Thomas Barrett, Author at The Stray Ferret

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

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.”

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.”

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.”

‘I’ve walked 8,000km around Harrogate… playing Pokémon Go’

A Harrogate man has walked 8,000km around the town playing the mobile game Pokémon Go — the same distance it would take to walk from Harrogate to New Delhi in India.

The game was launched in 2016 and players use their phones to “catch” different monsters called Pokémon, such as the yellow and furry Pikachu.

A mobile app shows a live street map in real-time, and players rush to different locations where they can catch Pokemon and have digital battles with them at Pokemon “gyms”.

Rob Nixon, who works in retail, has pounded the pavements of Harrogate for the past five years and has caught 150,000 different Pokémon.

The 33-year-old said:

“It’s a fun way to get out. There’s always somewhere to go. It keeps me entertained.”

“After five years it’s part of my life. It’s hard not to imagine playing.”

Harrogate town centre on the game. Station Parade is the road on the bottom right.

Lockdown lifeline

Rob is one of the top players in the town and said his happiest hunting ground is around the Pinewoods and Harlow Carr Gardens, where he said it is rich pickings for rare Pokémon including Mewtwo and Dragonite.

The game has also been a lifeline during the covid lockdowns when he’s been able to use the app to get out and about for his daily exercise.

He’s seen some unusual things during his time playing the game, too. He was out late at night collecting Pokémon near Valley Gardens when a young man collapsed after a suspected seizure. He was unconscious but Rob, fortunately, had his phone on him to call an ambulance.

He said there is a big community of players in Harrogate where other users get together to battle a particularly strong Pokémon, usually outside a local landmark such as Harrogate Theatre.

Rob’s stats

It can get competitive, though, and he recalls how tempers flared with one “hardcore” local player.

“He was very territorial. A new gym spawned in Jennyfields and he would always go there.

“It got quite heated. We steer away from each other now. It seems silly in retrospect. It’s all in the past now.”

Many of the players are adults who have nostalgia for the Pokémon cards craze of the late 1990s. Rob remembers trading them during his time at Harrogate Grammar School.

To keep the game interesting, it evolves and adds new challenges and Pokémon to catch. Rob sees no reason why he can’t walk another 8,000km, as long as he has a charge.

He added:

“If my phone dies, I’m like – well, that sucks!”

Councillor fails in bid to rehome Peter the Peacock on his farm

A Harrogate councillor has seen his offer to rehome the exiled Peter the Peacock back in Bilton rejected by the RSPCA.

Conservative councillor for Old Bilton, Paul Haslam, owns a farm in the area that includes chickens, sheep and horses.

He stepped in following reports in the Stray Ferret this week that the animal charity took Peter in after an injury to his foot. It was believed he was sent to Lancashire.

Cllr Haslam told the Stray Ferret he felt he’d be able to give Peter a good home and he had even offered to buy some peahens to keep him company.

However, the RSPCA told him that his offer was too late.

It said that Peter was rehomed yesterday at an undisclosed location, which has other peacocks.

Although if the bird doesn’t settle at his new home, the RSPCA has promised to give Cllr Haslam a ring.

Cllr Haslam added:

“They tell me he’s in a very good home and that’s good news. He may just have gone to peacock paradise!”

Calls for ‘dangerous’ Starbeck junction to be improved

A Starbeck councillor has called for a notorious junction to be made safer following a car crash on Wednesday.

The collision occurred when a car pulled out of The Avenue onto Starbeck High Street at around midday. Two men were taken to hospital but their injuries are not thought to be serious.

A police officer at the scene told the Stray Ferret collisions are common at the junction due to visibility issues. Cars often park in the lay-by next to the junction and a tree also obscures the view for motorists pulling out.

Liberal Democrat councillor Philip Broadbank, who has represented the area for over 40 years, called on North Yorkshire County Council‘s highways department to take a look at the junction to make it safer.

He said residents in more than 350 homes frequently used The Avenue to get onto the high street.

Cllr Broadbank told the Stray Ferret:

“It’s a problem for people trying to get out as it’s difficult to see. Vision is a problem and it’s dangerous.

“We need to look at the lay-by issue.”

He said there have previously been calls to add traffic lights “but there are enough traffic lights down there”.

He added:

“Its a problem as people get frustrated trying to inch out.”

Several Stray Ferret readers responded to Wednesday’s story to say the junction was unsafe.

One said:

“Turning out of and into The Avenue is a nightmare. Visibility down toward the level crossing is terrible so you have to edge out.”

Another said:

“The trees need cutting on that junction, you can’t see to go there!”.

Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at North Yorkshire County Council, which is the highways authority, said:

“We take our road safety responsibilities seriously and will always act should there be a need to do so.

“In this instance, we await details of the incident from the police, but are unaware of particular safety issues with this junction.

“Care should always be taken when exiting from a side road on to a main road which is always very busy.”

New bar could open on Harrogate’s Parliament Street

Plans have been submitted to convert the former Moss Bros menswear shop on Parliament Street in Harrogate into a new bar.

Jonathan Neil from Palagander Ltd has submitted an application to Harrogate Borough Council to convert 23 Parliament Street, which also meets the top of The Ginnel, into a nightspot.

