Mr Renton said Department for Education guidance stated schools should prioritise students taking exams and therefore pupils in years 11 and 13 would attend school as normal and either have lessons when teachers were not striking or undertake private study.

Other schools set for ‘unavoidable impact’

Harrogate Grammar School is part of Red Kite Learning Trust, which also manages Oatlands Junior School, Coppice Valley Primary School, Rossett Acre Primary School, Western Primary School in the Harrogate district.

Richard Sheriff

Red Kite chief executive Richard Sheriff sent a letter alongside Mr Renton’s saying “a very significant number of our teachers” are members of the NEU and “sadly it is unavoidable that this will have an impact on the provision we offer across our schools on the strike days”. He added:

“The impact will vary considerably from school to school, depending on the number of staff who are members of the union concerned and who decide to support the action.

“Red Kite Learning Trust is the employer for all our teachers and staff in schools, and we have received some information from the National Education Union (NEU) about how many members are in each of our schools. This information does not give us the full picture, however, as we do not know which teachers will choose to actually be on strike on the days concerned. Headteachers/principals will therefore have to cope with a high degree of uncertainty, as they plan for the strike days.”

He added:

The Rt Revd Dr Helen-Ann Hartley has formally left her role as Bishop of Ripon after five years to become Bishop of Newcastle.

At a special evensong service at Ripon Cathedral, Bishop Helen-Ann removed her diocesan cope, stole and mitre and placed them on the altar in a symbolic act of standing down.

Paying tribute to to the people of the Ripon episcopal area, she said:

“I have often felt most affirmed in my role as Bishop of Ripon by people and groups who are not part of the formal structures of the church, and for whose support and encouragement I will be forever grateful: by our civic and military partners, those who work in the rural and farming economies and the running community.”

With Bishop of Leeds Nick Baines

She praised Ripon Runners, of which she was a member, for giving her mental and physical challenges, such as once having to define “evil” while running up a hill to Ripon’s Morrisons supermarket.

Bishop of Leeds Nick Baines said Bishop Helen-Ann had been a blessing to the diocese in the five years since she arrived from New Zealand, accompanied at that service by a group of Maori elders.

Read more:

• Bishop of Ripon set to move to new post in Newcastle
• Ripon Cathedral major development requires removal of 11 trees

Bishop Nick presenting her with a framed aerial view of Fountains Abbey, near Ripon, as a parting gift. He said

“Let us continue to pray for Bishop Helen-Ann and her husband Myles and pray that they will thrive and build new friendships with colleagues in Newcastle.”

The bishop’s final sermon in Ripon.

The appointment of a bishop is a lengthy and opaque process that requires the consent of Downing Street.

The Stray Ferret asked the Anglican Diocese of Leeds when a new Bishop of Ripon was likely to be appointed.

A spokesman said:

“A process to find her successor is underway and will be concluded as swiftly as possible.”

Harrogate Borough Council is spending £25,000 a month on temporary hotels and bed and breakfasts for homeless people, a freedom of information request has revealed.

The council, which has a statutory duty to prevent homelessness, is paying individual hotels up to £126 a night because its hostels are full.

The figures highlight how acute and costly the issue of homelessness is in the Harrogate district.

The Stray Ferret submitted a freedom of information request after a well-placed source revealed some of the town’s best-known hotels were being paid to put up homeless people.

The council confirmed at the time it used hotels “as a last resort” but declined to reveal costs.

Following the FoI request it has now released details of the monthly amounts paid to each of the hotel and B&B accounts used to provide temporary accommodation for homeless people in the six months from April to September last year.

The names of the individual establishments have not been released to protect the identity of vulnerable people but the sums for each one range from £30 to £126 a night.

Two hotels each received more than £10,000 from the council in August and one received more than £13,000 in July. Payments are subsidised through housing benefits.

‘No one should ever sleep on the streets’

The Stray Ferret asked the council about the sums and the amount of accommodation it had for homeless people in the district.

A council spokesperson said:

“We believe no one should ever be sleeping on the streets, and should an individual or a family become homeless we have a statutory responsibility to prevent this and several options available.

“This includes working with families, landlords or mortgage providers to help people stay in their homes, provide financial support to cover arrears or identify alternative private rental accommodation.

“Additional to this, when all other options have been exhausted, is our temporary accommodation – including hostels in Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough – to ensure residents have somewhere safe to stay and not end up sleeping on the streets.

“If we have no availability in our hostels, or they are not suitable for the individual or family, then we may need to place them in a B&B or a hotel temporarily.

“We use a variety, depending on availability and any specific needs that may be required. For example, to support a family and/or individual with additional needs that may require an accessible room. As such, this will naturally cost more than accommodation for a single adult who requires no additional support.

