Harrogate Borough Council

With their campaigns launched and plenty of work already underway, the Harrogate and Starbeck in Bloom teams continue to prepare for judging day … if only they knew when it was!

ONE of the largest and possibly the oldest cobbled yard in Knaresborough is undergoing a £25,000 refurbishment. Green Dragon Yard, situated between the ancient market square and the castle, is home to five businesses and two residential properties.

The deadline for the spring round of the 2006 Starbeck Grants is 13 April. Groups and individuals are invited to apply for money to fund new activities or projects in the Starbeck area.

MOTHER Shipton of Knaresborough is probably the country’s best known visionary. She died in 1561 yet she prophesised the defeat of the Armada in 1588 and the Great Fire of London in 1666.

WE’LL find you and we will fine you, is the serious message coming out from Harrogate Borough Council’s Dog Control Officers who last week issued three fixed penalty fines of £50.00 on people who didn’t pick up after their dogs.

IF you were looking to make more friends, a cemetery is unlikely to be top of your list of places to look. But a new group of Friends at Stonefall Cemetery is now looking to add to its ‘friendship’.

A hotel makeover in Harrogate has led to the council’s Homeless Hostels receiving a donation of much needed furniture and other household effects.

Harlow Hill allotment provides a haven for gardeners of all abilities, young and old, in the middle of a residential area and is meticulously maintained by its plot holders.

WORKING in partnership with the Pension Service, staff in Harrogate Borough Council’s Benefit Services have helped almost 100 local pensioners to increase their income.

A Senior Community Development Officer at Fairfax Community Centre has been chosen to become Harrogate Borough Council’s inaugural Employee of the Year.

MEMBERS of Harrogate Borough Council’s Licensing Sub Committee will hear this week from North Yorkshire Police reporting on the local success of a national Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign (AMEC).

THE actor Edward Fox OBE is currently connected to Harrogate as Honorary President of the Royal Hall Restoration Trust but his connections and affections for the town go back much farther.

Harrogate Borough Council’s Cabinet has tonight adopted a Business Plan for the post restoration use of the Royal Hall.

What do the following have in common? Ballroom dancing, short mat bowling, football coaching, pantomimes and treadmills. The answer is Ripon Leisure Centre, which will be celebrating its 10th Anniversary on the weekend of 18th and 19th March.

A Vauxhall Signum, which has been on loan to Harrogate Borough Council since October last year, is to become the replacement Mayoral car for use by the civic heads of the Harrogate Borough.

AS keen recyclers, Knaresborough residents cannot reach their full recycling potential as North Yorkshire County Council has no immediate plans to provide a Household Waste Recycling Centre in Knaresborough.

The award winning Parks Team at Harrogate Borough Council has taken issue with a recent report to Whitehall’s Public Accounts Committee.

IN 1906 when cabmen plied their trade with horse drawn carriages carrying customers from High to Low Harrogate, £13,500 would have bought them a mansion.

HARROGATE Borough Council’s Licensing Sub Committee has been required to review the premises licence for the Mapplebeck Public House, Knaresborough Road, Harrogate by the Magistrates’ Court.

HARROGATE Borough Council’s Licensing Sub Committee has been asked to review the premises licence for the Little Wonder Public House on Ripon Road, Harrogate, which was originally granted on 5 September 2005.

IT has taken three months for Harrogate Borough Council to hear from the Home Office having voiced concerns about the possible police merger in North Yorkshire to create a ‘superforce’.

FUNDING and prioritising major improvements at Bebra Gardens in Knaresborough is top of the agenda for the Friends of Bebra Gardens who are working with Harrogate Borough Council’s parks’ section to totally restore the gardens.

TAKING a line from Little Britain’s Vicky Pollard – yes but, no but – is being used to front Harrogate Borough Council’s strike against smoking related litter during a national campaign this week.

Spring is fast approaching and as ever at this time of year, attention turns to all things floral with the official launch of the 2006 Britain in Bloom campaign.

