John Grainger, Author at The Stray Ferret

Agent expects strong interest in ‘remote-controlled house’ in Harrogate

Harrogate is not known for its high-end contemporary architecture, but the few examples that come up for sale tend to be rather special.

Greenway, a detached four-bedroom property off Rossett Green Lane, is the latest of the genre to hit the market, and its price tag alone suggests something a little out of the ordinary.

Its guide price of £1.5m is several times the average asking price for the district, but then, this is no average property.

Accessed from a private road and standing behind solid-oak electric gates, Greenway is nothing if not exclusive. Once you’ve got past the intercom entry system, you find yourself in a light, spacious central reception hall with bespoke cupboarding, double-height window and a steel-spined handmade oak staircase with glass balustrade.

The hand-made oak staircase with glass balustrade.

The hand-made oak staircase winds round a steel spine.

The L-shaped dining kitchen is state-of-the-art, with wine cooler and boiling water tap, and the dining and family areas open up onto the large outdoor terrace. There’s also a home office, an integral double garage, and a 25-foot-long living room with remote-controlled gas fire.

At the top of those oak stairs, there are four double bedrooms – three of them with en suite bathrooms, two with dressing rooms, and one with a balcony area.

The state-of-the-art kitchen in Greenway, on Rossett Lane in Harrogate.

The kitchen includes integrated appliance, wine cooler and boiling water tap.

As if all that weren’t enough, what really gives this house an edge is its technology. There’s smart underfloor heating throughout, it’s fully networked with wireless access points and ethernet cabling, and all the windows have electric blinds which can also be controlled remotely. In fact, the whole property is protected by an intruder alarm and external camera system – which can also be controlled remotely.

There are also gardens with a hidden patio, which currently houses a rotating seven-seater garden pod.

The lounge in Greenway opens out via sliding glass doors onto the terrace.

Greenway came onto the market yesterday and is marketed by Harrogate agent North Residential.

Director Harriet Cheshire told The Stray Ferret:

“There’s not much out there at the moment in the £1.5m bracket, but there are a lot of people out there with cash for the £1.25-1.5m price range, so we expect this property to attract quite a bit of attention.

“Its technology is a definite plus. A lot of people nowadays are very tech-savvy and want to be able to control everything in their home by phone, so some will really see the premium in it.”

Why Fountains Abbey is pawfect for dogs

This story is sponsored by the National Trust.

Finding something to do at the weekend can be challenging, especially if you have dogs, but the National Trust team at Fountains Abbey say they’re on a mission to make it easy.

Under the National Trust’s Paw Print dog-friendliness scheme, the attraction has been named a three-paw site – the highest possible rating.

Jenni Shepherd, senior marketing and communications officer at the National Trust, said:

“We’re always getting comments about how welcoming we are to dogs at Fountains Abbey.

“The admissions team even has doggy treats on hand for the waggiest tails!”

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Park is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, and includes the ruins of the medieval monastery, the Georgian water garden and the deer park.

Where you lead, your dog can follow!

Visiting dog-walkers can see all the historic attractions up close, as well as following paths around the site and trails through surrounding woodland.

“When people see the amazing abbey ruins, they often think they can’t possibly take a dog there, but actually at Fountains, dogs can go pretty much everywhere their owners do,” said Jenni.

“We get a lot of tourists visiting from other areas of the country, where historic sites perhaps don’t welcome dogs so readily, and so they think they can’t bring their dogs here either.

“But Fountains Abbey is actually one of the best places to bring a dog.

“There are drinking stations and dog waste bins throughout, and there’s a wide range of pet products for sale in the Visitor Centre shop.

“There’s even dog-friendly ice-cream available at the Studley refreshment kiosk and in the Visitor Centre restaurant.

“Your dog can go everywhere you go. Dogs are even allowed in the deer park, as long as they’re kept on a short lead.”

Woodland walks are a favourite pastime among dog-owners visiting Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal.

Last month, the National Trust unveiled plans to upgrade its facilities at Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal.

A new visitor building will be built around the existing tearoom. There will be a fully accessible café, more toilets and a new admissions area, with all areas remaining dog-friendly. Jenni added:

“Yorkshire as a destination is a dog-lovers’ paradise, and Fountains Abbey really stands out as one of the best places here to take your dog.

