Ryan Reynolds fever hits Harrogate ahead of big match

Speculation as to whether Hollywood superstar Ryan Reynolds will turn up to Harrogate Town’s clash with Wrexham tomorrow evening has been rife today.

Town are expecting a record attendance for the match at the EnviroVent Stadium on Wetherby Road.

The rumour mill went into overdrive when the Harrogate Town Supporters Group account on Facebook posted a picture showing a man of similar size, age and build as the Deadpool A-lister near a four-seater private helicopter, which purported to be of “Ryan Reynolds landing in the grounds of a well-known local hotel this morning”. 

The post may well have been a spot of mischief-making, but Reynolds’ presence at the match is not out of the question. He and his business partner and friend, fellow actor Rob McElhenney, bought Wrexham in 2020, and their investment in the club helped it to win promotion from the National League to League Two at the end of last season. 

They are not known to frequent games beyond Wrexham itself, but they have come under fire for using private planes to transport players around the country for away fixtures. 

The helicopter in the photo is a Bell 206B Jet Ranger currently registered in the fleet of Heliflight UK, which is based at Gloucester, but also has a presence in Wolverhampton, 65 miles from Wrexham. 

When the Stray Ferret asked 10 days ago if Wrexham’s star owners were expected at the EnviroVent Stadium tomorrow, Harrogate Town’s spokesman said:  

“I would think it’s very unlikely. I’m not aware of Ryan Reynolds having been to any other away games – but you never know.” 

Town’s media assistant, Nickolas McInally, said today:  

“We are not aware of whether or not Ryan Reynolds plans to attend the match.

“With regards to tickets, this will be a record crowd with only a couple of hundred remaining. Tickets will be on sale online or in the club shop until 2pm tomorrow [Tuesday, November 28].

“We will also have our new stand in use for the first time.”

Tickets for all matches are available online only at the club’s e-ticketing webpage.

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Overnight diversions as Harrogate level crossing closes for inspection

Belmont level crossing on Forest Lane in Harrogate is to close overnight twice this week, Network Rail has confirmed.

The crossing will be shut to allow maintenance teams to carry out a rail corrosion inspection from 11.20pm tomorrow (Tuesday, November 28) to 6.25am on Wednesday, November 29, and at the same times between November 29 and Thursday, November 30.

A spokesperson for Network Rail told the Stray Ferret:

“This means that there will be no disruption to train services, as the crossing will close and re-open between the last and first services.”

However, although rail services will not be affected, North Yorkshire Council has confirmed there will be signposted diversions overnight for road traffic using Hookstone Chase, Wetherby Road (A661) and the A59 between Starbeck and Harrogate.

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Business Breakfast: New chef named at Wild Swan in Minskip

Are you already thinking of how to reward your employees this Christmas? Why not choose the Harrogate Gift Card?

The Harrogate Gift Card can be spent in over 100 businesses in Harrogate town centre including retail, hospitality and leisure, whilst keeping the spend locked into the local economy.

Complete a corporate bulk order of over £250 and receive 15% discount from November 1 to 15 with the code ‘HGT15’.

Matt Turton has joined the historic 18th century Wild Swan inn at Minskip, near Boroughbridge.

Mr Turton has worked at a variety of venues in Harrogate and with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay when he opened his Heddon Street restaurant in Soho.

Alex Bond, who along with Stephen Lennox bought the Wild Swan in 2021, said:

“Matt’s appointment is crucially important for the future of the Wild Swan. He has a superb reputation in Harrogate and the surrounding area and we are in no doubt that he will take the Wild Swan to a completely new level in terms of the quality and the presentation of our food.”

Mr Turton has had stints at the Fat Badger and the Yorkshire Hotel and as head chef at Jesper’s Bar and Kitchen in Harrogate, as well as working on the set of ITV soap Emmerdale.

He said:

“I have had such a wonderful welcome from the village. I am determined to give Minskip and the surrounding district, an inn to be proud of.

“I have completely revamped the menu and am determined to create enjoyable and imaginative food at competitive prices.”

Charity football tournament

Pantera Property in Harrogate raised more than £5,000 for charity by holding a charity football tournament.

The money will be split and donated to Saint Michaels Hospice in Harrogate and The Leeds Hospital Charity’s fund to create The Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Centre.