HARROGATE’S small but beautiful formed Art Deco Sun Pavilion is once again being represented at the country’s largest conference and exhibition event CONFEX 2006 which will take place at Earls Court, London between 21 and 23 February.

Feeding a family of four with the recommended five portions of fruit or vegetables a day can lead to a lot of organic waste. Now imagine how much waste is generated when you have a ‘family’ of 188!

Now that spring is fast approaching, birds and bats everywhere are looking to pair up and nest; but natural nest sites are fast disappearing as gardens and woods are ‘tidied’ and old houses are repaired.

Harrogate Borough Council has kept its pledge to keep down this year’s council tax increase.

POPPING out for a pint of milk will be easy for tenants of five brand new homes, which have just been completed in the centre of Harrogate.

We have all heard of babysitting and housesitting. But a new business is growing in the Harrogate district - that of pet sitting.

ASPIRING artistes and sporting stars of the future are being invited to apply for a grant from Harrogate Borough Council’s 2006 Centenary Grants award.

Harrogate Council is aiming to be the pick of the crop as it raises the environment to the top of the local agenda.

Last year, nearly 400,000 people from across the UK spent an hour counting the birds in their garden and their records have provided a valuable snapshot of our birdlife. Over 6 million birds were recorded and 210,000 gardens surveyed.

PARENTS living in council rented accommodation who suffer from the ‘empty nest’ syndrome have very little chance of downsizing.

LOCAL government has a lot of purchasing power but small to medium sized enterprises are often put off pitching for business because they feel they can’t compete with bigger companies.

A campaign to curb cycle crime has been hailed a success by the Harrogate District Safer Communities Partnership.

THE cost of satellite navigation systems has dropped which is making them very popular with car drivers but also just as popular for thieves.

Clarification received recently from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on its guidance regarding the running of paddling pools has led to Harrogate Borough Council saving over £200,000 and means that the pools will be kept open in the future.

PLANS by North Yorkshire County Council to create a Family History/Discovery Centre in Harrogate have met with approval from Harrogate Borough Council’s Cabinet.

NORTH Yorkshire Police and the Harrogate District Safer Communities Partnership are warning shoppers of the restrictions that apply to driving mini- motorbikes, which officers believe are going to prove popular as presents this Christmas.

THE recently announced grant from central government to help local authorities deliver services in the next financial year has gone some way towards recognising the lobbying by many councils.

Harrogate Borough Council’s Sport Development Team has just published the new edition of the Club and Coach Development Programme.

AN innovative car-sharing scheme being developed by the Little Red Bus is being launched on 30 November with the full support of Harrogate Borough Council.

Residents and visitors are being invited to come along to Winter Sparkle at the Mercer Gallery, Royal Pump Room Museum and Sun Pavilion, Harrogate on Sunday, 4 December.

As one of the biggest employers in the district and provider of over 100 services to over 147,000 people, there is a lot of opportunity for local businesses to sell Harrogate Borough Council their products and services

CONCERNS regarding the possible merger of North Yorkshire Police have led Harrogate Borough Council to demand a meeting with Home Office Minister, Hazel Blears.

THE results of a ten-month study into concerns about house prices in the local authority areas of Harrogate, Leeds and York (known as the Golden Triangle) will be unveiled today (22 November).

Members of the public are invited to an open meeting to hear the results from the work undertaken by Harrogate Borough Council’s Overview and Scrutiny’s Traffic Panel looking at problems of congestion on Skipton Road and Wetherby Road.

WITH the threat of the coldest winter for a decade, Harrogate Borough Council is extending its grants for free loft and cavity wall insulation to anyone aged over 60 living in council tax bands A B or C.

Harrogate Borough Council is carrying out a public consultation, to ask residents how the council’s waste and recycling services should be developed in 2006/7 and beyond.

AS Christmas approaches, many people have started to prepare their homes for the festivities getting ready to welcome friends and family. From filling the freezer with food, to getting the decorations down from the loft.

A pioneering project which brought a ground breaking source of fuel efficient energy to pensioners whose village has no gas has led to Harrogate Borough Council being shortlisted for a national award.

