Police warn of spate of pushy cold callers in Harrogate

Police in Harrogate have urged people to be wary of cold callers turning up on doorsteps offering garden maintenance work.

In a statement today, North Yorkshire Police said it was aware of individuals and groups targeting elderly residents in the area.

It added some could be “pushy and threatening” or “charge inflated prices or pretend to find more and more jobs that need doing on a property”.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said:

“We’re aware of Harrogate households in different areas of the town being approached for landscaping and gardening work. We’re working proactively to address this.

“As part of this work, we want residents to be aware of the risks and to know what to do if someone turns up at their door offering services like gardening work, building maintenance or selling goods.

“We’d advise people to be wary – legitimate gardening and maintenance businesses usually work through recommendations and don’t need to knock on doors to get business.”

Unsolicited calling, or cold calling, is when people are approached by someone offering a service despite not requesting it.

Although cold calling is not an offence, North Yorkshire Police said it frequently investigated frauds, thefts and burglaries that happened as a result of doorstep calls.

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The spokesman added:

“Always give yourself plenty of time to make decisions about who you employ and ask friends, family and neighbours for recommendations.

“And don’t feel bad about saying ‘no’. Normal businesses understand that people want to shop around and won’t try to pressure you into a decision on the spot. If they do, that’s a massive red flag.

“Sadly, elderly people are particularly at risk. So if you have older parents, relatives or friends, please share this message with them and check they know how to stay safe if cold callers knock on their door.”

Police urge anyone suspicious about cold callers to dial 101.

Car catches fire in Harrogate multi-storey car park

Harrogate firefighters were called to the fifth floor of the town’s Victoria Car Park yesterday when a car caught fire.

Both Harrogate appliances were summoned to the multi-storey near the train station following reports of smoke billowing from the boot of the vehicle in the multi-storey.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident report said:

“Fire crews used a hose reel, breathing apparatus, thermal camera and tools to access and extinguish the fire.”

It added the cause was attributed to an electrical fault to a CD multi-changer in the car boot.

The incident proved to be the start of a busy morning for Harrogate firefighters.

At 10.36am,  they released two people trapped in a lift at an undisclosed location on Crescent Road in Harrogate.

Then at 11.41am, a women’s walking group alerted them to a cow trapped in barbed wire on a fence at the edge of woodland off the A661 Harrogate Road at Spofforth

The incident report added:

“On finding the cow, the fire officer was able to establish which farm the cow belonged to. The farmer then attended with bolt croppers to free the cow.”

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Business Breakfast: Rudding Park to hold Dragons’ Den for local businesses

Excellence deserves to be recognised and celebrated. The 2024 Stray Ferret Business Awards is the event to put your business, people or great initiative in the spotlight!

Make the most of your efforts by reading our top 10 tips for writing your submission for success.

Entries close on January 19, 2024.

Rudding Park in Harrogate will be hosting a Dragons’ Den-style event this month to give local businesses the opportunity to pitch their products to key decision-makers at the luxury resort.

The hotel plans to revitalise the range of gifts it gives to VIP guests, and is looking for fresh ideas from the local business community.

Candidates will have three minutes to pitch their products and will then answer questions from the Rudding Park ‘Dragons’ – Matthew Mackaness (managing director), Karen Tyson (resort general manager), Julia Featherstone (head of rooms division), Matthew Wilkinson (head of kitchens) and Nicola Cook (head of marketing).

The Dragons will be looking for high-quality products with links to travel, lifestyle, food and drink, design or well-being. They must also align with sustainability and/or giving back to the community.  

Julia Featherstone, head of rooms division at Rudding Park, said: 

“We always strive to surprise and delight our guests, many of whom return time and time again. Our selection of VIP gifts are given to guests to help recognise and reward loyalty, so we are really excited about this initiative and I am hoping we will discover a range of new, quality products to incorporate into our VIP gifting to really wow our guests”.  

