Vicky Carr, Author at The Stray Ferret

Community library marks 10 years at the heart of Bilton and Woodfield

The 10th anniversary of the Harrogate district’s first community library will be marked this weekend.

Bilton and Woodfield Community Library opened its doors in May 2012, after more than a year of planning and preparation.

The volunteers decided to take it on when North Yorkshire County Council said it could no longer afford to staff and run the library.

While they have support from the council, they have had to raise up to £9,000 a year just to cover running costs.

Greta Knight, who has been involved in organising and running the library since the beginning, said:

“I realised the other day that since we took on running a community library, in total we have raised in excess of £100,000 to keep it running.

“It’s not a huge sum, but that has got to be raised by us each year by us as an organisation.”

The funds are collected from fines for overdue books, as well as selling second hand books. The library also offers printing and photocopying and is a member of the Harrogate Local Lotto.

St John’s Church supports the library too, such as with a fundraising coffee morning being held later this month.

Greta Knight

Alongside the challenges of raising money, the last 10 years have brought numerous changes for the library — and some less than welcome surprises.

After just a couple of years in the Old Vicarage on Bilton Lane, the library moved to new premises on the site of Woodfield Primary School, adjacent to the children’s centre, on Woodfield Road.

In 2017, the building suffered a catastrophic flood thanks to a faulty boiler, which left it unable to open for more than two months.

This year, a second flood happened thanks to a burst pipe in the children’s centre. Ms Knight said:

“I found it – I saw the reflection of the books in the water on the floor and I just burst into tears.

“It does cause lots of problems. You have to make arrangements so people’s books aren’t accruing fines when they can’t return them.

“They had to move everything and remove all the carpeting – there were drying machines in for several weeks because it had soaked right down and come up the walls too.”

Once the building was dry, repairs were carried out and the volunteers were finally able to get back in to put all the furniture and books back in place.

Flooding at the Bilton and Woodfield Community Library.

Flooding at Bilton and Woodfield Community Library.

Adding to two years of closures and disruption through the pandemic, it was a very unwelcome setback – but the volunteers have worked determinedly to enable it to reopen fully again.

Now, as well as books, the library is offering its popular schedule of events each week. They include a scrabble club, children’s story time and a monthly coffee morning.

Today’s celebration

Tomorrow, however, the coffee morning makes way for an event to celebrate 10 years of the community library. From 10am tomorrow, visitors can read display boards about its history, meet some of the volunteers, and see decorations made by children in a craft session last weekend.

The cake will be cut by Pat Webber, wife of the late county councillor Geoff Webber, who was very supportive of the library and even suggested the location of its current home.

While the anniversary is a chance to reflect on how far they have come, the volunteers are not content to sit back. They have plans for more activities in future – including reintroducing visits for local primary schools from September – and are always on the look-out for new people to join their team.

Despite the uncertain future of the neighbouring Woodfield Community Primary School, Ms Knight said the library is in safe hands and will continue to open its doors to the community for many years to come.

Harrogate district given toilet twinning status by national charity

Harrogate has become the first district in the UK to achieve toilet twinning status thanks to a group of campaigners.

Soroptimist International of Harrogate and District arranged for the title to be given by national charity Tearfund’s Toilet Twinning project.

It aims to provide safe toilet facilities, along with education about sanitation, for people in developing countries by encouraging people in the UK to sponsor a toilet in Asia, Africa or the Americas.

The Harrogate district has now twinned with 36 individual toilets and a block of four toilets in low income countries, equating to £2,400 donated by local schools and businesses, Harrogate Borough Council and the Soroptimists themselves.

The certificate was presented by the group’s president, Val Hills, and Toilet Twinning project leader Sue Williams, to outgoing Mayor and Mayoress of the Harrogate district, Cllr Trevor Chapman and his wife Jen.

Ms Hills said:

“We are delighted to achieve toilet twinning status for the Harrogate district which, we believe, is the first district to be given the award in the country.”

Pret a Manger set to open in Harrogate tomorrow

A new branch of Pret a Manger is set to open its doors in Harrogate tomorrow morning.

The sandwich and coffee shop on James Street will welcome customers from 7.30am, signs in the window reveal.

Rumours of the chain’s arrival began to circulate at the beginning of the year, as reported by the Stray Ferret.

