John Grainger, Author at The Stray Ferret

Yorkshire company offers hyperfast broadband at ultra-low price

This story is sponsored by OctaPlus.

A Yorkshire company says it can provide hyperfast broadband at a lower price than any available via the well-known price comparison websites.

OctaPlus is offering a huge speed of 900Mbps – download and upload – for just £1 for the first three months and £27 a month thereafter, beating its competitors on both speed and price by a considerable margin for those who have the install completed before December 31, 2023.

The deal, which comes with no upfront costs, is available only on two- or three-year contracts, but the price for a one-year contract is just £32 per month, which is still cheaper than the company’s rivals.

Gladstone Gonsalves, who founded Hull-based OctaPlus after partnering with award-winning broadband business CityFibre, said:

“Other companies simply cannot beat us on value for money. Energy bills, mortgages, groceries – they’ve all gone crazy – but we’re here to lower your costs and help you move over to fibre.”

He added:

“All the old copper-wire connections are going to be decommissioned – the government intends to replace them all by 2030 – and all too often they only give you 5-10Mb of the 60-70Mbps promised by the provider anyway.

“With full fibre, you get higher speeds for a lower price – so what’s stopping you from moving?”

Hyperfast broadband is commonly considered to refer to connections exceeding 500Mbps – far faster than superfast (30 to 300Mbps) or ultrafast (300 to 500Mbps) – and enables users to download movies in seconds.

But, says Gladstone, hyperfast broadband is merely a taste of greater things to come:

“Full-fibre broadband is totally scalable. We can provide 900Mbps today, but our partner, CityFibre, have already tested their network and proved it’s ready for 2,500Mbps – that’s an upto 2.5 Gigabytes service. In the near future, even faster speeds will be available as they develop their multi-gig portfolio.

“By moving over to full fibre now, you’ll supercharge your connection – with higher speeds, a lower price, and you’ll be ready for the next generation of gigabyte broadband that’s just around the corner. It’s a no-brainer.”

OctaPlus broadband is available across the Harrogate district. To find out if you can supercharge your connection, visit the OctaPlus website.

Village near Knaresborough left in dark over fire-damaged pub’s future

Uncertainty surrounds the future of a Harrogate district village pub which suffered its second fire in three years over the summer.

The Tiger Inn in Coneythorpe, north of Knaresborough, is believed not to have been renovated since the blaze and its tenants, Ian and Barbara Gill, are understood to have left the property permanently.

The pub’s phone number directs customers to its website, which features a pop-up box stating: “Due to an extensive fire in our kitchens, we are not open at this time”. That redirects visitors to a Facebook link that no longer works.

The property lies empty, but according to sources in the village, cleaners have been in and the pub is checked on periodically.

When the Stray Ferret visited this week to try to find out what was happening, one person, who asked not to be named, said:

“No-one in the village knows what’s going on. Nobody’s told us anything. It’s such a shame, because the pub’s the hub of the village and we miss it, especially coming up to Christmas.”

It is not known why the tenants have left. Barbara Gill is the sole director of MGG Developments Co Ltd, which trades as The Tiger Inn, and the company’s latest accounts filed on June 15, 2023, paint a picture of a business with a future.

It is referred to as a going concern “despite suffering a fire to the business premises during the previous year which caused extensive damage”. It continues:

“This is fully subjected to an insurance claim which is not expected to have any long-term financial implications to the company.”

Jon West, a Coneythorpe resident who sits on Arkendale, Coneythorpe and Clareton Parish Council, told the Stray Ferret:

“The only fact I can share with you is that the Tiger Inn is shut and for an unknown period. All other information I have is hearsay or guesswork which is not mine to share.”

The Tiger Inn suffered its first fire in November 2020, just four months after reopening from the national covid lockdown. The blaze started in the kitchen and lasted for six hours, causing widespread damage.

