Invited guests got a sneak preview today of the new Ripon Inn hotel.

The Inn Collection Group, bought the former landmark Ripon Spa Hotel in June 2021 and began redevelopment work 13 months ago. The group’s managing director says the final bill for the work has been ‘close to eight figures’.

The new Ripon Inn has 58 bedrooms, two bars and will employee 78 staff.

Today, press and guests were invited to take a look – paying guests will arrive from Monday.  Here are some images of what they can expect when they arrive:

The hotel main bar 

A family bedroom 

One of the bedroom’s en-suite bathrooms

Sean Donkin, the Inn Collection Group’s CEO, told the Stray Ferret that they hope the hotel will bring economic benefits to Ripon:

“We’ve operated in similar sized areas before and the provision of overnight accommodation is key if you are going to do something meaningful.. If you’re 80% occupied you’re talking about a couple of hundred people staying in the city who otherwise would have stayed outside it.

“We don’t expect people to be sitting here all day, we expect people to walk into the city and visit local cafes, restaurants and pubs.”

Mayor of Ripon councillor Sid Hawke says a hotel of The Ripon Inn’s size has been desperately needed:

“This is an inspiration to Ripon, it is what Ripon has needed – when you look around, there is nothing in the same line as this.

“If you have a big occasion in Ripon, there is nowhere to stay and this is what is what is needed.

“It’s wonderful that it’s been converted from an old building to a modern building”

The Northumberland-headquartered group also bought and redeveloped the The Knaresborough Inn – formerly the Dower House and The Harrogate Inn, formerly the George Hotel in Harrogate.

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The manager of Clarks shoes in Harrogate has said a serious sexual assault in an alleyway behind the store would ‘never have happened’ if gates had gone up earlier to block it off.

The alleyway behind James Street and Market Place was the scene of a serious sexual assault last week.  

Speaking to the Stray Ferret, Clarks manager Emily Woodcock said that for the past three years nearby businesses had been asking the former North Yorkshire County Council highways department to take action and give permission to put gates up but had got nowhere.

This week gates are being fitted at either end of the narrow alley where the stores have their waste bins. But the gates have not been installed as a result of the recent attack but because the area has long been a hotspot for serious anti-social behaviour and store managers have been calling for them for years.

The police cordon on Petergate last week.

Ms Woodcock said she told colleagues that one day they were going to find someone dead from an overdose in the alley:

“It ranged from minor crimes, people setting fire to bins or kids climbing on the back of buildings,  to the more serious end of drug use with needles everywhere. There was rough sleeping and people going to the toilet in the back area.

“During the winter none of us would go and put the bins out in the dark, it wasn’t safe.”

Clarks, she said, offered to help pay for gates but the council wasn’t interested. The store had to relocate its fire exit to block up an alcove at the back of its unit that attracted drug users. Suggestions of putting up lighting didn’t get heard either.

Ms Woodcock then contacted Harrogate BID which managed to get approval for the gates and has paid for them.

The gate has been erected in an alley off Petergate (pictured here).

Ms Woodcock said the BID has done a good job but gates were too late to prevent this attack:

“All managers got involved and spoke to their head offices and got permission, the landlords were on board but there was a delay getting the gates up because of a shortage of materials. It was meant to go up back in May but the date kept moving.

“When I saw the Stray Ferret story I said to staff  ‘that gate should have gone up years ago’. The fight has been going on for too long and then this poor woman gets attacked and the gate goes up a two days after. It’s just so unfortunate.  It should have been the council paying for it.”

Nobody has been arrested in relation to last week’s incident, which North Yorkshire Police described as a “serious sexual assault”.

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Harrogate Lioness Rachel Daly has had a grass pitch at her former football club in Killinghall named in her honour.

Daly trained with Killinghall Nomads at the start of her footballing career as a young girl. She has gone to be one of the best female footballers in the world, winning this year’s PFA Players’ Player of the Year.

The Rachel Daly Pitch at Killinghall Moor Community Park is home of Killinghall Nomads Junior Football Club and has become one of 23 Football Foundation-funded pitches named after each of the Lionesses.

The facility has been significantly improved after a £79,000 investment from the foundation, enabling more matches to be played year round.

With her former coach and current players at Killinghall this week.

Daly said:

“It’s so important for girls to have a good first experience of football if they’re going to form a lifelong love for the game, like I did during my time at Killinghall.

“That can’t happen without a quality pitch that you can play on throughout the year.”

