North Yorkshire Police has said it will not “resort straight away” to criminal prosecution of travellers who set up illegal encampments.
Travellers have pitched up at Hay-a-Park in Knaresborough and on the playing field at Ashville College in Harrogate this month.
Asked today by a member of the public why officers did not use the Criminal Disorder Act 1984, which prohibits trespassing, deputy chief constable Phil Cain said the police always looked to resolve the matter at “the earliest opportunity”.
But he added the force had a “graduated response” to dealing with such incidents.
DCC Cain, speaking at a North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner public accountability meeting, said police had to balance the human rights of all those involved, particularly as the travelling community often has families with small children.
He said:
“The graduated response from North Yorkshire Police, as it is with other forces, is that we will not resort straight away to criminal prosecution. We will engage with the travelling community and the land owners as we have done on this occasion.
“We will seek to resolve the matter at the earliest opportunity using the least intrusive means possible. That includes graduating up through private land owners utilising powers in civil courts for unlicensed travellers settlements all the way through to the final element, which would be criminal prosecution.
“On this occasion, local officers have engaged with the travelling community and they have agreed to move on without the need for us to resort to criminal prosecution.”
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“It’s not that we are not prepared to use these powers, it’s that there has to be a graduated response and we have to show that graduated response in order to show that we are complying with the Human Rights Act.”
Last week travellers set up camp on Ashville College’s rugby pitch and demanded £5,000 to leave, according to a college spokesperson.
However, after less than two days the travellers hitched up their caravans and moved on. The college said they left of their own accord.
Hay-a-Park rugby field in Knaresborough was sealed off by police and deemed to be a health hazard due to the amount of human excrement after travellers departed on August 10.
A police cordon sealing off Hay-a-Park rugby field after travellers left.
Nigel Adams MP accepted £6,000 worth of free hospitality tickets to England’s Euro 2020 games, according to the latest MPs register of financial interests.
Mr Adams, who represents Selby and Ainsty, which includes some rural parts of the Harrogate district such as Spofforth and Follifoot, received tickets to three games at Wembley Stadium.
He received a total of £6,038 worth of tickets from three separate companies, including two gambling and betting firms.
He watched England’s semi-final victory over Denmark, which was valued at £3,457 and paid for by Entain, a gambling company based in London whose brands include Coral, Ladbrokes, PartyPoker, and Sportingbet..
Power Leisure Bookmakers, whose brands include Paddy Power and Betfair, paid for Mr Adams to attend the round of 16 game against Germany. The value of the donation was £1,961, according to the register of interest.
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The Conservative Minister for Asia posted a video from the game on his Twitter feed.
YAAAAAASSSSSSSS 🏴🏴🏴⚽️⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/Z6Hii6uiWL
— Nigel Adams (@nadams) July 7, 2021
Heineken UK, whose Tadcaster brewery is in Mr Adams’ constituency, invited the MP to attend the final between England and Italy — a gift worth £620.
The Stray Ferret approached Mr Adams for comment on the hospitality tickets but did not receive a response.
Gambling Act review
MPs have come under scrutiny for accepting tickets from gambling companies to attend games at this year’s tournament.
Seven Conservative MPs and two members of Labour leader Keir Starmer’s front bench accepted hospitality tickets to games involving England.
Former Conservative minister Esther McVey and Labour’s shadow skills minister, Toby Perkins, were among those who took tickets.
It comes as the government is currently undertaking a review of the Gambling Act to consider stricter rules on advertising.
Another 50 covid cases in Harrogate districtAnother 50 covid cases have been reported in the Harrogate district, according to today’s Public Health England figures.
The district’s weekly rate stands at 333 per 100,000 people.
The North Yorkshire rate stands at 309 and the England average is 328.
According to the latest figures, Harrogate District Hospital is treating nine patients for covid.
Harrogate hospital has recorded no covid deaths in the last 24 hours, according to NHS England statistics.
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It means the death toll at the hospital from covid since March 2020 stands at 180.
Elsewhere, 123,908 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 111,694 have had a second dose.
Harrogate district to get solar farm powering 15,000 homesHarrogate councillors have today backed plans to build a large solar farm between Harrogate and Ripon.
The proposal, submitted by Elgin Energy EsCo Limited, would see Cayton Solar Farm built near the village of South Stainley.
The company says the site could generate 50 megawatts of electricity during peak operation and potentially power 15,000 homes in Harrogate with green energy. It will operate for 30 years.
A report before today’s planning committee said the farm, which will take up the equivalent size of 150 football pitches, would bring “significant renewable energy benefits” to the district and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
A total of 58 people wrote to the council to object to the application but 85 people wrote supporting it.
Councillors on Harrogate Borough Council voted unanimously to defer the plan to officers for approval at a planning committee meeting today.
Global warming
Cllr Pat Marsh, member of the planning committee, said:
“I can see the concerns of those who live close by, if it gets its permission. But, if you go down the A30 into Cornwall, there are solar panels all the way down virtually. It’s there and it exists.