It reopened after renovation and refurbishment in October 2021, and the Gills marked the occasion by presenting a cheque for £5,000 to the Fire Fighters Charity in thanks for the efforts of the fire crews from Harrogate, Knaresborough and Acomb who put out the blaze.

But less than a year later, firefighters were again called to the pub, after an overheating ice machine caused a second devastating fire.

Business Breakfast: Harrogate shoe firm celebrates 30 years

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Daniel Footwear, a Harrogate-based independent footwear business that was the first in the world to sell Jimmy Choo shoes, is celebrating 30 years’ trading this month.

The company was founded in Leeds by Daniel Buck, and now employs about 50 people at eight shops across the North and in north London, including in its flagship store on Parliament Street in Harrogate.

Mr Buck said:

“In 1993, the Daniel brand was born, with the distinctive Daniel logo adorning the footbed of every pair of shoes. By 1995, sitting alongside the Daniel brand were the likes of Gucci and Prada, and we became the first supplier of Jimmy Choo worldwide.

“Over the past three remarkable decades filled with ups and downs, I have had the privilege of collaborating with exceptional European suppliers and travelling the world to source the finest fashion offerings.

“I am fortunate to work alongside the most exceptional individuals within our company, all working together to make the next 30 years just as fantastic as the last.”

To commemorate its 30th anniversary, Daniel Footwear is offering discounts of up to 30% throughout November in all its stores.

In addition to the Harrogate shop, Daniel has branches in Leeds, Beverly near Hull, Alderley Edge in Cheshire, and four in north London, in Mill Hill, Muswell Hill, Stanmore and Hampstead Garden Suburb.

Local hotels part of Which? recommended group

The Inn Collection Group, which owns and runs the Harrogate Inn, the Ripon Inn and the Knaresborough Inn, has made it onto a list of the UK’s best hotel chains.

The pubs-with-rooms operator is now rated as a Recommended provider by Which?, following a survey of 5,000 people who rated their experiences at 37 hotel chains across the UK.

Revealing its list of the best and worst hotel chains of 2023, Which? said The Inn Collection Group offered inns that were “cheaper, better and with more character” than other leading operators, citing warm welcomes, posh pub grub and a decent beer selection as key features.

The Newcastle-based group was placed third in the small operator listings, with a customer score of 78%, which combines overall satisfaction and likeliness to recommend. The highest-rated operator earned an 80% mark.

Kate Bentley, rooms director at The Inn Collection Group said:

“When you look at the scores across the areas measured by the survey, ours are in line or better than the benchmarks set by some of the biggest operators in our industry, so it is a massive endorsement of the hard work our site teams are putting into looking after our guests.”

The Inn Collection Group has 32 sites across the north, 26 of them trading and six undergoing refurbishment.

The group bought the historic Hotel St George, opposite the Royal Hall, in Harrogate in February 2022 and reopened it as the Harrogate Inn this summer. It bought the 15th-century Dower House in Knaresborough in December 2021 and reopened it as the Knaresborough Inn in September; and it bought the Spa Hotel in Ripon in June 2021 and reopened it as the Ripon Inn two weeks ago.

Angel on a tractor delivers meals on wheels in Harrogate

A local charity that provides meals and care to older people has rebranded its core service, with a dose of heavenly inspiration.

Harrogate Neighbours provides older people with a daily hot meal, preventing social isolation and enabling them to stay in their own homes where possible.

To mark National Meals on Wheels Week (October 30 to November 3), the service is now known as ‘Harrogate Neighbours Meals on Wheels Delivered by Angels‘. It is run by 50 volunteers known as ‘angels’, who deliver over 150 meals every day.

Sue Cawthray, chief executive of Harrogate Neighbours, said:

“Last year, we delivered meals by horse and carriage and the service-users loved it.

“We wanted to do something a little bit different this year, so we decided to deliver the meals on a vintage 1950s tractor by an angel, which evoked lovely memories for our clients.”

Demand for the service is growing, and the charity is calling for more volunteers to deliver even more meals.

