Urgent police appeal to find missing Harrogate teenager

North Yorkshire Police tonight issued an urgent plea for help to find missing Harrogate teenager Lucy Morris.

Lucy, 17, has not been seen  by her family in Harrogate since May 15 when it was believed she was heading to Leeds to stay with a friend.

A police statement said:

“Worryingly, there have been no text messages or social media contact from her since May 22, which is out of character and further raises concerns about her safety.

“Lucy, if you see or hear about this appeal, please get in touch with the police immediately and let your family know you are safe.”

Lucy is described as white, 5ft 3in tall, blue eyes, slim build and she has shoulder-length blonde hair. She has a tattoo on her left hand which says ‘blessed’.

It is not known what clothes she had on when she went missing.

West Yorkshire Police is also assisting the missing person investigation in the Leeds area.

Anyone with information is asked to call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 1, and speak to the force control room, quoting reference number 12210122535.

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Hundreds attend free war graves tours at Harrogate’s Stonefall cemetery

Tours were held throughout the day at Stonefall cemetery in Harrogate yesterday as part of the first war graves week, which was organised by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Stonefall, which has more than 1,000 graves, is one of the largest war grave sites in northern England and one of only five directly maintained by the commission. About two-thirds of the dead are Canadian.

The cemetery was created in 1914 but most burials are airmen who died during the Second World War when bomber command bases were established in Yorkshire.

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones, Lieutenant colonel Simon Farebrother, commanding officer of the Army Foundation College in Harrogate, Harrogate mayor Trevor Chapman and Johanna Ropner, the Lord-Lieutenant of North Yorkshire were among those attending the tours.

They heard the stories of some of the dead, including Isikeli Komaisavai, 24, believed to be the only Fijian who flew with the British Royal Air Force and two 17-year-old Canadians who lost their lives.

War graves week gave those unable to travel to burial sites in Flanders and Normandy because of covid the opportunity to discover the war heritage on their doorsteps.

It is hoped it will become an annual event.

The commission, which is funded by governments in six Commonwealth countries, maintains more than 12,500 war grave sites in virtually every town and city in the UK.

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To coincide with the week, it launched a postcode search function to enable people to search online for more than 4,000 war dead. It is available here.

Claire Horton, director general of the commission, said:

“By simply entering your postcode on our website you can take the first step towards making a new connection.

“We want people to share the stories they find and download a tribute for the men and women from their communities and display it in their window for War Graves Week.”

Ms Ropner said:

“I would encourage everyone to find out more about the men and women commemorated by CWGC here at Stonefall and indeed around the world.”

Harrogate residents: ‘Act before someone is killed’

Residents near one of the main house-building sites in Harrogate have called for urgent road safety action after a lorry and car collided.

About 600 homes are due to be built near Kingsley Drive and Kingsley Road.

Kingsley Ward Action Group, which campaigns to protect green spaces in the area, is angry because it claims safety fears are being ignored.

A video showing last week’s collision, which led to the car being written off, prompted the group to write to highways authority North Yorkshire County Council.

The email said:

“We have repeatedly stated that Kingsley Road is not suitable for this type of heavy construction traffic.

“Only luck prevented this being even worse and watching the video should make you grateful you don’t have to risk living on this road.”

The council’s response, seen by the Stray Ferret, says extra traffic is “unavoidable” when developments are being built.

The council added it would “ensure that the concerns of Kingsley Ward Action Group are made known to the housing developers that are currently using hauliers for the movement of bulk materials” but the lack of specific measures has angered the group.

It replied:

“Your response to our grave concerns backed up with hard video proof does not fill us with confidence that you are in fact acting in our interests at all.

“There is a clear danger here.

“From the response we have had to this near tragic incident it is clear only a multiple fatality will actually have any impact on the current truck activity.”

John Hansard, a member of the group, told the Stray Ferret it wanted the council to enforce a 20mph speed limit for site traffic and take tough action against lorries with uncovered loads.

Emily Mellalieu, development management team leader at the council, told the Stray Ferret:

“We are conscious of the disruption to residents that inevitably accompanies large-scale residential development such as that in the Kingsley/Bogs Lane area.

“We are liaising with housing developers in the Kingsley Farm area about the impact of their operations and complaints received from residents, councillors and action groups.

“At all times, we place the highest priority on road safety.

