Harrogate teenager wins double gold at world swimming event

A Harrogate teenager, who is already a British champion, took home two gold medals at a world swimming event last week.

Gabriel Shepherd, 15, represented England in the World School Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and took home eight medals in total.

He came first in the 50m freestyle and the 100m freestyle.

Gabriel also competed in four relay races — winning two more gold medals and two silver.

The Harrogate Grammar School pupil was also awarded male swimmer of the competition.

The event is for athletes under the age of 15, and included over 2,000 contestants from 44 countries.

Gabriel also achieved huge success at the British Summer Championships in July.

He took home another two gold medals for 100m freestyle, with a time of 51:47 seconds, and 200m freestyle (1:54:18 seconds).

Following this, he is now the fastest 15-year-old 100m freestyle swimmer from Yorkshire of all time and the third fastest in the UK for his age group.

The championships is an invite-only event, based on rankings following a qualifying period in which the nation’s top swimmers compete.

Andrew Shepherd, Gabriel’s father, told the Stray Ferret:

“Gabe has had some great success in his speed swimming.

“Although we had our summer holidays in between these events, he had to train every day to maintain his fitness.”

Gabriel began his swimming career at the age of nine and trained at Harrogate District Swimming Club until last year.

He now trains at the City of Leeds Swim Club — one of England’s six national performance centres.

Mr Shepherd said:

“He now trains seven times per week in Leeds, getting up at 4am to train in the mornings before school and leaving 10 minutes before the bell to train after school.”

Gabriel will join the Swim England national youth development pathway next year.

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Stray Views: Valley Gardens rotundas need security cameras

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.

A few weeks ago the higher up of the two rotundas in Valley Gardens was vandalised. The floor was covered in what looked vomit and other unidentified residues, possibly food, on the floor and some dark substances thrown up the walls.

The evidence of this is still there and little has been done to clear it up. The floor is also frequently covered in broken glass. This does not make a very good impression. There also used to be three benches there, now there is only one.

The previous council spent money putting up gates outside the Sun Pavilion, preventing people walking through, which are still locked (although the gates are too low to deter vandals) despite promising to review the situation. They also put lighting down the colonnades. 

Surely it would be sensible to put security cameras in both the rotundas to cut down on the vandalism?

Bridget Tayan, Harrogate

‘Simple explanation’ to Knaresborough EV charging points use

The 10 electric vehicle parking slots in Chapel Street Car Park in Knaresborough are reported to be rarely used and take up valuable parking slots in the town centre which petrol and diesel car drivers cannot use.

There is a simple explanation as to why they are not used by EV drivers, which may not be obvious to non-EV drivers or the council. 

The meters are all 7 kWh. This means in one hour the meter will provide 7 kW. A non luxury EV car has an average battery size of 49kWh which is enough to drive 175 miles. Most shoppers might expect to park for one hour which means they could add a whopping 25 miles worth of electricity to their car battery.

In contrast, an ultra rapid EV charging point such as the new ones at Sainsbury’s Wetherby Road branch provides 150 kWh, or enough to fully charge the battery, and the parking is free.

The 7kWh meters fitted by the council are really intended for office car parking use so the battery can be charged throughout the working day. They are not suitable for a council car park. Town centres do need some EV charging points otherwise EV drivers will go to supermarkets. The way forward is to have a smaller number of parking slots e.g. 2 to 4, fitted with ultra rapid EV charging points, with a maximum stay of 30 minutes, and the parking should be free.

Duncan Petty, Knaresborough

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.

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North Yorkshire Council launches investigation into rising number of empty homes

North Yorkshire Council has announced a probe into why the number of empty homes in the county continues to rise.

Cllr Simon Myers, the council’s executive member for culture, arts and housing, said it was “distressing” that 6,500 people were on waiting lists for social housing in a county where more than 3,000 properties were standing empty.

An officer’s report to a meeting of the council’s leading members highlighted how at the end of June there were nearly 900 empty homes in the Harrogate borough area and more than 700 in Scarborough borough, while there were 500-plus empty homes in the Craven and Hambleton areas.

Both Richmondshire and Ryedale had nearly 400 empty homes and there were more than 200 in the Selby area.

The investigation comes as the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which is at the report stage in the House of Lords, moves to reduce the minimum period councils can charge a premium for empty premises from two years to one year.

It is almost a year since North Yorkshire Council adopted a policy to implement a 100 per cent council tax premium for empty premises that have been left unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for a year or more, from April next year.

The report added demand for affordable housing was set to rise as residents struggle with mortgage payments and rental costs, and fuelled by a forecast downturn in housebuilding completions, changes to planning policy, rising material costs and wider economic pressures linked to the cost of living.

The report stated: 

“Maintaining a robust affordable homes programme is essential to meet this future demand.”

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After being pressed on how the council intended to bring empty homes back into use, Cllr Myers told the meeting empty properties represented some 1.1% of housing stock in North Yorkshire, while the national average is one per cent and the average for Yorkshire and Humber is 1.6%.

He said: 

“It’s distressing when you have 6,500 people on housing waiting lists in North Yorkshire, to know that there are over 3,000 empty properties.