Established in 2016, Pantera Property is a family-run firm of chartered surveyors, with offices in London, Harrogate, Leeds and Essex.

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Annual Christmas Tree Festival returns to Knaresborough

A festive forest will be sprouting in the church aisles next month, when the Great Knaresborough Christmas Tree Festival returns. 

More than 70 decorated trees will be on display in St John’s Church in the centre of Knaresborough from Saturday, December 2 to Saturday 23, all entered by individuals, businesses, educational establishments and community organisations.

The Christmas Tree Festival has run every year since 2014, and thousands of visitors come to view the trees each year. 

Photo of Christmas trees and three large model sailing ships in the aisles of St John's Church in Knaresborough, at the Knaresborough Christmas Tree Festival in 2022.

Admission to the church to view the trees and other displays is free, but the various fundraising events and activities around the festival raise money for church funds and its nominated charities. Last year, the festival raised £3,000 for charity. 

Visitors can get a sneak peak of the trees before the rush at an official preview evening – complete with seasonal music and mulled wine – from 7pm on Friday, December 1; tickets cost £5. 

There will be live music on the first three Saturdays of the festival, with performances from around 20 local choirs, bands and musicians, and the Christmas Tree Festival Concert is on Sunday, December 10 at 7pm, will feature St John’s Choir and special guests The Paul Mirfin Band. 

The Great Knaresborough Christmas Tree Festival will be open from Monday to Friday at 12 noon to 5pm, on Saturdays from 10am to 5pm, and on Sundays from 12 noon to 4pm.

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Harrogate school invites ex-pupils to 50-year landmark carol service

One of the Harrogate district’s oldest primary schools is celebrating 50 years on its current site with a special carol service. 

Richard Taylor School was founded as Bilton Endowed School by Richard and Francis Taylor in 1785 and moved to its present location on Bilton Lane in 1973, changing its name in the process. 

To mark that event, the Church of England school will be holding a number of events, starting with a carol service at St John’s Church in Bilton on December 11. 

Andrew Symonds, headteacher of Richard Taylor School, told the Stray Ferret: 

“A lot of children have been educated here over the last half-century – we even have some pupils whose grandchildren went to Bilton Endowed School – and we’re hoping that as many of them as possible will come back and help us celebrate, as well as former parents, staff and governors. 

“St John’s is quite a large church, but we hope to fill it. We’ll be singing a lot of the old songs they used to sing when they were here, and there’ll be refreshments afterwards, with a warm and open welcome to all.” 

He said there were also plans to hold a musical concert in the spring term of 2024, as well as photographic exhibition that will include images lent by ex-pupils. He said: 

“We hope as many people as possible who have been a part of Richard Taylor School will come forward with their photos. There’s a lot of celebrate, and we’re sure there are a lot of ex-students who want to help us celebrate it.” 

Richard Taylor School’s 50th anniversary carol service will be held at St John’s Church at 6.30pm on Monday, December 11.

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Community groups gather to create new vision for Harrogate

Harrogate Civic Society and Zero Carbon Harrogate have brought together a range of community groups to tackle the planning void left by the demise of Harrogate Borough Council.

At a meeting this month, the groups discussed the development of a Neighbourhood Plan, which would lay out a shared vision for the development and growth of Harrogate. 

In a report on the meeting, Harrogate Civic Society member Paul Hatherley said the town needed a “strong and deliverable vision”. He said: 

“The challenge is to get an acceptable vision for the town, promoted through the local planning framework. The current reality is Harrogate Borough Council has been abolished and replaced by a new, countywide local authority – North Yorkshire Council.

“The new authority has already started the process of replacing our adopted Harrogate Borough Council Local Plan with a new, countywide local plan. But will this new plan include a vision supported by the Harrogate town community and will its planning policy shape the town the way we want it to be shaped? 

“We could rely on a town council for Harrogate, but this may not be formed for at least two more years.” 

In addition to Harrogate Civic Society and Zero Carbon Harrogate, attendees at the meeting included Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents’ Association, Independent Harrogate, Knox Community Association, Duchy Residents’ Association and the Stray Defence Association, as well as Pat Marsh, the Liberal Democrat councillor who represents the Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone division on North Yorkshire Council, and Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrats’ parliamentary candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough.