“Concerns raised recently have been forwarded to the developers for their attention and we will continue to work with the developers to ensure operations are undertaken as efficiently and safely as possible.

“The developer was required as part of the planning process to produce a construction management plan to mitigate the impact of its operations.”

Two more Harrogate schools report strangers harassing children

Parents are being urged to be vigilant after two more schools in the Harrogate district reported recent incidents of children being harassed on the way home.

Police revealed yesterday that an 11-year-old girl was sexually assaulted while walking home from school at the junction of King’s Road and Chatsworth Grove in Harrogate on Tuesday.

The girl, whose school has not been revealed, was upset and shaken by the incident.

It has since emerged that a man in his early 20s chased year seven pupils on their way home from Harrogate High School last night.

The pupils, who were walking on Skipton Road, hid and the man ran past.

Lucy Greenwood, head of school at Harrogate High School, wrote to parents last night alerting them to the news. Her message said:

“It is worth reminding your children to be extra vigilant and to make their way directly home.

“We have reported the incident to the police and we will be making all students in school aware and to remind them to be extra vigilant on their way home.”

A school spokeswoman told the Stray Ferret the incident happened shortly after 2.25pm.

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Willow Tree Community Primary School has also reported two incidents to police that occurred late last week.

One involved a man dressed in black following people home and another involved a black Jeep driving backwards and forwards past a small group of pupils travelling to and from school.

Helen Davey, headteacher of Willow Tree Community Primary School, wrote to parents:

“I have been in touch with the police today to get further information about their response to this.

“They  have asked that anyone who is concerned that they have seen something suspicious should ring 101.

“Although they are able to have officers in the area, anything of concern should be reported so they can build a picture of what is happening.”

Ms Davey told the Stray Ferret the incidents took place in a ginnel near Saint Andrew’s Road at the back of the school.

“It’s a shock and a bit of a wake-up call.”

She added she did not know if there was any link between all the reported incidents.

Police advice

North Yorkshire Police has not issued any further updates and did not say whether it believed the incidents were linked.

Sergeant Alex Sellars from the Harrogate Neighbourhood Policing Team said yesterday that “incidents of this nature are rare in North Yorkshire”.

Sergeant Sellars added:

“There are some very simple steps that we can all take to help us feel safer when we’re walking home, such as walking in a group or with a friend, letting someone know what route you’ll be taking, when you are leaving somewhere and when you expect to be home and walk along main routes and well-lit areas.

“Please be assured that we take reports of this nature very seriously and our officers are committed to ensuring public safety.”

Girl, 11, sexually assaulted walking home from school on busy Harrogate street

Police are appealing for witnesses after an 11-year-old girl was sexually assaulted on Harrogate’s King’s Road on Tuesday.

The victim, an 11-year-old girl, was making her way home from school at about 3.15pm.

As she approached the junction with Chatsworth Grove, a man approached from behind and placed one hand on her hip and another hand on her waist and made a sexually inappropriate comment to her.

The girl ran away and arrived home upset and shaken.

It occurred just a day after a woman died suddenly in a similar location on King’s Road.

North Yorkshire Police described the girl’s attacker as white, in his 40s, around 5ft 8 with dark, greying hair that was short on one side but longer on the other.

He also has a distinctive mole above his right eyebrow.

He was wearing a red jumper, khaki coloured trousers and black Nike trainers with white laces. The girl said he had a rough Yorkshire accent.

‘Disturbing but rare incident’

Speaking about the incident, Sergeant Alex Sellars, from the Harrogate Neighbourhood Policing Team said;

“This is a disturbing incident which has understandably left the victim very shaken and upset.

“She has been incredibly brave when speaking to police and has been able to give us a detailed description of the man who approached her. Officers will be conducting further enquiries in the area, but we would appreciate the public’s assistance in helping us to identifying this man.

“With the incident taking place at the end of the school day, the area would have been busy with parents and children making their way home. If you were passing on the school run, please can you take a moment to recall your journey, or check your car dash-cams – did you see a man in the area who fits the description? If so, please do get in touch with us.”

Sergeant Sellars added incidents like this were “rare in North Yorkshire”, adding:

“Please be assured that we take reports of this nature very seriously and our officers are committed to ensuring public safety.”

Police said in a statement they were keen to speak to anyone who was in the area of Kings Road and Chatsworth Grove at 3.15pm who may have witnessed the incident, or anyone who recognises the description of the man.