The Killinghall pitch is the second local sports facility to be named after Daly this week. The England footballer also unveiled a 3G sports pitch bearing her name at Rossett school where she was a pupil.

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The Lioness legacy grass pitch in Killinghall forms part of the foundation’s Here to Play campaign, which aims to provide equal access to women and girls playing football across the country.

Robert Sullivan, chief executive of the foundation, said:

“Grass pitches are the lifeblood of grassroots football so it’s extremely fitting that Rachel’s legacy for the local community in Harrogate should be honoured through this fantastic playing surface.

“Thanks to investment from the Premier League, The FA and Government, the Football Foundation is on a mission to transform the quality of grass pitches across the country and ensure every woman and girl has access to a quality place to play.”

Rachel Daly on the pitch named after her.

Chris Dixon, coach at Killinghall Nomads said:

“We are so proud of what Rachel’s achieved and it’s great to see the girls and boys looking to Rachel and taking inspiration from her. The lionesses have really inspired children both boys and girls here!”

Sports minister Stuart Andrew said the government wants to provide facilities to encourage future talent. He added:

“Last summer’s Women’s Euros was a major success for English sport, and it is only right that we dedicate 23 high-quality pitches like this one to the trophy-winning Lionesses.

“We want to make sure that people of all ages here in Harrogate have the chance to play football for decades to come, which is why we are investing over £300 million in grassroots sports facilities to inspire the next Rachel Daly.”

With the Killinghall Nomads’ under-eights girl’s team koala mascot. 

Anyone over the age of 70 might remember a group of feminists dramatically flour bombing the 1970 Miss World competition.

The group was protesting at a contest that objectified women. Miss World then was broadcast on the BBC and was one of the biggest TV events of the year — the feminists made headlines all over the world. Now, the idea a beauty contest being scheduled alongside Strictly on a BBC One Saturday evening is unthinkable.

The beauty pageant though has survived this lack of major TV profile and last weekend Chloe McEwen, a 21-year-old woman from Harrogate, was crowned Miss Yorkshire. She will go through to compete in the Miss England contest next year.

In a world where even Barbie has had a feminist makeover, could the same be said for the beauty contest?  Chloe’s story of being crowned Miss Yorkshire got hundreds of likes on the Stray Ferret’s social media post and noticeably no jibes.  Chloe says her small group of close friends have embraced her doing it:

“They’ve all genuinely been really supporting towards me, no one has had anything negative to say.”

Chloe has a powerful story to tell. At the age of 16 she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Such were the severity of her symptoms she spent eight months in hospital and gained four stone in weight.

“When I got out of there I was so depressed, so filled with anxiety, worried about what people would think of me. I went from this petite, pretty girl to having all this weight on me. Some people didn’t recognise me. It really knocked my confidence.

“I cut my circle of friends really small, focussed on myself and my health; getting into the gym little by little and slowly building up to being a personal trainer”.

Instagram and YouTube though are full of young women using social media to campaign and spread messages. Why did she chose a beauty contest to get her message across?

“If you’d have told me four years ago when I got out of hospital I would be doing this, I would have said not in a million years.

“For me to even get to a point of having enough confidence to compete — I want to spread the message that no matter where you are in life and you haven’t got that confidence, if you work on yourself, you can do something like a beauty contest.”

Chloe’s photos of her weight loss and fitness journey

The rules for entering the Miss England contest are clear — you have to be between 16 and 27 years old and unmarried. It’s described now though as ‘beauty with a purpose’.  The winner needs to have a powerful narrative and raise money for the organisation’s charity. Chloe says ‘there are plenty of beautiful girls out there but if you haven’t got that strong message, they’re not going to pick you nowadays”.

Soroptimist International is an organisation that looks after the interests of women and girls. It has an active Harrogate and district branch – with members who will remember the 1970s fight for equal rights.

The local communications officer, Lesley Berry, said in 2021 the organisation’s annual conference heard from 33-year-old Dr Carina Tyrrell – a former Miss England who is a first class honours Cambridge graduate and respected public health physician who worked on the development of covid vaccines.

Ms Berry said:

“We want people to do whatever they want to as long as nobody is exploiting them or forcing them to do it. If it is something you want to do when you’re young.

“This young lady seems to be doing it to enhance her confidence and spread awareness of the issues she’s overcome. That is a positive message”.

In an age where women’s empowerment is about individual choice, Chloe McEwen has chosen her way of spreading her message.  She hopes that, with so many young women suffering from anxiety, it works and has impact.

