One of the UK’s fastest-growing restaurant operators will be opening in Ripon and bringing 25 new jobs to the city.

Loungers UK, which owns the Lounge and Cosy Club brands, is currently refurbishing a building in Market Place, next to Ripon Town Hall, and the opening of the premises will add to the Bristol-based company’s portfolio of approximately 150 sites in England and Wales.

Gemma Irwin, community manager for The Lounges, told the Stray Ferret:

“We will recruit around 25 local people and hope to quickly become part of Ripon’s community.”

With refurbishment work currently under way to transform the former NatWest bank premises, an opening date is yet to be confirmed.

The premises acquired by the Loungers Group, is in a prime location next to Ripon Town Hall

The Ripon opening is part of a growth strategy announced by the company last year, in which it said it is:

“Targeting 25 new site openings per annum over the medium term, of which approximately 20 are expected to be Lounges and approximately five are expected to be Cosy Clubs.”

Read more:

• See how a Ripon entrepreneur’s dreams are coming true
• How did diversification help a Ripon pie maker?

The company, founded in 2002, was valued at £185 million before its listing on the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market (AIM) which lists smaller growing businesses.

With the hospitality sector hit hard by the coronavirus lockdown in March, which saw all of its restaurants temporarily closed, Loungers secured a £15million revolving credit facility from its banks for an 18-month period, designed to assist the company during the covid 19 disruption and help it if the pandemic impacts sales into next year.

Loungers was founded by friends Dave Reid, Alex Reilley and Jake Bishop, who wanted to create a neighbourhood café-bar that they would want to go into themselves.

The trio, all of whom had previous experience of working in the restaurant and bar trade, opened their first venture in Bristol in premises formerly occupied by an opticians.

Over the past 18 years, the Loungers Group has become an all-day operator of scale in the UK and has outperformed the wider UK hospitality sector over the past three years in terms of growth.

For many individuals and businesses, the coronavirus crisis has brought nightmares, but for Letasha Johnson it has provided a pathway to achieving her dreams.

Anxiety and sleepless nights caused by the covid 19 pandemic have seen a surge in demand for the healing, feel-good and therapeutic hand-crafted products that she makes at her Ripon home.

Orders have tripled, when compared with the same period last year.

The 24-year-old mother of two young boys, who started her business LR John Crafts four years ago, told the Stray Ferret:

“This has been a particularly difficult time for many people and they have been looking for ways to alleviate problems such as sleeplessness.”

This has brought an increase in shop and online sales for custom-designed items including dreamcatchers, inspired by those made by native American tribes and comprising a frame, webbing, ribbon, lace, feathers and semi-precious earth stones.

They are made to be placed close to beds in a position where the morning light falls on them. Legend has it that the dreamcatcher filters out nightmares and allows only good dreams through.

To catch a dream – some of the range of goods made by Letasha Johnson

Letasha said:

“In recent months, they have proved popular for people of all ages and with different needs, from those who are finding it difficult to sleep to parents whose children suffer night terrors.”

Varieties range from the more traditional round construction, to dreamcatchers in the shape of animals, whales and unicorns – which are generally custom-made for children’s bedrooms.

Read more:

• What links a shop in Ripon to India?
• See which major Ripon store has been saved from closure

Sales online through Etsy, social media and her own website are now made to 21 countries, including the USA, Australia and Hong Kong, along with orders placed by customers across the UK and other European countries.

Letasha also makes protective face masks, as well as jewellery and hair accessories including scrunchies. She supplies goods to Liz and Kevin Hill for sale in their Karma shop in Kirkgate and other outlets, including hair salons and a wellness centre in Nidderdale.

With the increasing demand for her products, she has enlisted help from her mother, sisters and friends to handle orders and, in the longer term, hopes to employ other skilled crafts people, working in their own homes and making the range of products.

Letasha said:

“When I left college a few years ago, I knew that I wanted to develop a crafts-based business and, with help from a lot of people, I am pleased to say that my dreams are becoming reality.”

Market stallholders in Ripon and Knaresborough who were unable to trade for 11 weeks because of coronavirus, will receive discretionary grant payments from Harrogate Borough Council (HBC) this week.

Weeks after other local authorities in Yorkshire made the urgent payments to traders, HBC has still to make payment of the £2,000 grants it agreed to pay to qualifying applicants.

In response to the question about the delay in payments of the grants compared with other local authorities, a Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson, said:

“Payments to successful applicants will be made this week.”

