Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

Harrogate digital marketing agency rebrands

Kariba, Harrogate’s oldest digital marketing agency, has rebranded as it celebrates its 25th year.

The business was set up by Chris Wilson in 1997, after being asked to build Harrogate Borough Council’s first ever website.

Since then, Kariba has gone on to design and build websites and provide a range of digital marketing services for clients in Yorkshire and across the UK.

Mr Wilson, who is Kariba’s managing director as well as its founder, said:

“Our brand refresh and new website means we have a more current look and feel, and in turn better reflects who we are and what we do today, so that we can appeal to those ambitious, growth-focused companies whom we love partnering with.”

Read more:

• Harrogate pet store celebrates a decade in business
• Harrogate Oak Beck Bridge project to cost £1m

Building society set to move into Knaresborough Library

Knaresborough Library will close today at 5pm for work to accommodate the new branch Newcastle Building Society that is due to go into the building.

Since the last bank in Knaresborough closed last year, North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council have worked with the society to maintain local access to financial services.

Harrogate Borough Council has also worked with Barclays to bring its mobile banking service to the market town.

The library will reopen on Saturday. The building society is expected to open late this month or early July.

Work to accommodate @NewcastleBSoc at #Knaresborough Library will start this week.

The library will close at 5pm tomorrow and is scheduled to reopen at 9.30am on 11 June.

More: https://t.co/6CqfsfCfjY pic.twitter.com/aOYN06L2Dp

— North Yorkshire Council (@northyorksc) June 7, 2022

Cllr Graham Swift, Harrogate Borough Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for resources, enterprise and economic development, said:

“The issues regarding banking availability in Knaresborough have been well documented, and Harrogate Borough Council has pushed hard to seek a solution.”

A man was rescued from the River Ure at Sharow, near Ripon, today.

Firefighters were called to the river near Lowfield Lane at 9.39am this morning.

According to North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident log, water crews from Ripon, Boroughbridge, Richmond, Harrogate and Selby “responded to a report of a male partially in the river”.

The incident log adds:

“The man was brought back up the embankment by fire crews and paramedics on a spinal board, to a waiting helicopter, for transfer to hospital with hypothermic symptoms.”

No further details have been provided.

Read more:

• Hotspots cause second fire in days at old rectory near Ripon
• Cuts to Harrogate fire crews would ‘put money before lives’, says ex-firefighter

Police have found a missing man from Ripon after appealing for information from the public to find him.

The man disappeared after being seen in Sainsbury’s in the city at around 2.30pm yesterday.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement saying officers had “concerns for his welfare and are trying to locate him”.

It appealed for information about his whereabouts but later said the man had been found safe.

We have subsequently updated this article by removing the man’s personal details.

Read more:

• Police appeal after man in Harrogate damages car by climbing on it
• New horn is the jewel in the crown of Ripon’s royal celebrations

The chief executive of the new North Yorkshire Council will be paid a maximum salary of £197,000, it has been revealed.

The new council, which will employ more than 10,000 staff, will come into existence on April 1 next year.

Seven district councils, including Harrogate Borough Council, will be abolished, along with North Yorkshire County Council.

The chief executive recruitment process will be overseen by a cross-party chief officer appointment and disciplinary committee, which met today to consider the salary as well as the recruitment process and job description.

One of the committee’s roles will be to decide whether to appoint an executive search agent, at an anticipated cost of £30,000, to help the process.

A report on the recruitment process to councillors at North Yorkshire County Council said the salary package had been benchmarked against similar public sector roles nationally. The report adds:

“The sample data shows the pay for unitary councils of a similar size to North Yorkshire falls within a salary range of £188,000 to £216,000 per annum.

“However, the proposed salary limit for the new chief executive is £197,000.

“Set against the current combined packages for the eight chief executives of North Yorkshire councils, this would deliver an annual saving in excess of £1 million.”

