Criminals could be asked to make written apologies to victims under new plans for policing in North Yorkshire.
North Yorkshire Police Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoë Metcalfe is consulting on a community remedy document.
Each local policing body must have a community remedy document for its area that is informed by consultation.
The document includes options for dealing with less serious crime and anti-social behaviour.
The options being considered in North Yorkshire include asking criminals to make verbal or written apologies or to sign acceptable behaviour contracts in which they pledge to change their behaviour.
Victims of crime, such as street drinking, littering, noise, animal problems, vehicle nuisance or trespass, will be able to discuss the finalised community remedy options with a police officer and provide their preferred course of action for the officer to consider.
Ms Metcalfe today opened a consultation on plans jointly drawn up with North Yorkshire Police.
The options people are asked to comment on are:
- Restorative Justice: bringing together criminals and victims in a safe and supported way.
- Verbal or written apology to victims.
- Signing acceptable behaviour contracts in which offenders pledge to change their behaviour by agreeing to particular conditions or actions e.g. participating in an educational programme or agreeing not to go to a particular area.
- A referral to a local rehabilitative, educational or diversionary activity, to support an improvement in behaviour: via a community-based support scheme.
- Personal/community reparation: e.g. repairing or paying for the damage caused.
- Mediation to support the resolution of disputes.
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The community remedy process aims to support victims by giving them reassurance that their offender is remorseful. The aim is to promote public confidence in the out-of-court disposal process.
This is a method for avoiding court proceedings and criminal charges when an offender is known and admits the offence.
Causes ‘misery’
Ms Metcalfe said:
“Anti-social behavioural problems can cause misery in communities, and I want members of the public to feel empowered by the community remedy, in that they have a say in the best way to prevent re-offending and feel reassured by the actions taken by the police.
“Please complete the short survey to inform my decision on the final options.”
Lisa Winward, Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police, said:
“The community remedy will provide victims of low level crime and anti-social behaviour with a greater say in how an offender is held to account for their actions.
“We know that crimes and behaviour of this kind can take their toll on individuals and communities and I welcome the commissioner’s survey to better understand the menu of remedial options that communities feel best fit the crime.”
To take part in the seven-week survey, which closes on January 10, click here.
Harrogate district churches win grants for repairsTwo churches in the Harrogate district have been awarded grants worth a total of more than £9,000 for repairs.
Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust gave grants totalling £78,000 to 19 churches for repairs, conservation and maintenance work in its latest funding round.
Successful Harrogate district applicants were St Mary’s in Great Ouseburn, which was awarded £6,000 for boundary wall repairs and St John’s in Minskip, near Boroughbridge, which received £3,300 to tackle damp.
Robert Beaumont, churchwarden at St John’s, said the grant “means the world to our little church”,
Mr Beaumont said damp threatened the structure of the church, and was also damaging the interior. He added:
“Specifically, faulty drains and a broken bell tower are causing peeling walls and discolouration inside, as well as a damp exterior.
“In addition, a couple of windows are broken and the floor is uneven in places. Whilst we are able to hold and enjoy our services, the structure of the church has been worrying us for some time.
“We have undertaken some serious fundraising which, together with this grant, will enable us to pay for the whole regeneration project. We have a very strong and committed church council and we have already raised £3,000 towards this specific project.
He added work carried out by local builder Tim Wilkinson will begin in January.
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Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust provides funds for churches, chapels and meeting houses of all Christian denominations within the county of Yorkshire.
Trust chairman Tom Ramsden said:
“Our latest grant awards support a wide variety of churches and projects.
“They range from helping to repair the roof of the Grade II listed St James in Slaithwaite built in 1796, through to helping make watertight Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic chapel in Headingley, built in the 1930s
“We are also delighted to support St John’s Church in Minskip, which is a lovely little church that serves its community so well. It is very rewarding to see at first hand the structural problems that will be tackled and solved, thanks in part to our grant.”
