Knaresborough man jailed for racially aggravated verbal abuse

A Knaresborough man, who used racially aggravated threatening language and later dodged police custody, has been jailed.

Lee Harpin, 38, of Littondale Avenue, appeared at York Magistrates Court on Monday for sentencing.

He was found guilty of two counts of using threatening language with intent to provoke violence in a racially aggravated incident when he appeared at Harrogate Magistrates Court last month.

Harpin was granted unconditional bail pending sentencing but when he failed to turn-up for sentencing, a warrant was issued for his arrest and he was eventually charged with failing to surrender to custody.

He pleaded guilty to the latter charge on Monday and was handed a 26-week prison sentence for the three offences.

According to court documents, magistrates considered Harpin’s “previous record of offending” when deciding his sentence, and felt prison was the only justified punishment for offences “so serious”.

Harpin was also ordered to pay a surcharge of £154, as well as a further £620 to the Crown Prosecution Service, for the abuse offences.

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Papa Johns to close Starbeck restaurant

Papa Johns today announced the closure of 43 UK restaurants – including the Stonefall Avenue site in Starbeck.

The news comes after the company, which has 450 UK sites, revealed it was set to close “low-performing” branches as part of a new optimisation strategy.

In a press release today, Papa Johns said a review had identified 43 underperforming locations in the UK that were “no longer financially viable”.

They are set to close by the middle of May.

Chris Phylactou, managing director at Papa Johns UK, said:

“Our priority is our team members, who will be fully supported throughout this process. Our goal is to work with impacted team members and attempt to find redeployment opportunities where available. We understand the impact this will have on our team members and are committed to supporting them during this time.

“While this is a difficult decision, closing these underperforming locations will give us the opportunity to invest back into the right locations with the right partners for long-term growth.”

Papa Johns did not reveal how many staff members will be impacted by the move.

As well as Starbeck, branches in Leeds, Doncaster and Middlesborough are among the nearby locations affected.

Mr Phylactou added:

“We are focused on driving shared profitable growth across our UK restaurants, by continuing to make improvements to our business to ensure that we are well positioned for the future. We have been encouraged by the results so far from these initiatives.”

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Stinger ends 100mph police chase in Knaresborough

A stinger punctured the tyres of a stolen car following a high-speed police chase that ended in Knaresborough today.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement a high-performance Mercedes was stolen by a teenager in York just after 4am this morning.

It was stolen as part of a two-in-one burglary, which is when thieves break into a house and steal car keys. Keys to other vehicles, cash and jewellery were also taken.

The statement added:

“We tracked down a high-performance Mercedes that was stolen soon after 4am this morning.

“The driver failed to stop, reaching speeds of well over 100mph.

“We deployed a stinger to puncture its tyres near Knaresborough, with support from the NPAS police helicopter.”

The vehicle crashed on a roundabout, where an 18-year-old man from the Hull area was detained.

Police said he remains in custody.

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Yorkshire Water to spend £2.7m to improve Kirkby Malzeard beck

Yorkshire Water is set to spend £2.7 million on work to improve the water quality of a Kirkby Malzeard beck.

The firm said today the project, which will take place at the village’s wastewater treatment works, aims to reduce the levels of phosphorus in Kex Beck, which eventually joins the River Laver near Ripon.

High phosphorous levels, which are caused by issues such as sewage and agricultural run-off, can reduce water quality and lead to fish deaths.

The project, which will be delivered by engineering firm Tilbury Douglas, is part of Yorkshire Water’s £500 million investment into phosphorus removal across Yorkshire.

Project manager Simon Balding said:

“The quality of the water in our local rivers is incredibly important for the environment and to our customers.

“Reducing the amount of phosphorus entering the watercourse within treated wastewater is one of the ways in which we are committed to continuing to improve the health of our rivers.”

Phosphorus is often found in household products, including washing detergents and shampoo, as well as in land fertilisers.

The firm said it is an “essential part of many ecosystems” but can become damaging to human and animal life if left unmanaged.

The project, which Yorkshire Water said will “positively impact” around 7.5 miles of the Kex Beck watercourse, is set to begin next month and be completed by spring 2025.

It comes months after the firm announced a similar scheme at the Killinghall wastewater treatment works.

It said in November it would spend £19 million on new technologies to reduce phosphorous levels in the river Nidd.

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Papa Johns to close Starbeck restaurant

Papa Johns today announced the closure of 43 UK restaurants – including the Stonefall Avenue site in Starbeck.

The news comes after the company, which has 450 UK sites, revealed it was set to close “low-performing” branches as part of a new optimisation strategy.

In a press release today, Papa Johns said a review had identified 43 underperforming locations in the UK that were “no longer financially viable”.

They are set to close by the middle of May.

