Knaresborough and Starbeck pools to reopen this month

Harrogate Borough Council said today it will reopen Knaresborough Pool on Monday next week and Starbeck Baths on July 19.

However, Starbeck’s reopening depends on government social distancing measures being lifted that day as anticipated.

The council tweeted the news this afternoon to end months of uncertainty, questions and suspicion over the venues’ futures.

Lockdown restrictions eased on April 12 to permit swimming pools to re-open.

However, a problem with the pool filters at Knaresborough forced it to remain closed and the council blamed social distancing restrictions for the delay in reopening Starbeck.

Frustration has grown in recent weeks, particularly over the future of Starbeck Baths, with residents questioning whether it would ever re-open.

The news that Starbeck Baths would finally reopen was welcomed by local resident Chris Watt, who has been at the forefront of the campaign to reopen the pool.

He was due to ask a question about it at tonight’s full council meeting.

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He told the Stray Ferret:

“It’s good to know my little campaign has had a result. It’s a bit of a shame it’s due to local residents putting pressure on the council.

“Let’s just hope they stick to it, they have promised to reopen it before so we will have to wait and see.

“My son will be so happy: he’s been asking constantly, ‘When can I swim again?’ so he’ll be delighted.”

‘It’s about time’

Philip Broadbank, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Starbeck, told the Stray Ferret “it’s about time” the pool reopened.

“I’ve been asking consistently since last summer when the baths will reopen so it’s good news that they are doing.

“It’s about time. I’ll be holding them to it. A lot of local residents have been campaigning with me for the baths to open so they’ll be very pleased too”.

Sessions at Knaresborough can only be booked through the council’s website from 10am on Friday. Details on how to book for Starbeck will be announced at a later date.

Trevor Watson, director for economy and culture at the council, said:

“It is fantastic news that the swimming pool in Knaresborough is set to open ahead of the school summer holidays, as I know local parents and children are keen to jump back in the pool.”

He added that being required to self isolate had presented staffing problems at the pools.

“For many of us, this doesn’t present a problem as we can work at home. But for our leisure centre staff this isn’t possible and sadly has an unavoidable impact on the services we provide.

“We are doing what we can to recruit staff, fill these gaps and return to normal as soon as it is safe to do so. I’d like to thank residents for bearing with us.”

Harrogate council to bypass procurement process for £125,000 contract

Harrogate Borough Council is set to appoint a Hull-based firm to service its heating and air conditioning units on a £125,000 contract without going through its normal procurement process.

A report today will go before HBC’s cabinet member for economic development, Cllr Graham Swift, that asks him to approve the appointment of Airco Refrigeration Limited on a 12-month contract.

Work involves issuing gas safety certificates for commercial boilers, replacing filters in air handling units and servicing of pumps at the council’s heating and refrigeration sites.

The previous supplier, Harrogate-firm Robinson Facilities Services Ltd, was appointed on a five-year contract in 2019. However, the company terminated its contract with 30-days notice on April 19 this year, leaving the council without anyone to provide emergency repairs.

The report said due to the short notice, HBC was unable to undertake a formal procurement exercise, complete market research or benchmarking.

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However, it says Airco has agreed to provide services at an equivalent cost to the outgoing supplier.

The Stray Ferret asked HBC why the company cancelled the contract but we did not receive a response at the time of publication.

The report says:

“It is of the upmost importance that an alternative service provider is appointed without delay as the council is required to hold a valid gas safety certificate for each property in its ownership. Planned preventative maintenance is essential to ensure the council’s operational buildings are safe and fit for purpose.”

The report says that the fixed-term contract will give HBC 12 months to complete a procurement process to appoint a new long-term supplier.

Viper Rooms owner: Young people in Harrogate can ‘celebrate life’ again

The owner of Harrogate’s only nightclub, The Viper Rooms, has welcomed the government’s announcement that nightclubs will finally be able to reopen on July 19 without masks or social distancing.

Paul Kinsey told the Stray Ferret that he is looking forward to reopening but added he was still skeptical that the reopening plans won’t be delayed again.

