Harrogate Town’s under-19 coach Paul Barker is asking young people and their families in the district to donate sports equipment to disadvantaged youngsters.

He’s collecting football boots, balls, and other sporting gear which will be sent to a new charity called Action For Sport, which was set up to improve sporting participation for young people living in poverty. Donations will mainly help people in Bradford but also in other parts of the UK.

Mr Barker has worked in sport all his life and said its impact can be profound on young people. However, poverty can be a barrier to entry, with some parents unable to afford the essentials.

He said:

“Without sport some youngsters could go down a different path, sport can change that.”

“The charity is about giving them access to play sport in cities and getting them off the street.

Mr Barker said he has a friend whose son plays for Leeds United’s youth team. He receives three new pairs of goalkeeper gloves each month, which he was going to send to the tip but instead donated them to the charity.

He said even a small donation could make a big difference:

“An old ball, boots or trainers and you’re off”.

To donate, email Mr Barker at pbjfc@live.com or contact him through his Twitter page. He said you can arrange a time to drop the equipment off at his house.

Read more:

• English Football League approves Harrogate Town’s bid to create academy
• Former Harrogate Town footballer launches counselling service for young athletes

It’s not the first time Mr Barker has launched a drive for football equipment for those in need.

Two years ago he collected over 400 pairs of football boots, which were donated to the Namutumba orphanage in Uganda.

The people of Harrogate rallied behind the appeal, which was a huge success and created some new Town fans in a different continent.

He added:

“There are young people wandering around Uganda now wearing Harrogate Town shirts!”

Harrogate district residents may have noticed the town is looking different this year — as swathes of green spaces, including on the Stray, have been left alone by mowers and strimmers so nature can grow free.

‘Rewilding’ is one of the words of the moment, with councils across the country hoping to improve biodiversity and attract bees, birds and insects.

The new look in Harrogate has been welcomed by many, who see it as a sign that Harrogate Borough Council, which manages our parks and green spaces, is serious about improving biodiversity.

But others who cherish Harrogate’s long reputation for organised and elegant planting, believe it makes the town look untidy.

In the eye of the beholder

Shan Oakes from the Harrogate & District Green Party told the Stray Ferret that prim and proper Victorian-style floral displays can look old-fashioned.

In recent history, wildflower meadows have slipped into a dramatic decline as the species-rich grasslands are ploughed up for housing, farming and roads.

She said wildflowers will encourage pollinating bees as well as insects which can good food for birds.

“It’s excellent the council is thinking seriously about this from nature’s point of view.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It doesn’t have to be a mess.”

“One or two people might think it looks untidy and not respectful. But isn’t it more respectful to be kinder to nature?

“If bees go, we all go.”

‘Very unattractive’

Alison Freeman lives near the Stray but said rewilding makes the town look “untidy and unsightly”

She said she fears broken glass and bottles lurking in the undergrowth which she believes poses a safety risk.

“It’s very unattractive and it has the potential to be dangerous. Beer bottles could get dumped in the long grass.I t’s unusable and I can’t walk on it.

She criticised Harrogate Borough Council’s approach to grass cutting this year.

“Don’t they care about the town? They are driving Harrogate down.

“The whole verge by the West Park Stray looks like the council hasn’t bothered to look after it.

“Bees are important, we are not anti-bee. But I haven’t seen any bees on the buttercups by the Stray”.

Read more:

• Wildflower planting starts on the Stray tomorrow
• Watch: Volunteers plant wild flowers on Harrogate’s Stray

Judy D’Arcy Thompson from the Stray Defence Association took a more balanced approach to the issue.

She called rewilding “a very emotive subject with passions running high both for and against the wilding”.

She added:

“Our Stray is arguably Harrogate’s most important environmental asset and of tremendous benefit to the whole area. Throughout the past difficult months during the pandemic it has been an amazing green sanctuary for everyone to use.

“It is essential to strike a balance between the need for safeguarding and enhancing its ecological role alongside its open and free use by people.”

Great news for wildlife

As well as letting some areas grow free, Harrogate Borough Council recently planted 5,500 wildflower plugs on two areas of the Stray near Leeds Road and York Place. They were helped volunteers from Bilton Conservation Group.

A council spokesman said the new biodiversity areas will provide habitats and green corridors for some of the 1,500 species of insect pollinators across the district.

He added:

“Residents and visitors may have started to notice that some areas of the Harrogate district are being left to grow and not mown. 

“This is great news for wildlife as the longer grass and wildflowers will provide food and homes for pollinating insects, as well as supporting our aim of reducing our carbon footprint.

“As well as leaving specific areas to grow and encourage biodiversity, we have also planted – with the help of volunteers – more than 5,000 wildflower plugs on specific areas of the Stray in Harrogate.

“We’ll be keeping an eye on how things progress and will be providing regular updates on social media channels.”

Yorkshire Water is to release a further 100 water voles at Timble Ings woods in the Washburn Valley this week.

Water voles are one of the fastest declining mammals in Britain, losing 97% of their former geographical range, and have been identified as a key species for conservation in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Surveys of the area suggest the 100 water voles released in September 2020 have become established in the woodland, with feeding signs, faeces and burrows all present.

