This story is sponsored by Harrogate Art Fair.

More than 100 artists from all over the UK will be converging on Harrogate next month to exhibit their best work at the Harrogate Art Fair. 

The event, on October 13-15 at the Yorkshire Event Centre on the Great Yorkshire Showground, will bring together painters, printmakers, photographers, sculptors, ceramicists and selected galleries from all over the UK, offering the best in British contemporary art. Prices range from £50 to £5,000. 

The perfect place to immerse yourself in a world of art.

One of the most popular exhibitors is Jos Haigh. Jos is a painter based in Harrogate and Buckinghamshire whose vibrantly colourful pictures of African animals made her one of the best-selling artists at the inaugural Harrogate Art Fair last year. She said: 

“I’ve been showing my art all around the country for years – at Windsor, Surrey, Manchester and Edinburgh – and Harrogate Art Fair really is one of the best. It’s fantastically organised, everything’s made very easy for exhibitors, and it attracts a lot of the UK’s best artists.

“When I came last year, people were so warm, enthusiastic and interested – I didn’t have to think twice about coming again.”

Although she was born in Goa, Jos’s art is inspired and informed by her childhood in Kenya. But her trips north have provided her with new sources of inspiration. So her most recent paintings include striking images of cows, owls and other British animals.

Jos has found inspiration for some of her latest works here in Yorkshire.

 Jos’s spectacular painting of a red kite even features on this year’s general admission ticket. She said: 

“I’ve been enchanted by animals ever since I saw them roaming right next to the road in Kenya, which is why I’ve always enjoyed painting pictures of elephants, giraffes and zebra. But there are so many wonderful animals right here in the UK that it would be a shame not to paint some of them. 

“I just hope that visitors to the Harrogate Art Fair will love viewing them as much as I’ve loved painting them.” 

Harrogate Art Fair is organised by Contemporary Art Fairs. The company also hold art fairs in Windsor and Surrey. 

The fair will be open from private viewings from 6 to 9pm on Friday, October 13 (tickets: £15), and from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday, October 14-15 (£8, concessions £6). 

• Jos has have 10 complementary Harrogate Art Fair tickets to give away! She will send the code to the first 10 people to email her at joshaigh@yahoo.co.uk

Find out more:

You can book tickets for this event online at the Harrogate Art Fair website.  

For information about exhibiting at the Harrogate Art Fair, visit the website or call 01753 591892.  

You can also see more of the artworks on offer at Harrogate Art Fair on its Instagram page. 

Sheep’s wool has always been at the heart of Masham’s economy, and now it looks set to be at the heart of a new development in the town and a new initiative aimed at the construction industry. 

Number 15 Silver Street is currently undergoing extensive redevelopments to be transformed into a new community and heritage centre called Peacock & Verity.

It will include a Victorian grocer’s, an Edwardian-style tearoom, a Post Office main counter, and a new heritage centre celebrating the story of Masham. Four apartments will also be created as part of the redevelopment, managed by Karbon Homes and kept exclusively for local people at affordable rents. 

How Peacock’s looked over 100 years ago.

The 300-year-old building’s refurbishment will also go back to the town’s roots, using sheep’s wool for insulation.

They will also be leading on a new initiative called Sheepish, which aims to get sheep’s wool insulation used in the building of new homes across the country.

Peacock & Verity will be the first test site where contractors and builders can learn how to install sheep’s wool insulation. They will also build a supply chain of farmers, insulation producers and social housing providers, creating a green circle economy based in Yorkshire. 

The project is backed by £38,722 from the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub and £16,000 from North Yorkshire Council, as part of a larger grant of £273,000 towards the wider conversion of the Silver Street site. 

Jan Reed, project manager at Peacock & Verity, said she was excited about the Sheepish project:  

“We didn’t just want to refurbish our own building; we also wanted to do everything we can to share the knowledge and skills to make other buildings more sustainable. 

“Sheep’s wool is the perfect insulator for traditional stone buildings – not only is it a warm blanket, but the wool’s structure helps to wick moisture away and is a natural fire-retardant. And most importantly, it’s environmentally friendly. It lasts for decades and can be composted at the end of its life, unlike man-made insulation which is often full of plastic.” 

The links between Masham and sheep farming go back over a thousand years. Sheep farming is thought to have been introduced to the area by Viking settlers, and Masham is still well known for its annual Sheep Fair which takes place this weekend. There’s even a breed of sheep named after the town.  