“There’s so much to do and see here, you can stay all day – and your dog never has to leave your side.”

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Find out more about visiting – with or without dogs – here.

Historic Harrogate hotel closes as staff face redundancy

The staff of a landmark Harrogate hotel have been left awaiting confirmation of redundancy, as its new owners closed the business and shuttered its doors today.

The Hotel St George is to be remodelled and reopened as a pub with rooms following a 16-week programme of works, but none of the hotel’s 76 current employees has been invited to remain in post.

General manager Paul Donkin said the day marked the end of an era:

“It’s very sad – there’s a lot of upset here today. I came into this job just as lockdown ended, and I had seven weeks to put together a team and get the hotel back up and running. We’ve spent two years building the business back up again, so to see it close is hard to take. It’s very emotional for those of us who have put such a lot into it.”

The St George Hotel, opposite the Royal Hall on Ripon Road, was bought in February last year by The Inn Collection Group, a Newcastle-based company that also owns the Ripon Spa Hotel, Dean Court in York, and the Black Swan in Helmsley, among others.

The Inn Collection Group is the hotel’s third owner in as many years. Its previous owner, Bespoke Hotels, acquired it from Specialist Leisure Group, which went into administration in May 2020.

Mr Donkin said:

“Why they want to make everyone redundant, only to have to find new staff when they reopen, I don’t know – it makes no sense to me.

“But to give them their due, Inn Collection Group have followed all the proper procedures and have been very decent about it.”

Mr Donkin said the blow of redundancy had been further softened for most of the hotel’s employees because he had managed to find them alternative employment.

He said:

“The day after I heard the hotel was to close, I emailed the general managers of all Harrogate’s hotels, and they’ve all been fantastic, sending me their vacancy lists and moving heaven and earth to find people jobs. Probably 95% of staff now have new jobs to go to.

“I always said hospitality was the best job in the world, but in Harrogate it’s even better.”

The St George Hotel grew out of the Chequers Inn and was renamed after George III’s gift of the Stray to the people of Harrogate in 1778.

It was enlarged several times during the 19th century and renamed the St George shortly before the First World War.

It was badly damaged by fire in 1927 and requisitioned by the Post Office and Air Ministry during the Second World War before re-opening as a hotel in 1952. It acquired a spa facility in 1985.

Angry Minskip villagers fight developer over possible Roman site

Angry villagers in Minskip, near Boroughbridge, are joining forces to fight against an industrial development which they say could endanger a Roman mosaic.

They also say the development at Hazeldene Fold, an otherwise residential cul-de-sac, is out of character with the village and does not comply with the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which outlines where development can take place.

Local resident Lynne Scott said:

“The mood here is very angry, because the developer hasn’t made any effort to interact with us or tell us what’s going on. They’ve already done massive groundworks without even having planning permission yet, and we just don’t know if there’s been any damage to the archaeology there.”

The developer, Harrogate-based Forward Investment Properties, has applied to Harrogate Borough Council for retrospective planning permission to demolish some Nissen huts on the site, and build four light industrial units, a car-park and a turning circle for goods vehicles.

But campaigners believe the existing buildings may well conceal Roman remains. According to local resident Tony Hunt, a Roman mosaic floor is reported to have been discovered when the huts were built in 1970 but covered over with a layer of sand and plastic to preserve it. The location cross-references on Ordnance Survey maps with a square-shaped earthwork, and a Roman coin hoard was found nearby in the 19th century.

Mr Hunt said:

“My conclusion is that the data confirms that the ‘Ancient Enclosure’ at the top of Hazeldene Fold is the site of the Roman encampment which served the Roman fort at Aldborough”.

Forward Investment Properties has agreed to an “appropriate scheme of archaeological investigation and recording” as part of a planning condition to be applied if planning permission is granted, but residents say the groundworks could have done damage already, even before any such investigation has taken place.

2017 application rejected

Campaigners point to a 2017 application to build five houses on the site, which was rejected. Planning officers said then that the development would tower over neighbouring properties, create noise and disturbance, lack an adoptable highway, and be “out of keeping with the acknowledged linear form of the village”. They say the current proposals should be rejected for the same reasons.

Forward Investment Properties says its application should be approved because there is a shortage in the Harrogate district of employment sites of the type being proposed, and points out that the site has long been used for commercial purposes.

