Knaresborough Heritage Centre has announced it plans to open this month.

The centre, which celebrates and showcases Knaresborough’s rich history, will open on April 27 at 12 High Street.

It will offer gallery exhibitions, heritage information, children’s activities, guided walks, talks and a gift shop.

Visitors will be asked to make a minimum donation of £2. Accompanied under-16s will receive free entry.

The opening will mark the culmination of a long-running campaign to find larger and more suitable premises to the small gallery and office space that previously operated from a converted house at 8 York Place.

The association has spent almost £30,000 on refurbishing the former Printzone premises The site has been repainted and new flooring and bespoke lighting has been installed.

Knaresborough Town Museum Group was set up in 2019 to campaign for a new museum. Plans were first put to Harrogate Borough Council in 2020 to create the space. The museum group was renamed Knaresborough Museum Association and registered as a charity in 2021.

The centre will be open four days a week, on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sundays from 10am to 4pm.

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The new Starbucks site in Harrogate looks ready to open its doors and begin brewing, but its planned opening date is still unknown.

The coffee shop is set to open in the former Leon site on Wetherby Road. The unit was previously a Mediterranean fast-food restaurant and has been transformed into a drive-through coffee shop.

The Stray Ferret first reported that the site would become a Starbucks last August, when North Yorkshire Council granted planning permission to change the branding on the unit.

Permission was given for a total of 20 signs to be installed. Just over half of which would be illuminated, including totem signs, menus and directional signs around the drive-through.

Starbucks advertised for new staff  in December and in January the new signage was installed. The only Starbucks in Harrogate is currently on Cambridge Street in the town centre.

Today, the company told the Stray Ferret:

“We look forward to bringing the Starbucks experience to customers in Harrogate in the near future and will be in touch once we have more specific plans to share.”

The move comes as Leon, which opened at the site last June, closed its doors on April 2 with the loss of around 20 jobs.

It was operated by Blackburn-based EG Group, which also runs Starbucks franchises as well as brands including KFC and Greggs.

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• Birchfield Farm to get jam, honey and cake production building 

Plans to create a new building for producing jam, honey and cakes at Birchfield Farm at Summerbridge have been approved by North Yorkshire Council.

The proposed single storey facility will complement the farm’s existing tea room and ice cream parlour.

Birchfield Farm is a family run working farm between Harrogate and Pateley Bridge with a range of children’s attractions, including sheep, pigs, goats, and donkeys. It also offers lamb feeding, a maze and ‘pick your own’ events including strawberries and a pumpkin festival.

Plans were submitted on behalf of the applicant by Skipton based rural property planning and development specialists David Hill.

Plans submitted to the council said:

“Over the past few years, the applicant has expanded the farming enterprise to meet demand, by increasing stock numbers and erecting new buildings, as well as improving the onsite ice cream parlour and tearoom.

“The proposal will create an area for producing jam, honey and baked goods as part of the existing farm diversification. This will support the existing business as well as helping the rural economy through the sale of the produce made on the farm.

“Jam will be made from the fruit grown on the farm and honey made from the bees kept on the farm.”

The building, which will measure 11.4 metres by 6.3 metres, will be situated in a concrete yard next to a farm building.

Case officer Edward Bainbridge’s planning report said:

“When assessing the development against the relevant policies and guidance highlighted above it is considered that the overall landscape and visual impact of the proposal, including its impact on the AONB is acceptable.”

The Stray Ferret has approached Birchfield Farm for comment.

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Harrogate Choir Festival will take place this Saturday (April 13).

Eight choirs are preparing to participate in this year’s festival at the Royal Hall in Harrogate.

The event showcases choirs from Harrogate and the surrounding area. During the evening, each choir will perform songs of their choice before coming together on stage for a finale.

The choirs taking part are The Stray Notes, The Daytones, Harrogate Male Voice Choir, Knot Another Choir, Love Pop Choir, St John Fisher’s Junior School Choir, The Skipton Choir and Yorkshire Voices.

Royal Hall, Image: Jim Counter

The first choir festival took place last year at Harrogate Theatre. The event is moving the larger Royal Hall this year to enable more choirs to take part. There are also plans to add a matinee performance next year.

