Campaigners toast £330,000 grant to relaunch village pub

Villagers campaigning to save an old inn have been awarded a £330,000 government grant to help them buy and refurbish it as a community-owned pub, bistro and coffee shop. 

Levelling Up Minister Jacob Young  announced the Community Ownership Fund grant this week for the Henry Jenkins Inn at Kirkby Malzeard, near Ripon, which has been the subject of a long battle by local residents to save it from redevelopment. 

The application for the funding was submitted by Andy Taylor, treasurer of Henry Jenkins Community Pub Ltd (HJCP), the resident-controlled company trying to buy the pub. He said:  

“We burned the midnight oil to get our Community Ownership Fund application in shape and I’m enormously proud that we’ve been selected for grant approval. 

“There is a lot to do, including raising the funds pledged by our membership, but this vote of confidence from the government will get some real impetus behind the campaign to restore the Henry Jenkins as a much-loved community asset in the village.” 

The £330,000 grant is understood to be dependent on 20% match funding, meaning that HJCP needs to come up with £66,000 in order to access it. 

The chair of HJCP, Richard Sadler, said:  

“We’re delighted that the minister and the Community Ownership Fund team have recognised that we’ve put forward a realistic and properly costed business plan for the purchase and refurbishment of this important local asset. Together with more than £200,000 worth of pledged community shares from local people, this puts us in a strong position to do something exceptional. 

“We’re convinced that the revival of this historic building as a community-owned facility can make a huge difference to our village by creating an exciting new social space, bringing people together and helping to kick-start the regeneration of the local economy.” 

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The Henry Jenkins opened in the 1700s but closed in 2011 and was bought by current owner David Fielder the following year. At the instigation of local residents, it was first listed by Harrogate Borough Council as an asset of community value in 2017. However, in 2018 the listing on the eastern annexe was removed by the council, when it was sold to Mr Fielder’s business associate, Justin Claybourn. 

Since then, the owners and campaigners have been at loggerheads, with Mr Fielder rejecting six purchase offers from the HJCP group and refusing permission for a site survey. Mr Claybourn once even told HJCP that he would not sell to them “at any time or any price”. 

Happy to sell

But Mr Fielder told the Stray Ferret today he’d be willing to sell the pub immediately, for the right price. He said: 

“I’d be happy to sell. It’s up to them to call in the pledges, and then we’ll sell – for either £250,000 for the pub or £500,000 for the whole site including the house next door. 

“It’s stood empty since 2012, so it’d be nice to see it put to proper use.” 

Mr Sadler would not be drawn on how much HJCP would be willing to pay, but said: 

“We remain open to discussions with Mr Fielder, but we won’t entertain the idea of buying at above market price, and we insist on being able to have a survey and structural assessment carried out before negotiations begin, so that we can calculate exactly what the refurbishment costs would be. 

“The owner has allowed the pub to fall into a dilapidated state, he’s stripped out the interior, the roof has started to fall in, and the beer garden is completely overgrown. Through our local ward councillor, we have begun preliminary discussions with North Yorkshire Council over a proposed compulsory purchase order to break the deadlock and secure the Henry Jenkins for future generations. 

“We would like to make clear that we still regard compulsory purchase as a last resort. We are always open to discussions with the owner over purchase of the site but we will only pay a fair market price and so would need his permission for a proper valuation and structural survey.” 

The Mechanics Institute in Kirkby Malzeard

 

The Queen’s Head is also in the village.

Mr Fielder, who lives near Selby, bought his first pub in 1987 and has since amassed a broad property portfolio, which includes 18 pubs across North and West Yorkshire, industrial estates, farms, residential properties and student lets. 

Despite being prepared to sell the Henry Jenkins, he said he feared what impact its refurbishment might have on other local businesses. He said: 

“God knows what effect it’ll have on the Queens Head and the Mechanics’ Institute. There’s no way a village like Kirkby Malzeard can sustain three licensed premises plus an off-licence. That’s a fact, and I’ll be proved right. 

“There’s a lot of people struggling at the moment, so I think they might have difficulties collecting all the pledges. But that’s their problem, not mine. 

“If they can come up with the money, that’d be fantastic, but if they can’t then there’s no story, I’m afraid.”

