Council hires West Yorkshire company to clean Ripon toilets amid staffing issues

North Yorkshire Council has hired a West Yorkshire company to clean toilets in Masham and Ripon amid staffing issues.

Cleaning at public toilets in both areas of the Harrogate district were previously carried out by the local authority.

However, council officials said the service had been “failing” due to a lack of staff and the toilets were at risk of closure if a contractor was not brought in.

As a result, a £32,760 contract has been directly awarded with no competitive tender to Marsden Contract Services.

According to the government’s contract portal, the company is based on Hollins Lane in Keighley although its website says it is based in Skipton.

Karl Battersby, corporate director for environmental services at the council, said the move was necessary as a recruitment process had found “no suitable applicants” to take on the cleaning roles.

When asked why the service was not put out to competitive tender, Mr Battersby added:

“Toilet cleaning has been undertaken in Ripon and Masham by staff from North Yorkshire Council, and previously the former Harrogate Borough Council, but the service had been falling behind due to staffing issues, and our recruitment process had found no suitable applicants to take on the roles.

“A direct award was made with a trusted contractor as the service needed immediate attention.

“Failure to act quickly would have resulted in a fall in cleaning standards or closure of sites and neither of these options would have been acceptable.

“This contract is for one year to help us maintain our services, after which, if needed, we will follow a competitive tender process.”

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Business Breakfast: Harrogate-based Japanese shop celebrates 25th anniversary

The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting is a breakfast event on Thursday, October 26 at Banyan in Harrogate from 8am to 10am. 

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A Harrogate-based authentic Japanese store has celebrated its 25th anniversary.

The Japanese Shop, which has a distribution centre on Hookstone Avenue, sells a range of Japanese goods including kimonos and dolls.

The business was first based in Westminster Arcade in 1998, but was forced to move online during the 2008 financial crash.

Since then, the firm has gone onto grow its online store and regularly hosts pop up shops at RHS Harlow Carr.

Jez Willard, who founded the company with his wife Hiromi, said:

“We were, and still are, so passionate about Japan and Japanese culture. 

“We feel a very strong sense of duty to offer our customers the combination of authentic Japanese gifts together with a genuinely first-class customer service experience, exemplified by our free gift-wrapping, which is actually common in Japan.”

Law society to host menopause event

Harrogate and District Law Society has partnered with a solicitors to set up an event focussing on the menopause in the workplace.

Called Menopause Matters, the event will be held at Bowcliffe Hall near Leeds on November 17 between 9.30am and 4pm.

It aims to “shed light on the implications, challenges, and nuances surrounding menopause” both in the workplace and in personal lives.

Proceeds from the event, which is in collaboration with Wetherby-based Hartlaw LLP, will go to towards Daisy Network, a charity dedicated to premature ovarian insufficiency, and the Harrogate and District Law Society.

Tickets cost £85 and can be purchased on the Eventbrite page.

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Noise alert as RAF Leeming warns of ‘significant additional aircraft movement’

RAF Leeming has warned of additional aircraft activity which may cause disturbance in the Harrogate district.

In a social media post, the North Yorkshire airforce base, which is 12 miles from Masham and 22 miles from Harrogate, said it will conduct several exercises in the run up to Christmas.

The activity is likely to be heard in nearby Ripon, Kirkby Malzeard and Masham as well as the wider Harrogate district.

The station added “every effort” would be made to keep disturbances to a minimum.

The base said in its post:

“The station is about to enter a period of significant additional aircraft movement, with several exercises operating from here in the run-up to Christmas.

“From the beginning of November, RAF Leeming will host multiple aircraft types for sorties which will include low flying and some periods of 24 hour operation.

“We understand our responsibility as good neighbours to inform the local community of movements which are additional to our normal flying activity and every effort will be made to keep the disturbance to a minimum.”

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Knaresborough reptile centre issues urgent plea for help

A Knaresborough rescue centre has made an urgent appeal for donations and transport as it tackles the cost of living crisis.

Daniel Holmes, who runs Knaresborough Exotic Rescue, said the centre had nearly 150 pets in its care, most of which are reptiles including snakes and bearded dragons.

Mr Holmes said he has been increasingly travelling further afield to rescue pets as people contend with the cost of living and have nowhere to give their reptiles to.

Yesterday, the rescue centre, which does not own a van, rented a vehicle to pickup 12 animals from Burnley and plans to take in an 18 foot Burmese Python from Wakefield on Friday.

The increase in demand coupled with vet bills of £1,000 and electricity charges of nearly £2,000 a month has left the rescue struggling.

Mr Holmes said:

“We are finding that this is coming more as people struggle with the cost of living.”

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Mr Holmes has called for more support for the centre as it takes on more pets during the winter months.

In particular, the rescue has appealed for a van to help take in some of the bigger animals.

Mr Holmes said reptiles are often to first to be given up by pet owners as it is energy intensive to look after them.

He added:

“People seem to forget about the other animals such as reptiles. They are suffering more than cats and dogs.

“If someone needs to save on their energy bills, it’s the tank with the snake in which goes because it takes up energy.”

To donate to the centre, find them on Facebook here or send a donation via PayPal to krescue@hotmail.co.uk.

