Tim Flanagan, Author at The Stray Ferret

Empty Ripon market reveals a city in lockdown

The sparse number of stalls on Ripon market this morning told its own story of a city that had woken up to day one of covid lockdown two.

Traders selling non-essential goods cannot work again at the market for at least four weeks — adding to the 11 weeks of lost business caused by the first lockdown from March until June.

Sonya Johnson, who would normally have been at Ripon market today with her female accessories stall, said:

“It’s not good obviously because it’s the busiest time of the year. We just need to grin and bear it and hope we can reopen for December. It’s come at the worse time ever as November and December are always really busy.

“We normally have the Christmas trade to tide us over through January and February but if we come back then it could be difficult.”

Non-essential shops attempted to maximise sales yesterday in the final few hours before lockdown.

So did salons and barbers, which stayed open late for customers desperate to get a trim.

Wetherspoon’s Unicorn Hotel – the largest pub in Ripon – offered its real ales at 99 pence a pint before it closed.

Cafes and restaurants served their last November customers in the hope they will be back in early December.

No takeaways

Oliver’s Pantry in Fishergate kept its head above water during the first lockdown by introducing a limited takeaway service, but is not doing the same this time.

Lou Grant, joint owner of the business with husband Tim, said:

“We have considered all options and made the decision to fully lockdown.

“Hopefully, we will only be closed for a few weeks. We will monitor the news and hope to be able to open again very soon with a big bang.”

A sign in the cafe’s window this morning sent a simple message to all of Ripon’s businesses – ‘Don’t quit.’

Teenager stars in Ripon Grammar photography competition

A teenage photographer has won Ripon Grammar School’s (RGS) Lockdown Photography Competition.

Tai Newman’s image of stars in the early morning sky, earned praise from National Geographic and Time magazine photographer Mark Read, a former student of RGS.

Mr Read, who judged the competition, said the photograph was conceptually very strong and showed great technical ability.

He added:

“I like how he put a lot of thought into the process, stayed up late and pulled off what’s quite a difficult photograph.”

Tai Newman

The former RGS student who lives in Ripon and is now studying photography at Harrogate Grammar School, stayed up until 2am to capture his photograph, entitled ‘Light in the Dark.’

Having set up his camera on a tripod with a ten second timer, he ran to the top of a hill near his home to appear in the photograph.

Tai said of his conceptual work:

“Even through hard times we can find the light in the dark to guide the way.”

The competition, which was organised by RGS, with prizes donated by Ripon Business Services, was open to the local community.

Entrants were invited to submit images captured on camera during the first lockdown period.

Entries featured a wide range of locations from the coast to the countryside and urban settings.

A photograph taken from her window, won 12-year-old RGS student Martha Jones of Burton Leonard, the runner-up prize, while RGS premises manager Andrew Hogg’s photograph of a woman on a bench at Saltburn, was placed third.

Tai’s winning photograph will be reproduced on a large canvas; Martha’s on a slate and Mr Hogg’s on a mug.

Harrogate district charity shops count the cost of lockdown

Many charities will be left counting the cost of another lockdown when their shops are forced to close tomorrow.

It took many stores a long time to re-open after the first lockdown and now their attempts to raise funds for charitable causes are to be hindered again.

Charity shops are a big part of the retail scene in Harrogate, Ripon, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Pateley Bridge and Masham.

Ripon’s 10th charity shop was all set to open, but Martin House will now have to wait at least a month before serving its first customers.

When the first lockdown of non-essential retailers ended in June, the charity, which provides family-led care for young people with life-limiting conditions, took over large premises on Fishergate.

Martin House’s £2.2m loss

At the time, the charity projected a £2.2 million loss of planned income stretching into summer 2021.

Stephanie Rimmington, the head of retail, said:

“The income we get from our shops is vital to helping Martin House raise the money we need to care for families in this area.”

Further down Fishergate, The Oxfam shop remains closed, having never reopened since the first covid lockdown in March.

Saint Michael’s, which has shops in Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough, spends £6 million per year on hospice care from its base in Crimple Valley.

Saint Michael’s has charity shops across the Harrogate district.

With one in three people in the Harrogate district requiring hospice care or support at some point in their lives, the demand for its services is unrelenting.