The Henry Jenkins is named after a Yorkshire supercentenarian from Ellerton-on-Swale – 20 miles north of Kirkby Malzeard – who was said to have been 169 years old when he died in 1670.

Harrogate’s ‘HR detective’ launches new podcast to solve workplace ‘people puzzles’

This story is sponsored by Gorse Culture POD.

A Harrogate HR expert has turned detective to help fellow professionals “solve the people puzzle” through a series of free podcasts. 

Jo Gorse, who works with clients across the UK and internationally, is teaming up with a different special guest each week to unpick HR issues common to all kinds of business. She said: 

“I love TV detective shows, and in some ways, what I do follows a similar format. My podcasts investigate common issues, talk to expert witnesses, and come up with actionable solutions. This is the HR Detective Agency, where we help you solve the ‘people puzzle’ one piece at a time.” 

Jo has the highest level of HR qualification – the equivalent of a Master’s degree – accredited by industry body the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), is a qualified coach in change management, and has worked with large public-sector organisations as well as private-sector multinationals. 

In each Gorse Culture PODcast, she uses her expertise to dissect issues that HR professionals frequently have to deal with. So far, Jo and her guests, from as far afield as the USA and Sri Lanka, have looked at issues including psychological safety, creating fair and transparent reward systems, and supporting staff attendance with the right mindset. 

Photo of Jo Gorse with fellow HR professional Eleanor Wilde, in the studio to record Jo's first podcast.

In her first podcast, Jo (left) discussed ‘wellbeing on a limited budget’ with Eleanor Wilde.

The new podcast episode, released on Wednesday (September 27), will feature guest Glenn Martin, founder & CEO of Never Mind The Job Spec, who will join Jo to look at human-centred recruitment to solve retention problems. 

Jo said: 

“One organisation I worked with had 45% staff turnover, plus a lot of absence due to stress. I found the organisation didn’t really have any support mechanisms in place. People would be formally monitored about their absences, but receive very little support. Employees became disengaged, and it created a culture of low motivation, which impacted the business’s targets.

“It needed a cultural transformation, which included managers acknowledging the problem, as well as employee engagement in setting the future focus of the company. As a result, staff ended up measurably happier and the company started holding on to its employees. Everyone benefited.”

Jo has created the podcast series specially for business leaders and HR professionals to tackle their companies’ ‘people puzzles’. She said:

“Their business might have had a growth spurt, or they may have to take the difficult decision to make redundancies, or manage employee relations issues, such as complex investigations. 

“These podcasts break down the problem and discuss how best to approach it. We examine it, pick it apart, and come up with clear, practical answers.” 

Find out more:

You can download Human-centred Recruitment to Solve Retention, with Glenn Martin, as well as all previous podcasts and show notes for each episode, on Jo’s website. 

To apply for a guest slot on a podcast episode, to give feedback on any of the issues discussed, or to submit your ‘people puzzle’ for podcast examination by the HR Detective Agency, email hello@gorseculturepod.com.

 

 

Roadworks to hit main road in Harrogate over half-term break

One of Harrogate’s busiest arterial roads is to be dug up for two weeks, including over the half-term holiday.

A stretch of Skipton Road between King Edward’s Drive and the railway line will undergo routine repair and maintenance works carried out by Northern Gas Networks between Monday, October 23 and Friday, November 3.

The schools’ half-term break covers the week commencing Monday, October 30.

The news comes hot on the heels of lengthy and disruptive roadworks further west along Skipton Road, which only ended on September 6.

Scott Kitchingman, operations manager at NGN, said:

“We are carrying out some work in the Skipton Road area of Harrogate during the October school half-term break; the dates have been planned in to try to minimise disruption to the public.

“We are still determining the precise area of where we will be working, however, information will be communicated once plans are finalised.

“We apologise in advance for any disruption caused by these works, but it is essential that we work proactively in areas identified as having pipes that could be at risk.”

NGN is the company responsible for piping gas around most of the north of England and is currently carrying out a huge programme to replace old metal pipes with new plastic ones.

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Harrogate’s ‘inner-city school’ is improving, says headteacher

When Harrogate High School held its autumn open evening on Thursday, there will have been some parents present who needed to be won over. 