Read more:

• Decision on Harrogate town council could take two years
• Harrogate district’s leisure and housing companies ‘will transfer’ to North Yorkshire Council

£30m saving a year

Ending the two-tier system of local government in North Yorkshire is expected to save about £30m a year in total.

Carl Les

County council leader Carl Les, who is chairing the chief officer appointment and disciplinary committee, said:

“Our new council will be one of the largest local authorities nationally, providing essential services to more than 600,000 people.

“The chief executive will need to manage a revenue budget of around £1.4 billion and the new council will have an ongoing capital programme of around £350 million.

“In addition to the vast array of council services and functions, this job also includes heading up the council’s commercial operations at a critical time.

The report to councillors includes details of the current salaries of council leaders in North Yorkshire. It can be seen below.

Harrogate Borough Council staff should receive a minimum £2,000 salary increase, according to trade unions.

Unison, GMB and Unite today formally lodged the 2022/23 pay claim for local government workers.

The claim also called for a covid recognition payment, a national minimum agreement on homeworking policies for all councils, the introduction of a home working allowance and a reduction in the working week to 35 hours.

It is the start of a negotiation process with the Local Government Association, the national membership body for local authorities. The claim is for all council workers in England and Wales.

David Houlgate, secretary of the Harrogate local government branch of Unison, said council employees had seen their pay reduced by 27% in real terms over the last decade.

He added:

“Councils can’t get staff and they can’t keep staff because of pay. They need to wake up and smell the coffee.

“It is impacting services, such as swimming pools being open for reduced hours, bins not being collected as often, streets not being cleaned and streetlights not being fixed.

“I’ve worked for the local council for 25 years and I’ve never known it to be as bad as this.”

Read more:

• Woodfield school closure ‘an absolute disgrace’, says union
• North Yorkshire fire service ‘struggling to buy the basics’, says union

Mr Houlgate said staff morale was poor and the looming abolition of Harrogate Borough Council had created extra uncertainty but the key issue was pay and recruitment. He added:

“If local councils can’t be competitive with other employers we are not going to overcome the recruitment problem.”

Responding to the unions’ claims, Cllr Sian Timoney, chair of the National Employers at the Local Government Association, said:

“We will be consulting with councils during June to seek their views which will inform the National Employers’ response to the unions.

“Local government continues to face significant financial challenges, which became more acute during the pandemic, having lost more than £15 billion in government funding since 2010.

“As well as rising inflation, cost of living, energy and fuel prices, the forecast increases to the National Living Wage also presents a significant cost to local government that will put further pressure on council budgets.”

A former Knaresborough cadet played a major role in the jubilee celebrations when he captained the Lancaster bomber that flew over Buckingham Palace.

Flight Lieutenant Paul Wise was in charge of the aircraft that flew over the palace following Thursday’s Trooping the Colour parade.

Flt Lt Wise joined the RAF’s 1953 (Knaresborough) squadron in 1993.

Paul Wise (centre) Pic courtesy of Tim Holderness

After leaving cadets in 1999, he joined the RAF and flew the C-130 Hercules for many years before becoming a qualified flying instructor with 45 squadron at RAF Cranwell, training the next generation of RAF multi-engine pilots and crew.

He still performs this role with the RAF, however in 2018 he also joined the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight as a Dakota captain and co-pilot for the Lancaster. This year he became a captain of the Lancaster.

Flt Lt Wise said:

“I still remember visiting Battle of Britain Memorial Flight as a cadet whilst on Easter camp with Knaresborough ATC.

“Never did I think that one day I would be in the privileged position to captain the Lancaster for the Queen’s platinum jubilee flypast.”

The flypast started in the Wash and included much of southern England, including the palace.

Read more:

• Last remaining Sam Smith’s pub in Knaresborough closes
• How did a First World War bomb end up in Knaresborough?

This live blog of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is proudly sponsored by Boundless Networks – delivering quality broadband connectivity at a reasonable cost to homes and businesses in the Harrogate district.