The spokesperson went on to point out that evidence is required from the applicant to ensure they meet the national eligibility criteria, as well as an assessment and pre-payment assurance check. The grant is primarily to support businesses with high ongoing fixed property costs, such as rent.

Traders who were classed as selling ‘non-essential’ goods were not allowed a stand for almost three months and many lost tens of thousands of pounds.

In a bid to assist them and other businesses, the government introduced the Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund on May 29, saying that grants up to £10,000 could be made – with the discretion on what applicants could receive, being in the hands of local authorities across the country.

Peter and Pat Yates who signed the petition at Ripon Market

The closing date for applications from market traders was June 28 and Andrew Sutcliffe, who sells women’s clothing on both Knaresborough and Ripon markets, told the Stray Ferret:

“We have been told that we are going to receive £2,000 apiece, which is smaller than grants paid to market stallholders in East Yorkshire who have received £7,500 and Hambleton, who have received £5,000 apiece.”

Mr Sutcliffe pointed out:

“If you stand at markets in two council areas, you could only apply for assistance from one local authority and those of us who applied to Harrogate, have not only received what appears to be the barest minimum grants, but they are even dragging their heels on paying them out.”

Sonya Johnson, who sells handbags, scarves and other women’s accessories, said:

“I’ve had an email  from the council saying that I will receive payment shortly, but feel that we always come last.”

Read more:

• What is the council spending £1m on at Harrogate Convention Centre?
• How did a Ripon pie maker turn his business around?

The wait for the government grants that the council is administering, comes days after it increased the cost for market stall provision and assembly, adding more than 25 percent to the cost of renting a stall.

A joint ‘Save our Markets Petition’ calling upon the council to reverse its decision, has already attracted hundreds of signatures at Ripon and Knaresborough markets and online.

Sturdy Foods, a 90-year-old Ripon company built on the solid foundations of pie making, is to create new jobs after it switched to making pizzas during lockdown.

Founded by James Sturdy’s great grandfather in 1930, the business suffered major setbacks with a factory fire in 2019, followed by this year’s coronavirus crisis. Restaurants and bars which account for 95% of the company’s turnover stopped buying pies.

Mr Sturdy, who was determined not to close the factory and to support his staff, made the decision to look for new opportunities – a move that has brought a dramatic change in the company’s fortunes.

He said:

“Having gone through the fire at the factory the previous year, I was determined to face lockdown head on and keep the factory running. We immediately reviewed the production line, and with some straightforward changes switched our production to oven ready pizzas.

“It wasn’t an easy time as we then had to completely change our supply chain to delis and retail outlets within the Yorkshire area, but the demand was there, and we were ready to fill it.”

Read more:

• See how Ripon helped the barefoot soldier to hit his fundraising target
• Martin House charity to open Ripon shop

The pizza line proved such a success that the company has also launched a new range of pies, this time selling directly to the public through a dedicated new website. Yorkshire Handmade Pies was born and offers a range of hand-crafted products.

Focusing again on local suppliers and supporting other local firms including R & J’s Yorkshire’s Finest Butchers, they are now delivering nationwide.

Mr Sturdy added:

“We have been overwhelmed by the success of launching Yorkshire Handmade Pies and have received orders from as far as the Isle of Bute, the Isle of Wight and everywhere in between. We felt there was a gap in the market for a proper quality made pie, and the increase in online shopping during lockdown helped to fuel sales.”

With restaurants and bars opening again at the start of July the next challenge for the Sturdy Foods, based at Barker Business Park, is its ability to continue to supply its previous customer base.

The company has now taken on three additional staff, with plans to take on another three before Christmas, taking the number of employees to 13.

An Independent  Ripon councillor is urging fellow councillors representing outlying areas of the Harrogate district, to vote against plans for a £47m redevelopment of Harrogate’s conference and exhibition facilities.

Councillor Pauline McHardy claimed:

“If this gets the go-ahead, it will be a financial burden around the district’s neck for years to come.”

The three-times Mayor of Ripon added:

“I think it’s totally wrong for Harrogate Borough Council to even be considering spending money of this magnitude, while there are so many other things that need support in places such as Boroughbridge, Knaresborough, Pateley Bridge, Spofforth and here in this city.”

Councillor Pauline McHardy

Cllr McHardy said many areas require more council investment such as  social housing, particularly for the elderly, more town centre parking provision to accommodate the increase in cars brought by new housing developments and community bus services for those in rural areas who do not have alternative transport.

