Harrogate News
The latest Harrogate news: planning decisions, council and crime updates, business and community stories, each linked back to its official source.
Top story
Yorkshire in Bloom 2026: Harrogate Wins Best Town or City
Harrogate took the Yorkshire Rose for best town or city and Starbeck best urban community; Valley Gardens and two Knaresborough parks won platinum.
More stories
Planning
Harrogate Spring Water to Appeal Rotary Wood Refusal
Harrogate Spring Water will appeal April's unanimous refusal of its Rotary Wood extension. Campaigners say they will fight it, and the government now decides.
Ripon
Ripon Kirkgate Bollards: 868 Sign, Officers Say No
An 868-name petition for timed bollards on Kirkgate, Ripon goes to councillors on 1 October. Officers say the plan would cut off Court Terrace homes.
Harrogate
Harrogate Sun Pavilion: Venue's Future Decided 14 Oct
The Sun Pavilion's operating contract ends in May 2027 and the council decides on 14 October how the Valley Gardens wedding venue should be run next.
Community
Harrogate Local Fund: £89,005 for 19 Groups, Double 2025
Nineteen Harrogate district groups share £89,005, over twice 2025's £37,473. Who got it, from a Killinghall play area to over-60s classes in Boroughbridge.
Knaresborough
Knaresborough Christmas Market: 5-6 Dec, Fireworks 4.30pm
Free entry, 10am to 5pm on 5 and 6 December, fireworks over the viaduct at 4.30pm on Sunday. Free park and ride from Manse Lane, and bring cash: two ATMs.
Knaresborough
Knaresborough Viaduct Terrace £350,000 Contract Awarded
North Yorkshire Council has direct-awarded a £350,000 contract to rebuild the collapsed Viaduct Terrace wall in Knaresborough, a day before the petition debate.
Harrogate
Harrogate £5.6m Otley Road Cycleways Aimed at Late 2027
Harrogate's Otley Road and Pannal Ash Road cycleways, budgeted at £5.6m, are now targeted for late 2027. Plus 20mph consultations and Bilton crossing delay.
Schools
Harrogate School Transport: 7 Grammar Pupils Now Qualify
Only 4.2% of Harrogate and Knaresborough Year 7s now get free school transport, the lowest in North Yorkshire. The consultation closes 4 November.
Harrogate
Harrogate Roadworks Charges: 89 Streets at £2,500 a Day
Harrogate has 89 streets on the council's lane rental list, more than any town in North Yorkshire. Digging them at peak times can cost £2,500 a day.
Knaresborough
Knaresborough Junior parkrun: 113 Run at Conyngham Hall
113 children ran the first Conyngham Hall junior parkrun on Sunday. The free 2k is every Sunday at 9am for ages 4 to 14, and it needs volunteers.
Knaresborough
Knaresborough Viaduct Terrace Repairs Not Until Summer 2027
Knaresborough's Viaduct Terrace cannot be repaired before summer 2027, the council says, and only if a capital bid wins. Petition debated 24 September.
Planning
Pannal 150-Home Green Belt Plan: Half Would Be Affordable
Forward Investments seeks outline consent for up to 150 homes off Thirkill Drive in Pannal, with 50% affordable. The council's target decision date is 25 November.
Knaresborough
Knaresborough Market: Visit Knaresborough CIC to Run Stalls
The town council has signed Visit Knaresborough CIC to manage the Wednesday market day to day. New trader terms are agreed and pitch rates are being finalised.
Ripon
Man's Body Found in Ripon Canal, Search for Next of Kin
A man's body was found in the Ripon Canal on Saturday 13 September. Police say the death is not suspicious and enquiries to trace his next of kin continue.
Crime
Sexual Assault on Harrogate's Stray: Police Seek Witnesses
Police want witnesses after a woman was sexually assaulted on the Stray at about 8.30pm on Sunday 6 September, between Knaresborough Road and Wetherby Road.
Housing
£18m Homeless Housing Plan Names Harrogate as Biggest Gap
The £18m, 112-home temporary housing plan is voted on Tuesday. The council's report names Harrogate the biggest shortage; none of the first 20 homes are there.
House prices
North Yorkshire House Prices: Up £8,078 in a Year
The average North Yorkshire home cost £270,569 in June, up £8,078 in a year. Semis rose fastest at 4%, flats barely moved, and prices have eased since November.
