Fell rescuers were called to Thruscross reservoir in the Harrogate district yesterday to help a man who had fallen.

Volunteers from Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association were summoned at 1.30pm by Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

They were asked to assist a 35-year-old male who had ruptured the patellar tendon in his knee.

The man is helped into the ambulance.

It is believed the unnamed man, who was walking his dog at the time, slipped going down some steps at the far end of the reservoir.

The association said in a statement:

“After treatment by the ambulance crew the casualty was stretchered a kilometre back to the road ambulance at Whitmoor farm.”

Fifteen volunteers attended, because of the need to lift the man on a stretcher over stiles and gates.

Plans have been submitted to convert the former Kings Club in Harrogate into 12 flats.

Applicant James Robinson wants to change the use of the first and second floor of the building from entertainment to residential use.

The Kings Club, which described itself as ‘Yorkshire premier gentleman’s club’, was open until 4.30am on Oxford Street.

Harrogate Borough Council renewed its sexual entertainment licence, which allowed topless pole dancing, topless stage strip tease and full nudity lap dancing, in September 2020.

But the club last updated its Facebook page in April and is now closed.

The building, known as Villa Mercedes, could be given a new lease of life.

Consultants Nova Acoustics have undertaken an environmental noise survey and noise impact assessment to assess the suitability of the site, which is situated on the corner of Oxford Street, close to the bus station.

Its report assesses current noise levels and provides a sound insulation scheme to protect the occupants, if the scheme is approved. It says:

“The area surrounding the site is primarily commercial in nature. The noise profile is typical for this type of area and is dominated by road traffic noise emissions from surrounding roads.”

Harrogate Borough Council will decide whether to approve the plans.

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A gastro pub near Ripon has been granted an extension to its licensing hours until midnight.

The Sawley Arms, which has eight bedrooms and is popular with diners, applied for an extension until 1am, seven days a week.

But Harrogate Borough Council’s licensing committee decided on Friday that alcohol could only be served until midnight.

Steve Manton, owner of the Sawley Arms, told the committee he had spent more than £1 million refurbishing the pub since he bought it 11 years ago as a retirement project.

Mr Manton, who previously ran several businesses in the Harrogate area, said the pub’s main activity was food.

“It’s a destination pub. The traditional boozer has disappeared.”

Customers, he said, “like to linger and that’s why we have put in the extension until 1am”.

Mr Manton addresses the meeting.

He added:

“That doesn’t mean we will stay open until 1am every night. Last night we closed at 9.30pm.”

Mr Manton, who lives on the Isle of Man, described the venue as “a summer pub”, adding there was “very, very little activity in winter and we close our gardens”.

He said besides diners, the pub attracted weekend walkers, visitors to Fountains Abbey and guests from nearby Grantley Hall, the opening of which he described as “a lifeline”.

Before the meeting, David Taylor, clerk to Grantley and Sawley Parish Council, had submitted an objection to the proposal raising “grave concerns”.  He said:

“The residents of the village are very likely to be disturbed by vehicles leaving the site at times that would extend beyond 1am.

“Although 1am is the requested extended time, there would be ‘drinking up time’ and staff leaving the premises, therefore it would be nearer to 2am when the last cars leave the site.”

Wan Malachi, a licensing enforcement officer at the council told the committee it had received no complaints about the venue.

Ed Darling, the Conservative councillor who chairs the licensing committee, told Mr Manton it had granted the extension on condition that it applied until midnight, seven days a week, rather than the 1am requested. Cllr Darling added:

“There is a right of appeal against this decision to Harrogate Magistrates Court within 21 days of receipt of the decision notice.”

A consultation is being launched today on what the new North Yorkshire Council’s funding priorities should be, amid stark warnings about its economic situation.

North Yorkshire Council will come into existence on April 1 when the seven district councils, including Harrogate Borough Council, and North Yorkshire County Council, are abolished.

The postponement of the Chancellor’s autumn statement means the new local authority still doesn’t know how much funding it will be allocated by national government.

In addition, the new authority is expected to start life by inheriting a £27 million deficit from the eight councils it is replacing. Rising inflation is also believed to have added an additional £70 million in costs.

Against this backdrop, county council leader Carl Les said the budget for the new authority will be the most challenging he has witnessed.

