Fire crews were summoned twice in half an hour last night to two deliberate fires in the woods in Knaresborough.

The callouts were part of a busy night in the Harrogate district for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, which also attended two incidents in Harrogate.

The first woodland fire occurred at 6.55pm when bracken and tree branches were set alight at the bottom of Nidd Bank cul-de-sac, close to the River Nidd.

Less than half an hour later more branches were set ablaze on the other side of the river, opposite Conyngham Hall.

A crew from Knaresborough extinguished both fires using water backpacks.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said:

“We can’t say for certain but it looks like the two fires were caused deliberately.”

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Crews from Harrogate and Knaresborough were then called to reports of a dishwasher emitting sparks in Rutland Road, Harrogate shortly after 11pm.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue’s incident summary says:

“The occupier of the property used a dry powder extinguisher before fire crews arrived.

“Crews disconnected the appliance from the mains and checked it over as well as giving advice. They used a thermal imaging camera only.

“The cause is believed to be an electrical fault.”

At 2.39am this morning, two crews from Harrogate and Knaresborough attended a small bag of rubbish set on fire in flats on Robert Street. A security guard had put out the flames by the time they arrived.

Police were also called to the scene.

Harrogate District Hospital has recorded its longest period without a covid-related death since Christmas.

Latest figures revealed by NHS England today show 10 days have passed since the last death.

It is the longest period without a covid fatality since the 14 days from December 11 to December 25.

Infection rates soared after Christmas, as did admissions, peaking at 68 on February 13.

At one point last month there were seven deaths in three days.

The dark days continued this month, when 10 people died in nine days.

But patient numbers have fallen rapidly recently and are now down to single figures.

A total of 814 covid patients have been admitted to the hospital since the pandemic began.

Six hundred and three have been discharged.

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust announced today it had introduced free WiFi at its hospitals in Harrogate and Ripon.

We've introduced a new, free WiFi network for patients & visitors at Harrogate District & Ripon Community hospitals.

To use the service, please connect to the NHS_PUBLIC_Wi-Fi network, enter your name & email details & agree to the T&Cs. You'll then be granted access. pic.twitter.com/SH0HfTlyE4

— Harrogate NHS FT (@HarrogateNHSFT) March 27, 2021

No daily infection figures for the Harrogate district had been released by Public Health England by the time of publication today.

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“Please be considerate of others who are desperately trying to get appointments in the area.”

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• More than half of Harrogate district population receive covid vaccine
• ‘Insult to injury’: Ripley dog groomer misses out on vital covid grant

With its Georgian market place, two breweries and idyllic setting beside the River Ure, locals have known for years that Masham is a wonderful place to live.

But now the secret is out. The Sunday Times has included the market town in its annual Best Places to Live guide.

Masham is one of nine runners-up behind Ilkley in the north-east of England category. No other town or city in the Harrogate district was selected.

The Sunday Times judges based their decision on factors such as schools, air quality, transport and health of the high street.

They described Masham as:

“A picturesque market town in its own right that offers the best of both worlds.

“The extraordinary landscape of the Yorkshire Dales is on the doorstep and Ripon, with its top selective school and Curzon cinema, is just a short drive away.”

The judges listed their favourite things as the market, the Black Sheep Brewery and Johnny Baghdad’s ‘funky bright-yellow café on the square’.  

Colin Blair, aka Johnny Baghdad

Independent businesses

Colin Blair, who owns Johnny Baghdad’s, said Masham had got busier in the 20 years since he arrived and now had a good blend of independent businesses. He said:

“It’s a great place and a great place to run a business from.”

Mr Blair, who runs Johnny Baghdad’s with his partner Saeeda Zaman, was delighted to be recognised.

He said the cafe’s eclectic food, which includes everything from falafel and chicken shawarma to bacon rolls, went down well with locals, as well as the numerous cyclists and day trippers that flock to the town at weekends. He added:

“It’s the kind of thing you don’t see often when travelling around the Yorkshire Dales.”