A Saint Michael’s spokesperson pointed out:

“We can only care for as many people as we have the funds to help.”

The money required is £15,000 a day and there is reliance on the income from retail shops, alongside bequests, personal donations and fundraising events, which pay for 80 percent of the charity’s work.

British Heart Foundation shop closure

Today marks the last day of trading for the British Heart Foundation books and music shop in Beulah Street, Harrogate.

Like the clothing and bric-a-brac shop it once had further down the street, it will not be reopening.

While shops close, either temporarily or for good, all of the organisations involved – both local and national – continue their work despite the difficult times that they face.

In an appeal for financial donations, the British Heart Foundation, said:

“Covid has put people with heart and circulatory conditions at greater risk than ever. But the effects of the virus have also cut our lifesaving research in half. Slowing down now would put even more lives at stake.

“At a time when hearts need help now more than ever, we urgently need your support.”

Though the shops are closed, there are other ways of supporting the work of all charities and details can be found on their respective websites.

Ripon retailers stay open until 7pm tonight ahead of lockdown

Ripon retailers classed as selling ‘non-essential’ goods are preparing for a second COVID-19 lockdown with trepidation – many staying open late tonight on the last day of trading.

Sarah Groom, owner of the Forbes giftshop on Westgate, told the Stray Ferret:

“For me, the timing could not be worse – the run-up to Christmas is my most important trading period of the year.”

She added:

“It’s when I make the money that sustains me through the quieter times, like January and February. I just hope that I can reopen in early December to serve customers with the Christmas goods that they want.”

For Sarah, this is the second blow in a key trading period, as the first lockdown left her with Easter stock that she was unable to sell.

Also anticipating a double blow is Peter Wilkinson, owner of The Easy Learning Shop in the Duckhill Shopping Quarter (pictured above).

He said:

“It’s annoying to have another break in trade, I personally think that a 6pm curfew would work better than a lockdown.”

As well as the potential loss of pre-Christmas sales, items sold in the shop include the Grimm’s brand of wooden toys, which are imported from Germany and Peter pointed out:

“In the New Year we will be facing Brexit and tariffs that will make goods imported from Europe more expensive, which won’t help.”

This week both Forbes and The Easy Learning Shop will be staying open each night until 7pm before the lockdown comes into effect and after this, Peter will be stepping up on his online sales, free delivery and click and collect service.

The attempt to lighten the pre-lockdown mood saw clothes store M&Co in Fishergate go out on social media to encourage retailers in Ripon to offer late night shopping tonight.

Assistant manager Sophie Hattersley, said:

“We are supporters of the Love Local campaign and want to ensure that all of Ripon’s retailers get through these difficult times.”

She added:

“We have had a good response from other stores and hope that the extra hours of trade will give people a chance to come and shop safely before we shut down for a month.”

Ripon churches and museums affected by lockdown

Churches of all denominations and museums in Ripon will be affected by the second coronavirus lockdown.

Ripon Cathedral will remain open each day for private prayer, with social distancing and hygiene measures in place, but there will be no public acts of worship

The government has said that from Thursday only funerals, limited to a maximum of 30 people, will be allowed inside church buildings.

The Dean of Ripon, the Very Revd John Dobson, said:

“Daily services will happen with one priest at the start and end of the day when the building’s closed.

“The cathedral will be open daily for private prayer.”

Ripon Museum Trust, which runs the workhouse, prison and police and old courthouse museums will close all three sites at 4pm on Thursday until further notice.

Management has said to visitors on the trust’s website:

“If you had a booking for this period please get in touch with us to organise a refund or an alternative date to visit. People who have bought an annual pass will have one month extra added on automatically.

Ripon Workhouse Museum

“We would like to thank all our visitors and school groups for their support over the past three months enjoying our museums in a covid-safe way.

“Thanks too to all our volunteers and staff who have worked tirelessly to make our museums safe and great places to visit. Our utmost priority during these unprecedented times is ensuring the safety of all and we will follow all government advice to enable us to safely reopen.”

Ripon dedication ceremony remembers war dead

The Ripon branch of the Royal British Legion has held a dedication ceremony at the city’s Garden of Remembrance, where the dead of two World Wars and other conflicts are remembered.

The event, a week before Remembrance Sunday, went ahead following consultation with Harrogate Borough Council.

