Harrogate shoppers donate chocolate to people in need at Xmas

Harrogate shoppers have responded generously to a plea to donate chocolate this Christmas for people struggling to make ends meet.

Commercial Street Retailers Group is working with Harrogate District Foodbank on the initiative, which runs until December 15.

People can drop-off chocolate at four shops on Commercial Street: Foxy Antiques and Interiors, the Harrogate Town shop, Lilly’s Bistro and Cafe and White Rose Sewing.

The food bank had said it was overwhelmed by demand for help this Christmas and although it had received many donations of staple products, such as tinned food, some chocolate would add a touch of luxury to seasonal food parcels.

Sue Kramer, of Crown Jewellers on Commercial Street and head of the retailers group, said a previous article on the Stray Ferret has generated a huge response.

“it’s going really well so far — Sue from Lilly’s has dropped off the first batch of chocolates and Harrogate Foodbank were both shocked and delighted with how much there was.

“It’s so heartwarming to know that even with everything everyone has been through with covid there is still genuine kindness and compassion in Harrogate for those less fortunate.

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Harrogate Convention Centre boss warns big events ‘at risk’ unless £47m refurbishment is accelerated

The director of Harrogate Convention Centre has warned the venue and local economy will miss out on big events unless plans for a major refurbishment are accelerated.

Paula Lorimer said upgrading the centre’s studio two needed to be made a priority as it would be a “game changer”.

Speaking at a meeting of Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet on Wednesday, she said this part of the centre currently has limited “breakout” space and that this has meant it has been unable to attract “larger and more lucrative” events.

Ms Lorimer said:

“We are lucky to have one of the largest and most gorgeous auditoriums in the country with just over 1,900 seats, but we only have breakout space for 570 people.

“These larger conference rooms that we are hoping to have in studio two will mean we will attract much larger conferences.

“We therefore believe there is a very strong case to accelerate this part of the project.”

The project has yet to receive a final go-ahead from councillors and could cost up to £47m over three phases if approved.

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It was revealed at this week’s meeting that the plans have already been delayed due to the covid pandemic, with a report warning that this could have an impact on contracted and potential events booked from April 2023 onwards.

‘Important event’ coming to Harrogate

It also said there is an “important event” planned for early 2023 which will require the works on studio two to be completed, however, the council said it was unable to confirm the details as it is not a public event.

The report added:

“If the studio two package is not ready by April 2023, the potential negative impact on the Harrogate Convention Centre order book would be significant.

“It is highly likely that the newly contracted events for the period 2023/24 would be lost.

“It also runs the risk of not being able to bid for these conferences again until post 2025.”

The plans were first revealed in July last year when the council said the 40-year-old centre was in “critical need” of an upgrade to keep its national appeal and that without investment its maintenance costs could reach £19m over the next two decades.

150,000 visitors a year

It was estimated before the pandemic that the centre attracted more than 150,000 visitors a year with an annual economic impact of £35m.

However, covid has now raised questions over how quickly the industry can bounce back to pre-pandemic levels and what risks this could mean for the potential £47m redevelopment.

A final decision on the project will be made by councillors next year and the council has yet to put forward any funding proposals, although it said a business case would play a key part in supporting bids for government cash.

It was agreed at yesterday’s meeting that a further report would be brought back to cabinet to decide whether the works on studio two should be accelerated.

It was also agreed that further design and feasibility works are continued.

Other plans as part of the project could involve three exhibition halls being demolished to make way for a new 5,000 sq m hall and a refurbished auditorium.
Around £20m would be needed to complete a first phase of redevelopment, with another phase later.

Harrogate police officer charged with sexual assault

A 30-year-old police officer based at Harrogate has been charged with sexual assault.

Christopher Hudson will appear at York Magistrates Court tomorrow.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement that Hudson was based in Harrogate at the time of the allegation and was currently suspended.

No further details are available.

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Walk-in boosters available again today in Harrogate

Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground is to accept walk-ins again today.

NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group announced there would be walk-ins yesterday afternoon as a one-off but the organisation said today the service would also be available today.

It added it was treating the rest of the week on a day-by-day basis.

Those eligible for a booster can just turn-up between 8.30am and 4pm at the showground.

To qualify, people need to be aged 40 and above. At least six months must have passed since their second dose and they must have no coronavirus symptoms.

