The leader of Harrogate and Knaresborough’s Liberal Democrats has revealed she received legal “threats” from the council leader and local MP over alleged defamatory statements.
Councillor Pat Marsh said one letter from lawyers representing Conservative council leader Richard Cooper included demands for £5,000.
The letters, which Cllr Marsh waived in her hand at the meeting, relate to claims she made that Cllr Cooper was not “direct in condemning” the former North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Philip Allott who resigned last October over comments he made on the murder of Sarah Everard.
At a Harrogate Borough Council meeting that month, Cllr Cooper said Mr Allott’s previous comments that women needed to be “streetwise” were “very, very wrong.”
Councillor Cooper then repeated his remarks, saying there was “no credible defence” for what Mr Allott said. In an email sent to several media outlets after this, Cllr Marsh claimed “Cllr Cooper’s response did not lead to a direct condemnation”.
The legal letter to Cllr Marsh ended with a demand she pay £5,000 as “an interim payment” ahead of any legal proceedings:
An extract of the letter from a law firm representing Cllr Cooper.
Meanwhile, another letter from lawyers representing Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, demanded an apology from Cllr Marsh. This related to comments she made that a resident had become “caught up” in a “web” of problems because Cllr Cooper is employed by Mr Jones.
At a council meeting last night, Cllr Marsh said she believed the letters amounted to “harassment”. She said:
“I would like to make the chamber aware of two recent legal letters which I felt were threatening – I had one from Cllr Cooper and Andrew Jones MP.
“The legal letter from Cllr Cooper went on so far as to demand £5,000 from me personally.
“These letters made me feel extremely stressed – I considered them harassment and they forced me to seek legal advice to defend myself.”
In response, Cllr Cooper said last night:
“I’m afraid if you say something that is libellous and a lie, then you can expect legal activity.
“I’ve had it in my various roles going back as far as 1996.”
The Stray Ferret understands that neither letter led to any further action being taken against Cllr Marsh.
Calls for ‘positive’ campaign
The revelations came during last night’s meeting as Cllr Cooper made calls for a “positive and constructive” local election campaign ahead of elections to the new North Yorkshire Council on 5 May.
However, the meeting soon turned sour with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats trading blows on several issues, from their records on attending meetings to claims made in their campaign material.
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Later in the meeting, Cllr Cooper, who is not standing in the elections, said:
“I’m not going to get into this tit for tat.
“I tried to do something nice to enable us all to say to the people who will be elected – there will be some Liberal Democrats, some Conservatives – good luck to you, fight for all of us.
“I wish that could have been reciprocated in a rather less hostile way.
“Nonetheless, the sentiments expressed stand and, I believe, irrespective of the comments made, they stand for all of us.”
Cllr Cooper added:
Artizan café in Harrogate expands to second floor“We have worked together on the vast majority of things this council does well over the eight years that I’ve been leader.
“We agree on 99% of things but on the 1% of things we don’t agree about, we can make a hell of a lot of noise.”
Artizan café, which opened on Cambridge Road late last year, is set to expand to an upper floor.
The floor was initially used for offices and storage space. Due to increased demand, it will now be opened up to the public as an extended café area.
Artizan International was founded by Suzie Hart MBE in 2013.
Ms. Hart will be behind the design of the second floor, which will include the same tiles, mosaics and artisan textures on the ground floor.
The café was introduced to help people with disabilities learn hospitality skills and get into the job market.
Anna Maria Wilson, part-time manager at Artizan café, said:
“It was always in the plan. We are definitely doing it sooner than was anticipated because there was that increased demand.
“We have been so busy, that we needed the extra space. It is beautiful up there, and we aim for it to be more of a tranquil and relaxed area for people to enjoy.”
Although the official date is not yet known, the second floor should be open in a couple of weeks for customers to enjoy.
Specsavers Harrogate to join CUES scheme
Specsavers Harrogate is joining the Covid-19 Urgent Eye Service (CUES) scheme
Specsavers Harrogate has announced that it will be joining the NHS Covid-19 Urgent Eye Service programme.
Those with urgent eye health issues can visit the store for treatment under the CUES scheme.
The service was launched to reduce pressure on the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic.