Numbers in attendance were kept to a minimum and social distancing measures were in place, as the Dean of Ripon, The Very Revd John Dobson, blessed the garden and led prayers.

Photograph of the Dean of Ripon leading prayers at the GaRDEN

The Dean of Ripon, The Very Revd John Dobson leads prayers at the Garden of Remembrance

In the shadow of Ripon Cathedral, where the dead of many battles and wars have been mourned over the centuries, he said:

“We assemble today in the presence of almighty God to dedicate this ground as a Garden of Remembrance.”

He added:

“This coming week, tokens of remembrance will be placed in memory of those who fell in the cause of freedom for our country.

“In the name of the Royal British Legion, we pledge ourselves to help, encourage and comfort others and to support those working for the relief of the needy and for the peace and welfare of the nations.”

With the coronavirus crisis and a second nationwide lockdown coming into effect on Thursday, this has been a challenging year for all charities and has impacted heavily on the annual Poppy Appeal run by the Royal British Legion.

Ripon branch chair, Jeet Bahadur Sahi, who organised the dedication event, told the Stray Ferret:

“In these difficult times, we all have to be careful and as well as limiting the number of people in attendance at the ceremony we have followed strict social distancing to ensure all are safe.”

He added:

“The lockdown has seen the cancellation of Remembrance Sunday services across the country, but people can still come individually to put a cross in the ground at the garden, in memory of friends or family members who have fallen in war.

“I would just stress that people must follow the government’s social distancing requirements if they come to the Garden of Remembrance.”

The covid pandemic means Poppy Appeal street collections that normally raise up to £20,000 to support the Royal British Legion’s work, cannot be held this year.

Supermarkets across Ripon have poppies on sale.

Salvation Army ready to help Ripon families in need

As another lockdown looms, organisations in Ripon are preparing to support those most in need.

Major Christine McCutcheon, the officer in charge of the Salvation Army’s headquarters and church in Lead Lane, is anticipating a surge in demand for the services provided by foodbanks as Christmas approaches.

Major McCutcheon says the organisation locally is ready to respond.

She told the Stray Ferret:

“My particular concern is for those people who are under the radar and struggling to make ends meet through no fault of their own. When coronavirus first impacted on Ripon, there was a sudden ten-fold increase in the demand for food parcels that we were providing.”

Donated bags of pasta will help some people in need to feed their families.

As the crisis deepened, The Salvation Army linked up with the Food Support foodbank, based at Community House in Allhallowgate, which provides a lifeline for people in Ripon, Boroughbridge and surrounding villages.

Christine and her colleague Alison Hewitt are now gearing up to fill parcels with Christmas food items and toys for families living in the area.

She said:

“In previous years, as part of our Christmas appeal supported by Morrisons supermarkets, we have prepared 200 bags of food and included between 300 and 400 toys, which parents can wrap up themselves to give to their children.

“This year there is likely to be a demand for more and we are again seeking help from the people of Ripon, who have always been extremely generous in providing new toys, food and cash donations.”

For those who haven’t previously called on assistance from The Salvation Army, Christine has a message:

“We handle all enquiries and referrals on a confidential basis. For some, that help might be over a short crisis period, between the loss of a job and the start of Universal Credit payments.

“There is nothing to be ashamed of – we are here to help and not to judge.”

Anybody in need of help or advice can contact the Salvation Army by calling 01765 692657

Councillors seek solution for Ripon eyesore site

The look of one of the principal gateways to Ripon is being spoilt because of an abandoned redevelopment site, according to a local councillor.

In its untidy over-grown state, with fencing that has blown down, the area on Skellgarths has been described as, a ‘mess’ and an ‘eyesore’.

The site was formerly the location for Ripon’s first purpose-built library, which opened in 1937. The building stood there until its demolition in 2014.

Councillor Mike Chambers, who is a city, district and county councillor and Harrogate Borough Council’s (HBC) cabinet member for housing and safer communities, told the Stray Ferret:

“I have raised the issue of this derelict site on a number of occasions with HBC enforcement officers to seek guidance and ask what can be done. The area is a mess and an eyesore.”

The site is in a prime tourist area in close proximity to Ripon Cathedral and on the route to Fountains Abbey in one direction and Newby Hall in the other. It is also one of the main thoroughfares leading to the city centre.