Read more:

• No confirmation on Nightingale Hospital’s future
• Air ambulance called to medical emergency in Ripon

She pointed out:

“We keep being told that the Harrogate Convention Centre brings economic benefit across the whole of the district, but I don’t see evidence of that and people I speak with here and in Knaresborough feel the same.

“It’s time for councillors of all political colours, particularly in the outlying areas, to think first about the people who elected them, before putting their hands up for more spending on the convention centre.”

The proposals for Harrogate Convention Centre were set out at a virtual extraordinary meeting of the Harrogate Borough Council cabinet last Wednesday, when centre director Paula Lorimer said:

“We need this redevelopment not only to drive more conferences, but for the district and the community. We run school events, remembrance events, entertainment, orchestras and community groups.

“We do a great deal to support the community and the revenue we provide goes back into the council. What comes into us ripples out into the district. We need a successful HCC.”

This evening, a virtual extraordinary meeting of the full Harrogate Borough Council will be held at which elected members from across the district will vote on the HCC spending plans.

Ripon gave Chris Brannigan the barefoot soldier a warm send-off today as he reached his fundraising target of £400,000.

The soldier set off on July 6 on his 700-mile journey from Land’s End to Edinburgh. He is raising money for ‘Hope for Hasti.’

https://www.facebook.com/HopeforHasti/posts/186900629523350

Hasti, Chris’s daughter, is eight-years-old and has a rare genetic condition that currently has no treatment or cure. Chris is walking barefoot because he wants to change her fate and “give her the future she deserves”.

The money the Hope for Hasti campaign has raised will fund research and development for gene therapy for Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS).

Read more:

• Harrogate charity receives grant to support pupils during holidays
• Martin House to open Ripon charity shop

On his arrival in Ripon, people lined the streets to cheer him on and had even baked him some cakes. Major Brannigan told the Stray Ferret:

“I have just arrived here in beautiful Ripon. I had an absolutely incredible reception from the people that live here. The time I have had in Yorkshire has been incredible, I have had so much help.

“If I am honest, today has been a really difficult day but people came to my aid.”

Now that Major Brannigan has reached his £400,000 target he has said that any extra money on top will go towards clinical trials for treatment.

Major Brannigan with military personnel based at Claro Barracks, Ripon, and Dishforth Military Wives Choir, who handed over a cheque for £350.

Emergency services including Yorkshire Air Ambulance were called to the White Horse pub in North Street, Ripon, on Monday night, after a 58-year-old guest was taken ill.

Sadly, the person, who received help at the scene from Yorkshire Ambulance Service personnel, had suffered a cardiac arrest and died.

The White Horse in North Street

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance landed on the former Ripon College site off Palace Road. An air ambulance spokesperson told the Stray Ferret:

“We were called to attend, but sadly, the person, who was 58, had already died having suffered a cardiac arrest.”

Read more:

• Appeal supports air ambulance
• New charity shop to open in Ripon

Martin House, which provides family-led care for children and young people with life-limiting conditions, is opening a shop in Fishergate, Ripon.

The opening later this summer, at large premises formerly occupied by an opticians, follows a challenging period when the charity suffered the double blow of having to temporarily close its 12 existing shops in Yorkshire and cancel major fundraising events.

Both revenue streams were affected by the covid crisis and Martin House expects to lose £2.2 million in planned income in the next 12 months.

Stephanie Rimmington, the head of retail for the charity, 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.”

The premises in Fishergate, Ripon, where Martin House is opening a new shop

The charity, whose work involves support for families from across North, West and East Yorkshire, has a hospice at Boston Spa and works in the community.

Read more:

• What are thousands of angels doing at Ripon Cathedral?
• How you can help out by eating out

Among the fundraising events affected by the coronavirus crisis was a coffee morning planned by Joyce Liggins, who arranged the event to thank Martin House for the help and care they had given a few years ago to friends who lost a baby at just 36 hours old.

Mrs Liggins, who lives in Pateley Bridge, said social distancing requirements meant she could not go ahead with the fundraiser but she found a way to raise money regardless:

“I decided to hold three virtual coffee mornings on the first Saturday of May, June and July and asked people to have a cuppa on the Saturday morning and donate to my JustGiving page. My target was £500 and to date the total is an amazing £1250.”

She added:

“As I was also unable to hold the usual tombola, I said that after the final coffee morning I would put everyone’s name who had donated into a draw and held the draw on Zoom. The winners were drawn out live in London by Helen Worth, who plays Gail on Coronation Street.

“We were joined on Zoom by some of those who had donated, including our friends who had lost their baby. They are parents once more with a daughter who is two weeks old.”