Chris Phylactou, managing director at Papa Johns UK, said:

“Our priority is our team members, who will be fully supported throughout this process. Our goal is to work with impacted team members and attempt to find redeployment opportunities where available. We understand the impact this will have on our team members and are committed to supporting them during this time.

“While this is a difficult decision, closing these underperforming locations will give us the opportunity to invest back into the right locations with the right partners for long-term growth.”

Papa Johns did not reveal how many staff members will be impacted by the move.

As well as Starbeck, branches in Leeds, Doncaster and Middlesborough are among the nearby locations affected.

Mr Phylactou added:

“We are focused on driving shared profitable growth across our UK restaurants, by continuing to make improvements to our business to ensure that we are well positioned for the future. We have been encouraged by the results so far from these initiatives.”

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Plan to convert Harrogate house into children’s home

A planning application has been submitted to convert a residential Harrogate house into a children’s home.

The change of use application, submitted by Jolyon McKay, was put to North Yorkshire Council last week.

It outlines proposals to turn Oak Back, a house on Ashgarth Court near Ashville College, into c2 classified housing – which refers to residential accommodation for people in need of care.

In a covering letter to the council, Mr McKay said:

“We aim to convert our family’s c3 [dwelling house] in to a c2 [residential child placement].

“This will cause no change to the exterior or interior of the property. The plan for the home will be to remain looking and feeling as if it were an average family home.”

The application adds there will “never be more than a maximum of three children living at the home in permanent residence”. It added that this was in order to “create a sense of family for the children”.

The children’s home would have four bedrooms and employ nine full-time staff.

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

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Council-owned Brimhams Active to spend £8,000 on staff awards party

Council leisure company Brimhams Active is to spend at least £8,000 of public money on a staff awards ceremony this weekend.

Brimhams operates all leisure provision in the Harrogate district on behalf of North Yorkshire Council, including leisure centres in Harrogate, Ripon Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge, as well as Starbeck Baths.

A source alerted the Stray Ferret to Sunday’s event at the Pavilions of Harrogate. They added:

“I would think as a North Yorkshire Council-owned company, the council taxpayers’ money they have left at the end of a financial year would go back to the council rather than finding an excuse to spend it, particularly given the increases we’ve all had on our council tax bills this week.”

The new Knaresborough Leisure and Wellness Centre

The Stray Ferret contacted North Yorkshire Council for further details of the event, including the cost.

Mark Tweedie, managing director of Brimhams Active, initially said costs had been “kept to a minimum by suppliers sponsoring the awards” but did not disclose a figure.

He added:

“Our annual people awards event is a fabulous opportunity to recognise and celebrate effort and achievement.

“The event itself helps our people who work day-to-day across different facilities to come together and connect. It plays a huge part in boosting morale, which in turn helps enhance workforce productivity.

“Up to 200 members of our team will attend the awards event at the Pavilions of Harrogate.”

When pressed for a figure, Mr Tweedie said:

“The venue hire and food is charged at £40 per person and we have 200 people attending. We are very careful in how we manage our budget. We believe this is a sound, proportionate investment in our people that helps to optimise people recruitment, retention and productivity for a business with a circa £8 million turnover.

“This investment serves to acknowledge and celebrate outstanding team and individual efforts that have delivered remarkable results, including overachieving in relation to footfall and budget and achievement of national accreditations (Quest and Water Wellbeing) within 2.5 years of the company’s inception.”

He added “the decorations are provided by staff” and the photographer and DJ were “providing their services in kind”.

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Brimhams to be abolished

Brimhams Active, which was set-up up by the now defunct Harrogate Borough Council, is due to be abolished after executive councillors decided to bring leisure provision back in-house in January.

The council’s current portfolio, which includes 19 leisure centres, 16 swimming pools, three wellbeing hubs, a nursery and Harrogate’s Turkish Baths, is run by five different operators.

But despite councillors stating the existing Brimhams model is “particularly advanced”, the leisure shake-up will see all these services moved to a single in-house operation.

The local authority believes the new structure will see a greater focus on health and wellbeing, provide more opportunities for people to participate and will focus on addressing inequalities.

It hopes the transition will be complete by 2028.

Council-owned Brimhams Active to spend £8,000 on staff awards party

Council leisure company Brimhams Active is to spend at least £8,000 of public money on a staff awards ceremony this weekend.

Brimhams operates all leisure provision in the Harrogate district on behalf of North Yorkshire Council, including leisure centres in Harrogate, Ripon Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge, as well as Starbeck Baths.

A source alerted the Stray Ferret to Sunday’s event at the Pavilions of Harrogate. They added:

“I would think as a North Yorkshire Council-owned company, the council taxpayers’ money they have left at the end of a financial year would go back to the council rather than finding an excuse to spend it, particularly given the increases we’ve all had on our council tax bills this week.”

