Business Breakfast: LCF Law gives insight into award-winning employee wellbeing programme

The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting is a breakfast event on Thursday, 27 July at Banyan in Harrogate between 8-10am. 

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories.  Tickets will be available later this week. 

At the most recent Stray Ferret Business Club lunch, LCF Law spoke about the firm’s approach to staff wellbeing.

The Yorkshire-based legal firm which employs 170 people was recognised by the Sunday Times as one of the best places to work in the UK.

Rebecca Gosling, HR Lead for LCF Law, gave a presentation on how the company achieved an “excellent” ranking in welfare.

LCF scored 86% and above in all pillars of the wellbeing survey, including spiritual and emotional wellbeing, physical wellbeing, and financial wellbeing – 18% above the industry average.

All staff members have 24/7 access to helplines, specialist training on career progression, frequent group activities and even recognition portals in which colleagues can thank and praise one another.

Rebecca said:

“Companies don’t have to throw loads of money at staff wellbeing to be successful.

“I don’t think we would retain staff if we ever went backwards in terms of staff welfare – which we never will, anyway.”

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Paul Atkins of Leisure Park Internet Solutions

Holiday home WIFI specialist in Harrogate becomes employee-owned

Harrogate-based Leisure Park Internet Solutions has recently become an employee-owned business after 10 years of trading.

The company provides WIFI services to over 100 holiday parks throughout the UK and has developed its own “direct to van” solution to provide faster broadband for holidaymakers.

In a deal backed by a SME loan from Mercia Asset Management, founder, Paul Atkins, has transferred his shares into an Employee Ownership Trust which will own the business on behalf of 15 team members. Mr Atkins will continue his role as Managing Director for the foreseeable future.

The company has almost doubled its turnover in the two years to March 2023.

Mr Atkins said:

“I’m proud of the progress that the business has achieved to date and look forward to leading its expansion in the years to come.

“However, as we celebrate our tenth anniversary, I also felt I needed to consider its long-term future. Employee ownership seemed to be the most appropriate option while at the same time recognising the commitment of our team.”

 

Masham councillor to hold public meeting on poor rural broadband

A Masham councillor is to host a public meeting to address broadband problems in rural areas of the district.

Liberal Democrat councillor for Masham and Fountains, Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, said she has worked closely with North Yorkshire Council to improve broadband around Ripon and Masham but many households and businesses still have slow connectivity.

CityFibre spent £46m in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon last year but, despite this investment, many people in rural areas cannot get a superfast broadband connection.

The final phase of delivery from North Yorkshire Council-owned NYnet is due to end imminently. This means many rural residents and businesses who are still waiting for superfast broadband connection will be left without any solutions.

The persistent issues have lead Cllr Cunliffe-Lister to arrange the public meeting.

The council’s director of transformation, Robert Ling, will discuss how the final NYnet phase will be delivered, budget constraints, and whether any other funding options may be available to those who are not going to be connected.

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Project Gigabit, a £5 billion Government scheme aiming to implement superfast broadband into “hard-to-reach” communities, will also be discussed.

The scheme is yet to come to North Yorkshire but the councillor hopes “it might provide connection to those otherwise left behind at some point.”

Cllr Cunliffe-Lister said:

“The meeting is mainly for clarification of who will be covered by phase 4 more than anything else.”

All members of the Masham and Fountains ward are welcome to attend. The meeting will take place in Masham Town Hall at 6.30pm, on Wednesday, July 19.

New Harrogate muffin café reveals opening date

A  new café chain is to open on Harrogate’s Cambridge Street later this month.

Muffin Break is a franchised chain of cafés, with stores across the UK, serving sweet treats and coffee, as well as savoury breakfasts and light lunches.

News of the store, which will be housed in the former Hotter shoe shop,  came to light after notices appeared in the window for a pavement licence application.

The notices were registered to FoodCO UK Franchising Ltd – trading as Muffin Break.

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The franchise originated in Canada, but now hosts around 60 UK branches – the closest one being Bradford.

Muffin Break UK told the Stray Ferret:

“Fit out of the shop has begun.

“We have everything from flat breads to bagels, and everything is made fresh in store each morning.”

The Harrogate branch will be open from Monday, July 17.

Glastonbury headliner to play DJ set in Harrogate store

A musician that headlined Glastonbury festival this year is due to DJ in a Harrogate store next week.

Alexis Taylor, lead vocalist of synthpop band Hot Chip, will perform at Owl, in Harrogate town centre. The intimate set in will launch Mr Taylor’s vegan boot collaboration with Wild Bunch shoes.

All proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Coppice Valley Primary School library fund.

Mr Taylor, who has been described as “one of the country’s most respected selectors”, will play music from his kaleidoscopic record collection.

Owl, a lifestyle and clothing store, wrote on its social media:

“We’re super excited for the launch night!

“It’s fair to say the event is a biggie.”

The Wild Bunch shoe collaboration – pic: Guy Bolongaro.

Hot Chip headlined the Woodsies stage at Glastonbury this year for their fourth appearance at the world’s largest festival.

