Return of Whitby bridge closures to improve safety this summer

The traffic-free scheme on Whitby Swing Bridge which has been praised for supporting tourism in the town is set to restart in April.

We are introducing the closures for the fifth year, after traffic congestion during peak tourism periods sparked safety concerns.

The bridge will be closed to traffic between 10.30am and 4pm daily during weekends in the school holidays as well as bank holidays and special events, with an exemption for buses.

The first closures will come into force for the Easter school holidays on the weekend of 5 and 6 April.

As well as school and bank holidays, the traffic-free measure will be in place for Goth weekends on 26 and 27 April, and 1 and 2 November.

Tourism in Whitby is vital to the local economy, bringing in a £353.8 million boost each year with two million visitors coming to the town each year. The visitor economy also supports more than 3,500 jobs in the Whitby area.

The current swing bridge, which spans 75ft, was built in 1908. It links the upper and lower harbour areas and the east and west sides of the town.

Approval to bring Scarborough’s museums and galleries in-house

Scarborough’s museums and gallery service will be brought back under our management after we approved proposals aimed at saving taxpayers’ money and to secure the future of the town’s cultural assets.

The move will see Scarborough Art Gallery, Rotunda Museum and Woodend Gallery and Studios transferred from the Scarborough Museums Creative and Culture Trust to our wider culture and archives service.

The decision follows a request from Scarborough Museums Creative and Culture Trust to return the service to our control due to financial pressures.

Bringing the service in-house is expected to generate savings of more than £50,000 annually by reducing support and management costs.

The approved plans also highlight the potential temporary closure at the Rotunda Museum to allow for essential repairs, ensuring the long-term sustainability of one of the UK’s oldest purpose-built museums.

Scarborough Museums Creative and Culture Trust chair Sally Gorham welcomes the decision, praising our commitment to arts and culture.

She said returning the service to us offers the best guarantee for its future, with our officers working closely with trust staff to ensure a smooth transition.

Pupils tackle climate crisis and protect the environment

Green-fingered students at Ripon Grammar School have planted over 3,000 hedgerow trees and shrubs, creating new flower beds and wildflower areas to combat climate change and biodiversity loss.

The headteacher of Ripon Grammar School, Jonathan Webb, who is also a keen gardener, said he was delighted to have such “willing and enthusiastic” students who feel so passionately about nature and the environment helping develop areas throughout the school’s 23-acre site.

Their efforts align with an event run by us and the University of Leeds, where leaders from 30 schools gathered to discuss sustainability and reducing their carbon footprints.

Held at Allerton Waste Recovery Park, the event featured climate action workshops, a carbon emissions calculator and a tour of waste treatment facilities.

During the climate action planning workshops, teaching staff were able to witness the educational resources and enjoy a tour of the state-of-the-art waste treatment site to see what happens to rubbish put into their school bins. The North Yorkshire Rotters, a group of volunteers who inspire people to change their waste habits, encouraged attendees to reduce food waste and make smoothies by pedalling a “smoothie bike”.

In addition to planting trees, pupils at Ripon Grammar School have introduced a number of green initiatives to raise awareness of environmental issues and help reduce the school’s carbon emissions.

We will be holding a follow-up online event on Tuesday 1 April, for school staff who were unable to attend. Anyone interested is asked to book the session online by emailing schoolimprovementservice@northyorks.gov.uk

Care on the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic honoured

Care workers have shared their emotional experiences of working on the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic at a special ceremony in North Yorkshire marking five years since the crisis began.

The event, held in the grounds of County Hall in Northallerton, brought together care staff and NHS colleagues to reflect on the challenges they faced and to honour those affected.

A tree was planted as a lasting tribute alongside a plaque recognising the strength and support shown by North Yorkshire residents.

Among those in attendance was Helen Sharpe, a staff nurse at Friarage Hospital, who was the first person in the county to be placed on a ventilator due to contracting Covid-19. She spent four weeks in intensive care, later struggling with long-term issues before returning to work. Reflecting on her experience, she praised the medical staff who cared for her, calling them ‘absolute angels’ and that she felt ‘so lucky’ to be here.

She said the ceremony provided an opportunity to look back on a difficult time and appreciate how far they had come.

