The story is sponsored by Harvey George.

A couple in Wetherby loved their bespoke furniture units from Harvey George so much that they hired the firm to fit out almost every room – in both their houses. 

Bespoke cherry wood dining table for the kitchen.

When Leon and Linda Wheeler completely renovated their detached, four-bedroom house, they were looking for a company that would take the time to understand what they wanted, and then execute the plan to perfection. 

Leon said: 

“We weren’t really price-driven, although that did come into it. It was more about getting the right team on board, who could show flexibility and an understanding of our objectives.

“We didn’t know about Harvey George – we found them through Google. But they came round to visit and measured up, and we just felt confident about them as a business.

“Being a business-owner myself, I was looking for a small, local company who would have a more personal approach and would take real care to get things right. Harvey George have delivered that for us, time and again.”

Harvey George is the UK’s largest manufacturer of bespoke painted and oak bathroom vanity units, and also makes kitchen cabinets and storage solutions of every kind – all made to measure by Yorkshire craftsmen. Its full range can be viewed at its 10,000 sq ft showroom on Hookstone Park in Harrogate.

Bespoke colour-matched vanity unit created by Harvey George.

The Wheelers commissioned the company to make a long list of items for their home, including oak-veneered bedside tables for the master bedroom and a colour-matched vanity unit for its en suite bathroom, a vanity unit and wardrobes in their daughter’s bedroom, a wardrobe and cupboarding in their son’s bedroom, fabulous birdseye maple alcove units for the sitting room, and a showstopper bespoke cherry wood dining table for the kitchen. 

They were so impressed with the quality and service from Harvey George that they hired the firm to fit out rooms in another five-bedroom property they bought nearby. 

Leon said: 

“Harvey George helped us create a practical, usable home that looks fantastic, and their customer service is of the very high standard I demand of my own employees.

“We’ll probably be moving house over the next couple of years, and when we do, we will definitely call on Harvey George again. We made the mistake of trying a different company for our kitchen, and ironing out all the snags took forever. Next time, we’ll just go straight to Harvey George for everything.”

See more:

If you’re impressed by the Wheeler’s home and wish to discuss creating your own bespoke furniture units, visit Harvey George’s Harrogate showroom to discuss your bespoke furniture needs over a complimentary drink at The Inspiration Centre, Unit 3, Hookstone Park, Harrogate HG2 7DB.

To make an appointment, call 01423 810070.

The bedroom features a bespoke wardrobe.

A bespoke headboard designed to compliment the bedroom.

The couple opted for a made-to-measure media unit designed by Harvey George.

The debate over the Stray’s official designation has been rekindled following an intervention by Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough. 

He became involved in the controversy after the Open Spaces Society applied to register Harrogate’s 200-acre expanse as common land, a move which has been met with opposition by some in the town. 

Mr Jones wrote to the general secretary of the OSS seeking more information about the application. He said:

“After reading it carefully it was still difficult to see why the Open Spaces Society had made this application. I was unclear what it would achieve and why this designation was needed when we already have law – the Stray Act – giving the area protection.  

“The Stray Act has served us well. It limits large-scale use of the land; changes can only be made after Parliamentary scrutiny, and where the Stray is damaged it has to be restored by law.” 

Founded in 1865 as the Commons Preservation Society, the OSS is Britain’s oldest national conservation body. Its past victories include the preservation of Hampstead Heath, Wimbledon Common and Epping Forest. 

When the Commons Registration Act 1965 came into force, the Stray was exempted from inclusion in the common land register, but following the passing of the Commons Act 2006, the OSS has been trying to register such exempted land and wants to bring the Stray “back into the fold”. 

When the application was made in January 2023, OSS case officer Hugh Craddock said: 

“The decision in the 1960s to keep the Stray off the registers was understandable but misguided. Only a quarter of one per cent of registered common land was exempted from registration, and exemption proved to be both misleading and unhelpful. The Stray has always been common land, and ought to be registered as common land.” 

Frances Kerner, the OSS’ commons re-registration officer who made the application, added: 

“Registration can only reinforce the protection already afforded to the Stray under the Harrogate Stray Act 1985.  The land will also become protected under the Commons Act 2006. And registration will ensure that those who buy and sell land adjacent to the common are always notified of its protected status.”

‘Unnecessary and alarming’

But Judy d’Arcy Thompson, chair of the Stray Defence Association (SDA), said the application was unnecessary as the Stray already enjoyed three layers of protection: it is Crown land; it was granted in 1778 to the people of Harrogate “forever hereafter” under the Enclosures Act of 1770; and it is safeguarded by the Harrogate Stray Act 1985. 