Patients with urgent eye issues and in need of treatment will now be able to visit Specsavers Harrogate to have vision checks, which will be covered free-of-charge by the NHS.
Robert May, optometrist director at Specsavers Harrogate, said:
“The Cues scheme has been set up as we have the expertise and equipment in-store to deal with a range of eye-related emergencies.
“We’re seeing around one hundred customers every week through the scheme, which is definitely taking the pressure off the NHS’ services and waiting times.”
You can find out more about the CUES scheme here.
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Lender invests £3m in new Harrogate flats
Marketplace lender Assetz Capital has invested £3m into the development of new flats in Harrogate town centre.
Harrogate-based Tate Estates planned to build 12 two-bedroom apartments at 108 Station Parade by last year.
The development will be situated on 108 Station Parade in Harrogate central
However, the scheme encountered problems due to covid. Lockdowns and construction material shortage disrupted the building schedule.
Ciaran McGivern, relationship director for Assetz based in the north-east, acts as a retained advisor for Tate Estates.
He said:
“I’m delighted to be helping a high-quality client in Tate Estates with their development in Harrogate.
“We hope to continue the excellent working relationship we have established, and this is the first of many successful deals we can fund.”
Rhys Davies, group finance director of Tate Estates, said:
“It was fantastic to get this investment from Assetz on what will be the first in a series of platform development deals.”
It is now hoped the block of flats will be completed in the second quarter of this year.
Harrogate district entrepreneurs boosted by start-up competition
StriveLive, an initiative which helps start-ups, has run a competition to help grassroots entrepreneurs in the Harrogate district launch their business
The StriveLive Harrogate project was funded by Harrogate Borough Council and commissioned by the York and North Yorkshire Growth Hub.
Fourteen local entrepreneurs received help from StriveLive through a series of workshops, advice sessions and challenges over seven weeks.
The candidates then competed to impress business experts for the chance to win £2,500.
Business experts from the National Grid, Buying Hobbycraft, Harrogate Borough Council and YNY Growth Hub were included on the panel.
They awarded prizes to participants in five categories.
Karen Allen from Kidzplay Play Box picked up two awards. She won ‘most customer orientated’ and ‘best business concept’.
Hanna Dilley, founder of Benji’s Bites toddler food, won ‘best marketing,’ with Oliver Brown’s business, Wrapd Studios, winning ‘best branding’.
Ms Allen said:
“Strive popped up on my social media at a point when I was searching for support with the business.
“The company gave me the confidence to move forward, the understanding to face the challenges, and the connections within the local area to continue the support after the course finished.”
Clare Parish, from Four Legs Pet Care, and Graham Dodds, from GMD Home Improvements, both received Strive start-up awards.
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APS partners with Harrogate College on electric car charging course
APS, which runs a national electric vehicle charger repair and maintenance service in Harrogate, has partnered with Harrogate College to set up a training and recruitment programme.
Harrogate College will be introducing the new course to help the borough transition to electric cars.
Principal Danny Wild of Harrogate College said:
“We are determined to support emerging green technologies and have been working closely with local firms so we can provide the appropriately skilled, work-ready students they need.
“The electric vehicle sector is a rapidly growing one that represents a fantastic opportunity for both our students and local businesses.”
Despite having more electric vehicles than any other district in North Yorkshire, the Stray Ferret recently reported how Harrogate is one of the ‘worst prepared areas in the UK’ for transitioning to electric vehicles.
It was estimated that the borough had just one charging point for every 134 electric or hybrid cars.
However, APS Business Development Manager, John Dyson, defended the situation.
He said:
“It is ironic that Harrogate has been criticised so strongly for a lack of action over installing electric vehicle chargers when there actually is so much going on behind the scenes.
“Recent announcements by Transdev, that all Harrogate buses are to be electrified, and Harrogate Borough Council, which is to install 34 charge points in local car parks, gives a taste of just what is on its way.”
The level 3 award in the Installation and Commissioning of Electric Vehicle Charging Equipment will start in September at Harrogate College.
Linley & Simpson fundraise for children’s hospice
In training (from left) Callum Collbeck, Pawel Ziemak, Freddie Purdy, Adam Hughes and Josh Boocock
Linley & Simpson will start a year of fund-raising challenges in support of Martin’s House Children’s Hospice.