He also sympathised with young people in Harrogate who he believes have suffered over the past 18 months and said having a nightclub again will give them a chance to “celebrate life” again.

He said:

“I think it’s a great outcome if it actually goes ahead.”

“It allows all of the 18 to 25-year-olds who have suffered the most in terms of lost education, lost jobs and lost leisure the opportunity to do what they love most….celebrate life!!”

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The club has been one of the hardest-hit businesses in Harrogate since the covid pandemic hit. It’s been closed indefinitely since March 2020, except for one night on Halloween.

Mr Kinsey was looking forward to reopening on June 21 until the government decided to delay the easing of lockdown restrictions for another month.

It meant the nightclub had to put its plans on ice.

He called on the government to offer a package of financial support to the nightlife sector in a previous Stray Ferret article.

A covid-19 leaving drinks party will now take place on July 19 at 10pm.

Harrogate man says ‘outrageous, camp and wild’ garden saved his life

Paul Ivison says his “outrageous, camp and wild” garden in Harrogate saved his life following recent mental health battles.

Mr Ivison’s loud and proud garden may be small but it is hard to miss as you walk up Mayfield Grove to where it meets Mayfield Terrace, just a short walk from the town centre.

He designs a themed garden each year and this year he has gone with for mental health.

On the wall outside the garden are messages and advice for people on how to cope with mental health problems and who to contact if they need help.

As well as a wide array of plants and flowers his garden is also interspersed with and eclectic and colourful range of items including the Philippines flag, to represent his partner, photos of the Queen and Prince Philip, fairies, gnomes and bowling pins.

Mr Ivison, 61, took an overdose to end his life in January and the garden has given him the strength to carry on. He said:

“If it wasn’t for this garden, I wouldn’t be here.”

“It’s been a tough time but the garden clears my mind.”

Mr Ivison was in the Royal Navy during the late 1970s and early 1980s and recently began suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to what he witnessed.

He works part-time at Asda in Harrogate and also receives Personal Independence Payment for people with a disability.

After a review in January, the money he was entitled to was drastically cut which led to financial worries and a risk that he would lose his beloved home and garden. This led to his suicide attempt.

After providing more evidence, and support from Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones, he had his full entitlement reinstated.

Mr Ivison is critical of the Department for Work and Pensions and said PIP reviews  were responsible for dozens of suicides. He hopes his garden will highlight what he believes are the government’s shortcomings in tackling mental health and its approach to benefits.

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Mr Ivison, who has lived in the house for 15 years, said 95% of the objects in the garden have been recycled.

He enjoys sitting outside with a coffee and a cigarette watching the world go by while speaking to neighbours. One woman who lives nearby called in during the Stray Ferret’s visit to say the garden has helped with her own mental health.

Mr Ivison said:

“I’ve had some amazing comments. It brightens up their day.”

His garden is open to anyone who wants to visit.

“A lot of people say — pull yourself together, or exercise — but it’s not as easy as that. We all have friends who suffer. The best thing you can do is listen.”

He’s already thinking about next year and said he has decided on a new theme for the garden.

“Next year it will be a Pride garden. It will be camp as hell!”

Harrogate district joins national thank you to NHS

Residents and staff at a care home in Harrogate raised flags yesterday to say thank you to NHS staff, care workers and other front-line workers.

After showing their support, the residents at Larchfield Manor residential home on Leadhall Grove observed a two-minute silence and a rendition of The Last Post.

They later raised a toast to those who have helped others during the pandemic and enjoyed a celebratory afternoon tea.

The activities were held to mark the UK’s first-ever national Thank You Day on Sunday, which was created to recognise those who have helped the country during covid.

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Yesterday also saw the bells of Ripon Cathedral ring out to say thank you.

The team of bell ringers, which included retired and current NHS employees, sounded the bells 73 times on what was the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the NHS.

Firefighters battle blaze at farm in Beckwithshaw

Firefighters have been battling a blaze at a farm in Beckwithshaw this evening.

