Harrogate electronics firm receives £600,000 Northern Powerhouse loan

A Harrogate firm that refurbishes computer equipment has received a government-backed loan worth £600,000 from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.

Intelligent Servers Ltd, which is based at Hornbeam Park and employs 50 people, says the loan will help the company increase its stock, expand its warehouse and employ 23 more staff members.

Since the company was founded in 2011 it has delivered refurbished products to over 3,000 customers including Manchester United FC.

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The loan was provided through FW Capital Debt Finance.

Its assistant investment executive Alex Brown said:

“We are delighted to back Intelligent Servers, a business with a great track record of growth and a proven management team.

“Our investment will assist Intelligent Servers in achieving their growth strategy through maintaining higher stock levels and improving purchasing power. Best of all, this growth strategy will support significant job creation.”

Knaresborough’s Picnic in the Park cancelled due to heavy rain

Organisers have cancelled today’s Picnic in the Park in Knaresborough due to the forecasted heavy rain and possible thunderstorms.

The free event in the gardens of Knaresborough House was set to start at 12pm and be part of the popular FEVA arts festival that is celebrating its 25th year.

Musicians that had been booked to play, including DJ Trev and Hot Sauce, will instead perform inside as part of the Knaresborough Lions Beer Festival at Knaresborough House that starts at 12pm.

See information about other FEVA events that are taking place this weekend here.

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Harrogate Town invites over 50s to join walking football team

Harrogate Town is inviting people to join their walking football team to help boost physical and mental health.

Walking football is a twist on traditional football that is played by people who have mobility or other issues.

It’s generally played by the over 50s although the majority of players with Harrogate Town are in their 60’s, with some even in their 70’s.

The club has a 50’s team and a 60’s team who both play competitively in the Northern Premier League and they also play friendlies with clubs throughout Yorkshire and the North East, both home and away.

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The club holds sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at Rossett Sports Centre. There are different sessions to accommodate players of all ages and abilities, including those who are new to the game.

Harrogate Town walking football player Andy Town said:

“I decided to call it a day at the age of 62 after a football injury. When my wife said ‘why don’t you try walking football?’ I responded as I imagine most old footballers might react, with a mixture of incredulity and mirth.

“After giving it a go, I found that like ‘real’ football it can be played at different levels, from slow and social to fast and competitive. I’ve met lots of interesting people and made a whole new group of friends.”

Would you like to give walking football a try? Email community@harrogatetownafc.com or htwfc2020@gmail.com

Harrogate fire crew come to aid of TV presenter Steph McGovern

Crew at Harrogate Fire Station came to the aid of TV presenter Steph McGovern this morning to cut off a ring from her swollen finger.

The host of Steph’s Packed Lunch tweeted that she had trapped her ring finger in a door which led to a painful-looking injury.

After the ring was cut free she thanked crew at the station for their help.

McGovern lives in Harrogate and filmed her Channel 4 show from her house during last year’s covid lockdown.

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Eventful morning…..started with trip to @FireHarrogate to get a ring cut off swollen finger I’d trapped in door……thanks so much to Matt @TurnerTurner11, Lisa @Arcticwolf31, Dave + James for sorting it out!

Straight after had to take my daughter for first ever day at nursery pic.twitter.com/6a1ZdtEP4i

— Steph McGovern (@StephLunch) August 20, 2021

Original Harrogate Christmas Market organisers admit defeat in fight to stage event

The organisers of Harrogate Christmas Market between 2012 and 2019 have admitted defeat in their battle with Harrogate Borough Council to stage the event.

Brian Dunsby, Beryl Dunsby and Steve Scarre, the directors of Harrogate Christmas Market Ltd, have released a statement this evening that says Harrogate Borough Council will no longer negotiate with the company to host the market in its Montpellier location and that they are “extremely saddened” at the outcome.

In a parting shot, they accused HBC of “having their own agenda” while discussions between the two sides took place over the past few weeks.

The council announced this morning it has entered into formal talks with Manchester-based Market Place Europe to host a 10-day market at a yet-to-be-announced location in Harrogate.

The statement from Harrogate Christmas Market says the council have “refused our request for a top-level meeting” about hosting the event on Montpellier Hill, after HBC raised concerns about visitor safety. The organisers met with council officers, but not the council leader or chief executive, earlier this week to discuss an alternative location.