Read more:

• Harrogate council putting up homeless people in town centre hotels at undisclosed cost
• Homelessness in Harrogate — what’s the best way to help?
• ‘Huge’ increase in demand for Harrogate council homeless services

The spokesperson added:

“The cost of using B&Bs or hotels will understandably vary throughout the year but on average in the last 12 months, it has cost around £25,000 per month and is subsidised through housing benefits.

“During this time, a dedicated housing options officer works with each household, alongside partner organisations, to ensure the correct support is provided. This includes health and well-being support, budget advice and independent living skills.

“This is a short-term arrangement until either a vacancy within our hostel accommodation becomes available or a more permanent housing solution is found.

“We are committed to providing decent and quality homes for everyone in the Harrogate district. To achieve this, we have a number of plans in place; such as requiring developers to provide a specific amount of affordable housing (40 per cent or 30 per cent depending on location), building our own stock through our housing company Bracewell Homes, as well as encouraging private landlords to return empty properties back into use.

“Tackling homelessness is something that all local authorities face but we are determined to meet these challenges and ensure no one ends up sleeping on the streets.”

A 25-metre telecommunications tower could be installed at Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground to improve WiFi.

The showground attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year but many often struggle to get online.

A planning application has been submitted to Harrogate Borough Council by telecommunications company EE to erect a lattice tower that will host three antennae, two dishes and several cabinets.

A design and access statement submitted by telecommunications technology company Harlequin Group on behalf of EE to the council said the proposal would not only boost WiFi at the showground but also provide “much improved and upgraded coverage to surrounding businesses and residents who currently see limited indoor coverage”. It added:

“It should be noted there is no 5G coverage within the immediate or surrounding area whatsoever.

“The area, in particular the Great Yorkshire Showground, has been subject to coverage supplied by way of a temporary emergency solution during events.

“The proposal will be tucked within a building corner, meaning that the equipment will be obscured on two of the four sides.”

The proposed location, according to planning documents.

EE claimed the enhanced network “should be considered critical infrastructure within the UK to support the local community in perpetuity”. It said:

“At present, a temporary mast is brought out during events such as the Great Yorkshire Show that take place within the showground. Whilst this has been a solution that has worked adequately in the past, currently there is an ever-growing demand to find a more permanent solution.

“Local residents and businesses who currently experience little to no coverage, as well as visitors to the showground, have been pushing for a fixed solution that would consistently meet the demands of the surrounding area.”

‘Vital to ensure latest connectivity’

Allister Nixon

Allister Nixon, chief executive of the Great Yorkshire Showground told the Stray Ferret:

“The Great Yorkshire Showground is an intrinsic part of the local community that hosts numerous events throughout the year and brings significant employment and money to the area.

“To ensure that we can continue to develop and evolve with the changing demands of customers and business, it is vital to ensure that the latest connectivity is present; the proposed lattice tower is centrally located and has been designed to allow multiple operators to host on the same infrastructure.

“The public benefit goes beyond the Great Yorkshire Showground, with the proposal able to provide upgraded coverage and capacity to the surrounding residential properties, commercial properties, visitors and businesses in the locale. It is therefore believed that this proposal enables the provision of future connectivity for numerous individuals and companies.”

Councillors will decide whether to approve the planning application.

A leading Harrogate district arts festival has launched a nationwide search to find and reward talented young classical singers.

The Northern Aldborough Festival’s New Voices Singing Competition offers a prize fund of £7,000.

The winners will also receive performance opportunities at leading UK music festivals, including Leeds Lieder, Newbury Spring Festival, Ryedale Festival and Music@Malling, as well as the Northern Aldborough Festival itself.

The judging panel includes Dame Felicity Lott, one of Britain’s leading sopranos,

Robert Ogden, the festival’s artistic director, said:

“Hundreds of young singers graduate every year with dreams and aspirations to become professionals, but the majority have to seek temporary work while they build their careers.

“A competition success can be a turning point for a young artist. Our festival has, from its inception, strived to support and nurture young talent.”

The winner will receive The Seastock Trust Prize of £5,000, with a second prize of £1,500 from The Yorkshire Music Future Fund, and a third, audience prize of £500.

St Andrew’s Church in Aldborough hosts many of the festival events.

The competition is open to solo singers and ensembles of up to eight performers, and celebrates classical vocalism in all its forms. It is open to vocalists aged 21-32 years-old. Deadline for entries is Friday 14 April, 2023.

Mr Ogden, who is also an opera singer, said:

“At a time when the arts sector — particularly opera — has faced funding cuts, we feel a competition to help launch singing careers is of its time. What’s more, there are very few significant open vocal competitions north of London.”