New ‘angel’ Zac Evans said:

“It’s not about finding time – it’s making time to support the local community. Dressing up as an angel and delivering the meals by tractor was an amazing experience and something I certainly won’t forget!

“Being a volunteer and making the time makes a real difference to the service-users we get the chance to meet and have a chat with.”

Photo of Zac Evans, a volunteer for charity Harrogate Neighbours, delivering meals on wheels from a vintage 1950s tractor.

‘Angel’ Zac Evans making a delivery.

Now in its 11th year, Harrogate Neighbours relies on support from local authorities, businesses and the wider community, and Sue said more government funding was needed to support older and vulnerable people, who without the volunteers who run the service would not receive a nutritionally balanced, hot daily meal. She said:

“The future of meals on wheels looks bleak unless the government can do more to support this much-needed service.

“We are supporting an ageing population, and the service is a lifeline for older and vulnerable people living in our community. We are calling for the government to ensure funding is available to local councils to safeguard the service now and in the future.”

In addition to the domiciliary care and hot meal service it provides, the charity also operates two sites: Heath Lodge Community Haven, a residential care home, and The Cuttings, an extra care housing scheme.

Business Breakfast: ‘Invest in a garden shed where you can blow things up’, says Dragon

The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting will take place on Thursday, November 30.

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories.

Former Dragons’ Den star Piers Linney was the keynote speaker at the York & North Yorkshire Business Summit on Friday.

He told more than 200 attendees they needed to be audacious in embracing technology as part of devolution and argued that new technology such as artificial intelligence offered the chance to level up the workforce, making background and disabilities irrelevant. He said:

“Take some of the £750 million (devolution funding) and invest in a garden shed where you can blow things up. Play with the technology, see how it can augment all of us, play with education and then connect the talent to the technology. Invest in cutting edge and bleeding edge technology.

“Superpower and empower the people in your region.”

The summit was organised by York & North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (YNY LEP) in partnership with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), York & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

Linney headed a roster of 13 regional business speakers at the event, which was held at the Radisson York Hotel and hosted by YNY LEP chair Helen Simpson. They shared their business vision for the region, ahead of devolution and an expected mayoral election in spring next year.

James Farrar, interim director of transition for the proposed York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, backed the call for businesses and innovators to be bold. He said:

“We need to crack on with devolution and make sure the process gets through parliament as soon as possible.

“We are not Birmingham, Manchester or Leeds. We must be York and North Yorkshire and we must recognise our assets. We must be bold and clear about where we see our competitive advantages. No sector can rest on its laurels.

“Let us know what infrastructure and support you need in place to invest and grow. Our job as a combined authority will be to put that in place – yours is to invest and grow.”

Kevin Hollinrake, Conservative MP for Malton and Thirsk, addressed the summit by video and told delegates that devolution was a great opportunity for the region. He said:

“First and foremost it must be about economic development. That drives everything else. It’s right that we try to make York and North Yorkshire the best place in the UK to do business.”

Menopause Matters event

A day-long event this month will feature expert speakers tackling various aspects of the menopause.

Menopause Matters: What You Need to Know, In and Outside the Workplace will be presented by Wetherby-based Hartlaw LLP in collaboration with the Harrogate & District Law Society.

The event, which will take place on Friday, November 17 at Bowcliffe Hall near Wetherby, is intended to “shed light on the implications, challenges, and nuances surrounding menopause, both within professional settings and in personal lives”.

The speakers include: Dr Laura Reid, a GP and menopause specialist; Sally Leech, training director of Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace; Vicky Richardson MSc PGDip PGCE BA, a core nutritional therapist; Emma Tailby, a highly specialist women’s health physiotherapist and founder/owner of Emma Claire Physiotherapy; and Claire Morley-Jones, managing director of HR180.

Tickets cost £85 per person and include refreshments and lunch, as well as a goodie bag to take away. The proceeds will go to Daisy Network, the charity for women with POI (premature ovarian insufficiency, commonly referred to as early menopause) and Harrogate & District Law Society.

