A young Harrogate politician has spoken for his constituents in the House of Commons on the need for better mental health support.

Fourteen-year-old Brando Halloum is the Member of Youth Parliament for Harrogate and Craven.

Now a Year 10 student at Harrogate Grammar School, he moved to the UK in Year 5 having previously attended school in the United Arab Emirates.

He was one of more than 200 MYPs aged 11-18 who attended the meeting on November 4 in the House of Commons, the first of its kind since 2019.

Speaking of the experience, Brando said:

“To be elected as MYP and have the chance to represent my constituents in Westminster was a surreal experience – debating issues that matter most to my generation at the heart of our democracy, Parliament.

“It is now for decision makers, local and national, to ensure action is taken to address these issues. Ensuring no decision about my generation is made without us and that we remain at the heart of these integral conversations.”

Brando was invited to speak by the speaker of the house, Sir Lindsay Hoyle. He spoke of the need for improved mental health services across the UK for young people, telling the house of the racial abuse he had received and the lack of support he was given afterwards.

In the House of Commons, he said:

“I was unfortunately the victim of racial and Islamophobic abuse… When I reported this experience, people doubted me and I was given a plaster response, just put a quick band aid over the problem. It didn’t help.

“I spent months waiting for counselling which never came. I am calling for young people to be given adequate treatment and adequate response to racism and all forms of discrimination across this country and give mental health support to those who need it.”

Read more:

• Uncertainty over Harrogate district investment zones after government ‘refocuses’ scheme
• Businesses across Harrogate district to face ‘tough winter’ after autumn statement

Brando was elected by more than 9,000 young people to be the MYP of Harrogate and Craven this March, voted on through the Make Your Mark initiative for young people. Members of Youth Parliament are elected every two years.

He regularly campaigns with his fellow MYPs throughout the country to represent his constituent’s voice and debate issues and policies.

The primary campaign issue for Members of Youth Parliament this year is the cost of living crisis.

He said:

“The cost of living crisis is at the fore of my generation’s minds, and I am concerned about the clear and disproportionate impact this is having on my constituents’ mental health and wellbeing.”

Brando is also a member of the North Yorkshire Youth Council, in addition to being an RAF cadet.

The full morning session in which Brando spoke is below. He began speaking around 37 minutes into the session.

A 3G sports pitch has opened for community use in Harrogate.

St Aidan’s Church of England High School applied to create the pitch more than two years ago and is now inviting people to use it.

it was completed in the summer and officially launched at the school’s new Family Fest day. However, it was only in use for PE lessons and school football clubs until this week.

St Aidan’s chair of governors Jo Wicks said:

“We are delighted to finally be able to share this long-awaited and much-needed facility with the local community.

“Our pupils and PE staff are already enjoying their new dry and safe pitch, and we look forward to welcoming local clubs to St Aidan’s. Thanks to everyone involved for your hard work and resilience.”

When the original planning application was submitted in spring 2020, the school said the pitches would mainly be used by its own pupils, as well as those from primary schools in the area who did not have access to their own playing spaces.

Read more:

• St Aidan’s in Harrogate appoints interim head
• St Aidan’s new 3G pitch set to be open until 8pm

St Aidan’s plans to open the facility to the community from 6pm to 8pm on weeknights as well as Saturdays from 9am to 5pm and Sundays from 10am to 2pm. It would also be open from 9am to 4pm during school holidays.

The associated floodlights drew some concern from neighbours, who also raised objections to the potential for light pollution on the Stray.

However, there were also many supportive comments, including from other football clubs which said there was a demonstrable lack of year-round playing pitches in the Harrogate district.

Planning officers had recommended the proposal be refused by Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee because of the impact on the surrounding area.

Councillors instead approved the plans in January 2021, saying they would be “letting our young people down” if they did not allow the pitches to be created.

A house fire which led to the death of a Knaresborough solicitor is likely to have been caused by a candle, an inquest heard today.

Lynda Delf Greenwood died at the scene of the fire which destroyed her home in Brearton in April this year.

The inquest heard both police and fire officers conclude that a candle on a coffee table in the living room was thought to have been the origin of the fire.

