Two footballers who started out on pitches in Harrogate and Knaresborough will be bidding for a place in the Women’s FA Cup final this weekend.

Leah Galton and Rachel Daly have risen from local leagues to play as strikers for two of the biggest clubs in the country.

Galton, who began as a junior with Knaresborough Celtic and then played for Harrogate Railway, has banged in 29 goals for Manchester United Women since she joined them from Bayern Munich in 2018.

She is the joint third highest scorer in the Women’s Super League this season with eight goals.

Manchester United Women will line-up against Brighton & Hove Albion Women at 5.15pm today.

United, who have never won a major women’s trophy but are top of the Women’s Super League, will be fancied to beat lowly Brighton.

Tomorrow, Daly’s Aston Villa Women will take centre stage in the second semi-final against Chelsea Women at 2.15pm.

Daly, who started at Killinghall Nomads and won Euro 2022 with England last year, is second on this year’s leading scorer list with 13 goals.

If Manchester United and Villa win, it could result in the remarkable prospect of two local women playing up front in the cup final at Wembley.

Both semi-finals will be televised live on the BBC.

Read more:

• Harrogate’s Rachel Daly on target as England win Finalissima
• Harrogate’s Leah Galton wins WSL Player of the Month

A model boating club is to vote this week on whether to continue following the decision to install a fountain in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens.

Model boating has taken place on the boating lake near the cafe for 99 years.

But in one of its final acts before abolition, Harrogate Borough Council spent £6,000 on a new fountain.

Claro Marine model boating club pleaded with the council not to press ahead with the water feature, warning it would jeopardise their hobby.

Boats could run aground if they hit the fountain and their engines could be damaged by the spray.

But the council brushed aside the concerns and the fountain is now active.

The fountain in Valley Gardens

Claro Marine appealed last week for access to a new lake but so far nothing has transpired.

Club secretary Dave Finnegan said members would meet on Tuesday night to decide whether to continue.

“Some members, including myself, are members of other clubs. The only bad part is the distance — at least two of our members do not drive.

“There is a real chance Claro Marine modellers will close.”

Read more:

• ‘The council have destroyed 99 years of model boats in Harrogate’
• Model boating must continue, says Friends of Valley Gardens

Two schemes to protect land between Harrogate and Knaresborough from development are to form a partnership.

The Knaresborough Forest Park campaign enabled 61 acres of farmland to be bought last month and turned into a green space and nature reserve.

It followed the Long Lands Common campaign in which 3,000 people bought shares to raise £375,000 to purchase 30 acres of land near Nidderdale Greenway.

Land involved in the two projects meets at Bilton Hall Drive and the those involved now plan to work together on developing a wider vision for how it can best be managed for nature and the community.

Shan Oakes, from the Knaresborough Forest Park group, told a Knaresborough & District Chamber meeting last week it made sense for the initiatives to join forces as they had similar aims.

Ms Oakes added that because Long Lands had already been through the share buying process, it could take ownership of the legal process to buy and restore land in the ancient Knaresborough Forest, just outside the town.

George Eglese, who is also part of the Knaresborough Forest project, told the meeting the Long Lands initiative had inspired the “rebirth of Knaresborough Forest” and together the schemes would “create a barrier against development across the greenbelt”.

Celebratory walk

To celebrate the partnership, a walk and picnic will take place on April 29 from Nidd viaduct through Long Lands Common and Knaresborough Forest Park.

The walk will end at The Mitre pub in Knaresborough, where George Moore was born in 1928.

The Mitre

Mr Moore, who died in 2016, was a philanthropist and the George A Moore Foundation set up in his memory donated £410,000 to the Knaresborough Forest Campaign.

Mr Eglese said the community initiatives could, in the future, look at bringing together the greenbelt under a “unifying vision” that could encompass areas such as Nidd Gorge and Horseshoe Fields, all of which either adjoin the land being bought or are close to it.

Update: the walk on April 29 has been postponed until a later date

Read more:

• Knaresborough forest campaign secures 61 acres from development
• Long Lands Common organisers aim to create food forest on Harrogate green belt

Former staff at CNG Group look set to receive £43,200 in claims against the failed Harrogate firm.

CNG, which employed about 145 staff, blamed spiralling wholesale gas and electricity prices for going out of business in 2021.

Administrators Interpath Advisory has published a progress report, which was uploaded on the Companies House website this week, for the period from September 2 last year to March 1.

It said staff — classed as ordinary preferential claimants — claimed £43,200 for arrears of wages up to a maximum of £800 a week, accrued holiday pay and pension benefits.

The report by joint administrators Timothy Bateson and Christopher Pole added:

“We anticipate that ordinary preferential creditors should receive a dividend of 100p in the £.”

Administrators paid £635 an hour

The report also revealed Interpath is being paid £635 an hour for handling the administration. It said:

“We have incurred time costs of £153,269. These represent 241 hours at an average rate of £635 per hour.”

Interpath’s final fee by the time administration is due to end on March 1 next year is expected to be £298,759.