“If you go into the centre of Spain, coming down the mountains into the very middle of Spain there are huge solar farms. I do not hear anybody shouting and screaming and the reason is because we have seen the impact of global warming.
“For once this district is becoming proactive.”
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Andrew Mott, agent for the developer, told the committee:
“Considerable care has been taken in the design of the development to ensure that the environmental considerations are protected and biodiversity promoted.
“There are economic benefits in terms of employment opportunities during the construction and operation phases of the proposal. There is approximately £120,000 per year in business rates.”
Sterile landscape fears
Residents that oppose the application are upset about the loss of green fields and agricultural land.
In its submission the council, South Stainley Parish Council objected to the perceived negative impact on the environment. It said:
Harrogate Bus Company completes trial of all-electric bus“The area would become sterilised from an agricultural, environmental and recreational point of view.
“While maintenance staff in white transit vans will prosper, what happens to the farm workers and rural lifestyles which depend on local agriculture?”
Harrogate Bus Company has completed trials of the first ever all-electric bus with zero emission technology in the UK.
The Mercedes-Benz E-Ciatro was brought in for trials as part of the company’s plans to convert its entire fleet to zero-emission electric power.
It follows an ambitious bid made in partnership with North Yorkshire County Council, which has requested nearly £20 million of government money to help replace the fleet.
The week-long trials have taken place on The Harrogate Bus Company’s popular route one linking Harrogate and Knaresborough and follow experience gained with two alternative electric single deck buses.
The silver E-Citaro trial bus tested in Harrogate is powered by high-performance water-cooled batteries which use up-to-the-minute technology to extend running time between charges and keep the bus on the road.
Alex Hornby, chief executive of Transdev. which owns the Harrogate Bus Company, said:
“This exciting trial of the Mercedes-Benz E-Citaro marks the first time this new design has been tested in service in the UK, reflecting our ambition to deliver a zero-emission, high quality product for our customers across Harrogate and beyond.
“This is the third stage of our comparative trials of electric bus designs on one of our most popular routes, which will help us to make informed choices between options to invest in electric power.
“We hope that alongside North Yorkshire County Council’s bid for government support, our own multi-million-pound investment will turn our vision of a completely zero-emission bus network powered by a fully electric bus fleet into reality.”
The bid to the Department for Transport would see 39 zero-emission buses introduced over the next three years.
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The buses come with next stop announcements, USB power and free wifi.
There would be an even split of single-decker and double-decker electric buses which would come with supporting charging infrastructure.
A decision from the government on the bid is expected in March next year.
Harrogate Leeds fans raise £2,000 for Alzheimer’s Research with Stan Bowles calendarLeeds fans in Harrogate have raised more than £2,000 for charity after a chance purchase of a calendar of 1970s footballer Stan Bowles.
Dave Rowson, who is a member of the Harrogate and district branch of Leeds United Supporters Group, held a three-day fundraiser last weekend to raise funds for Alzheimers Research UK.
A charity gig at the Manhattan Snooker Club, a “picture with Stan” day outside the Old Peacock pub at Elland Road and Stan Bowles pairs at the Black Swan Bowling Club in Harrogate helped to raise £2,721 for the cause.
A picture with Stan has become a running theme throughout the fundraising initiative and has seen Leeds favourite, Jermaine Beckford, and Angus Kinnear, managing director of the club, posing for a snap with the calendar.
All of this was a result of Dave making a chance purchase of the calendar of the QPR striker on a trip to Loftus Road in 2020.
“What is the Stan Bowles connection?”
Stood outside the Old Peacock on Saturday, some Leeds supporters would have been forgiven for asking why they were being asked for a picture with a QPR player.
Dave said:
“If I had a pound for every time I answered: ‘What’s the Stan Bowles connection?’”
During Leeds’ trip to QPR last year before covid, a charity worker thrust the calendar into Dave’s chest as he was walking past to collect his match ticket.
Initially Dave accepted the gift and went to walk on, until he was told it cost £2.
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Instead of handing the calendar back, he decided to use it as a means of getting into some of the home fans-only pubs before the game by posing as a QPR fan.
Later, he offered to give the calendar as a gift to a fellow supporter, Sarah, for her birthday.
Dave said:
“She said: ‘‘What am I going to do with that? I am on the train and only got a small handbag, you two look after it for me!’. How ungrateful after all the trouble I had gone to.”
Left with the calendar, Dave decided to take random pictures of Stan with punters in bars on trips out across the country and in Harrogate.
The move snowballed on social media and, as a result, Dave decided to put the calendar and the “picture with Stan” theme to better use.
Footballers and dementia
Bowles, who played for QPR for seven years and was voted the club’s greatest ever player in a 2004 fans poll, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2015.
He’s among a generation of iconic players, such as Jeff Astle, Nobby Stiles and Jack Charlton, who have been diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s after their playing career.
Recent studies have linked the risk of dementia in former professional footballers with persistent heading of the ball.