Access to the site is via Hazeldene Fold, a private residential road managed by Hazeldene Fold Management Company Ltd. On formation, the company was made up of one representative from each of the eight homes on the road, plus one from the original developer of the houses. Each of these nine members has a single vote on communal matters, including those involving planning permission.

Residents believe the developer’s vote should pass automatically to the new owner of the site, but the new owner, Forward Investment Properties, has not so far contacted the company or its individual members.

Ms Scott said:

“It makes you feel suspicious. If someone is upfront with you and you can ask them questions, you can have a conversation and iron things out. But if you have a body you can’t get hold of, you feel you have no control.”

Forward Investment Properties is registered with Companies House as a limited liability partnership and its three members are believed to be brothers. One of them, Daniel Ward, was approached by the Stray Ferret, but declined to comment.

Family of WWI soldier find where he was killed – by chance

The family of a missing Yorkshire soldier from the First World War has found out where he was killed – but only by chance.

Joseph Cyril Verity was one of 13 children born at East Witton, and later lived at North Stainley. His family settled at Warren House Farm, Fearby, near Masham, but he soon emigrated to Canada to be a rancher. When war broke out in Europe, he joined the Canadian Mounted Rifles and was deployed to Flanders. He was killed, aged 30, at Passchendaele on November 1, 1917, but his body was never found.

His name is inscribed, along with those of 6,927 other missing Canadians, on the Menin Gate, and last year the Passchendaele Museum in Belgium launched an online portal, called Names in the Landscape, that shows where more than 1,400 of them were killed or buried – with Joseph among them.

Joseph Verity was one of 13 children, pictured here with their parents.

Joseph Verity (back row, centre) was one of 13 children in a family that lived near Masham.

The museum recently sent a letter to his last known address in England, Warren House Farm, asking for more information about him. By pure chance, the current occupant of the farm, Gerald Broadley, is related by marriage to Joseph.

Mr Broadley’s sister-in-law, Ruth Verity, lives near Kirkby Malzeard and is keeper of the family tree. She said: “Warren House Farm hasn’t been kept in the family – Gerald’s family just happened to take it over when Joseph’s family moved out in 1967. When he received the letter from the Passchendaele Museum, he recognised straight away who it was about, and my nephew brought it to me. It’s amazing, really.”

The Verity family believe that Joseph was killed by sniper-fire, but have never known where. The museum researchers have found that it happened at a post called Dump House, on the front line north-east of Ypres.

The Battle of Passchendaele, which became known for its appallingly muddy conditions, was fought from July to November 1917, for control of high ground south and east of Ypres. It is estimated to have claimed between 500,000 and 850,000 men on both sides.

Names in the Landscape is supported by the Flemish Government and Library and Archives Canada.

New exhibition at Mercer shows work of artists with disabilities

The Mercer Art Gallery in Harrogate has launched a new exhibition of pieces by local artists living with disabilities.

The World Through Our Eyes features pieces created over the last year by “differently able” artists working with Harrogate-based Artizan International.

The registered charity supports people with disabilities in the UK and in the developing world, through therapeutic arts and crafts workshops, training and social enterprise.

Liz Cluderay, Artizan’s UK director, said:

“Adults living with disabilities in our community have the potential to develop their creativity at Artizan, through our programme of arts and crafts activities, we aim to reduce loneliness and support mental health and increase general wellbeing.”

Artizan hold arts and crafts workshops every day from its town centre premises, overseen and guided by local artists helping to develop their skills and experience of different art mediums.

Hannah Alderson, who is studying at Harrogate College for an MA in Creative Practice, helped to curate the exhibition. She said:

“We’re not just holding the art sessions for the sake of it – our artists are all making real progress and becoming very accomplished in a range of mediums and techniques.

“This is really about the adults with additional needs and celebrating the quality of their work. It just goes to show that they are just as able to create fantastic pieces of art as anyone else.”

The artists, whose disabilities range from visual impairments to learning disabilities, have selected their best pieces of work for the exhibition, which opened on Saturday.

The World Through Our Eyes will run for six weeks at the Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate. There will also be a private viewing, with the chance to speak with Artizan members, on Sunday, February 5, from 4.15 to 5.15pm.