A firefighter at the scene told the Stray Ferret a pile of hay caught fire next to a barn at Whin Hill Farm, opposite the West Harrogate Household Waste Recycling Centre on Pennypot Lane.

Smoke from the fire was visible across Harrogate and people on social media said they could smell burning as far away as Jennyfields.

The incident was brought under control quickly and no people or farm animals are believed to have been hurt.

The firefighter praised the farmer for getting his machinery out of the way quickly before the fire service arrived.

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Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver signs new contract

Simon Weaver has signed a new three-year deal to stay on as manager of Harrogate Town.

Me Weaver first took the reins at Wetherby Road in May 2009 when he was appointed player-manager by his chairman father Irving Weaver.

The club has been transformed in the 12 years since. It’s gone from being a Conference North club in the sixth tier of English football to finishing 17th last season in Division Two of the English Football League — the fourth tier.

Weaver, who was born in Doncaster, is currently the longest-serving manager in the professional game in England.

He said:

“This club has been a massive part of my life for for 12 years, so to take it to 15 is fantastic for me personally.

“I’m excited about the challenge ahead and have as much appetite for it now as I did 12 years ago.”

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Town’s assistant manager Paul Thirwell has also signed a new three-year contract with the club.

Thirwell, who played for Sheffield United and Sunderland, has worked under Weaver since January 2017.

Their close relationship was captured in the BT Sport documentary Proud To Be Town, which chronicled the club’s promotion to League Two in 2019-20.

Weaver added:

“Paul and I are very close, he definitely alleviates pressure on my job with what he brings to the table, he’s a good presence, has a great personality and sense of humour, but overall he is a really good person, which is important to me.”

Town will begin their second-ever campaign in the English Football League with a home tie against Rochdale on August 7.

Harrogate-born professional wrestler Bea Priestley joins WWE

Harrogate-born professional wrestler Bea Priestley has joined the global American wrestling promotion WWE.

She will begin her WWE career with its UK brand NXT UK wrestling under her new ring name Blair Davenport.

NXT UK is an off-shoot of the WWE’s main US-based shows, Raw and Smackdown. Wrestlers hone their skills in the UK before hopefully moving to America to perform in front of millions.

NXT UK’s weekly show is broadcast on BT Sport and the WWE Network.

Priestley was born in Harrogate and moved to New Zealand when she was 10 years old.

She began training to be a wrestler at the age of 14 and made her debut in December 2012. She’s spent the last few years playing a villainous character in Japan.

In a video posted to the WWE’s social media channels, the grappler laid down the gauntlet for future rivals.

“I have wrestled all around the world. I have sacrificed everything to get to where I am today. I have given up friends, I have given up family to master what I do. Did you really think I wouldn’t be part of the greatest women’s division on earth?”

#BlairDavenport has arrived in #NXTUK! pic.twitter.com/znRN9sScdy

— NXT UK (@NXTUK) July 1, 2021

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Priestley is not the only currently active wrestler to hail from Harrogate.

The high-flying Joe Wade spoke to the Stray Ferret this year about his dream of one day making it in Japan or America.

There is also Thomas ‘Bram’ Latimer, who currently wrestles in the United States for the National Wrestling Alliance, which is owned by Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan.

Pannal man accuses council of acting ‘unreasonably’ over leaning willows

A Pannal resident is in a battle with Harrogate Borough Council over two willow trees that he believes hang precariously over his house.

Professor Alejandro Frangi, who is an internationally renowned expert on computational medicine, lives by Crimple Beck in the Harrogate suburb with his wife and eight children.

On the other side of the water are several trees, including the two willows that he believes could fall in strong winds and threaten the safety of his young family.

In 2020 he applied to the council to prune and manage the trees. The council agreed to manage some of them, but it refused to touch the willows, saying that work would damage their health.

Instead it placed a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) on them, making it a criminal offence to make any changes.

Prof Frangi has accused the council of “acting unreasonably” over the trees and submitted a formal complaint to the council about the way the saga has been handled.