The judging panel also includes the artistic director of The Early Opera Company, Christian Curnyn, director of Leeds Lieder, Joseph Middleton, and artistic director of the Northern Aldborough Festival, Robert Ogden. The panel is chaired by Sir Andrew Lawson-Tancred, chairman of the Northern Aldborough Festival.

Read more:

• Ripon museums secure more than £400,000 from Arts Council
• Professional musician from Harrogate returns to give recital

The semi-final and grand-final will be performed live to audiences at the end of this year’s Northern Aldborough Festival, which is hosted in the North Yorkshire village from Thursday 15 to Saturday 24 June 2023.

It will be the 29th festival and highlights include trumpet star and winner of BBC Young Musician of the Year, 26-year-old Matilda Lloyd and the youngest winner of the Leeds International Piano Competition for 40 years, Sunwook Kim.

Police are appealing for information about the theft of an antique safe from Harrogate.

The safe was stolen from a property on Sussex Avenue between 6.30pm and 8pm on Monday, 10 January. Its value has not been revealed.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement:

“Three people are believed to have been involved and we are appealing to anyone who either saw something suspicious in the area around the time of the burglary or who has seen it since.”

It urged anyone with information to get in touch by emailing sam.clarke2@northyorkshire.police.uk or by calling 101, selecting option 2, and asking for PC Sam Clarke

Alternatively, information can be passed anonymously to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Quote reference 12230006025 when providing information.

Read more:

• Harrogate school to recruit fourth headteacher in two years
• Harrogate’s former Kimberley Hotel being used for drugs and crime, say police

Nurses and ambulance workers in the Harrogate district are set to strike on the same day in just over two weeks’ time.

Picket lines could be organised within yards of each other on Lancaster Park Road in Harrogate, where the hospital and the ambulance station are both located.

Unless strikes are averted, the Royal College of Nursing plans to carry out two days of industrial action on February 6 and 7.

Unite has scheduled another ambulance strike in Harrogate on February 6.

Ambulance workers striking in Harrogate this year.

There is also the prospect of schools being affected on February 1, when members of the National Education Union plan to strike before staging further walk-outs in February and March. A union official has predicted some schools will have to close.

Sandy Lay, a nurse at Harrogate District Hospital and a Liberal Democrat councillor representing Otley and Yeadon on Leeds City Council, told a full council meeting on Wednesday the government rather than striking nurses were harming patients.

But he added arrangement for patient care were often better on strike days than non-strike days because minimum service levels were in place,

He said:

“We want minimum service levels and minimum staff levels, but it has to be every day, not just on strike days.”

Hospital: ‘regrettable some services have been affected’

Asked what impact this week’s strikes had had on the hospital, and whether it would amend its plans for future strikes, a spokesman for Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said:

“Comprehensive plans are in place to maintain the safety of patients requiring our services during the Royal College of Nursing’s industrial action.

“We are committed to providing the best possible levels of healthcare in any eventuality, and as ever, during the industrial action our focus has been on maintaining the safety of our patients.

“Whilst it is regrettable that some of our services have been affected by industrial action, we have ensured that essential services have remained available. Whilst we have been operating at reduced staffing levels in a number of areas such as inpatient wards, we worked with the RCN to ensure that we had sufficient nursing staff working to maintain patient safety.

“During the industrial action we have rescheduled appointments where it has been necessary. We have worked with the RCN to ensure that our services have remained safe.

“While pay is a matter for government and the trade unions, we greatly value our staff and respect those who have chosen to take part in industrial action. We want to see a resolution as soon as possible to ensure we can continue to focus on delivering high quality patient care to all those who need it.”

Read more:

• Union predicts some Harrogate district schools will close due to strike
• First ever nurses’ strike begins at Harrogate hospital

Harrogate district voluntary organisations that come up with a striking photograph encapsulating what they do could receive a funding boost this year.

Two Ridings Community Foundation holds an annual High Sheriff’s Dragons’ Den event in which community groups pitch for funding in front of a panel and audience.

It usually awards individual grants of between £3,000 and £7,000 from a total funding pot of £30,000.

Birstwith artist Clare Granger has been nominated High Sheriff of North Yorkshire this year and she plans to take a creative approach to the event.

This week’s event at Allerton Castle

Speaking at an event at Allerton Castle this week to thank groups that took part in last year’s Dragons’ Den, Ms Granger said the idea of a more visual approach and an exhibition of entries appealed to her.

She said organisations would be assessed on the strength of their images and an explanation of how each one represented their work, rather than by making a standard spoken pitch.

Two Ridings Community Foundation has yet to reveal final details of this year’s event.