The new Knaresborough Leisure and Wellness Centre

The Stray Ferret contacted North Yorkshire Council for further details of the event, including the cost.

Mark Tweedie, managing director of Brimhams Active, initially said costs had been “kept to a minimum by suppliers sponsoring the awards” but did not disclose a figure.

He added:

“Our annual people awards event is a fabulous opportunity to recognise and celebrate effort and achievement.

“The event itself helps our people who work day-to-day across different facilities to come together and connect. It plays a huge part in boosting morale, which in turn helps enhance workforce productivity.

“Up to 200 members of our team will attend the awards event at the Pavilions of Harrogate.”

When pressed for a figure, Mr Tweedie said:

“The venue hire and food is charged at £40 per person and we have 200 people attending. We are very careful in how we manage our budget. We believe this is a sound, proportionate investment in our people that helps to optimise people recruitment, retention and productivity for a business with a circa £8 million turnover.

“This investment serves to acknowledge and celebrate outstanding team and individual efforts that have delivered remarkable results, including overachieving in relation to footfall and budget and achievement of national accreditations (Quest and Water Wellbeing) within 2.5 years of the company’s inception.”

He added “the decorations are provided by staff” and the photographer and DJ were “providing their services in kind”.

Read more:

Brimhams to be abolished

Brimhams Active, which was set-up up by the now defunct Harrogate Borough Council, is due to be abolished after executive councillors decided to bring leisure provision back in-house in January.

The council’s current portfolio, which includes 19 leisure centres, 16 swimming pools, three wellbeing hubs, a nursery and Harrogate’s Turkish Baths, is run by five different operators.

But despite councillors stating the existing Brimhams model is “particularly advanced”, the leisure shake-up will see all these services moved to a single in-house operation.

The local authority believes the new structure will see a greater focus on health and wellbeing, provide more opportunities for people to participate and will focus on addressing inequalities.

It hopes the transition will be complete by 2028.

Boroughbridge takeaway opens Harrogate branch

A Boroughbridge takeaway has opened a second branch in Harrogate.

Bozza Fodder, which was first established in the kitchen of the Fox and Hounds pub in 2019, began serving food at The Manhattan on Beech Avenue last Thursday.

Owner Mark Davies, who moved from Teeside to Boroughbridge, said he hopes to bring a taste of the northeast to north Yorkshire and introduce Harrogate residents to a “proper Teeside parmo”.

Mr Davies said he launched Bozza Fodder, which currently offers takeaway, eat-in and delivery services, after realising Boroughbridge “did not have a food delivery service of its own”.

He said after struggling to find IT work locally, he turned to the kitchen to develop his skills.

Mr Davies and his partner Rachael have since offered the town traditional takeaway-style food, including pizzas, burgers and wraps, which he said is “nearly all made in-house”.

Now embarking on a new venture in Harrogate, Mr Davies said:

“I play a lot of pool and started playing at the Manhattan club in Harrogate.

“When I told the owner about my venture in Boroughbridge, he too had an unused kitchen which we thought could be used to benefit us both.”

Bozza Fodder’s chicken parmo.

Bozza Fodder Harrogate also offers both eat-in and takeaway food, as well as delivery services around the centre of the town and as far as Jennyfields and Starbeck.

Chicken parmos, pizzas, gyros, toasted sandwiches and desserts are all available at the new Harrogate site.

Mr Davies said people can expect “the same great service we provide in Boroughbridge but with a few twists to the menu”, adding:

“It’s very exciting times and I’m looking forward to seeing new faces and getting good feedback. Harrogate is a big place, but we have equally big ambitions!

“My mum passed away not long after I started the business, and she always wanted me to do well.

“I’ve put my heart into it for her and I hope she’d be proud how far we have come.”

Both Bozza Fodder branches are open Monday to Friday, from 4pm to 10pm, and 1pm to 10pm on Saturdays.

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Harrogate GP surgeries to merge

Two Harrogate GP surgeries are set to merge towards the end of this year.

East Parade Surgery and Park Parade Surgery, which are both located on the same floor of the Mowbray Square Medical Centre on Myrtle Square, announced the move today.

The practices said in a statement the surgeries already “work closely together and share several teams and services” .

It added the partners Emma Keating and Sarah Wilkinson felt a single, larger practice will allow them to “pool the skills of team members to create an organisation equipped to survive and thrive in the NHS of the future”.

The statement said:

“We believe in continuity of care and the people you already know will be part of the new surgery. There will also be the choice for you to see clinicians from across a larger team.”

The statement said the merger, which is being overseen by the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, will take place in early October, adding both sites will “work hard” to ensure a smooth transition for patients.

Patients already registered will be automatically transferred to the new surgery, which does not yet have a name.

The statement said people can contact the medical centre to express their views, as well as to submit ideas for a new surgery name.

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