Writing to the commons registration officer at North Yorkshire Council, she said: 

“The SDA has been contacted by many who are worried and would like to know what is going to happen. All are bewildered as they have always felt certain that their beloved Stray was already fully protected and they are alarmed in equal measure as to what might happen should the OSS application be approved.”

A drone image of West Park Stray. Picture: David Simister

Ms d’Arcy Thompson also pointed to the fact that some parts of the Stray are not connected with the main 200-acre expanse, such as land in the Woodlands area and the grass verges, or “slips”, along Wetherby Road, Skipton Road and Knaresborough Road. She said if the Stray was designated common land, some people could theoretically be barred from crossing those verges, effectively denying them access to their own property.

She also feared that the OSS may be working from the wrong maps – a concern first raised by the late Harrogate historian Malcolm Neesam. 

She said: 

“This kind of designation has happened elsewhere and has caused such legal machinations that in some cases it has ended up in the High Court and cost a lot of money. We don’t want that to happen here. 

“It might not turn out like that here, but knowing how careful people have to be with maps and boundaries, the OSS only need to get one small thing wrong to cause a lot of trouble. This may prove to be a legal minefield in the making.” 

‘It would strengthen protection’

In its reply to Mr Jones, the OSS said that, using a mechanism provided by Part 1 of the Commons Act 2006, its policy is now to apply to register as common land all exempted land in North Yorkshire, including the Stray. It said:  

“Registration will ensure that the exempted land properly is recognised as registered common land and will be reported as such on a search conducted in relation to a purchase of land or house adjacent to the common (where for example access is required over the common).  

“It will also ensure that the land definitively is brought within the protection of Part 3 of the 2006 Act, which provides for controls on works on common land, with a régime for the Secretary of State to consent to such works.”

It added: 

“The controls in Part 3 of the 2006 Act will be in addition to those set out in the Harrogate Stray Act 1985. Far from weakening the 1985 Act regime, registration will strengthen the protection for the Stray.” 

But Mr Jones said: 

“In the response from the Open Spaces Society I could still see no positive reason to progress this application. They may think that the exemption in 1965 was misguided and they may have some blanket policy they are implementing from their Henley-on-Thames HQ. But the important thing is to ensure the Stray is protected rather than ticking some policy box.  

“The Stray Act is very powerful protection. That will not change, so the question remains about the purpose of this new common land application. I simply haven’t yet been given any meaningful reasons by the Open Spaces Society to support their proposal.” 

Ms d’Arcy Thompson also remains unswayed. She said: 

“We’re not being petty – we’re just foreseeing potential problems. Why open the Pandora’s box to possible litigation here, there and everywhere? 

“It’s all ifs and buts and maybes, but we don’t want to see something happen that could cause stress and expense when the status quo works very well.”

Read more:

• Student to run 100km around the Stray at night for charity
• Ramshackle phone box transformed into Stray information point
• Cherry trees on Harrogate’s Stray vandalised again

Roadworks that have caused over a week of long tailbacks in the north of Harrogate will be completed tomorrow, ahead of schedule, the utility company responsible has said. 

Works at the junction of Ripon Road and Coppice Drive started on June 19 and reduced one of the town’s main arterial roads to a trickle of traffic, moving in one direction at a time and directed by temporary three-way traffic lights — causing misery for motorists. 

Northern Gas Networks said they were “part of our essential works programme to ensure the continued safe and reliable supply of gas to customers”, but added that the road would be cleared for two-way traffic on Thursday. 

Mark Mawhood, operations manager at NGN, told the Stray Ferret today:  

“Upon starting the work, we realised that there were some unforeseen engineering difficulties and we therefore sought an extension to complete the works until July 7. We are pleased, however, that, using a different technique, work has finished today. The filling in of holes and laying tarmac will be completed tomorrow and then all traffic management will be removed. 

“Once again, apologies for any inconvenience caused and bearing with us. Safety is our first priority and works can sometimes take longer than anticipated depending on any problems that may arise. We have been working closely with North Yorkshire Council throughout the process and keeping them informed of our developments.” 

Read more:

• Busy Knaresborough junction reopens after roadworks end early
• Three months of roadworks between Ripon and Harrogate start tomorrow
• Road closure continues after gas pipe problem found in Knaresborough

This story is sponsored by Howard Conrad.

Yorkshire’s number-one Apple specialist repair company is offering Mac owners a free software tune-up this summer.

