A cyclist suffered serious injuries in a crash with a car in Harrogate yesterday, police said today.
A stretch of Cold Bath Road was closed for hours following the collision at the junction with West Cliffe Grove.
The air ambulance landed on the Stray so paramedics could offer medical treatment quickly.
North Yorkshire Police said it had now traced the driver of a dark-coloured hatchback who they appealed for help finding yesterday.
Officers are now appealing to anyone who saw a white Vauxhall Viva travelling uphill on Cold Bath Road from the direction of the Fat Badger hotel bar roundabout or saw the cyclist travelling in the opposite direction to get in touch.
The scene at the junction of Cold Bath Road and West Cliffe Grove yesterday.
A police statement said:
“The rider of the pedal cycle suffered serious injuries at the scene and was taken to hospital for medical treatment following the incident at around 1.40pm on Friday.
“Police appeal for any witnesses to the collision or anyone who has CCTV/dash cam footage that may assist the investigation to come forward.”
If you can help, contact North Yorkshire Police on 101 and quote incident 12220142867. Or email 001282@northyorkshire.police.uk.
Quote reference number 12220142867 when providing details.
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‘Big change’ to tree lighting on Harrogate’s Stray
New lights are being installed on some of the trees on the Stray in Harrogate.
The existing lighting along Montpellier Hill, West Park and York Place is set to be replaced.
The new lighting will be modelled on recently installed lighting in Valley Gardens, where the lights are wrapped around the trunk rather than strung through the branches.
Harrogate Borough Council said in a statement today that the new system “should result in better resistance to the weather and fewer repair requirements through the season”. It added:
“More than 40 trees will each have around 100m of lights that will be a mixture of bright white, warm white and coloured, to produce a beautiful array of colour across the town during the autumn and winter months.”
The new lights have started to be installed this week following approval from Councillor Sam Gibbs, the cabinet member for environment, waste reduction and recycling.
Councillor Gibbs said:
“The Stray is such an iconic landmark for Harrogate and throughout the year attracts thousands of visitors.
“We’re often complimented on the existing lighting, but it can be difficult to manage due to lights getting blown around, hanging down and becoming dangerous.
“The replacement project will be a big change compared to the current display and should continue to bring a smile to people’s faces as they travel through the town in the evening.”
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Stray trees vandalism: Harrogate man offers to pay for new ones
Harrogate businessman Guy Tweedy has offered to pay for new trees on the Stray to replace the ones vandalised.
The Stray Ferret published a video last week showing teenagers ripping up two young trees.
They were part of a batch of 55 cherry trees paid for by Mr Tweedy to commemorate thalidomide victims, two babies and a local headteacher. They were planted six or seven years ago.
Mr Tweedy, who is also a thalidomide campaigner, has emailed Harrogate Borough Council offering to pay for replacement trees. He said:
“I wonder if whoever did this realises the significance of the trees and how upsetting it is to people.
“Sadly this is not the first time this has happened. How do we stop people from doing it? I don’t know what the answer is.”
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- Shocking video shows teens ripping up trees on Harrogate Stray
- Bentley on the Stray reignites parking debate
Bentley on the Stray reignites parking debate
A Bentley that was casually parked on the Stray today has reignited the fierce debate about cars not following the rules when it comes to the 200-acre parkland.
The luxury vehicle was spotted parked on the grass, and on double yellow lines, this afternoon on Willaston Road, which is off Knaresborough Road and close to Harrogate District Hospital.
Parking on the Stray has been a long-running problem for Harrogate Borough Council. Last year it erected signs that said motorists parking illegally risk a £100 fixed penalty notice or being towed away.
A Twitter user claimed the chrome Bentley had been there for three days, which prompted the council to immediately despatch a member of its parking team to the stricken vehicle.
Less than an hour later, the car was spotted by a Stray Ferret reporter driving down Parliament Street.
It is not known whether the owner received a fixed penalty notice.
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Shocking video shows teens ripping up trees on Harrogate Stray
A group of teenagers have been filmed ripping trees from the ground on the Stray last night.
Sara and John Scott were walking home from town along the footpath adjacent to the railway line when they saw the group of teenagers ripping the trees from their roots.