These have been spotted up to 500m from the original release site, indicating the water voles are settling into their new habitat.

Read more:

• Nidderdale visitors urged to report adder sightings

• Nidderdale Museum granted £54,800 to sustain heritage

The project forms part of Yorkshire Water’s Water Works for Wildlife initiative, which will see £1.6m invested in 15 sites across Yorkshire in a bid to boost biodiversity, enhance habitats, benefit wildlife and engage local communities.

Lee Pitcher, head of partnerships at Yorkshire Water, said:

“We’re pleased to see evidence the water voles we released in September have settled into their habitat, with piles of nibbled grass and stems, as well as droppings spotted recently. Now they are established, we’re now moving onto the next stage – a second release in the area to further boost the population.

“We also have plans in place to extend the habitat available for the water voles later this year, with new ponds set to be created, which will allow the population to continue to expand and take advantage of the perfect habitat Timble Ings Woods provides these creatures.”

Plans have been submitted for a 48-bike rack at Harrogate District Hospital.

Harrogate And District NHS Foundation Trust has submitted proposals to Harrogate Borough Council to build the new secure cycling storage.

It would be built to the right of the main entrance to the hospital next to the disabled car parking bays.

The rack would give staff and visitors a safe place to park their bikes following a spate of thefts at the hospital last year.

Read more:

• No covid patients at Harrogate hospital for the first time since August
• People urged to ‘think carefully’ before attending Harrogate hospital emergency department

Last summer, the Stray Ferret reported that there had been seven bicycle thefts at the hospital in three months, which North Yorkshire Police called “clearly outrageous”.

Some of the thefts affected key workers who found their bikes missing after long shifts.

The force offered hospital staff and local residents the option to have their bikes security marked in an effort to discourage the crime.

You might not heard of him before, but today is Sir Robert Barrie Day.  Sir Robert was a Royal Navy officer who fought against the USA in the 19th century and is buried in the Harrogate district.

The day marks the 180th anniversary of his death as well as the eight year anniversary of  Harrogate and Barrie in Canada becoming twin towns.

Sir Robert saw service in the War of 1812 which was a conflict fought between the United States and Great Britain over British violations of U.S. maritime rights.

He then took up a post in Ontario, Canada to inspect a key trading route called the Nine Mile Portage. He settled there, calling it “one of the most beautiful places on earth”. In 1833 the area was renamed in his honour.

As of the 2016 census, Barrie’s population was 141,434.

Twinned

Barrie was twinned with Harrogate in 2013 at the suggestion of local aristocrat Sir Thomas Ingilby.

Sir Robert married Sir Thomas’s ancestor, Julia Wharton Ingilby, in1816.

In mid-1834, Barrie returned to England and King William IV made him a knight commander of the Royal Guelphic Order. He was promoted to rear-admiral in 1837 and knight commander of the Order of the Bath in 1840.

Barrie retired in Swarthdale, Lancashire and was buried at All Saints Church in Ripley in 1841.

Read More: 

• Malcolm Neesam History: the heyday of Harrogate’s cinemas
• Authors celebrate Valley Gardens’ journey from springs to scenic spot

Barrie deputy mayor, Barry Ward, who was a guest for Harrogate’s UCI cycling event in 2019 said:

“Sir Robert Barrie had quite an interesting life, both as a military commander and administrator in what later became Canada.”

Harrogate is also twinned with two with Bagnères de Luchon in France and Montecatini Terme in Italy. Read more about Harrogate’s twin towns here.

Interested in history? Did you know that the Stray Ferret has teamed up with Malcolm to produce audio walking tours of Harrogate? The walks are sponsored by the Harrogate Business Improvement District (BID) and take you back to the Golden Age of the Harrogate Spa and a walk through the Commercial Heart of Harrogate.  

Why not take a walk back in time and learn about Harrogate’s glorious past.. They’re easy to do and a great day out. For more information click here. 

A lucky Harrogate resident is celebrating winning a £30,000 cash prize on the People’s Postcode Lottery at the weekend.

Every Saturday and Sunday throughout the June draws, one postcode will be announced as a £30,000 prize winner.

All the players in the postcode will win that sum for every ticket they hold.

The winning postcode of HG2 8QA was announced on Saturday.

A media release by People’s Postcode Lottery revealed one person in the Harrogate postcode area won last weekend.

People’s Postcode Lottery ambassador, the TV presenter Judie McCourt, sent her well-wishes to the winner, who asked to remain anonymous.

She said:

“What a fantastic surprise for our winner in Harrogate! I hope they enjoy celebrating this weekend and enjoy spending the cash. Congratulations!”

Read more:

• Harrogate house prices soar in just one year
• District’s residents asked for views on emissions targets

The draw costs £10 a month to enter. People play with their chosen postcode and are automatically entered into all draws.

A minimum of 33% of ticket sales goes directly to charities.

Players have helped raise over £700 million to date for thousands of good causes across Britain and internationally.

Fire crews were called to Pannal yesterday when smouldering ashes from a barbecue set a garage alight.