The service, which is like a “digital spring-clean”, would normally cost £49, but Howard Conrad, an independent firm based in Harrogate, is offering it free of charge throughout the month of July, with absolutely no strings or obligations.

Steve Murray, who has been a Mac technician at Howard Conrad for over six years, said: 

“A lot of people don’t realise how easily they can accumulate years’ worth of redundant software updates and applications; ultimately they will clog up your system and slow it down. We’ve even seen people lose personal data due to software faults caused by storage issues.”

All Howard Conrad’s repairs come with a three-year warranty.

Steve said:

There’s long been a myth that you can’t get a virus on a Mac, but it’s not true. They maybe less common than they are on windows computers, but they adapt and overcome defences, and can still infect Apple devices. You shouldn’t just rely on your Mac’s security software – it’s no guarantee of safety.”

Howard Conrad, which is based on Leeds Road, was founded over a decade ago and specialises in repairing iPads, iPhones and Macs. All its repairs come with a three-year warranty. 

Steve said: 

“We’ve built up a really good reputation across the region and put a huge amount of effort into keeping up to date on all the latest Apple technology. A lot of our time is spent learning and researching, and we all help each other keep on top of developments. 

“It’s more of a passion project than a job, to be honest, because we’re all massive Apple fans, so that definitely helps.” 

Find out more: 

Howard Conrad’s free Apple Mac software tune-up offer can only be accessed using the Stray Ferret link – just click here.

To find out more about Howard Conrad’s services, visit the website or speak to a Harrogate-based technician on 01423 228420. 

A student from Harrogate is aiming to run 100km – 62 miles – around Oatlands Stray to raise money for charity. 

Morgan Glazier, 21, will run for 12 hours through the night of Friday, June 30 to Saturday, July 1 – and will then cap it off by completing the 5km Harrogate Parkrun.  

Morgan, who left Rossett School in 2020, said: 

“I’ve been out practising a lot over the last couple of months, building up my mileage and getting used to the pace I’ll be keeping on the night. My route around Oatlands Stray is about a mile long, and I’m hoping to manage as many as 62 laps, but if it gets really tough, I may have to make do with 52, but that’s still a double marathon.” 

The run is part of Morgan’s longer-term fundraising plan. He has just finished the final year of his degree in economics at the University of Bristol and plans to mark the achievement by running the Budapest Marathon in October in aid of the Meningitis Research Foundation.  

But to secure his place, he must raise 80% of his £1,000 fundraising target by the end of July, and he is hoping his epic Stray all-nighter will be a way of hitting his target fast. He will be supported through the night by friends and family, some of whom plan to keep him company for a few laps. 

This is not the first time Morgan has set himself an ambitious target to raise money for charity. In 2020, aged just 18, he ran 465 miles in 30 days, raising over £9,000 for mental health charity Mind.

Morgan said:  

“I’ve been running for years, but this 12-hour challenge is new territory for me – I’ve never run this far in one go before, but that’s part of the fun.” 

Meningitis is the inflammation of the membranes that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord. It can kill, and survivors can be left with long-term effects, such hearing loss, brain injury and limb loss. 

Students are the second-biggest group at risk of contracting meningitis, after babies and toddlers. 

The Meningitis Research Foundation funds work to find new ways of preventing meningitis and septicaemia, and to mitigate their effects. 

To support Morgan and help him on his way to his £1,000 fundraising target for the Meningitis Research Foundation, go to his JustGiving page and make a donation. 

Read more:

• 30 runs, 30 days, 465 miles: Harrogate teenager crosses finish line
• Knaresborough runners to take on first Leeds Marathon to tackle MND
• Woman visiting daughter’s grave issues dog fouling plea

A change in the council’s bin regime is seeing dog-waste pile up by the roadside, according to local residents. 

Over the last week, North Yorkshire Council has removed the familiar red dog-waste bins from Knox, which is on the north-west edge of Harrogate. In their place, they have put green wheelie bins, but not all in the same positions as the bins they replace. 

Knox resident Maxie Schiffmann-Rowinski said: 

“They’ve put a wheelie bin right outside our house, and now it’s filling up with dog poo and it really stinks in this warm weather. 

“All of us living down here are pretty angry about this. This lane is very popular with dog-walkers, and some who don’t know about the green bin are just leaving their dog-poo bags on the ground where the dog-waste bin used to be.  

“I’ve complained to the council via their online form, but had no reply.” 

Asked about the move, Karl Battersby, North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director of environment, told the Stray Ferret the bins had been removed following a service review, and that the council was being guided by good practice outlined by the Waste and Recycling Action Partnership in its Right Bin, Right Place study. 