After 10 years of being rated ‘satisfactory’ by Ofsted, and then another 10 years rated ‘good’, the school was downgraded earlier this year to ‘requires improvement’ – the third-best out of four ratings.

But speaking to the Stray Ferret ahead of the open evening, headteacher Sukhraj Gill said the thorny subject of the school’s Ofsted report was not one he was going to duck. He said: 

“It’s the first thing I talk about on parents’ evenings – it’s not an elephant in the room for me. On paper, we’re ‘requires improvement’, but we are improving.” 

Mr Gill arrived at Harrogate High in January 2022 and had been in post little over a year when the Ofsted inspectors came the following spring.

A graduate of the University of Warwick, he completed his teaching qualifications at the University of Cambridge and taught maths for over 20 years in West Yorkshire, including a decade at Bradford Academy (then rated ‘good’), where he was vice principal. 

Photo of the headteacher of Harrogate High School, Sukhraj Gill, standing in front of the school.

He said: 

“Before I started this job, people said to me ‘Harrogate High? That’s the worst school in Harrogate’. I heard all those descriptions of the school before I even set foot through the door.

“That just tells me that these students need good-quality education, and good-quality people who value them and can help them grow and move on to their next destinations. 

“I’m not saying I’m anybody special, but I think I can bring a bit of experience and strategy.” 

He came to Harrogate High at a time when the school – like many around the country – was still reeling from the covid pandemic. The school had lost its sixth form, and a lot of students – even those from secure, well-off backgrounds – were displaying the traits of social disadvantage: disorganisation, lack of focus, and persistent absenteeism.

Mr Gill, who is the school’s third headteacher since the last Ofsted inspection in 2017, said: 

“At that time, we [already] had some turbulence among the teachers and leadership here. We own that – we’re not going to hide from that. But we’re part of the Northern Star Academies Trust, and they were all over that, hiring a school improvement officer and replacing the senior leaders here. I was the last piece, as the headteacher.” 

But the changes didn’t stop at new staff. The Ofsted report highlighted several areas where the school, which has around 750 students, needed to improve, and Mr Gill is introducing best practice strategies to effect the necessary changes. 

One criticism of the school was that the implementation of the curriculum in some subjects was not as effective as in others, so he has developed a teacher toolkit, which lays out the different phases that every lesson must feature. 

Ofsted also pointed out that some staff didn’t not use the school behaviour policy consistently, so Mr Gill has created scripts for teachers to use in the most common situations. 

Another observation was that the personal development curriculum was not planned to the same level as subject curriculum planning, so the school identified its core values under the acronym CARES – courage, aspiration, respect, equality and self-control – which permeate school life. 

The watchword is consistency – in expectations, behaviour, lesson structure and planning. Mr Gill said: 

“This is an evidence-based approach, and it’s effective for all students, even high attainers. If you have consistency in learning, language, the way teachers teach, it helps students make an impact quicker.” 

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Beyond the classroom, there is a wide range of extracurricular activities, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards have been reintroduced, there’s a farm twinning project with Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and there are even plans to create an urban farm at the school at some point over the next three years. 

For the more academically minded, Mr Gill says the curriculum was built “from the top down” rather than from the bottom up, and is delivered with high expectations. 

The overall mission is to be a school for the community which supports every child regardless of background, says Mr Gill: 

“My experience of working in inner cities is good for Harrogate High School, because this is effectively an inner-city comprehensive school – even though Harrogate is a town. This is a true comprehensive school. We’ve got affluence and high attainers, and we’ve also got some real disadvantage, and that’s not always appreciated by the wider community.” 

The data reinforces the point. Harrogate High School has the highest percentage of children with special educational needs and disability (SEND) of all the mainstream schools in North Yorkshire. Nearly 30% of children receive free school meals, compared with 15% across the county and around 24% nationally. Mr Gill said: 

“We’ve got children here who are looked-after children, we’ve got children who are young carers for parents who are drug abusers, we’ve got children who we feed breakfast to, because they can’t get it at home. But we’re an inclusive school. We won’t let any child down.” 

Whether Mr Gill is successful in his mission could be measured in various ways, but he says his mindset has never been based around his personal success – it’s always about the students. He said: 

“When you make a difference to students who need the difference made, that brings the greatest sense of fulfilment. 