Schools
North Yorkshire School Transport: Nearest-School Rule Stays
The council's review keeps the nearest-school rule: 515 fewer Year 7 pupils qualify, five Dales routes leave the maps and a consultation is due this autumn.
Planning
Harrogate: 133 Cow Dyke Farm Homes Approved, 53 Affordable
Councillors granted 133 homes at Cow Dyke Farm and 20 over-55 flats on Knaresborough Road, both unanimously, with 40% affordable and a new tree order.
Community
Harrogate Community Grants Close 15 September: £74,045
Harrogate Town Council has £24,045 in general grants and £50,000 of developer money for community projects. Applications close on Tuesday 15 September.
Knaresborough
Mother Shipton Inn Knaresborough Reopens After £250,000
The Grade II listed pub at Low Bridge reopened on 27 August after a £250,000 refit: new kitchen, riverside seating for 100, quiz night every Thursday at 7pm.
Knaresborough
New Harrogate and Knaresborough Choirs Launch 9 September
Two daytime choirs start on Wednesday 9 September with a free taster: Knaresborough 10.15am, Harrogate 1.15pm. No auditions, and no need to read music.
Ripon
Tour of Britain Road Closures: Ripon, Pateley Bridge Times
Ripon's route closes from 11.40am and Pateley Bridge from 12.10pm on Saturday 5 September. Closure times for every village from Boroughbridge to Greenhow.
Knaresborough
Knaresborough Solar Farm: 65MW Bar Lane Plan, Drop-In 2 Sept
Aura Power wants a 65MW solar farm at Scriven and Hay-a-Park. Its own survey puts 54% of the land in the best and most versatile grades. Drop-in is 2 September.
North Yorkshire Council
Harrogate Clinical Waste: 23 Collections a Week, New Rules
Harrogate's 23 weekly collections carry on unchanged under the county's new clinical waste policy. GP referral stays compulsory, three sharps boxes minimum.
Harrogate
The Bread Bin Harrogate Enters Liquidation After 21 Years
The company behind the Skipton Road cafe resolved on 18 August that it cannot continue by reason of its liabilities. A Leeds liquidator is now in charge.
North Yorkshire Council
Harrogate Gritting: Officers Say No to 3 Nidderdale Roads
Warsill Road, Hartwith Bank and Lower Norwood Road are all recommended for refusal. Only one of the county's 14 gritting requests is backed, and it is near Northallerton.
Planning
Harrogate Planning: 153 Homes Decided on 25 August
Officers back 133 homes at Cow Dyke Farm and 20 over-55 affordable flats on Knaresborough Road, with £1.13m for schools and £154,836 towards GP care.
Knaresborough
Knaresborough Christmas Market Stalls: £310, Gold Sold Out
Stall applications for the 5 and 6 December market close at the end of October. Two-day pitches run £310 to £360, gold has sold out and Chamber members get 25% off.
North Yorkshire Council
Harrogate Lifeline Alarm: New £6.51 Fee, Monthly Visits End
North Yorkshire Council's Lifeline shake-up cuts the Harrogate weekly charge from £8.37 to £6.51 but ends monthly wellbeing visits for 171 local users. Three months' notice, then a new agreement.
North Yorkshire Council
Harrogate Convention Centre: £200k More for Studio 2 Refit
Tuesday's Executive is asked for £200k of fixtures and fittings the £9.4m Studio 2 job never budgeted for. Also in the report: Ripon pool £305k over, Turkish Baths income short, Harrogate station scheme 'starts shortly'.
A59
A59 Kex Gill Opened on 25 August, Eight Weeks Late
The new A59 at Kex Gill opened on 25 August, about eight weeks after the date the council's executive was given. Two of the three lanes are open, at 30mph.
Schools
Harrogate A level results: 105 A*s at Ripon Grammar
Ripon Grammar's 164 students took 105 A* grades and Harrogate Grammar placed 93% of applicants. The district's results, and the 20 August appeal deadline.
Flooding
Harrogate and Knaresborough flood bid: £1.47m for 130 homes
Approved 23 September: North Yorkshire Council will bid for £1,474,200 to fit flood protection to 130 homes in Harrogate and Knaresborough, with work in 2028/29.
Planning
Harrogate housing land supply drops from 6.71 years to 2.2
The former Harrogate district could show 6.71 years of housing land in 2020. It is now 2.2, and the same 210-home site refused then is recommended for approval.