Calvin Robinson Chief Reporter, Author at The Stray Ferret

Business Breakfast: Harrogate opticians donates high-visibility vests to primary school

Now is your time to shine with the Stray Ferret Business Awards. We are encouraging businesses of all sizes from right across the Harrogate district to enter for our awards and get recognition from our top panel of judges. Entries close on January 16.

A Harrogate opticians has donated high visibility vests to a local school.

Specsavers on Beulah Street donated the jackets to St Robert’s Catholic Primary School to help children stay safe on school trips during winter.

Fraz Khan, store director, said:

“The winter weather, fog, rain and darkness that closes in early in the afternoons make it more difficult for drivers to see pedestrians, and especially children.

“By providing the high visibility jackets to our neighbouring school, we can help to tackle concerns around road safety and make it easier for children to be seen. As part of the initiative, we are also hoping to raise awareness of regular eye test for children, as untreated sight problems can lead to more serious issues in the long term, if not addressed.”

Miss Collins, headteacher at St Robert’s, added:

“We’re really grateful to have received this donation, the vests will be so helpful in making sure the children are clearly visible when we take them on trips and visits and means that adventures outside of the classroom don’t have to be put on hold until the spring.”

Housing developer hosts energy saving event at Harrogate scheme

A housing developer is set to host an energy saving event at its Harrogate scheme to help new homeowners.

Redrow will host a series of events at its Granby Meadows development between Saturday (January 14) and Sunday (January 22).

Prospective homebuyers will also be able to use Redrow’s energy performance certificate calculator tool, which is designed to help people compare the energy savings to their current properties and highlight the benefits of a newbuild.

James Holmear, director of Redrow, said:

“Our research shows people are more eco conscious than ever before and are looking at ways to be even more energy efficient, especially in relation to their homes.”

For more information, visit the Redrow website here.

GPs ‘extremely concerned’ about new housing in Harrogate

NHS managers have objected to plans for 49 homes at Kingsley Farm in Harrogate and warned that the town’s health infrastructure has “very limited capacity”.

The homes, which have been proposed by Quarterly Kingsley Ltd, are earmarked for the north and north east of the site off Kingsley Road.

The developer said in a planning statement submitted to Harrogate Borough Council the scheme would help to offer a “sense of place”.

However, Nick Brown, of the NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, has objected to the plan.

In a letter to the council, he warned GPs were “extremely concerned” about further development within Harrogate.

He said:

“As primary care providers, the GPs and primary care networks are extremely concerned regarding any proposals for further residential development within Harrogate.

“The existing health infrastructure in Harrogate already operates above optimum capacity and has very limited capacity to absorb additional pressures.

“Primary care and community services within the area are already running at, or far beyond their existing capacity.”

The Kingsley area has seen multiple planning applications lodged to build houses on Kingsley Farm, including a revised proposal for 162 homes by Persimmon Homes.

Residents in the area have long held concerns about the amount of housebuilding in the area and its affect on traffic, noise and loss of green space.

Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the Kingsley Farm proposal at a later date.

Ouseburn Green councillor calls for greater climate focus on agriculture

An Ouseburn councillor has said a new North Yorkshire County Council strategy to tackle carbon emissions and climate change should focus more on agriculture.

Senior councillors are expected next week to approve opening a public consultation on a draft climate change strategy.

The strategy aims to make North Yorkshire the first carbon negative region in the country, meaning more carbon dioxide emissions would be removed from the atmosphere than emitted.

The document sets out how the new North Yorkshire Council, which will launch on April 1, will develop work already underway to reduce carbon emissions.

Initiatives include producing more renewable energy, reducing the use of fossil fuels, improving insulation in homes, encouraging the use of low-emission vehicles and promoting more active travel such as cycling and walking.

However, Cllr Arnold Warneken, a Green Party member who represents Ouseburn on the council, said the strategy proposed little on how to tackle emissions from the agriculture sector.

Figures show North Yorkshire produced 5,829 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (kt co2e) in 2020, with agriculture equating to a third of the total, transport responsible for 28% and 19% coming from homes.