The council rejected his complaint and said it was satisfied with how it made the decision.

Prof Frangi told the Stray Ferret:

“These trees risk falling on to my side of the river, straight on my property, posing a risk to my family and property. The council has been acting unreasonably, dismissing the risks and putting TPOs on the trees instead of protecting us.”

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To help his case, Prof Frangi commissioned arboricultural consultant James Royston to inspect the hazards posed by the trees, and he agreed that one of them could be dangerous.

The report said:

“It is overhanging a house and garden, and it thereby presents a reasonably foreseeable risk of danger to the occupants and visitors of that house and garden.”

However, it doesn’t appear that Harrogate Borough Council will change its position.

Prof Frangi has now lodged an appeal with the government’s Planning Inspectorate about the council’s refusal and hopes it will force them to change their stance.

A HBC council spokesperson said:

“Proposals that result in the thinning, loss of or damage to mature trees that are subject to a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) are not permitted unless there is an overriding need that outweighs loss or harm.

“The trees are mature specimens with no visible health defects, and thinning would have a detrimental impact on their health and the visual amenity of the surrounding area, contrary to the guidance in the National Planning Policy Framework and Policy NE7 of the Harrogate Local Plan.”

“Professor Frangi has submitted appeals against the council’s decisions to refuse consent and the matter is now with the Planning Inspectorate whose decisions are currently awaited.”

 

‘Why I won’t stop protesting at RAF Menwith Hill’

Campaigner and activist Lindis Percy estimates she’s been arrested around 500 times at protests against overseas US bases in the UK – most recently last week at RAF Menwith Hill for obstructing the public highway.

After an almost 18-month break due to covid, the 79-year-old joined a weekly protest at the base that is on the outskirts of Harrogate and is organised by the Menwith Hill Accountability Campaign. It began in 2000 and was set up by the Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases.

Built in the 1950s, Menwith Hill is the United States’ largest overseas surveillance base. Giant radomes, or ‘golf balls’, are a distinctive feature of the site.

In a recent planning application to expand the base, the UK Ministry of Defence, which owns the site, described Menwith Hill as an “integral part” of the United States’ worldwide defence communications network. It also said it provides intelligence and security support for the US and its allies.

However, Ms Percy, who lives near the base, is troubled by what she believes goes on there.

A 2016 investigation published by The Intercept that included documents from whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed Menwith Hill has been involved in controversial drone bombing campaigns in Yemen.

Ms Percy said:

“I say this with no pride or pleasure. There have been so many attempts to stop what I do – by the US authorities and the Ministry of Defence police.

“The MOD tried to bring an ASBO against me! They failed.”

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Campaigning

Ms Percy had a career as a nurse and midwife for the NHS and has been a campaigner against overseas military bases for decades.

She first became active at the Greenham Common protests in the early 1980s where protesters fought against nuclear weapons being held at an RAF base in Berkshire.

In 2003 she scaled the gates of Buckingham Palace during a state visit from then-US President George W Bush at the height of the Iraq War.

She has won several cases at the High Court in London over the right to protest and was defended by current Labour leader Keir Starmer during his days as a human rights lawyer.

She said:

“Why do I continue? I think it’s so important to speak out when knowing that something is wrong.”

American flag

Her latest arrest happened at Menwith Hill on June 22. She said she held stood in the road “for a few seconds” holding an upside-down American flag, with the message “whistleblowers urgently needed”.

She was arrested for obstructing the highway by Ministry of Defence police, who manage security at the site.

Ms Percy said she accepted that some Americans do find her version of the flag offensive, but defended her right to protest.

In 2001, with Keir Starmer as her council, she won a high court case over the right to deface the American flag.

She added:

“There is a balance between the right to protest and the right for people to go about their normal business.”

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson told the Stray Ferret:

“The MOD can confirm a member of the public was arrested on 22 June outside the main entrance to RAF Menwith Hill base by the Ministry of Defence Police. The individual was taken to Harrogate Police Station, reported for the offence of obstructing the highway and subsequently released.”