In the past week, former Liverpool player Terry McDermott and Manchester United favourite, Denis Law, became the latest retired players to be diagnosed with dementia.
The news that professional footballers are at further risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia as a result of heading the ball has since caused further study and debate over the risk to players.
Dave and the Harrogate branch of Leeds supporters are continuing their fundraising. You can donate on their JustGiving page here.
County council to set aside £34 million for devolution transitionNorth Yorkshire County Council is to earmark £34 million to fund a transition to a new super authority.
Secretary of State Robert Jenrick made the seismic decision last month to abolish the eight councils in North Yorkshire and set up a unitary authority for the entire county.
A consultants report written by PricewaterhouseCoopers on behalf of the county council showed the new authority will cover 618,000 people and could cost up to £38 million to set up.
As a result, council officials have now recommended setting up a transition fund. Other authorities who have been replaced by a new council have faced costs over staffing, IT replacement and refurbishment of council-owned property.
A report due before senior county councillors next Tuesday (August 31) outlines the sources of funding.
A total of £34.2 million is to be set aside by the authority, but contributions will be requested from the remaining seven districts.
The council said it will pay for the fund partly through its covid reserve, which stands at £20.5 million.
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Officials had set up the covid fund to help pay for any losses incurred by the pandemic. However, it has now received funding from government to help cover those costs.
A report due before county councillors said:
“In reality, receipts were much more buoyant and the government later announced a grant scheme to compensate for these losses on top of our internal provision.
“The whole of this reserve is therefore available as funding towards the transitional costs.”
A total of £10 million from the council’s corporate contingency budget and £946,000 from other reserves will also be used, as well as £2.8 million budgeted from this financial quarter.
The move to a single council for the entirety of North Yorkshire is set to come into force by April 2023.
Letters published by the government showed that Mr Jenrick rejected an alternative proposal for two councils because it would have been too risky and was not “credible” geographically.
Harrogate district records 57 covid casesAnother 57 covid cases have been reported in the Harrogate district, according to latest Public Health England figures.
Meanwhile, Harrogate District Hospital is currently treating nine patients for covid.
Harrogate hospital has recorded no covid deaths in the last 24 hours, according to NHS England statistics.
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It means the death toll at the hospital from covid since March 2020 stands at 180.
The district’s weekly rate stands at 323 per 100,000 people.
The North Yorkshire rate stands at 306 and the England average is 327.
Elsewhere, 123,906 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 111,605 have had a second dose.
Harrogate district covid rate increases for sixth day in a rowThe Harrogate district’s coronavirus infection rate has risen for six days in a row for the first time since last month, latest figures show.
The borough’s weekly rate has now climbed to 346 cases per 100,000 people in the first significant increase since mid-July when it reached record levels of 533.
After peaking at these heights, the rate fell steadily then “plateaued” around the 270 mark before this latest increase.
It comes as Harrogate hospital last week reported the death of a coronavirus patient for the first time in more than four months.
The death was reported on August 16 and brought the hospital’s toll since the pandemic began up to 180.
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Meanwhile, government guidelines on self-isolating have now changed with people who have been fully vaccinated no longer needing to self-isolate 14 days after their second dose.
Richard Flinton, chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council, said:
“Despite the lifting of some restrictions on self-isolating, we ask that people are still mindful of others and remember the guidance that is still in place.
“This includes self-isolating and getting a PCR test if you have any Covid symptoms – even if you have had both doses of the vaccine – and continuing with basic but important hygiene measures such as hand washing.”
He added:
“In North Yorkshire, 514,000 people have now had their second dose of the vaccine and 75 per cent of 18 to 29 year olds have had their first dose of the vaccine.
“The vaccination of 16 and 17 year olds has also now begun with 18% in the county already vaccinated with their first dose. This is great progress and we hope to see this number climb even higher as weeks go on.”
Elsewhere in North Yorkshire, Ryedale has the highest weekly infection rate with 377 cases per 100,000 people, while Hambleton has the lowest in the county at 230.
Appeal after rare motorbike stolen in HarrogatePolice are appealing for information after a motorbike was stolen in Harrogate and the attempted theft of another one.
The first was taken from an address on St Georges Road at around 2:30am before being abandoned.
North Yorkshire Police is looking for information on four men who are believed to have attended an address on South Park Road, Harrogate at 3:20am where a rare, Aprilia RS250 Mk2 was stolen.
The force said the motorbike has a distinctive bubbling to the surface of the fuel tank which should distinguish it from similar bikes.
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A police statement added:
“Officers are appealing to anyone in the area including residents with CCTV or doorbell video, and passing motorists with dashcam footage. to check their devices in case the suspects have been captured on camera.
“In particular, they are appealing to anyone who saw four males acting suspiciously at this time.
Anyone with information or footage that could assist the investigation should contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for PC Dean Barrett, collar number 1573.
“You can also email dean.Barrett@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk
“If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Please quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12210185790.”