Lucy Kay, a senior care worker at Benkhill Lodge, spoke about the challenges faced by care home residents during the pandemic, with social distancing and regular testing becoming routine. She caught Covid-19 in 2022 but recovered in time for her wedding. She found the ceremony emotional as it allowed everyone to reflect over the past five years.

Music was a key part of the event with 18-year-old choral scholar Dan Byron performing Bring Him Home from Les Miserables. He described it as an honour to take part. The ceremony also included prayers led by the council’s chaplain, recognising the hardships so many faced.

We continue to support remembrance efforts and backed a National Day of Reflection on 9 March, encouraging residents to take part in acts of kindness, light candles in memory of loved ones or visit the tree trail planted as a lasting tribute to those lost.

The locations of the tree trail are being featured on a website produced by the UK Commission on Covid Commemoration.

Artists charged with revitalising Catterick

Striking new artworks are to be woven into the £21 million regeneration of Catterick town centre.

Three artists have been commissioned to design a range of pieces - including a series of entrance markers to welcome visitors and a sculpture to encourage a moment of reflection - for the development in Shute Road and neighbouring Coronation Park.

Katayoun Dowlatshahi, Hazel Oakes, who is known as Nocciola The Drawer, and Steve Anwar from the Sapien Studio, have started work on our £175,000 ‘Public Art Catterick’ project.

Katayoun, who will create the entrance markers, is an artist, print-maker and fine art photographer with 27 years of experience in the field of public art. Recently, she has been working more widely with nature as inspiration for her work as well as being creative with natural materials.

Steve of Sapien Studio, who will create the ‘Reflect’ sculpture, develops site-specific public artworks that inspire movement and connection which blend with the industrial heritage of the North East of England.

Hazel, who uses the name of Nocciola the Drawer, is working on a welcome artwork for the entrance to the new community centre. As a mural artist and illustrator from Durham, she specialises in bright, bold, colourful artwork that combines the human figure and lively patterns, all with the aim to uplift, inspire, empower and celebrate.

New food and drink festival set to be served up in Scarborough

A new event celebrating world cuisine and handcrafted goods is set to attract thousands of visitors to Scarborough.

Bringing a mix of international flavours, artisan products and family-friendly entertainment, the Scarborough Food and Drink Festival will be held at the town’s Open Air Theatre on 12 and 13 April.

Featuring 50 independent stallholders, the two-day free event offers everything from Yorkshire crumbles and artisan cheese to locally made spirits and indulgent sweet treats.

Among the traders which will be at the festival is Crofts Chocolates, based in the town and run by Alex Grant and his mother, Sheila.

She said: “Local events are key to reaching new customers and staying connected with our community. We’ve been making chocolates with love since 2013 and events like this help small businesses like ours to grow. We’re looking forward to meeting new faces in Scarborough.”

It is hoped the festival will boost the local economy by attracting visitors earlier in the tourist season.

Last year Scarborough Open Air Theatre generated £8.5 million for the economic benefit of the town, and this new event aims to build on that success by extending its programme into the off-peak months and helping to drive even more interest to the traditional seaside town.

Latest figures have shown that the tourism sector itself provides an annual economic boost of £561 million to the Scarborough area, attracting 3.8 million visitors a year and supporting more than 5,600 jobs.

The new event also complements Filey Food Festival, which returns this year with events on 19 and 20 April, 7 and 8 June, 9 and 10 August and 11 and 12 October.

Villagers Landmark road safety scheme transforms school travel

A road safety scheme that is the first of its kind in North Yorkshire is transforming the way children travel to school – and its success means more areas could soon benefit.

The School Streets initiative on Beechwood Grove in Harrogate, where Oatlands Junior School is situated, restricts traffic at drop-off and pick-up times.

We have decided to make it permanent after an 18-month trial generated support from the local community.

And it has been used to full advantage by staff, pupils and local road safety campaigners, who have launched a ‘Bike Bus’.

Our executive member for highways and transport, Cllr Keane Duncan, said the initiative has had such a ‘positive impact’ and it represents a ‘huge milestone’ for increasing road safety and promoting sustainable travel from a young age.

The initiative is an organised group cycle to school, with pupils, parents and carers travelling together from The Stray to Oatlands Infants School and Oatlands Junior School.