The statement says:

“We realise that the council leaders want us to relocate elsewhere but we cannot find anywhere else suitable – and there is insufficient time to rearrange the large number of details involved.  We now have 172 Market Traders applications waiting for acceptance whilst there are already 55 coaches planning to come to Harrogate during the market.”

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The statement claims local traders “will probably not get much of a look in” with the new organisers, who have experience staging Christmas markets across Europe.

“We have tried to engage with Harrogate Borough Council in positive discussions, but in recent weeks it has become clear that they have their own agenda. This has now been revealed. Despite Brexit, their new market will provide only 45 stalls mostly from European countries.  Local traders will probably not get much of a look in.

“We want to thank you for all your support and encouragement over the past 8 years. We have enjoyed working with you and are extremely saddened at this unfortunate outcome.”

The Stray Ferret has asked HBC to comment but we did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Conservative council leader Richard Cooper said this morning that the potential new organisers will bring “an abundance of knowledge” to Harrogate for a new Christmas market.

He said:

“From what I’ve seen, Market Place Europe have years of experience hosting events. So I know they’ll bring an abundance of knowledge to Harrogate this Christmas.

“You’ve only got to look at the photos online from markets they’ve hosted in major cities such as Belfast and Glasgow to see what they’ll bring is a first-class offering.”

Police warn public about convicted burglar that targets North Yorkshire schools

North Yorkshire Police have warned the public about a convicted burglar who has been released from prison today and targets schools and sports changing rooms.

Andrew Philip Horsman, 39, from York, served time for multiple burglaries where he stole laptops as well as bank cards and cash.

In 2020, York Crown Court issued Mr Horsman with a Criminal Behaviour Order that states he must not enter any school building or sports facility across North Yorkshire until August 2025.

He is also not allowed to be in a possession of a bank card that is not in his name.

The police say call 999 if you suspected a crime is in progress.

A map of where Mr Horsman’s Criminal Behaviour Order applies.

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Hampsthwaite primary school to build new staff room and lobby

Hampsthwaite Church of England Primary School has been granted planning permission by Harrogate Borough Council to build a new staff room and entrance lobby.

The school, which was built in 1861, will see an existing extension partially demolished to make way for a new single-storey building that will become a new staff room.

Another extension to the side of the original school will form a new secure entrance lobby for pupils and staff.

A CGI impression of how the school will look.

A heritage impact statement says the new additions will help the school accommodate more pupils.

It says:

“The proposed alterations will have several benefits for the pupils who attend the school and will cause no harm to the setting or significance of the conservation area. Increased space and internal layout means that the site will be able to accommodate more pupils in a safer environment.”

In 2009, the school built a large extension to provide a new hall, two classrooms and kitchen.

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Woman says it’s ‘impossible’ to move to Harrogate whilst on Universal Credit

A woman wanting to rent a property in Harrogate says “it seems impossible” to find an estate agent that will accept her because she receives Universal Credit.

Karen Andrew was born and brought up in Harrogate but has lived in Essex for the last 20 years.

After splitting up with her partner she wants to return to be closer to her family but said she feels discriminated against by estate agents and landlords because of her situation.

She also owns a three-year-old Staffy-cross dog which has posed another obstacle in her search for somewhere to live.

She told the Stray Ferret:

“The second you mention Universal Credit or a dog they don’t want to know.

“I want to move back to my hometown and I didn’t think it would be this difficult.”

Ms Andrew, who works part-time at a school and hopes to find a new job in Harrogate, said estate agents need to “look at the bigger picture”.

“Just because you have a dog and are on Universal Credit you’re not a scumbag.”

Universal Credit is a monthly payment for people on low incomes or out of work. It can include a housing element at a rate that is set by the local authority. Ms Andrew is looking for a one-bedroom property in Harrogate at the Local Housing Allowance rate of £523.55.

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Ms Andrew said one estate agent, Linley & Simpson, would only recommend her as a tenant to their landlords if she provided six months’ rent upfront which she said she does not have.

She is currently in limbo in Essex whilst she searches for a property in Harrogate that accepts her.

She added: 

“We are meant to be a nation of dog and pet lovers but I haven’t found this to be the case while looking for a property to rent.

“Claiming Universal Credit does not mean that you can’t be bothered or don’t want to work. Lots of people on Universal Credit are working but are on a low income.”

A spokesperson for Linley & Simpson told the Stray Ferret that all tenants have to pass a credit check from Goodlord that assesses their financial situation.

