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.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

Ofsted has said Rossett School in Harrogate ‘requires improvement’ in a critical report published today.

High staff turnover, disruptive pupils and extremely high absence rates among disadvantaged students are among the concerns highlighted by the government schools inspector.

The report, which followed a two-day visit on November 22 and 23, acknowledges that for the most part the 1,200-pupil school “is a warm, friendly and welcoming school”. It adds:

“Leaders, governors and staff are deeply committed to the pupils who attend the school. A strong determination to be inclusive and supportive permeates the school.”

But it adds a “notable minority of pupils do not behave well” and “sometimes disrupt the smooth running of the school”.

It then details further behaviour concerns:

“Most pupils who communicated with inspectors feel safe at school, but the conduct of the minority makes some pupils feel unsafe at times.

“Some pupils’ conduct out of lessons is variable, with overly boisterous behaviour. Some pupils ignore staff requests and instructions. Some staff do not apply the school’s behaviour policy consistently. A minority of pupils are regularly late to lessons, or have to be rounded up by leaders and escorted to class.”

Leaders, it said, were “taking action to improve the behaviour of the challenging minority of pupils” but “do not have an accurate picture of whether pupils are late, trying to avoid going to lessons, or both, and consequently this limits their ability to deal with the problem as sharply as required”.

‘Persistent absence’

Regarding attendance, the report said data showed that approaching half of all disadvantaged pupils were “persistently absent”.

The inspectors said leaders were following the school’s policy in attempting to improve this situation, but “it lacks the necessary drive and urgency to bring about the required step change in some pupils’ rate of attendance”.

The report said governors “do not have a fully accurate understanding of the school’s performance”, adding:

“They have a more positive view of behaviour than is the case. They have not been enabled by leaders to rigorously explore those aspects of pupils’ outcomes at key stage 4, which are less strong than others.”

The school, which is part of the Red Kite Alliance collaborative partnership of schools and a university across Yorkshire, was previously rated ‘requires improvement’ at its last full inspection in 2019. Today’s report said:

“Since the previous inspection, there has been a substantial turnover of staff, with 20 new staff joining the school in September 2022.”

The school was rated ‘good’ for quality of education, personal development and sixth-form provision and ‘requires improvement’ for behaviour and attitude, and leadership and management.

But the overall rating was ‘requires improvement’, which is worse than ‘outstanding’ and ‘good’ but better than ‘inadequate’.

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‘We are incredibly disappointed’

The school issued the following statement by John Hesketh, chair of governors, in response to the report.

“We are incredibly disappointed by the overall judgment, particularly after being upgraded to ‘good’ in the areas of quality of education and personal development, as well as maintaining the ‘good’ rating for our sixth form provision.

“We are delighted with these improved gradings which recognise the progress we have made since our last inspection and reflect the hard work and commitment from our leaders and all our staff. We will continue to build on all our strengths as we strive for continuous improvement in everything we do.

“We immediately remedied some areas for improvement such as the management of sixth form absence, inconsistencies in school uniform, and the reporting process for staff should they have any concerns. We are reviewing all other areas for improvement and are currently formulating an Ofsted action plan.

“We are pleased the inspectors recognised many positives that reflect the strength of our education provision, our values and ambitions, and the commitment and support we provide to our students and their families.

“There is much to be proud of in the report. Inspectors highlighted our warm, welcoming atmosphere, the breadth and ambition of our curriculum, and the fact that our students move on to positive next steps in education, employment or training at the end of their time with us.

“We received praise for the good, polite behaviour of our students, the commitment of our leaders and governors, our effective safeguarding, and our strength in teaching inclusivity, tolerance and respect.

“We’d like to thank all of Rossett School’s leaders and staff, parents, carers and our whole school community who continue to support us to provide the very best education and positive outcomes for all our students.”

Harrogate Town are to open a Hall of Fame recognising people who have made outstanding contributions to the club in its 108-year history.

The Hall of Fame will be located in multiple locations in Harrogate: the new supporters bar at the EnviroVent Stadium on Wetherby Road, the club shop on Commercial Street, the Exercise.co.uk executive lounge at the ground and the Cedar Court Hotel.

A Hall of Fame committee, chaired by supporter Bernard Higgins and consisting of supporters and club officials, has been meeting monthly since June.

The first 11 inductees were selected from an extensive list compiled by club historian Phil Harrison.

Their names will be announced between  January 23 and February 2 and an official launch event attended by chairman Irving Weaver and manager Simon Weaver at the Cedar Court Hotel on February 9.

The launch event will be held at the Cedar Court Hotel.

Following the event, details will be revealed on how supporters can help to shape the Hall of Fame and select the 12th and final inductee of the 2022/23 season.

Inaugural Hall of Fame members, along with family of those who have died, will be invited back to the EnviroVent Stadium over the course of the 2022/23 season, where their contributions to the club will be celebrated.

Each season, two more individuals will be inducted to the Hall of Fame.

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Visitors to Harrogate’s Valley Gardens are being encouraged not to feed the ducks because of the risk of attracting rats.

Harrogate Borough Council recently installed a notice warning people of the risks associated with leftover food on the ground.

It said this could cause issues with rodents and overfed ducks.

