Starbeck Baths is to reopen today — five weeks after it closed due to an “unforeseen mechanical failure”.
In a Facebook post yesterday, the swimming pool said it would welcome customers from 7.30am.
It added:
“The work to complete the replacement of the filter and the subsequent safety checks have been completed and earlier today, we received the results from the tests, giving us the green light to open.”
The pool is run by the North Yorkshire Council-controlled Brimhams Active, which manages leisure facilities in the Harrogate district.
It had previously indicated it would be closed until late May.
Besides swimming sessions, it provides swimming lessons and caters for children’s parties.
Read more:
- Starbeck Baths to be closed until late May
- Memorial service for Starbeck pianist who ‘brought joy to the community’
A London investment firm is in talks to buy Masham’s troubled Black Sheep Brewery, according to media reports today.
The brewery, which employs about 50 staff, said last week it intended to appoint administrators after being hit hard by covid and rising costs.
Sky News reported Breal Capital has emerged as the leading contender to acquire the company, which was founded in 1992 by Paul Theakston.
Sky News said “other bidders remained in contention to acquire the business, and that a deal with Breal was not yet certain”.
It added the brewery asked interested parties to table offers by last Friday, and cited a pre-pack administration as one possible outcome.
Breal Capital is part of Breal Group, which did not respond to the Stray Ferret’s request for comment today.
Charlene Lyons, Black Sheep Brewery’s chief executive, said last week:
“The business has been hit very hard by the pandemic and the sudden rise in all costs.
“It has been the perfect storm, but the team are confident that with a new structure Black Sheep will thrive and grow as the team set course in a new direction.”
Read more:
- Masham’s Black Sheep Brewery to enter administration
- Cowpat makes Masham woman £2,000 richer
- Masham businesses fear impact if troubled Black Sheep Brewery closes
Covid vaccine banners stolen from Pateley Bridge
Two large banners advertising covid booster vaccinations have been pulled down and stolen from Pateley Bridge.
The banners were attached to the walls outside Pateley Bridge Pharmacy on the town’s High Street and outside Pateley Bridge and Bewerley Memorial Hall on Park Road.
Both banners advertised vaccines at the pharmacy, which has been at the forefront of the local covid campaign.
The banner attached to the pharmacy.
North Yorkshire Police today appealed for information about the thefts, which occurred overnight on either Monday or Tuesday last week.
It did not comment on the possible reasons for the theft.
The banner attached to the Memorial Hall.
The banners were bright yellow and measured approximately 1 metre x 2 metres.
Police said:
“Anybody with information about this crime can email bill.hickson@northyorkshire.police.uk, call 101, or report on-line at www.northyorkshire.police.uk. Please quote reference 12230080065.
“Alternatively, information can be passed anonymously via Crimestoppers UK on 0800 555 111 or online at the Crimestoppers website.”
Read more:
- Plaque recognises Harrogate Convention Centre’s ‘invaluable’ covid hospital role
- Daleside Garage in Pateley Bridge reopens in new location
£30,000 cycle priority crossing planned in Harrogate
North Yorkshire Council has proposed constructing a cycle priority crossing in Harrogate.
The £30,000 scheme where Bilton Lane dissects Nidderdale Greenway would give cyclists and pedestrians crossing the road priority over vehicles.
The road would be raised to make the crossing more visible to motorists.
The council has sent letters to Bilton residents to get their views. The letter says there has been an increase in the number of cyclists and pedestrians using the Nidderdale Greenway cycle network. It adds:
“As part of the council’s efforts to improve accessibility and promoting active travel, we are proposing to construct a cycle priority crossing on Bilton Lane at the crossing of Nidderdale Greenway.
“The crossing is designed with a raised table making it more visible to drivers and helping to slow them down. Priority will be given to cyclists and pedestrians to cross safely without having to compete with drivers on the road.
“People with mobility issues such as those using wheelchairs or mobility scooters can cross more easily with the crossing being at the same level as the footway. Apart from improved safety, other benefits include increased accessibility, better health outcomes and environmental benefits.”
The crossing would be 7 metres long, 6.6 metres wide and 75 millimetres high.
Paul Haslam, a Conservative who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge on the council, said he supported the idea in principle.
But he added the Bilton Lane speed limit needed to be reduced from 30mph to 20mph and parking arrangements improved so the crossing was more visible to motorists.
Cllr Haslam also called on farmers, who often drive vehicles on Bilton Lane, to be consulted and for the car park next to the greenway and Bilton Lane to be resurfaced.