“I’m a very spiritual person – I do a lot of meditation – and I’ve always thought we’re chosen to be here, at this point in time.” 

The other obvious measure of success will be the next Ofsted inspection – whenever that may come – but that doesn’t seem to faze him. He said: 

“We’ve put strategies into place and we’re now starting to see a culture shift. If Ofsted came in a year’s time, I believe we’d have a completely different report. 

“But we don’t work just to an Ofsted inspection – it only reflects a point in time. We work for the students. We serve our community. That’s who we’re here for.”

North Yorkshire chief constable announces retirement

The chief constable of North Yorkshire Police has announced she will retire after more than 30 years in uniform. 

Lisa Winward will step down from the £154,000-a-year role at the end of March 2024; her successor has yet to be named. 

She said she was “immensely proud to have been a police officer and public servant for 30 years”, adding:

“It was a very difficult decision to make but I feel that the time is right for me to retire.

“I will still be here for several months and look forward to saying goodbyes in person to as many people as possible who I have had the privilege to meet during my time in policing.”

Chief constable Winward began her policing journey as a volunteer special constable in York.

Following service through the ranks of constable through to chief inspector for Humberside Police, Lisa resumed her service to North Yorkshire in 2008, serving the City of York as chief inspector, superintendent and commander between 2009 and 2013. 

She has served in key roles at the heart of North Yorkshire Police including executive officer to the then-chief constable, head of uniformed operations, major crime, specialist operations, criminal justice, and force intelligence.

After leading the local policing portfolio as assistant chief constable throughout 2016, in February 2017 she became deputy chief constable at North Yorkshire Police. In August 2018, she was confirmed as chief constable. 

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A statement issued by North Yorkshire Police said: 

“Her vision and passion for understanding and addressing the root causes of crime and disorder in communities has been a hallmark of her tenure as chief, positioning North Yorkshire Police to play its part in early intervention, and working seamlessly with partner organisations to help the residents of York and North Yorkshire be safe and feel safe.” 

Chief constable Winward is a graduate of the FBI’s National Academy development programme in leadership and policing, and during her time as a chief officer has been the lead on a number of national portfolios, including citizens in policing, women’s health, and menopause. She is a trustee for the Police Treatment Centre and the chair of the British Police Symphony Orchestra. She currently leads for the National Police Chiefs’ Council on intelligence, local policing and senior assessment, and in 2022 was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for distinguished policing service. 

Paying tribute, North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoë Metcalfe said: 

“Her dedication of over 30 years of public service and collaboration has shone through whilst serving as a leader here at North Yorkshire Police and I feel privileged to have spent time working alongside such a remarkable individual.

“I know all of us here in York and North Yorkshire wish Lisa well in her future plans.”

Harrogate school to create city farm

Leaders at Harrogate High School aim to create an urban farm in the school’s grounds, it has been revealed. 

Harrogate High is part of the Northern Star Academies Trust, which also includes Skipton Girls’ High School and seven primaries, including New Park, Hookstone Chase, Willow Tree and Starbeck. 

Jenn Plews, chief executive of Northern Star, told the Stray Ferret the trust was “really ambitious” for the school’s Ainsty Road site. 

She said: 

“We have an ambition to open a city farm here, probably within the next three years.

“As part of our environmental and sustainability priority, all of our schools are really focused on the farm-to-fork agenda, the walk-to school agenda, and also bringing nature in, so a lot of our schools have got a lot of plants and nature brought in from outside. 

“We’ve had a farm-twinning project with AONB Nidderdale [Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty] over the last year, and last year we had over 1,000 children going out to farms as part of their education, which has been incredible.” 

What form the farm would take, and what it would include, have yet to be decided. Ms Plews said: 

“We’d have to work out what animals we’d have, to start with. We’ve already got goats and chickens at New Park, and ducks, and we’ve got two apiaries in the trust that produce honey.  

“What this school needs is a really great partner, because we can’t do it on our own.” 

She said the ideal partner would be a care farm. Care farms use farm-related activities for therapeutic purposes and provide healthcare, social care and specialist educational services. 

She added: 

“A farm would also allow us to give our students opportunities in animal care and husbandry qualifications.” 