A feast of street parties is set to bring the jubilee weekend to a close. We will be praying for fine weather and covering the festivities in Harrogate, Ripon, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Pateley Bridge and Masham, as well as the villages in between.

Our reporters will be out and about but please let us know what’s happening where you are and send us pictures so we can add them to this blog. DM us on Facebook or email contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

5.35pm: Jubilee reunion for sisters of 1977

Three sisters who celebrated the 1977 silver jubilee waving flags did the same thing today on the same street where they grew up.

Their parents, David and Nelda, are one of two original families still living on Carr Close in Ripon.  The couple, aged 82, celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary this year.

They bought the house new in 1973 and all three daughters live around the corner.

That seems like a fitting way to end our four days of live jubilee coverage. We hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for all your photos of beacons, street parties, pig races and everything else.

We will publish a jubilee photo gallery tomorrow.

4.46pm: Ripon rotary clubs unite

The family day provided a meeting point for friends from the Rotary Club of Ripon and Rotary Club of Ripon Rowels, whose charity work can be seen all over the city. They were joined by major Ripon benefactor Michael Abrahams (left).

He is pictured with, from the left: Peter Race (Rotary Club of Ripon) Josie Suddards (Inner Wheel of the Rotary Club of Ripon Rowels) Janet Race, Jenny Moss and Audrey Long (all members of the Inner Wheel of Ripon Rotary Club) and, front David Suddards of the Rotary Club of Ripon Rowels, which gave platinum jubilee pennies to every pupil at the 17 primary schools in Ripon and neighbouring villages.

After such a busy week for event stewards Elaine Reed (pictured left) and Cat Midgley, you might have expected them to be flagging, but there were smiles from them right until the end of four fantastic days that underlined Ripon’s status as one on the most royal and loyal places in the land.

3.55pm: Ripon’s big weekend draws to a close

Ripon’s packed programme of jubilee events is coming to an end. Our city-based reporter Tim has been at the heart of things for the last four days.

It was a day for both waving and wearing the flag, as the curtain came down on Ripon’s platinum jubilee celebrations with the focus on families, as epitomised by the fact that great grandmother Hazel Barker, of event organiser The Ripon Community Poppy Project had four generations of her family present, including grandson Martin Wright and great grandchildren Evie (aged 6) and cousins Alana and Imogen aged 5.

For Martin, it was an opportunity to dress to impress, with his Union Jack jacket, trousers and hat.

Ensuring that activities went off safely, was Andy Langford (pictured left) the safety manager overseeing four days of revelry in Ripon Market Square and this afternoon’s family day in Spa Park. He is pictured with Stuart Martin of Ripon Community Poppy Project, who told the Stray Ferret:

“The city-wide celebrations have been amazing and Ripon has done Her Majesty proud.”

3.05pm: Neighbours sing along to Sweet Caroline

This is what it’s all about… dancing in the street with neighbours to Sweet Caroline.

Almost 100 people from Carr Close in Ripon and invited guests got together this afternoon after resident Jennifer Spurgeon applied to close the street.

The gathering included a couple from Australia, who are friends with people who live on Carr Close.

June Wren, 91, wore a hat her mother made for the coronation in 1953.

There was a Queen’s pudding tent, line dancing and badminton.

2.40pm: Maypole fun in Burton Leonard

2.15pm: Band starts family fun in Ripon’s Spa Park 

The Ripon City Band kicked off Spa Park’s Platinum Jubilee family day with an ABBA medley..

1.40pm: Huby gets in the swing

There’s a fabulous party going on in Strait Lane, Huby. Below are some images we’ve been sent.

Send us pics of your jubilee events today and we will include then in our blog. DM us on Facebook or email contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

1.25pm: Street parties underway!

Valerie Sanderson, 99, was invited to cut the ribbon this afternoon to start the street party in Almsford Oval, Harrogate.