It was not until April the company confirmed it would be opening in the unit formerly occupied by Messums Gallery.

Meanwhile, Skipton Building Society has confirmed its new Cambridge Street branch will open tomorrow as well.

The company has moved from Princes Street to part of the building previously occupied by Topshop and Topman, which has been split into smaller units.

Part of it is now a Sainsbury’s Local, and the remaining section of the building on the ground floor is still unoccupied, but an application has been made by Cosy Club for a licence to open a bar there.

Man sacked by Ripon garage for racism loses unfair dismissal claim

A former employee of a Ripon car parts company has had his claim of unfair dismissal rejected by a tribunal.

Alliance Automotive‘s Ripon branch — which trades as Ripon Auto Spares — faced the accusation, along with one of breach of contract, from C Seaman, who was dismissed as a driver on May 4 last year.

It followed an incident on April 21, 2021, when he was alleged to have used an offensive racial term in the presence of a black colleague.

The Ripon branch manager investigated the accusation and suspended Mr Seaman on full pay the following day, under the instruction of area manager Roger Bailey.

The report from Leeds Employment Tribunal said:

“Mr Bailey conducted a disciplinary hearing on May 4, 2021, in which the claimant confirmed he used the word ‘n*****’, maintaining that its use was appropriate, because he said it related to a conversation with colleagues about an incident involving a black person in America.

“The claimant said he did not understand how anybody could be offended by the use of that word.”

Finding the conduct to amount to racial harassment, and that Mr Seaman showed no remorse, Mr Bailey dismissed him.

After an unsuccessful appeal through the company, Mr Seaman took Alliance Automotive to an employment tribunal, which was held in Leeds on April 12 and 13 this year. However, it has also rejected his claims of unfair dismissal and breach of contract.

Leeds Employment Tribunal, in City Exchange

In his report, published this week, Judge Jeremy Shulman said:

“During the disciplinary process the claimant sought to encourage the respondent [Alliance Automotive] to view a programme known as The Wire for justification of his use of the word ‘n*****’.

“The respondent decided the use of the word ‘n*****’ itself was sufficiently offensive, regardless of The Wire and we find that that programme was discussed during the disciplinary process. The programme apparently relates to the location of Baltimore on the subject of drug trafficking and policing.

“Very late in the proceedings the claimant produced a mitigation document. That contained 15 names, including the name of the Prime Minister, and the document contained no explanation whatsoever as to what it was and the claimant subsequently described it as irrelevant.”

The judge said Mr Seaman had received a code of conduct from his employer and had received training on it, including information about equality and diversity.

However, he said he had not read the information given to him because it was “not relevant”.

The tribunal heard Mr Seaman had repeated the offensive term, but had claimed it was “just a black person” and that the term was widely used in films and by the black community. He said “race discrimination never even existed and everybody was treated equally” in his world.

Mr Shulman rejected the claims of unfair dismissal and breach of contract, and found Mr Seaman had been dismissed because of his conduct. He added:

“It was clear to me during the hearing that this was conduct the nature of which the claimant did not understand when everybody around him clearly did.

“He had some source materials which he never bothered to read and sought to justify his conduct by reference to names on a sheet of paper and an American television programme. None of this did anything to make an already serious position better.”

The judge ordered that the £300 deposit paid by Mr Seaman for the tribunal, in recognition of his low chances of success, be paid to his former employer.

Bird flu forces cancellation of poultry classes at Great Yorkshire Show

All poultry classes at this year’s Great Yorkshire Show have been cancelled because of government attempts to prevent the spread of bird flu.

National restrictions remain in place and, with a confirmed outbreak in Nottinghamshire last weekend, the ban on bird gatherings will not be lifted in time for the show, which takes place from Tuesday, July 12 to Friday, July 15.

Organisers the Yorkshire Agricultural Society had been working closely with the Animal and Plant Health Agency to try to make the poultry classes possible, but said they now have “no other option” but to cancel.

Show director Charles Mills said:

“We are so sorry to disappoint our poultry exhibitors and really want to extend our support in these difficult times.

“Unfortunately, we have no other option than to cancel the poultry classes this year due to the restrictions, but we will be staging an egg show for any interested exhibitors.”

The decision will not affect pigeon competitions or bird of prey demonstrations, which will go ahead as planned.

The show has previously had to cancel classes for other animals because of concerns about the spread of disease.