An increasing number of bicycle thefts has been identified in two or three areas in Harrogate town.

It is ten years since Harrogate Borough Council restored the stunning Grade II listed Conyngham Hall in Knaresborough into a modern business centre and conference venue.

YOUTH homelessness is on the increase in Britain with an estimated 246,000 being without homes. This is also a serious concern in the Harrogate district with Harrogate Borough Council accepting over 160 young people as homeless in the past twelve months.

EXPERIMENTAL measures on Skipton Road to improve traffic flow have been successful and will now be made permanent.

STAFF in Harrogate Borough Council’s sports development team are turning into professional matchmakers. Not the in the romantic way, although they have spent the summer months courting.

THIS year is the Year of the Volunteer and members of the Harrogate & District Voluntary and Community Sector Forum are offering an open invitation to anyone wishing to join them at their annual meeting.

MOVING house is a costly business, which is why Harrogate Borough Council has joined forces with Beadnall Copley Estate Agents in Harrogate and Ripon to offer cash saving advice to new homeowners.

ONE of the country’s largest construction groups, HBG Construction Limited, has this week been awarded the contract to undertake pre-construction work on the £8m Royal Hall restoration scheme.

HARROGATE’S Cabinet has declared Harrogate district as a Fairtrade Town and will follow in the footsteps of Garstang in Lancashire which was the world’s first Fairtrade Town.

ANYONE trying to build unauthorised bonfires on council-owned land is being warned that their budding bonfire will be removed.

Costs across the country for cremation are likely to increase as councils, like Harrogate, respond to new government statutory guidance.

What was brought here by the Americans? Is banned from some buildings? Is often unsightly when being sampled? But always disgusting when being discarded? Chewing gum.

One of Harrogate Borough Council’s unique heritage facilities, the Sun Pavilion located in the grade II listed Valley Gardens, has recently had another successful visit to a venues exhibition promoting the site for corporate events and special occasions.

ALTHOUGH Knaresborough Pool opened its doors on 26 September 1990, like any good party host they put off the celebrations until most of their guests could attend.

SERVICES provided by Harrogate Borough Council have got the thumbs’ up from local residents in a recent satisfaction survey.

THIS next local government election is going to be hotly contested with over 1000 nominations forms already delivered for the council’s 54 seats.

ALTHOUGH, the Mapplebeck Anglers’ Association is not a group, which usually fishes for credit they have landed themselves two major awards this year by taking top places in two Crimebeat Awards.

The Yorkshire In Bloom summer judging has proved to be a big success for the district.

OVER 670 applicants met the 6 August deadline for renewing their licences under the government’s plans to allow more flexible drinking hours. Despite the opportunity, less than 10 premises have applied for 24 hour licences.

THE council’s recent review of car parking charges will not lead to increases in Knaresborough, Pateley Bridge or Ripon. Small reductions have also been made in Harrogate town centre with other areas facing a small increase.

Businesses in Nidderdale have a chance to get hold of a grant of up to £1,500 to help them become more environmentally friendly.

NEWS that the Planning Inspectorate has overturned Harrogate Borough Council’s decision to refuse planning permission for eight 320ft wind turbines at Knabs Ridge has been met with disbelief.

AS the nation opens its doors to places which people might simply not know about or other places where they normally aren’t allowed entrance, Harrogate Borough Council is offering free entry to one of its most famous heritage sites.

IMAGINE it’s the year 2021. Does your town or village have enough affordable homes? Is there employment for everyone? Can you catch a bus into town? Can you enjoy your leisure time locally?

HAVING to trek down to the council’s planning department in Harrogate to track a planning application is set to become a thing of the past as Harrogate Borough Council launches a new public access area on its website.

FANS of football know that having a home pitch gives their team an advantage.

PLANS to make sure that land is available for the major redevelopment of West of the Market Place in Ripon have taken another significant step.

AS canvassers are busy around the district dropping off electoral registration canvass forms, Harrogate Borough Council is pleased to see that residents are making use of the freephone service and the internet.