The showground was due to close on December 22 but it now looks set to continue until March, although this has yet to be confirmed.

Non walk-in appointments can be booked on the NHS booking site here.

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Harrogate man jailed for sex assault on toddler

A Harrogate child abuser and online groomer has been sentenced to six years and 11 months in jail.

Wenxiong Jiang, 26, was also made subject to a 20-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will remain on the Register of Sex Offenders indefinitely.

Jiang was convicted at York Crown Court on Friday of the following offences that he committed between February 2017 and December 2020:

Detective Constable Rebecca Townsend, of Harrogate CID, led the intensive investigation into Jiang’s offending following his arrest on December 15, 2020.

Posed as 15-year-old boy

The inquiry uncovered that he had added a 12-year-old girl on Snapchat and engaged her in conversations while he was posing as a 15-year-old boy.

Jiang pressured and then eventually threatened the girl to send him naked pictures of herself engaging in penetrative sexual activity.

When he was arrested, officers recovered 250,000 images from his devices including a video of himself sexually assaulting a two-year-old boy.

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The Digital Forensic Unit examined all the material to help identify offences and possible victims.

DC Townsend said:

“Wenxiong Jiang is clearly a very disturbed and perverted individual who poses a danger to children.

“He has rightfully been brought to justice and is now facing the full consequences of his depravity with a significant prison sentence.

“As a registered sex offender, he is subject to robust public protection measures for the rest of his life. He will also have to comply with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order lasting 20 years which is designed to severely limit his ability to reoffend in the future.”

Reporting suspected crimes involving indecent images of children and sexual abuse

You can contact:

Victims who would prefer not to go direct to the police and are not in immediate danger, can contact Bridge House, North Yorkshire’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), on 0330 223 0362, email bridgehouse.sarc@nhs.net or go to www.bridgehousesarc.org/

Homes England accused of ‘bullying’ tactics over 200 homes at Pannal Ash

The government’s housing agency has been accused of using “bullying” tactics over controversial plans for up to 200 homes at a former police training base in Harrogate.

Homes England was granted approval for the Pannal Ash site at a meeting on Tuesday when it emerged the body had written to senior officials at Harrogate Borough Council claiming the authority acted “unlawfully” when it delayed a decision on the plans in June.

The delay was taken after questions were raised over the West Harrogate Parameters Plan – a long-delayed document on infrastructure needs for the up to 4,000 new homes set to be built in the west of the district.

Members of the council’s planning committee had hoped for a further delay on Tuesday to allow time for the parameters plan to be completed, however, they claimed they were “bullied” into approving the homes due a “threat” of legal action.

David Stephenson, senior planning manager at Homes England, said while launching a costly appeal against the council was an “absolute last resort” for the body, it was a route it was willing to take.

He told yesterday’s meeting:

“We are trying to work with officers and have been doing so for a number of months to avoid an appeal – something Homes England does not want to do.

“But if this is deferred then unfortunately we will have very little options going forward.”

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The former police site on Yew Tree Lane (pictured below) was used as a base to train more than 1,200 officers a year before it closed in 2011.

The latest plans from Homes England include the conversion of several former police buildings into 16 homes and the construction of 184 new properties, while proposals for a sports pitch have been scrapped.

Councillor Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said a decision on whether the scheme should go ahead should not be taken until work on the parameters plan is completed as expected in February.

‘Grossly damaging accusation’

“We are talking two months here to make sure what is done on this site is right.

“I’m very saddened Homes England thinks it is right to bully us into this decision, because that is what is on the cards today – ‘approve it or we will appeal’.”

Councillor Jim Clark, a Conservative who represents Harrogate Harlow, also accused the body of having a “bullying attitude” and said its claim that the council acted “unlawfully” was a “grossly damaging accusation”.

The west side of Harrogate currently finds itself with around a quarter of the entire housing allocations in the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which outlines where development can take place.

This equates to around 3,500 to 4,000 new houses and residents are worried how the area’s schools, roads and health services are going to cope with this population increase.

Rene Dziabas, chairman of Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association, said he believed a precedent had been set for further housing in the area as the police site was allocated for 163 homes in the Local Plan, but has now gained approval for up to 200.
He said:

“We are strongly opposed to this near 25% uplift in housing numbers.

“We are also worried about the precedent this sets, the impacts that will arise and we ask – what is the point of the Local Plan?”

