‘The council have destroyed 99 years of model boats in Harrogate’

A new fountain in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens has effectively ended a century of model boating, according to the club that has used it for decades.

Claro Marine model boating club pleaded with Harrogate Borough Council to halt the £6,000 installation of the fountain in the boating pond near the cafe.

It said water from the fountain would damage the boats’ engines and jeopardise their hobby.

But the council, which was abolished a week ago, pressed ahead and the fountain was switched on a few days ago.

model boat pond boating lake

The pond has been used for model boating for 99 years.

Cub secretary Dave Finnegan, 69, told the Stray Ferret he was “very sad” because it spelled the end of a pastime he had pursued since childhood.

Mr Finnegan said:

“The council have destroyed 99 years of model boats in Harrogate. They will not listen.”

The club, he said, had been told the fountain would be situated in the deep end but it was actually in the middle of the pond, creating more of an obstacle.

The fountain is expected to operate from 9.30am to 6pm each day.

Mr Finnegan said:

“Even if switched off, the fountain is an underwater object to hit or go aground on.

“How do you get a boat back if it’s in the middle of the pond? I will not be sailing in Valley Gardens.

“I would like to thank all the visitors to the pond while I have been sailing for their kind comments and questions.”

fountain Valley Gardens model boats boating

The fountain has created an obstacle in the middle of the pond.

Mr Finnegan said the club was now trying to find another pond in the Harrogate area.

Alison Wilson, head of parks and environment services at Harrogate Borough Council, previously told the club:

“As the body [of the fountain] consists of a base and jets there is little infrastructure involved. Once in place, we will consider any protection required to ensure there is no damage to the jets from boats and vice versa.

“We do not wish to curtail your clubs activities, simply make the area more attractive and usable at other times of the week”.

Read more:

 

 

‘Intense’ talks to save Ripon firm Farmison after buyout collapses

Intense negotiations are taking place over the bank holiday weekend to save one of Ripon’s largest employers .

Premium meat retailer Farmison & Co ceased trading on Thursday and entered administration. Most of the 92 staff were made redundant.

All items on the company’s website are currently listed as ‘out of stock’.

Farmison co-founder John Pallagi told the Stray Ferret he was talking to a consortium led by two Yorkshire businessmen about a management buyout.

It comes after buyout talks with another online butcher, Tom Hixson of Smithfield, fell through.

Mr Pallagi said:

“I hope to have some news by the end of the long weekend.

“Farmison isn’t trading at the moment but I haven’t given up hope. We are an amazing business and this is a great opportunity.

“We have half a million people on our database and an established UK brand that has won many awards. There’s every reason to keep this company alive.”

Mr Pallagi said last night he had been engaged in 48 hours of exhausting talks with the potential new owners after administrators FRP took control of the company on Maundy Thursday.

He said the firm had serviced all orders that had been placed and a “small working team” remained on site to deal with any unresolved issues.

Read more:

Last year Mr Pallagi sold Farmison, whose customers include Harrods and Fortnum & Mason, to Scottish private investors Inverleith LLP.

He remained as chief executive and a new three-year business plan was agreed. But when the plan faltered he approached Ripon and Skipton Conservative MP Julian Smith and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for help.

Mr Pallagi said:

“I’m a fighter. I’ve been in this business for 21 years and I’m confident we can turn around this wrong turn that we’ve taken.”

Mr Pallagi started Farmison to work with local farmers and encourage people to ‘eat better meat’.

Despite sales doubling to £12m in 2021, the company then made a loss of £2.6m.

 

 

Harrogate’s Finlay Bean scores first century of county cricket season

Harrogate-born Finlay Bean has scored the first century of the county cricket season while playing for Yorkshire.

Bean, 20, made headlines last year when he scored 441 for Yorkshire second XI — the highest score in second X1 championship history.

At the time he didn’t have a professional contract and played for York Cricket Club but he was subsequently signed by Yorkshire and made his first class debut against Lancashire in September.

Bean, who studied at Ripon Grammar School and Queen Ethelburga’s, scored 118 off 149 balls against Leicestershire in the opening day of the first fixture of the year at Headingley.

The four-day match is still ongoing.

Read more:

 

Harrogate village cricket pavilion destroyed in suspected arson attack

Arsonists are believed to have destroyed a cricket pavilion in a village near Harrogate.

Firefighters from Harrogate and Knaresborough were called to Weeton Lane in Weeton at 8.40pm last night to reports of a shed fire.

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

“On arrival this was found to be a wooden cricket pavilion which was completely destroyed. Crews used one hose reel to extinguish the fire.”

The incident log did not give a cause of fire but villagers have reported seeing youths fleeing from the scene.