Preferential creditors are expected to be paid in full, the report said, and “it is likely that the unsecured creditors will receive a dividend” although the amount is unknown.

The timing of payments is also unclear.

The report described the company’s primary assets as “inter-company debtor balances and investments in others groups”.

These are expected to generate “significant realisations” but the administrators added:

“The flow of funds between the CNG group of companies is complex and will depend on each company within the group resolving matters which are currently preventing distributions being made to the company.”

Read more:

• 45 former CNG staff in £210,000 tribunal win against Harrogate firm
• CNG building in Harrogate goes back on the market
• Administrators reveal state of Harrogate firm CNG Energy’s finances

The new North Yorkshire Council is beginning its annual surface dressing programme — but it doesn’t include any roads in the Harrogate district.

Hundreds of miles of roads across England’s largest county are to be treated this spring and summer.

The work makes roads more skid-resistant and waterproof. It also prevents potholes, and can extend the life of a road by up to 10 years.

Cllr Keane Duncan, North Yorkshire Council’s Conservative executive member for highways and transport, said £8 million of surface dressing would be carried out this year — £2.6 million more than last year.

But Harrogate is the only district in North Yorkshire not to be included in this year’s programme.

Work is due to begin mid-April in the Hambleton, Selby and Scarborough districts.

It is due to carry on in Ryedale and Richmondshire in May and finish in the Craven district in early June.

Cllr Duncan said:

“Careful prioritisation of works, additional investment and close cooperation with our contractors means we will be delivering an extra £2.6 million worth of surface dressing schemes this year, the equivalent of an extra 60 miles.”

In this year’s Budget, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt awarded North Yorkshire £6.5 million from a £700 million fund to tackle potholes.

Details of North Yorkshire roadworks are available here.

Read more:

• Three months of roadworks on A61 from Harrogate to Ripon set to begin
• Harrogate road to be closed until November

A naked walk is to be held near Ripon to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation.

British Naturism, which promotes naturism, is organising fundraising walks in which people will strip off and feel the breeze on their skin at gardens, stately homes and castles across the country.

The seven venues taking part in this year’s Naked Heart Walks include the Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park, between Ripon and Masham.

It will host a two kilometre walk for over-18s only on July 1.

This year’s walks are clothing-optional so there is no compulsion to strip naked.

An Ipsos poll commissioned by British Naturism in 2022, revealed almost seven million Brits describe themselves as naturists or nudists.

Andrew Welch, national spokesman for British Naturism, said:

“Taboos around nudity are eroding and the health and well-being benefits of going naked are more widely understood, with more and more people wanting to get the exhilarating feelings for themselves.

“I’m delighted to see the number of our Naked Heart Walks more than double this year and would encourage anyone to come and give it a go — and raise much needed funds for our charity partner.”

Ben Bishop, fundraising manager at the British Heart Foundation, said:

“There are lots of ways you can support the BHF and this is one of the more unusual, but why not try something new?

“Whether you dare to bare or keep your clothes on you can take part knowing that you will be helping our researchers find the new treatments and cures that can keep families together longer.”

Read more:

• Historic Harrogate naturist club holds first open day since covid
• Assets to be sold at failed Ripon firm Farmison

Hospital food in Harrogate is the worst in the country, according to patients.

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust received the lowest rating of all the hospital trusts assessed in the NHS survey.

Patients awarded the trust, which runs Harrogate District Hospital, 72% for food quality.

The next lowest was Mid-Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with 74%, closely followed by York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Private provider Bupa rated the highest with 100%.

NHS Digital published the figures as part of its 2022 Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment programme.

PLACE assessments are an annual appraisal of the non-clinical aspects of NHS and independent/private healthcare settings.

Harrogate fared better on cleanliness, ranking 53rd of the 222 organisations with a score of 99.49%.

But it was a lowly 192nd on privacy, dignity and wellbeing with a score of 81%.

Hospital issues apology

A Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said:

“We strive to provide the best possible levels of service for those people in our care and we are extremely disappointed that we were unable to meet the expectations of our patients when the assessment took place.

“We would like to apologise to anyone who has been dissatisfied by the service we provided.

“It is important that we learn lessons from these findings as food is an important part of a patient’s hospital experience. The quality of food provided to our patients has always been high, but there is the opportunity to improve on the levels of service.

“We take such assessments extremely seriously and have already started to make improvements to address the concerns that have been raised.”

“These improvements have already had a significant impact and we will continue to make further changes to ensure we are meeting our patients’ expectations.”

Read more:

• Harrogate hospital to remove parking barriers to ease traffic queues
• Harrogate hospital reports improved A&E waiting times

Retailer M&Co is to close its branch on Fishergate in Ripon a week on Saturday.

The Scottish company, which sells clothes and homeware, went into administration for a second time in December.

Yours Clothing bought the website, brand and intellectual property but not the shops.

It means all 170 M&Co stores have either closed already or will do so shortly. About 1,900 staff are affected.