In 2019, pig classes were called off after an animal at another event showed signs of illness.

During the foot and mouth outbreak of 2001, the entire show was cancelled for the first time since the second world war.

This year’s event runs for four days – only the second time in its history to do so, after being extended in 2021 to spread crowds over a longer period.

Among the special guests will be Princess Anne, who will attend on the Tuesday.

Ofsted praises ‘small school with big ambitions’ in Nidderdale

A Nidderdale school is celebrating achieving a ‘good’ rating in its latest Ofsted report.

Glasshouses Primary School maintained its rating from the previous inspection in 2012, with the report particularly praising its ethos and the attitudes of pupils to learning.

In their introduction, the inspectors wrote:

“Glasshouses Primary School is a small school that has big ambitions for all its pupils.

“A caring and respectful ethos runs through all areas of the school. Leaders are determined to provide pupils with the knowledge and understanding they need to be happy, confident and successful.”

Reacting to the report, headteacher Nicola Thornber said:

“That top line absolutely encompasses what Glasshouses Primary School is about. There’s some great statements in there but that, for me, is the best.”

At the beginning of the year, the school, which has 55 pupils, forming Upper Nidderdale Federation, with Fountains Earth and St Cuthbert’s primary schools.

The inspection report praised the new governing board for having a good understanding of the school’s priorities. It added:

“They hold leaders to account effectively and have clear plans for the ongoing development of the school.”

Inspectors said the school could make further improvements by having more ambitious lessons to enable pupils to stretch themselves, and doing more to support pupils who are working slightly below expectations so they can catch up with their peers.

Miss Thornber said she was happy with these recommendations and that the school was already working on those improvements.

Meanwhile, after a recommendation by Ofsted, Glasshouses has been invited to be part of a small schools forum run by North Yorkshire Council, sharing its experiences with others.

Miss Thornber added:

“I’m absolutely delighted with the report – we’ve had such great comments.

“We have some great relationships with parents. Everyone has worked so hard.”

Spofforth puts up 130 hand-made plaques to mark Queen’s jubilee

A chance encounter in a charity shop has led to more than 100 commemorative plaques being put up in Spofforth.

June Geddes, vice chairman of Spofforth with Stockeld Parish Council, was drafted onto the village committee to plan celebrations to mark the Queen’s platinum jubilee.

As well as the events during the bank holiday weekend, she was hoping to put decorations around the village to mark the occasion. She said:

“Our high street is quite difficult: because of the three roads into Spofforth, it’s hard to put bunting up.

“Last November I thought, ‘what about plaques?’ There were none online, and when I went to see a local carpenter, he said it was impossible.”

Ms Geddes thought she would have to abandon the idea and focus on the celebrations instead.

However, while she was working in a charity shop in Wetherby, she got chatting to a customer, Terry Wilcox, and discovered he was a hobbyist carpenter with a workshop in his shed at home near Rotherham. After seeing some of his creations, she asked whether he might be able to create a plaque.

Terry Wilcox’s Queen’s platinum jubilee plaque.

Within a week, he had sent a prototype. Ms Geddes promptly placed an order.

“We started with 70, because I thought that’s fairly optimistic and fits in with the platinum theme and so on.”

Subsidised by the parish council, the plaques were sold for £10 each, to be put on lampposts around the village until after the jubilee, when the owners will be allowed to keep them as a souvenir.

Once they began appearing around the village, demand soared, and Ms Geddes went back to Mr Wilcox to ask for another 20.

They soon sold out too, so a final order was placed, bringing the total number of plaques made by Mr Wilcox in his workshop to 130. Ms Geddes added:

“I’m absolutely thrilled. It’s completely individual, you won’t see them anywhere else.”

Spofforth has four days of jubilee events planned. To find out more about them, and others taking place across the Harrogate district, visit our Queen’s Platinum Jubilee What’s On Guide.

Calls to speed up council tax discount to help most vulnerable in Harrogate district

Thousands of Harrogate households still waiting for their £150 council tax rebates should be able to apply before the end of this month, the borough council has said.

Around 34,000 households have received the payouts to help with soaring energy bills, but an estimated 15,000 are still unable to apply.

This is because they do not pay council tax by direct debit – and there are warnings that some of the poorest homes are having to wait the longest.