Cllr Les, who will become the leader of the new North Yorkshire Council, said:

“These challenges for the forthcoming financial year are the greatest I have ever known, caused by a succession of issues that, taken in isolation, would present significant problems to overcome in themselves.

“We have launched the consultation to give the public the chance to highlight what they believe are the financial priorities which the new North Yorkshire Council should be focused on, and it is so important that we hear those views to help us form the budget for the authority.”

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Cllr Les added that the restructuring of local government in North Yorkshire “could not have come at a more prescient time amid all the challenges we are facing” because merging eight councils and streamlining services “will be invaluable in ensuring that budgets can be balanced”.

He believes the restructure could lead to savings of up to £70 million a year.

North Yorkshire County Council alone has had to make savings of £200 million since 2010 from an original net budget of £520 million, excluding funding for schools – equating to a 40 per cent reduction in spending.

North Yorkshire Council will serve the greatest geographical area of any local authority in the country, and it will have an overall spend of about £1.4 billion, including £343 million on schools.

The Let’s Talk Money conversation begins today and runs until December 23. Details are available here.

Rishi Sunak’s appointment as Prime Minister this week has thrust a Harrogate councillor to the forefront of national politics.

Sam Gibbs is the Conservative Party agent in Richmond — Mr Sunak’s constituency.

As such, he works closely with Mr Sunak, who was elected to the safe Tory seat in 2015 with 51% of the vote. He increased this share to 64% at the last election in 2019.

Agents typically advise their MPs as well as oversee the smooth running of the local party.

Mr Sunak’s elevation to the highest office in the land is likely to increase the workload on the party in Richmond and on Mr Gibbs.

Besides helping Mr Sunak, Mr Gibbs, who lives on Forest Avenue in Harrogate, has served as the Conservative councillor for Harrogate Valley Gardens on Harrogate Borough Council since 2018.

Last year he campaigned for new ‘no cycling’ signs to be painted on footpaths on the Stray after local residents complained about speeding cyclists using the parkland.

Councillor Gibbs in a photo about the new tree lighting on the Stray.

This year he was appointed the cabinet member for environment, waste reduction and recycling when council leader Richard Cooper reshuffled his team in March. He is also a member of the cabinet.

Election success this year

Harrogate Borough Council will be abolished in April but Mr Gibbs’ interest in local politics won’t end then.

This year he won the Valley Gardens and Central Harrogate division on North Yorkshire County Council in May’s local elections. He received 871 votes, ahead of Liberal Democrat David Johnson, who polled 545 votes and independent Lucy Gardiner, who received 331 votes.

It means he will represent the division for a further four-and-a-half years, first on the county council and, from April, on the new North Yorkshire Council.

The Stray Ferret contacted Cllr Gibbs, who is also a trustee of Harrogate and District Community Action, to ask about his role with Mr Sunak, and whether Mr Sunak’s appointment as Prime Minister would affect his councillor positions. However, he did not reply.

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Two fire crews from Ripon and one from Boroughbridge rushed to Ripon city centre last night following reports of smoke in a launderette.

After being summoned at about 7.20pm, they extinguished a fire that had spread to a number of commercial washers and dryers.

Firefighters used breathing apparatus and a thermal imaging camera to tackle the blaze.

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

“Crews then ventilated the heavily smoked logged building and gave advice to the owner.

“The cause of the fire was accidental.”

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A cycling group has warned that one of the new options being considered to promote active travel in Harrogate could create a ‘murder strip’ for cyclists.

Cyclists describe unprotected cycle lanes on busy roads as murder strips — and there are fears one could be created on Beech Grove.

North Yorkshire County Council has put forward three options as part of its latest consultation on increasing cycling and walking in Harrogate on Otley Road and the nearby area.

Harrogate District Cycle Action has said the second option is so dangerous it shouldn’t even be offered.

It would involve making traffic one-way on Beech Grove heading out of town and creating an unprotected cycle lane on the opposite side.

Image by Harrogate District Cycle Action

Harrogate District Cycle Action’s submission to the consultation says there isn’t enough width for parking, a traffic lane, and a contraflow cycle lane.