In places where there is no parish or town council, such as Harrogate, government guidelines stipulate that a forum of 31 people must be designated to take a Neighbourhood Plan forward. A meeting in mid- to late-January will seek to create such a forum.

Mr Hatherley added: 

“I am pleased to report everyone at the meeting supported exploring the issue further and inviting a wider group of individuals and organisations – particularly businesses – to a follow-up meeting.”

The presentation given at the meeting is available on the Harrogate Civic Society website. 

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Lions announce theme for Knaresborough Bed Race 2024

Knaresborough Lions Club has announced the theme of the Best Dressed Bed Competition at next year’s Great Knaresborough Bed Race. 

The annual event is the highlight of the town’s summer and sees 630 people – 90 teams, each with six runners and a passenger – cover a 2.4-mile course through streets and the River Nidd. 

Before the race, the teams gather at Knaresborough Castle, with both beds and team members dressed up to suit the year’s theme, before parading through the town with marching bands and dance groups. 

Suggestions for this year’s theme came in from club members, runners and event supporters, and in the end, the judges’ choice was Great Inventions And Technology Through The Ages, and idea from long-time Bed Race supporters from Somerset, Joe Fielder and Caroline Fletcher. 

Fancy dress is part of the Bed Race fun.

Knaresborough Lions Club’s Martin Brock, who chairs the event committee, said: 

“With literally thousands of years of history to choose from, this theme was a clear winner when it came to the vote.

“We are sure as always that the teams will do the event proud with some amazing designs for the parade.” 

Knaresborough Lions Club has already started work on organising the event, which is scheduled for Saturday, June 8. It is seeking permissions for land usage and road closures, and will open the race to entries on January 1. 

In the meantime, the Santa’s sleigh and Lions mulled wine wagon will be making their annual appearances in Knaresborough. Father Christmas will be appearing at the town’s Christmas market next weekend (December 2-3), where mulled wine will be on sale. 

Santa’s sleigh will also start touring Knaresborough’s streets from Monday (November 27). 

The club is also inviting final entries for its community fund, which closes this Thursday (November 30). Local constituted clubs and groups are invited to apply for small grants as part of the fund. Full details and an application form can be found on the club’s website. 

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Business Breakfast: Manufacturer featured on BBC’s DIY SOS special

Are you already thinking of how to reward your employees this Christmas? Why not choose the Harrogate Gift Card?

The Harrogate Gift Card can be spent in over 100 businesses in Harrogate town centre including retail, hospitality and leisure, whilst keeping the spend locked into the local economy.

Complete a corporate bulk order of over £250 and receive 15% discount from November 1 to 15 with the code ‘HGT15’.

Ventilation manufacturer EnviroVent had its products brought to national attention by contributing them to BBC One’s DIY SOS: The Big Build for Children in Need.

The Harrogate-based company donated six ventilation units to Treetops Hospice in Risley in Derbyshire, which was being built for the show. The EnviroVent ECO dMEV units were used in a new counselling and therapy centre for traumatically bereaved children and young people.

In just 10 days, the DIY SOS team, led by presenter Nick Knowles, created the purpose-built counselling and therapy centre, which is expected will support hundreds of young people in difficult circumstances every year.

EnviroVent key account manager James Garland said:

“It was fantastic to be able to provide assistance for such a wonderful cause. All parties who contributed to this project did some great work, which will benefit the lives of so many children and young people.

Indoor air-quality is so important in keeping people healthy and ventilation systems like these ensure condensation and mould is not able to form and cause an issue.”

Black Sheep in first collaboration

Black Sheep Brewery in Masham has unveiled the fruits of its first ever brewery collaboration.

Ensueño is a joint effort with Piglove Brewing, a Leeds firm whose owners hail from Venezuela.

Ensueño is a Spanish term meaning “to aspire to do something that is unlikely to happen”, a sentiment deemed appropriate for brewery start-ups by the two breweries’ founders, Paul Theakston and Marcos Ramirez.

The ale was devised by Marcos and Black Sheep’s head brewer Alex Brandon-Davies, and features Pilsner malt, wheat and two types of oats, as well as Citra, Mosaic and Sabro hops. Each of Piglove’s beers includes a special ingredient, and Ensueño’s is the dried coffee cherry, cáscara.