Harrogate High headteacher Sukhraj Gill added: 

“If children are having mental health needs and wellbeing needs, the farm would be a different environment that they can get involved in. All the research shows that extracurricular things like that will help.” 

Mr Gill gave the Stray Ferret a wider-ranging interview, which will be published over the weekend.

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Jobs on offer as Strive Group expands in automotive sector

This story is sponsored by Strive Group.

A connected experience agency in Harrogate is looking to take on more staff to help it expand its services to new clients. 

Strive Group, which works mainly with household names in the automotive sector, is recruiting initially for inside sales positions, based at its head office off Wetherby Road.

The company has several customer-focused teams, all supporting their clients with their customer experience journeys. Whether this be supporting customers through the process of buying a vehicle online, creating lead generation and opportunities for Volvo Corporate Sales, or booking in MOTs and services, and making mystery shopper calls.

Strive is now looking to expand its offering to other automotive manufacturers and is recruiting for Inside Sales Executives.

Helen Falgate, head of employee relations at Strive, said: 

“More customers are buying online now, so we take them through the retail journey, from initial enquiry right through to final purchase. It’s all completed remotely, but they always have just one point of contact, and we ensure that it’s a very personal service.”

Strive currently employs more than 60 people, and works with well-known brands including Volvo and Honda. But Helen said no experience or knowledge of working with cars was necessary for the new roles, as they depend more on having the right attitude: 

“There’s a lot of trust involved. That’s why the people we employ are absolutely essential. They need to be people who want to do their best for the customer. 

“People who have worked in retail and hospitality are often good at this, as they know how to be personable and build up a relationship with someone. Everybody we employ, we employ for their character. 

“But we don’t just want them to be good for us – we want us to be good for them. It’s a case of getting the right quality of people, rather than just getting the right quantity.” 

Photo of Sarah Chandler, who works at Strive Group.

Strive employee Sarah Chandler, who works in inside sales for client Volvo Cars.

Sarah Chandler has a background in recruitment and started working at Strive in March 2022 as a contact centre executive. In June, she moved to inside sales, and now works with the Volvo team. She said: 

“I never knew much about cars, but Strive helped me build up my knowledge so that I am able to answer any questions a customer might ask. If you’re prepared to put something in, Strive will help you develop in your career as much as you want to progress.

“The rewards are good too. The targets are for the whole team, and very achievable – I’ve earned my bonus every month I’ve been here.

She added:

“This is the most positive environment I’ve ever worked in. It doesn’t feel like there’s a hierarchy – it might sound like a cliché, but it genuinely feels like a family here.” 

For more information about the roles on offer and to apply for any of the posts, go to Strive Group’s careers page by clicking or tapping here.

Honeybees given new home on Harrogate shopping centre roof

Honeybees are making their home in the heart of Harrogate after new hives were installed on the roof of Victoria Shopping Centre. 

The move comes due to a partnership with Spa Bees, a Harrogate-based not-for-profit organisation dedicated to honeybee conservation. 

The purpose of the hives is to create a safe habitat for the bees, which play a crucial role in pollination and the overall health of the environment, promoting sustainability and enhancing biodiversity in the town centre. 

Stuart Gibson, of Spa Bees, said: 

“We were delighted to be contacted by Victoria Shopping Centre to install two beehives on the shopping centre roof. Bees will generally collect pollen within a one-mile radius of their hive, but they will travel farther afield, so there are plenty of trees and plants for them to tend to around the town centre and beyond.

“Developing this project, there are also plans to plant flowers in planters on the rooftop which will encourage more insects and pollinators to the area.” 

The beehives are expected to produce a significant amount of honey, and Spa Bees hopes to host a pop-up at Victoria Shopping Centre over the coming year to sell its honey. 

James White, centre manager of Victoria Shopping Centre, said: 

“We are thrilled to have partnered with Harrogate Bees. At Victoria Shopping Centre, we are committed to sustainability and eco-conscious practices, and the installation of these beehives aligns perfectly with our efforts to create a more environmentally friendly space for our community. 

“Through our collaboration with Harrogate Spa Bees, we are excited to engage and educate the public about the importance of honeybee conservation and the positive impact it has on our environment.” 

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Harrogate road dug up — just days after it was resurfaced

A road in Harrogate had to be dug up last week to fix a gas leak – which was caused by council resurfacing work just days earlier. 

