You may remember reading in the last edition of Residents’ News about a Christmas market coming to Harrogate.

We are pleased to announce, Market Place Europe will be bringing festive cheer to Harrogate town centre from Friday 3 December until Sunday 12 December (subject to an event management plan and formal approval).

Featuring a number of local traders, as well as those from countries across Europe, Harrogate Christmas Fayre will be packed full of festive fun for everyone to enjoy and will be a great place to pick up some last minute gifts.

Little Bird Made – a curator of artisan markets across North Yorkshire – is also set to hold a festive market in Valley Gardens, Harrogate on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 December.

The artisan market will feature around 60 local traders and producers who will sell a variety of festive arts and crafts, clothing, homeware, jewellery, as well as locally produced food and drink.

We'll have further updates in the coming weeks so keep an eye out on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Until the end of October, our canvassers will be visiting properties across the district to encourage any residents, who haven’t responded to the annual canvass, to register to vote.

Each year, like all local authorities, we carry out the annual canvass to keep the electoral register up-to-date.

For most households there are no changes. But where we believe there should be changes to the register, a canvass form has been sent.

Any households who are yet to respond to this canvass form will receive a visit from a canvasser.

The canvasser will be able to add any eligible residents to the register, and it should only take a few minutes to do so. If there is no answer, a card will be left advising residents what they need to do to ensure they can vote in elections next May.

Anyone not registered to vote can do so online.

Since being launched last year, members of the UK’s first all hybrid car sharing club, have travelled almost 40,000 miles.

Co Wheels provides a fleet of hybrid cars for pay-as-you-go hire around the town for short (as little as half an hour) or long-term bookings (up to a week).

Each car has its own designated zone, and comes with a parking permit which allows parking anywhere in this area thanks to support from North Yorkshire County Council. Insurance, cleaning, servicing and refuelling are all included in the cost too. A van is also available for hire as part of the club.

Cars are available in Harrogate but Co Wheels hope to have a car in Knaresborough and Ripon soon.

For more information visit the Co Wheels website.

Parking in Harrogate town centre is even easier thanks to the app AppyParking.

Users who download the app – available on iOS and Android – will see real-time availability of spaces across Harrogate town centre, be able to navigate to the space and pay for a parking session with a single-click.

After the minimum stay period, users are charged per minute based on the hourly price up to the maximum stay (an additional 20p convenience fee also applies).

Using AppyParking is easy, just follow these easy steps:

• Download the free AppyParking app
• Create a profile, register a payment card and vehicle registration number
• If you are unfamiliar with the town, you can use the app to navigate to a location with spaces available in real-time
• Once you've safely parked and turned off your engine, you can use the app to begin the parking session
• Simply select 'Park Now' and follow the steps to begin your parking session
• When you're finished, just drive off and the session will end automatically and you'll be charged for the exact time you were parked

Victoria and Jubilee car parks also now have barrier-less entry so there is no need to take a ticket. Simply register your AppyParking account and the barriers will open on entry and exit. You’ll then be charged for the length of your stay, meaning you don’t pay for any time you don’t use.

You can find out more about AppyParking on our website or by downloading the app to your smartphone.

Throughout October, Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition will be hosting a number of exciting events as part of the first Climate Action Festival (CAFé).

The launch event – What will the future look like? – will take place this Saturday (2 October) at Harrogate College from 10am to 4pm. There will be a number of discussions and demonstrations throughout the day as well as information about how we can all change for the better.

There’s no need to book and everyone is welcome! You can find out more on climate change coalition website.

On Friday 15 October, the flagship Business Net Zero Conference will take place at Harrogate Convention Centre and is a chance for businesses to discuss the concept of net zero carbon and why it is critical for businesses to make this transition.

There will be opportunities to engage with suppliers at the sustainability marketplace and to sign-up to free sustainability workshops for your organisation.

As well as the two main events, there are a number of fringe events running throughout the festival.

Every year we ask you to nominate members of our staff who’ve impressed you with their fantastic customer service or because they’ve gone over and above their usual duties.

It's part of our STARS scheme which we use to recognise and say thanks to our people.

We had a fantastic response this year with an email inbox bulging with nominations for the 'People's Choice' category chosen entirely by our customers and residents.

It was difficult job whittling down all the nominations, but after careful consideration, our housing and construction operations manager Jamie Sheffield was chosen as the winner.

Jamie was nominated by a resident in Starbeck who was grateful for his support and for providing regular updates on Fern House, our new homeless accommodation.

Congratulations Jamie!

You can now buy autumn bedding plants grown by our experts from our Horticultural Nursery.

There's a good selection of vibrant violas, pretty polyanthus, pansies, primula and wallflower plants along with a range of gardening accessories including planters, containers and compost.

The nursery shop is open Monday to Sunday from 10am to 3pm*.

You’ll find the nursery on Nursery Lane East, off Harlow Moor Road in Harrogate (please use the postcode HG2 0FH).

If you would prefer you can now pre-order your plants before you visit using our click and collect service. For more information and online orders visit our website.

*please note that the nursey shop will only be open at weekends until 10 October.

There’s no longer a need to plan ahead and pre-book a gym or swim session, so why not head to one of our fantastic Brimhams Active facilities this autumn?

Just grab your things and pop down any time our doors are open – everyone's welcome.

Please keep using our Brimhams Active app to book fitness classes and contact our reception teams to book Aquafit classes.

You can check the latest timetables on the Brimhams Active website.

When you visit please continue to wear a face mask, use hand sanitiser and keep a safe distance.

We think Harrogate Borough Council is a fantastic place to work (but then we’re slightly biased).

As well as amazing colleagues, we offer competitive salaries, flexi-time and a range of other benefits.

We're always looking for new people to join the team. We currently have the following vacancies:

• Private sector housing officer
• Support officer
• PR and social media manager
• Marketing and PR executive
• Estates surveyor
• Beauty therapist

We’re also looking for a number of lifeguards. If you’ve got the experience or fancy trying something new we’d love to hear from you.

Visit our jobs page to find out more about working for us and all the latest opportunities.