The estate agent, which has branches in Ripon and Wetherby, is marking its 25th anniversary by aiming to raise £25,000 for Martin House, based at Boston Spa.
The team has previously managed to raise £100,000 in support of the charity.
As part of the fundraise, they will abseil 50ft down the Cow and Calf rocks at Ilkley Moor. The following week, 40 colleagues will also face a 12k course of mud, ice and obstacles.
Emily Wilkinson, Wetherby Branch Manager at Linley & Simpson, said:
“The work of Martin House has touched the lives of our people in many ways, and we are pleased to be able to ‘give back’ through this initial set of events as well as a host of others that are in the pipeline.”
The challenge begins on June 16, with more information available on the website.
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Flaxby factory could send 300 homes to Guernsey
Flaxby-based modular housing developer Ilke Homes could manufacture 332 homes for a new housing scheme in Guernsey.
They would be built at Ilke’s factory and transported to Guernsey to be constructed on-site.
The Channel Islands Co-operative submitted plans for the development this week and include a car park and supermarket.
Nigel Banks, special projects manager for Ilke Homes, told the BBC:
“We have focussed on having homes that are very well insulated, they are also built using very sustainable materials – we have a big focus on having low emissions to the structures.
“The floors are manufactured then put on a trailer and transported to a harbour, then put on a charter vessel and then transported at night to the location.”
Harrogate BID to host culture and inclusion meeting
Harrogate BID will host a meeting next week at Hustle & Co in Harrogate.
Jane Slimming, founder of Culco, an organisation which helps businesses implement cultural programmes, will be the key speaker at the meeting. She is also CEO of Zeal, a Digital and Creative Agency.
Ms. Slimming is expected to speak about subjects around improving workplace culture and inclusion, the future of the workplace, and recruitment.
Jane Slimming
Harrogate Borough Council has worked closely with the company, helping businesses across Yorkshire. It also funded workshop participation hosted by Culco earlier this year.
Harrogate BID will also hear about plans for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in Harrogate.
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Harrogate district’s monthly business safari to be held
Harrogate District’s Chamber of Commerce is due to hold its monthly Business Safari event.
The members-only speed networking event will be held next week at St George’s Hotel.
You can sign up to the monthly agenda through the Harrogate Chamber website.
Plant competition for school children hosted by Johnsons of Whixley
Johnsons of Whixley in Harrogate is holding a competition for primary school children.
To celebrate the Queen’s platinum jubilee and gardening, £250 worth of plants will be sent to the winner’s school, including ten plants for their own home garden. Those in second and third place will also win a plant.
Children under the age of 11 can participate by drawing an imaginative Jubilee Garden. The form can be downloaded here.
Children must create a drawing of a jubilee garden as part of the competition
JW is a three-generation run family business which grows and supplies trees, shrubs and plants to UK-wide planting schemes.
The company plays an active part in the community, having collected donations for Ukraine and providing plants to Baby Rainbow Memorial Garden last month.
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Harrogate law firm opens new office in London
A Harrogate-based employment law firm has expanded its offices to London.
Boardside in London is close to St Paul’s Cathedral and the Bank of England. The location will mean it is easily accessible for clients in the city.
The company now has branches in three different regions, with its headquarters in Harrogate.
The firm wrote in its newsletter:
“Almost five years after launching our niche employment law practice in Yorkshire, we are delighted to announce that we now have a presence in the capital.
“We believe that by having offices in the two biggest legal centres (Leeds and London) in the country, it will be easier for us to meet clients from across the UK.”
Boardside is run by owners Richard Port and Nadine Martson.
Support for Ripon businesses
Ripon’s Business Improvement District has appointed the Place Support Partnership to help firm in Ripon save on running costs.
PSP will visit BID businesses to support and advise them on reducing costs associated with utility and trading bills.
Lilla Bathurst, manager of the BID, said:
“The Place Support Partnership offers various services and acts as a savings scheme to support businesses.
“During the consultation process, businesses identified that they would like 10% of their levy to go on business support.”
Ripon BID says it has also worked to make businesses aware of the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant.