The pair were so angry they chose to film what was happening. The video shows a small group of three teens tearing the trees down at 7.30pm.
Ms Scott said:
“There was a lot of them down there earlier, as I think it was the last day of the exams but at the time of this video, there was about 10 left. They were all drunk and doing this. Playing music, drinking and they ripped down 2 different trees that we saw.”
The couple live close by and often walk through the Stray, they said it was “infuriating” to see people treat it in such a way.
The Stray Ferret visited the area today and could see two young trees on the ground with just a stump remaining.
These images, taken today, show the remaining stumps of the two trees reportedly torn down last night
Judy d’Arcy Thompson, chair of the Stray Defence Association, said the actions of a few young people were “appalling”. She said the Stray is respected by thousands of people young and old and the actions of a few were a huge disappointment.
She said:
“Why did they feel the need to do that? We are blessed with the Stray so why is it deemed a celebration to destroy nature? It’s appalling to be actively destroying the Stray like this.”
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Harrogate Borough Council, which is the caretaker of the Stray, said:
“Our parks and grounds maintenance teams work year round to ensure we have a beautiful district to live or work in and for visitors to enjoy.
“To see this pointless destruction and disregard for our lovely natural environment is shocking. Unfortunately the individuals don’t seem to realise that their behaviour doesn’t just impact on them but the enjoyment of others.
“We urge anyone who witnessed the incident and has not yet reported it to North Yorkshire Police, to do so.”
The Stray Ferret also spoke to North Yorkshire Police, it said the incident had been reported at 7.40pm last night. In a statement the police said:
Calls for more temporary sites for Travellers in Harrogate district“We would advise anyone who witnessed the incident but has not reported it to the police to get in touch.
“Incident number 12220108383.”
There have been calls for Travellers to have more temporary sites in the Harrogate district.
Cllr David Goode, who is a resident in Knaresborough and a Liberal Democrat town councillor, said recent groups of Travellers setting up camp had been met with “negative feelings” from locals.
Travellers parked on the old rugby field on Hay-a-Park Lane last week and were served legal notice to leave by Harrogate Borough Council.
Several caravans and cars also parked on the Stray near to Oatlands Drive.
All the Travellers have now moved on.
Cllr Goode said while the council has already set up a permanent designated Travellers site off the Knaresborough bypass, there needed to be more transit sites where groups can stay temporarily.
He added that council officials should start to engage with local Gypsy and Travellers trusts to find out what more can be done.
Cllr Goode said:
“My thinking coming out of this is to start engaging with the local Gypsy trust.
“They will know the issues.”
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Sharon Calvert, who also lives in Knaresborough and has worked with Travellers in her role in education, shared the view that more temporary sites should be set up.
She said:
“What they need is to have a transit site. There are always going to be Travellers coming through [the district].
“We need some joined up thinking on this. There needs to be some temporary sites on the A1 with running water and facilities to get rid of rubbish. There must be some sites.”
‘Engagement is number one’
Leeds Gypsy and Traveller Exchange, a charity which aims to improve the quality of life for the communities, said engagement with Gypsy and Travellers in the first instance was important.
In September 2020 the organisation worked with Leeds City Council to create a good practice guide to design Traveller sites as part of its work.
A spokesperson for Leeds GATE told the Stray Ferret that it was important for authorities to make those community links to better understand Gypsy and Traveller people.
They said:
“The engagement with the community is number one. Whether it is a council or a planning department, they really need to make those community links.
“There are organisations that people can speak to. We at Leeds GATE are here and we do make ourselves known.”
In the Harrogate district, North Yorkshire County Council owns and maintains two designated sites for Travellers.
One is at Bickerton and another is off Thistle Hill in Knaresborough.
Did 120,000 visitors attend Harrogate council’s jubilee events?Harrogate Borough Council’s claim that 120,000 visitors attended two jubilee events over the recent four-day weekend has been questioned.
To celebrate the Queen’s 70 years on the throne, the council and Harrogate Business Improvement District turned part of the Stray into Jubilee Square. The venue included a stage and big screens showing events such as the Queen’s birthday parade.