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The cafe is currently open only for takeaways but is due to open with tables and seating on April 12.

The other regional runners up are:

·       Alnmouth, Northumberland 

·       Barnard Castle, Co Durham 

·       Easingwold, North Yorkshire 

·       Leeds 

·       Masham, North Yorkshire 

·       Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire 

·       Todmorden, West Yorkshire 

·       Tynemouth, Tyne & Wear 

·       York 

Homes evacuated in Starbeck due to fire

Homes have been evacuated in Starbeck as firefighters battle a blaze that broke out this evening.

Two people are being treated for smoke inhalation but there are no reports of any further injuries at this time.

The fire, in Avenue Grove, was reported to North Yorkshire Police at about 8.20pm tonight.

The area has been cordoned off.

A police statement said:

“Members of the public are advised to avoid the area while emergency services deal with the incident.”

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The North Yorkshire coroner’s office is appealing for help to locate the next of kin of 53-year-old Craig Fryer from Harrogate.

Mr Fryer died at his home in Woodfield Road, Bilton on March 15 and officers have been unable to trace his next of kin.

It is believed he has two daughters, one in Australia and one in the south of England. However, it is unknown exactly where.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement today:

“If you are Craig’s daughter or have information that could help find them, please contact our coroner’s office via email to coroner@northyorkshire.police.uk.”

Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Mr Fryer’s death.

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A popular shopkeeper who has gone the extra mile to help villagers during covid was flooded with presents on her 60th birthday today.

Lynn Raffle, who has owned Markington Post Office and General Store for seven years, said she was overwhelmed by the show of affection.

She told the Stray Ferret:

“I feel totally blessed. Balloons were hung outside the shop, I’ve received a portrait of my dog who died last year, I’ve been given Prosecco, a bracelet and six bouquets of flowers — it’s amazing.”

Karen Moss, who painted the portrait, said Ms Raffle had been the beating heart of the village, which is between Harrogate and Ripon, over the last 12 months:

“She has organised provisions for people who couldn’t go to the supermarket.

“She organised a group of volunteers to pick up prescriptions and do any other errands, she was there for whatever people needed.

“She’s a real unsung hero who looks out for everyone, she’s just a really lovely lady that needs to be recognised.”

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Another Markington resident, Meg Nelson, said:

“It always cheers me up popping in to get my bits and having a chat and a giggle with Lynn.

“Thank you for doing such an amazing job of providing us all with a shop and getting hold of anything people request during these hard times.”

Ms Raffle was a cook in the village school for 14 years before taking over the post office.

She works seven days a week, rising at 5.30am every weekday and being in the shop an hour later until 6.15pm at night. She joked:

“I get a lie-in until 6.30am on Sundays.”

The shop was built in 1846 as a chapel and has had many purposes since.

Many old features remain, including meat hooks from its time as a butcher’s shop. Ms Raffle said:

“It’s been the best day ever. I can’t remember a day like it since I went on the Orient Express when I was 50.”

Professional cricketer Phoebe Graham has agreed to become Harrogate Cricket Club’s ambassador for women and girls’ cricket.

Graham, who is contracted to Yorkshire County Cricket Club and the Northern Diamonds, will provide regular girls coaching.

She will also act as a consultant to the club on how to expand its number of female players and grow the game in the Harrogate district.

Graham, who is a fast bowler and qualified coach, will advise the club on formulating a schools’ programme to encourage more girls to take up cricket and help it work with other clubs in the area to promote women and girls’ cricket.

The club currently includes about 25 girls, whose season is due to start next month.

For the first time ever, Harrogate’s girls’ section has entered a team in to the Nidderdale under-13 boys league this summer.

Graham, who also runs a gender equality consultancy, will now build on work done by head junior coach Andy Hawkswell, along with Nat Crossland and Tim Robinson to further develop the girls’ section.

Club chairman Steve Clark said:

“This new partnership is an incredibly exciting one. We hope it will be a long-lasting relationship that ensures that women and girls’ cricket continues to grow and thrive in Harrogate.”