“In Yorkshire and Humber terms, we’re at the lower end of the scale. However, it is not something we want to read about when we know the pressures on people finding housing.”

Cllr Myers said causes behind the rise in empty properties may include the economy, leading to properties not selling quickly, and changes in legislation leading landlords to take properties out of the rental market.

He said the authority was having to develop a county-wide strategy as some boroughs and districts had tackled the issue, going as far as compulsory purchases, some did not have a strategy and only Scarborough and Harrogate had designated empty homes officers.

Pledging to “get to the bottom of it and work out a strategy about what can be done”, Cllr Myers added: 

“You can’t help but look at the waiting lists for affordable housing and consider the question of empty homes and think something has to be done here. So we’ve got our eyes on it.”

Historic Harrogate district sites offer free access for Heritage Open Days

More than 5,000 historic buildings and cultural sites across the country will be thrown open to the public in the week ahead as part of England’s largest festival of history and culture. 

Heritage Open Days, from September 8 to 17, will see dozens of venues in our district take part, offering free admittance to anyone curious about their heritage, community and history. 

In Harrogate, the opportunities include a trip up the observation tower on Harlow Hill, a tour of the town’s brown heritage plaques, guided walks around Grove Road cemetery and the 1,000 Commonwealth War Graves at Stonefall Cemetery, as well as heritage tours of Pannal, Ripley, the Valley Gardens and the Duchy Estate. 

In Ripon, the events include separate tours of the city’s canal, railway and industrial heritage, as well as a look behind the scenes at the late-Elizabethan Fountains Hall. 

A little further north, there will be a tour of the neolithic Thornborough Henges, and in Nidderdale, How Stean Gorge, Nidderdale Museum and Pateley Playhouse will also be taking part. 

Details of all these and many other events, including booking information, can be found through the searchable database on the Heritage Open Days website.

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The festival, which runs from Friday, September 8 to Sunday, September 17, is organised by the National Trust, supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery and run by thousands of local organisations and volunteers. This year’s theme is Creativity Unwrapped. 

Liam Montgomery, Heritage Open Days’ marketing and projects manager, said:  

“Whether it’s art, music, writing, or another outlet, creativity moves us and shapes our history and culture. This year, organisers have once again come up trumps and created a stellar programme of events which put the spotlight on the people and places who give England’s heritage the X-factor and inspire festival-goers to engage with thousands of years of creativity.”

Churches taking part

Run in conjunction with the Heritage Open Days, Yorkshire Churches Day (YCD) will see hundreds of churches across North Yorkshire welcome visitors on Saturday, September 16. 

Organised by the Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust (YHCT), YCD is a day where the public is encouraged to visit their local place of worship even if they have never set foot inside a church before.  

Among those opening their doors will be St Wilfrid’s, the only Grade I listed building in Harrogate, St Mary Magdalen’s Leper Chapel in Ripon, and St Andrew’s church at Aldborough, a Grade I listed church founded in the 14th century and built on the site of the Roman forum of Isurium. 

Photo of St Andrew's church at Aldborough, a Grade I listed church founded in the 14th century and built on the site of the Roman forum of Isurium.

The Grade I listed St Andrew’s church at Aldborough was built on the site of the Roman forum of Isurium.

Welcoming the initiative, Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York and president of the YHCT, said: 

“Yorkshire Churches Day is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our county’s churches. At the heart of nearly every one of our communities is a church. They are there to serve and welcome everyone. However you choose to engage with these wonderful buildings, remember, they are not merely places of heritage and history, but vibrant centres of worship and community serving Yorkshire today.” 

Established in 1994, Heritage Open Days is England’s contribution to the European Heritage Days, an initiative launched in 1991 by the Council of Europe and the European Commission to foster public appreciation of Europe’s cultural assets and raise awareness of the need for their care and protection. They are now held annually in September in 50 signatory states to the European Cultural Convention. 

Lib Dems criticise Yorkshire Water river health team project

Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrats have criticised a Yorkshire Water plan to set up a river health team.

The company announced this week it was setting up the department as part of a “joined-up, region-wide approach to river health” across Yorkshire.

Part of the remit of the department is to work with community groups to understand what is important to them and develop a way of working together to improve river health.

Yorkshire Water said it would be recruiting 16 new staff to the team, including an environmental investigation lead, river health improvement manager, river health partnership and community engagement advisor. 

However, local Liberal Democrats have questioned whether it is something the company should have been pursuing anyway.

Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said:

“Is this not something Yorkshire Water should have already been doing anyway?

“It’s hardly surprising that Yorkshire is faced with polluted rivers when the water company responsible for them has not even had a dedicated team to deal with them – all because the water regulator and the Conservatives have let them off the hook. This sewage scandal must end.

“Yorkshire Water must guarantee that the cost of the new team comes from the company’s eye-watering profits, rather than simply making consumers pay to clean up their mess in the middle of a cost of living crisis.

“I and my Liberal Democrat colleagues are calling for urgent reform of all water companies and a new regulator to hold them to account.”