Read more:

• Boy rescued in freezing conditions from River Nidd in Knaresborough
• Business case to be drawn up for Knaresborough road train

As high sheriff Ms Granger, who has a studio at home, will represent law and order in the county on behalf of the king, assuming her nomination is ratified at York Crown Court in April.

About 100 representatives from voluntary organisations took part in this week’s event at Allerton Castle, which will host this year’s Dragons’ Den event and exhibit the photos.

It was organised by Jonathan Wright, a trustee of the charity that maintains Allerton Castle. Harrogate district Mayor Victoria Oldham and deputy mayor Robert Windass were among those attending.

(from left) Robert Windass, Jonathan Wright and Victoria Oldham

Firms in Harrogate town centre will be balloted in June over whether to continue to fund a business improvement district.

A total of 462 businesses in Harrogate town centre currently pay a levy of 1.5% on top of their rateable value to fund Harrogate Business Improvement District.

It is one of more than 350 BIDs in the country, set up to increase footfall by providing additional services to those run by councils.

Harrogate BID was set up in 2018 when businesses voted by 108 to 23 in favour of the initiative.

Businesses will vote again in June on whether to continue supporting it. The ballot will open on June 1 and close on June 28. The result will be announced the following day.

Ripon has a BID but Knaresborough rejected one.

Read more:

• New chair to take the reins at Harrogate BID
• Ripon BID announces Christmas windows competition winners

BID chief executive Matthew Chapman outlined the organisation’s achievements at this week’s annual general meeting at the Crown Hotel and made the case for the continuation of the organisation.

Mr Chapman said businesses could step into the void created by the abolition of Harrogate Borough Council on April 1. He said:

“It’s a key time with Harrogate Borough Council going. The town will lose a voice for a time and we believe we can step in and be that voice.

“BIDs in their second terms often go on to bigger and better things.”

Sara Ferguson speaking at the annual general meeting.

The BID spent £608,844 last year to record a deficit of £13,737. Mr Chapman said the deficit would be wiped out when levy bill reminders and court summons prompted some late payments.

The BID funded initiatives such as free car parking, free buses into town, street cleaning, street entertainers, floral displays, Christmas lights, Harrogate lego trail and the platinum jubilee celebrations on the Stray.

Dan Siddle, general manager of the Crown Hotel, and Primark manager Andrea Thornborrow recently replaced Sara Ferguson and Richard Wheeldon as chair and vice-chair respectively.

Streets included within the Harrogate BID boundary:

Albert Street, Beulah Street, Bower Road, Cambridge Crescent, Cambridge Road, Cheltenham Crescent, Cheltenham Mount, Cheltenham Parade, Cold Bath Road, Commercial Street, Crescent Road, Crown Place, Dragon Parade, Dragon Road, East Parade, East Park Road, Haywra Crescent, Haywra Street, James Street, John Street, Kings Road, Market Place, Montpellier Gardens, Montpellier Parade, Montpellier Road, Montpellier Street, Mount Parade, North Park Road, Oxford Street, Park Parade, Park View, Parliament Street, Princes Square, Princes Street, Prospect Crescent, Prospect Place, Queensway, Raglan Street, Ripon Road, Royal Parade, Springfield Avenue, Station Avenue, Station Bridge, Station Parade, Station Square, Studley Road, Swan Road, The Ginnel, Tower Street, Union Street, Victoria Avenue, Victoria Shopping Centre, West Park, York Place

A Harrogate police inspector has expressed concerns that the site of the former Kimberley Hotel is being used for drugs and crime.

The 70-bedroom hotel on King’s Road closed in December 2020 after more than 50 years.

Insp. Ed Rogerson, who works for North Yorkshire Police’s Harrogate outer area, said the former hotel had become a “problem area” when he gave an overview of local policing to Harrogate Borough Council’s overview and scrutiny committee this week.

He said the hotel was awaiting redevelopment, adding:

“This empty building has been a problem area. Although it’s boarded up people keep breaking in.

“It’s primarily young people but it’s also being used by adults. People have used the location for taking drugs.

“It’s a concern that these vulnerable people are mixing with adults in that location where there’s crime and anti-social behaviour.”

Read more:

• Kimberley Hotel owner goes into liquidation amid £3.5m debts
• Government rejects £20m levelling up bid for Harrogate Convention Centre

Insp. Rogerson added officers were working with other organisations, including environmental health, “to ensure the owner and developer of that premises secure it properly”. He added:

“They’ve been reminded that if it doesn’t remain secure then enforcement action can be taken against them”.

The Kimberley Hotel in 2020.

The Kimberley Hotel opened in the 1960s when five townhouses dating back to the turn of the 20th century were converted.

It benefitted from the opening of what was then called the Harrogate Conference Centre in 1982, which is a short walk away.