Read more:
- Publican says cycle path crackdown in Harrogate is ‘unreasonable’
- ‘Grim’ future predicted for Harrogate cycling after funding snub
Victorian church clock restored in Harrogate district
Villagers are celebrating the restoration of their Victorian church clock following a £7,000 restoration project.
Residents came together last year to launch the platinum jubilee clock restoration project for St Bartholomew’s Church in Arkendale, which is between Knaresborough and Boroughbridge.
A community event has been held to unveil the clock, which features gold leaf gilded dials that match the original, and the clock mechanism has been deep-cleaned.
Cllr Robert Windass, a Conservative who represents Boroughbridge and Claro on North Yorkshire Council, was the largest funder with £2,500 from his locality budget.
The locality budget provides £10,000 for each councillor to spend on specific local activities each year.
Cllr Windass said:
“I’m delighted to join the community in celebrating the long-awaited unveiling of the church clock. The large-scale project involved making new clock faces to match the original, and the mechanism was overhauled to make sure it will run for many years to come.
“It has been a joint effort to pull this off and I’m proud to have contributed some of my locality budget to such a worthwhile cause.”
(from left), Colin Fletcher, account director at Allerton Waste Recovery Park, Cllr Robert Windass and church warden Robyn Cox
Funding also came from local sponsors and donations through a Sponsor a Numeral Campaign, as well as Thalia Waste Management at Allerton Waste Recovery Park, the Church of England’s ChurchCare scheme, the Moto Foundation and Hanson Cement at Allerton Park.
Harrogate adult mental health charity Claro Enterprises carved the plaque.
It was made using offcuts donated by furniture makers Robert Thompson’s Craftsmen, which is responsible for creating famous Mouseman furniture in Kilburn.
Robyn Cox, the warden of St Bartholomew’s Church, added:
“It’s a new moment in time at St Bartholomew’s where the community came together with support from grant-funding bodies and local businesses to restore the clock dials and mechanism. It was a project we started to celebrate the platinum jubilee of our beloved late Queen Elizabeth II.”
A place of worship has stood in the village since the 14th century, although the present building dates from 1836. It was the first church to be consecrated in the then new Diocese of Ripon in January 1837.
Read more:
- Harrogate church saves £20,000 on clock repairs with can of duck oil
- Bond End roadworks in Knaresborough due to end on Friday
Rossett School to meet parents to discuss sixth form merger concerns
Rossett School leaders are to meet parents next week to discuss concerns about the sixth form merger with Harrogate Grammar School.
Students planning to join Rossett sixth form in autumn were informed last week they will be taught at nearby Harrogate Grammar School instead. Current Rossett sixth form students are unaffected.
The move took pupils and parents by surprise, with some questioning why they weren’t consulted and unhappy at the potential disruption.
About 65 Rossett students will be affected and school leaders held a media briefing yesterday to provide more details about the merger and the reasoning behind it. They revealed:
- The number of sixth form students at Harrogate Grammar School is expected to remain at about 650 despite the influx of Rossett students because “grade inflation” caused by covid is expected to ease, thus reducing the number of eligible students.
- Sixth form students will attend all their lessons at Harrogate Grammar School but teachers will move between the two schools.
- Rossett’s former sixth form buildings will be used as a teacher recruitment and training hub by the Red Kite Learning Trust. Rossett is due to become the trust’s 14th school in September. Harrogate Grammar School already belongs to it.
Richard Sheriff, chief executive of the trust, said collaborative sixth forms were a proven model in Harrogate, citing St Aidan’s Church of England High School and St John Fisher Catholic High School.
Mr Sheriff added there had been a long-term vision for Rossett and Harrogate Grammar School to collaborate more closely and the merger would not only achieve this but also improve education for students.
Read more:
- Rossett sixth form to merge with Harrogate Grammar School
- Tim Milburn appointed headteacher of Harrogate’s Rossett School
- Rossett headteacher resigns amid major reorganisation
He said better children’s outcomes was the main driver for change but acknowledged cost was also “absolutely part of this”.
Rossett’s income, which is based on student numbers, has decreased significantly in recent years due to pupil numbers falling by roughly a third from 1,500 to 1,000.
Mr Sheriff said the decline in pupil numbers was due to fewer students from Leeds attending because of higher bus fares and improved schools in Leeds as well as Rossett’s ‘requires improvement’ rating by schools inspector Ofsted.
He said the Ofsted assessment “weighed heavily” on Rossett and the merger would demonstrate the school’s commitment to improve.
Mr Sheriff added building a new joint sixth form building was a long-term dream. He said:
“It’s hard for any school to survive on their own these days. It’s not a safe place to be.”
‘We have to be realistic’
Rossett consulted with governors about the merger but not parents — why not? Mr Sheriff said:
“What would we do with the outcome of the consultation if parents said ‘we’d like to keep things as they are’?