They said any decision to allow pets is up to the landlord but that they would be happy to speak to Ms Andrew again to discuss her situation.

They added:

“Our job as the agent is to find a suitable tenant who is capable of covering the cost of the rent for the duration of the tenancy. The same criteria is applied to all applicants.”

Earlier this year, the National Residential Landlords Association called on the government to improve the Universal Credit administration system so the benefit can better support tenants.

Harrogate neighbours of jailed Yoko Banks ‘planning a street party’

Residents of Scargill Road in Harrogate who lived near ‘nightmare neighbour’ Yoko Banks said they might have a street party after she was sentenced to three-and-a-half-years in prison for drug offences last week.

The 73-year-old businesswoman rented out her properties on Alexandra Road, Woodlands Road and Somerset Road to an Albanian gang for “industrial” cannabis production.

Richard Heritage, who is close friends with an elderly couple who lived next door to Ms Banks on Scargill Road, told the Stray Ferret that neighbours have suffered years of bad behaviour from the guesthouse owner and her mastiff dog. He described Ms Banks as “infamous” in Harrogate.

He said:

“The first thing one resident of Scargill Road told me when they heard she was sentenced was, ‘we ought to get a street party organised’.”

Mr Heritage said Ms Banks lived in the house on-and-off for many years before moving into it full time before the first covid lockdown in March 2020. The street is off Ripon Road near the Harrogate Hydro.

He alleges her dog was allowed to roam the street unattended and would bite other animals.

“The dog tried, two or three times, to attack my friend’s cross-breed. The dog roamed the street. It could have been a child.

“People would call Harrogate Borough Council’s dog wardens and the police who would never do anything about it.”

He also alleges the dog even attempted to bite a postman, which led the Royal Mail to suspend deliveries on the street from December 2020 to February 2021. Residents had to go to the sorting office on Claro Road to collect their post.

The Royal Mail confirmed the incident took place when asked by the Stray Ferret and said deliveries only resumed when Ms Banks put a fence up to keep the dog away from postal staff.

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Mr Heritage said there would be arguments and shouting coming from Ms Banks house often late into the night. He also said she would pile her garden high with unwanted objects, including three abandoned vehicles.

“She felt she could do whatever she wanted without being questioned. She’d tell my friends to f*** off.”

He said whilst residents are relieved she is now behind bars, they are worried that she will return to Scargill Road when she is released.

“They’ve had 12 years of her. It’s been a hard 12 years for them. It’s never relaxed and it’s been constant all the time.

“People ended up not calling the police. They said, ‘Whats the point? they never come out’.

“Will prison will teach her a lesson? At 73 years old she’s very set in her ways.”

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson said:

“We provided the dog owner with guidance and advice on how to properly manage her dog. Any enforcement action would be a police matter.”

North Yorkshire Police told the Stray Ferret that there was no investigation into Ms Banks’ treatment of her dog.

Plans to demolish and replace Harrogate’s former Debenhams building

The owner of the former Debenhams site on Parliament Street in Harrogate has unveiled plans to demolish it to make way for a brand new building that includes four floors of “high quality” apartments.

Wetherby-based property firm Stirling Prescient has posted a notice on the window of the former department store about its plans for the site, which has been empty since Debenhams closed for good in January this year.

It says the owner wants to build a new five-floor structure with retail, leisure and food and drink units on the ground floor and 1,2 and 3-bedroom apartments on the upper floors. There would also be a basement floor for car parking and bicycle storage.

The site had been a retail staple on Parliament Street for over a century. Before Debenhams, it housed the Buckley’s and Busby’s stores.

The statement adds there is no longer demand for the Victorian-era building to be used as a department store and it is not suitable for conversion to smaller units due to the building’s layout and age.

It warns if the building cannot be brought back into use the empty building could become an “eyesore” and “blight the high street”.

Another image of the proposals

 

How the store looked previously

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The statement continues:

“The site is in Harrogate’s conservation area and is surrounded by a number of Grade II listed buildings and monuments. These heritage sensitivities have informed the contemporary and high-quality design of the development from the outset.”

The Stray Ferret has approached Stirling Prescient for more information about the development.

No formal planning application has been submitted but the owner is inviting comments from the public at the following email address: planning@westminsterhouseharrogate.co.uk

Read Harrogate historian Malcolm Neesam’s history of the Debenhams building here.