bikes that the team found on scrap piles and Facebook marketplace, which have been welded together. The creation took a few months to complete.

The team is made up of Pete Wyldbor, riding in first position, Tom Hardy, in second, Ed Yates in third and Paul Abbott at the rear.

The team on their 170 mile ride

The team have honoury members in the form of their substitute rider, Ian Lythe, who will take over third position tomorrow, and John Marshall, the team’s top supporter and is at the ready with spare parts.

The team are all from the district, with members from Harrogate, Knaresborough, Pateley Bridge and Scotton.

The challenge began as an idea from Mr Wyldbor, 40, who crafted the four-person bike. He revealed the inspiration behind the challenge was the 2006 film ‘Beerfest’, in a scene where five people ride one bike.

Mr Wyldbor said:

“I just thought I’d make one, just for something to do and it all escalated from there. It is a mad idea so I thought it would be good to put it to use for worthwhile charities. If we were doing it for the sake of it that would be nuts.

“We all know someone, friends or family who have been touched by cancer in the past and you really never know when you might need an air ambulance.

“None of us are cyclists and the weather has been against us, we are tired and the hills have been horrific, I will be scrapping the bike when we are done, but we are keeping going for good causes.”

The team at Morcambe, the start of their challenge

To donate to the team’s fundraiser click here.

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Land Rover found on its roof after Knaresborough collision

Fire crews were called to a single vehicle collision near Knaresborough last night.

Knaresborough and Harrogate firefighters arrived at the scene at 6.13pm on Market Flat Lane, in Scotton, and found a car was on its roof.

The vehicle, which was a Land Rover Freelander, had lost control, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue reported.

The incident log added:

“Witnesses had seen two persons running from the scene and no other persons were involved.

“Fire crews used a thermal imaging camera to check the nearby vicinity for any casualties, none were found.”

The incident was left with the police and no further details were provided.

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Temporary lights at Knaresborough’s Bond End to remain until Friday

Drivers are set to face delays at Bond End in Knaresborough until Friday.

Temporary traffic lights were installed yesterday by North Yorkshire Council.

According to the council’s roadworks map, the lights are necessary because scaffolding has been erected to enable roofing work to take place.

Motorists have taken to social media to report long delays at the notorious bottleneck.

The council website shows that the lights will remain in place until Friday.

Further roadworks at nearby Scotton are also due to last until Friday.

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MP calls for clarity over Scotton solar farm plan

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has called for clarity over a planned 88-hectare solar farm on farmland north of Scotton.

Sustainable energy company Gridserve is proposing to build the power plant and substation at Lawrence Moor Farm.

Its plans envisage thousands of solar panels generating up to 49.9 megawatts of green energy that could power up to 14,000 homes.

However, Mr Jones has called for clarity over the plans after the proposals have yet to be finalised.

The Conservative MP was prompted to write to the company in March after residents in Scotton, Farnham and Brearton contacted him concerned about the lack of information about the proposals.

Mr Jones wrote to Gridserve, which is headquartered in Buckinghamshire, to ask for an update, but was told there had not been “any material update to the status of our potential development in Scotton”.

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At the end of July 2021, Harrogate Borough Council confirmed that a detailed EIA would be required, but Gridserve has taken no action since.

Now, Mr Jones has called on the company to decide whether it wishes to continue with the proposal.

Andrew Jones

He said:

“People in the area need certainty on what is happening with this proposal. I want Gridserve to bring them that certainty sooner rather than later. 

“All that we really know about the proposal is that it covers a massive area and will dominate the landscape. 

“Surely after all this time Gridserve can decide whether it wishes to proceed and, if it does, get a formal planning application in so that its merits and otherwise can be properly debated.”

MP seeks answers on Scotton solar farm

The Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough has written to an energy company to ask if it intends to go ahead with plans to build a huge solar farm on farmland north of Scotton. 

Andrew Jones was prompted into action by residents in Scotton, Farnham and Brearton who contacted him concerned about the lack of any information about the proposals. 

Sustainable energy company Gridserve is proposing to build the solar plant on an 88-hectare site belonging to Lawrence Moor Farm. 

Its plans envisage thousands of solar panels generating up to 49.9 megawatts of green energy that could power up to 14,000 homes. 

Gridserve, which is headquartered in Buckinghamshire, applied to Harrogate Borough Council for a scoping opinion to see if it felt a formal Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

There were objections from nearby parish councils, the Harrogate Ramblers and the Harrogate and Dales Horse Riding Association, as well as the local Green Party, which opposes such developments on agricultural land. 

At the end of July 2021, Harrogate Borough Council confirmed that a detailed EIA would be required, but Gridserve has taken no action since. 

Mr Jones said:  

“I have been in touch with the council’s planning department and no planning application has been submitted since that date. From talking to many local people, I know that residents feel very much like the threat of an application is hanging over them.  No-one disputes the need for renewable energy. It is primarily the location and effect on agricultural land which is the issue. 

“I have therefore written to Gridserve to ask their intentions for the land. I hope, given the local opposition, that they will be reconsidering the plans, but I will let residents know the position when I receive a response.” 

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Fire crews tackle blaze at Scotton caravan storage site

Fire fighters were called to a major blaze at a caravan storage site in Scotton last night.

Crews from Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Harrogate and Ripon responded to the fire on Market Flat Lane.

An incident response unit from Malton was also called to the blaze.

Local resident Ed Marshall captured the below video from the fire, which happened at around 7.30pm.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said in an incident log that multiple vehicles were affected by the blaze.