Valley Gardens hosted a free family festival, organised by the council, which featured jugglers, magicians, choirs and fairground rides. An artisan market was also held in the Sun Colonnade in the gardens.
The free rides in Valley Gardens were a hit with families.
Following the two events, the council’s tourism body Destination Harrogate issued a news release that said 120,000 visitors attended over the four days.
Whilst the events were clearly popular, the council’s figures suggest as many people attended them as the British Grand Prix, Leeds Festival or the Great Yorkshire Show.
How was the figure calculated?
The Stray Ferret asked the council how the figure of 120,000 was calculated.
At Valley Gardens, a system called PFM counted whenever someone entered, meaning one person could be counted multiple times.
A council spokesperson confirmed that “if people went between two sites then they could be counted twice”. They added:
“Of course, when it isn’t a ticketed event you can’t be 100 per cent but we believe over the four days there were more than 120,000 visits to both locations.”
The council’s method of counting visits means that a family of four would have been counted 8 times if they had begun the day at the Valley Gardens, gone to the Stray and returned to Valley Gardens later in the day.
Jubilee Square on the Sunday night.
If they did the same thing again the next day, the same family would have been counted another 8 times.
This suggests the true number of people that attended the events could be significantly lower than the “120,000 visitors” stated in the news release.
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‘Loose with the facts’
Harrogate district resident and transparency campaigner Alex Smith has queried the council’s use of statistics on previous occasions.
He has questioned its claim that three million people visit Valley Gardens a year and has also queried a comment by Conservative council leader Richard Cooper that 88% of Harrogate Convention Centre conference delegates return to the district for leisure.
Mr Smith accused the council of using “bogus” visitor numbers to trumpet its jubilee events and to justify spending on projects such as the proposed £47m redevelopment of the convention centre.
He added:
“Obviously this is an attempt at PR for their Destination Harrogate intentions.
“But with the future of of the town centre at stake we deserve better than a council playing fast and loose with the facts.”
Asked to respond to Mr Smith’s comments, the council spokesperson insisted its jubilee figure was accurate. They said:
Final call to sign up for Harrogate’s Race for Life“We use a system called PFM that records visitor numbers to Valley Gardens in Harrogate. This system recorded 120,258 visitors between Thursday 1 June and Sunday 4 June.
“As we knew visitors could – and would understandably want to – enjoy all the events taking place across Harrogate town centre, we used a rounded figure and phrase of ‘more than 120,000’.”
There’s been a final call for people to sign up for this year’s Race for Life on the Stray in Harrogate.
Thousands of people whose families or friends have been affected by cancer are due to take part in the event to raise money for Cancer Research UK on Sunday, July 10.
Women, men and children can choose from 3k, 5k and 10k events. There is also a chance to take part in Pretty Muddy – a mud-splattered obstacle course . There’s also a Pretty Muddy Kids option too.
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Race for Life, in partnership with Tesco, raises funds for research into 200 types of cancer – including bowel cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, testicular cancer, brain cancer, children’s cancers and leukaemia.
Siobhan Byrne, Race for Life spokesperson for Yorkshire, said:
“Everyone can play their part to help beat cancer.
“We’re making a final call to the people of Harrogate to sign up today. Sadly, cancer affects all of us in some way. Whether people are living with cancer, taking part in honour of or in memory of a loved one with cancer, or signing up to protect their own children’s future, everyone has a reason to Race for Life. So, we’re asking people across the area: ‘Who will you Race for?’
“Our Race for Life events are open to all. For some people, the Race for Life is literally a walk in the park. Slow and steady still wins. For others, it’s a jog. Others may opt to push themselves harder, taking up the challenge of the 10k distance and even pushing for a new personal best time.
“But what is for certain is we’re looking forward to welcoming people of all ages and abilities. Race for Life Harrogate will be fun, emotional, colourful, uplifting and an unforgettable event this year.”
Oonagh Turnbull, Head of Health Campaigns at Tesco, said:
“This will be our 21st year in partnership with Cancer Research UK and Race for Life and we hope this year can be the biggest yet.”
To sign up to the Harrogate Race for Life event go to raceforlife.org.
Council criticised for leaving ‘scorched earth’ rings around Stray treesHarrogate Borough Council has been criticised for spraying weed-killing chemicals around trees on the Stray leaving ‘scorched earth’ rings around them.