Members of the Oatlands Road Safety and Active Travel Campaign, Hazel Peacock and Ben Mortimer, launched the ‘Bike Bus’ in collaboration with Oatlands Infants School, Oatlands Junior School and Sustrans.

Hazel said: “The Oatlands ‘Bike Bus’ has been a great success in creating a fun and active way of travelling to school and in bringing the community together.”

Marks and Spencer and Hornbeam Park railway station have agreed to be a ‘park and stride’ location, allowing families who live further away to park their cars and walk a short distance to school.

We have recently announced it had adopted a presumption in favour of lower speed limits near schools and other education sites.

The authority is reviewing speed limits outside every school, college and nursery, representing more than 400 locations in total as it takes unprecedented steps to improve road safety.

Art meets nature on Scarborough’s new sculpture trail

A new outdoor sculpture trail has opened along Scarborough’s historic cinder track, inviting visitors to connect with nature through six outdoor artworks by UK artist Emma Smith.

The installations, part of the Wild Eye project – a collaboration between Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and Invisible Dust - are designed to encourage people to pause, reflect and engage with local wildlife.

The project takes its name from the concept of ‘old friends’, the beneficial microbes that help regulate our immune system. Each sculpture offers a unique sensory and ecological experience, from a pollinator-friendly garden and a bio-adaptive stone circle to a soundscape where visitors can listen to the natural world. Other installations include nature-inspired seating, nesting areas and rewilding seeds balls that will help restore local plant life over time.

The community played a key role in shaping the sculptures through workshops led by Emma Smith. Participants including Northstead Primary School students, explored local species, made natural pigments and designed habitats with sustainable materials, strengthening the link between art and conservation.

Part of the wider Wild Eye Trail, the project will conclude in April 2025 with a Roman-style mosaic by Turner Prize winner Jeremy Deller at a new seawatching station. Funded by the Towns Fund and supported by us, the initiative aims to boost Scarborough’s cultural appeal, tourism and local economy.

Find out more on the Wild Eye website.

Spring Daze brings a day of family fun to Peasholm Park

Families and nature lovers are invited to celebrate the arrival of spring with a day full of family-friendly activities and vibrant celebrations.

Spring Daze, a free community event, is taking place at Peasholm Park in Scarborough on Wednesday 9 April 2025 from 10am to 4pm.

The event promises a day of outdoor activities, crafts, music, and local food, all set in the stunning surroundings of one of Scarborough’s most beloved green spaces.

Visitors can take part in a Tree ID Scavenger Hunt, sunflower potting, and greenwood bow crafting, led by Sylvan Kin, offering a hands-on way to explore nature.

The Friends of Peasholm Park will also be hosting spring-themed craft sessions, perfect for families looking to get creative. Meanwhile, Kathy Seabrook’s Fun Music will entertain children with live music, singing, and dancing.

Adding to the festive atmosphere, children can enjoy face painting by Finishing Touches, while local food and charity stalls will showcase a selection of treats and handmade goods.

The event also supports a cleaner environment with Keep Scarborough Tidy organising a community litter pick throughout Peasholm Park and the surrounding areas, encouraging visitors to take an active role in protecting local green spaces.

Spring Daze is designed to be accessible and enjoyable for all, with free admission and activities suitable for all ages. The event provides an opportunity for families to connect with nature, support local businesses, and enjoy a day of outdoor fun in a beautiful setting.

Be a tourist at home at Selby area resident’s festival

Residents of the Selby area and beyond are being encouraged to spend time with friends and family, discover something new on their doorstep, and be a tourist at home for the weekend.

The Selby area Residents’ Festival covers the areas around Selby, Tadcaster, and Sherburn-in-Elmet and takes place on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 April.

A range of businesses will once again throw open their doors with special discounts, offers, tours, entertainment and more.

The festival, now in its fifth year, offers North Yorkshire residents the chance to celebrate, discover and explore the many businesses and visitor attractions on their doorsteps.

From magnificent abbeys and beautiful gardens to dog-friendly tearooms and family-friendly pubs, the Selby area has it all.

Discover the offers and plan your weekend by visiting the Heart of Yorkshire website.