Harrogate Borough Council granted permission for Harrogate Spring Water to test the council’s borehole at its horticultural nursery on Harlow Hill, documents reveal — so the company could explore a potential new water source. 

The Stray Ferret has obtained emails between the company and the council via a freedom of information request. They reveal Harrogate Spring Water tested the borehole in May this year and is continuing to investigate groundwater in the area.

Boreholes are used to extract water from the ground. Harrogate Spring Water bottles water from a bore hole at its headquarters on Harlow Moor Road, on land owned by the council and leased to the company.

Much of the land surrounding the facility, including the Pinewoods and Harlow Hill nursery, is also owned by the council.

As part of the firm’s lease agreement with the council, water is extracted from two boreholes on the Harlow Moor Road site. There is a third borehole on Pennypot Bridge.

The council grows its floral displays at Harlow Hill nursery and sells plants, pots and compost to the public there, although it plans to sell the site for housing and move the nursery elsewhere. It also has a on-site borehole that it uses to water plants.

Investigations in the area

Harrogate Spring Water is set to submit fresh plans to increase the size of its bottling plant within the next few months and emails suggest the company may also be looking for new sources of water to help the company expand.

An email from Harrogate Spring Water to the council, dated June 6, reveals the council gave the company permission to perform “some testing work” on its borehole at Harlow Hill nursery in the previous month.

However, it says the results “weren’t what Harrogate Spring were looking for”.

Email from Harrogate Spring Water to Harrogate Borough Council on June 6

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The email continues to say the company would like to survey the land around Harlow Moor Road to find out “where the best potential for water might be and how the water is working”.

Follow-up emails between two council officers, whose names were redacted, query if these tests are to identify new water sources.

A spokesperson for Pinewoods Conservation Group, the charity that looks after the Pinewoods, said the testing of boreholes in the area was a “major concern”.

They said the charity had received reports from visitors of investigative works taking place in the Pinewoods recently, adding:

“We’ve had assurances before around no further expansion plans but confirmation that more boreholes are being investigated around the Pinewoods area is a major concern for us.

“Several visitors reported seeing investigative works happening within the Pinewoods itself recently, without any notice of this from either Harrogate Spring Water or Harrogate council.

“We would encourage all parties to be transparent on their longer terms plans and involve the relevant stakeholders as required.”

Harrogate Spring Water’s statement

A spokesperson for Harrogate Spring Water confirmed it had performed testing at the council borehole at Harlow Nurseries. It said this was to “understand the potential availability of water” from beneath the ground.

They said it is also exploring the land around Harlow Moor Road and the Pinewoods for similar reasons.

They described this as a “routine part” of the management of their water sources.

The spokesperson also said the company had “no immediate plans” for a new borehole, but that if “an opportunity to enhance our water security arose”, they would consider it.

The full statement is below:

“Over the summer, we have been doing a geophysical survey of parts of the land to the rear of our facility in order to create a 3D map of its geology.

“The reason for the survey is to better understand the bedrock geology in the area as part of our aquifer management and to better understand the potential water capability of the aquifer. This is a routine part of the responsible management of our water source, alongside work such as weekly monitoring of borehole performance via depth and meter readings and weekly rainfall recording.

“We work with a local family-run company that helps us manage our boreholes and explore the areas around Harrogate for new sustainable sources of high-quality water, which is a prudent part of responsible water management.

“We have no immediate plans for a new borehole, but if an opportunity to enhance our water security arose, and a landowner showed an interest in having us drill on their land, we would work with that landowner and the Environment Agency to ensure that any source was 100% sustainable, in compliance with the regulatory regime.

“The boreholes which we use take up only a few square metres of land, which is normally in a corner of a field or hidden by a screen of shrubs or trees.”

North Yorkshire’s police, fire and crime commissioner has said she would still consider proposed changes to Harrogate’s fire crews “even if the service had millions of pounds in the bank”.

Commissioner Zoë Metcalfe is due to announce her decision on the plans to cut the number of night-time fire engines to just one on Thursday.

She has argued that the changes would allow Harrogate fire station to have two better-equipped fire engines during the day when emergencies are more likely to occur.

Commissioner Metcalfe has also said the proposals – which are part of a new risk and resource model – would allow for investment in fire prevention.

Asked at a council meeting last night whether she would still consider the plans if the fire service was better funded, commissioner Metcalfe said she “would still be doing this” and that she was “very assured” residents will be “kept safe”.

She said:

“We are always looking at different ways to get additional money into the fire service.

“We have this juxtaposition where North Yorkshire Police is what I would call well funded, but the fire service has just only got a balanced budget.

“As far as I am concerned about the risk and resource modelling, I would still be doing this even if we had a lot of money in the bank.”