Anyone with information can dial 101, select option 2 and speak to the force control room quoting reference 12210125274.

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Sing it loud! Knaresborough choir returns tomorrow night

A Knaresborough community choir will sing live for the first time this year tomorrow night after making last minute arrangements to beat new lockdown rules.

Numerous choirs in the Harrogate district were looking forward to meeting face-to-face again after restrictions eased on May 17.

But government guidance changed at the last minute to say amateur choirs in England could only gather in groups of up to six people indoors.

Knot Another Choir in Knaresborough, which has up to 80 singers in normal times performing pop songs from the 1960s onwards, was faced with having to cancel its return to the town’s Trinity Church Hall after months of Zoom singing.

But after some frantic calls around the district, Julie Bradbury-Sharp, a trustee of the choir and its events coordinator, managed to secure the use of a marquee at Harrogate Railway Athletic FC‘s ground, which is classed as outdoors and therefore able to accommodate the group.

Craig Lees, Knot Another Choir

Craig Lees, Knot Another Choir’s musical director.

Ms Bradbury-Sharp said:

“When I discovered the rules had changed I wanted to cry. I felt so upset, not only for myself but for members as well.

“It’s uplifting to sing in a choir. Not being able to do so has mental health implications — some people who come live on their own and love singing in the choir.

“I’m just over the moon that we are back.”

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Ms Bradbury-Sharp alerted Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones to the plight of choirs.

Mr Jones raised the issue in a parliamentary debate about covid yesterday, urging the government to resume as soon as possible “indoor gatherings for groups such as community choirs, and other events that bring people together”.

The first song on Knot Another Choir’s list for tomorrow night is Simply the Best by Tina Turner. Ms Bradbury-Sharp said:

“It’s a rousing song to let everybody know we are back!”

Who is the mystery Good Samaritan carving seats in Nidd Gorge?

A mystery carver is turning felled trees into seats in Nidd Gorge.

Since the weekend, at least two trees have been transformed into seats — and the artisan even appears to sign his or her work.

Paul Haslam, the Conservative councillor for Harrogate Old Bilton on Harrogate District Council, posted about the phenomenon after noticing it twice since the weekend.

He told the Stray Ferret the trees, believed to be conifers, were probably felled as part of a policy to remove non-indigenous species, and they appeared to have been lying on the ground for years.

Nidd Gorge seats1

Both seats that have appeared bear this symbol, which suggests the carver is signing the work.

Cllr Haslam added it appeared the person uses traditional hand tools, adding it was a great use of natural resources.

His job as an executive coach involves teaching people to lead stress-free lives and he said being close to nature could help to achieve this.

He added on his Facebook page:

“Thank you for creating places for people to sit and appreciate the tranquility. Being in nature is vital to our wellbeing.”

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Garry Irvine appointed president of Harrogate cricket club Druids

Druids Cricket Club, the historic Harrogate club founded in 1915, has appointed Garry Irvine as its president.

Mr Irvine is a former Druids captain as well as an outstanding rugby union player who captained Harrogate RUFC and represented an Anglo-Scots XV against the All Blacks.

His appointment follows the death of previous president Simon Corner, a much-respected figure in the Harrogate area.

Druids is a nomadic social cricket club that celebrated its centenary in 2015 with a match against the famous MCC.

Such is the club’s standing that it was invited to play Yorkshire as part of former England Test bowler Ryan Sidebottom’s testimonial year.

Mr Irvine said:

“It’s an enormous honour to be appointed president of this famous club, following in the footsteps of the legendary Simon Corner.

“I’m determined to carry on the great work that Simon and previous presidents have done over the past 100 years in maintaining the great traditions of fun and fair play that the Druids were founded upon.

“As a club, we’d also love to welcome new people to become part of this great Harrogate institution, whether as players or supporters.”

The club plays friendly fixtures against other social or local Harrogate clubs, usually on Sundays.

Players of all abilities and supporters are very welcome to join the Druids.

For more information, visit the club’s Facebook page or contact club secretary Mark Moorby at melmoorby@hotmail.com.

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Calls for greater action on hundreds of empty homes in Harrogate district

There are calls for greater action to reduce the number of homes lying empty across the Harrogate district while thousands of residents remain stuck on the social housing waiting list due to a “desperate” lack of affordable properties.

Official data shows 774 homes have sat empty for more than six months – a figure which has fallen slightly from 838 in 2019 but councillors and campaigners say must come down at a more dramatic rate in order to get to grips with the housing crisis.

