Business Breakfast: New partner appointed at Harrogate accountants

Harrogate accountancy firm Lithgow Perkins has promoted Stuart Abbott to partner.

Formerly the company’s trusts and tax manager, Mr Abbott will work alongside partner Joe Taylor on tax advice and planning for current and new clients.

Mr Taylor said:

“Stuart has outstanding knowledge and expertise in his specialist areas, and strong and trusted relationships with many of our clients. His promotion is thoroughly deserved.”

Local opticians recognised for sustainability

Bayfields Opticians and Audiologists has achieved net zero carbon status for its practices in Harrogate and Knaresborough after helping residents recycle their old eyewear and contact lenses.

The business was given the sustainability endorsement following an auditing by not-for-profit organisation Net Zero Eyecare.

Old glasses and cases, contact lenses, and packaging that cannot be disposed of in recycling bins at home can be recycled at each practice.

Megan Harper, sustainability manager at Bayfields, said:

“We’d urge anyone with an old pair of glasses to bring them into a practice and pop them in our recycling box to avoid them going into landfill and helping us contribute to a more sustainable future.”

Harrogate Chamber to focus on regeneration tonight

The May Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce meeting will be held tonight (May 13) from 5.30pm- to 8pm at Cedar Court Hotel.

This month’s meeting will commence with the AGM, followed by guest speakers, Julian Rudd, head of regeneration (south) for North Yorkshire Council and Stuart Holland and Paul Hatherley from Harrogate Civic Society on the subject of a neighbourhood plan for Harrogate.

Harrogate care home residents celebrate Cinco de Mayo

Granby Resident Brian and his partner with Mexican musician, Rafael

Residents at Granby Care Home in Harrogate had a Mexican-themed party to celebrate the Cinco de Mayo festival.

It was the first stop on their ‘Cruise Around the World’ armchair travel activity which will see residents at Brighterkind care homes, experiencing the culture of other countries.

The care home’s magic moments coordinator, Lydia Jackson, said:

“It’s been a very exciting first port of call on our world cruise, none of us had been to Mexico before, so everyone enjoyed experiencing the culture and loved the food.”

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Harrogate disability charity launches accessible walking route packs

A Harrogate disability charity has launched a range of accessible route packs to help more people to access the outdoors.

Open Country has produced a range of ‘breakfree’ packs offering inspiration on great places to walk, wheel, stroll, or cycle, covering the Harrogate district.

The charity helps people with disabilities to access the countryside. It offers daily activities for disabled people, including walks, conservation projects, allotment clubs, tandems clubs and adventure clubs.

The packs have been launched to celebrate National Walking Month, which takes place in May.

The Harrogate routes include the Beryl Burton cycleway, Staveley Nature Reserve, Pateley Bridge Glasshouses and the Valley Gardens.

A spokesperson for Open Country said:

“The free packs have been specially developed with wheelchair users in mind, but they could also support anyone who might struggle with exercise, limited mobility or even families with pushchairs.”

“Each trail features clear, colour maps for each location, with all the information needed to help plan a trip out, including access to facilities and points of interest.”

Open Country walks

The ‘breakfree packs’ also cover Leeds, Wakefield, Wharfedale and York. A range of audio walks are also available on the Open Country website or on their YouTube channel, so that people can enjoy fully descriptive walks from the comfort of their own home.

The charity also provides advice for landowners and organisations on accessibility issues through its Countryside Advice Service.

Packs are available to download here or the charity can to deliver or post packs in bulk to organisations. To request packs contact community@opencountry.org

An available breakfree map from Open Country, the Beryl Burton cycleway

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King Charles III remains patron of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society has announced that King Charles III will continue to be patron of the charity.

The news follows a review of more than 1,000 royal patronages and charity presidencies by the Royal Household, following the King’s accession.

Queen Elizabeth II was patron of the society between 1952 and 1997 before King Charles III became the society’s patron as The Prince of Wales in 1998.

His Majesty last visited the Great Yorkshire Show, which is organised by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, with Queen Camilla in 2021.

Allister Nixon, CEO of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, said:

“We are honoured and delighted to receive confirmation that King Charles III will continue to be Patron of the Society. We feel deeply privileged and very much look forward to welcoming the King and Queen back to the Show in the future.”

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society is the charity which organises the Great Yorkshire Show and runs businesses on the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate.

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Harrogate to celebrate Polish Heritage Day this weekend

Harrogate is set to celebrate the annual Polish Heritage Day at Harrogate High School.

The event, which will take place on Sunday, will begin at 12pm and is open to people from all backgrounds. It is the second event celebrating Polish Heritage Day hosted at the school.