Full list of churches receiving grants
Great Ouseburn, St Mary, £6000 for boundary wall repairs
Minskip, St John, £3300 for bell tower repairs
Leeds, All Hallows, £10,000 for roof repairs
Leeds, Our Lady of Lourdes, £3000 for roof repairs
Leeds, Cathedral Church of St Anne, £3000 for stonework repairs
Leeds, Holy Rosary, £1500 for roof repairs
Clifford, St Edward King and Confessor, £3500 for roof repairs
Baildon, St James £2000, for tower repairs
Bierley, St John the Evangelist, £5000 for clock repairs
Skipwith, St Helen, £7000 for drainage works
Golcar, Providence Methodist, £3500 for window repairs
Slaithwaite, St James, £5000 for roof repairs
Ripponden, Stones Methodist, £5000 for roof repairs
Thornaby, St Peter, £1000 for stonework repairs
Gargrave, St Andrew £1358 for clock repairs
Golcar, St John the Evangelist, £5000 for internal decorations
Goole, St John £4500, for roof repairs
Harome, St Saviour, £3000 for bell turret repairs
Slingsby, All Saints, £4500 for window repairs
Oliver Bonas set to open in Harrogate this weekHarrogate’s upmarket James Street is set to get a new addition this week with the opening of an Oliver Bonas shop.
The fashion and lifestyle brand has been refurbishing the spacious 3,700-square foot unit formerly used as a discount store.
Next also previously rented the site.
The doors were previously expected to open in September but renovations have been ongoing.
However, sources have indicated Oliver Bonas is finally due to open on Thursday.
The company, which has 85 stores in the UK, is advertising for team members at £9.75 an hour on its website.
The opening will strengthen James Street’s claim to be Harrogate’s premier destination for luxury goods.
Pret A Manger, Ebru Evrim and Carl Scarpa have all joined the street recently and Hotel Chocolat has upsized to larger premises.
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Tom Limbert, director of property consultants, Central Retail, which acted for property owners Countrylarge, previously said James Street had been “reinvigorated”, adding:
Burglary at Harrogate hairdressers this morning“Oliver Bonas will be a great addition to the existing tenant line up on James Street which truly is one of the best high streets in the north of England.”
A man and woman have been arrested on suspicion of burgling a Harrogate hairdressers in the early hours of this morning.
The suspects, both in their 30s and from Harrogate, remain in police custody.
According to North Yorkshire Police, a man and woman were seen to break a window at Contemporary Salons’ studio on Station Parade at 3.56am. It added:
“The two people then entered the property and filled two bags with items before leaving the area in a taxi.”
It is the latest criminal attack this month on a Harrogate shop, with previous incidents reported at salon Dangerfield & Keane and James Barber Tobacconists on Cold Bath Road.
Police said in a statement:
“If you witnessed this incident or have any further information which could help the investigation, please email: pamela.luettke@northyorkshire.police.uk or call 101 quoting reference 12220206294
“If you’d prefer to remain anonymous, you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
According to its website, Contemporary Salons is a group of nine hair salons across north Yorkshire and Teesside
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Charity pays for two cancer nurses at Harrogate hospital
A charity has funded two cancer nurses at Harrogate District Hospital in response to fears not enough people can access specialist cancer care.
Macmillan Cancer Support announced today it had spent £214,000 on the two-year posts as part of a £4.5 million investment across Yorkshire and the north-east of England.
The funding will pay for 42 specialist cancer nurses in northern England, of whom two will be employed by Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.
The development roles will see nurses with an interest in moving into cancer services step into specialist cancer roles.
Noreen Hawkshaw, the Macmillan lead cancer nurse at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“We’re facing incredibly challenging workforce issues at the moment and I know Harrogate is not unique with this.
“Undoubtedly the Macmillan investment into the two development roles will ease the pressure on the specialist cancer care we are able to provide for patients by creating more capacity.
Ms Hawkshaw added the investment would “allow nurses the time and space to develop into these specialist cancer nurse roles”, adding:
“We urgently need more of them to meet the rising demand on our services.”
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Macmillan said in a statement too many people in the north of England cannot access specialist cancer care and there are too few Macmillan cancer nurse specialists employed across the region.
It said a “crisis in cancer nursing” had left 630,000 people with cancer in the UK with a lack of dedicated support.
2,500 cancer nurses needed
The charity estimates an extra 2,500 specialist cancer nurses are required now.
Heather McLean, Macmillan’s head of partnerships for the north, said:
“Macmillan cancer nurse specialists are the people at the heart of cancer care, this unique role makes a huge difference to people diagnosed with cancer and their families at a very distressing time in their lives.
“There are currently a huge number of specialist cancer nurse vacancies across Yorkshire because it’s increasingly difficult to get people with the right knowledge and skills, who are ready to step into those specialist nursing posts.”