The cricket club in Weeton folded years ago and the pavilion had fallen into a state of disrepair.

Some frustrated villagers are keen to mount a campaign to restore the site to community use.

Weeton cricket pavilion arson

Man’s hand burned

In a separate incident later last night, Harrogate firefighters responded at 10.30pm to a smoke alarm going off in a house on Olive Grove in Harrogate.

The incident log said:

“This involved a candle which is believed to have been left unattended, causing smouldering to surrounding surface.

“One male suffered burns to his hand, received treatment from fire crew and will make his own way to hospital. Crew also ventilated property. Burn pack used.”

Read more:

 

Harrogate’s most eye-catching cricketers set for another season

As another cricket season gets underway, a team from Harrogate is set to begin its 24th consecutive season with a virtually unchanged line-up.

The players are only about a foot tall and have been in a few scrapes but they remain undefeated.

Thousands of people see them each year in the garden of Kenneth and Lesley Simpson on Knaresborough Road, opposite the One Stop shop.

The statues of eight players, two batsmen, an umpire, a sight screen and a pavilion are often admired by passers-by and have become such a landmark some bus passengers ask for tickets to ‘the cricket pitch garden’ as it’s more memorable than the name of the bus stops.

Kenneth, however, has a confession to make — he’s not a big cricket fan. He’s more of a football man, who supports Leeds United and is a former referee.

He is, however, a canny Yorkshireman who created the design as an easy way to maintain his garden. He said:

“We were going to put a football pitch in but because all the statues of players we could find had balls underneath their arms, it wouldn’t have looked right.”

Kenneth and Lesley Simpson cricket statues

The view from behind the bowler’s arm

Lesley noticed some statues of cricketers at the Harrogate Flower Show and when she spotted some more on holiday in Skegness they had enough for a display.

Over the years two have been vandalised — one was repaired but the other was too badly damaged and had to be replaced. Kenneth, who has lived in the house for 54 years, said:

“Someone took them down Knaresborough Road and didn’t realise how heavy they are.”

All the statues are now fixed into the concrete. Kenneth paints them every other year but the hardest job is cleaning the green grass that passes as the pitch.

One day a member of Marylebone Cricket Club passed by and was so taken by what he saw that he returned days later with the sight screen, which he made. Many have stopped to take photos and compliment the couple.

Lesley said:

“It’s surprising how many people stop and say ‘what a lovely garden you have’.”

Read more:

 

Harrogate’s Rachel Daly on target as England win Finalissima

Harrogate-born striker Rachel Daly scored in the penalty shootout as England beat Brazil to win the Finalissima last night.

The match, in front of 83,000 fans at Wembley and broadcast live in ITV, saw Euro 22 champions England take on Copa America winners Brazil.

England led 1-0 at half-time but Brazil pounced on a goalkeeping error in injury time to take the match to penalties.

With the score at 1-1, Daly — who came on as a substitute in the 73rd minute — put England ahead with a powerful drive and the Lionesses went on to win 4-2.

They are now unbeaten in 30 matches.

Read more:

 

‘Unforeseen circumstances’ delay Oak Beck Bridge replacement — again

A starting date for a £1 million scheme to replace Oak Beck Bridge in Harrogate has still to be set.

North Yorkshire County Council planned to begin work in January last year after saying the current bridge on Skipton Road was in poor condition.

But in June last year, council bridges manager Philip Richardson said the scheme had been delayed due to “unforeseen circumstances” and it was still in talks with Yorkshire Water.

Ten months on, the Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire Council, which has replaced the county council, for an update.

In a statement that was identical in parts to the one issued last year, Mr Richardson said:

“We realise the importance of replacing Oak BeckBridge. Unfortunately, we have not been able to progress the scheme as quickly as we would have liked due to unforeseen circumstances.

“We are currently in discussions with Yorkshire Water about diverting a sewer to make way for the project. Please be assured that we will begin work as soon as we are able.”

The volume of traffic using Skipton Road is expected to increase after Tesco was granted planning permission to build a supermarket at the nearby junction of Skipton Road and Ripon Road.

When it was awarded the £1.1 million contract to demolish the bridge and build a new one, Leeds-based Howard Civil Engineering said the project would take 24 weeks.

Read more:

 

Key witness in Trump court case used to run Harrogate media firm

A key witness in Donald Trump’s court case used to run a media company in Harrogate.

David Pecker was chief executive of American Media Inc in the run-up to the 2016 US presidential elections. Court documents say he agreed to be the “eyes and ears” for the Trump campaign to prevent negative stories.

AMI owned the tabloid National Enquirer and was at the heart of the ‘catch and kill’ policy in which it paid hush money to bury stories to protect the former president. Trump is alleged to have falsified accounts when paying back the money.