The fire took hold thanks to wood and other materials near the open fire, which was not lit.

Fire investigator Tony Walker told the inquest:

“It did surprise me a little just how quickly it had spread to the upstairs bedroom which was so badly affected by the fire that it [collapsed] down into the living room.

“When I was speaking to [Mrs Greenwood’s daughter] Camilla, I was informed Lynda kept a large amount of fire lighters and kindling by the side of the fire which may have been feeding the fire.”

Earlier in the week, the court heard, Mrs Greenwood had had an operation on her foot and was wearing a “boot” for support.

However, on the day of the fire, Saturday, April 2, she appeared well and uninhibited by the boot. Camilla had gone shopping and to have beauty treatments in Knaresborough with her mother.

They returned to the house in Brearton where Mrs Greenwood, who was 67, had cooked dinner. Camilla left just after 8pm, having made plans to see her mother the following day for a family event.

Dog barking

The inquest heard Mrs Greenwood then spoke to her sister-in-law, Samantha Nattress, over the phone just after 8.30pm. Mrs Nattress told the hearing there was nothing unusual about the phone call, other than one of Mrs Greenwood’s five dogs barking in the background on two occasions during the 45-minute call.

The phone call ended just after 9.20pm when Mrs Greenwood said she was going to bed.

Neighbours noticed the fire just after 10pm and called the fire service, as well as rushing to the scene to help. Three men went to the conservatory door and rescued the dogs, while also calling into the house for Mrs Greenwood.

Read more:

• ‘No suspicious circumstances’ surrounding Brearton house fire, say fire service
• Local solicitor identified as victim of fatal Brearton house fire

The inquest heard firefighters arrived just a few minutes later. Police and paramedics also attended.

Mrs Greenwood was found lying in the hallway behind the door to the kitchen. She was taken outside into the garden where first firefighters and then paramedics attempted to resuscitate her, but without success.

The Brearton house destroyed in the fatal fire.

Giving evidence at the inquest, DS Louise Pegg said she felt it was likely Mrs Greenwood, having discovered the fire, had been trying to get to the dogs’ room on the other side of the kitchen.

She added:

“I’m led to believe there was quite a lot of furniture in [the house]… Once the fire had taken hold, there was material that was combustible.

“Camilla told me that it’s rare for her mother to use a candle, but on that occasion she had lit a candle.”

Mr Walker said he had also concluded the dogs were in the area next to the conservatory where they were usually kept and that he believed two battery-operated smoke alarms were not working. He added:

“If Lynda had come out of her bedroom door when she first detected that smell of smoke, by that time there would have been a lot of product combustion in that part of the hallway. There will have been a lot of smoke.”

‘Loveable fruitcake’

In statements read out by North Yorkshire area coroner Catherine Cundy, friends and neighbours described Mrs Greenwood as “bubbly” and that she “would help anyone out with anything”. The court heard she was an active member of the community and in the village church and one neighbour said she was “a lovable fruitcake”.

Mrs Greenwood ran her own solicitors’ practice in Knaresborough and, in October 2021, invited neighbour Leighton Williams to join her as a partner in the firm, which he did.

Her daughter Camilla had moved back home after university in December 2020, but left the following year. Mrs Greenwood’s parents had both lived in an annexe next to the house but had died in 2021.

Camilla described her mother as “one of a kind” and “fun to be around” in a statement read to the inquest. She said she was “extremely capable”, “high-functioning” and “organised”. While her mother could seem “a little forgetful” sometimes, Camilla said this was only over minor matters and she loved to organise family occasions.

The court heard a post-mortem examination found evidence of Mrs Greenwood’s prescription medication in her blood, as well as some alcohol, which could have been enough to make her disorientated or cause blurred vision.

There was evidence of toxic levels of carbon monoxide inhalation, the court heard.

Ms Cundy recorded a verdict of accidental death in the fire, most likely caused by the candle.

The hosepipe ban across the Harrogate district will remain in place despite today’s heavy rainfall.

Yorkshire Water confirmed it will keep the ban in order to help refill its reservoirs ready for dry weather in spring and summer next year.