North Yorkshire Council had just completed work near the Stray, giving the top end of North Park Road a pristine new surface at a cost it estimated at £144,350. 

But the tarmac was barely set when gas was smelt and remedial work ordered.

Northern Gas Networks, the company responsible for piping gas across most of the north of England, was called in and the leak was fixed the next day, with repairs reducing traffic to a single lane for the day. 

But NGN claimed the leak had been caused by the council’s machinery. 

Photo of the repair to North Park Road carried out by Northern Gas Networks following a gas leak.

The pristine new surface of North Park Road already has a repair patch.

Dominic Nevison, site manager for NGN, told the Stray Ferret: 

“We recently attended a gas escape on North Road, Harrogate. We were able to successfully repair the affected standpipe. 

“The cause of the gas escape was due to disruptions during the resurfacing of the road. Although this does not happen frequently it is something that can occur on occasions. 

“I am pleased to say that we were able to swiftly resolve the issue and reinstatement was carried out and completed at the end of last week.” 

“Our priority was to repair the escape as an urgent priority and ensure the road could be re-opened when safe to do so.” 

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Princess Anne makes three visits in Harrogate before flying south

Harrogate was favoured with a rare royal visit today, when Princess Anne made three separate appearances in the town. 

As patron of the UK’s two Police Treatment Centres, the Princess Royal visited the new clinical services wing at St Andrews PTC on Harlow Moor Road.

The PTCs treat injured and ill police members through its physiotherapy and psychological wellbeing programmes, and the new facility was created to meet the increased demand for psychological wellbeing support.

Patrick Cairns, chief executive of the PTC, said:

“For Her Royal Highness to convey her support for the police treatment centres by becoming our patron is a tremendous honour for our charity and it is clear that the Princess Royal understands the challenges that the police service are currently under and the work that we do in treating ill and injured police officers for a range of physical and mental health injuries.”

Credit: Tim Hardy.

The princess then headed to Starbeck charity Claro Enterprises, whose commercial workshops enable people with long-term mental health conditions to function in a real work environment. 

It was the princess’s second visit to Claro Enterprises; her first visit 30 years ago prompted several changes at the charity, including the development of ongoing revenue streams via partnerships with some of the region’s best-known companies, such as Betty’s, Farrah’s and Robert Thompson’s Craftsmen, maker of Mouseman furniture. 

Claro Enterprises general manager Owen Jones said: 

“It was a real privilege to receive a second visit from Princess Anne today. We had about 40 people here to meet her and they loved it.

“She was great – from the moment she got out of the car, she was relaxed and very personable, talking to everybody and taking a real interest in what they do. It was fantastic.” 

Finally, she headed up Station Parade and dropped in on Woods Fine Linen, the long-established family business which has supplied royal households since it was founded in 1895.  

Photo of the Princess Royal meeting William Woods and staff at Woods of Harrogate.

William Woods and his daughter, interior design director Sarah Woods (second left), greet the Princess Royal as crowds look on.

William Woods, chief executive of Woods Fine Linen, told the Princess Royal: 

“Words cannot adequately describe our gratitude and appreciation of your visit today. It means a huge amount to us all and encourages us to maintain our family values of quality, high standards and sustainability in everything we do. We have never been part of the throwaway society.” 

Mr Woods presented the princess with a selection of products, including one of his company’s famous linen dishcloths and a luxury pillow wrapped in brown paper and string — as has been the tradition at Woods for over 125 years.

He also gave her the two volumes of Wells and Swells: The Golden Age of Harrogate Spa, 1842–1923, by his good friend and local historian, the late Malcolm Neesam. 

Photo of the royal helicopter that landed on the Stray and then took Princess Anne to West Yorkshire.

The royal helicopter landed on the Stray and then took Princess Anne to West Yorkshire. Photo: Lucy Arundel.

Mr Woods added: 

“Her Royal Highness was delightful. She’s a very knowledgeable lady, and she’d clearly done her homework.”

The Princess Royal, 73, has long been regarded as one of the hardest-working royals – last year, she attended 214 engagements – and following her three stops in Harrogate, her helicopter took off from the Stray to take her to further engagements in West Yorkshire.

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