The festival is being hosted by The Stray Notes, a Harrogate-based community choir, and is the brainchild of its musical director, Elizabeth Linfoot.

Elizabeth Linfoot

Ms Linfoot said:

“We have so many amazing community choirs in and around Harrogate. My aim was to unite them under one roof to celebrate the power and joy of singing together, so it’s wonderful to see how the festival is growing each year.

“Being part of a choir has been proved to be good for people’s health. Among other benefits, it improves breathing, as well as promoting better physical and mental health, not to mention the social and emotional connection with other choir members.”

The event starts at 7pm on Saturday April 13. Tickets from £12.50 are available here.

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An artist with a gallery in Harrogate has created a woodland in memory of the felled Sycamore Gap tree.

Lucy Pittaway painted an image of the famous tree with a Northern Lights backdrop after being moved by its destruction in September.

In December she vowed to plant a tree for every print sold and sought the help of a landowner to use the trees to create a public woodland. Almost 2,400 paintings have been bought so far.

The newly created Lucy Pittaway Sycamore Gap Trail near Masham will be publicly accessible and aims to bring new life to an area of the Swinton Estate devastated by larch tree disease.

Visitors to the trail will follow a pathway formed by chippings from the felled larch trees on a woodland walk which will also feature artistic installations, areas to relax and education boards.

Lucy Pittaway at the easel with her Sycamore Gap Tree painting.

Ms Pittaway, whose Harrogate gallery is on James Street, said:

“Like everyone else I was so saddened to hear about the felling of the tree, to now see this new woodland coming to life is wonderful and I’m so grateful to everyone who has helped us come this far.”

Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, owner of the Swinton Estate, answered the call for the help of a landowner and she joined Ms Pittaway in planting the first of the new saplings.

Ms Cunliffe-Lister said:

“Like many areas of the countryside we have lost so many trees from larch blight and so regenerating the area through this project is a perfect fit, I think we are appreciating more and more the importance of conservation and the positive impact that trees and the countryside have on our well-being.”

Lucy Pittaway (left) with Swinton Estate owner Felicity Cunliffe-Lister.

The first 600 saplings will be planted during April, mainly sycamore along with oak, rowan, hazel and other native trees. The estate’s forestry team will then plant hundreds more saplings over the coming months and more mature species from the autumn.

The new woodland will regenerate part of the plantation that surrounds a 200-year-old folly known as the Druid’s Temple. In recent years the area has lost many trees to the fungal disease phytophthora ramorum that has ravaged trees across Britain.

Ms Pittaway added:

“I hope this is an area that can be used for relaxation for generations to come, If it can inspire people’s interest in art and the countryside then the legacy of the Sycamore Gap tree will be a positive one.”

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• Ripon Grammar student organises charity concert for paralysed 15-year-old 

A Ripon student is organising a fundraising concert in aid of paralysed Ripon Grammar student Alan Nowicki.

Daniel McClean, 17, is organising the event to take place next week.

In December, 15-year-old Alan had a life-changing accident that left him paralysed from the waist down. He fell from a pull-up bar in his bedroom and as he landed, hit his head on the hard floor.

Alan was rushed to Leeds General Infirmary where it was discovered he had suffered a spinal fracture resulting in a severe spinal cord injury. After 11 days and emergency surgery, he was transferred to Wakefield Pinderfields Hospital.

Alan’s mum, Kamila began a £20,000 fundraising campaign to fly her son to Poland for rehabilitation after she was quoted UK treatments at over £10,000 a week. The fundraiser is still live and has now reached over £23,000.

Kamila said:

“Most of it has been spent already on our nine-week rehab stay, flights, wheelchair and other rehabilitation equipment that I’ve bought for home use. I don’t have a top figure in mind really – every little helps.

“Alan is doing really well, he’s super strong and fit, positive thinking throughout. No change in terms of the paralysis but he has regained feeling further down on his tummy, so fingers crossed.”

Alan Nowicki at the Polish rehabilitation centre, Donum Corde.

Alan aims to get back to school to sit his GCSEs and begin A-levels. Before the accident he was in the RAF Air Cadets and aspires to be a pilot, a dream Daniel McClean shares.