“If we did that the school would be bankrupt next year. We have to be realistic and genuine with parents.”
Harrogate Grammar School
Tim Milburn, who will formally take up the headteacher’s role at Rossett in September after previously being deputy headteacher at Harrogate Grammar School, hopes next week’s meeting will reassure parents. He said:
“There’s been some questions and concerns but we have tried to respond to them quickly.
“The news will have come as a shock and we acknowledge there are concerns but we have thought long and hard about how we can make the best provision for children. We want Rossett to be a thriving, growing school again.”
What about special needs students that might be particularly anxious about the unwanted change of environment?
Pete Saunders, the current acting headteacher at Rossett, said:
“In that scenario, special educational needs co-ordinators will get together with parents and students and discuss what provision they need to make the transition successfully.”
Mr Saunders added another advantage of the move is that Rossett sixth formers will be able to take advantage of Harrogate Grammar School’s broader curriculum, which includes subjects such as medical science that otherwise would not be available.
Bond End roadworks in Knaresborough due to end on FridayRoadworks causing misery for motorists in Knaresborough are due to end on Friday.
Traffic lights have been causing severe delays at Bond End since May 2.
The roadworks paused last weekend for the coronation but returned yesterday, causing tailbacks in all directions.
Electricity distribution company Northern Powergrid is laying underground electricity cables to support the redevelopment of Dower House Hotel, which is due to reopen this year under the new name The Knaresborough Inn.
A Northern Powergrid spokesperson said:
“As part of the investment scheme, traffic management is in place until Friday 12 May while the company digs to lay the new electricity cables.
“We apologise for any inconvenience this may be causing to residents and businesses, and although unavoidable, we can appreciate it is very disruptive. All work and traffic management was agreed with the appropriate local authority and permits granted to carry out the necessary work.
“Traffic management helps to enable safe access for engineers to carry out their work, and for residents and motorists alike.”
Read more:
- More rail strikes in Harrogate and Knaresborough this week
- Ex-England footballer Micah Richards fined for speeding in Knaresborough
Police launch investigation after cat shot dead in Harrogate
Police in Harrogate are appealing for witnesses and information after a cat was shot dead.
North Yorkshire Police said today the shooting happened in the Newby Crescent area of Jennyfields at around 9.05pm on Friday last week.
The force said in a statement:
“Timmy the cat was found dead by a neighbour. It is believed he had been shot with an air rifle or pellet gun.
“Understandably, Timmy’s family have been left deeply distressed following the incident.
“We’re appealing for information about anyone living locally who owns an air rifle or pellet gun, or anyone who was in the area at the time and may have witnessed the incident.”
To help the investigation, email Jacob.higgins@northyorkshire.police.uk or call 101, select option 2, and ask for Jacob Higgins.
If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12230080606 when providing details.
Read more:
Memorial service for Starbeck pianist who ‘brought joy to the community’
A memorial service is to be held in Starbeck for a pianist who often played for free in local schools and care homes.
Stuart Forster was a talented keyboard player who was also an organist at St Andrew’s Church. He died at his home in Starbeck on May 1, aged 76.
Born in York, he had a varied career in a wide range of professions.
Mr Forster was a talented keyboard player
Elena Leeming, a friend of Mr Forster, said:
“While it is sad news for the community here in Starbeck, there is a memorial service for those who knew him at St Andrew’s Church on May 18 at 11am.
“Stuart brought joy to the whole community by playing at the local school, church and care homes. He will be greatly missed.”
Ms Leeming added Mr Forster’s sister and son planned to travel for the service and everyone was welcome.
Read more:
- The Big Help Out: Starbeck residents brave the rain to volunteer
- Starbeck Baths set to reopen in 10 days
CrossFit Harrogate prepares for charity challenge
Thirty members of Crossfit Harrogate will take on the national three peaks challenge this weekend to raise money for four charities.
The super-fit bunch will attempt to scale the three highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales — Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon — in 24 hours.
It involves walking 23 miles and climbing more than 3,000 metres, which is twice the ascent of the Yorkshire three peaks. Participants also have to drive 460 miles.
The challenge will raise money and awareness for Harrogate Homeless Project, Saint Michael’s Hospice, Williams Syndrome Association and Artizan International.
Beth Crewe, who is among those taking part, said:
“The gym is raising funds for four charities, three of which are local, which all have special places in the hearts of the members.
“We decided to take on this challenge to not only push ourselves physically and mentally but to help make a difference to those in need of support from these amazing charities at this difficult time.”
More than £4,600 has already been pledged towards the £5,000 target. You can donate here.
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