Follifoot pupils help bury time-capsule to mark 50-year Rudding Park anniversary

Schoolchildren from Follifoot have helped to bury a time-capsule to mark 50 years since the Mackaness family bought Rudding Park.

The capsule was placed in the ground alongside a time-capsule planted in 1997 to mark the 25th anniversary of the family’s ownership of the estate.

Replicating the format from 1997, schoolchildren from Years 1-6 at Follifoot C of E Primary School were invited to enter a competition to create a piece of artwork which depicted a winter’s day in Follifoot. The winning entries would be included in the time-capsule, and this time round, the winners would also be invited to private cinema and pizza party.

Seven winners, William, Imogen, Alex, Florence, Olive, Florence and Beatrice, were selected, and came along to see the time-capsule being planted.

Simon Mackaness, owner of Rudding Park, said:

“As a local business, we recognise the importance of reaching out to our local community. Children at the school helped us plant our first time-capsule in 1997 and we made a promise to invite the next generation of schoolchildren to help us mark the next 25 years, so to see that come to fruition is quite something.

“The children created some fantastic entries and it was very difficult to make a decision, however were delighted to welcome the winners to help us plant the time-capsule today.”

Winning entries were placed inside the capsule, along with a number of Rudding Park branded items to reflect the times including: a face covering, Christmas bauble, a medal from the inaugural Rudding Park Race 10K, a silk scarf work by the reception team, and a copy of the Rudding Review – a newspaper with an overview of 2022.

Rebecca Holland, headteacher at Follifoot Church of England Primary School, said:

“We are extremely lucky to have Rudding Park on our door-step. They have generously supported the school with numerous fundraising activities over the years, so to be approached to involve the children one again in such an important milestone was an absolute thrill.

“We look forward to continuing our relationship and hope to be invited to plant a third time-capsule marking their 75th anniversary.”

Harrogate mum launches group for neurodiverse children and their parents

A Harrogate mum who set up a play and support group for neurodiverse children and their parents says the response has been “incredible”.

Emily Yeates, whose three-year-old daughter Elsie is non-verbal and still awaiting a formal autism diagnosis, launched Neurodiverse Stay & Play to provide parents with a supportive environment and a chance to swap experiences.

Emily said:

“Being the parent of a non-neurotypical child can be quite isolating. Elsie can go from being calm one moment to having a meltdown the next. All people see is a ‘naughty child’, but actually, Elsie just doesn’t understand.

“Birthday parties, meals out, and even soft-play areas have all become difficult – they’re too loud, there are too many people, or too many restrictions – so we don’t tend to take her to them any more.

“It got to the point where I was isolating myself so much that I was struggling, and I wanted to find other parents in the same position.”

The group held its first session on Saturday, and more are planned in the coming weeks. The two-hour-long events take place at Oatlands Community Centre and will initially be free; from April it will cost £4 a session, but remain free for members of local community network myLifePool.

Parents and children enjoying food and drink at the first Neuropdiverse Stay & Play session in Oatlands Community Centre in Harrogate.

Parents and children at the first Neurodiverse Stay & Play session enjoyed food and drink sponsored by The Harrogate Dog Walking and Pet Company.

Emily said:

“Our first session was fully booked, and the feedback has been incredible. The Harrogate Dog Walking & Pet Company very generously sponsored the food and drink, and we’ve been contacted by speech and language therapists and even by North Yorkshire County Council about grants. It just goes to show how much this is needed in Harrogate.

“We offer an environment where there’s no judgement – if your child kicks off, we get it! – and where parents can just chat and offer each other moral support and understanding.”

The next sessions run by Neurodiverse Stay & Play will take place at Oatlands Community Centre on:

Tuesday, February 10 – 10-12 noon
Saturday, February 25 – 2-4pm
Thursday, March 9 – 10-12 noon
Sunday, March 19 – 10-12 noon

To book in for a session, go to the Events page at myLifePool.

Pilates instructor in 18-hour marathon to help fight husband’s cancer

A Harrogate pilates instructor will embark on a personal mission later this month to strike back at the cancer that saw her husband rushed to A&E, fighting for his life.

Eugenie Keogh will hold a marathon 18-hour pilates session on Zoom from her studio at North Rigton, to raise awareness of the symptoms of leukaemia, a cancer of the blood which kills around 13 people every day in the UK.