Currently, Harrogate fire station has one fire engine which can respond to all emergencies and a smaller “tactical response” vehicle that both operate around the clock.

Under the proposals put forward by the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, the smaller vehicle would be replaced by a larger fire engine, but it would only be crewed during the day.

The plans have drawn criticism from North Yorkshire’s Fire Brigades Union which said the changes along with similar proposals for Scarborough and Huntington would leave the county with a “second-rate emergency response service that will put lives at risk”.

Commissioner Metcalfe has repeatedly insisted that the proposals have been based on “extensive” risk assessments which look at when and where emergencies are most likely to occur.

She also said the changes would allow for improvements in other areas including the fire service’s on-call model which means only five out of 38 fire stations are currently crewed 24 hours a day.

These are Acomb, Harrogate, Huntington, Scarborough and York fire stations.

Commissioner Metcalfe told last night’s meeting: “It is really important to realise that our community risk profile makes sure that we identify where the risks are and that the right amount of resources are in place.

“It is also absolutely right that we invest in prevention and protection, as well as our on-call model which desperately needs attention.”

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

Econ Engineering has invested £250,000 in a new robot laser MIG welder for its Ripon manufacturing base.

The company, which makes more than eight out of 10 winter maintenance vehicles on UK roads, is using the innovative machine to turn out cut and welded ‘din plates’ — the mounting used to attach plough blades to the front of gritters.

Creating din plates is a labour-intensive process and by automating this method, Econ says its team of welders can now concentrate on more intricate but less time-consuming jobs.

Econ Engineering managing director Jonathan Lupton said:

“Our new robot, which has already become a valued addition to the welding section, is now undertaking the more mundane but time-consuming jobs, which is allowing the welders to perform more interesting tasks.

“It is a superb piece of kit, and watching it work is just incredible. Several of our staff are currently being trained in how to programme and operate it, and in time it will be able to perform different welding tasks.”

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Estate agent Tim Waring joins GSC Grays

GSC Grays in Boroughbridge has welcomed housing expert Tim Waring to its team.

Mr Waring is a chartered surveyor and RICS registered valuer who has 30 years of experience working in the Yorkshire property market.

He will be based at the recently opened GSC Grays office in Boroughbridge and said he is relishing the challenge of a new role.

“I am delighted to be joining GSC Grays at an exciting time for the company as they continue to expand and grow and I am looking forward to being part of their journey.

“There is always going be, in a tough economic climate, a flight to quality and the prime residential property market in Yorkshire will continue to thrive. It remains a fact that quality always sells.”

Guy Coggrave, managing director at GSC Grays, added:

“We are thrilled to be adding Tim’s extensive skills and unrivalled experience to our new office at Boroughbridge. At GSC Grays, our mission is to bring extraordinary people together to deliver an outstanding service and the quality of our staff is the key to our success.”

Firefighters and councillors have called on Zoe Metcalfe, the Conservative police, fire and crime commissioner for North Yorkshire, to tackle the long-running issue of Starbeck crossing holding up emergency vehicles.

As many as nine trains an hour can pass through Starbeck Station heading to Leeds or York.

It means when the barriers are down there are waits of several minutes for all vehicles, including fire engines, police cars and ambulances.

At a Harrogate Borough Council meeting last night, Liberal Democrat councillor for Hookstone, Pat Marsh, asked Ms Metcalfe if she’d had feedback from firefighters about the problem as she believes delays could potentially be costing lives.

Cllr Marsh said:

“It worries me, that a five minute wait can be the difference between doing something and not.”

In response, Ms Metcalfe said the problem has been raised to her by both firefighters at Harrogate and Knaresborough fire stations.

However, she said firefighters “know exactly what times trains come and go” and can also use other routes to avoid the crossing.

Ms Metcalfe said:

“I went back to the fire service and they quite rightly said that out of Knaresborough fire station you can also turn left out of the fire station and go into Harrogate via Morrisons. They can also go into Starbeck and can turn right into Bogs Lane.

“There’s not just one way into Harrogate. Even if they did get to a crossing they can call ahead (to Network Rail) to let them know they are coming down.”

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Her response didn’t please fellow Conservative and councillor for Old Bilton, Paul Haslam, who also chairs Transport for the North‘s scrutiny committee.

Cllr Haslam told Ms Metcalfe he was “a little disappointed that you weren’t upset about the crossing at Starbeck”, particularly as it’s an issue that was raised to her by the firefighters themselves.

He added:

“I’ve tried for five or six years to get Network Rail to improve technology that would reduce waiting time to two minutes but they’ve refused to do it at the moment.

“I feel if your firemen had been upset that could have been leverage. I’m concerned about it for lots of reasons. The cars are just idling.

