Thousands lined the streets of Harrogate today as a colourful parade of dancers, costumes and music from all over the globe made its way from the centre of town to Valley Gardens.

This year’s Carnival was paid for by Harrogate Borough Council‘s tourism body, Destination Harrogate, and was put on by Harrogate International Festivals. Unlike the last carnival in 2019 when the weather was atrocious, this year the rain held off allowing everyone to have a great time.

Here are some images that aim to capture that carnival spirit:

Harrogate Borough Council has submitted a planning application to install a temporary gym at  Ripon Leisure Centre.

It comes after an investigation into ground conditions beneath the older half of the leisure centre after an underground void was discovered in 2020.

The first floor of the leisure centre is currently open but the ground floor remains closed because of concerns over safety.

The council said the void is understood to have been “present for a number of years and was only discovered when the reinforced concrete slab, which provides the foundation for the new swimming pool, was cast.”

The temporary gym – which will be situated in the car park next to the main entrance – is due to open in the autumn whilst ground stabilisation works take place.

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Councillor Stanley Lumley, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, and chair of the board of directors at Brimhams Active, said:

“We remain committed to enabling people to enjoy physical activity. By providing a temporary gym, while the ground stabilisation works take place, we can minimise the disruption to current and potential customers and ensure they can continue to maintain their health and wellbeing goals.”

The funeral of much-loved Harrogate historian, Malcolm Neesam, took place this afternoon at Christ Church on the Stray.

The humanist service saw friends and family pay tribute to Mr Neesam, whose work to document and archive the history of Harrogate has been so admired.

Mr Neesam wrote some of the most comprehensive histories of the town. His last chronicle Wells and Swells: The Golden Age of the Harrogate Spa 1842-1923, was published in April.

He died in the early hours of his 76th birthday.

In her introduction the celebrant, Michelle Burns, talked of Mr Neesam’s “devotion to conservation” and how his family and friends were so important to him.

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Amongst those who spoke were friends Edward Barnwell and fellow Harrogate historian, Anne Smith.

Mr Barnwell said Mr Neesam “had been an important part of my life. Harrogate has lost a great man, I have lost a dear friend.”

Professor Paul Jennings said Mr Neesam’s work had been a “magnificent achievement” and that very few English cities and towns had a historian like Malcolm Neesam.

At the wake after the service, Stuart Holland, of Harrogate Civic Society said Harrogate Borough Council had committed to creating a lasting memorial to Mr Neesam, but a decision on what that would be was yet to be decided.

He also said that the civic society was keen to work with others to erect a plaque in the town in his memory.

Love Brownies has gone into liquidation but said that its Harrogate store, which is a franchise, will stay open.

The company said it had suffered  “unsustainable” losses and liquidators were appointed to its Ilkley headquarters at the end of last week.

Lee and Chantelle Teal set up Love Brownies in 2009 with the “ambition of baking the ultimate chocolate brownie and making people smile”. It went onto to win three gold stars from the Great Taste Awards in 2015 and expanded rapidly with a new bakery at Howgill.

In a statement included in correspondence sent to creditors it said:

“Whilst the expansion had led to increased revenues, the company has also been adversely affected by covid, significant increases in raw material costs and spiralling expansion costs. As a result of this, the company incurred significant losses of £359,095 in the 10-month period to May 2022 which were unsustainable.

“The impact of these losses on cashflow resulted in the directors seeking investment from a third party known to them who had expressed an interest in purchasing the company.

“Unfortunately, after a period of working with the private investor, a suitable offer was not received and ultimately the directors sought advice to place the company in liquidation.”

“Chantelle and I would like to thank everyone who has been with us through a very difficult time. Our plan now is to rebuild Love Brownies from the bottom up. The Harrogate store is fantastic. It’s still the original team, they do a great job for us and they will keep going.”

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Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

Newtons Solicitors is to move to larger premises in Ripon.

The Harrogate-based firm has nine offices across Yorkshire and the North East; it employs 90 staff and has an annual fee income of £6m.  It’s current Ripon office is based on Kirkgate.

Managing director Chris Newton told the Stray Ferret:

“An opportunity arose to purchase our own premises in Ripon. The Ripon office is very good for business.

“We saw a good new location in Market Square and seized the opportunity. It’s the old Yorkshire Bank office and needs a lot of refurbishment work. That work is underway and we hope to be in by November in time for Christmas. “

Six staff work at the current Kirkgate Ripon office. Mr Newton said he hoped that number would expand with the new premises.