The band reached the UK top 20 album chart in 2022 and has over 1.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify.

The event will take place on Thurday, July 6, from 7pm – 9.30pm.

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Wellness and gifting brand set to open Harrogate store

A new store specialising in wellness and lifestyle products is set to open in Harrogate.

SELF.UK, which already boasts other stores in Lincoln and Woodhall Spa, has taken a unit on James Street.

The company sells a range of products, from homeware, gifts, and fragrances to clothing, stationery, and children’s accessories.

SELF.UK began its journey in lockdown when founder, Suzie Bateman, began curating gift boxes for customers and corporate clients. The brand rose in popularity, built a presence on social media,  and opened its first retail store only a year later in 2021.

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Ms Bateman who previously worked in sales and marketing, fell in love with Harrogate over ten years ago and has visited the town on the same weekend every year to Christmas shop ever since.

She told the Stray Ferret:

“I love what I do so much.

“I’m happiest behind the counter and speaking to customers in the shop.”

Shoppers can also find brands such as Plum & Ashby, Joma Jewellery, and St.Eval in store and online.

Ms Bateman aims to be in the Harrogate store at least once a week, while juggling home life and her other stores.

The Harrogate store is due to open on Saturday, July 8.

Ex-Rossett student publishes war-time novella set in Harrogate

A former Rossett School student has recently published a novel that takes place in early 20th Century Harrogate.

Gary Baysinger lived in Harrogate more than 30 years ago and has now written a war-time novella set in the town.

In the space of just ten days, he lost his mother and was diagnosed with skin cancer so took up writing “as a distraction”.

The book, A kind of Homecoming, was inspired by the 1969 film, “Oh What a Lovely War” – a musical about World War One.

A scene in the film depicts the Christmas truce of 1914, during which a German soldier tells a British solider about his love for a British girl he left behind when he went to fight.

Mr Baysinger said:

“The scene left me with more questions than answers; who is this young man? Who is the girl? Did he survive the war? Did they end up together?

“I decided to write a story and answer those questions — I set it in Harrogate because I am fond of the place.

“I think we all sometimes wonder what would have happened if life had gone different at a young age.”

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Mr Baysinger’s family moved to Harrogate in the late 1970s, where his father took a position at Menwith Hill. Despite his short stint in Yorkshire – moving back to America in 1981 – he said he “wouldn’t want to be anywhere else” at the time.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“I spent my weekdays at Rossett High School, my Saturdays at Elland Road, and my Sundays kicking a football around a muddy pitch in Hampsthwaite, or on the Stray”.

Mr Baysinger is hoping Harrogate library will keep a copy  so locals can read the war-time novel.

“I recently visited Harrogate for the first time in nearly three decades.

“I met up with some old friends and was astounded by the warmth and hospitality they showed me.”

A Kind of Homecoming is available to buy now on Amazon.

Poet Laureate unveils poem carved into stones at Brimham Rocks

Poet Laureate Simon Armitage was in Nidderdale yesterday to unveil one of his poems carved into stones at Brimham Rocks.

Simon Armitage, who has been Poet Laureate since 2019, composed Balancing Act based on the popular Nidderdale attraction. The work was commissioned by the National Trust. 

Within the poem, the Yorkshire-born poet illustrates why the rocks are such a significant spot for both visitors and nature.

Two large stones – which double-up as an art installation – each showcase a verse of the poem. They have been positioned at Brimham on the north moor,  next to the rocks to offer a place of reflection and serenity.

The poem was carved by the National Trust’s lead specialist craftsperson, Richard Dawson, into Yorkshire sandstone called Witton Fell.

The stone was chosen because its colour and texture is representative of Brimham’s stone formations.

Pic: National Trust Images / Annapurna Mellor

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Mr Armitage said:

“It was a chance to get reacquainted with the rocks. I’d explored them as a child and in my memory, they were almost mythical or pieces of an alien landscape.

“Coming back to the area as an adult and a poet they were no less fascinating and mysterious but carried new messages connected to the environment, the precarious state of nature and the importance of wild spaces to our well-being.”

Brimham Rocks has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The status, attributed by Natural England, is used to protect environmental heritage sites in the British Isles from development, insensitive land management, or pollution.

Pic: National Trust Images / Annapurna Mellor

Mr Armitage continued:

“I also discovered that Brimham Rocks is more than just the stones, and the poem is a celebration of the wider ecosystem, from some of its more glamorous and obvious manifestations to micro-organisms, open moorland, and seemingly empty skies.”

Justin Scully, general manager at Brimham Rocks and Fountains Abbey, said:

“We are delighted to be working with Poet Laureate Simon Armitage and to have a physical representation of his poem Balancing Act as a permanent art installation on the moor at Brimham.

“We want to make Brimham Rocks feel more relevant to people and their everyday lives. We want it to be a place of reflection and inspiration, where visitors can come and spend some quiet time connecting with nature as well as a place where they come to climb, hike and play.”

More information on the poem and other ongoing events at Brimham Rocks can be found here.