“Network Rail have told me all the reasons they can’t do it but they’ve also told me what technology they need.”

Ms Metcalfe promised Cllr Haslam that she would raise the issue with Network Rail.

Conservative Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoë Metcalfe has appointed Mat Walker as the new deputy chief fire officer of North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Mr Walker, a 43-year-old father-of-three who has been in the role on an interim basis since June, will receive a salary of £95,294 plus an operational allowance.

He joined the fire and rescue service in 2003 in South Yorkshire before moving to a national role where he was involved in the response to major incidents including east coast flooding and the Salisbury Novichok attacks.

He has since worked in the West Yorkshire service, most recently as an area manager responsible for service assurance and improvement.

Mr Walker was appointed after three candidates were interviewed by an independent panel.

Commissioner Zoë Metcalfe said:

“I am delighted to be able to appoint Mat into this permanent role. He faced a strong challenge from an excellent field of candidates but I’m confident he’s the right person to help lead North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service on its continuing transformation.

“This is also an exciting time to be joining the service as we begin to put in place our refreshed plans on how to keep the people of North Yorkshire safe, and feeling safe over the next two years.”

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Mr Walker takes up the role at a time when unions have raised concerns over cuts worth around £8m a year.

At Harrogate fire station, it means the number of night-time fire engines will be reduced to just one.

At a meeting this month, it was revealed North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s fire engine availability was classed as being at a “critical” level for 10% of the time during May this year.

This level refers to the service having fewer than 32 staffed engines and other appliances available across North Yorkshire. Commissioner Metcalfe described availability as “incredibly concerning”.

Mrs Smith’s Cafe in Jennyfields, which has been closed since April, has gone into liquidation.

The family-friendly community cafe was situated in a unit on Jennyfields Shopping Centre next door to the Co-op.

It offered food and drink and had a play area for children.

However, a post on the cafe’s Facebook page from April 26 said it was closed “until further notice” and it’s remained empty since.

It appears the cafe will not be reopening as Wigan-based Focus Insolvency Group was appointed to liquidate the business last week.

Two of the four units on Jennyfield Drive are now empty. The Rainbow Room library and St Michael’s Hospice charity shop remain open.

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Harrogate Borough Council‘s tourism body, Destination Harrogate, will use social media influencers again this year to promote the town’s Christmas festivities.

Julia Lumley, place marketing manager at Destination Harrogate, gave a presentation to Harrogate BID members at the Yorkshire Hotel on Thursday. She described how the body will be trying to attract visitors to the town during November and December.

Initiatives include a dedicated Christmas website where businesses can upload events, a printed guide, online campaigns, videos and photography, as well as competitions.

Ms Lumley also confirmed Destination Harrogate will be paying influencers to visit the town throughout the Christmas period.

The aim is for influencers to help reach audiences in a way that is more organic and personal than traditional advertising campaigns.

Last year, the Stray Ferret revealed Destination Harrogate paid influencer Heather Cowper £700 to make several posts about Christmas in Harrogate.

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But her posts performed poorly, raising questions over whether the fee represented value for money. A Liberal Democrat councillor branded the spend a “waste of money”.

However, the criticism hasn’t put Destination Harrogate off using influencers again.

On Friday, it Tweeted that it recently used vlogger Amy Berry to promote the town. She has 135,000 followers on Instagram.

Ms Berry’s video about a trip to Harrogate has proved to be popular. It includes visits to the Turkish Baths and Rudding Park and has been liked over 1,200 times in 24 hours.

Although Destination Harrogate will return to using social media influencers over Christmas, another campaign from last year won’t be returning.

Following a question from a member of the audience at the BID meeting, Ms Lumley said the £5,000 snow globe at Kings Cross will not be used again.

Who and what are Quakers?

There are about 210,000 Quakers across the world including a small community who practice the religion, formally known as the Religious Society of Friends, in Harrogate.

Gilly Charters has been one for 35 years after being brought up by atheist parents.

She and around 40 others worship once a week at the Friends Meeting House on Queen Parade.

Ms Charters explains what drew her to the Christian denomination:

“I came to the Quakers because I needed a place to explore my spiritual life where I wasn’t told how to think or made to sign up to rules or regulations. It provided a place for quiet discernment.

“The whole of life is sacred and we as human beings are sacred. I feel very strongly that true religion leads to respect for the earth and all life on it. These are the really important things for Quakers.”

Quakerism dates back centuries and has its origins in 17th century England. Many Quakers migrated to the USA and the religion is also practiced there.

But its sometimes old-fashioned image has been difficult to shake off.

Some people will have an image of the Quaker Porridge Oats man, with long hair, traditional clothing and hat. Ms Charters said that view of the religion belongs to the past.