Harrogate volunteer becomes Wensleydale Railway’s first female train driver

A Harrogate woman who has volunteered at Wensleydale Railway for eight years has become its first ever female train driver.

Sue Threadgold first trained as a crossing keeper and then as a train guard.

She started her driver training last year and is now qualified to drive the railway’s class 142 and class 143 diesel multiple unit passenger trains, commonly known as Pacer trains.

She said:

“My goal when I joined was to become a train driver, so I am really happy to have fulfilled my ambition and I thank everyone at the railway who has helped me achieve this!”

Photo of Harrogate woman Sue Threadgold, Wensleydale Railway's first female train driver, at the controls of a diesel Pacer train.

Sue at the controls of a diesel Pacer train.

The 22-mile-long Wensleydale Railway is a volunteer-led enterprise running heritage diesel services for 22 miles between Scruton and Leyburn via Leeming Bar, Bedale and Finghall Lane. It is also working to extend services from Leyburn to Redmire.

The railway also holds seasonal events, such as Haunted Rail this Halloween on Saturday, October 28 and the special Bonfire Express service from Leyburn to Bedale for the Bedale Bonfire and Fireworks Display on Saturday, November 4.

Sue added:

“I would encourage more people to get involved in their local heritage railway. There are a wide variety of volunteer roles available, to suit all interests and abilities. It’s really rewarding to be part of a great team, helping to keep our history and heritage alive for the public to enjoy!”

Business Breakfast: Harrogate robots help reduce UK’s greenhouse gas emissions

The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting will take place on Thursday, November 30.

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories.

A Harrogate advanced engineering company is working with gas networks to detect and repair leaks with the aid of state-of-the-art robots.

Synovate‘s LeakVISION robot crawls along pipelines and uses heat sensors to detect leaks, which are often caused by shrinkage, a phenomenon that accounts for more than 1% of the UK’s greenhouse emissions.

The issue is a significant one for the gas companies. Earlier this year, a major methane leak in the UK was detected from space. The amount of methane – a potent greenhouse gas – that was lost over three months would have been enough to power 7,500 houses for a year.

Synovate’s new robot technology was trialled by Cadent, the UK’s largest gas distribution network, ahead of the King’s Coronation festivities in London. The use of robots minimised the need for roadworks at a time when the capital was extremely busy with hundreds of thousands of visitors.

The technology earned Synovate the award for Innovation of the Year at last year’s Gas Industry Awards.

Simon Langdale, engineering director at Synovate, said:

“We continue to develop and invest in a large fleet of robots and operator training to support the utility companies fight against leaks. Addressing shrinkage in a low-impact manner is crucial to reducing road disruptions for councils and road users. It will also help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support the nation’s climate goals.

“We believe this scalable rapid-response technology is essential to maintaining services for homeowners and businesses across the UK. Synovate’s technology ensures the faster and more efficient detection and repair of gas leaks, contributing positively to households, communities, and the environment.”

The design and development of the robots took two years and an investment of £1.2 million. Synovate collaborated with engineering experts from Sheffield, Birmingham, Bristol, and Leeds Universities.

LeakVISION’s development was backed by the Strategic Innovation Fund, a collaboration between UK energy regulator Ofgem and Innovate UK under UK Research and Innovation.

Free leadership seminar

Harrogate-based business consultancy Quarterdeck will be holding a free leadership seminar next month.

The event will examine ‘Why most leadership training is a waste of time and money’, ‘The difference between management and leadership’, ‘Why most people fail to become a good leader’, ‘How to motivate others to greater performance’, ‘Why most people don’t bother’, and ‘The one area that most people neglect but is essential’, which deals with work-life balance.

Advertising the event, Quarterdeck’s website says:

“We’ve worked with thousands of people across hundreds of businesses and we find common threads that people encounter when trying to manage people.”