A spokesperson for the company said:

“Although we have had some rainfall recently, reservoir levels are still significantly below where we would expect for this time of year and are only around half full.

“Winter is the best chance our reservoirs have to refill and be ready for the warmer and drier months in spring and summer next year.

“We’re grateful to our customers who have been saving water where they can this summer, it’s important that we all continue to do so over winter too. Our teams are out 24/7 fixing leaks and moving water around the region to where it’s needed.

“The hosepipe ban is still in place to help protect the environment and give our reservoirs the best possible chance at returning to healthy levels.”

The Met Office has issued a weather warning for heavy rain across the district today and into tomorrow morning, saying there is the possibility of localised flooding.

Read more:

• Met Office issues weather warning for rain in Harrogate district
• Hosepipe ban introduced for Harrogate district

Meanwhile, extensive surface water has appeared on the Stray in Harrogate and there are reports of small patches of flooding on roads across the district.

One hardy resident was out this morning trying to clear leaves from blocked drains on Leadhall Lane, in an attempt to clear the flooded road between the junctions of Leadhall Road and By-ways.

Spotted a problem caused by the weather? Email us the details to let others know.

A housing association has lodged plans to build 60 new homes in Sharow.

Non-profit developer Broadacres Housing Association Limited, which is based in Northallerton, has submitted a joint proposal with V&A Homes (Yorkshire) this week to Harrogate Borough Council for land off Dishforth Road.

Sixty houses would be built in the area, 24 of which would be affordable homes and the rest open market.

The plans come after permission was granted for a housing scheme on the site in 2020, but has since lapsed.

The revised proposal sees a mix of one, two, three and four bed semi-detached houses as well as several three, four and five bed detached dwellings. 

Read more:

• Details emerge of new Harrogate district town the size of Thirsk
• Consultation into new Harrogate district town after legal threat

All the houses would have parking provisions and a pocket park will be on site. 

In documents submitted to the council, Broadacres said:

“Land to the south of Dishforth Road, Sharow offers a unique opportunity to provide housing and community uses in a logical and sustainable location that would bring benefits to the village and those who live there today and in the future.” 

It added:

“The site represents an appropriate and sustainable location for new homes within the village. Proposals will meet with the vision of achieving a development of high quality and inclusive design of buildings, spaces and landscaping. 

“Integrating well within its existing context, reinforcing local character and providing new connections to the village and surrounding countryside.”

Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

Children across Ukraine will have presents to open this Christmas thanks to the hard work of a Knaresborough couple.

Retired lorry driver Bob Frendt, who has taken five truckloads of aid to the country since Russia invaded in February, decided in the summer to collect gifts to deliver in time for Christmas.

After appealing for help through the Stray Ferret, he received numerous donations — including a generous £30,000 of toys from one anonymous benefactor. He even had to attach a trailer to his lorry to enable him to take the medical supplies he had been given by Medequip and Andway.

Mr Frendt’s wife Maureen travelled with him this time and the couple set off on Thursday, November 3.

However, their plans to hand everything over at the Polish border, as he has done on most of his previous trips, went awry. Mr Frendt said:

“I could write a 13-part series about this trip. If it could go wrong, it did.

“We actually had to go into Ukraine. We got a message on the Friday night that the guys couldn’t get out of Ukraine because there was an embargo on civilians aged 16 to 70 leaving.

“We were 30 miles from the border and it’s a case of, what do you do? I wasn’t going to turn round and bring it all back.

“Maureen wasn’t too happy about it, but it is reasonably safe to cross the border there, so that’s what we did.”

Travelling into Ukraine for only the second time allowed him to see where the medical donations would be used, in the hospital in the city of Volodymir-Volynskyi, just over the border.

The couple were also delighted to hand over the 5,000 toys ready to be distributed to children around the country, including in Kyiv, Lviv and Kherson.

Read more:

• Donor to fill Knaresborough man’s lorry with hundreds toys for Ukraine
• Knaresborough man appeals for help to bring Christmas cheer to Ukraine

Mr Frendt was also able to present a painting of Knaresborough to a journalist he met during his last visit, who wrote about his efforts in the local paper. He also met one of the ‘activists’ fighting the Russians, Constantine, who expressed his gratitude for all the couple’s efforts. Mr Frendt said:

“Constantine said to us, ‘when this is over, you and your wife must come back as our guests and stay for a week and we’ll show you the lakes’.