Cllr Chambers added:

“At one stage we managed to get some fencing put in place, but it subsequently blew down. I will continue to push for the area to be blocked off, particularly as the blown-down fence could pose a public safety issue, with footings on the site filling with water after rainfall.”

At last week’s virtual full council meeting, councillors heard that attempts to take enforcement action were complicated because the developer who planned to build on the site had gone bust.

The council leader, Councillor Andrew Williams, suggested that the look of the area could be improved if schoolchildren were invited to do designs that could be incorporated into new hoardings made for the site.

Cllr Sid Hawke felt that the site should be tidied up and used as additional car parking space to serve the city centre.

Ripon pie company lends its weight to food charity

Yorkshire Handmade Pies, a company based on the outskirts of Ripon, has formed a partnership to support the charity FoodCycle.

The environmentally-focused charity runs community projects across the country serving meals made from surplus food which would otherwise have gone to waste.

Fresh, raw ingredients donated by local supermarkets and food outlets are collected by FoodCycle volunteers who then use the surplus food to cook three-course meals.

Prior to the covid-19 pandemic, the meals were produced to help address issues of loneliness for people living in food poverty, by creating spaces for them to meet and have a meal together.

Since the coronavirus crisis, FoodCycle, which has produced more that 270,000 meals since its formation ten years ago, has diversified to provide take-aways still helping to improve nutrition and reducing hunger by cooking healthy meals for those in need.

Now,Yorkshire Handmade Pies is adding its weight to the charity’s efforts. For every box of pies purchased, Yorkshire Handmade Pies will donate 30p of the sale price to FoodCycle to help them to expand their work in local communities and fund more projects in more regions.

FoodCycle also aims to change attitudes to food by cooking with surplus ingredients, spreading their passion for food and the environment, which Yorkshire Handmade Pies fully supports too.

Its pies are delivered frozen because frozen food generates 47% less wastage than chilled food.

Company founder James Sturdy said:

“We wanted to support a charity which aligns with our ethos around food wastage, environmental responsibilities and wellbeing beliefs.

“FoodCycle supports a wide variety of people from low-income families, people affected by homelessness to those experiencing physical and mental health problems. They exist to ensure communities have access to healthy food and they need our support now, more than ever.”

Yorkshire Handmade Pies, which has premises in Melmerby, is a member of the Living Wage Foundation and the Good Business Charter – a voluntary accreditation scheme which recognises responsible business practices.

End in sight for Kirkby Malzeard closure

The £19,000 reconstruction and repair of the church wall at St Andrew’s Kirkby Malzeard will move a step closer today.

A 10-metre section of wall collapsed onto Church Street on February 19, causing the closure of the principal route between Kirkby Malzeard and Masham.

A diversion has been in place for more than eight months.

Planning permission is required for reconstruction of the collapsed section and repair of a further 30-metre length of the wall.

Harrogate Borough Council (HBC) has responsibility for the structure bordering the graveyard of the 12th century church, which was registered as a Grade I Listed Building in March 1967.

At a planning committee meeting today councillors will be asked to approve an application for reconstruction and repair of the stone wall.

Approval by members of the committee would be subject to conditions and if supported, final consent will be deferred to the executive officer for development management and building control.

HBC had initially hoped to have the wall reconstructed and repaired and the carriageway reopened to through traffic by the end of June.

However, timescales had to be reviewed because of the impact of the covid-19 pandemic.

St Andrew’s Church

Before work can proceed, further discussions need to be completed with Historic England, which has raised concerns about the proposed method of reconstructing the wall.

In a letter to HBC, the heritage watchdog, said:

“The church complex, including the churchyard and wall is considered to have exceptional heritage significance which derives from its architectural styles, legible plan-form, good surviving historical fabric and its continued focal point for rural community life.”

A report to councillors, says:

“Negotiations are ongoing with regards to the technical details, but the scheme is considered to be acceptable in principle.

“The principle of rebuilding the wall is accepted and whilst any stabilisation works will lead to ‘less than substantial harm’ to the structure it is considered that subject to agreeing a suitable method of construction and stabilisation, the public benefits of rebuilding the wall outweigh this harm.”

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