However, the council stressed it had no plans to close the gardens, as occurred at Quarry Moor playground in Ripon 18 months ago when the number of rats caused a public health concern.

A council spokesperson said:

“We understand visitors to Valley Gardens in Harrogate enjoy feeding the ducks. However, doing so can attract rats that may feed on the food that is left, and also result in the ducks being overfed.

“Therefore, we would urge people not to feed the ducks.

“We have absolutely no intention whatsoever to close Valley Gardens.”

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Knaresborough firefighters were called out in the early hours this morning to a report of a fire in the open caused by power lines that had come down.

The incident happened on Bar Lane at 1.01am.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident log said:

“Crews located the damaged power line that was arcing with the ground.

“Crews handed the incident over to land owners to await the arrival of engineers to make the cables safe.”

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A union official has predicted some Harrogate district schools will close because of the impending teachers’ strike

Members of the National Education Union plan to strike on February 1 and stage further walk-outs in February and March.

Gary McVeigh-Kaye, branch secretary of NEU North Yorkshire, said all primary and secondary schools across Harrogate would be impacted by strike action. He said:

“It is likely that there will be a mixture of full and partial school closures. Furthermore, plans are being made to hold picket lines at schools across the area, though these have not been confirmed yet.”

Mr McVeigh-Kaye said teachers in North Yorkshire were “in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis” caused by a below inflation pay offer, school funding and a shortage of teachers. He added:

“Hardworking teachers have had enough and are now taking the only course of action open to them and withdraw their labour.”

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The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire County Council, the local education authority, what impact it expected the strike to have on schools, who is responsible for making decisions on school closures and what measures it was putting in place to cope.

It replied in a statement:

“Information about school staff’s union membership is not retained by North Yorkshire County Council, or schools, in line with national rules on data governance, although we expect to be provided with headline data from the union on overall numbers. It is a personal decision for those members whether they participate in the strike action.

“Individual schools will co-ordinate the impact of any strike action, but we will support them with general guidance on mitigating the impact on pupils where possible, alongside the Department for Education’s own guidance.

“Headteachers will also be provided with advice from their professional associations in managing strike action within the protocols for employers when responding to strikes.”

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has said she plans to meet union leaders this week to try to avert the strike.

A senior hospital consultant has warned Ripon Grammar School students about the dangers of vaping.

More children are taking up vaping in the UK, with products easily available over the counter in supermarkets.

Dr Elizabeth Garthwaite, who is chair of governors and a parent at the school as well as a kidney specialist and clinical director for medical specialities with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, told hundreds of teenagers she was among many medical professionals increasingly concerned about the impact of vaping on health.

Dr Garthwaite said:

“We are seeing increasing numbers of young people presenting to hospital with problems associated with addiction, but also medical problems which are associated with vaping.”

Although originally designed as a form of nicotine replacement to help smokers break their addiction to cigarettes, vaping is far from harmless, warned Dr Garthwaite, who said:

“It was never designed as a safe alternative. The multiple chemicals used to create the vapes, and in particular the flavours and smells, are often dangerous and have unpredictable consequences.”

Dr Elizabeth Garthwaite

Dr Garthwaite talked about a sporty 17-year-old A-level student who is now using a wheelchair after suffering from acute nicotine poisoning and severe lung damage after vaping.

She added:

“Although there is no tar or smoke, the nicotine and other sticky carbonated chemicals are cancerous and will stick in the lungs and move into your circulation, causing significant damage to the whole body.

“As health care professionals, we are concerned that vaping is seen as safe and easy for young people. This is not what nicotine replacement was designed for. It was developed to enable those individuals who were addicted to cigarette smoking, and suffering the consequences of this, to reduce their exposure to the toxic smoke and tar released from cigarettes.”

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The government has rejected Harrogate Borough Council‘s bid for £20 million to go towards the redevelopment of Harrogate Convention Centre.

Last night’s decision is a significant blow for plans for a £49 million upgrade of the ageing centre and casts further doubt on the facility’s future.

More than 100 projects have been awarded a share of £2.1 billion from round two of the Levelling Up Fund.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, led by Michael Gove, rewarded six schemes from Yorkshire and the Humber, including £41 million to West Yorkshire Combined Authority for better bus services.

There was also £19 million to regenerate Catterick Garrison in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Richmond constituency.

But there was nothing for Harrogate Convention Centre or anywhere else in the Harrogate district.

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A council Cabinet report on August 17 said it had submitted a levelling up funding bid on August 1.

It said Investment would “help to ensure that HCC can both sustain and enhance its position within the market place, support the ‘levelling up’ agenda and ensure that the economic benefits that this project delivers to the wider economy are maximised”.

But it also warned:

“Expectations do need to be managed as there are still some significant challenges in relation to this bid, in particular: Harrogate district is a priority three area therefore our chances of success are not high (only 7% of those were funded in round 1 of the fund).”

Control of the centre will transfer to North Yorkshire Council on April 1, when Harrogate Borough Council is abolished.

Last week Richard Flinton, who will be chief executive of North Yorkshire Council, refused to commit to the £49 million redevelopment and said the conference and events venue needed to be vibrant and relevant in the face of competition from a new venue in Leeds rather than “an enormous drain on public finances”.