Foxy Antiques wins Harrogate Christmas Shop Window Competition

Foxy Antiques & Interior has been named as the overall winner of the Harrogate Christmas Shop Window Competition

The shop, at the bottom of Commercial Street, beat 31 other entries.

Bettys, on Parliament Street, won the large shops category, The Yorkshire Soap Company, on James Street, won the medium shops category, and Foxy Antiques & Interiors was the winner in the small shops category

Judging took place on Thursday last week. The Rotary Club of Harrogate organised and carried out the judging, which involved 13 Rotarians, some with wives, two Soroptimists, and representatives from the Harrogate Business Improvement District, which supported the competition.

Graham Saunders, who organized the judging on behalf of the Rotary Club, said:

“The judges could see the effort that had gone into the window displays. Harrogate is lucky to have so many independent shops who enjoy taking part in the competition”.

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Sara Ferguson, chair of Harrogate BID, added:

“I’ve never seen Harrogate looking so festive, and a big part of this is down to the efforts of our town centre businesses.

“We hope that members of the public will want to view the winning and highly commended windows when they are next in town. To assist with this, we have created a Christmas Shop Window trail on our LoyalFree app.”

The presentation of certificates to the winning shops was carried out last night, Tuesday December 7, as part of a BID event in the Yorkshire Hotel.

Councillor Trevor Chapman, mayor of Harrogate. John Fordyce, president of the Rotary Club of Harrogate and Sara Ferguson, chair of the BID, handed out the certificates and congratulated the winning and highly commended shops.

Results

Retail Shops in Harrogate Town Centre

Overall Winner: Foxy Antiques & Interiors, 27 Commercial Street

Large Shop Winner: Bettys Café Tea Rooms, 1 Parliament Street

Highly Commended: Weetons Food Hall, 23/24 West Park

West Park Hotel, 19 West Park

Mama Doreen’s Emporium, 9 – 11 Station Square

Medium Shop Winner: The Yorkshire Soap Company, 1 James Street

Highly Commended: Helen James Flowers, 63 Station Parade

Montpellier Jewellers, 12 Monpellier Mews

Prey Four Ltd, 33 Swan Road

Small Shop Winner: Foxy Antiques & Interiors, 27 Commercial Street

Highly Commended: Sophie Likes, 36 Beulah Street

Susie Watson Designs, 2 Montpellier Gardens

Bijouled, 50 Parliament Street

 

Newts delay junction 47 A1(M) upgrade near Knaresborough

The discovery of great crested newts has delayed the A1(M) junction 47 upgrade near Knaresborough — which is now set to overrun by at least six months.

North Yorkshire County Council, the highways authority, also revealed today the scheme was set to cost considerably more than the original £7.7m budget.

It said spending had racked up to £10 million by September and “the latest estimated costs are the subject of detailed discussions with the council’s contractor and will be publicly available once agreement is confirmed”.

It said in a statement:

“Encountering unforeseen poor ground conditions on the southbound slip road has significantly restricted the speed of work taking place and the methods that can be used.

“In addition, the discovery of great crested newts caused a delay as they legally had to be relocated. During the coronavirus pandemic, operatives had to comply with secure site procedures which also extended the timescale.”

Work by contractors Farrans Construction began in September last year to widen three of the four slip roads and install traffic lights to prevent vehicles queueing.

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It was initially due to finish in September but the council said in August that “unforeseen ground conditions” meant it would finish this month.

North Yorkshire County Councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for access, said:

“We are looking forward to the completion of this important scheme, which anticipates significant residential and commercial development along the A59 corridor.

“The prolongation of the schedule is not expected to cause disruption to traffic flows at the junction and will be accompanied by additional safety work on the vehicle restraint systems on the A1M slip roads.

“Whilst progress on construction works will depend upon winter weather conditions, we are confident that we can fully complete the scheme by spring.

‘Long-term benefits’

As well as widening the slip roads, traffic signals will be installed on the roundabout to improve traffic flow. Signals will also be added to the T-junction between the A168 and the A59, a short distance from junction 47 on the York side to benefit drivers turning onto the A59 and to improve safety.

To the west of Junction 47, between the A1 and the Flaxby roundabout, a lane will be added for traffic travelling east, so there will be two lanes in each direction between those two roundabouts.