The day aims to promote integration and raise funds for the Polish Saturday School, which meets every two weeks at the high school.

It will see stalls and activities showcasing Polish life and will begin with a football game followed by Polish food, folk dance and music.

There will also be family entertainment with four bouncy castles, face painting, a raffle and a tombola.

Aleksandra Timberlake, a teacher at the Polish school, said there are an estimated 2,000 people of Polish descent in the Harrogate area and four Polish shops.

She said:

“This year we are going even bigger. I’m sure everyone will find something interesting to do. I can assure you that it will be a good day out for the whole family.

“We would love to see everyone, not just Poles living in Harrogate.

“The school is going from strength to strength. We have got lots of new pupils and we are hoping for lots more next school year. We organise extra activities and days out.”

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Police stop driver with ‘insecure load’ in Harrogate

Police stopped a vehicle piled high with pallets on the outskirts of Harrogate yesterday (May 9).

Sargent Paul Cording from the roads policing team at North Yorkshire Police, shared details on X, formerly Twitter.

He said:

“A little bit of digging showed the vehicle to be on false plates along with the obvious insecure load.

“As often happens though one thing leads to another, and the driver tested positive for cannabis on a drug wipe.”

Sgt Cording said further inspection revealed the vehicle had false registration plates.

He added:

“The driver was arrested and an evidential blood sample has been obtained which will be sent of for analysis.”

One from yesterday when we stopped this on the outskirts of #Harrogate A little bit of digging showed the vehicle to be on false plates along with the obvious insecure load. As often happens though #OneThingLeadsToAnother & the driver tested positive for cannabis on a @DrugWipeUK pic.twitter.com/FjpEALmxz4

— Sgt Paul Cording BEM (@OscarRomeo1268) May 10, 2024

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Harrogate company installs 762 solar panels on roof

A company with headquarters in Harrogate has installed 762 solar panels across the roofs of both of its buildings.

Belzona, which manufactures polymeric repair and protection systems, has installed the panels at Claro Road.

The panels, which cover 1,486 square metres, will generate over 300,000 kWh of electricity per year.

Ofgem, the energy regulator for Great Britain, estimates the average UK home uses 2,700 kWh of electricity annually, which is enough to power 111 homes.

The panels were installed by Keighley firm R&B Mechanical & Electrical Ltd.

Solar panels on Belzona headquaters

Helen Parris, QSHE manager and head of Belzona’s environmental committee, said:

“We have been working for many years to reduce our environmental impact, and whilst we still have a way to go on our journey to net zero, the investment in these solar panels represents an exciting step forward.”

The company said it had estimated the panels will have produced enough energy to offset the energy invested in their entire lifecycle within a couple of years.

Belzona did not reveal the cost of the installation of the panels. When asked by the Stray Ferret it would only say it had been a “significant investment”.

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Future of Harrogate shop revealed

Accessorize in Harrogate is to reopen next week — but its sister shop Monsoon has permanently closed.

The two shops shared a unit at 20-22 James Street, where customers visited Monsoon, via the James Street entrance and Accessorize via a door at the back.

Both closed last month and although signs in the window said ‘sorry, we’re closed but this isn’t goodbye forever’ and ‘be right back’, the unit was described as ‘permanently closed’ on Google.

This prompted speculation neither business would return but as reported by the Stray Ferret, the site will reopen after the refit.

Gifts and homeware specialist Accessorize will welcome customers back on Friday, May 17 — but Monsoon will not return.

Accessorize storefront Harrogate

An Accessorize spokesperson told the Stray Ferret today:

“The Monsoon shop has now closed, and this is now only an Accessorize store with a homeware focus.”

Accessorize told the Stray Ferret the refurbished store will offer “a more diverse selection of gifting categories such as bridal, home and summer”, as well as self-care and men’s gifting products.

Paul Thomas, retail director at Accessorize said:

“We are excited to introduce our customers to our exciting new store concept of gifting and homeware.

“The new design store and gifting collection is just some of the many exciting features we have in store for our customers, and we can’t wait for them to experience everything the store has to offer.”

Accessorize will officially reopen May 17 at 9.30am. The closest Monsoon store will now be York.

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Police say wanted man could be in Harrogate

A man wanted by police is believed to have been seen in Harrogate, police have said.

Lincolnshire Police said the last possible sighting of James Joseph Smyth was in Harrogate on May 1. He also has connections with Leeds.

Smyth, aged 57, absconded from the open prison North Sea Camp in Freiston, Boston, on Tuesday, April 30, following an agreed temporary release.