Nicola Cook, head of marketing at Rudding Park, said: 

“I am conscious it can often be quite challenging, particularly for smaller businesses, to get a foot in the door to showcase their products. It occurred to me that a Dragon’s Den-inspired event could be great opportunity for us to discover some amazing products to enhance our guest experience and a chance to showcase some talented local suppliers in a fun and innovative initiative.”  

The initiative also supports the Rudding Park Giving Back initiative, as the Rudding Park Dragons will each have a pot of Rudding Park gift vouchers ready to ‘invest’ in charities nominated by candidates who particularly impress.

Dacres still top in Knaresborough

Dacre, Son & Hartley has once again claimed the top spot as Knaresborough’s best-performing estate agent, an accolade it has now held for more than a decade.

The agent’s Knaresborough office sold more than twice as many homes as its nearest competitor in the HG5 and YO26 postcodes, with a total of 75 sales, according to figures from Rightmove. The other companies in the top five sold 35, 31, 30 and 20 each.

This also means that Dacre, Son & Hartley successfully marketed more than a fifth of the 373 homes that sold during the 12-month period across the two postcodes, which include Knaresborough town centre and surrounding villages including Scotton, Arkendale, Coneythorpe, Flaxby, Goldsborough, Kirk Hammerton, Green Hammerton, Whixley and Little Ouseburn.

Dacre, Son & Hartley has had an office in Knaresborough for 45 years and senior associate, Nick Alcock, who is branch manager at the firm’s Knaresborough office, has worked for the business for 28 years. He said:

“With 52 different companies selling homes in the HG5 and YO26 postcodes in the last 12 months, it’s clearly very competitive, but our dominance in the local area is undisputed.”

Dacre, Son & Hartley was founded more than 200 years ago and is Yorkshire’s largest independent estate agent, with 20 offices across North and West Yorkshire.

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Harrogate bar hosts sober night out for Dry January

North Bar in Harrogate is hosting a sober night out to promote Dry January.

The event will be hosted by North Yorkshire Connected Spaces, which was launched in September last year to provide support for the recovery community in North Yorkshire.

The 80s and 90s themed night is also supported by North Yorkshire Council and the Drink Drug Hub, which provides safety information about drink and drugs.

A spokesperson for NYCS said they “join together people and groups from all walks of life, meeting the needs for a stronger community, well-being, recovery from addiction and other harmful issues”. They added:

“Our aim is to get out in the community and run events so we can offer support for individuals involved with social issues connected with addiction. This includes homelessness, domestic violence, trauma, mental health, social care and probation.”

The group is working with the NYC public health team to tackle the harms associated with alcohol use.

NYCS said:

‘’North Yorkshire, connected spaces have been working with North Yorkshire Council on supporting their dry January campaign. As part of the campaign NYCS have organised the sober night out social event for people who are completing the month off booze.

“Dry January is a great opportunity for people to reflect on their relationship with alcohol.”

The event will be a “good chance to socialise with friends, have a boogie and meet new people – just without alcohol”.

North Bar will have  DJ for the night playing 80s and 90s hits in the function room and said the event will have the capacity to hold 45 people. Dress up is optional and anyone can buy food from Pizza Social next door and bring it into the venue.

The event takes place on January 19 from 7pm

Dry January facts:

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Stray Views: ‘Shameful trickery’ at Harrogate hospital car park

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

I have been taking a friend to occasional appointments at the Harrogate hospital for several years.

Occasionally the barrier is up and therefore no charge is made.

On the December 27 this looked to be the case. I parked for 1 hour and 5 minutes. I didn’t look for and therefore didn’t see any signs that things had changed.

I then received a parking fine for £70.

The bollard at the entrance has not changed and is an intentional act to trick into not paying for parking as no ticket was issued.

It’s shameful trickery and I will no longer be able to take my friend for her appointments.

Al Hewitt, Harrogate

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More letters

Please could we have more letters published in the letters section?  