The interior of the building on Market Square

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New charity store in Harrogate

The charity has secured the site of the former Porters store on Oxford Street as part of its plans to open shops on every high street in Yorkshire.

Yorkshire Cancer Research has been based in the spa town of Harrogate since 1978.

Funds raised at the shop will help fund research to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer in Yorkshire.

Juliet Glendinning, director of Yorkshire Cancer Research said:

“Harrogate has been home to Yorkshire Cancer Research for over four decades, and we have always felt very lucky to be an integral part of this beautiful town…

“With the opening of a new shop in the heart of the town, we look forward to becoming an even bigger part of the fabric of Harrogate.

“Our charity shops play a vital role in raising funds to support pioneering research, and the new store means we can offer volunteering and employment opportunities while contributing to the local high street.”

The new shop will be run by manager Kate Morris, who said:

“I am so excited about the opening of a Yorkshire Cancer Research shop in Harrogate. It is so great working for Yorkshire Cancer Research, knowing that we are playing a part in raising money to fund vital research and really having an impact on the lives of people with cancer, right here in Yorkshire.”

While the shop is being prepared for opening, good quality clothes, homewares, toys, books, small electrical and furniture can be dropped off at the charity’s donation centre at i2D Hornbeam Park Oval, Harrogate, HG2 8RB. The donation centre is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

Residents in Ripon are being asked to nominate people who they feel make a positive contribution to life in the city.

The St Wilfrid’s Stars scheme has been designed by the organisation Ripon Together to thank “those people and organisations who do so much for Ripon”.

The Very Reverend John Dobson, Dean of Ripon and chair of Ripon Together (pictured above), said:

“Ripon is an incredible city, full of wonderful people who do so much for the community.

“Many are volunteers who give much of themselves, and also receive much in return, enjoying what they do. There are also many organisations vital to our life.

“None of these individuals and organisations do what they do in order to gain recognition. But this shouldn’t stop us wanting to express our gratitude by recognising them in this way.”

This year marks the 1,350th anniversary of the building of the cathedral’s crypt by St. Wilfrid, whose symbol is the star.

The plan is to display a star in the cathedral for each person or body nominated.

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Simon Hewitt, Ripon Together director, said,

”We want to fill the cathedral with stars, but that can only happen if people nominate those they believe should be recognised.

“The same person or body can be nominated in several different categories and people can make as many nominations for different people as they want.

“The point is to nominate all those we wish to thank, not just those we think might win in any category.”

As well as volunteer of the year, there’ll be awards in the following categories:

Business – A business or individual who has demonstrated a significant achievement in the development of their business during the past year.

Community – An individual who has made a difference to local people or the wider local community.

Culture – The organisation or individual who has made a significant contribution to cultural activities in the Ripon locality.

Sports – An individual who has excelled in their sport during the past year.

Tourism – The organisation that can demonstrate a significant contribution to improving the locality’s offering as a tourism destination over the past year.

Environment – An individual or organisation that has made a significant contribution to protecting or improving the environment during the past year.

Youth – The young person (up to 18 years of age) who has demonstrated a significant achievement during the past year.

Nomination forms can be obtained from the cathedral, the library and Community House on Allhallowgate, or downloaded here.

They can be returned to the same places or emailed to info@ripontogether.com.

The deadline for nominations is August 31.

Temporary lights on Harrogate’s Wetherby road and Knaresborough road will remain in place until Thursday, Yorkshire Water said this afternoon.

Yorkshire Water is working to repair pipes near Harrogate Town AFC on Wetherby road and near Drake’s Fish and Chip Shop on Knaresborough Road.  Both have caused traffic delays.

The work comes as the problem was first identified by the company yesterday, when it said customers in the area could be experiencing low water pressure as a result.

The company issued a statement:

“Both bursts caused significant consequential damage to the road surfaces, which will need to be repaired before the roads can reopen.

“We are expecting both roads to reopen on Thursday.

“We apologise for the inconvenience and are working hard to keep the disruption to a minimum with manned operation of the lights throughout the day”.

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Work on the water main on Wetherby Road.

Rishi Sunak was warmly received at a hustings in Masham yesterday as he tried to garner support to become the next Conservative party leader and Prime Minister.

Mr Sunak took questions from a crowd of more than a hundred party members at the Black Sheep Brewery. He was asked about a wide range of issues from local farming to China.

Mr Sunak is in the final stages of a leadership contest with foreign secretary Liz Truss, to become the next Conservative leader and Prime Minister.

Both need the votes of Conservative party members. Mr Sunak, so far, is behind in the polls.