Campaign group National Energy Action said it is typically the poorest households that do not pay by direct debit – either because they do not have a bank account or because they manage their finances on an ad hoc basis.

Its chief executive Adam Scorer said:

“There are serious concerns that those with the greatest need will be least able to access the money.”

The government announced the support in February and said councils were expected to start paying the £150 rebates from April.

But many councils have struggled to administer the payments at short notice, including Harrogate Borough Council which said setting up applications for non-direct debit households has been a “complex” process.

A council spokesperson said:

“To date, we have paid more than 34,000 households across the Harrogate district the £150 energy rebate.

“The process for launching an application form for non-direct debit payers is complex and also involves pre-payment checks to prevent fraud, as well as a system to ensure payment can be made to eligible residents promptly after making a successful application.

“We anticipate this form being published via our website at the end of the month.”

The payments are available to homes in council tax bands A to D, and those which pay by direct debit will receive the money automatically.

The different process for households who don’t pay council tax by direct debit has attracted criticism from the local Liberal Democrats, who said some residents are being “disadvantaged”.

Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrats on Harrogate Borough Council.

Councillor Pat Marsh, leader of the Lib Dems on Harrogate Borough Council, said:

“There should be no excuses for delaying this process or making it overly complicated.

“The application form should have been on the council website immediately.

“In fact, the best way to have done all this would have been to just take the £150 off the council tax bills for this year.

“When I raised this issue at council, I was told it was too late as the bills had already been printed, but they could have put an application form in the council tax bill envelope.

“Why insist on people jumping through unnecessary hoops?”

As well as the £150 council tax rebate, the government has also announced a £200 discount on energy bills for all domestic electricity customers from October.

However, unlike the council tax rebate, this discount will be automatically recovered from people’s bills in equal £40 instalments over a five year period from 2023, when it is hoped global wholesale gas prices will have come down.

For more information on the council tax rebate, go to www.harrogate.gov.uk/council-tax.

Gay man says Harrogate police take women victims of stalking more seriously

A man who was stalked and harassed by his former partner has accused police of failing to take the case seriously because he was a gay man.

Jack* and his partner of five years, Paul*, who both live in Harrogate, broke up in early 2021.

Although the split was instigated by his partner, and was initially amicable, Jack said Paul soon began to turn up at his house and at places he would usually visit.

Jack said:

“Though there was no physical altercation, he often targeted my home. He tried to gain entry and would often appear in the garden – on one occasion my dog was nearly killed.

“He’d shout at people visiting my home from his car, monitor my friends and families activities. He used to set up dating profiles attempting to send abuse. There were occasions where he used my credit card details for online purchases, turned up at my place of work, approach me in restaurants…

“There were numerous situations like that over the course of five months. He started locating me and rev his car next to me if I was out walking.

“It meant I couldn’t operate a normal life without some kind of obstruction and feeling very unsafe and frightened.”

Eventually, after realising how much Paul’s actions were affecting his social and work life, Jack decided to contact the police last June.

He was initially uncertain whether the situation was something the police would deal with, but was reassured by the call handler.

“Immediately, they said it was stalking and harassment. They said they would send someone out, and he called later that day to organise a visit. He came to take a statement within a couple of days.

“He repeated to me that it was serious and said my ex would be brought in and arrested and they would impose bail conditions to keep him away from me.”

Relieved

Jack said he felt relieved he was being taken seriously and waited to receive an update from the officer.

However, he never received a call.

“A month went by and nothing had happened. I tried to get in contact and had no response.

“Another month went by of the same thing. I heard there was a warrant out for his arrest, but after that a lot of time went by with nothing, no arrest, no feedback.”

Meanwhile, Paul’s behaviour continued to make Jack feel uncomfortable. Jack reported further instances of stalking and harassment, but never heard anything back.

He received a call from a specialist police officer who advised getting new locks, increasing home security and changing his routine. While Jack appreciated the advice, it also served as a reminder that he could be in danger.

Jack was advised by specialist police to change his locks and increase his home security

By mid-September, Jack said he felt frustrated that he had still heard nothing and submitted a complaint to the police by email. It took six weeks for them to respond.

The answer from an inspector in early November was that the PC assigned to his case was inexperienced, and had been given advice about his work.

Paul had now been interviewed, he said, and a file would be submitted to the CPS for advice about charging him.