Graham said:

“Providing women and girls with opportunities to play sport is something that I am extremely passionate about and I love Harrogate’s commitment and long-term ambitions to grow the female section.”

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Work has begun to dismantle Harrogate’s Nightingale hospital – almost a year after it was built at a cost of more than £27m.

The temporary 500-bed site was set up at Harrogate Convention Centre in April last year to cope with a surge of coronavirus cases but it has not treated a single virus patient during the pandemic.

NHS England announced this month the emergency hospital would close at the start of April and a spokesperson has now confirmed contractors have started removing medical equipment from the venue.

“The phased dismantling of NHS Nightingale Hospital Yorkshire and the Humber has begun.

“The removal of some larger pieces of equipment will require road closures which will be advertised through the appropriate channels in due course.”

The emergency hospital was one of seven built in England and although it did not treat a single coronavirus patient, it was used for non-virus diagnostic tests and outpatient appointments.

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Earlier this month, the NHS described the network of Nightingale hospitals as the “ultimate insurance policy” as it announced each of the sites, apart from those in London and Sunderland which will stay open for vaccinations, will close next month.

Health officials also said it was a “success” that the Harrogate site was not needed but there are questions over how it would have been staffed, with councillors on the West Yorkshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee this week launching an investigation into why the facility was not used for covid patients.

Councillor Jim Clark, the Conservative chairman of North Yorkshire County Council, said there are “questions to be answered” and “lessons we can learn” around the Nightingale.

He told the health committee on Monday:

“We need to know how we would have staffed it, what capacity it would have been able to provide, where the staff would have come from and what effect that would have had on services within the rest of Yorkshire.”

It remains unclear how long the dismantling of the hospital will take and how much it will cost.

However, Paula Lorimer, director of the council-owned convention centre, previously said she was “confident” it will be ready for events to return on 21 June when all restrictions on social distancing are due to be lifted.

A group representing 187 Harrogate businesses has expressed concern the proposed £7.9 million Station Gateway could damage the local economy.

In its submission to the gateway consultation, which ends tomorrow, Independent Harrogate said it was ‘broadly supportive’ of the scheme’s aim to promote sustainable transport.

But it added Harrogate’s hospitality and retail sector was in a ‘fragile and critical state’ and it had ‘serious concerns’ about the scheme’s economic impact.

Robert Ogden, writing on behalf of Independent Harrogate, said it therefore opposed plans to reduce traffic on Station Parade to one lane, or to pedestrianise James Street. He added the group believed East Parade to be the best location for cycling lanes.

The submission said the town needed an updated infrastructure masterplan rather than ‘pocket planning’. Such a plan should include park and ride schemes, numerous electric car charging points and extensive cycling routes, it added.

It said Harrogate Borough Council‘s current masterplan, devised in 2016, was out of date and doesn’t cater for outlying villages, which don’t have regular bus services and don’t benefit from the focus on cycling. The submission said:

“Both North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council are effectively discriminating against village residents and creating a playground for Harrogate residents only, many of whom will happily get into their cars and drive to work in Leeds and other areas.”

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The submission said Independent Harrogate was not anti-cycling, adding it would support initiatives such as Cycling Sundays, whereby some central Harrogate streets were closed to traffic to encourage walking and cycling. It added:

“This cautious approach would help gauge the appetite for cycling in Harrogate without too much detrimental economic impact.”

But overall it said town centre visitors arriving by car ‘need easy access and somewhere convenient and close to the shops/cafes/restaurants to park’, adding:

“To ignore the considerable income that visitors bring will be hugely damaging and they should not be excluded from any surveys, which sadly appears to be the case at the moment.”

The government’s Transforming Cities Fund has provided funding for the gateway project, to improve the design of the town and encourage more sustainable transport.

North Yorkshire County Council, Harrogate Borough Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority are delivering the initiative.

Read the full letter from Independent Harrogate here.