“He said if we come back, they’ll make me president of Volodymir-Volynskyi and Maureen would be first lady!”

Returning to Poland, the couple met friends who put them up in a hotel for the night and took them out for dinner to thank them for what they had done.

Bob and Maureen Frendt

They made it back to Knaresborough at the weekend and Mr Frendt is already planning his next trip – though not until the spring, when the weather improves and he has had a break over the winter.

He hopes to set up a family disco fundraiser to help him buy more medical equipment, alongside the donations of kit he regularly receives from companies like Andway and Medequip. He hopes to put on a raffle and it appealing for donations of prizes from local businesses.

He wants to take out defibrillators, hospital armchairs, ultrasound machines and surgical equipment, as well as the tools to maintain them. To do that, he needs more donations from the public – everything from cash to raffle prizes to tools.

He said:

“It feels like this trip was years of planning. I haven’t got an organisation behind me – all there is is me and Maureen and that’s it.

“It’s hard graft, going round and asking people if they can help. But I’ve just got to do what I can.

“The people over there have no food. They’re going to the river and filling up cans for water. The hospitals are desperate.

“It’s so difficult for us to appreciate and understand what having nothing really is.”

To support Mr Frendt’s efforts for Ukraine, or to make a donation, click here to email him.

The site of Woodfield Community Primary School should continue to be used for education in future, according to Harrogate and Knaresborough’s MP.

Andrew Jones said he has been working to ensure that will be the case after the school closes its doors for good on December 31.

Mr Jones told North Yorkshire County Council‘s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee he had already spoken to people interested in using it for education. He said:

“The story of Woodfield is a sad one because that school has been losing numbers for quite some time, like many years. It got down to one child.

“I don’t want to see that site lost for education provision and I’ve made some suggestions, contacted the council with those suggestions, been contacted by educational providers interested in the site, and have put the two together. I’m hoping we will see continued education on that site at the earliest opportunity.”

Woodfield has been forced to close after being rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted. It was told it must join an academy trust, but failed to secure a deal and its closure was confirmed last month.

Mr Jones said its facilities, including “significant grounds” and the community library on site, meant “the ingredients for a really good school are there”.

Asked by councillors about the approaches he had had, Mr Jones said they were from people “interested in opening a facility for special educational needs” .

Read more:

• Council to explore ‘alternative educational uses’ for Woodfield school
• ‘Badly let down’ Woodfield school closure confirmed

Councillors on the area constituency committee also asked him what was being done to address the gap in funding which saw North Yorkshire placed 144th out of 151 local authorities in terms of its funding for special educational needs.

Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Aldred, who represents the High Harrogate and Kingsley division, said:

“The council is lobbying the local MPs and I understand they’ve written to you. Are you able to give any further update?

“I’m guessing that links into the groups you’ve been talking about, but has there been any real progress on finding that additional money to support North Yorkshire County Council and those people that need that additional funding?”

Mr Jones said he had been working closely with leaders at North Yorkshire County Council to ensure they accessed as much funding as possible.  He said:

“I endlessly lobby on behalf of our area because we do have some individual challenges. Sometimes they can be funding, sometimes it’s the high population density in one area – Harrogate and Scarborough – but the low population density for the rest of our county, which does present operational challenges.

“I can’t say that everything has changed but I can say that this is work in progress and is one of the areas where I’m working with the leadership team of the council and will continue to do so.”

He added:

“I think we will hear more about spending at the autumn statement. Just recognise that our area has fantastic educational provision and I will continue as I have to support the funding formula and the educational providers.

“You get one chance with education for children. That’s why it has to be the best we can do and that’s the approach I’ve taken throughout my time in parliament.”

Planning regulations should change to require developers to include infrastructure to support new homes, Harrogate and Knaresborough’s MP has said.

Andrew Jones told North Yorkshire County Council‘s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee yesterday he had raised the issue in parliament.