Masham has long been known for its sheep trade.

Karen Oliver-Spry, hub manager for the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub, said: 

“The North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub is all about using local assets to create clean energy and to make buildings across the region easier and cheaper to heat – what better way to utilise an often overlooked by-product from the region’s plentiful sheep population!

“Bringing local people and organisations together to reuse, recycle and repurpose materials which otherwise may end up as waste is a huge part of that work and this project could have very interesting implications for improving the energy efficiency of buildings across the North East and Yorkshire and beyond – and we are delighted to be able to support it through our Energy Project Enabling Fund.”

Read more:

• Masham Sheep Fair to make annual return this weekend
• Masham cashmere business unveils new store

A young fitness trainer from Harrogate is hoping her tilt at the Miss Yorkshire title this weekend will encourage others battling mental health problems through fitness. 

Chloe McEwen, 21, will be competing in the regional round of Miss England in Doncaster on Sunday, but her immaculate appearance will leave judges none the wiser about her past struggles.

At the age of 16, Chloe was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, she endured an arduous eight-month hospital stay, and her weight soared by almost four stone.

But by embracing a healthier lifestyle and a dedicated fitness regime, bolstered by an unwavering support network, she not only regained control of her life but also embarked on a mission to empower others.

Before and after photos of Miss Yorkshire contestant Chloe McEwen.

Former Rossett School pupil Chloe now wants to provide support and motivation to those in need. As a Level 3 fitness trainer with clients in a small private gym and classes at a Harrogate health club, she understands the challenges of self-motivation, but believes that simply maintaining discipline, even in small steps, is the key to turning things around. She said:

“The rewards of persevering are immeasurable.”

The problems Chloe had to overcome to achieve her transformation are all too common – 56% of the UK population are now registered with some form of mental health issue, and young people are disproportionately affected.

The Miss Yorkshire contest will take place at on Sunday at the Earl of Doncaster Hotel.

Read more:

• Harrogate boy cuts off hair to fundraise for children’s mental health service
• New beauty salon opens in Knaresborough
• Harrogate teenagers aim to lift 700,000 kg in January for mental health awareness

Two mechanics with finely-tuned skills have opened a specialist Porsche repair shop in Boroughbridge. 

Flat 6 Automotive – named after the six-cylinder engines typically found in Porsches – will focus on fixing, restoring and rebuilding the engines of the German sports cars, but will also take on all kinds of everyday repairs on cars of all kinds. 

Director Richard Nicholson was a workshop manager at an independent Porsche garage for seven years, and business partner Will Mann completed an engineering degree with the McLaren F1 team. They both worked at a local prestige car specialist for several years and have now decided to branch out together. 

Mr Nicholson said: 

“I’d always wanted to work for myself. I had my day job but I was also doing engine rebuilds on the side. I was working till 11 at night, and I was so busy that I thought I should just take the plunge. It was really a hobby that turned into something much bigger.” 

The pair have expanded into a 2,000 square foot unit with three ramps – a fourth is due to be installed by the end of the year – and are building a new waiting area. They have also invested in modern equipment, including £5,000 in state-of-the-art diagnostic kit. 

Mr Nicholson added: 

“We’ve already got customers across Yorkshire and as far afield as Slough and Glasgow and we also prepare cars for sale for a couple of specialist dealerships, so we’ve been very busy since we opened.

“If this goes well, I’d love to grow the company and open new branches. The sky’s the limit.”

Read more:

• Harrogate couple’s dismay after tree crashes on Porsche for second time
• Harrogate dealership switches car brand after owners sign new contract
• Ripon car dealership to close after Fiat restructure

NHS dentistry provision was discussed at a meeting yesterday between Andrew Jones, the MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, and Stephen Eames, the chief executive of the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board. 

The issue was highlighted recently by the announcement that Chatsworth House dental practice on King’s Road in Harrogate was closing to NHS patients from December 1. 

The meeting was a follow-up from a briefing this month which the ICB – a collaboration of health and care organisations tasked with improving the health and wellbeing of people in the region – arranged for all Humber and North Yorkshire MPs. 

Mr Jones said:  

“We have a short-term issue – one that I raised at Prime Minister’s Questions – about what happens when a practice suddenly closes to NHS patients as has happened here. We also have a medium-term issue about increasing NHS dentistry capacity. Mr Eames and I discussed both these issues.” 