He said:  

“The newer bins have a larger capacity and house a wheeled bin. This means they are efficiently emptied by our larger wagons, reducing the risk from manual handling individual bags. With the greater capacity, fewer bins are required which helps to reduce street furniture, particularly in locations where two bins may have been placed close together. 

“This and other new bins will be emptied less frequently due to the increase in capacity, but they will be emptied as often as required, taking seasonal variances into account. 

“The replacement bin at the end of Knox Lane was planned to be further down the lane, in close proximity to existing street furniture. We will check it’s correctly positioned.” 

The council has installed a large new bin at the end of Knox Lane… but some dog-walkers have yet to get the message.

Paul Haslam, the North Yorkshire councillor serving Bilton and Nidd Gorge, said he was party to the decision-making process that led to the policy change, but that it had not been implemented as he had imagined it would be. He said: 

“This looks like a well-intentioned project that’s gone wrong. I agreed with the principle behind the plans: to make it easier by using more machinery, which in some cases would result in changes of locations and frequency of emptying. 

“But it’s quite obvious that the way it’s turned out is not ideal – there are not enough bins and some of them are in the wrong place.” 

North Yorkshire Council’s Mr Battersby said that the bin replacements in Bilton and Knox would be followed by others in Harrogate.  

He said: 

“Surrounding parishes have already had the work completed, and Bilton is the first of the urban areas to start and receive the new bins.” 

But Cllr Haslam said the policy needed to be reviewed and that’s what the council would do. He said: 

“I’ll be meeting with street-cleansing officers on Monday and we’ll be going over the whole of the Bilton and Knox area and seeing how it can be improved. 

“The council is not going to roll any more bins out until we’ve got Bilton and Knox right.”

Read more:

• Concerns over ‘undemocratic’ planning meeting on Knox Lane houses
• Harrogate council defends new ‘oversized’ bins
• Discarded dog poo bags leaving Harrogate ‘disgusted’

Pineheath, the derelict mansion on the Duchy estate that failed to find a buyer at auction earlier this month, is to be re-offered for sale at a much reduced price. 

The 17,000 sq ft, 40-room house on Cornwall Road in Harrogate was earlier marketed for £3.5 million, but will now be included in FSS’ next auction with a guide price of £3 million. 

Pineheath was built in the 1890s and from 1927 was the Harrogate home of Sir Dhunjibhoy Bomanji, a wealthy Indian shipping magnate who been knighted in 1922 after reportedly donating £1 million to the war effort during the First World War.  

In its heyday as a family home, Pineheath was fully staffed and had gold-plated taps, a centrally-heated garage of Rolls-Royces, and its distinctive glazed cupola is said to have been covered in gold leaf. 

Following the death of Sir Dhunjibhoy’s daughter in 2012, Pineheath was sold for £2 million to developer Jason Shaw.  

The house currently has planning permission for conversion into 12 flats, and the lot includes the adjoining former chauffeur’s cottage, which has been refurbished into a pair of semi-detached coach houses yielding rent of £51,000 a year.  

Simon Croft, partner at Harrogate estate agent FSS, said: 

“The front runners at the June 8 auction have not been able to finalise funding and we cannot delay the sale any further so it has been included, with a much-reduced guide price of £3 million.  

“This will, we believe, bring in a fresh impetus of buyers and should also allow parties to potentially sell the two already modernised coach houses if vacant possession is obtained, thus recouping capital and leave them with Pineheath as a standalone project. 

“At around £1.6 million this could then be converted to a single residential house, though of course the already implemented planning consent for 12 apartments could also be continued.” 

A 0.545-acre parcel of land behind the site, on Rutland Drive, is believed to be the last undeveloped parcel on the Duchy estate, but also failed to sell at auction for its £1.85 million guide price. 

Mr Croft said: 

“The building plot on Rutland Drive will not be publicly offered at this time as it became clear parties interested in the plot wanted to know Pineheath had sold and would therefore be developed and improved.

“So we will market it again, subject to a successful sale of Pineheath, although a fruitful purchaser of Pineheath will be able to negotiate a purchase of the plot post-sale if desired.” 

Pineheath will be re-offered at auction by FSS on July 13. 

Read more:

• Historic Harrogate house fails to sell at auction
• Unbeatable views for sale as Georgian windmill goes under the hammer
• Harrogate auction house sees 50 year old bottle of whisky fetch £12,000

A diplomat from Harrogate has been appointed the UK’s new ambassador to Iraq. 