Cllr Warneken said:

“While the plan is claimed to be ambitious we seem unwilling to address the issue of agriculture and cite what other organisations are doing as opposed to what we propose to do, as at the moment that is nothing.

“We could at least start by looking at the farms we own and then move on to working with likes of the National Farmers Union who have their own targets and strategy which we could work with. For example being more supportive of applications for renewables on farms that wish to produce energy for their own use and that of the local communities.”

Work already undertaken in the county to tackle carbon emissions includes the installation of energy-saving LED street lighting, energy efficient improvements to buildings and trialling the use of electric vehicles.

The route map for the region to become carbon negative by 2040 has been spearheaded by the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership and has seen a plan drawn up to involve the public sector, businesses and communities.

Conservative Cllr Greg White, executive councillor for climate change on the council, said:

“Climate change is without question the greatest threat that the world faces, and is already impacting on communities across the globe.

“We have seen an increasing frequency of extreme weather conditions here in North Yorkshire and across the UK as a whole, which scientists tell us is clear evidence of significant changes in our climate.

“Without clear and decisive action, the situation will only get worse. However, we are committed to ensuring that we have a comprehensive strategy in North Yorkshire, especially as we look towards the launch of the new authority this spring.”

Business Breakfast: Last remaining days for Stray Ferret Business Awards entries

There are only a few days left to send in entries for the Stray Ferret Business Awards as the closing date approaches.

The Stray Ferret Business Awards, sponsored by Prosperis, is on March 9 at the Pavilions of Harrogate and will celebrate success and excellence in the business community across the district.

The closing date for entries for the 10 categories is on Monday 16th.

The judging panel will meet a week today so submissions cannot be accepted after the closing date.

The event promises to be a celebration of local business – the key note speaker is the Chief Executive of the new North Yorkshire Council, Richard Flinton.

New forager to be showcases at Ripon Farm Services show

Ripon Farm Services is set to showcase its new forager at its new year show next week.

The John Deare 9700 will be unveiled at the event at the Great Yorkshire Showground on Wednesday, January 18.

The show will be held over two-days and showcases leading agricultural machinery.

Geoff Brown, managing director of Ripon Farm Services, said:

“We can’t wait to welcome our customers and guests for what promises to be a very busy event, for the first time since the global pandemic hit three years ago, our show is back to normal, without any covid-related restrictions.

“We are absolutely delighted to be showcasing John Deere’s pioneering self-propelled 9700 forager harvester model. We are confident this new machine, following on from the success of John Deere’s 8000 Series, will prove a very popular attraction.

“In addition, we are featuring the latest innovations from our Technology Team to help our customers reduce input costs and improve profitability through more efficient production.”

For more information on the Ripon Farm Services new year show, visit the company website here.

Second consultation to be held on whether to form Harrogate town council

A second consultation is to be launched into the creation of a Harrogate town council.

North Yorkshire County Council will write to households across Harrogate as part of an eight-week survey starting on February 20.

Harrogate and Scarborough are the only parts of North Yorkshire which do not have a parish or town council.

The second consultation is expected to be more detailed than the first one, which merely invited people to say whether they supported the idea.

Residents will be sent information including the number of councillors, assets and reasons for why it is needed.

A further survey on the matter was approved by senior county councillors today.

The areas in Harrogate which would fall under the new town council.

Cllr Michael Harrison, the Conservative executive member for health and adult services who represents Killinghall, Hampsthwaite and Saltergate, said while he supported the second consultation, he had reservations over the town council.

He said:

“Members will be aware of my concerns more generally about proceeding to the next stage of consultation. I have made my views both informally and on a one-to-one basis.

“We are removing a layer of local government by moving to a unitary authority and we are immediately going to be replacing it in the Harrogate area with another, so there is an underlying concern there.

“We are creating a likely future tax liability on a population without any real idea of what that tax would be or what the residents would get for paying that tax and I think that was one of the comments that came back in the consultation.”

However, Cllr Harrison added he understood it would be “an anomaly” to leave an unparished area in a county full of parish areas.

He said:

“I do acknowledge that there is an aspiration for double devolution with the new unitary council which clearly you could not achieve without a town or parish council for Harrogate.”

