Calvin Robinson Chief Reporter, Author at The Stray Ferret

Man admits causing death of woman in car crash near Ripon

A man has pleaded guilty to causing the death of a 20-year-old woman by dangerous driving in Ripon.

Harry Elliott, 25, appeared before York Crown Court yesterday after his Audi RS3 crashed into a tree on the B6265 near Grantley Hall in the early hours of December 6, 2019.

Naomi Buckle, who was from Catterick Garrison and was a passenger in the car, died as a result of the crash.

Elliott, of Richmond in North Yorkshire, who initially denied causing death by dangerous driving at a hearing in August 2022, was due to stand trial yesterday.

However, he changed his plea to guilty in court.

He will be sentenced on July 24.

Business Breakfast: Harrogate directors shortlisted for industry awards

It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. Our next networking event is lunch at Manahatta, on June 29th at 12.30pm.

Don’t miss out on this chance to network with businesses from across the Harrogate district. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

Two local directors have been named on shortlist for the Institute of Director’s awards.

Astrid Wynne and Rich Kenny, both of Harrogate firm Interact DC Limited, have made the shortlist in two separate categories.

The Institute of Directors 2023 director of the year awards will be held on September 29 and includes nine categories.

Ms Wynne, who is head of partnerships at Interact, has been named in the sustainability category while Mr Kenny, managing director, is up for innovation.

Jon Geldart, director general of the IoD, said:

“Britain’s directors have had to dig deep over the past few years to overcome business conditions which continue to prove challenging.

“These awards are about people, not profits, and celebrating those who celebrate others. It is therefore particularly pleasing to be able to bring together all our finalists to share and celebrate the achievements of innovative directors across the country, for their businesses, the environment and the communities within which they work and live.”

Free business workshop in Harrogate

A free business networking session will take place in Harrogate on Friday.

ActionCOACH Harrogate is hosting a ‘better business’ masterclass at Roosters Brewery at Hornbeam Park from 9.30am.

The session will focus on business coaching and will include tips on marketing concepts, sales promotion and profit building systems.

For more information on the networking session, visit the Eventbrite page here.

Appeal after golf clubs stolen from car parked at Harrogate guest house

Police have issued an appeal for witnesses after a car was broken into at a Harrogate guest house.

Officers say a golf equipment was stolen from a Volkswagen Polo which was parked at the Camberley Guest House on King’s Road between 5.30pm on Thursday, 8 June, and 7.30am on Friday, 9 June.

In a statement, North Yorkshire Police said some John Letters golf clubs and a Callaway driver were stolen.

Police said:

“We are requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident and anyone with information that could assist the investigation is asked to email Neel.Seth@northyorkshire.police.uk.

“You can also call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask to speak to PC 1442 Seth.

“If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Please quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12230104724.”

Knaresborough housebuilder up for sale as operations paused

Bosses at Knaresborough-based Ilke Homes are “exploring a sale” of the company as hundreds of staff are sent home.

The company said in a statement today it required additional funding to fulfil a £1 billion order book and to protect jobs.

The firm added new investment was needed to build 4,200 homes.

It added it was looking to sell the firm at a time when “volatile macro-economic conditions and issues with the planning system complicate fundraising and housing delivery”.

The Stray Ferret reported on Friday that several hundred staff at its Flaxby factory close to the A1(M) were told not to come into work until further notice.

They have reportedly been told they will be paid, and will be called back in when the company finds an investor. Managers will continue to work in the 250,000 sq ft factory this week.

The company said in its statement that it operations had been paused “while a strategic review is ongoing”.

It added:

“In 2020, Ilke Homes launched its turnkey development offering, where the company acquires land, secures planning permission and develops the site. This has been complicated by uncertainty over planning policy and rising build costs.

“While having delivered strong contribution margins, Ilke Homes now requires new investment to meet overheads, achieve further scale and become cash flow positive.

“The wider UK housing market has been hit by rapidly rising interest rates, which has reduced demand and resulted in housing starts falling below pre-pandemic levels.

“Official government figures have also revealed that planning applications in England have fallen to their lowest level in at least 16 years, thanks to uncertainty over planning policy and heightened build costs, highlighting the scale of the challenge in improving housing delivery.”

Ilke Homes specialises in building modular homes.

The company builds the homes at its factory on Flaxby Moor Industrial Estate near Knaresborough. The homes are then delivered across the UK.

Plan to convert former Ripon dentist into flat

A plan has been lodged to convert a former dentist in Ripon into a flat.