Business Breakfast: Minskip bedding company secures £100,000 funding

The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting is a breakfast event on Thursday, October 26 at Banyan in Harrogate from 8am to 10am. 

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A Minskip-based luxury bedding company has secured £100,000 worth of investment to help expand the brand.

Floks, which is based at Yolk Farm on Minskip Road, has been awarded the funding from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.

The company was founded by Sophie Platts after she came up with the idea for a bedding brand during the covid lockdowns.

The fund is managed by Mercia Asset Management and aims to award companies funding to help with growth.

The investment will help Floks to step up its marketing campaign and develop new products to expand the range.

David Wright of Mercia said: 

“Sophie has a wealth of experience in designer homewares. Floks builds on Yorkshire’s wool trade heritage and fills a gap in the market for sustainable luxury bedding that promotes healthy sleep.

“The funding will help her to expand the business and establish the brand as a market leader in premium British wool bedding.”

Ripon Racecourse nominated for awards

Ripon Racecourse has been shortlisted as a finalist at an industry awards ceremony.

The Racecourse Association’s Showcase and Awards are set to be held on November 23 at Aintree Racecourse.

The event aims to celebrate excellence and innovation in racecourse operations and raceday experience.

Ripon has been shortlisted in both the marketing and racing foundation green categories at the ceremony.

Jonathan Mullin, operations and marketing manager at Ripon Racecourse, said: 

“It’s wonderful for us to be finalists in two categories. We’ve managed to win an award at the last two Showcase Awards, at Hamilton in 2019 and at Pontefract in 2022, which is fantastic for a small independent racecourse and it’s great to be in with a chance once more.”

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Taxi drivers threaten judicial review over new single zone

Taxi drivers have threatened legal action against North Yorkshire Council’s decision to abolish hackney carriage zones.

Senior councillors backed the introduction of a county-wide zone on April 1 at a meeting last Tuesday (October 17). It means drivers can now operate anywhere across the county, rather than being limited to areas such as the former Harrogate district.

Taxi drivers say this has led to a range of problems, including drivers flocking to popular urban areas while ignoring less profitable rural areas.

Now licensing consultant David B Wilson has claimed the decision to introduce the single zone was unlawful and has threatened action.

In a letter to Barry Khan, the council’s monitoring officer, seen by the Stray Ferret, Mr Wilson gave notice that drivers had instigated a judicial review pre-action protocol.

He urged the authority to find a resolution to the matter and investigate why the council’s executive had legally approved the measure.

Mr Wilson said:

“Before instructing solicitors to pursue an application for judicial review, including service of the pre-action protocol letter before action, my clients have instructed me to write to you in the hope this matter can be finally resolved without the need for either party to incur significant further costs.

“As futile as it may be, as the challenged resolution was made with legal advice provided by you (monitoring officer) and Laura Venn (deputy monitoring officer), for the sake of completeness, my clients ask you to review the law and reconsider whether the council has acted lawfully when purportedly passing an extension resolution by the executive on 17 October 2023.”

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The move comes after Ripon-based taxi driver Richard Fieldman urged councillors to delay the decision on October 17 as legal advice he received suggested the decision should be made during a full meeting of all 90 councillors rather than by its 10-person executive.

However, in response, Cllr Greg White and the council’s chief legal officer Barry Khan both said they were satisfied the executive had the right to make the decision.

The executive then voted unanimously to confirm the abolition of the seven zones and to create the single county-wide zone.

 

Lofthouse Moor owner fined for illegally burning peat

A prominent landowner has been fined for illegally burning peat on a Site of Special Scientific Interest near Pateley Bridge.

Ben Ramsden, 59, pleaded guilty to three charges of burning vegetation on a designated site on a peat that is of a depth of more than 40 centimetres without a licence.

The offences took place at Thrope Farm, Lofthouse, on April 8 this year.

Ramsden owns Lofthouse Moor, which is used for grouse shooting.

He was also a director of the Moorland Association, which manages over a million acres of the moorlands of England and Wales, at the time of the offences. However, he resigned this position on October 1 this year.

Illegally burning peat can impede its restoration.

Skipton Magistrates Court fined Ramsden, of Market Harborough, Leicestershire, £600 at a hearing on Friday.

Skipton Magistrates Court.

Skipton Magistrates Court

He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £240 and court costs of £85.

Magistrates said they took into consideration Ramsden’s guilty plea when imposing the sentence.

A spokesman for the Moorland Association said:

“We are aware of this case and our understanding is that this was a genuine error.

“The land management team believed they had taken the appropriate and necessary precautions.”

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Met Office issues another rain warning in Harrogate district

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for rain in the Harrogate district.

The warning is in place from 3am until 4pm tomorrow (October 24).

It warns the district could see heavy rain, which may lead to further flooding.

Land remains saturated in the wake of Storm Babet, which disrupted travel and closed attractions across the district.

All Storm Babet flood alerts and warnings for the district have now been removed.

An alert for the River Ure in Ripon was taken down this morning.

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Harrogate squash captain eyes first title in 25 years

Harrogate-born Declan Christie is ranked among the highest non-professionals in the world at squash — but he still wants to achieve more.