The JustGiving page is still open if anyone would like to donate they can send it to: justgiving.com/fundraising/Joyce-Liggins.

Worshippers and visitors at Ripon Cathedral on Sunday, were greeted by a shining throng of origami angels.

The paper Seraphim and Cherubim, painstakingly made by an army of volunteers, are suspended in netting high above the nave and will remain in place throughout August and up until the feast of St Michael and All Angels on September 29.

Backlit by spotlights and sun shining through the ancient building’s stained glass windows, the installation marks the final stage of the Wing and a Prayer appeal, which has already raised more than £130,000 in donations, to be shared between the cathedral and Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

While the cathedral was out of bounds for many weeks because of COVID-19, the project enabled people to pray for loved ones and key workers by sending prayers online via the cathedral website.

Read more:

• How £500,000 will be spent on another architectural gem in Ripon
• See how coronavirus couldn’t stop Ripon saint’s celebrations

The project, launched in May, has captured the imagination of the public, whose prayer requests have been read by the cathedral’s priests – among them Canon Ailsa Newby.

Canon Newby told the Stray Ferret:

“This has been a wonderful combined effort that has brought a marvellous result.”

Canon Ailsa Newby, one of the priests who have been reading prayer requests at Ripon Cathedral

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

“This project is doing several positive things and responding to a real desire on the part of many people to make their prayers in or through Ripon Cathedral. The angel art installation is an expression of all of these, including memories of some who have died and gratitude for both healing and the exceptional service provided by so many in society.”

He pointed out:

“There is no doubt that the financial support resulting from all the generous donations is very welcome for ourselves and for Yorkshire Air Ambulance; for both of us income has been hit drastically during the time of lockdown.

“Here at the cathedral our support base has been increasing across the region in recent years; this is helping to give us increased resilience in these challenging times and I am extremely grateful to all those who are coming forward to support us financially.”

Approximately 11,000 angels were made – 10,000 of them are suspended above the nave and another 1,000 are in place at other locations within the cathedral.

Ripon’s St Wilfrid’s Catholic Church is looking forward to a £500,000 refurbishment, but is still welcoming worshippers back.

St Wilfrid is inextricably linked to Ripon’s ancient Cathedral, but less than a mile away, another architectural gem of later vintage, also bears the name of the city’s patron saint.

St. Wilfrid’s Catholic Church, which opened in 1862, is recognised as one of finest parish churches in England, with ornate reredos designed by Victorian architect Edwin Pugin providing dramatic backdrops to the high altar and adjacent side altar, dedicated to St Joseph.

Both architectural works of art, sculpted from solid blocks of stone, provide focal points within the Grade II* Listed Building.

St Wilfrid’s Catholic Church, on Coltsgate Hill, Ripon

Read more:

• Who was St Wilfrid?
• See what’s planned for Ripon Cathedral

Now, more than 50 years after the church’s last major refurbishment, the reredos, along with other parts of the building’s fabric, are in need of expert repair and cleaning by specialists, which will be paid for out of a £500,000 fund raised by the parish over the past five years.

Before the work can go ahead, the green light is required next month from the Catholic Diocese of Leeds, which owns the building.

Subject to receiving that approval, the restoration and renovation work can proceed.

Parishioner Barrie Price, an accountant and former Ripon City and Harrogate district councillor, who chaired the fundraising appeal, said:

“We have all the planning permissions required for work on a Grade II* Listed building and, importantly, the finance is in place.”

He added:

“We were all ready to go earlier this year,  but  COVID-19 brought a temporary halt to everything, with the church having to close to meet the government’s social distancing requirements.”

St Wilfrid’s, which serves Ripon, Boroughbridge, Kirkby Malzeard and surrounding rural areas, is welcoming worshippers once more  with Mass being said  every weekend and each weekday apart from Mondays.

Parish priest Canon Ian Smith, said:

“We have an army of volunteer stewards, whose work has enabled us to reopen and keep the building safe, with hand sanitiser and social distancing measures in place. In addition we are supported by members of the St Vincent de Paul charity, who assist in bringing parishioners with limited mobility to our services.”

He added:

“We look forward to welcoming parishioners and visitors to our celebrations.”

The services are at 9.30am and 5,30pm on Saturdays; 9am and 10.30am on Sundays and weekday Masses are at 9.30am (Tuesdays 9am).

Worshippers wishing to attend the Vigil or Sunday Masses, should email their choice of time to stwilfridripon@gmail.com  anyone without email access can call Canon Smith on 01765 279263.