The consultation is set to be held instead of a local referendum, which the county council said was not “legally possible” after a request from Harrogate Borough Council.

The county council added it could not “fetter its discretion” to hold a referendum and that a further survey of residents may elicit a similar outcome.

Cllr Harrison told senior councillors that it was “vital” that every household was written to as part of the consultation in the absence of a referendum.

Police commissioner given power to hike council tax by £15

North Yorkshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has been given the power to increase the police’s share of council tax by £15 this year.

Zoe Metcalfe, the Conservative commissioner, is currently consulting on her budget plans for police and fire services for 2023.

The government has given commissioners the power to increase the force’s share of council tax by £15 before a referendum has to be held.

It has also set a £5 limit on the fire service precept.

A £15 hike in the police precept would be the equivalent of a 5.34% increase and see the force’s share of council tax rise to £296 for a band D property.

Ms Metcalfe has previously warned North Yorkshire Police needs £12 million in extra funding to tackle rising costs, including salary increases and rising cost of fuel and utilities.

She said previously:

“One of my roles is to set the precepts for North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, something every commissioner has to do every year.

“It is never easy asking for more money, and I know that many individuals and families are facing financial pressures, but our emergency services are also dealing with rising costs as they continue their vital work to keep us all safe.

“This year is particularly challenging as I have to balance the burden on taxpayers and the growing demands for services from our police and fire and rescue services, so it’s vital that I hear your views.”

A £15 increase would see an additional £4.7 million in funding compared with last year’s precept level.

The commissioner’s office says the force has a budget of £191 million — 45% of which comes from council tax payers.

Meanwhile, a £5 increase for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue would equate to a 6.6% increase in its precept.

It would raise £1.5 million and “would lead to no reductions in planned levels of service delivery”, according to a report by the commissioner’s office.

Ms Metcalfe is expected to outline her budget plans for fire and police services in February 2023.

The consultation into police and fire precepts closes on January 16, 2023. You can take part in the survey here.

Council refuses plans for ‘intrusive’ BT street hubs in Harrogate and Starbeck

Harrogate Borough Council has refused plans to install six BT “street hubs” in Harrogate town centre and Starbeck.

The telecommunications company applied to the council to install the free-standing units on Cambridge Street outside the former Smiggle shop, on Oxford Street outside Marks and Spencer, and on High Street in Starbeck.

Further proposals for a hub outside the Cotswold Company on Station Parade and on Prospect Crescent in Harrogate were also rejected.

The hubs, which are being installed across the country, provide free phone calls and Wi-Fi, rapid charging points and touch screen tablets that can be used to access services.

How the BT street hub would look on Starbeck High Street.

However, the council has refused the planned units on the grounds that they were “intrusive and inappropriate”.

The authority added in its decision notice:

“The proposed infrastructure is viewed as street clutter, with unrelated advertisement to the area and therefore would fail to preserve or enhance the character of the Conservation Area or the surrounding street landscape.”

In documents submitted to the council, BT described the hubs as “reinventing phone boxes for the digital age”.

It also said the hubs were largely used to replace older infrastructure and would deliver a valuable service.

BT said:

“Every street hub provides access to maps giving directions to nearby landmarks and services – a valuable resource for visitors or those without access to a smartphone.

“They also act as wayfinding boards, giving walkers and cyclists clear directions, and providing local advertisers the opportunity to give simple directions to their businesses.

“This sponsorship will also cover the maintenance and servicing costs of the street hub. This is necessary to ensure the program remains financially sustainable.”

The Stray Ferret has approached BT to ask whether it will still pursue the proposals, but had not received a response by the time of publication.

Business Breakfast: Harrogate solicitors renews Salon North sponsorship

Harrogate-based Berwins Solicitors has announced it has renewed its sponsorship of Harrogate International Festivals’ Salon North series.

The series of speaker-events will return in February with six TED-style talks.

Martin Whincup, associate director of Berwins, said:

“We are delighted to be having our name associated with Salon North for another season.