The service added:

“Crews used hose reel jets and breathing apparatus to extinguish the fire which had affected multiple vehicles.

“The cause of this fire is to be confirmed.”

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Junior football club created to meet growing demand in Knaresborough area

A new junior football club has been set up to meet a growing demand for the sport in the Knaresborough area.

The club at Staveley, known as the Staveley Scorchers, is aimed at children aged six to nine and is based at the village’s former cricket ground.

It has been set up by Scotton Scorchers, which has been working with Staveley Sports Association to bring the cricket club facilities back to life.

Staveley Cricket Club’s ground will host Staveley Scorchers junior football club.

Mike Collier, from Scotton Scorchers, said:

“It came to our attention that the former cricket club was no longer used as the cricket team now plays at Boroughbridge.

“With waiting lists at our club, it seems such a shame we couldn’t find space for local children. So we put the two together to create a new junior football club so local children get the chance to play. The demand is definitely there.”

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The club will initially be run and subsidised by Scotton and the first season will consist of friendly matches. It will then aim to join the Nidderdale Junior Football League next year.

The teams are U8s (school years 2 and 3) and an U10s (school years 4 and 5).

The club meets on Saturdays from 9am until 10am.

To find out more contact Mike Collier at mikeandjanec@googlemail.com, text 07979 682670 or simply register at the Scotton Scorchers website.

UK’s largest weir removal project begins on River Nidd at Scotton

The largest weir removal project ever in the UK has begun on the River Nidd at Scotton.

The scheme, which costs about 80,000 euros, will open up another 18km of river to migratory fish such as salmon, sea trout and European eel.

If Nidd tributaries are also included then 35km of rivers will be made available for salmon and sea trout spawning.

The project is being led by river conservation charity the Wild Trout Trust and funded by the European Open Rivers Programme – a grant-giving organisation dedicated to restoring rivers.

It started last week with the creation of an access ramp down to the weir and is expected to get underway properly this week. Work removing the dam is expected to last up to two weeks before further work restoring the bank takes place.

Scotton Weir is at the entrance to Nidd Gorge, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

It was built at the end of the 18th century to power the nearby mill. At 75m wide and 4m high, it is thought to be the largest weir removal project ever in the UK.

Scotton weir

The weir breached in the floods of 2019 so is already partly demolished. Leaving it to disintegrate gradually over time would have reduced the risk of bankside damage.

Removing Scotton Weir will benefit more than just migratory fish. All fish move up and downstream to some extent as part of their life cycles and the weir removal will help to restore natural processes to the river.

Currently only 16% of rivers are rated as being in ‘good’ condition by the EU Water Framework Directive. A significant cause of failure is man-made barriers interrupting a river’s flow, such as Scotton Weir on the Nidd.

Jonathan Grey, a part-time professor in practice at Lancaster University who is project managing the Scotton Weir removal for the Wild Trout Trust, said:

“The weir has been impounding about 800m of channel for over 100 years, creating deep, sluggish water in a section of the Nidd gorge where the flow should be swift and shallow.

“Think of a river as a conveyor belt of sediment as well as water. Boulder, cobble and gravel that is vital to the health of the bed of the river has been trapped upstream of the weir, unable to resupply that which has been transported away downstream. So the physical habitat downstream has become simplified, dominated by large boulders.

“Then there is fish passage to consider. All fish have to move up and downstream during different stages of their life for a variety of reasons. The weir has made it nigh on impossible to move upstream, and much more difficult to move downstream, and then only under specific flow conditions, so populations have become fragmented or isolated.”

Scotton weir

The weir is already damaged.

Prof Grey said although it was not certain that salmon or sea trout got as far as Scotton Weir, nearby surveys suggested it was “very likely”.

He added:

“There are still more barriers further upstream, the next being at Birstwith 11km away, so there is still work to be done to restore the natural heritage of the river.

“We are aiming to reinstate the natural flow regime to the river by removing the barrier.”

Dr Marie Taylor, operations director for the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust, said:

“This project is a great example of partnership working between landowners, experts from the Wild Trout Trust and government bodies, which will deliver benefits to angling groups along the River Nidd as well as wider benefits to nature gained from improving the connectivity of one of Yorkshire’s iconic rivers.”

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Woman bids farewell to pub industry to open Harrogate tanning salon

A Harrogate woman has swapped the bar for beds after leaving the pub industry and opening her own tanning salon.

Jade Lacey, 27, launched Be Bronze & Beauty…Ful, on Skipton Road, this week.

The new salon, which is above McCanns barbers, has three sunbeds and offers a range of beauty treatments, including  lashes, brows and spray tans.

It has been completely refurbished, thanks to her “handy” dad, and she hopes to employ a nail technician in the coming weeks.

Ms Lacey decided to take the leap and open her own business after working in hospitality for many years.

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She was a familiar face at So! Bar and Eats in Harrogate and Knaresborough, as well as the Devonshire Tap House, on Devonshire Place, and the Caravan and Motorhome Club site in Scotton.

But after completing a number of beauty courses during the pandemic, she decided to launch the salon after her dad’s friend offered her the premises.

Inside the salon, which has been refurbished.

Ms Lacey said:

“This came up and I thought why wouldn’t you want to be your own boss? It was a bit daunting completely changing careers, but now I’m up and running, I’m really loving it.”

The irony of opening a sunbed shop on the hottest day of the year was not lost on her.

She laughed:

“I had to close the sunbeds on Monday and Tuesday as it was too hot!”