Harrogate Live is an independent news and information site for Harrogate and the district around it. We read the public record and write down what is in it, and we keep the everyday local information people actually look up in one place and up to date.
The patch
Harrogate town is the centre of it, with Knaresborough and the cathedral city of Ripon either side, and beyond them Boroughbridge, Starbeck, Killinghall, Spofforth, Bishop Monkton, Masham and the villages running up Nidderdale to Pateley Bridge. If it affects a household here, from a planning decision on the edge of the Stray to a road closure on the A61, it belongs on this site.
Why the council is the story
North Yorkshire Council was created on 1 April 2023 out of the old county council and seven district councils, and it is now the sole authority for bins, planning, council tax, roads and schools across an area that reaches the Dales in one direction and the coast in the other. That is a lot of committee papers, and almost none of them are read by the people they affect. Reading them and saying what they mean for Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon is the job.
How we report
Everything starts from a named source: the council’s planning register and committee papers, police.uk crime data, HM Land Registry sold prices, Food Standards Agency inspections, The Gazette and the rest of the public record. We link to that source on every fact so you can check us instead of trusting us. Where a record is unclear we say it is unclear rather than filling the gap, and we write in plain British English.
Tips and corrections
Residents notice things before any register does. If something is going on where you live, or we have a detail wrong, email hello@harrogatelive.co.uk. We read everything, we treat tips in confidence, and corrections go up quickly and are noted on the page.
Harrogate Live is published by the GOB Media Group. We are not affiliated with the council or any other body we report on.