From UCI cycling to litter and rewilding, no topic exercises Harrogatonians quite like the Stray.
The latest debate involves the council’s approach to managing weeds on the 200-acre parkland which has troubled environmentalists and led to criticism on social media.
The council recently sprayed glyphosate around the base of almost every tree, bin and bench. It’s the most widely used pesticide in history but its use is controversial.
Exposure to glyphosate has been linked to poor health and several UK councils have pledged to stop or limit its use due to its negative impact on the environment.
Shan Oakes, Harrogate & District Green Party co-ordinator, criticised HBC for using the pesticide and said “we have to stop poisoning the planet”.
“It looks horrible. It doesn’t look good, so why do you need to tidy up vegetation around trees? Greenery looks better than scorched earth.
“We need plants wherever we can put them, nature doesn’t know about so-called weeds.
“We need to stop removing every little weed and so on, we have to think about bees and all the rest of the wildlife. We depend on nature.”
Rewilding row
This year, the council’s parks team has again left grass verges close to the roadside on West Park Stray uncut until late autumn to improve biodiversity.
But at least one tree has been sprayed with glyphosate in the middle of a grass verge that has been left to ‘rewild’.
Ms Oakes said the example was “an absolute contradiction”. She added:
“It’s like the plastic grass fiasco, they have not got their head around a different approach to gardening. Rewilding means a different kind of management.”
Judy d’Arcy Thompson, chair of the Stray Defence Association, took a more pragmatic approach to weed-killing on the Stray.
She said the council “presumably have their reasons” for spraying the chemicals but added weeds can give the Stray an unsightly appearance.
On rewilding, she said the verges have been used as a dumping ground for litter and dog waste.
“All those that love the wilding, there are those that hate it.
“Its a very difficult situation. It can look good and we must help the bee population. I’m down the middle on it. It’s an emotive subject, people get wound up about it.”
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Council’s response
A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson explained why it has been using the weed-killer on the Stray.
Travellers leave Harrogate’s Stray“Twice a year, weeds around path edges and the bases of trees, bins and other street furniture are sprayed with glyphosate.
“When applied – through a lance which produces droplets directly onto the weeds – it is instantly absorbed and kills the weed quickly. Any brown grass should grow back in the following months.
“This is kept to a minimum and only used because our lawnmowers are unable to cut close enough. It also means we’re not constantly strimming, using hoes or pulling out weeds by hand, allowing us to spend more time maintaining our parks and opens spaces across the Harrogate district.
“Understandably, weeds are favoured by some and are an eyesore to others. So we have to strike a balance to ensure all residents can enjoy the district.
“And we are constantly reviewing, trialling and amending our work practices to ensure we are working towards a sustainable environment.
“We actively encourage many areas to grow naturally and leave several areas from being cut as regularly; the Stray in Harrogate, Jacob Smith Park in Knaresborough and Quarry Moor Nature Reserve in Ripon, to name but a few. Again, some residents favour this approach and some don’t.
“We have also planted thousands of wildflowers, with the help of volunteers. As well as leaving log piles as habitats and vegetation, and adapting our formal bedding areas across the district to include more single, open flowers that are great for pollinators.
“This is a key objective for us and we have a number of schemes to enable the flora and fauna to thrive. We also continue to work in partnership with local community groups to collectively enhance the district’s wildlife and biodiversity.”
A group of Travellers who set up camp on Harrogate’s Stray have now left.
Six caravans and several cars arrived on the section near to Oatlands Drive on Saturday.
It is thought that the Travellers were on their way to Appleby Horse Fair in Cumbria, which starts on Thursday.
Harrogate Borough Council, which is the legal protector of the Stray, was due to begin the eviction process today, according to the Stray Defence Association.
But the Travellers are believed to have vacated the parkland yesterday.
Travellers also parked on the old rugby field at Knaresborough three days earlier and remain on site.
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A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council confirmed that the travellers in Knaresborough were now subject to a legal process.
The spokesperson said:
“The travellers in Knaresborough are being managed through the legal process and a team will undertake a clear up (if required) once they have gone.”