The proposal, which has been lodged by Wilkinsons Properties Ltd, would see the former W&B Dental practice converted.

The dentists was formerly based at 12 High Skellgate in the city.

The practice has since moved to Phoenix Business Centre.

Under the plans, the first floor property would be converted into a one-bedroom flat and be accessed from High Skellgate.

North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

Business Breakfast: Consultants appointed to £14m Knaresborough housing scheme

It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. Our next networking event is lunch at Manahatta, on June 29th at 12.30pm.

Don’t miss out on this chance to network with businesses from across the Harrogate district. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A company has been appointed as consultants to a £14 million Knaresborough housing scheme.

Summers-Inman, which is based in Leeds, has won the contract by Yorkshire Housing to provide employer’s agent and cost consultancy services to the project.

The 64-home scheme is being built in partnership with Countryside Partnerships on the former Trelleborg factory site.

Work started on site in January this year and if all goes according to plan, the scheme will complete in October 2024.

David Blakey, Summers-Inman director and specialist housing lead, said:

“We are delighted with these appointments, many of which promise well for future work. It is a very active sector at a time when the need for affordable housing has never been more keenly felt and we are pleased to be working with Yorkshire Housing and Countryside Partnerships to be able to bring these houses to market.

“The existing Trelleborg factory was demolished some time ago and the new scheme is designed to create a community feel where residents will be proud to call home.”

Pictured above: (From left) Stuart La-Ffin of Countrywide Projects, David Blakey of Summers-Inman, Dave Bunko, site Manager at Countryside Partnerships and Christine Uren, development project assistant at Yorkshire Housing.

Harrogate Town announces new shirt sponsor

Harrogate Town has announced a new shirt sponsor for the 2023/24 season.

Tockwith company Oak By Design will feature on the back of the club’s shirts worn by the first team, women’s team and U18s academy.

The sponsorship will include home, third kit and goalkeeper kit.

Harrogate Town has announced Oak By Design as its new shirt sponsor.

Jo Towler, commercial director at Harrogate Town, said:

“We extend our sincere gratitude to Oak By Design for their generous support and belief in our club.

“We look forward to showcasing our new kit, proudly displaying the Oak By Design logo, and embarking on a successful journey together.”

Jamie Winspear of Oak By Design added:

“We are delighted to be a part of such an amazing club that works extremely hard to lead the way in so many sectors. They support several charities and young children who love to play the game.

“The club is all about encouraging the family day for everyone to enjoy and be part of. We very much look forward to supporting Harrogate Town AFC, not just for this season but hopefully for many more seasons to come.”

How Brazilian jiu-jitsu changed Harrogate instructor’s life

Brazilian jiu-jitsu changed the life of Harrogate instructor Lewis Matthews.

The 33-year-old has been practising the martial art for 17 years and owns the Gracie Barra club at The Zone on Hornbeam Park.

Lewis is a black belt grade one in jiu-jitsu and has competed in the British Open, where he won a silver medal just last month and has an ambition to achieve gold.

To get to this point, Lewis has had to make choices in his life from work to family life.

Despite having a steady job in construction which took him around the country, he decided to settle in Harrogate to pursue his love of jiu-jitsu.

‘It was something to do’

Lewis grew up in the village of Scackelton, a small village in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire.

He started karate before he caught the jiu-jitsu bug after he went with his mum to Ampleforth College, where he was initially taking up swimming.

“It was something to do, really. I lived out in the sticks.

“My mum used to go this gym at Ampleforth College on a Friday. I used to go with her to go to the swimming and then there was a karate class on and I got signed up to that.”

To help himself get around, Lewis got a moped and began to go to the next village over to another karate class.

After finishing the session, he noticed more people turning up for another class – it was jiu-jitsu.

“I turned up, did the karate class and a couple of guys started piling in for this next class.

“I remember asking ‘what’s that?’ And they said ‘it’s jiu-jitsu’.”

Lewis (right) with coach and programme director, Jack.

Lewis was asked to stick around and join in the practice. From that moment, he started to take up the martial art as a hobby.

He left school and took up a joinery apprenticeship in Malton.

After completing his apprenticeship and a higher national certificate in construction at college, he took a career break and went travelling to South America.

At this point, he was a blue belt in jiu-jitsu – the first belt in the martial art – and he continued to practice and compete on his travels.

When he returned to the UK, he worked his way up to become construction manager at a firm in Leeds.

It was here that Lewis had a sliding doors moment.

‘I’ll leave my job before I leave jiu-jitsu’

After tendering a project for Bettys and Taylors at its factory in Starbeck, he allowed himself more time to commit himself to jiu-jitsu at the club in Harrogate – which was part time.