Stephen Hitchen takes over the role from Mark Bryson-Richardson, who has been in post since July 2021. 

On his Twitter feed, Mr Hitchen said:

“Delighted to be appointed as the next UK ambassador to Iraq, really looking forward to getting to know this fascinating country and building UK and Iraq’s partnership.”

The son of a solicitor and Methodist lay preacher, Mr Hitchen has deep family roots in the area, and was a pupil at St Peter’s CE Primary School and Ashville College. 

Upon graduation he joined the civil service and worked for the Ministry of Defence for eight years, including 18 months’ full-time Arabic language training. 

Following postings to Cairo and Kuwait, he became head of the Iran political team in the Middle East and North Africa directorate of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). In 2012 he was made head of Middle East reporting in the same department. 

After three years as counsellor regional affairs based in Amman, Jordan, he became the FCO’s director of national security for the Middle East and North Africa, and lastly was appointed director of the counter terrorism department at the renamed Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

In a video post on the British Embassy’s Facebook page, Mr Hitchen, who is fluent in Arabic, said:

“The mission of our embassy is to help our friends in Baghdad and Erbil to strengthen the prosperity, and stability and sovereignty of Iraq. […] I’m hugely looking forward to my arrival in Iraq.”

Mr Hitchen will take up his post next month. Most UK ambassadors to Iraq over the last 20 years have spent two years in the post. 

Read more:

• Knighthood among King’s honours for Harrogate district residents
• Travellers leave Harrogate’s Ashville College
• Pioneering young Harrogate barrister appointed judge

This year’s royal visitor to the Great Yorkshire Show will be the Duke of Gloucester, organisers have revealed.

The duke, who is a first cousin to the late Queen Elizabeth II, will make his first visit to England’s biggest agricultural show on its first day, Tuesday, July 11.

In 2021, King Charles III and The Queen Consort visited and last year it was the turn of Princess Anne, The Princess Royal.

The duke will be taken on a tour of the livestock and exhibits with show director Charles Mill and lord-lieutenant of North Yorkshire Jo Ropner.

Mr Mills said:

“We are delighted to welcome the Duke of Gloucester to the Great Yorkshire Show for the first time and look forward to showing him some of the highlights including horses, cattle and the latest in farming technology.”

Also attending on Tuesday will be some of the industry’s top-level leaders with MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.

The chair of the cross-party environment, food and rural affairs committee, Sir Robert Goodwill MP, and committee members will launch a report on the merits and risks involved in species reintroductions in England.

TV presenter Adam Henson will then chair a discussion on the challenges and opportunities for the farming sector.

He will be joined on stage by: Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers’ Union; Mark Spencer, a minister in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Sir Robert Goodwill.

The show will run from Tuesday, July 11 to Friday, July 14.

Read more:

• Voice of the Great Yorkshire Show retires after 38 years
• New 5G mast at Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground approved
• Bid to improve WiFi at Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground

Armies of volunteers have been out in force lately, doing their bit to improve the parts of Harrogate they care most about. 

Starbeck railway station has been given a makeover by a team of volunteers from Northern, Starbeck in Bloom, Friends of Starbeck Station and Halifax Station Partnership. They gave the underpass a new lick of paint and then spent time litter-picking and tidying up the platforms, underpass and surrounding areas.   

There are now plans for three murals to be installed at the station.      

Volunteers have given Starbeck railway station a “clean bill of health”.

Tony Baxter, regional director at Northern said:  

“I’d like to thank everyone who volunteered to spend the day at Starbeck – there has been an amazing transformation in just one day.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, litter-pickers are hoping to make the effects of their work last longer by putting up new ‘Volunteers Have Tidied Here’ signs. 

A pilot study by Keep Britain Tidy has found that such signs, telling the public about volunteers’ clean-up efforts, can help reduce littering by more than 40%. 

The signs, designed specifically for the Pinewoods Conservation Group, have been paid for by Walker Foster Solicitors. 

Neil Hind, chair of the Pinewoods Conservation Group, said: 

“We are very grateful to Walker Foster Solicitors for their funding to help make this happen and to our many volunteers who litter-pick as part of our organised events and also in their own time.

“We hope that these signs act as a reminder that somebody is giving up their time to pick up litter that should have been disposed of properly.” 

The Pinewoods Conservation Group plans to hold various work sessions over the summer that will be advertised on its website and on social media. 

Read more:

• Starbeck stages its community day
• Harrogate council error sees Pinewoods conservation miss out on over £30,000
• Owen raises £1,000 for Knaresborough rescue centre with 100 bags of litter