Cllr Andy Paraskos, member for the Ainsty division, added:

“The delays to the project are unfortunate, but unforeseen issues are always a risk on major schemes like this. We can look forward to the long-term benefits from next spring for residents, commuters and visitors for many years to come.”

The project has been funded by £2.47m from the government’s Local Growth Fund, secured by the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, along with contributions from the county council, National Highways and developer Forward Investment LLP.

 

Hospital issues urgent appeal for crutches and walking sticks

Harrogate District Hospital has issued an urgent appeal for patients to return crutches and walking sticks.

Pamela Bagot, principal physiotherapist at the hospital, contacted the Stray Ferret to say the therapy services department wanted to offer them to patients who had undergone surgery or been involved in an accident.

“If you have any crutches and walking sticks you no longer use sitting around at home, please drop them off at therapy services at Harrogate District Hospital so we can reuse them and help our patients back up and walking as soon as possible.

“As most people know, there are problems with transporting goods and deliveries around the country, and by individuals returning these items we will ensure that we have enough patient equipment during the winter months.”

Anyone able to help should ask at hospital reception for therapy services.

hospital crutches appeal

 

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Fund set up in memory of Harrogate musician Aaron Bertenshaw

The mother of Harrogate singer-songwriter Aaron Bertenshaw, who died suddenly aged 26 last week, has set up a fundraising page to help people with diabetes overcome mental health problems.

Aaron, a former pupil at St Aidan’s Church of England High School, was a popular and well known figure on the Harrogate district music scene. He was a regular at the Blues Bar, where he first performed and at many other venues, such as Hales Bar.

Sammy Oates, his mother, told the Stray Ferret she was in “complete shock” at the loss of her son “who had the most infectious smile”.

Sammy said she believed Aaron went into a diabetic coma but a post mortem would be held to ascertain Thursday’s cause of death.

She added he had struggled massively to cope with being diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic at the age of 18 and had recently been treated for ketoacidosis, which affects people whose bodies don’t produce enough insulin.

“Aaron touched a lot of lives. He was only 26 but packed a lot in. He also worked as a barber and played rugby for Otley when he was young.

“He was such a bright shining star and an absolute social butterfly. Everyone knew him and he never had a bad word to say about anybody.

“What I remember most is his smile. He had the most infectious smile. There was always a twinkle in the eyes.

“He had a heart of gold. We lost the family dog as well last week and we were all devastated about that.”

A gofundme page set up by Sammy has already raised over £3,000. Donations can be made here.

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She said the money would be used to provide mental health support to people with diabetes. Mental health and diabetes are usually treated separately and there was a need to provide a service that addressed the two issues together, said Sammy.

“Aaron hated being diabetic. He couldn’t handle it and he didn’t take his insulin.

“Because he was a musician he was in the party scene a lot. So at 18 when all his friends were out partying he was at home injecting himself.

“It’s a bit of a vicious circle. Diabetes is massively life changing so he’d get down about it and then not want to deal with it.”

Memorial show

Sammy said a memorial service would be held at St John’s Church in Bilton where he and his family were christened. She also plans to stage a memorial show next year.

Aaron, who was due to perform in Wakefield this weekend, started gigging at 15 and shortly afterwards released an EP record. His mum was a singer and he regularly watched bands with his dad, Sam Bertenshaw.

He played the guitar and his vast musical influences included Ed Sheeran and Leonard Cohen. Besides playing in venues, he busked for cancer charities when the disease claimed the life of his uncle at the age of 42. Sammy said:

“If we can just help one person it will all be worthwhile. Perhaps we could find a counsellor who could advise on living with diabetes rather than just the medical side of things. Maybe set up a charity. I just know I need to do something and I need to do it in his name and now while everyone is aware.”

Aaron leaves Sammy and her partner, Jonathan, dad Sam and his partner Fiona and a sister, Ruth.

Sammy described the Blues Bar as “a huge part of Aaron’s life “.

Simon and Sharon Colgan, the owners of the Blues Bar, paid a joint tribute to Aaron. They said:

“Aaron sang in the Blues Bar from the beginning of his career. He inspired other young musicians and was never demanding of attention

“He was a warm, intelligent and gifted young man who was giving and thoughtful towards others

“He is a part of our blues family, known and loved by everyone We will always have fond memories of Aaron. It is such a tragic loss to us all.”