OHLG grants totally £141,342 were distributed to hospitality businesses in Ripon which were negatively affected by the pandemic.
Harrogate BID provided a business grant of up to £750 last month, for qualifying businesses to improve paintwork, signage and accessibility.
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Harrogate Convention Centre to hold board gaming festival
A three-day board gaming festival will take place next weekend at Harrogate Convention Centre.
AireCon 2022, one of the biggest board gaming festivals in the UK, will run from March 11 to 13.
Attendees can expect a wide variety of games, product launches and special guests.
Guests include the creator of popular game CoraQuest and gaming YouTubers.
The festival was founded in 2015 when Mark Cooke set up a private mini-convention attended by friends in his Yorkshire flat. It has expanded each year and moved into Harrogate’s convention centre after selling out a smaller venue in 2016.
Mark said;
“The first public AireCon sold out and the entire venue was full. Every year it just keeps going beyond what we possibly could have imagined.
There’s something about board gaming that brings people together; it breaks down barriers between people, it’s a lot of fun and it’s time away from screens.”
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In 2017 the festival gained support from Nabil Homsi, who owns the board game store Travelling Man. The store now has several branches across the UK.
Travelling Man will provide more than 600 games for the event.
New to this year is the AireBus, a shuttle bus travelling from London to Harrogate with built in board gaming tables.
There are still a limited number of tickets left which can be bought here.
Retired Harrogate firefighter flies out to volunteer in UkraineA retired Harrogate firefighter has volunteered to go to Ukraine to help firefight in the war against Russian invasion.
Bruce Reid , who worked in the field for over thirty years, got in touch with the Ukrainian Embassy after seeing the crisis in the country to see if his skills could be put to use.
After successfully applying to join the war effort, he booked his own flights to Poland where he will meet with international assistance to be stationed wherever he is needed in Ukraine.
Mr Reid is due to fly tomorrow afternoon.
Despite retiring two years ago, he wanted to use his skills to aid people;
“I have no idea what I’ll be doing until I get there but I just wanted to use my thirty years in the service to offer aid.
I’m going into the unknown really.”
He is currently unsure how long he will stay in Ukraine but has reassured his family that he will only carry out his duty as a firefighter;
“I can’t be sure that I’ll get there and they’ll ask me to firefight, but if they ask me to fight I’ll be saying no.
I told my family that if I’m not needed as a firefighter I’ll be coming back home.”
He announced his decision on Facebook alongside this picture of his old kit;
Friends and family in the comments expressed their admiration for his decision;
“That is an amazing thing to do Bruce, your family must be proud and scared in equal measure”
“What a fantastic thing to do. Well done and stay safe out there.”
“You are a remarkable person Bruce! We will all miss you but know it’s what you need to do!”
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In 2015, Mr Reid was awarded an MBE for his services both as a firefighter and for charity.
In 2020, the Stray Ferret reported on how he and fellow firefighters in Harrogate cooked over 50 meals for residents in need.
The Stray Ferret will be in touch with Mr Reid as much as possible to report on his volunteering work and let you know how he is.
Harrogate Council raises £15,000 through cremation metal recoveryHarrogate Borough Council has presented the Motor Neurone Disease Association with £15,000, raised through recycling metals recovered from cremations.
The Yorkshire Dales branch of the MNDA was presented with the cheque on Thursday.
Every six months the council picks a charity to raise money for by recycling metals such as coffin parts and replacement joints, with consent from families.
Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a condition that attacks the nerves and spine to stop muscle movements. It kills more than half diagnosed within two years and there is currently no cure.
The Yorkshire Dales branch of the association is one of eighty across the country providing care for those with the illness and researching potential cures.
Councillor Andy Paraskos said;
“I’d like to thank those families who, during a difficult time, have consented to us recycling metals recovered. By raising this money, everyone involved has done their bit to helping local charities such as Motor Neurone Disease Association.”
The council has used this scheme in the past to raise money for charities such as Dementia Forward who received £10,000 in 2020.
Jenn Dodd, regional fundraiser for the MNDA, added;
“Without generous donations like this one from Harrogate Borough Council the Yorkshire Dales Branch and MND Association simply would not be able to provide its vital support services, fund research to find a cure and campaign and raise awareness of MND.”
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