He was asked by Green Party councillor Arnold Warneken, whose Ouseburn division includes the planned up to 4,000-home Maltkiln settlement, whether more should be done to ensure infrastructure could cope with a sudden rise in the population.

Cllr Warneken said:

“When I’ve had meetings with the developers for Maltkiln, it has become apparent that they are going to use existing infrastructure until it bursts before they do anything about it.

“In reference to the sewage they are going to use an existing, archaic sewage system until it’s up to bursting level and then they’re going to put efforts in to have new infrastructure put in and new sewage, working with the water authority.

“I would like to see the planning system changed that allows us to say, if you are going to build something as big as 4,000 houses, that the road infrastructure, the sewage infrastructure, has to be put in place as part of that process.

“I know it sounds naive, because who is going to pick up that tab? But if we make it that it’s part of the planning process, we can maybe enforce the investment in it before it actually happens.”

Mr Jones said the development was not in his constituency but in Selby and Ainsty, represented by fellow Conservative MP, Nigel Adams.

However, he said he agreed with the principle of ensuring infrastructure was fit for new development, digital connectivity, micro-generation of power and insulation of new homes.

He added:

“I have raised the issue of building standards in parliament. I agree with the basic point that we need to have build standards that are fit for the future.

“It’s significantly easier to construct things during the earliest phases of a construction project rather than go back and retro-fit.

“That applies to more than just water but it certainly applies to water.”

Read more:

• Parliament debates bathing water status for River Nidd at Knaresborough
• Call to restart consultation on new Harrogate district town

‘Over-developed’

Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Aldred said he was frequently asked by people in his High Harrogate and Kingsley division about the amount of house-building.

He said there seemed to be too many large homes being built that were unaffordable to most local people, with no public transport, healthcare facilities or other provisions to support the growing population.

Cllr Aldred said he did not feel the planning system in the UK was fit for purpose and was too heavily weighted in favour of making profits for developers. He added:

“I really do think Harrogate and Knaresborough are over-developed. There are far too many people living in the area.

“The residents who have been here long-term are suffering because of this over-development.”

In response, Mr Jones said he had “no doubt” that more homes were needed across the country, with many people struggling to get onto the property ladder.

He said the local plan had provision for starter homes, but even creating that took a long time and would not always be popular with people who did not want to see their areas change.

He added:

“Getting the balance right between protecting areas and allowing people to get on the property ladder isn’t easy.

“I’m not sure we can say it’s over-developed. We’re certainly in a period where we have been under-developing across the country and people, I think, are very uneasy about all the work that has been done catching up on that.

“But I think if we get the right mix of houses so local people get a chance to put their roots down in their home areas and we see infrastructure developed in parallel then I think we can meet people’s needs and aspirations.”

Three village primary schools in the Harrogate district face an uncertain future after plans to become part of a multi-academy trust fell through.

Beckwithshaw Primary and Ripley Endowed C of E schools are both required to become part of an academy after they received ‘inadequate’ ratings from Ofsted this year.

The two schools are federated, along with Kettlesing Felliscliffe Primary School, and as Church of England schools are also part of the Leeds diocese.

However, plans to join Elevate Multi Academy Trust (MAT) from the beginning of this month fell through shortly before the start date.

In a letter to parents, Anne Vetch, vice-chair of the schools’ interim executive board (IEB), said:

While Ripley and Beckwithshaw schools are required to join a MAT because of their Ofsted ratings, Kettlesing Felliscliffe, which is rated ‘good’, is not. A consultation with parents was held earlier this year over whether to remain part of the federated schools and join the MAT.

Since the two ‘inadequate’ ratings were given last year, the three schools had had two interim executive headteachers since the spring: Victoria Kirkman and Chris Whitehead.

Mr Whitehead left during the October half-term, having expected the schools to become part of the MAT immediately afterwards. Ms Kirkman has stayed on part-time as co-executive interim headteacher, alongside her role as head of Admiral Long and Birstwith primary schools.

She will be joined by Rebecca Foy, who has been the schools’ special educational needs coordinator.