Chloe’s Instagram images (Chloemcewen8) and her message

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A fire in Harrogate District Hospital’s cafe caused the reception and waiting area of A&E to be temporarily evacuated this morning.

The fire began in the cafe’s kitchen at around 8am filling the reception area with smoke. The alarm was raised and three fire engines and crew were in attendance.

A Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said:

“On Sunday morning, a small fire occurred in the kitchen of the café at the entrance to our hospital in Harrogate, which was quickly brought under control by our staff.

“We would like to thank North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue for their prompt response to the incident.

“As a consequence of the fire, the waiting area of the Emergency Department was temporarily evacuated, but has now re-opened. All services are now operating as per usual.”

Brian Cairns, the district manager for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue told the Stray Ferret that hospital staff had already taken action when they arrived.:

“The staff were fantastic and had dealt with the fire with a fire blanket in the kitchen area.

“We are now working with the hospital to initiate their business continuity arrangements and we will work with them to allow them to return to business as usual in that area.”

The cafe remains closed with the area sealed off.

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Harrogate-based employment law firm, Boardside, is celebrating its sixth year anniversary with the arrival of a new partner.

Helen Trott has spent more than 25 years as an in-house lawyer covering financial services, healthcare and fintech businesses. She has worked at board level, including as general counsel, company secretary and chief operating officer.

In the firm’s newsletter, founding partner Richard Port said Ms Trott’s appointment added a new dimension to Boardside thanks to her experience in industries that are complex from a regulatory perspective. He said:

“We offer a bespoke advisory service to boards and those who sit on them and we have always prided ourselves on our grasp of clients’ commercial concerns, which has made us acutely aware and very interested to provide corporate governance, risk, compliance and some company secretarial services, too.

“Now, we have a new partner who has a strong commercial background and thereby broadens our capabilities in this regard.”

Software company appoints Harrogate comms firm

Marketing and communications agency, Big Bamboo, in Harrogate has been appointed by AI collision avoidance software company, Safety Shield Global, to support it with brand and PR activity.

The agency will support the company, whilst its sister agency, Big Bamboo Bids, will offer support in relation to bidding and winning work.

Safety Shield Global has developed an AI human form recognition safety system specifically for the construction industry .

The system can be fitted to any type of plant, for industries such as construction, rail, mining, demolition and waste, amongst others.

Nicola Stamford, founding director of The Big Bamboo Agency, said:

“We are thrilled to have been appointed by Safety Shield Global, which is a leading player in AI software.

“The company’s story is an impressive one, led by a very passionate CEO and wider team to ensure the safety of people who are working on sites, where plant machinery is prevalent.”

Johnsons of Whixley has secured a contract to supply five thousand plants to a five-star luxury spa hotel in County Durham.

The horticultural business supplied a range of shrubs and trees to Seaham Hall Hotel, for planting around its bungalow lodges, spa area and hotel terrace.

Johnsons of Whixley worked with garden designer Richard Porter of Garden Vision Ltd.

Founded over 100 years ago, Johnsons is a three-generation family business. Previous hotel projects include Grantley Hall in Ripon.

Seaham Hall Hotel was converted into a luxury hotel in 2012.

Johnsons’ marketing manager, Eleanor Richardson, said:

“We are thrilled to work with the Seaham Hall Hotel team as their ambitious development plans get underway, in collaboration with our customer Richard from Garden Vision Durham, who delivered the design, hard and soft landscaping of the project.”

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A team from Berwins solicitors in Harrogate spent yesterday cycling in the centre of town to raise money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

8 staff members of the legal firm- ranging from a director to team assistant- peddled in a fundraiser entitled “Go The Distance”.

The 85km static cycle was taken in stages by two team members at a time – cycling a theoretical journey from the YAA’s Air Support Unit at Nostell near Wakefield to the Berwins’ offices in Leeds, Harrogate and York before ending at RAF Topcliffe.

The air ambulance is Berwins’ chosen charity for 2023.

The Berwins team peddling away for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance

The Stray Ferret is to host its monthly Business Club meeting this Thursday.  The breakfast meeting is one of the Club’s most well attended events.

The meeting will start at 8am at Banyan on John Street.

The Business Club Breakfast is an opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals, share ideas, and explore potential collaborations – and enjoy a coffee and bacon sandwich.

Get your tickets now by clicking or tapping here.

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Rooster’s Brewing Co. has pledged to donate 10p from every pint of its White Rose beer to a Harrogate charity.