Amongst those present at the hustings in Masham was Ripon and Skipton MP, Julian Smith and Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, Andrew Jones.  Both are backing Mr Sunak.

Mr Smith tweeted after the event:

Great to welcome @RishiSunak to a packed @BlackSheepBeer in #masham today. Excellent feedback from @conservatives members across North Yorkshire #Ready4Rishi pic.twitter.com/aCY9s3gZy2

— Julian Smith MP (@JulianSmithUK) July 24, 2022

Chris Brown, a former Harrogate Borough councillor, asked Mr Sunak a question about the serious problems facing farming – particularly the issue of volatile prices.

He was happy with Mr Sunak’s answer:

“He said he’d been on a diary farm and a pig farm and had actually worked not just visited. I was impressed by that. He’d done more than just homework. I was impressed that he had an understanding of farming.”

Mr Brown though said he remained undecided about who to vote for and was waiting to hear from Liz Truss who he thought would also visit the region.

Mr Sunak’s campaign has centred on not lowering taxes in the short term to curb inflation.  Another attendee, Nick Brown, conservative councillor on both Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council, said he felt many there agreed with this approach:

“I think there were a fair number there who were predisposed towards him. Sound money is what’s really important, keeping a check on inflation.

“The majority of younger people won’t remember the 1970s – I had to pay 19% interest on my mortgage! People do not understand how inflation can cripple families.”

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Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

Harrogate College in line for sustainable education award

Harrogate College has been shortlisted for a Green Gown Award, recognising the best efforts to build sustainability through education.

The college is nominated in the Tomorrow’s Employees category for “feedback driven curriculums brought to life through collaboration: embedding sustainability and excelling in retrofit provision”.

It faces competition from six other institutions, including the University of Aberdeen, Nottingham Trent University and York St John.

The category called for entries which demonstrated students were leaving education “future-fit” with an understanding of a sustainable industry and economy.

Harrogate College’s cultural, contemporary and heritage studies programme manager, Jason Parry, said:

“Taking college-wide steps to reduce our carbon footprint while supplying the green skills that our local economy needs is a key part of what we do.

“An important aspect of that over the past year has been our work, with Zero Carbon Harrogate, to promote eco-renovation through hosting special courses and information events.

“We are proud to be shortlisted, for a second year running, for a Green Gown award. It is a sign that the college’s work to become a centre of green excellence, by working with and supporting our many local partners, is being recognised.”

The awards are organised by the EAUC, an alliance for sustainability leadership in education, and sponsored by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Professor Sir Duncan Wingham, executive chair of the Natural Environment Research Council, said:

“Congratulate all the finalists. Their work is helping us to meet the challenge of ensuring environmental sustainability is an inherent part of research and innovation excellence.”

The awards will be presented in a ceremony at Loughborough University on November 8.

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Cycling fundraiser in memory of Knaresborough company’s employee

An employee of pest control specialist Pelsis Group is cycling 550 miles from the Netherlands to the company’s Knaresborough headquarters to fundraise in memory of a former colleague.

Sales manager Chris Rodgers is undertaking the challenge to help raise funds for Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), which former Pelsis employee Derek Hurst died from in 2019 aged 49.

Named the “Tour de Derek”, the 13-day challenge will see Chris cycle from Pelsis’s office in Barneveld, the Netherlands, via its office in Bornem, Belgium, all the way to the company’s headquarters in Knaresborough.

All funds raised from the challenge will be split equally between the Cure CJD Campaign and St Teresa’s Hospice in Darlington, where Derek was cared for following his diagnosis.

Chris Rodgers from Pelsis with his bike

Chris said:

“Not only was Derek my colleague, but he was also my mentor and my friend. To be able to undertake this sporting challenge in memory of him is truly an honour.”

“Since Derek’s passing, it’s always been my intention to raise vital funds for the Cure CJD Campaign to help develop a treatment for cure for CDJ and increase awareness and understanding of the disease.”

For more information on how to donate to Chris’s Tour de Derek cycling challenge, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/raising-funds-in-memory-of-derek-hurst.

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“After the devastating blazes the country saw last week, and all the media coverage that ensued, we’d encourage you to have a serious conversation about fire risks.

By lighting a deliberate fire they’re not just putting their life in immediate danger, but they are potentially damaging it in other ways too.

Arson is an offence and one that comes with a criminal record if convicted. Criminal records are horrible things – they can restrict job prospects, your travel plans and eligibility for financial products, including mortgages.

What may seem like a ‘joke’ or a ‘laugh’ when they are young may not be so funny a few years later when they want to travel to America, buy a house or apply for their dream job.