Now that the Harrogate Advertiser has cut down its letters page to a paltry two or three per week, there is little opportunity for local residents to have their views made public and the Stray Ferret would be an ideal medium for offering more of this.

Carol Trueman, Harrogate

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

Group supporting siblings of disabled children comes to Harrogate

A group supporting the siblings of disabled children is set to have its first meeting in Harrogate this month.

The Sibling Group is an organisation offering a safe space for children with siblings who are disabled or have special needs. The first event in the area is set to take place January 20 from 10am-12pm at Christ Church.

The group for children aged six to 11 aims to “support their wellbeing and happiness”. The event will include activities and games to build positive relationships.

Grace Williams, founder of The Sibling Group created the organisation to support families who have children and siblings with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

She has a younger brother with special educational needs who is non-verbal, has a learning disability and autism. Grace has become devoted to supporting other families in a similar situation. She has a degree in special education, is pursuing a masters degree in autism and inclusion, and currently works as a specialist key worker for the NHS.

She said

“Growing up there was not much support available and there was a lot of stigma around this. It was very challenging for my family and I, as we had to take on a care giving role and adapt to my brother’s needs very quickly.”

Grace grew up in Harrogate and her brother attends Springwater School. She says that despite the large SEND community in the area she has always been “aware of the lack of support for families”, so when creating The Sibling Group, she “thought it would be a good area to work in.”

“Siblings are not thought about when services are created and offered to families, and I want to change this. Siblings experience extreme stress, isolation and miss out on things other children their age are doing.”

“The Sibling Group offers a safe space for children to come and meet other children with similar experiences. We offer fun activities such as arts and crafts, singing and dancing, sports and games.”

The meetings are free of charge and will be running during the school holidays and on Saturdays. To book a place at the event click here.

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Photo of the Week: Heron in Hookstone Woods

This week’s photograph was taken by Julie Valentine, capturing heron making the most of the flooded ponds in Hookstone Woods, Harrogate.

Photo of the Week takes centre stage in our new-look nightly email newsletter. The newsletter drops into your inbox every evening at 6pm with all the day’s stories and more. To subscribe click here.

Julie Valentine

Photo of the Week celebrates the Harrogate district. It could be anything from family life to capturing the district’s beauty. We are interested in amateur and professional photographs, in a landscape format.

Send your photographs to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk for a chance to be featured next week, we reserve the right to adjust and crop images to fit into our format.

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Who is the man set to lead North Yorkshire Police?

Tim Forber says it will be the honour of his 27-year career if he becomes the most senior police officer in York and North Yorkshire.

The current deputy chief constable of South Yorkshire Police will present himself for the first time to councillors on the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel next week in Northallerton.

Mr Forber is set to replace the outgoing chief constable Lisa Winward who is officially retiring in March but ended her role before Christmas.

He has been chosen as the preferred candidate for the £154,000 position by Tory crime commissioner Zoe Metcalfe.

This is despite advice from councillors that the appointment should be delayed until after elections in May when her brief will become the new mayor’s responsibility.

Ahead of the meeting, Mr Forber has submitted a personal statement that outlines his background and motivations for applying for the top job at North Yorkshire Police.

Cross-party councillors on the panel will quiz him about the role and make a recommendation on his appointment.

Born and bred in St Helens, policing runs in the family as his father served as an officer for 36 years before retiring in 2000.

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He studied for a law degree before joining London’s Metropolitan Police Service in 1996.

In 1997, he won a Royal Humane Society award after he rescued a woman from drowning in freezing waters in the River Thames.

During his time at the Met, he worked as a detective and was commended for helping to bring to justice a criminal gang who committed high value antique burglaries against elderly vulnerable victims across the country.

In 2005, he first came to Yorkshire when he joined West Yorkshire Police on the force’s homicide and major inquiry team.

Five years later he moved to Greater Manchester Police where he was was chief superintendent.