Daniel said:

“When I heard what was happening and what we had in common it struck a special chord. For someone wanting to be a pilot it is potentially a career-ending injury.

“I don’t know Alan but when I read about his accident I couldn’t abide the thought that the help he needed wasn’t immediately being provided to him. It really struck me that I or anyone could be in that situation.”

Three student bands will take part in the concert. Mr McClean is a drummer in the band Yellow Number 5, which is among them. He told the Stray Ferret he aims to raise over £1,000 towards Alan’s treatment.

Daniel McClean’s band, Yellow Number 5

He said:

“I have spoken with Alan’s family and had confirmation that they are coming to the concert. They are very grateful we are doing this. I am also very grateful to Ripon Grammar for going out of their way to support me with this. This is definitely the biggest thing I have organised but everyone has been very supportive and at the end of the day it is about getting Alan the care he needs.”

The concert is among a number of fundraising events organised by members of the Ripon Grammar School community, including a home baked foods stall run by students and a non-uniform day where students paid £2 each to wear non-uniform.

The concert will take place April 18 from 7.30-10pm and is only open to students of Ripon Grammar School and their families. There is no ticket fee but volunteers will have donation buckets at the event. To donate online, click here.

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Plans to merge three Ripon doctors’ surgeries have been limited to two surgeries after it was revealed the third practice was in a “poor financial position”.

A proposed merger between North House Surgery, Park Street Surgery and Ripon Spa Surgery was scheduled to happen on July 1, 2024.

North House Surgery said at the time the move would improve patient care, safeguard healthcare in Ripon, enable patients to have a stronger voice and trigger economies of scale.

But a social media post signed by North House partners Dr Kate Dickinson, Dr Peter Johnson and Dr Hannah Thomas on Friday revealed only two of the surgeries — North House and Park Street — will now merge. They will become known as Fountains Health.

Spa Surgery will no longer be involved.

The post said:

“Unfortunately, during the due diligence process, Ripon Spa Surgery were found to be in an unexpectedly poor financial position. They have permitted us to share this sensitive piece of information. As a result of this situation North House and Park Street partners do not feel able to merge with Ripon Spa at this time and so they will no longer be involved in the merger process.

“This is hugely disappointing for all concerned as we have all been working closely on these plans for some time and everyone had been looking forward to working together as part of a larger combined team at Fountains Health. We still believe that a merger between North House Surgery and Park Street Surgery is a positive option for our practice, its patients and our staff.”

Ripon Spa Surgery

The merger has now been delayed until October this year due to the change in plans.

North Spa Surgery said:

“The proposed date to merge has been put back to October 2024 to allow us extra time to complete the work that is now needed to enable a smooth merger for both our patients and staff.

“To help us achieve this, there will be four afternoons over the next six months when the two practices will need to close so that staff can be brought together to complete this important work. During these times, patients will have access to the out of hours service. We will provide a further update to patients on the progress of the merger in the summer.”

No further details on what will happen to Spa Surgery patients were revealed in the post.

Park Street surgery, Ripon.

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A group of Harrogate and Ripon men linked to serious and organised crime have been jailed today (Monday, April 8) for a collective 25 years and 11 months.

The court heard how the following gang members were linked to an organised crime group who’d been involved in a dispute with a rival group.

• Rivers Lee Wilson, 23, of St Johns Walk, Bridlington, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon. He has been jailed for 10 years and two months.
• William Fuller McMillan, 24, of HMP Hull, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and possession of a prohibited weapon. He has been jailed for 10 years and eight months.
• William Henley Davy, 20, of HMP Hull, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery. He has been jailed for three years and six months.
• Philip Dean Wilson, 45, of Nora Avenue, Knaresborough, pleaded guilty to assisting an offender. He has been jailed for 19 months.

Between Friday 6 and Monday January 9 2023,  North Yorkshire Police organised crime unit carried out an investigation into a suspected organised crime group that was active in the Harrogate district.

Image from footage captured during the arrest

According to a North Yorkshire Police media release today, police gathered intelligence suggesting a man had been kidnapped and held against his will.