Read more:

• Beckwithshaw primary school rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted
• Ofsted rates Ripley primary school as ‘inadequate’

Parents have been invited to an information evening on December 5, when representatives of the IEB, North Yorkshire County Council and the Leeds diocese will explain what could happen next.

The situation has followed a similar pattern to Woodfield Community Primary School, which was rated ‘inadequate’ and then failed to find a MAT to join. With falling roll numbers and just one pupil now attending, the school will close at the end of December.

However, leaders of the three federated schools said they are determined to find a trust to join and have confidence in the education provided by the schools.

In a statement issued through North Yorkshire County Council, Robert Ling, chair of the interim executive board at the three schools, said:

“We would like to reassure parents that we have increasing confidence in the educational standards at the three schools, which have fully responded to issues raised by Ofsted and are now firmly on an upward trajectory.

“With good quality teaching and strong leadership in place, children at all three federated schools are currently achieving in their education and feel school is a safe, happy place to be. The continued support of parents will enable the federation to look positively to the future.

“We recently received an interim Ofsted inspection and look forward to the results of this visit.

“We have returned to the regional director to resume our search for a multi-academy sponsor. In the interim the focus of all involved with the schools is on delivering the best possible educational experience for all of our children.”

The possibility of the River Nidd at Knaresborough achieving bathing water status has been debated in Parliament.

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones secured the adjournment debate for the topic last night.

The Conservative told the house he wanted to achieve the status for the area at the Lido Leisure Park, which could become one of just a handful of rivers in the country to have it. He said:

“Of course the issue of water quality is not confined to one area, and while we have many designated bathing areas around our coast, there are very few inland areas and those few are overwhelmingly lakes, not rivers.

“Indeed, looking at the data from the Outdoor Swimming Society, 98% of areas with bathing water status are coastal.

“There is one river in our area of Yorkshire that has achieved that status, and it is the River Wharfe in Ilkley…

“The purpose of seeking this debate was to highlight that many more rivers must be awarded bathing water status right across our country and to promote our campaign for the River Nidd in Knaresborough.”

Mr Jones posted this picture with Frank Maguire, owner of the lido caravan park, on his website.

Mr Jones recently visited the 550-home lido, which is the focus of his campaign.

He told Parliament the recently-passed Environment Act would help progress measures to improve water quality by requiring combined sewer overflows (CSOs) to be monitored all the time. This would show how often and how much sewage was discharged into rivers including the Nidd.

In response, Trudy Harrison, parliamentary under-secretary for environment, food and rural affairs, said:

“Our aim is to announce which new sites will be eligible to be designated before the start of the next bathing season, which is officially May 15, 2023, so get your Speedos ready—other outfits are available.

“We look forward to receiving the application for the River Nidd in the very near future, and I will be delighted to work with my honourable friend, the member for Harrogate and Knaresborough.”

Read more:

• Campaign launched to achieve bathing water status on River Nidd
• Meeting called to hear concerns about state of River Nidd

Speaking to today’s meeting of North Yorkshire County Council‘s Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee, Mr Jones said he had contacted numerous local organisations about the river.

He said the owners of the lido, as well as landowners along the river, the Nidd Catchment Angling group, and wild swimming groups had all been contacted to ask for their support.

However, Liberal Democrats questioned why Mr Jones had not spoken to the area constituency committee, when they had raised the issue at a previous meeting and had been working with local volunteers to make progress.

Cllr Hannah Gostlow, who represents Knaresborough East, said:

“Can I ask why, months later, you have announced you are doing exactly the same? Rather than duplicating effort, will you pledge to put your support behind the work of the area committee, local town councillors and our community in Knaresborough?

“This report is going to take hours of volunteer work to gain the evidence required. This is a team effort, as you mentioned, but it’s a community effort and the area committee are at the forefront of that, along with our Knaresborough town councillors.”

Mr Jones said he recognised it was a team effort and would require the involvement of both local and national government, as well as community groups and businesses.

However, he said the area constituency committee had not contacted him about its plans, so he had been “getting on with it”.

He added:

“I hope that we can all work together on this matter because I don’t think it will be achieved individually. Many actions will need to come together.”