In 2016 he returned to Yorkshire as the assistant chief constable at South Yorkshire Police and helped oversee a turnaround where it’s now one of the highest rated forces in the country.

He is married to a serving detective constable in West Yorkshire Police and has a daughter and two sons.

Mr Forber said:

“I am passionate about policing, and it is all I have ever known in terms of my professional career. I believe that North Yorkshire Police has the potential to be truly outstanding.”

Signs up but Starbucks silent on Harrogate drive-through launch date

Progress at the new Starbucks site in Harrogate grinds on, but its planned opening date is still not known.

The Stray Ferret first reported that the former Leon site on Wetherby Road would become a Starbucks in August, when North Yorkshire Council granted planning consent to change the branding on the unit.

Starbucks advertised for new staff at the drive-through coffee shop in December, and then this week, new signage finally went up, giving coffee aficionados hope that the new outlet might brew its first espresso sometime soon.

But a Starbucks spokesperson told the Stray Ferret:

“We are always looking for new locations and opportunities to bring the Starbucks experience to customers in the UK, but at this time we have no updates to share about plans in Harrogate.”

Photo of the newly installed signage at the new Starbucks drive-through coffee shop on Wetherby Road in Harrogate.

Signs have gone up on Wetherby Road.

The Stray Ferret will continue to monitor developments at the site.

Starbucks currently has only one presence in the district, on Cambridge Street in Harrogate town centre.

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Harrogate toddler enters the new year cancer free

Georgina Johnstone was just one year old when she was diagnosed with a brain tumour and her family have been raising money and awareness to help children like her ever since.

In August 2022, Georgina became tired and grouchy and started to be sick each morning. Her mum, Issy Rowe, a teacher from Harrogate, thought recently prescribed antibiotics for an ear infection were to blame. But when the tablets stopped and the sickness continued, the family became worried.

Issy took her to the GP, who thought it might have been a virus or urinary tract infection. After five more days of sickness, Issy knew things weren’t right. They were referred to Harrogate District Hospital after their third visit to a doctor.

At first, the hospital had no major concerns and suggested a return visit a week later. Yet Issy persisted and an MRI scan was done the following day.

The scan found a significant cancerous mass on Georgina’s brain, and she was transferred to Leeds General Infirmary.

The SATS showed that the tumour was a quarter of the size of her brain. The tumour was cutting her brain off from her body and her family were told they would need to operate to remove it or Georgina would die.

The next day, the doctors operated on her for five hours and removed the 16cm tumour. After surgery, a 56-week treatment plan was put in place, involving high-dose chemotherapy, in seven cycles over eight weeks.

It all meant that going to nursery had to be put on hold until she was better. In December 2023, Georgina was given the all-clear.

Issy said:

“Its early days still – she only came off medication eight weeks ago, but her last scan was all clear. It’s been amazing to adjust back to family life and reality. She’s full of energy, which is lovely. You don’t realise how poorly they are until you see them better.”

Throughout her daughter’s treatment, Issy raised funds and awareness for The Brain Tumour Charity and friends and family also supported the fundraising. They have raised over £21,000 so far through completing the Three Peaks Challenge, sponsored runs, quizzes and a wellness retreat.

This year, the family have chosen to raise funds for Candlelighters, children’s cancer charity. Issy said they wanted funds to go to a local charity this year to directly help the children on the oncology ward at Leeds General Infirmary.

They have set a target to reach £5,000 – the same goal as last year – but are hoping to exceed it and even beat the £21,000 already raised.

Issy added:

“We definitely want to get more people involved and raise more money.”

They have a few fundraising events planned already involving the Three Peaks Challenge on May 11, another wellness weekend in October and one of their first events is set to be a sporting morning. The event is to be held on January 14 by Harrogate Strays Walking Football Club, a team for over-50s where Georgina’s grandfather, Derek Rowe, is a manager.

To donate to Georgina’s page click here.

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