Remaining stores are offering up to 60% discounts.

Retail manager Shirelle Wallace-Hoyle posted on the Ripon M&Co’s Facebook page:

Cyclists have expressed concern about the future of active travel in the Harrogate district after funding for two schemes was rejected.

The Department for Transport’s active travel fund last month turned down North Yorkshire County Council’s bid for £3.19 million.

It would have paid for segregated cycle routes on Victoria Avenue in Harrogate and on the A59 in Knaresborough between Mother Shipton’s Cave and Harrogate Golf Club.

Coming on the back of the county council’s decision to scrap phase two of the Otley Road cycle route, it has left plans for a connected, segregated cycle route between Harrogate train station and Cardale Park in tatters.

It has also raised questions about whether the council can deliver on active travel schemes despite the rhetoric.

Harrogate cycling campaigner Malcolm Margolis said

“The future for investment in cycling in Harrogate is clearly grim if the council is unable to attract government funding.

“It will only do that if it shows that it can deliver, which it has repeatedly failed to do for many years.

“That’s one of the reasons why the Station Gateway project must go ahead, not only that it would greatly improve the town centre, but that it shows the council has the capacity to turn successful bids to improve the public realm into successful changes on the ground.”

Cycleways on Station Parade are a key feature of the Station Gateway.

Read more:

• Cycling signs on Otley Road are ‘temporary measure’
• Government rejects cycling schemes in Harrogate and Knaresborough

Kevin Douglas, chairman of Harrogate District Cycle Action, agreed next month’s expected gateway decision was now of even greater significance given the legacy of failed cycling schemes. He said:

“If the council can’t attract government funding then it isn’t looking good for cycling.

“The government is reducing funding for active travel so it will be more difficult to succeed with bids and without a track record it will be doubly difficult.”

The Conservative-run North Yorkshire Council, which has replaced the county council, has said it will abide by its Liberal Democrat-controlled Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee’s gateway decision on May 30.

‘Immense challenges’

Cllr Keane Duncan, the Conservative executive member for highways and transportation on North Yorkshire Council, said the local authority remained determined to “rebalance transport” in the town and would “not be dispirited” by Active Travel England’s rejection.

He said:

“We know the immense challenges the town is facing in terms of congestion, air quality and road safety. Unless the new North Yorkshire Council takes action to address these problems, they will only get worse.

“Rebalancing transport and promoting more sustainable travel is essential, but with limited financial resources and often vocal opposition, this is not always easy to deliver in practical terms.”

The Otley Road cycleway

Cllr Duncan added:

“The Otley Road corridor remains a challenge, but I stand by the decision to step back from phase two of the cycleway to allow local councillors to consider alternative options.

“And of course, it will be local councillors who will determine the hot topic of gateway once and for all. They will give their verdict and I will respect this. I feel this is the fairest possible approach.

The Stray Ferret asked Active Travel England why it rejected North Yorkshire County Council’s bid.

A spokesman said it couldn’t go into detail until the successful applicants were notified after next month’s local elections. They added:

“Each bid we have received has undergone a robust assessment process that considered a range of criteria. Feedback is being provided to authorities with unsuccessful bids over the next few weeks.

“Active Travel England will support local authorities in designing and delivering schemes that meet national standards for safety and accessibility.”

Administrators running collapsed Ripon firm Farmison & Co said today it planned to begin the sale of assets.

FRP took charge of the company on Thursday, when it ceased trading and most staff lost their jobs.

Farmison co-founder John Pallagi held talks over the bank holiday with a consortium led by two Yorkshire businessmen about reviving the business.

But there has been no news of a deal since and FRP has now issued a statement clarifying the situation.

The statement outlined the problems that brought down the award-winning company. It said:

“The business recently underwent a fundraising process to secure external investment to support its business plan but did not secure a sufficient level of interest.

“Following a period of significant operational investment, the business has not generated the required level of revenues to sustain its high cost base.

“In recent weeks interest in the business and assets has been explored but a transaction could not be completed, and the directors have therefore placed the company into administration.”

The statement confirmed Farmison had ceased trading, adding:

“Regrettably, the majority of its 75 roles were made redundant. A skeleton staff has been retained to support the joint administrators in fulfilling their duties as they move towards an asset sale, notably the brand, goodwill and intellectual property.”

Read more:

• ‘Intense’ talks to save Ripon firm Farmison after buyout collapses
• New city-wide Ripon bus service to start on Monday

Arvindar Jit Singh, partner at FRP and joint administrator of Farmison, said:

“Farmison had made significant investment in recent years in its operations as it aimed to carve out a differentiated brand and offering in the online retail space.

“However, it proved too heavy a burden to sustain without the uplift in sales that it had expected.

“Without a major capital injection, the business could not continue trading and we must now commence an asset sale. We encourage any interested parties to come forward.

“In the meantime, we have a specialist team working with impacted staff to access support through the Redundancy Payments Service.”

Customers and creditors can contact the administrators by emailing farmison@frpadvisory.com.