“The early diagnosis of leukaemia remains elusive because the symptoms are often overlooked, and the disease only diagnosed when a person ends up at A&E department struggling for life,” she said.

Eugenie’s husband Stephen was rushed to Harrogate A&E last summer with a combination of classic leukaemia symptoms: shortness of breath, extreme fatigue, a skin rash, an ulcerated mouth, frequent nose bleeds and night sweats. The couple were left “completely traumatised” when the aggressive blood cancer Acute Myloid Leukaemia (AML) was diagnosed.

In the weeks before, Stephen had sought medical help about individual symptoms, but these had not been linked or resulted in a blood test.

Eugenie said: “This resulted in a late diagnosis for Stephen, which is why I am supporting the campaign to raise awareness among GPs about blood cancer symptoms. The earlier the disease is spotted, the better the chance of effective treatment, prognosis and quality of life.”

Stephen has responded well to the treatment regime for AML and is now awaiting a bone marrow stem-cell transplant.

“This is the only chance for me to achieve complete remission and hopefully a cure,” he said.

Eugenie Keogh is a qualified APPI instructor and operates one-to-one and Zoom online classes from her Body & Soul Pilates studio in North Rigton near Harrogate.

As well as raising awareness, Eugenie’s pilates marathon on Zoom on January 29 will also raise funds for Leukaemia UK, a charity that works to fund innovative research and support those affected by leukaemia blood cancers. Well-wishers can support her campaign at her Just Giving page.

Anyone making a donation will also be invited to keep Eugenie company by logging on at any time for any of the pilates sessions, which will start on the hour every hour from 6am, with the last session ending at midnight.

Slimmer cuts weight by a third to reverse liver disease

This story is sponsored by Slimming World.

A Harrogate slimmer is celebrating after reversing her liver disease by losing over a third of her body weight with Slimming World.

Sylvia Skipper was told by doctors that her non-alcoholic fatty liver disease was off the scale, with a liver fat content of over 70%.

“I was heading towards severe cirrhosis of the liver, which could lead to me needing a liver transplant,” said Sylvia.

“The consultant explained the only legitimate way of improving or reversing this was by losing weight. I had struggled with so many diets in the past I had just about lost faith.”

It was then that she turned to Slimming World, whose science-based healthy eating plan has helped thousands of people across the UK achieve their weight-loss goals without ever going on a diet.

“I vividly remember messaging Cate Pervana, who runs Slimming World groups in Harrogate, and sharing my health issues with her,” said Sylvia.

“I had previously had thyroid cancer, so I struggled to control my metabolism and doubted my ability to lose weight.

“But Cate gave me the reassurance I needed, and I joined Westcliffe Hall Harrogate Slimming World group.”

Combining Slimming World’s no-hunger eating plan with its Body Magic physical activity programme, Sylvia soon started to see the weight fall off. Just over a year later, she has lost 6st 7.5lb – over 40 per cent of her original body weight – and is now down from a size 24 to a size 8. Even her feet have shrunk from a 6 to a 4 and she’s now proudly wearing her favourite pair of Christian Louboutin shoes, which had been stuck in her wardrobe for years.

Sylvia Skipper combined Slimming World’s no-hunger eating plan with its Body Magic physical activity programme to lose weight.

“But the best news came this morning,” said Sylvia. “I now have less than 5% fat in my liver, I have completely reversed my liver disease, and I’ve been discharged.

“I am so grateful to Cate and everyone at Slimming World for giving me all the support I needed. Getting healthy again has been my sole motivation on my weight-loss journey, and I feel on top of the world.”

Sylvia Skipper was in danger of needing a liver transplant, but with the help of Slimming World has stopped her liver disease in its tracks.

Slimming World in Harrogate and Knaresborough runs several groups, making it easier to find one to fit into your schedule. Cate Pervana runs groups in Harrogate, and Christine Husband runs them in Starbeck and Knaresborough.

Find out more:

If you want 2023 to be the year you achieve your weight-loss goals, find out more about your local groups by calling Christine Husband (Starbeck and Knaresborough) on 07890 621324, or Cate Pervana (Harrogate) on 07834 897533.

Alternatively, check out the Slimming World Harrogate and Knaresborough Facebook page here.

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