Rachel Moser, the interim programme manager with the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance, which is hosting the programme in partnership with Macmillan, on behalf of the four cancer alliances across the north-east and Yorkshire region, said:
“Patients tell us how much they value cancer nurse specialists and the care and support they provide.
“I’m delighted to be leading this programme on behalf of the regional cancer alliances which will help us ensure we have a ready supply of skilled individuals for these crucial roles into the future.”
Harrogate’s North Pole post office reopens for 2022
The North Pole post office in Harrogate has reopened in time for children to post letters to Father Christmas.
The festive attraction is once again located at Harrogate International Festivals’ office, on Cheltenham Parade, and will remain open until Christmas Eve.
Funded by Harrogate Business Improvement District and produced by Harrogate International Festivals, the post office features snow flurries, Christmas music as well as the post box.
The Christmas attraction began in 2020 as a way of lifting spirits during the second covid lockdown and has returned both years since.
The post office is so busy the elves who sort through the letters are not able to reply individually, however, visitors can download a letter and message from Father Christmas, via the HIF website, or by scanning the QR code located next to the post box.
The post office is one of the key features in this year’s Destination Christmas campaign, which is a joint initiative between Harrogate Borough Council, Visit Harrogate, Harrogate BID and Harrogate International Festivals.
It also includes an ice-skating rink, fairground attractions, the candy cane express, Harrogate Christmas Fayre and the Father Christmas Experience.
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Clemence Roux, from Harrogate International Festivals, said:
“We are delighted to bring this attraction back again, and will make sure once again that Father Christmas gets all the children’s letters.
“Harrogate BID has been extremely kind in sponsoring the scheme for another year, they have helped us make Harrogate a little more festive.”
Harrogate BID chair Sara Ferguson said:
“The Christmas attraction lifts spirits and contributes to the efforts of so many who are working together to make Harrogate ‘Destination Christmas’.”
Pictured from left are: Clemence Roux, from Harrogate International Festivals, Harrogate BID Manager Matthew Chapman, Harrogate borough mayor Cllr Victoria Oldham, and Harrogate International Festivals chief executive Sharon Canavar at the opening of the post office.
Ex-soldier from Harrogate researches 1,000 names on war memorialA former soldier has researched the stories of more than 1,000 people whose names are listed on the Harrogate war memorial.
Graham Roberts is now offering to give the information for free to families of those who died in the two world wars.
There are 774 names from the First World War and 331 from the Second World War listed on the stone obelisk beneath the inscriptions ‘Pro Patria’ and ‘Their name liveth for evermore’.
Thousands of people turn out in all weathers each year on Remembrance Sunday, as they did last weekend, to pay their respects.
Harrogate-born Mr Roberts, who spent 37 years as an army reservist, has managed to find details of all but about 40 of the names on the memorial.
He said he “wouldn’t like to think” how much time he has spent on the task. He said:
“I’ve always been interested in military history. The kick start was seeing the names of casualties attached to lamp posts on the street where they used to live in 2018.”
Mr Roberts, who is now retired, used the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website as a first port of call as well as other resources, such as the website Ancestry.
He said he was able to find precise details of some who died but only sparse details for others.
His research threw up some fascinating tales and anomalies. He said:
“There are some who should perhaps not be listed at all – being from further afield, e.g. Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge, or who had rather tenuous links with Harrogate, for example they lived in Leeds but played for Harrogate football team, landed here in an air race; and some who died well after the wars had ended.
“There is even one who was reported killed in 1917, but who has a gravestone in Canada dated 1947.”
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He added:
“In addition, I have discovered about 20-30 from each of the world wars whose names probably should appear on the memorial – they either lived or had previously lived in Harrogate, or their parents lived in Harrogate.
“The youngest I’ve found have been a 15-year-old soldier and a 17-year-old girl killed in an explosion at the Barnbow shell factory in Leeds.”
Mr Roberts said he was happy to share any information with family descendants. He can be contacted at Graham.R2467@outlook.com.
He added he was keen to receive any information on the 40 or so people whose details remain elusive.
Junior soldiers to plant 10,000 crocuses on Harrogate’s StrayJunior soldiers in Harrogate will plant 10,000 crocuses on the Stray on Saturday.