Ensueño will be on tap soon at the Black Sheep Brewery Visitor Centre in Masham, The Three Legged Mare in York, and Piglove by the River in Leeds.

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New proposals revealed for scaled-back Harrogate Station Gateway

Plans to improve Harrogate’s town centre may still go ahead in much reduced form, but the costs will not go down, and may yet rise, according to documents published today

The document, published ahead of a council meeting on Tuesday, also gives further details of the proposed £11.2 million Station Gateway.

The original proposals entailed the part-pedestrianisation of James Street and the reduction of a 300-metre stretch of Station Parade to a single lane to make space for cycle lanes. 

But North Yorkshire Council halted the scheme in August following a legal challenge by Hornbeam Park Developments. The council admitted it made an error by not following the correct procedure.

At a meeting on Tuesday next week (November 28), councillors are now set to discuss revised proposals that do not include major alterations to the road layout – the elements that gave rise to the most controversy. 

But despite the more modest scope of the plans, the Supplementary Agenda document published ahead of the meeting states: 

“…a reduced scope scheme is not considered likely to achieve savings but rather will require the entire ‘in principle’ TCF [Transforming Cities Fund] budget”. 

It adds: 

“The risk of further budget increase if a revised project is developed cannot be discounted.” 

The plans to be discussed are believed to focus on those elements of the scheme that gathered the most public support.

One Arch

One Arch

These include public realm improvements to Station Square and One Arch (the foot tunnel under the railway at the bottom end of Station Parade), improved access into the bus station and linked sequencing of the traffic lights between the Ripon Road/King’s Road and the Station Parade/Victoria Avenue junctions. 

The possibility of a southbound segregated cycle lane on Station Parade, while retaining two lanes for motorised traffic, is also being explored. Wider cycling infrastructure improvements would be delivered under further stages of investment. 

The Harrogate Station Gateway scheme is one of three schemes worth £42 million being funded by the government’s Transforming Cities Fund to improve station gateways to town centres in Harrogate, Selby and Skipton. 

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for highways and transport, Cllr Keane Duncan, said:

“We are now at a critical stage in the delivery of the three projects, which will be transformative for Harrogate, Selby and Skipton. 

“Our revised proposals focus on core elements with the most public support. The plans are affordable, deliverable and are built on extensive cross-party engagement with councillors. 

“We are being clear and realistic about what we can achieve now, and the measures we want to deliver in further stages. 

“This is positive progress that puts us in the best possible position to deliver this landmark package of investment while avoiding potential delays and navigating budget constraints. 

“It means we are ready to submit final business cases for the Selby and Skipton schemes next month, and for Harrogate as soon as is possible.” 

Further detailed work on the Harrogate scheme will be required prior to public consultation next year.

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Harrogate’s pantomime season starts tomorrow

Harrogate’s much-loved Christmas pantomime returns tomorrow (Wednesday) with a new production of Dick Whittington. 

The rags-to-riches story of the poor orphan boy attracted to the capital by promises of streets paved with gold and becoming Lord Mayor of London will follow the familiar format, but with a few local twists. 

Co-writer and chief executive of Harrogate Theatre David Bown told the Stray Ferret: 

“It’s a fresh take on the old Harrogate formula. With pantomime, there are certain expectations and conventions, and we work with those, and add in some of the events that have happened in Harrogate over the past year to make it relevant. So, it’s a combination of satire and slapstick, and it’s just great family fun.” 

The panto will run for 76 performances over seven-and-a-half weeks, finishing on January 14. Anchoring the piece will be perennial favourite Tim Stedman, with newcomers including Naail Ishaq and Faye Weerasinghe.  

Harrogate’s annual pantomime is widely regarded as one of the best in the north, and Mr Bown says that’s no accident. He said: 

“We work hard at every element. We concentrate very much on the story, and make it nice and clear and imaginative, so that it’s accessible for the younger members of the audience. Then we layer it with jokes for the adults, although we never do innuendo. 

“We work really hard to find jokes that work, and mix it all with newer music that’s in the charts now, and older music that more people will recognise, so there’s something for everyone.” 

Dick Whittington will open on Wednesday, November 22 and close on Sunday, January 14. Tickets are available online from the box office. 

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