The company already runs two venues in Leeds. A cocktail bar called Roland’s on Call Lane and live music venue The Domino Club.

The new bar would be the latest addition to Parliament Street’s nightlife scene which is home to many venues including the Harrogate Arms, Revolución de Cuba, Mojos and the Viper Rooms.

The Ginnel hosts bars Montey’s and Major Tom’s Social.

Some venues on Parliament Street have struggled to survive in recent years including Jamie’s Italian, Wagyu Bar & Grill and The Restaurant Bar and Grill, which all closed.

The Stray Ferret tried to contact Mr Neil to find out more about his plans but we had not received a response by the time of publication.

Read more:

MPs watch: Fish and chips in Batley and Spen

Every month the Stray Ferret tries to find out what our local MPs have been up to in their constituencies and in the House of Commons.

In June, a planned covid ‘freedom day’ was delayed and the district was gripped by Euro 2020 fever.

We asked our three Conservative MPs, Harrogate & Knaresborough’s Andrew Jones, Skipton and Ripon’s Julian Smith, and Selby and Ainsty’s Nigel Adams if they would like to highlight anything in particular that they have been doing this month, but we did not receive a response from any of them.

Here is what we know after analysing their online presence.

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.

Andrew Jones, Conservative Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, here is what we found on Mr Jones:

The Harrogate & Knaresborough MP was spotted campaigning for the Conservatives ahead of the Batley & Spen by-election on five different occasions. He was photographed eating fish and chips with Tory candidate Ryan Stevenson.
On June 16 he voted to extend coronavirus restrictions until July 19. There were 23 Tory rebels.
On the same day in the House of Commons, he asked the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Steve Barclay, about the continuation of business support grants with the delay in easing restrictions.
The MP told the BBC’s Local Democracy Service that he would be “very sad” to lose around 1,500 voters in a proposed boundary shake-up.
On June 17 he chaired a Department for International Trade meeting that offered advice to Yorkshire businesses on trading internationally.
Mr Jones was quoted on his community “news” website discussing the improving retail occupancy rates in the Harrogate district. He said: “These have been difficult times and we are still not through them. Retail and hospitality are going to face ongoing challenges but these figures are positive and an improving position on much of the last few years”.
Mr Jones did not update his website in June.
The MP attended Harrogate Grammar School with Conservative councillors to meet pupils and celebrate Walk to School Day.

Julian Smith, Conservative MP for Ripon and Skipton.

Mr Smith posted on Twitter that he had also been campaigning in Batley & Spen for the Conservatives. “Great feedback on the doorstep”, he tweeted.
He tweeted that he has given talks at 15 schools in his constituency over the past few months. Schools included Beckwithshaw and Kirkby Malzard primary schools.
The MP posted on Facebook that it was “great to be back” in Pateley Bridge, as he was photographed inspecting a David Bowie film poster at Tordoff Gallery.
He also visited Stump Cross Caverns, which raised over £70,000 in a successful crowdfunding campaign that gave pledgers the chance to win a camper van.
The Boundary Commission proposed changes to Mr Smiths’ constituency that would see him lose Bishop Monkton and Burton Leonard.
During a Commons debate about the Northern Ireland protocol, the former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland called for “compromise on both sides” following months of unrest in Belfast. Mr Smith has spoken in Parliament on six occasions this year, with five of them being about Northern Ireland.

Nigel Adams, Conservative MP for Selby and Ainsty which includes rural Harrogate.

In rural south Harrogate, here is what we found on Mr Adams:

The Minister for Asia condemned the closure of Hong Kong pro-democracy news outlet Apple Daily. He tweeted that it was “another chilling step towards silencing opposition voices.”
The MP sarcastically praised former speaker John Bercow after he defected to the Labour Party from the Conservatives. He tweeted: “I’m sure he will be a great asset to them given his popularity with the great British public.”
In the Commons, Mr Adams said the UK government “does not shy from taking action” against China over human rights abuses.
The Boundary Commission proposed changes to Mr Adams’ constituency that would see him lose all areas within the Harrogate district.

75 covid cases in Harrogate district but hospitalisations fall

Another 75 covid infections have been recorded in the Harrogate district in the past 24 hours, according to Public Health England.

It is almost double yesterday’s figure of 42 and is the highest daily figure since January 13, when there were 86 infections.

However, separate figures released today by NHS England show the spike in infections is not leading to an increase in hospitalisations. There are currently two covid patients at Harrogate District Hospital – down from three last week, which suggests the vaccination programme is working.

The Harrogate district data reflects the national picture where cases have risen by almost 70% in a week but deaths have increased by just 11% and hospitalisations by 6%.

Read More:

The current seven-day rate of infection in the district is 173, slightly above the England rate of 172.

There have been no further covid-related deaths at Harrogate District Hospital. It means the death toll remains at 179.

Can you help locate dead Harrogate man’s next of kin?

Coroner’s officers in North Yorkshire are searching for the next of kin of a man who died recently in Harrogate.

Malcolm Miles, 70, was found dead at his home in Dene Park. It’s believed he lived in the Harrogate area for at least a few years.

North Yorkshire Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

Anyone who believes they are Mr Miles’ next of kin or has information that could assist the coroner, can email coroner@northyorkshire.police.uk