The 31-year-old estimates he plays the sport, which will be added to the Olympic programme in 2028, at least three hours a day.

He pits himself against professional players every week and also has the chance to get into the top eight of the British rankings in padel tennis.

But, as captain of Harrogate’s premier squash team, he has his eyes on more.

Picking up a racquet

The club has not won the league in 25 years. Declan wants to rectify that.

By his own admission, Declan does not come from a sporting family.

His dad would take him to his local tennis club as a child and he became addicted to racquet sports.

But, it was squash which got him hooked in.

“I used to play tennis originally, I started playing when I was about seven. I played for about three years.

“I used to get dropped off at the squash and tennis club and I would be there all day. After my tennis lessons had finished, I’d go inside and play squash.

“Squash is a much faster sport and that’s what got me hooked.”

Declan playing in a squash match.

Declan playing in a squash match.

Declan entered local tournaments and went on to represent Yorkshire at under-13s.

The intensity of the sport and the glory that comes with it being a single player contest is addictive to Declan

“Squash is often described as boxing with rackets. It’s physically demanding.

“It’s between boxing and chess. You’ve got to think a few moves ahead.”

‘No other sport like squash’

Despite his commitment to the sport, Declan does not play it professionally.

Instead, he has ran his own business, Luxury Flooring, since he was 17.

“I’m a business owner. There’s not a lot of money in squash, so I chose not to go down that route.”

Owning his own business was a foundation for him to be able to pursue squash, he says.

Sport took a back seat while Declan was building his company.

“I was working like 18 hours a day building that up. I didn’t really have much time for sport.

“I played a little bit here and there, but not like I do now.”

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These days, Declan has handed over the reigns of his firm to a management company.

It means he has been able to commit more time to squash and padel tennis and his pursuit of building up his ranking.

He estimates that he plays sport around three hours a day, in particular squash.

“I love squash. No other sport that I have played comes close to squash. I have played a lot of tennis and padel.

“But the feeling of winning a squash match when there is just two people on the court, there is no feeling like that.”

Aiming for the title

Declan already has a league championship under his belt from his time at Chapel Allerton in Leeds.

Sat inside Harrogate Sport and Fitness Centre, where Harrogate play their home games, he explains that the club has been without a title for 25 years.

The league will take Declan and his side across the county to Pontefract, Hull and Doncaster, where they will be pitted against professional and high ranked players from across the world.

At Harrogate, Declan has top 100 ranked Stuart MacGregor as his teammate as well as players who play for Yorkshire.

For Declan, he feels this year the team has a good chance to end that period.

He became captain after the club asked him to lead the side going into the season.

“The club asked me and I’m quite ambitious with it. 

“We want to win the league and that’s what I want to do. It’s about putting a team together that can do that.

“I’ve won the league with another club in Chapel Allerton. This club hasn’t won the league in about 25 years, but we feel this year we’ve got a really good chance of winning it.”

Declan counts the Hungarian open, Swiss open and Italian open as among his achievements in squash.

In the future, he also has ambitions to play for his country in the senior team and represent Great Britain at padel tennis.

But, this year, winning the title at Harrogate is the ultimate goal.

“I know what to do to win this league, so I’m pretty confident that we can win it.”

If you have any local sporting heroes who you think should be featured in Sporting Spotlight, contact calvin@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Start date for North Yorkshire combined authority delayed

The establishment of the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority looks set to be delayed, according to a council report.

The combined authority, which will be overseen by a directly elected mayor, is expected to have powers to make decisions on matters such as economic development and transport.

Its formation will be overseen by Harrogate-born James Farrar as chief operating officer in its transition year.

The authority had been due to be set up this year and begin operation in May.

However, according to a North Yorkshire Council report, the establishment of the authority looks set to be delayed as parliament debates the devolution deal later this month.

The Stray Ferret asked York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, which is helping to form the combined authority, when the start date would be delayed to.

In response, a spokesperson said:

“Assumptions used to form the combined authority budget were set against a timeline of key milestones, including a parliamentary debate period starting in September.

“This milestone is now anticipated to begin later this month and therefore reflects an amendment of the assumed start date. The timeline remains on track for mayoral elections to run in May 2024.”

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An order is expected be laid before parliament later in the autumn, which will include provisions for powers and funding tied to a devolution deal as well as paving the way for the creation of the authority.

The move to set up a combined authority comes as North Yorkshire agreed a historic devolution deal with government.

The proposed devolution deal includes a £7 million investment to drive green economic growth towards the ambition of York and North Yorkshire becoming the country’s first carbon negative region.

There is also proposed investment of up to £2.65 million to deliver affordable low-carbon housing, and £13 million for the building of new homes on brownfield land during 2023/24 and 2024/25.

The elected mayor will make decisions on investments in strategic priorities such as for transport, housing, and adult education.

The mayor will also have responsibilities for community safety and strategic responsibility for the totality of policing, fire and crime for York and North Yorkshire.

They will appoint a deputy mayor to carry out many of the powers and duties of the role currently known as police, fire and crime commissioner.

An election for the mayor will be held in May 2024.