The street is having a bake-off at 3pm organised by resident Karen Loughran.

Here’s a video and some images of the party.

Jake Crossfield who is 3 years old sent the Queen a letter and drew a picture of her majesty on it to tell her the street was having a party. She wrote back to thank him and wished him a lovely time!

Jean Whinnett who organised making the banner with her husband Alan said:

“We wanted to include all the children in the street – around 20 children were involved. The youngest was 6 months! We have an amazing community here. Everybody takes part”

1.02pm: Ripon Spa Park hosts family afternoon

From 2pm to 5pm today, Ripon Spa Park will be the main focus of the city’s final jubilee celebrations. The family day includes an afternoon tea along with music and children’s entertainment, including face painting, jubilee crafts and a treasure hunt led by Ripon Community Poppy Project. Members of Ripon City Band will performing its version of Last Night at the Proms.

12.32pm: Spitfire flypast at Newby Hall cancelled

Bad news – the weather has put paid to today’s Spitfire flypast at Tractor Fest at Newby Hall, near Boroughbridge.

@thestrayferret @your_harrogate @HgateAdvertiser @yorkshirepost Unfortunately bad weather in the South means no Spitfire flypast over the show today. Still lots of tractors and engines to enjoy though on our final day! #ripon @visitripon #yorkshire #tractor #tractors

— Tractor Fest (@thetractorfest) June 5, 2022

12.23pm: Picnic on the Stray in Harrogate

A picnic has just got underway on the Stray. Later in the day it will broadcast the films Encanto and The Greatest Showman on the big screens at 3pm and 5pm respectively.

Here’s a pic from last night’s big screen broadcast of the jubilee party at Buckingham Palace.

11.41am: Thunderstorm weather warning removed!

The weather forecast continues to inch in the right direction. The yellow weather warming for thunderstorms in the Harrogate district has been removed and the maximum temperature forecast has crept up to, er, 14 degrees centigrade!

Good news!

The yellow thunderstorm warning that just crept in to our district for today has been cancelled. While we may still see rain there are currently no weather warnings in force for the HBC area and the flood risk is very low.

Have a grand Sunday. pic.twitter.com/BzUb9SeTXl

— HBCEmergencyPlanning (@HBCPrepared) June 5, 2022

11.26am: Free electric buses today

The electric service on the 2A, 2B, 3 and 6 are free today as part of a joint initiative between the Harrogate Bus Company and Harrogate Business Improvement District.

⚡️ Ride the #JubileeFreeway – all buses on #HarrogateElectrics 2A/2B, 3 & 6 will be FREE right through the Jubilee Weekend from Thu 2nd until Sun 5th June!

🎉 Get to all the big celebrations in town, and back, with us – for FREE!

🙌 Supported by Harrogate BID

🇬🇧👑🇬🇧👑🇬🇧👑🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/CHag6wfiXc

— The Harrogate Bus Company (@harrogatebus) June 5, 2022

10.20am: 3,000 people party in Ripon as new horn handed over

Ripon’s impressive bank holiday celebrations continued yesterday when about 3,000 people attended the Market Square celebrations, which included 12 hours of live music.

Last night also saw the new ceremonial horn handed over. You can read more here.

9.47am: 500 people expected at Bishop Monkton street party 

Bishop Monkton is preparing to stage one of the biggest street parties in the Harrogate district today. The throne which will transport the village Queen at the head of a ‘seven decades’ fancy dress parade is ready and the village is expecting to have an even bigger event than the last jubilee in 2012 with almost 500 people, about two thirds of the population, booked to attend.

9.27am: Free entertainment for kids about to start in Valley Gardens

It’s your last chance to catch the runaway train, bungee jump on trampolines and enjoy numerous other rides for children. There will also be magicians, a choir, juggling and face painting.

9.22am: Weather forecast improves!