“That image tends to mean Quakers are dead and gone or are a very old fashioned people, that we can’t exist anymore.

“But we do exist, there are not huge numbers of Quakers, but we are still active”.

The Friends Meeting House in Harrogate

At a Quaker meeting in Harrogate, Ms Charters says people worship together in silence before speaking messages to each other.

She explained:

“It can be about almost anything. Sometimes people will talk about what things are upsetting to them, for example, people who have experienced bereavement might talk about what that person meant to them in their life.

“Someone might talk about how important the environment is to them, or about what that person is doing to work for a better world. It’s all sort of things.”

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Quakers are not necessarily Christians and they don’t all worship the Bible.

Ms Charters added:

“A lot of Quakers would say they are Christians, it’s about having a sense of God’s presence. What people mean by God can be different. It’s a source of a lot of conservation between people. It’s finding a sense of what’s bigger than us. 

“A lot of Quakers believe in Jesus as a historical figure, but their route to this deeper sense of being is not through the life of Jesus, it’s not through death and resurrection. There’s a big variety.”

This weekend the Quakers along with HUFUD (Humanity United for Universal Demilitarisation) are organising a peace conference at the Friends Meeting House.

Many wars have been fought in the name of religion but the peace movement is something that the Quakers strongly identify with.

“I can’t believe in the death penalty because if everyone is unique and precious then how can I be part of a state that sanctions that? The same with war, how can I go and fight against a presence of equal being? 

“When people ask me, Why are you a Quaker, I say living on this is earth is hard work so when you’re working you need to be alongside a group of people who work in the same way. It helps keep me grounded.”

To find out more about the Harrogate Quakers, visit their website.

A missing cat has been reunited with its owner after somehow making its way all the way to Harrogate from Lancashire.

The mog, called Bea, was found frightened by the side of a busy road in the town centre.

A couple took her to Harrogate New Park Vets4Pets to check if she was microchipped.

Vet Fernando Smit Cordeiro was locking up the practice and rushing to go to a fitness class when Bea arrived.

Her scanned her and was relieved to find the crucial microchip, so he was able to track down the pet’s owner.

He said:

“I picked up the phone and called. After the courtesy greetings I asked, ‘is Bea missing?’ And the gentleman replied, ‘yes’!

“Bea’s dad was relieved and surprised that she was found almost two hours drive away from home”.

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The owners drove over from Lancashire later that evening to collect their pet. They suspected Bea snuck into a delivery van and hitchhiked her way to Harrogate.

Mr Cordeiro added:

“It’s always wonderful to reunite stray or lost pets with their worried parents.”

The vet urged cat owners to get their cat microchipped if they haven’t already. It’s currently not compulsory but the law is set to change soon.

Under the new plans, all cat owners must ensure their pet is microchipped before they reach 20 weeks. Owners found not to have microchipped their cat will have 21 days to have one implanted or may face a fine of up to £500.

The annual Masham Sheep Fair will return to the town on Saturday and Sunday.

The fair commemorates Masham’s rich history of sheep farming and is one of the biggest events in the Harrogate district.

Susan Cunliffe-Lister and other volunteers started the sheep fair 30 years ago, initially as a one-off event to raise money for farmers in Africa.

It raised £7,950 and became an annual event, now raising £159,000 for Yorkshire charities.

She wanted to bring back an old tradition. Until the First World War, sheep farmers from across the Dales used to come to Masham each year to buy and sell as many as 80,000 sheep over the course of a few days.

Nowadays sheep farmers from across the UK come to Masham to compete. There are other events like sheepdog trials, tours of Theakstons and Black Sheep breweries, morris dancing, fleece stalls and even sheep racing to keep the crowds entertained.

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The schedule for the fair is below:

Saturday:

Sunday:

10.00 – Town Hall & School exhibitions open
10.30 – Morning Service in Methodist Chapel
10.45 – Harvest Festival Thanksgiving Service at St. Mary’s Church
10.45 – Judging of Sheep Show commences
11.30 – Sheep Show on trailer in front of Town Hall
12.00 – Flower Festival opens in St. Mary’s Church
12.00 – Trips around Theakston’s & Black Sheep Breweries start
12.00 – Sheep racing in field beyond churchyard
12.00 – Refreshments start at Methodist Church
12.30 – Sheepdog demonstrations in field beyond churchyard
13.00 – Judging of Supreme Champion in Sheep Show
13.45 – Bishop Blaize procession from Maple Creek to the Square
14.00 – Sheep Show on trailer in front of Town Hall
14.30 – Sheep racing over the sticks
15.00 – Sheepdog demonstration in field beyond churchyard
15.00 – Handbell ringing in Church
15.30 – Sheep Show on trailer in front of Town Hall
18.30 – Songs of Praise service in Methodist Chapel