The brewery based at Hornbeam Park aims to raise £850.00 to support Harrogate & District Community Action (HADCA) which supports communities, charities and volunteers throughout the Harrogate District of North Yorkshire.

Brewed to coincide with Yorkshire Day on August 1 st , Rooster’s, owned by Ian Fozard and his sons, Tom and Oliver, has brewed White Rose every year since 2011, choosing a different local cause each year.  The firm has donated over £10,000 for a variety of local charities over this period.

Tom Fozard, Rooster’s Commercial Director said:

“Rooster’s is pleased to be able to play a small part in helping a local charity such as Harrogate & District Community Action carry out the vital services they provide.

“The challenges that many people are facing on a day to day basis right now, especially the energy crisis that has fuelled a substantial rise in the cost of living has lead to a growing need for support in lots of different ways.

“It’s also comforting to know that, with White Rose only being available as a cask beer served in pubs, drinkers will also be able to support the hospitality industry with each pint supped too.”

Karen Weaver, HADCA Strategic Lead, said:

“We’re delighted that Rooster’s have chosen to support HADCA as the charity to benefit from the sale of the special limited release White Rose this year. Since 1988 HADCA has been connecting and supporting local charities, volunteers and people across Harrogate district communities.

“We champion community action using our Volunteering Directory and provide a fully searchable ‘Where To Turn’ directory of support and activities supporting good health and wellbeing”

Are you booked into our Stray Ferret Business Club’s breakfast event this Thursday at Banyan in Harrogate between 8-10am? 

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories. Get your tickets now by clicking or tapping here.

One of Harrogate’s oldest accountancy firms has expanded its apprenticeship programme.

A quarter of Lithgow Perkins’ twenty strong team now comprises of trainees at different stages of their accountancy career.

Partner Tom Rhodes, who began as an apprentice at Lithgow Perkins 11 years ago, said:

“Having a strong apprenticeship programme that gives young people the opportunity to develop their careers with us is vital not just for their future, but for ours too.”

Mr Rhodes added:

“As a small, independent firm, we can be flexible in creating opportunities for our trainees to work across a range of disciplines, supported by various specialists from our team.

“It’s not just a case of developing accountancy expertise; it’s also about building confidence in the ‘softer’ skills that are so important when dealing directly with clients.”

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The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting is a breakfast event on Thursday, 27 July at Banyan in Harrogate between 8-10am. 

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A new promotion and networking event is being launched in Ripon to help companies connect and trade with each other.

Moot Ripon will follow a ‘business market’ format with exhibition stands of companies showcasing what they offer. The one-day event in October is open to all businesses in the area who are looking for local B2B opportunities.

Following advice from Ripon BID, the Federation for Small Businesses (FSB) and the North Yorkshire Growth Hub (LEP), the event is being organised by Ripon-based marketing and events firm Colour It In.

Managing director Mark Lancaster said:

“The Ripon area has a wealth of companies of all sizes operating across a huge variety of sectors.

“We wanted to bring them all together to get to know each other, re-establish connections, and do business together in a traditional face-to-face environment.”

Mr Lancaster is a former president of the Harrogate District Chamber of Trade and helped launch the Harrogate Business Market in 2005. He said he created Moot Ripon after struggling to find a similar local exhibition-style event to showcase his company to other businesses in the area.

Moot Ripon takes place at Ripon Racecourse on October 2.

Businesses of all sizes are invited to exhibit or attend the event but they must be based in the Ripon, Thirsk, Northallerton, Bedale, Masham, Pateley Bridge, Boroughbridge, Knaresborough and Harrogate areas.

Exhibitor spaces start from £250, and visitor entry is free.

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The owners and founders of Crown Jewellers In Harrogate have been nominated for an award by Professional Jeweller Magazine.

Crown Jewellers on Commercial Street is one of six companies in the country to be nominated for ‘Jewellery Team of the Year’.  Steve and Sue Kramer were nominated anonymously.  The winners are decided by retailers and suppliers who will cast their votes at the end of the month. Winners will then be announced in September.

Steve Kramer said:

“This is a fantastic accolade for Sue and I, one which we were surprised and delighted by. To be nominated independently for this award by our peers is testament to our hard work and dedication over the years.

“We genuinely love working together, even after all these years, and looking after our customers too – many of whom we have known now for a very long time! In fact, we have been invited to many of their weddings which is an honour!”

As well as running Crown Jewellers, Sue Kramer is president of the Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce and plays a lead role in promoting the Commercial Street family of shops.