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.
Read more:
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!”
Read more
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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Long Lands Common ponds ready for habitation
Three ponds have been built and filled at Long Lands Common with the hopes of encouraging newt habitation.
The ponds began construction in late January after planning permission was granted for the project.
It is unclear how long it will take before the ponds become inhabited by Great Crested Newts as migration will occur naturally over time.
The project was completed in collaboration with the Wildlife Trust and Natural England which helped to fund it.
It is part of a larger scheme which began in 2020 when a group of stakeholders bought the land to create Harrogate’s first common wildlife area between Bogs Lane and Bilton Lane and prevent development.
Read more
The common was opened to the public in summer 2021.
Long Lands Common secretary Chris Kitson said:
“The pond building was the first step to transform the area from a farm to a nature reserve, we’ve got a lot lined up to make the area more biodiverse.”
The group has also just finalised their woodland creation plan which involves the planting of trees and a variety of plants. They hope to begin a large scale scheme of planting in Autumn of this year.
In 2020, around 3,000 people bought shares in the land. The appeal raised £375,000 to purchase 30 acres of land near the Nidderdale Greenway and protect it from development.
An official open day was held on the land for people who pledged money in July.
Harrogate district responds to crisis in UkraineThe Harrogate district is responding to war in Ukraine by setting up various schemes to help those affected.
If you know of an initiative to provide help or support run by a person, charity, church, community group or business, let us know by calling the newsroom on 01423276197 or by emailing us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.
6.36pm: Ex-Ripon student’s video shows huge queues leaving Ukraine
Former Ripon Grammar School student Lewis Edwards has sent this video showing the huge queue of traffic at the Ukraine border waiting to get into Slovakia.
He and his partner Tanya Bogdanovska have managed to escape Ukraine and plan to set up a refugee shelter in Slovakia.
You can read more about their situation here and contribute to their gofundme page, which has now raised more than £4,000, here.
6pm: Ripon MP Julian Smith praises Shell decision
Skipton and Ripon Conservative MP has tweeted his support of a decision by Shell to abandon its joint ventures with Russian energy giant Gazprom.
Good decision by @Shell – hopefully they will be able to get further UKG support for their various projects focused on UK energy security and net zero https://t.co/E7k90qagyP
— Julian Smith MP (@JulianSmithUK) February 28, 2022
5.39pm: Hampsthwaite Church taking donations
St Thomas a Becket Church in Hampsthwaite is open for donations from 10am until 4pm until noon on Thursday when anything collected will be shipped to Poland.
Church member Jud Charlesworth offered to take in donations for those who can’t get to Harrogate’s Sowa Polish Shop after seeing their campaign on Facebook.
Since posting just yesterday the church has been inundated with donations; but the drive now has access to a storage unit so can continue to take items.
The church has asked that items be left in the baptistry area just by the main entrance.
4.58pm: Andrew Jones MP signs letter calling for ‘fullest possible support’ for refugees
Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones has issued a statement calling for as much support as possible for Ukrainian refugees.
Mr Jones said in a statement, which can be read in full here:
“The international community has come together to support Ukraine. Significant and growing sanctions have been imposed. I strongly agree with this. Sanctions are not consequence-free for the nations imposing them. Prices will rise here; our markets will suffer; there will be other consequences. But it is the right thing to do and we must hold fast to our resolve.
“And now, most importantly, we have to protect and support those fleeing this violence. Help has been provided to Ukraine directly, and to neighbouring countries to help with the influx of refugees they are facing and more Ukrainians with family members now able to bring them here. But we can and should go further.
“Today I have co-signed a letter to the Prime Minister calling for the fullest possible support for Ukrainian refugees. The letter says:
‘We urge the UK government to provide as much support as possible to our European partners who are currently the first safe havens for Ukrainian refugees, namely Poland, Moldova, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. We also hope our Ministers will seek a flexible and pragmatic approach to those Ukrainians wishing to seek temporary refuge in the UK until it is safe to return to their lives in their home country.‘
‘The United Kingdom cannot flag or fail, our message must be clear: Ukrainian victims of war seeking refuge are welcome.‘”
2.46pm: Harrogate to host 24-hour vigil tomorrow
A 24-hour vigil will begin at the war memorial in Harrogate tomorrow to show support with Ukraine in its war with Russia.
The vigil, which has been organised by Christopher and Lindis Percy, will start at 10am.
Further details are available here.
12.49pm: Ex-Ripon student’s gofundme page raises £3,400 so far
Former Ripon Grammar School student Lewis Edwards, 33, and Tanya Bogdanovska, 30, (pictured) hope to cross the border from Ukraine to Slovakia today and set up a shelter to help fellow refugees.
A gofundme page set up by Mr Edwards’ family has generated £3,400 so far.
You can read more here.
12.00pm: Two houses full of donations in Boroughbridge
Some of the donated items.
A Boroughbridge activist has teamed up with a local homeless shelter to collect donations for victims of the Ukraine invasion.
Laura Hutton, who runs the Facebook page Boroughbridge Chatter, has encouraged people to contact her on the page to arrange to send items. She said the emphasis was on essential items, such as baby items and pet food.
She said the response so far had been overwhelming, with two houses full of donations.
Ms Hutton said:
“Social media can bring a lot of hatred at times but people really rally around when help is needed. I want to thank everyone as I’m amazed by their generosity.”
Ms Hutton usually works alongside Sally Umpleby and Nik Noble in Boroughbridge’s shelter for vulnerable citizens. They collect food bank donations and make gift packages for those in need at Christmas.
11.36am: Sowa Polish shop overwhelmed by donations
Some of the donations.
A Polish shop in Harrogate has been overwhelmed with donations after encouraging people to give items for Ukrainian refugees.
Joanna Papros, from Sowa Polish shop, posted online on Saturday asking for people to drop off donations and has since received a huge response.
She has asked people to temporarily halt donations until it finds somewhere to store items, which will be sent to Poland for refugees arriving in the country.
Ms Papros told the Stray Ferret;
“I only expected a small response but people have been dropping off items from all over the county.”
While they have no storage to collect further items right now, the shop owners hope to get storage in the wider area and open donations back up.
Harrogate conductor Andrew Padmore to return for farewell choral concert
Harrogate Choral Society will welcome back one of its former longstanding conductors for a farewell concert this month.
Andrew Padmore was musical director of the society since 2005 until his retirement last year. But he has agreed to return to the Royal Hall on March 19 for a final performance.
The concert, which has been in the works since 2020 when it was postponed due to covid, includes Puccini’s Messa di Gloria and Rossini’s Stabat Mater.
Soloists include Sarah Power (soprano), Stephen Gadd (bass), Clare McCaldin (mezzo) and Austin Gunn (tenor). They will be accompanied by the choir and Manchester Camerata orchestra.
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The society is a mixed age, voice choir which has been running since the 19th Century.
Paul Jackson, co-chair of the choir, said;
“We are very pleased that Andrew is returning for this farewell concert, which includes, as Rossini himself rightly said, ‘music of the finest quality’. This will be an exciting evening.”
Tickets are £25 or £5 for concessions and can be bought from the box office at Harrogate Theatre.