Adult entertainer Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who both claim to have had affairs with Mr Trump, received payments.

AMI acquired Weider Publications, an international fitness and bodybuilding media company with offices at Windsor Court in Harrogate, in 2003.

The Harrogate business, which was run by an American, employed about 30 people and published European and Australian editions of the market-leading magazines Muscle&Fitness and Flex. It also ran a mail order business.

Mr Pecker kept a close eye on developments in Harrogate and often summoned staff from the town to America for business meetings.

He authorised the decision to close the Harrogate office in 2015 and sent a message to staff thanking them on their final day. The building, in the shadow of Windsor House, was later converted to flats.

Windsor Court

Windsor Court has been converted from offices to flats.

Despite being a major player in US media circles, Mr Pecker keeps a low media profile so his testimony is eagerly anticipated.

Ryan Goodman, a former special counsel at the Department of Defense, tweeted this week that “David Pecker is going to be a star witness”.

Trump is alleged to have falsified records “to conceal damaging information and unlawful activity from American voters before and after the 2016 election”.

He has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsification of business records and claims Judge Juan Merchan “hates” him.

Read more:

 

Tim Stedman to star in Harrogate Theatre panto again

Panto legend Tim Stedman will return to Harrogate for the 23rd time this Christmas.

Harrogate Theatre announced today Mr Stedman will play Idle Jack in Dick Whittington.

The production will run from November 22 to January 14. Tickets are already on sale.

Mr Stedman’s first appearance at the Victorian theatre on Oxford Street was in Sleeping Beauty in 2000. Since then he has become a huge favourite.

A Harrogate Theatre spokesperson said:

“Stay tuned as we release more information on the cast and creative team throughout the year.”

The spokesperson added this year’s production would be “packed with sparkle, silliness, and side-splitting jokes”.

You can book online here or via the box office on 01423502116.

Read more:

 

Christmas market on Harrogate’s Montpellier Hill bids to return this year

The original Harrogate Christmas Market on Montpellier Hill could be set to make a comeback this year.

Brian Dunsby, co-organiser and founder of Harrogate Christmas Market Ltd, confirmed it had submitted an event management plan to North Yorkshire Council to stage the event from November 2 to 5.

The event was held annually from 2012 to 2019 until it was halted by covid.

Harrogate Borough Council then scuppered its prospects of returning by refusing to grant a licence and organising its own town centre Harrogate Christmas Fayre in conjunction with Market Place Europe, a specialist market company based in Greater Manchester.

But Harrogate Borough Council was abolished last weekend, with the new North Yorkshire Council taking its place.

The original Christmas market, which was organised by local people, had 170 traders and 53 coaches booked to attend in 2021 when the rug was pulled from under its feet.

By contrast, last year’s town centre fayre only had about 50 stalls, and some people have said there were too many food outlets and not enough craft stalls.

The fayre was accompanied by a giant Ferris wheel near the war memorial, an ice rink in Crescent Gardens and the Candy Cane Express free road train, which were popular with many visitors.

Some people welcomed the decision to hold the event in town rather than on the muddy Stray. Others said the new event lacks charm compared to Montpellier Hill.

Read more:

Destination Harrogate, a tourism organisation within North Yorkshire Council, issued a press release yesterday saying this year’s fayre would be extended from 10 days to 18 and run from December 1 to 17.

Because the dates for the seasonal events do not clash, there is the possibility that both could take place this Christmas.

Mr Dunsby declined to comment beyond confirming Harrogate Christmas Market Ltd had submitted its event management plan for what he hoped would be a similar event on Montpellier Hill to those staged up to 2019.

Too many food stalls?

Yesterday’s news release by Destination Harrogate announcing this year’s market extension did not mention North Yorkshire Council.

The Stray Ferret asked Destination Harrogate who was in charge of the market now Harrogate Borough Council no longer existed, who authorised the fayre extension and what response it had to claims that last year’s event had too many food stalls.

It said in a statement:

“The Harrogate Christmas Fayre has always been an event owned and operated by Market Place Europe and Destination Harrogate will continue to support them at a local level.

“The decision (to extend) was based on feedback from many of the town centre retailers, hoteliers and hospitality businesses, following the impact that the market made on their December trading. After taking on board the feedback from those sectors in particular, and following discussion with Market Place Europe, we’ve been able to agree the addition of the extra week and weekend.

“The market is open to any trader that wishes to apply to have a stall. We would actively encourage any local traders that would like to be part of the Christmas fayre to apply – as we have done since the new event was introduced in 2021. The variety and volume of stalls are dependent upon those traders that come forward and want to take the opportunity to be involved.”