“Each year, the Harrogate International Festivals team has conjured up a wonderful selection of first-class speakers, and I can’t wait to see who they will be bringing to Harrogate in 2023.

“Berwins Salon North, which has been a permanent fixture on Harrogate’s cultural calendar for many years now, promotes reflection and deep thinking, habits we consider vital for self-improvement, and we are proud to play our part in the staging of these events.”

Sharon Canavar, Harrogate Festivals chief executive, said:

“Thanks to the announcement from Berwins, it is full steam ahead planning this year’s programme of events, which will be hugely appreciated by the loyal and growing Berwins Salon North fan base.

“Without the financial backing of Berwins Solicitors, we simply wouldn’t be able to stage these wonderfully challenging and fun talks, which have been listed in ‘The Top 100 Things to do in the World’ by GQ magazine.

“Producing these evenings featuring such incredible speakers helps us reinforce the cultural prestige of Harrogate, and without Berwins Salon North the town would be the poorer.”

The three confirmed for the first Berwins Salon North of 2023, taking place on Thursday, February 9 at the Crown Hotel, Harrogate,, are professor of circadian neuroscience Russell Foster, fashion psychology expert Dion Terrelonge, and geneticist and science populariser Adam Rutherford.

For more information on the series, visit the Harrogate International Festivals website.

Harrogate charity appoints experienced CEO as chair

Sir Alan Langlands, new chair of trustees at Yorkshire Cancer Research.

Harrogate’s Yorkshire Cancer Research has appointed an experienced chief executive as its new chair of trustees.

Sir Alan Langlands, whose career in the NHS, universities and health charities spans 50 years, will take up the post.

His career includes significant periods as the chief executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England, chief executive of the NHS in England, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Dundee, and vice-chancellor of the University of Leeds.

Sir Alan, who lives in Harrogate, said:

“I am looking forward to working with the researchers and clinicians who undertake vital research and provide pioneering services for the people of Yorkshire, and to supporting the tremendous work of Yorkshire Cancer Research’s selfless community of volunteers and donors who make this possible.”

Sir Alan replaces Graham Berville who served as a Trustee for 10 years, chairing the Board over the last five years and playing a central role in developing a new strategy for the charity.

Graham said:

“I am delighted that Alan is taking over as Chair and I am sure that he will bring new experience, insight and ideas to Yorkshire Cancer Research.

“The charity is in a strong position, and I am confident that people in Yorkshire will continue to see real and meaningful benefits from the work it funds.”

Sawley Arms submits cafe and shop extension plan

A pub near Ripon has submitted plans to extend in order to create a cafe and village shop.

The Sawley Arms, which has eight bedrooms and is popular with diners, has applied to Harrogate Borough Council for the extension.

It would see a ground floor and first floor extension built at the pub on Lowgate Lane.

In documents submitted to the council by Leeds-based NJ-Architects on behalf of the pub, it said the extension would also provide more jobs for the local area.

It said:

“The proposed extensions incorporate our client’s criteria regarding the provision of additional local employment, providing a village shop, a café to serve the many visitors and locals, and environmental awareness whilst re-evaluating the local vernacular.

“We believe the design results in a extension that respects the character of the site, the village, the AONB and also achieves a contemporary, comfortable and understated destination.”

The authority will make a decision on the extension plans at a later date.

The move comes as the pub was recently granted an extension to its licensing hours.

In October, Steve Manton, owner of the Sawley Arms, applied for an extension until 1am, seven days a week.

But Harrogate Borough Council’s licensing committee decided on Friday that alcohol could only be served until midnight.

Police release CCTV after Ripon Rugby Club burglary

North Yorkshire Police has released a CCTV image of a man it wants to speak to following a burglary at Ripon Rugby Club.

The clubhouse was broken into at 10.47pm on December 18 and bottles of alcohol were stolen from the bar.

Officers today appealed to the public to get in touch if they recognise the man pictured or know where he can be found.

A statement from police added:

“Anyone with any information is asked to email paul.griffiths@northyorkshire.police.uk or call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2 and ask for Paul Griffiths.

“If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

“Please quote reference number 12220223467 when passing on information.”

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