It was established Rivers Wilson and Fuller McMillan were preparing to kidnap the victim and extort him for money, believing that he had a large amount of cash stashed in two addresses in Harrogate.

Information was obtained that Rivers Wilson and Fuller McMillan were planning to use force against the victim. At the time Rivers Wilson, Fuller McMillan, Philip Wilson and two other gang members had located and taken the victim using force. William Davy visited the two addresses and recovered cash from where the victim had it stored.

Philip Wilson allowed his vehicle to be used to kidnap the victim and commit the offence.  Following the kidnap Philip Wilson arranged for the disposal of his vehicle to destroy any forensic evidence.

After recovering the cash, William Davy communicated the news with Rivers Wilson and Fuller McMillan and the victim was then released. Intelligence indicated that the amount of cash stolen from the victim was approximately £70,000.

The investigation found evidence to show that Rivers Wilson and Fuller McMillan subsequently and unknowingly at the time had robbed a rival organised crime group from West Yorkshire.

Further intelligence led officers to believe that Rivers Wilson, Fuller McMillan and another gang member were arranging to source a sawn-off shotgun and live ammunition. They then jointly sourced the firearm and ammunition in order to cause fear to those who sought retribution having had their cash stolen by the gang.

The shotgun found by North Yorkshire Police

A police helicopter was deployed and used to track the gang as they were travelling with the firearm and live ammunition and believed they were getting their ‘crew’ together in readiness to confront the rival gang.

At this point, armed response officers actioned a hard stop of one of the vehicles and detained three members of the gang which included Rivers Wilson and Fuller McMillan and recovered both their vehicles.

Rivers Wilson, Fuller McMillan and another gang member were ordered to get out the vehicle at gun point and were arrested on suspicion of conspiring to kidnap.

Both Rivers Wilson and Fuller McMillan’s vehicles were forensically examined, and a long package was recovered in the back seat of Fuller McMillan’s vehicle. Examination of this package showed that it contained a sawn-off shotgun, with four live shotgun cartridges.

The shotgun was heavily wrapped in a bin bag and paper. In a further search, seven more shotgun cartridges were found wrapped in a balaclava within a boxing glove in the vehicle.

NPAS police helicopter footage

Detective constable Helen Quaife, of North Yorkshire Police’s serious and organised crime unit, said:

“We have seen nationally how the use of weapons used by feuding gang members can devastate families and communities. This type of crime will not be tolerated in North Yorkshire.

“The sawn-off shotgun was viable and along with its ammunition was intended to be used.

“This investigation was conducted meticulously with a large number of enquiries conducted dealing with witnesses, forensics, CCTV and specialist expert evidence. The sentences imposed on these gang members illustrates just how serious these offences are taken. I hope this will be a warning to others who think the use of weapons will be tolerated within our communities.  We will intervene, and people will be punished, to keep our communities safe.”

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The Harrogate Inn has been named the best pub in the county at the Pub & Bar Magazine’s 2024 awards.

The inn opened after a multi-million-pound renovation in July 2023. One of the major changes from its previous incarnation as the St George Hotel was the new Barking George bar within the Ripon Road venue.

Owned by Newcastle-based pub company the Inn Collection Group, Barking George hosts live music on Friday nights and has an outdoor terrace overlooking the hustle and bustle of Crescent Gardens.

Inside the Barking George

General manager Henry White said:

“We’re naturally delighted to have picked up the award for North Yorkshire. To be named best in a county where there is some serious competition is humbling. Since opening in July, it has been great to see the bar establish itself and the team settle into providing a welcoming place for people to come and we’re looking forward to our first full summer this year.”

The Inn Collection Group, which also owns the Ripon Inn and the Knaresborough Inn, won three accolades at the National Pub and Bar Awards.

The Bull’s Head Inn and The Swan Grasmere were named as the best pubs in Gwynedd and Cumbria respectively.

Tristan O’ Hana, editor of Pub & Bar magazine said award winners “represent all that is great about the modern on-trade”.

The winners will now go on to the National Pub & Bar Awards in London this June, where 15 regional winners and an overall champion will be revealed.

Barking George bar

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