“That project allowed me to put the time in here on an evening.

“I was so close [to the club], I had never been so close before. I had always had to dot around to different clubs wherever I was working.

“But because I was two-and-a-half years in Harrogate, I was there every day and would come here on a night.”

Lewis demonstrating jiu-jitsu. Picture: Gracie Barra Harrogate.

After he finished working in Starbeck, his wife became pregnant.

At the same time, the club on Hornbeam Park, which Lewis founded with his friend Geoffrey Cumbus, had also grown while he was working on the project.

“It had become something that I was really passionate about. We had built a community with a lot people training.

“If I had continued to work for this company, I wouldn’t have been able to continue to do this.

“It was kind of a fork in the road. We’re going to have a family, so you can’t work all day and do jiu-jitsu all night anymore. Your next project might be an hours commute away. You won’t be able to get back to do all these classes that are two minutes from your current job.

“So, I handed my notice in.”

Lewis had already long been considering going full time at jiu-jitsu.

During the covid lockdowns, he was furloughed for eight-weeks and took time with his wife to consider what he wanted to do.

“We sat down in the garden and we wrote down what was most important to us if we were to do our perfect day.

“We wrote it down separately and told each other. It wasn’t having a massive expensive car and a flash holiday. It was time with each other, train jiu-jitsu, family and community. The things that we have already.

“I remember my wife saying at the time ‘you can’t continue to work two jobs and have a kid’. I looked at her and said ‘I’ll leave my job before I leave jiu-jitsu’. That’s when I decided to leave.”

Jiu-jitsu for everyone

The club on Hornbeam Park became affiliated with global martial arts organisation Gracie Barra in October 2017.

It forms part of a network of schools across the world offering the highest standard of BJJ instruction.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu academy allows people to develop the martial art and earn belts as part of their development.

The belt grading is at the discretion of the jiu-jitsu professor – Lewis was awarded his black belt in December 2017.

Lewis took over the club fully after the covid pandemic and is now head instructor.

He takes pride in welcoming new people to the martial art.

“The good thing that we do here is that we teach people of all levels.

“You might get the 21-year-old who comes in. He goes to college and lives and breathes jiu-jitsu.

“Then you get the 40-year-old professional who has got two kids. He trains two nights a week and has got a mortgage, a wife, kids and a business to run.

“The 21-year-old might come in and kick his butt on the mat in a rolling session and think that he deserves to be a higher grade than him, but it’s all relative because their individual journeys are different.”

The club caters for all abilities and needs. It teaches self-defence, physical fitness but also offers a social element.

Techniques taught within BJJ focus not on striking, but on grappling and defending yourself, without the need to punch or kick someone.

But, for Lewis, jiu-jitsu is more than the martial art itself.

While he continues to compete in competitions, such as winning silver in the British Open last month in Coventry, and has ambitions beyond that – jiu-jitsu has always meant something more.

He said:

“It’s provided me with something through my life that’s kept me on a path all the time.

“We all have choices to make, don’t we? Every time we want to go for a beer, get drunk or buy that something that we don’t need.

“Jiu-jitsu has always been ‘you can do that or you can do this’. I want to do this more, so I’m not going to do that.

“It has kept me on a good path to where I am now.”

This is the fourth article in a series of Sporting Spotlight interviews. If you have any local sporting heroes who you think should be featured, contact calvin@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Ripon educational farm features on Channel 4 series

A Ripon farm has featured on a new Channel 4 television series.

Bland Close Farm, on Whitcliffe Lane, was chosen to take part in presenter Sarah Beeny’s new series called New Country Life.

The programme follows couples and families who leave city life and start new ventures in the countryside.

Grace and Dannie Foster-Lilly run the 120-acre family farm on the outskirts of Ripon.

The couple sought to turn the working farm into an educational facility, which helps schoolchildren to learn about agriculture and animal welfare.

Grace told the Stray Ferret that the farm had been in Dannie’s family for three generations, but needed to be kept open if it were to survive.

She said:

“We wanted to make something of the farm and we needed it to stay in the family.”

The couple, who are former teachers from County Durham, dropped out of the profession after 10 years in teaching.

They sought to change the use of the farm, which is where they now live and got married.

The farm is now the home to alpacas, pigs and chickens and teaches children about animals and where food comes from.

In the past year, Grace and Dannie have overseen 25 school visits from areas such as Ripon and Darlington.

Channel 4 series

In an effort to increase the profile of the farm, Grace responded to an Instagram post from Channel 4 filmmakers looking for families to take part in a new series.