Chatsworth House Dental Clinic

The ICB told Mr Jones it is planning to redistribute the funding given to Chatsworth House to other local practices so that they can take on more patients. Patients affected will be contacted directly by the ICB to explain where their new practice will be.

According to a government briefing published in April 2023, total funding for NHS dental services in England fell by 8% in real terms between 2010 and 2022.

Read more:

• Andrew Jones MP urges Prime Minister to ease ‘strain’ on access to Harrogate NHS dentists
• Local politicians raise concern over lack of Harrogate and Knaresborough NHS dentistry
• Harrogate NHS dentist to move to ‘membership only’ patient scheme

The crisis in NHS dental provision was highlighted by a YouGov poll in March. The survey found that more than a quarter of the UK population (27%) have not seen a dentist within the last two years, and one in five people (22%) are currently not even registered with a dentist.

Of those, 37% said it was because they couldn’t find an NHS dentist, and 23% said it was because they couldn’t afford to pay for treatment. One in 10 admitted to attempting their own dental work.

To help address the problem, the ICB is looking to increase NHS dental capacity locally through the rapid launch ‘Centres of Dental Development’, which are intended to support, develop and retain the dental workforce across the Humber and North Yorkshire. 

Mr Jones said:  

“It is good that the ICB are looking at the long-term sustainability of our dental service. This is a positive and constructive approach and I have asked that Harrogate, which is the largest town in North Yorkshire, will be host to one of these new centres. 

“Such a facility would place front and centre significant dental provision for our area. It could educate a new generation of local dentists. To have such a centre in Harrogate would be a huge boon to our area. 

“I look forward to receiving more details from the ICB and feel hopeful that my request for a Centre of Dental Development in Harrogate will be successful.” 

A Harrogate primary school is to be re-inspected by Ofsted after an interim assessment suggested it could be judged ‘outstanding’. 

Oatlands Junior School was rated ‘good’ when Ofsted visited in 2018, and following inspectors’ latest visit in July, the school retained that status.

But in its report, Ofsted said there was “enough evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged outstanding if we were to carry out a graded (section 5) [i.e. more comprehensive] inspection now”. 

Oatlands is now expected to undergo a graded inspection within the next two years to assess whether it is still ‘good’ or has attained ‘outstanding’ status. 

The report, released today, particularly praises the school’s inclusivity, reporting that leaders and staff “help every pupil, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to be the very best that they can be.” 

It goes on to praise the school’s “broad and interesting” curriculum, pupils’ behaviour, sense of equality, and respect for difference and diversity.

The headteacher of Oatlands Junior School, Mrs Estelle Scarth, said:  

“The report certainly captures everything about Oatlands Junior School that we are immensely proud of and quite rightly describes all the outstanding evidence that was found throughout a very thorough inspection.

“Our success is firmly based on the dedication and talents of everyone that works in our school, the strong, positive relationships that we have with our parents and carers, and of course, all the amazing children in our care.”  

Oatlands Junior School, along with Western Primary and Harrogate Grammar School, was one of the founding schools of the Red Kite Learning Trust in 2015. This has since grown into a multi-academy trust of 14 schools across North and West Yorkshire. 

Amanda Thornton Jones, Director of Primary Education for Red Kite Learning Trust, said: 

“Ofsted recognised the strong collaborative approach within our Trust and how talent and expertise of staff are developed across all our schools. Oatlands Junior School has a highly trained, dedicated and expert team led by an exceptional headteacher.

“Mrs Scarth’s high aspirations and vision are shared by all within the school community. Oatlands Junior is a highly successful school, providing a rich curriculum which releases potential and creates amazing opportunities for all pupils.”

Read more:

• Ofsted praises ‘welcoming and friendly’ Scotton school
• Bishop Monkton school retains ‘good’ Ofsted rating
• Ofsted says Holy Trinity Junior School in Ripon ‘requires improvement’

Restaurants across the Harrogate district will be offering discount deals next month, when Visit Harrogate Restaurant Week returns. 

The week-long event runs from Monday, October 9, to Sunday, October 15, and will see at least 15 participating restaurants and food outlets offer set-price dining deals for £10, £15, £20 and £30. Big names taking part include Bettys, The Ivy, Hotel du Vin and the Clocktower Brasserie at Rudding Park.

This October’s Restaurant Week runs for longer than last year’s inaugural event, and incorporates Sunday, October 15, to capture the weekend visitor footfall and coincide with the Harrogate Music Weekender organised by Harrogate BID. 