Firefighters from Harrogate, Wetherby and Knaresborough used breathing apparatus to extinguish the fire and ensure the fire had not spread to the attached bungalow.

The incident happened at Crimple Meadows shortly after 2pm.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service‘s incident log said:

“The cause of the fire is believed to be hot barbecue ashes stored in the garage overnight.”

Read more:

• Self-combusting linseed oil causes freak house fire in Bilton
• Harrogate firefighters rescue teenage girl taking part in TikTok swing ‘craze’

Simon Warwick was instrumental in turning a working gravel quarry near Ripon into Nosterfield Nature Reserve in 1997.

Almost 25 years later it has become a nationally recognised haven for birds and nature.

He said:

“We fought hard to for things to develop naturally.”

The Sharow resident has had a lifelong passion for wildlife and nature. When the Stray Ferret came to visit on a cold and blustery day in early May, he doesn’t stop smiling when he describes the bittern, arctic tern, lapwing and other species of bird that have recently been spotted there.

Whilst the covid pandemic has put restrictions on all of our lives, nature has carried on regardless, and at Nosterfield it has thrived.

Simon described the reserve as like a “motorway service station” for birds who will stop in the lake whilst they migrate.

Top birder

The reserve has become a place of discovery for birdwatchers.

At one of its purpose-built bird hides, we were greeted by one of the reserve’s ‘top birders’ Martin. He beamed when he tells us he has just spotted a turnstone, which is the 150th different species of bird so far this year.

Another milestone was when the avocet, which is the distinctive symbol of the RSPB, first began breeding on the lake.

Simon said:

“It was very exciting. We were there when she lifted off the nest and the chick appeared. A cheer went up in the bird hide.”

Read more:

• Ripon nature reserve gets £132,000 government boost
• Sharow church sets the public a biodiversity challenge

Breaking new ground

The reserve is not only a haven for birds, volunteers also grow plants that used to grow in wetlands in the Ure Valley but were made extinct due to farming and drainage techniques.

These include slender sledge, tower mustard and great fen sedge.

Pan and Laurie bring expertise and passion to the project after retiring from running a horticulture business.

Volunteers Pan and Laurie

Pan said:

“These plants want to be here again. Being able to bring them back is the buzz we all enjoy.

“It’s not being done anywhere else. We are breaking new ground.”

“You can really make a difference. It’s very satisfying to introduce plants that have been lost.”

The holy grail

In 2006 Simon was awarded an MBE for services to nature conservation in North Yorkshire. It’s not always been plain sailing, however, and in the early days, he received abuse from local residents who opposed the creation of the reserve.

Nosterfield is run by the charity, Lower Ure Conservation Trust, which recently appointed environment specialist Emma Higgs to work on its projects after receiving £132,000 from the government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund.

With its future secure for future generations of birdwatchers, and birds, Simon said the “holy grail” would be to see a visit from the majestic crane.

The huge wetland bird died out in Britain in around 1600. They were absent until a pair turned up in the Norfolk Broads in 1979.

“A crane would be the holy grail. It captures the essence and soundscape of the neolithic era.”

An application to allow HGVs to enter the Hambleton Grove Industrial Estate in Knaresborough from 7am, six days a week, has been submitted to Harrogate Borough Council.

However, objections have been raised by the council’s environmental health department due to the “bang and crashes” associated with the movement of goods.

Currently, HGVs can enter the industrial estate through the residential street Hambleton Grove from 8am.

Planning documents submitted by the builder’s merchants Myers Group, which uses the site, said it needs to start earlier in the morning as construction companies require early morning deliveries to ensure materials are available for the day ahead.

Mark Lee, environmental health officer at HBC, submitted a letter of objection to the proposal due to the noise implications. He also said the application has not been supported by a report that assesses its likely noise impact.

He wrote:

“Whilst the reason given to extend their hours is for the loading and dispatch of one dispatch vehicle this will result in six early mornings a week when forklift trucks will be in use and the associated engine noise, alarms, bang and crashes associated with the external movement of goods.”

Residents in Knaresborough have already launched a campaign to stop HGVs from using the industrial estate.

Stephen Mckenzie, who lives on Hambleton Grove, told the Stray Ferret:

“People in the neighbourhood are deeply concerned by this attempt to subvert the original planning conditions.

“Residents applaud the response of Environmental Health and hope Highways and then Planning have the same courage of conviction.

“It is time planning and local representatives actually represented the rate payers of Knaresborough.”

Read more:

• Police object to Knaresborough pub’s plans to serve late drinks outside

• Knaresborough residents call for HGV ban in narrow streets

In documents, planning consultant Jay Everitt wrote on behalf of Myers Group that the variation “will have no impact” on nearby residents.

He wrote:

“The variation sought will only allow for the loading and departure of a single wagon which will not return to the site before 8am.

“The loading of the wagon takes place with a fork-lift truck which is fitted with white noise reverse alarms and the loading activity is not audible from Hambleton Grove.”

The Stray Ferret asked Myers Group for a response but we did not receive one at the time of publication.