The crew were immediately interested and the couple embarked on 11 days worth of filming.

Dannie with some of the pigs on the farm.

Grace described the process as a whirlwind.

She said:

“We did not realise how intense it would be.”

The series has been broadcast every day since May 29 and will continue throughout June, Monday to Friday.

Grace said the farm has received a good reaction since the episode have been out.

She said:

“We had a lot of families come up to the farm.

“We have had more people wanting to know about the farm and what we offer.”

No date set for Swinsty and Fewston parking charges, says Yorkshire Water

Yorkshire Water has said no date has been set for the introduction of parking charges at Harrogate district reservoirs.

The company is to introduce payment machines and automatic number plate recognition at Swinsty, Fewston and Thruscross car parks.

It said previously that the revenue generated will help to pay for an in-house rangers team, which would undertake maintenance jobs and tackle anti-social behaviour at its sites.

Proposals for parking machines at both Fewston and Swinsty reservoirs were approved by Harrogate Borough Council in September last year.

The Stray Ferret asked Yorkshire Water this week if it had confirmed an implementation date for the machines.

A spokesperson said a date had yet to be confirmed and that the plans were “still in progress”.

While no date has been set for when charges will come in, Yorkshire Water said they will include season tickets for one or multiple sites.

A spokesperson told the Stray Ferret previously:

“There will be an option for visitors to purchase a ‘season ticket’ for the year which can cover just one car park or all car parks in the Washburn Valley, obviously this will work out cheaper than ‘pay as you go’ option, depending on how frequently people visit.

“The prices for the season tickets will be £30 per annum for a single site and £45 per annum for multiple sites. Blue badge holders, as previously stated, will be able to park free of charge.”

Car park users will be able to pay via card payment on site, by using the RingGo app or telephone.

The proposed tariffs will be one hour at £1, two hours at £2, six hours at £3 and an all day pass for £5.

Bransby Wilson Parking Solutions, based in York, has been appointed to operate the parking meters.

Harrogate woman recalls horror attack by husband’s ex-lover in Bilton

A Harrogate woman has spoken of suffering life changing injuries in a horrific attack at her home in Bilton.

Emma Russell, 43, was stabbed and slashed with a knife by Clare Bailey on Byland Road on June 23 last year.

Bailey, 45, of Dudley, was jailed for 22 years for attempted murder at Leeds Crown Court today.

She turned up at Ms Russell’s house wearing a covid mask, wig and sunglasses and offered a bouquet of flowers before attacking her.

A court heard that Bailey had previously had a relationship with Ms Russell’s husband.

The attack left her in a wheelchair and requiring painkillers every day.

In an interview with North Yorkshire Police, she outlined her traumatic ordeal and spoke of how she still has flashbacks to the attack.

You can watch the full video below.

Ms Russell said:

“I am still in pain every day and need painkillers to help with this. I use crutches to get around as I am still unable to use my right leg fully and for longer distances I have a wheelchair.

“I’ve lost all my independence, I couldn’t go back to work, we are having to rely on disability benefits, I have just lost my whole life really, I need help with everything I do.

“I don’t sleep and when I do sleep, I have flashbacks and nightmares of that afternoon.

“I can’t imagine what my daughter went through, to witness what she did, to try and stop the attack, she is my hero, she will always be my little hero, I honestly don’t think I would still be here if she hadn’t been home that day.

“I know people will have their opinion about what I should have done following the attack, but I have done what was best for me. Affairs happen, they aren’t nice, but they happen and no-one would ever imagine something like this would be the outcome, this was not a normal reaction to someone breaking up a relationship.”

She added:

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who came to help on that day, people who didn’t know me, didn’t know whether they were safe or if they would be attacked too, thank you.”

Clare Bailey, who was jailed for 22 years today

Jonathan Surgrove, senior investigating officer at North Yorkshire Police, said:

“First of all I must commend the bravery of Emma, she has shown such courage throughout the investigation and I hope today’s sentence will allow her some closure on the events of that afternoon.

“This was an horrific attack on an innocent and blameless lady who is now unable to feel safe in her own home, work, or spend time independently with her children, as a result. Emma had to spend weeks in hospital away from her family receiving treatment for injuries which simply, should never have happened. All she did was open the front door to her home.

“From receiving the initial call from the ambulance service this was an extremely fast-paced investigation which led to the quick arrest and charge of the offender. It soon became clear the level of planning Bailey had put in place and the little regard she had for anyone getting in the way of what she wanted and I welcome the sentence handed to her today.”

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