The weekend of October 13-15 will see live performances, street entertainers and special offers driving further footfall to Harrogate’s town centre hospitality venues. 

Harrogate BID is supporting the week-long event by providing free parking in the Jubilee Car Park in Harrogate from 4pm daily until it closes. 

The purpose of Restaurant Week, which is organised by Destination Harrogate, is twofold. Pre-fixed prices help diners to plan what to spend in advance, encouraging them to discover new places to eat.

It also offers businesses in the food and hospitality industry an opportunity to raise their profile. Following the first Restaurant Week in February, many participating businesses reported an increase in bookings and in footfall for the week – while also showing interest for a follow-up event later in the year. 

Read more:

• Harrogate set to host three-day music weekender
• Refugees set up Harrogate district’s first Afghan pop-up restaurant
• New bar and restaurant to open in Knaresborough

Helen Suckling, partnership and commercial manager for Destination Harrogate, said:  

“The feedback we received from February’s event was very positive and, in extending the time that diners are given to enjoy Restaurant Week, we’re also extending the opportunity to boost business for our food and hospitality trade at a traditionally quieter time of the year.” 

Customers can take advantage of the lower priced menus and food deals by visiting participating restaurants, cafés and food outlets and quoting the offer. 

Gemma Rio, head of Destination Harrogate, said:  

“Excellent food and drink is one of the Harrogate area’s tourism strengths and, through Restaurant Week, we’re showcasing the diversity of our dining offer. 

“Restaurant Week also supports our commitment to sustainable tourism. In finding new ways to attract visitors and spread footfall across the whole year, we’re offering new opportunities to our local businesses, along with great deals to our visitors and residents alike.”  

Businesses can sign up to the initiative via the Destination Harrogate website.  

For information on menu offers and the dates on which they are available, see the Visit Harrogate website. 

Visit Harrogate is the official tourism website for the Harrogate area of North Yorkshire. It is operated by Destination Harrogate, which is part of North Yorkshire Council.  

Two young brothers from Nidderdale are following in the footsteps of their sporting heroes, who have sent them words of encouragement. 

Angus and Alfie Millar received hand-written letters from the Brownlee brothers, along with treasured items of their sporting kit, after writing to the famous pair. 

The Yorkshire-born Brownlee brothers rank among Britain’s greatest living athletes. Alistair Brownlee won gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games, and younger brother Jonathan Brownlee won gold in the mixed relay at the 2020 Olympics and is a six-time world triathlon champion.

Inspired by their success, Ripon Grammar School pupils Angus, 13, and Alfie, 12, are representing their county in triathlon, with ambitions to go further. 

Having taken up the endurance multisport six years ago, both were selected for the Yorkshire team in national championships, held at Mallory Park in Leicestershire, after beating off stiff competition from throughout the county. 

In the finals, where their county came ninth overall, they were up against the best young athletes from England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands. Angus has since been selected for the Yorkshire Talent Squad, following challenging trials, and won bronze at the recent national schools fell-running championships. 

Angus Millar during a fell-running race.

The boys live near Pateley Bridge, about 20 miles from Bramhope, Leeds, where the Brownlees were born. 

In his response to the boys’ fan letter, Alistair Brownlee wrote:  

“We started when we were the same age as you are now. We are both thrilled that we are an inspiration. Keep up the training and hopefully we will meet at a race one day!” 

Angus said they were also delighted to receive a signed swim cap and photo, along with a World Series tri-suit. He said: 

“The Brownlee brothers are a big inspiration. We love watching them race.” 

Alfie, who fits in his triathlon training at 6.30am before school and at weekends, said he was inspired by their story:

“Even at the age of 12, Jonny came last at his cross country and started to train even more until he improved greatly and got really good.” 

Having been placed third in several Yorkshire triathlons, Angus said:  

“Triathlon is my main sport and I devote lots of time to it and love to train. I did lots of training for the latest race, where the level was very high.

“I would love to compete in other big races around the country and it would be nice to keep doing triathlon at a high level.” 

Read more:

• Tens of thousands set to flock to Pateley Bridge for major new sports event
• Olympic champion to present prizes at Sunday’s Harrogate 10K
• Harrogate school raises £6,500 in 1,000-mile cycling challenge

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.” 

Read more:

• Government rejects bid to convert Kirkby Malzeard pub into house
• Bid to convert Kirkby Malzeard pub rejected
• Campaigners vow to fight on to save Kirkby Malzeard pub

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.

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. 

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.