Live music, kids’ activities, competitions and of course lots of organic produce means that this year’s annual Allotment Show is sure to be as successful as ever.

BEAUTIFUL Bebra Gardens in Knaresborough have brought pleasure to generations of local people.

Harrogate Borough Council is to encourage more people to use public transport in the Wetherby Road area by upgrading bus shelters and providing special facilities to help people with disabilities.

The waste management service provided by Harrogate Borough Council is ‘good’ and has ‘promosing’ prospects for improvement, according to an independent report released today by the Audit Commission.

The district’s householders and council tax-payers of the future were recently asked to design their ‘ideal home’ in a drawing competition being organised by the council’s Housing section.

Some of the best environmental action in the Harrogate district was celebrated at the glitzy BAFTERS Awards ceremony at the Swallow St. George Hotel on Monday 4 July.

Europe is on the agenda once again this week for Harrogate Borough Council’s Parks team but not in the shape of the Europe in Bloom in which Harrogate town and Darley took Gold last year.

Tatton Flower Show is in for a surprise this year when Harrogate Borough Council’s Parks team arrive with a lady dressed only in flowers!

WORK has started to create a new sports pitch for Scotton and Lingerfield nr Knaresborough.

LAND owned by Harrogate Borough Council is to be released for improvements to the busy Stonefall Household Waste Recycling Centre, in Harrogate.

The Knaresborough Renaissance Town Team has celebrated its first year by the production of a Delivery Plan*. The Plan includes a 25 year vision with a Town Charter and a list of 23 projects identified for further work.

Harrogate district’s green champions will be enjoying their own celebrations on 4 July, at the prestigious Best Action for the Environment Road Show (BAFTERS’ awards), organised by Harrogate Council.

A ground breaking step in providing alternative sources of heat for some of the council’s housing stock is being unveiled at this week’s Chartered Institute of Housing Conference taking place at Harrogate’s International Conference Centre.

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at your local cemetery? How are the different areas of the grounds managed and maintained and what do the sculptures represent?

This week Harrogate Borough Council’s Parks team have been busy building another viaduct in Knaresborough, only this one will not be quite strong enough to carry any trains!

PUPILS from Grewelthorpe Primary School and Meadowside Primary School (Knaresborough) are pulling right behind Olympic rowing champion, Sir Matthew Pinsent, as he urges residents in the Harrogate district to become ‘recycling champions’.

MEASURES aimed at improving traffic flow along Skipton Road are to start on Monday, 20 June 2005.

Harrogate Council’s street cleansing team is out cleaning our streets even earlier and later than normal.

AS villagers in Killinghall complete the £25,000 purchase of their own village green ‘The Glebe’, Harrogate Borough Council has given them a £17,000 boost to help reach their final target of £90,000.

Scientific tests on an alabaster Canopic Jar on display at the Pump Room Museum in Harrogate have revealed that the black residue inside the jar is cholesterol from human remains.

THE re-development of the land west of the Market Place in Ripon has taken a step nearer with the news this week that Harrogate Borough Council has granted the necessary planning permissions for this major scheme in the heart of the City.

THE Nidderdale Area of Natural Beauty (AONB) has today heard that their application for funding to the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs has been successful and that they have been granted £100,000 to support local projects.

The UK’s annual event, which celebrates cycling, will be held 11th – 19th June this year.

EMMERDALE’S popular pensioner, Jarvis Skelton (Richard Moore), is to perform the opening ceremony of Hill View Manor – the ExtraCare housing scheme in Knaresborough – on 6 June 2005.

The Harrogate District Action for the Environment Group is inviting members of the public to come to a talk on Fair Trade at their meeting at 7.30 pm Tuesday 7 June 2005 at the Council Offices in Harrogate.

Last time we checked the Harrogate district was not an island. Businesses don't just trade within the district boundaries and people who live and work in the district don't stay here 365 days a year.

It is two years since the Harrogate District Cultural Partnership was set up by Harrogate Borough Council to promote and improve the cultural life of the whole Harrogate district.