In an email seen by the Stray Ferret, the inspector added:

“I am sorry that you didn’t receive the service you expected, but this was purely down to [the officer’s] relative inexperience, managing competing pressures of his workload and his thought process in not thinking it appropriate to ring [Paul] or visit his work premises.”

Yet more time passed with no information from the police. Jack emailed again asking for updates, and for a copy of his original statement, but received no response.

He heard no further until February this year, when IDAS – the domestic abuse charity which he had been put in touch with by police after he first called them – told him the case had been dropped five weeks earlier.

The reason was nothing to do with evidence or proof. Rather, Jack said, it was because the officer dealing with the case had only passed the file to the CPS a week before charges had to be made or the case had to be dropped.

Effectively, there was not enough time for the CPS to process it before the six-month deadline for dealing with the case had passed.

While he accepts there is nothing he can do in his case, Jack said he hopes raising the issue publicly will help other victims who might face similar problems.

He believes complaints of stalking and harassment are taken more seriously when made by women about men, but said that shouldn’t be the case.

Jack said:

“I have spoken to women in Harrogate who have been in the same situation and that’s not what happened for them. I have no doubt, if I had been a woman, it would have been very different.

“It’s not about being homophobic. But when it’s a man complaining about a man, it’s treated differently.”

Jack has now taken his complaint to the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Zoe Metcalfe. He is awaiting a response from her.

He said:

“If I had read a story about this situation six or eight months ago, I would have done something sooner. I would have known it was not normal procedure – a lot of people would just assume you can’t complain [about the police] and what they say goes, but it’s not always the case.”

Zoe Metcalfe, North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner

The Stray Ferret contacted North Yorkshire Police, but we were told they could not respond while the case was being investigated by the PFCC.

The PFCC’s office said it could not comment on an individual case because of data protection. A spokesperson declined to comment on the issue of whether gender or sexuality could play a part in officers’ handling of cases, but added:

“If somebody is not happy with anything that the police do, they should contact our office and make a complaint and we will investigate it.

“Let us know about it, because people should be happy. We don’t like it when people are unhappy with the service that’s provided by the police.”

*names changed to protect identities

Paris proposal for Starbeck nurses on charity bike ride across Europe

A pair of nurses from Starbeck who are cycling across Europe for charity have made the trip even more special — by getting engaged in Paris.

Andy Dennis proposed to Tracey Hill at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, and even had friends on hand to film the occasion and celebrate with them.

He said:

“Everything was perfect: the company was lovely, the place chose itself — there was a view of the tower framed by the trees.”

Tracey said:

“He got down on one knee and it felt like going into an exam you haven’t prepared for.

“I just kept saying, ‘What are you doing? What’s going on?'”

Fortunately, Tracey accepted the proposal, and the newly engaged couple have enjoyed some time in Paris to celebrate.

Staying in a hotel for a couple of nights is luxury compared to some of their other experiences so far. Tracey said:

“We’ve been wild camping on our way here. You’re getting up, you feel sticky, you’re in a field, there’s nowhere to wash yourself except with a handful of water from your bottle.

“You’re packing up and off you go onto the road – it’s so hot from about half past eight, you’re just so grateful when you go through a forest.

“We watch out for each other and push ourselves to drink even if we aren’t thirsty, so we don’t get dehydrated.”

Now, the couple are back on the road towards Geneva.

They have told close family about their engagement, and Andy posted the video on his blog about the trip, but it will be many weeks before they can celebrate with friends and family.

They don’t expect to complete the 2,000-mile trip to Gibraltar for three months.

The ride is the couple’s latest fundraiser for Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), a medical charity providing support to people in conflict zones and other troubled areas of the world.

Andy has completed previous challenges as part of a bid to raise £200,000 for MSF, which he has worked for on four missions: Uganda, twice in South Sudan, and in an ebola centre in Sierra Leone.

In his day job, Andy is a staff nurse on the intensive care unit at Harrogate District Hospital, where he and Tracey met. She now works as a nurse in dermatology at York Hospital.

Both have been supported by their employers, who have given them time off to complete the ride from Amsterdam to Gibraltar. The couple are funding all the travel, accommodation and food themselves, so all money donated goes directly to MSF.

To follow the couple’s progress, visit Andy’s blog or Tracey’s blog. You can donate to the cause by clicking the links from either of their blogs.

Today’s celebration

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Relieved

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