We’ve had three days of mainly pleasant jubilee weather. Today’s forecast has looked a bit iffy for a while and although you’re unlikely to need your sun cream, with temperatures struggling to get above 14 degrees centigrade in Harrogate, the threat of rain has receded sightly.

It was due to rain from about midday but according to the latest update from the BBC, it might hold off until this evening. There’s also the small matter of a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms in place, but let’s not worry about that just yet.

9.15am: Where the Stray Ferret reporters will be today

Tim will be covering events in Ripon.

John will be in and around Harrogate.

Tamsin will be covering events across the district.

Say hello if you see us in our Stray Ferret hats and please send us your photos to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk and we will do our best to upload them on to our blog throughout the day.

Harrogate Borough Council looks set to begin legal moves to evict Travellers on the Stray tomorrow.

Six caravans and several cars arrived on the Oatlands section of the Stray yesterday.

Three days earlier Travellers also parked on the old rugby field at Knaresborough.

The council, which is the legal protector of the Stray, has not replied to the Stray Ferret’s request for information about what action it is taking.

But Judy d’Arcy Thompson, chair of the Stray Defence Association, said the council had informed her that is is “aware and prepared to serve papers on Monday if required with a court hearing already scheduled for Thursday. Unfortunately due to the legal process, this is the fastest we can progress the situation.”

It is thought the Travellers are on their way to Appleby Horse Fair in Cumbria, which begins on Thursday.

Read more:

• Travellers arrive on Harrogate’s Stray
• JUBILEE LIVE: Harrogate district set for street parties

Ms d’Arcy Thompson said the council had informed her that its street cleaning team was “prepared to check the area and clear any waste left behind”.

She added the council appeared to be doing everything it could to resolve the situation, adding:

“With experience of similar events in the past we appreciate the complexity of the legal process.

“We naturally hope that they respect our Stray and that the minimum of mess and damage is left behind when they depart.”

The Stray Defence Association was founded in 1933 to safeguard the Stray against building and encroachment.

A wife has issued a plea for help finding a missing volunteer at Harrogate’s Army Foundation College.

Mark Nieuwoudt, who has now been missing for three days, lives with his wife Sal in one of the college’s married quarters.

He works for Sandes, a Christian charity that provides friendship to military personnel and runs a cafe at the site on Penny Pot Lane.

Lt Col Simon Farebrother, commanding officer at the college, issued an appeal for help finding Mr Nieuwoudt last night.

🚨 Mark works at our Sandes cafe on site and is currently missing. If you can keep an eye out and spread this around Yorkshire we would be very grateful. @LeedsNews @Tweet2Yorkshire @yorkshirepost @thestrayferret @BBCLookNorth @BBCYork @northyorkscc @yorkpress @NYP_Harrogate https://t.co/nCGVKP4kU0

— Lt Col Mike Butler (@CO_AFC) June 4, 2022

Lt Col Farebrother told the Stray Ferret:

“Police are aware and searching. He’s classified as vulnerable.”

Mr Nieuwoudt’s wife Sal think he may have caught the train from Harrogate on Friday morning.

Read more:

• North Yorkshire dignitaries honour the Queen at Ripon Cathedral
• Police and army officers amongst Harrogate district residents honoured by Queen

She posted on social media:

A group of Travellers has set up an encampment on the Stray in Harrogate today.

Six caravans and a car are parked on the section of the Stray just off Oatlands Drive.

They are believed to have arrived this afternoon.

The Stray Ferret spoke to dog walkers on the parkland near to the caravans this afternoon.

They said they walk on the land regularly and hadn’t noticed the vehicles until this afternoon.

It comes days after Travellers also set up camp on the old rugby field in Knaresborough.

The Stray Ferret has asked Harrogate Borough Council, which is the protector of the Stray, whether it is aware of the issue and if it is taking any action, but has yet to receive a response.

Read more:

• Carnival coming to Harrogate as part of summer programme
• JUBILEE LIVE: Starbeck gets in the swing