Harrogate man to stand as independent in Selby and Ainsty by-election

Harrogate solicitor Andrew Gray announced today he will stand as an independent candidate in the forthcoming Selby and Ainsty by-election.

Today is the deadline for candidates to put their names forward for the by-election, which will take place on July 20 following the resignation of Conservative Nigel Adams.

Mr Gray is a solicitor who founded the Harrogate law firm Truth Legal in 2012 before a management buyout in 2022.

He said he was standing due to his “dissatisfaction with the current state of British politics” and pledged to  engage with local people using artificial intelligence to find out what they wanted.

Mr Gray said he will use Polis AI to do this, adding AI has been used abroad in politics but this will be the first time it has been adopted in a UK election.

Polis AI allows users to anonymously submit short text statements or comments, which are then sent out randomly to other participants who can click to agree, disagree or pass.

Mr Gray said:

“I want to find these consensus points and use them as my policies.

“My only policy is to take my policies from the people.

“That’s what a representative ought to do.”

Mr Gray has previously been involved as a Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat activist, as well running the non-profit Crowd Wisdom Project which has used Polis AI since 2021.

The system will be used in every town and village within the constituency to gauge a general consensus, as well as cross-constituency conversations to discuss national issues.

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Mr Gray said:

“If elected, I will vote in Parliament in accordance with the consensus of the constituency.

“On election, the conversations will continue, and I will vote in Parliament as per the changing desires of my electorate, which means that I can respond to change quickly.

“If mandated, I will vote for the government, or against, or abstain.

“Therefore, by electing me, my constituents are getting more democracy, more power in their hands. Selby and Ainsty will be the country’s bellwether constituency.”

He added:

“Although there is some history in my family in politics, I want to be seen as not so much a political candidate, but a candidate for positive change.

“There is so much that we agree upon: let’s start there. I’m optimistic. Our many problems are fixable.

“Things simply can’t stay as they are. Many of us are rolling our eyes at what is going on in Westminster. Traditional party politics need consigning to the dustbin of history.”

 

Girlguiding group on track to hit £1.7 million target for new premises

A local Girlguiding group is on track to reach its £1.7 million goal to fund the renovations of its new centre.

North Yorkshire West Girlguiding has raised and spent nearly £1.2 million since the fundraising began in 2019, when the old site was demolished. Since then, fundraising efforts have included cake stalls, virtual balloon races, and live performances.

The Birk Crag Centre, on Cornwall Road in Harrogate, will be home to Harrogate’s Girlguiding division, but will be accessible to all groups in the North Yorkshire West area – including Ripon, Boroughbridge, Skipton, and Settle.

The space will host Guide sleepovers, as well as overnight stays for Brownie and Rainbow groups, and will also offer residential training for volunteers.

Outdoor and camping equipment will also be stored at the premises, as well as a uniform and badge shop.

Caroline Bentham, Guide guider and assistant county commissioner, said:

“One of the most important parts of Guiding is giving girls the chance to have a sleepover away from home that is affordable.

“Guiders are all volunteers and give their time for free, this means we can keep the costs down.

“There is nothing better than seeing a nervous young lady arrive at a sleepover and watch her come into her own, even if it is as the noisy one after lights out!”

Mrs Bentham explained the “pandemic affected us like many other charities” and claims the delay in raising the money is due to “jobs priced at £20,000 now cost us £60,000”. The Girlguiding group has also applied for various grants to help raise the money.

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Around a further £500,000 is required to complete all building work and renovations.

The next fundraising event will take place at Studley Royal. The Ripon Girlguiding division will hold a sponsored walk, during which they will push a 5ft cable drum around the grounds to represent the £6,000 required for electrical cabling at the new building.

The walk will take place on June, 19 and 20.

To find out more about sponsorship of events or to help the fundraising efforts, visit the Birk Crag Centre website.

Kirkby Malzeard all set for its three-day big weekend

Kirkby Malzeard is set to host a three-day weekend of community activities, starting tomorrow.

The Big Weekend will include live music, a Black Sheep bar, street food and artisan stalls in the first event of its kind in the village.

Visitors can expect performances from Hyde Family Jam, Reeth Brass Band, Kirkby Tunes Folk Group, and many more over the Father’s Day weekend.

The event promises something for all ages, from the inaugural 11K Crackpots Run to a TikTok disco.

There will also be a scarecrow trail – with 32 scarecrows scattered around the village – as well as a parade, a farm and tractor fest and a dog show and scurry.

Nigel Robertshaw, a village resident overseeing the live music event, said:

“This is a first for the village and we know it will be something completely different.

“We are also running a Kirkby’s Got Talent session to allow local people the chance to perform on a live stage.”

During the live music on Saturday night, Manchega Tapas and Skellgill Burgers will be offering pop-up food, alongside the village’s own fish and chips. Tickets for the live music can be found here.

The Big Weekend will round off at the village pub, the Queens Head, with an all-ages karaoke and barbecue.

Any money raised from the weekend will be used to fund future community events, including the bonfire and youth projects.

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