The flowers will enhance the line of trees known as Peace Avenue close to the Empress Roundabout — adjacent to Skipton Road.
The Peace Avenue, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Harrogate in 2014, was originally planted by school children from across Harrogate to commemorate the soldiers who died in the First World War.
The junior soldiers from Harrogate’s Army Foundation College will add to their efforts by planting 10,000 Jeanne d’Arc white crocuses on the weekend after Remembrance Sunday.
Lt Daniel Curry, commanding officer at AFC Harrogate, said:
“It will be a privilege to aid in the planting of the white crocuses alongside the Rotary Club of Harrogate.
“Both the club and college have given the junior soldiers the opportunity to help the local community complete their Duke of Edinburgh Award and being so close to Remembrance Sunday, remember those who served before them and gave the ultimate sacrifice.”
Harrogate borough mayor, Cllr Victoria Oldham, is due to attend the event.
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Cycling consultation event highlights Harrogate’s deep divide
A heated consultation event about the latest plans to encourage cycling in Harrogate highlighted the dilemma facing decision-makers.
North Yorkshire County Council held the event at Harrogate Civic Centre on Friday to hear views about the second phase of the Otley Road cycle route.
Some residents in the area made it clear they didn’t think any of the three options put forward were practical and called for the scheme to be scrapped.
They accused the council staff present of ignoring their views and claimed the consultation was a waste of time.
But some cyclists, frustrated by the length of time it is taking to implement active travel schemes that have funding in place, urged the council to get on with it. However, they have concerns about how safe some of the options are for cyclists.
Studying the designs for the various options.
A major problem for the council is the narrowness of Otley Road and nearby streets that could be affected, such as Beech Grove and Victoria Road.
It makes it difficult to introduce cycle lanes wide enough to meet current design standards without imposing traffic restrictions, such as one-way systems.
Melisa Burnham, area highways manager at the council, said the consultation had so far received more than 100 replies. She added:
“Otley Road is incredibly constrained and we are trying hard to find the right way forward.”
To take part in the consultation, which ends on November 28, click here.
The three options for Otley Road
Option 1
The first option is what was originally proposed for this second 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.
Option 2
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
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.
York Ferris wheel coming to Harrogate for ChristmasA Ferris wheel previously situated in York is to be moved to the centre of Harrogate as part of the town’s Christmas activities, it was revealed last night.
The wheel, which has 24 gondolas, including one VIP and one for people with disabilities, was previously at St Sampson’s Square in York.
John McGivern, destination events manager at tourism body Destination Harrogate, told businesses the 32-metre high wheel was likely to be situated next to the war memorial.
Mr McGivern said Destination Harrogate, which is part of Harrogate Borough Council, was in discussions with the Royal British Legion over the location. The decision to situate a helter-skelter alongside the memorial upset some veterans at Christmas last year.
The wheel, an ice rink, a Christmas fayre, the Candy Cane Express road train and a carousel are among the highlights of Harrogate’s festive offering.
John McGivern at last night’s meeting.
Speaking at Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce‘s monthly meeting last night, Mr McGivern said the ambition was to “position Harrogate district as a first choice Christmas destination” and to attract high spending visitors on day trips and overnight breaks.
He said Destination Harrogate planned to distribute 20,000 printed guides with a map as part of its marketing campaign, which also includes media advertising, press and influencer visits and a dedicated Christmas webpage.
The installation of the ice rink at Crescent Gardens is due to start on Friday. The rink will open on December 2 and close on January 3 — five days before the other attractions.
Harrogate during Christmas last year.
The carousel will return.
Harrogate Christmas Fayre, which will have 50 stalls, will start to be installed on November 28 and be open from December 2 to 11.
It will be open from 10am to 7pm Monday to Saturday and from 10.30am to 4.30pm on Sundays.
Market Place Europe and Harrogate Borough Council, which jointly operate the Christmas fayre, will once again provide a stall for charities.
Artizan International, Carers Resource, Dementia Forward, Girlguiding North Yorkshire West, Harlow Hill Men’s Shed, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust (HDFT) Community Charity, Harrogate Easier Living Project (HELP), Harrogate Skills 4 Living Centre, Harrogate Town AFC Community Foundation, Samaritans of Harrogate and District, and Ripon Walled Garden are all set to use the stall to either sell products they produce or use it to provide more information to visitors.
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