It adds:

“We’ve found that leaders are not born, they are made, and we can show you how.”

Quarterdeck’s leadership seminar will be held from 9am to 12 noon on Tuesday, November 21 at the Rudding Park Hotel in Harrogate. Bookings can be made online.

Bid to list church near Ripon as asset of community value rejected

A parish council’s bid to have a village church designated as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) has been rejected by North Yorkshire Council.

Kirkby Malzeard Methodist Church – also known as Ebenezer Chapel – had been disused since 2022 and Kirkby Malzeard, Laverton and Dallowgill Parish Council applied to have it listed as an ACV in August.

It is currently listed for sale as a commercial property with a guide price of £180,000 by Skipton estate agent David Hill.

North Yorkshire Council made its assessment last week and decided to reject the nomination because the church “does not meet the definition of community value as detailed in the Localism Act 2011”.

It also recommended that the church, which is on the village’s Main Street, be placed on the North Yorkshire Council Assets of Community Value List of Unsuccessful Nominations.

Kirkby Malzeard, Laverton and Dallowgill Parish Council will next meet on Monday (October 30), when members are expected to discuss the matter.

Harrogate hotel employee rewarded for 35 years’ service

A long-serving employee at one of Harrogate’s best-known hotels was joined by colleagues recently to mark a major career milestone.

Dave Johnson, who is events operations manager at the Majestic Hotel, celebrated 35 years in the job with prosecco and a cake baked by his wife Joanne, who is sous chef there.

He was also presented with a special golden ‘35 years’ pin-badge and given a two-day stay at the Redworth Hall Hotel near his hometown in County Durham.

He said:

“I first came to Harrogate as an 18-year-old from Shildon and thought ‘what a wonderful place’, so I stayed. I started at the Majestic as a night porter and have held quite a few positions since then.

“I even met and married Joanne here, so the Majestic has been a big part of my life.”

When Dave first started work at the hotel, the world was a very different place. The Cold War had yet to thaw, the digital revolution hadn’t even begun, and Margaret Thatcher was in No 10. In fact, she visited the Majestic twice as Prime Minister when Dave was there. He said:

“There were police on the front desk for three weeks before she came, vetting everyone who came in. Security was very tight.”

Mrs Thatcher was far from the only VIP Dave has met over the course of his career at the hotel. He met England cricketing hero Ian Botham on his first day in the job and has met lots of other famous people since then, including Prince Charles, Rudolph Giuliani, Lenny Henry, Princess Anne, Rick Astley and many others.

In 1988, the hotel was owned by Trusthouse Forte and changed hands several times until it was finally bought by the Cairn Group in 2016 and rebranded as the DoubleTree by Hilton Harrogate Majestic Hotel & Spa. Dave said:

“That was a great boost to morale. They invested £15 million in refurbishing the hotel, and our wages went up. The perks of working here now are brilliant, and we have a greater choice of hotels to stay at when we take time off. Flying the flag for Hilton also brings a lot more customers in.”

Dave may have put in a long stint at the Majestic, but at 53, he’s not ready to quit any time soon. He said:

“I just like looking after customers and meeting such a wide range of people. Maybe some day I’ll move to sunnier climes, but I’ve got no plans to move just yet.”

Police investigate death following industrial accident at farm

North Yorkshire Police and the Health and Safety Executive are investigating the death of a 28-year-old man in an industrial accident at a farm at Moor Monkton, in the Harrogate district.

The man, from Northallerton, was servicing a telehandler machine when the incident occurred at around 10.40am on Thursday, October 19.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said:

“Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances surrounding the death and a report will be submitted to the coroner in due course.
“Anyone with information about the incident can make a report to North Yorkshire Police on 101 and quote reference number 12230198599.”

A HSE spokesperson added:

“We are aware of this incident and assisting the North Yorkshire Police investigation.”

OctaPlus broadband is available across the Harrogate district. To find out if you can supercharge your connection, visit the OctaPlus website.

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