About 1,700 households are in the queue for council housing, and with property prices reaching record heights the fear is many may be stuck there for some time unless greater action is taken by Harrogate Borough Council.

The council itself has previously said there is a “desperate” need for more affordable properties but has defended its record on empty homes, with its cabinet member for safer communities and housing, councillor Mike Chambers, saying “every effort” is made to work with landlords and that tougher action is taken whenever necessary.

Councillor Chambers said:

“In the last two years, through this proactive approach, we have seen a 25% reduction of properties empty for more than five years.

“Our dedicated empty homes officer is working hard to identify empty properties, engage with owners and look at what else can be done to increase this reduction.

“It is important that everyone living in Harrogate district has the opportunity of a decent and quality home. We are committed to providing this and have a number of plans in place – such as requiring developers to provide a specific amount of affordable housing as well the aims of our own housing company Bracewell Homes – that will support local people into affordable rented homes or to get on the property ladder.”

Over the last 12 months, the council has carried out just two compulsory purchase orders where efforts to bring empty homes back into use have failed and legal action is taken against landlords as a last resort to force them to sell their properties.

The opposition Liberal Democrat group on the council said a stricter approach on compulsory purchase orders was needed to reduce empty homes, which are “compounding deeply entrenched problems” including high property prices, the lack of affordable homes and long stays in temporary accommodation.

Liberal Democrat leader councillor Pat Marsh said:

“I know there is a cost to compulsory purchase and the refurbishment of properties, but it still must be cheaper than buying on the open market and it means less green space being taken away.

“Alternatively, the council could actively build houses on land it owns, such as at Pannal.

“We cannot stand by and allow people to live in bed and breakfast or hostel accommodation for weeks on end and then the only accommodation we build is temporary on Spa Lane in Starbeck. People need homes on a permanent not temporary basis.

“With 1,700 people on the waiting list we need action now. Relying solely on the delivery of affordable homes from planning permissions for large development is never going to address this issue.

“When will this council start to take the issue of homelessness and lack of affordable housing seriously?”

What is the national picture?

Action on Empty Homes, which is England’s leading campaign group on the issue, has published figures which show numbers hit a record high in 2020 with 268,385 long-term empty homes across the country.

It is calling on the government to launch a national empty homes strategy backed by a £200m fund and new powers to support local authorities.

Through this fund, it wants to see a streamlining of compulsory purchase orders powers and more cash for community-led projects that sustainably refurbish long-term empty homes.

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Speaking earlier this year, Will McMahon, director of Action on Empty Homes, said:

“In 2020 there was a 20% rise in long term empty homes numbers with increases in nine out of every ten local council areas. That is a national scandal of wasted homes that mirrors our national housing crisis – and that calls into question why these homes are not being brought back to use to help address that.

“That’s why we call for a new programme of government investment and why we back local councils’ calls for better and simpler powers to act where owners and landlords won’t or can’t.”

Why are homes left empty?

There are numerous reasons properties can lie empty. In some instances, landlords cannot afford to renovate their property to sell or rent out.

Properties may also have been inherited and the new owners don’t know what to do with them. Rentals can also fall below safety standards which means they sit vacant until the problems are fixed.

What else can be done? 

As well as carrying out compulsory purchase orders, the government has also given councils powers to charge an additional 100% council tax on properties that have been empty for two years.

Empty Dwelling Management Orders can also be issued for long term empty properties that are attracting vandalism and causing a nuisance to the community.

English Football League approves Harrogate Town’s bid to create academy

Harrogate Town have been given permission by the English Football League to open an academy for budding professionals aged 16 to 18.

The club revealed today it had received a licence to operate a category four academy.

The academy will be led by former Knaresborough Town manager Paul Stansfield, supported by professional development phase coach Ross McKay.

Phil Priestley will act as goalkeeper coach and Josh Walsh as academy secretary. Lee Barraclough has been appointed head of recruitment.

Based at West Riding FA along with the current first team, the academy will compete in the EFL Youth Alliance North East, allowing regular competitive fixtures and a pathway through the ranks.

First team manager Simon Weaver said:

“This is a massive step in the right direction for the club in terms of fulfilling the vision of where we started and what we foresee being our future.

“Our under-19s, under-17s and under-19 Alliance teams will continue to run and compete in their respective leagues, alongside the newly established academy.”

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