AFTER eight years of negotiation, the threat of compulsory purchase by the council has finally led to a property trust renovating seven properties in Knaresborough and two in Harrogate, part of a portfolio of properties it owns in the district.

ONE of a team of specialists employed by Harrogate Borough Council to carry out the £1m restoration of its Turkish Baths in Harrogate has won an industry award for their work.

A new £550,000 footbridge over Harrogate’s railway line is to be provided at Dragon Junction in a partnership between North Yorkshire County Council, Network Rail and Harrogate Borough Council.

The Yorkshire In Bloom spring judging has proved to be a big success for the district with a one, two, three in the Village Category for Darley, Hampsthwaite and Spofforth with Stockeld; and Starbeck taking first in the Urban Community Category.

Harrogate's Tourist Information Centre offers a great service providing information about places to stay, places to visit and things to do for international and UK visitors as well as local residents.

HARROGATE Borough Council has acted swiftly to move travellers from Hell Wath in Ripon. Travellers moved onto these new £350,000 as yet ‘un-played on’ football pitches home to Ripon City Panthers on Wednesday, 11 May.

ALL three paddling pools in the district are expected to re-open at the May Spring Bank holiday as usual following the winter break.

STAFF and Friends of the Nidderdale Pool and Leisure Centre are preparing for a big formal ‘opening’ event on 23 May. Fresh from the 2004 Olympics, medal winner Steve Parry has been invited to help celebrate the opening of this new £1.7m facility.

Youth sport in North Yorkshire continues to go from strength to strength as was demonstrated on Sunday 8 May when over 1,400 young people from across the region aged 8 to 16 years took part in the 6th Annual North Yorkshire Youth Games.

CHILDREN living on The Boulevards – a 220 home development on the former RAF site at St George’s Road in Harrogate – are being invited to a party after school on Friday, 13 May to celebrate the official opening of their new play areas.

FOR the second year running, youngsters at Goldsborough CE Primary School have won the Yellow Woods Challenge by collecting Yellow Pages directories for this national recycling competition.

Recycling in the Harrogate district has just reached a milestone with the council's 100th mini recycling centre opening at the Black Swan in Fearby, near Masham.

HARROGATE'S planning chiefs are urging those with an interest in how the district should be developed over the next two decades to attend a series of information workshops which are being held around the district over the coming months.

A public meeting is to be held to set up a Friends group for the Stonefall Cemetery. All are welcome - 9 May 7.00pm at Woodland Junior School.

RIPON City Panthers have been handed the keys to the door of their new £350,000 pavilion and football pitches at Hell Wath Playing Fields in the City.

GENERATIONS of gardeners have looked after Harrogate famous 200-acre Stray and modern day parks staff are turning to their predecessors as they carry out an on-going programme to keep these stunning acres in tip top condition.

OVER two hundred tonnes of recycled compost have been tipped over a wall in Knaresborough to restore Low Bridge Gardens the small park situated on the corner of Low Bridge and Abbey Road.

THE latest plans to tackle crime and disorder in the Harrogate district have been unveiled today as the Safer Communities Partnership launches its three-year strategy.

JENNYFIELD Styan Community Centre, which is operated by Harrogate Borough Council, is turning to Sir Francis Drake for inspiration for their latest community facility – carpet bowls.

HARROGATE Borough Council has just re-launched its website with over 2000 pages of information about the council’s services and much more about the places to see, places to shop and places to dine out within the district.

ALTHOUGH vehicle related crime in the district is down 43 per cent this year, the Harrogate District Safer Communities Partnership say there is room to reduce that figure even more as they re-launch their Keep Keys Safe information pack.

Sports’ coaches, players, teachers and volunteers are invited to attend the fourth North Yorkshire Sports’ Conference being held on Sunday 10 April at Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire.

Yorkshire and Humber is the first region in England to be able to measure sport and physical activity participation rates at a local level and the Harrogate district has secured a high score in this new research commissioned by Sport England.

THE Heritage Lottery Fund has today said yes to Harrogate Borough Council’s renewed bid for a grant of £6m to help it restore the Royal Hall, one of the country’s premier listed buildings.