It says the contraflow cycle lane “would be a narrow ‘murder-strip’ in the gutter, very likely 1m 30 wide at the most – i.e. less than the absolute minimum width”. It adds:

“Oncoming traffic would be less likely to slow down to pass, as drivers would think ‘I’m in my lane, the cyclist is in theirs, so I’ll keep going at full speed.’

“That would lead to unpleasant experiences with oncoming vehicles that would feel – and be – dangerous.”

The group is critical of the decision to even consult on the idea.

“Option 2 is nonsense, and should not be presented as an option at all in this consultation. It provides zero benefit to active travel – indeed, it may make matters worse.”

Asked to comment on the cycling group’s concerns, a council spokeswoman said:

“This is a live consultation so we can’t comment. All feedback will be considered when it closes. “

Beech Grove has reopened to through traffic after an 18-month closure.

The three options

Option 1 – The existing proposal on Otley Road 

The first option is what was originally proposed for this phase of the Otley Road cycle path which runs between the junctions of Cold Bath Road and Beech Grove.

These plans include junction upgrades and shared cycle paths and footways, similar to what has already been built on Otley Road. But the county council said some sections could be too narrow, which is why it is considering re-routing.

Harrogate District Cycle Action supports this option.

Option 2 – An alternative route using Victoria Road

Under these plans the route would be diverted onto Victoria Road with a one-way traffic system and the removal of some parking spaces to allow for a 1.5 metre wide cycle path.

The one-way traffic system would run up until Lancaster Road, before connecting with Beech Grove.

Option 3 – An alternative route using Queens Road

This final option would see a 3m wide shared cycle path and footway built on Queens Road before connecting with Lancaster Road and Beech Grove.

Parallel and toucan crossings are also proposed.

A transport leader has branded the performance of trains by the Harrogate line operator as “dire”.

Lord McLoughlin, chair of Transport for the North, today called on the government to urgently intervene to help end the current “unacceptable” levels of performance on the rail network in the north of England.

His comments come after new figures showed more than a third of Northern trains fail to run on time. Northern operates the Harrogate and Knaresborough line between Leeds and York.

In mid-summer, only 62% of Northern trains arrived on time. The figure increased marginally to 64% for the period from August 21 to September 17.

A press release by Transport for the North, which is a partnership of public and private sector representatives campaigning for better transport infrastructure in northern England, said services by Northern and other rail operators in the north “have been of a poor quality for far too long now”.

Lord McLoughlin, chair of Transport for the North, said:

“The current situation on the north’s rail network is simply unacceptable.

“It’s completely inexcusable that communities in the north of England are having to experience such a dire level of service. It requires an urgent intervention as it’s undermining businesses and holding back economic growth.”

He added “far too many trains” were being cancelled and “too many are cancelled at short notice causing chaos for commuters and local communities”.

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Lord McLoughlin, who is a Conservative peer, added:

“We want to see the operators given the freedom to negotiate a solution to Rest Day Working by themselves, and for a rail academy for the north to be fast-tracked, and for current devolved structures, such as the Rail North Partnership Board, to be strengthened and play a bigger role working with our partners across the north.”

The Stray Ferret asked Northern if it wanted to respond to Lord McLoughlin’s comments but we did not receive a response.

A man has been arrested after a disturbance in Ripon city centre this afternoon.

North Yorkshire Police officers were called to Market Square just after 1pm following reports of a man acting aggressively.

An eye witness, who did not wish to be named, told the Stray Ferret two police vans appeared quickly after an altercation.

A police statement said:

“A man in his 30s has been arrested in connection with the incident and on suspicion of assaulting an emergency services worker. Investigations are ongoing.”

Anyone with information can contact the police, quoting reference number 12220191661.

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Harrogate’s Rachel Daly was among the winners at this week’s Pride of Britain awards.

Daly was part of the England women’s football team that beat Germany 2-1 in the final of Euro 2022 this year.

At a ceremony hosted by Ashley Banjo and Carol Vorderman, the team received a special award for inspiring girls to play football.

Pic: Rachel Daly Instagram

The ceremony was held at London’s Grosvenor House on Monday and broadcast on ITV last night.

The Daily Mirror’s Pride of Britain recognise extraordinary achievements by ordinary people.

It was the latest success of a remarkable year for Aston Villa striker Daly, who was named Women’s Super League player of month in September.

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