He is serving a sentence for grievous bodily harm and robbery.

Lincolnshire Police said in a statement:

“We are continuing enquiries in the Yorkshire area following this sighting and due to Smyth’s links with West Yorkshire.”

Officers described Smyth as white, 6ft,1ins tall, and of slim build. The statement added:

“He has long grey-brown hair (occasionally worn in a top knot), a long grey beard and moustache, and green eyes.  He has a scar on his nose and left eye lid.

“He also has a distinctive tattoo on his left wrist with the words ‘Daniel’ and ‘Tracey’, as well as a tattoo of a devil on his right shoulder.”

Members of the public are advised not to approach him but if you see him to call 101 or email force.control@lincs.police.uk quoting ‘incident 387 of 30 April’ in the subject line.

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Halfpenny Lane closure extended in Knaresborough

Roadworks on a busy Knaresborough road have again been extended.

Northern Gas Networks is carrying out exploratory work to divert underground infrastructure at the railway bridge on Halfpenny Lane.

Work started on March 25 and was due to end in April but was extended until next week, May 17.

Northern Gas Networks, which is responsible for gas supply, said today work has been further delayed for six weeks, which means it is likely to continue for most of June.

The closure extending from the bridge to the roundabout next to Old Penny Gate will remain in place until additional works are complete and a signed diversion is in place.

Dominic Nevison, site manager at Northern Gas Networks, said:

“We have been working with other utilities to carefully plan this work to minimise the impact on road users and members of the public.

“Upon completion of our exploratory work we had originally planned to divert the sewer in the affected area of where our pipe is located. Unfortunately, this cannot be done due to the complexity of the work involved.

“We will therefore we need to divert the medium pressure gas main; this means that the work will need to continue and we are expecting this to take approximately six weeks to compete.

“We apologise for inconvenience caused and would like to reassure everyone that we will be working hard to complete the work so that we can reopen the road as soon as possible.”

The company said there would be no impact on the gas supplies to homes and businesses in the area.

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Harrogate school judged ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted

A  Harrogate primary school has received an ‘outstanding’ rating in its latest Ofsted report.

Inspectors praised Western Primary School on Cold Bath Road for its “rich and inclusive curriculum” in a report that also said “the school ensures that all pupils achieve well”.

It said pupils “behave consistently well” and that the school “supports pupils’ emotional needs well” and ensure “all subjects are well sequenced and progressive”.

The report added:

“Pupils are extremely proud to attend this happy and vibrant school. Pupils flourish here. They talk with enthusiasm and interest about their learning.”

The 500-pupil school, which is part of the Red Kite Learning Trust, is praised for promoting a love of reading and learning and for providing “highly effective, targeted support to pupils who need it.”

The report says last year’s published outcomes in mathematics “were not in line with previous years” but adds:

“Overall, however, the school’s implementation of the planned learning in mathematics is strong. The school is swift to intervene if pupils are struggling to master a particular concept. Pupils speak very positively about mathematics.”

Inspectors said “trustees and governors provide highly effective support and challenge to the school” and also praised leaders.

Headteacher Tim Broad, who is retiring this summer, said:

“I am delighted with the outcome of our recent inspection, which validates not only the tremendous, day-to-day work of our wonderful staff team, but also the remarkable nature of the entire Western community which works together tirelessly in the best interests of all our pupils.

“I am very proud to lead such an exceptional group of staff and pupils and would like to extend my gratitude and admiration to everyone associated with our school for the contribution they have made, and continue to make, to the success story that is Western Primary School.”

Headteacher Mr Tim Broad

Formed in 2015, Red Kite Learning Trust has 14 schools in north and west Yorkshire including Oatlands Junior School and Harrogate Grammar School.

Western was also rated ‘outstanding’ in its previous inspection in 2018.

Red Kite Teacher Training receives ‘outstanding’ rating

Red Kite Teacher Training, based in Harrogate, has also received an ‘outstanding’ rating from Ofsted.

Red Kite Teacher Training works in partnership with schools across the region, as well as the University of Leeds, to train primary and secondary teachers.

Ofsted Inspectors found that “trainees flourish at Red Kite Teacher Training” and “experience high-quality training.”

Red Kite Teacher Training 

The report said:

“Training is driven by a strong vision of excellence that is shared and exceptionally well realised. Trainees are enthused by these experiences and by the programme as a whole. They are truly excited about embarking on their teaching careers.”

Victoria Lickley, director of Red Kite Teacher Training. said:

“We are delighted to receive such high praise from Ofsted, which reflects our strong partnerships with schools and dedication to providing an exceptional training experience for our aspiring teachers.”

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