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Andrew Jones (left) and Tom Gordon

However, Andrew Jones, Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, described the initiative as a “positive move”.

He said:

“Most of the focus has been on the operation of storm overflows and household waste and these aspects are incredibly important.

“But I hope in addition to addressing this the team will go further and look at rainwater run-off from agricultural land which is often the largest component of river pollution containing animal waste and pesticides.

“I also would like to see the Yorkshire Water’s community engagement team really educating people about what can be put down drains and toilets safely.  One of the reasons we see discharges from the storm overflows is because the sewers become blocked by sanitary products and cooking fat which have been disposed of incorrectly.

“It’s a big job and it looks like Yorkshire Water are assembling a big team. This is good news for Yorkshire’s rivers.”

Kevin Reardon, head of river heath at Yorkshire Water, said:

“We are committed as a business to playing our part to further improve river and coastal water quality around the region. The health of our rivers is a key national conversation, and we all have a lot to do to deliver investment in the areas that will make improvements to water quality.

“We know river and coastal water quality is a key priority for our customers and this new department illustrates our commitment to doing the right thing and working hard, alongside other stakeholders, as we begin our largest programme of environmental investment since privatisation.

“Yorkshire Water colleagues are passionate about the environment and we’re currently recruiting for 16 additional roles to help complete our team, which we believe will make further improvements to river health in the next two years and prepare ourselves for the next investment period 2025-2030.”

Harlow Carr bus service to stop running this weekend

A popular bus service which connects Harrogate town centre with one of the UK’s finest horticultural gardens will stop running this weekend.

Harrogate Bus Company’s X6 service, whose passengers are eligible for a 30% discount on entry to RHS Harlow Carr, was launched in July but was only ever intended to run until today (September 3). 

The timetable change is one of several announced by the bus company, all of which will come into force on Sunday.  

The schedule for the number 1 bus between Harrogate and Knaresborough will be changed slightly to improve reliability, although the frequency will remain the same.  

On the number 2 service between Harrogate and Bilton, there will be minor changes to departure times from Knox into Harrogate.  

Some afternoon departures on the number 8 bus between Harrogate, Knaresborough and Wetherby will have new times. The 4.21pm from Knaresborough to Wetherby will run at 4.41pm, the 4.55pm from Wetherby will run at 5.15pm and the 6pm from Harrogate will run at 6.15pm. There are no changes to Saturday the service.  

There will also be some changes to the 620H (Dacre to Rossett School), 720H (West Tanfield to Ripon schools), S2 (Bilton to Rossett School), S3 (Penny Pot to Rossett School), S6 (Bilton to Rossett School), S8 (Woodlands to Harrogate) & S36 (Ripon to St John Fisher) buses to ensure the services run reliably and meet the school starting and finishing times.  

Updated timetables can now be downloaded from the Harrogate Bus Company website. 

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Children’s presenter George Webster to sign books on return to Washburn

Children’s television presenter and Strictly Come Dancing contestant George Webster is to return to a heritage centre near Harrogate where he used to volunteer.

George volunteered as a teenager at Washburn Heritage Centre before rising to fame and becoming the first ever CBeebies presenter with Down’s syndrome.

He will return for a question and answer session and sign copies of his new autobiography ‘This is Me!’.

The picture book aims to teach children that “each one of us is different, just like pebbles at the seaside”.

George will talk about growing up and his rapid rise to success.

He spoke about Down’s syndrome in a video for BBC Bitesize in 2021. He also competed in last year’s Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special, and became an ambassador for the learning disability charity Mencap.

George volunteered at the centre when he was at school.

Washburn Heritage Centre was established in 2011 following an extension to Fewston Church and is used as a hub to promote the Washburn Valley.

It is run by volunteers who host frequent workshops, courses and talks, as well as a tea room on weekends.

The event will take place on Saturday, September 23, from 2pm – 4pm.

Children and adults are welcome and will be able to receive signed copies of George’s book.

Tickets start from £8.

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Harrogate’s John Shackleton, 85, seeks co-drivers for final ambulance mission

An 85-year-old Harrogate man is on the hunt for two co-drivers to join him on an epic journey to deliver an ambulance to Georgia.

John Shackleton has bought and stocked 35 ambulances over the last 30 years to provide emergency vehicles and medical equipment to humanitarian organisations in Eastern Europe and beyond.

Now, he’s looking for two co-drivers to join him on his final journey to the Georgian border.

He joked:

“I did actually have two co-drivers lined up; one was my grandson who was offered a gig with his band in New York, which he couldn’t turn down, and the other selfishly had a heart attack!”

Mr Shackleton told the Stray Ferret his only criteria was “to be reasonably good drivers and to be easy going like me – after all, we do live in the ambulance together”.

He plans to deliver the ambulance to a small organisation building a hospice on a farm on the Georgian and Russian border.

It has been praying for an ambulance for years, according to Mr Shackleton.

He added:

“I’m happy to stop and see some sights or landmarks, but people do need to understand that this isn’t a jolly.

“This is humanitarian work — you have to put the hours in.”

Two-week mission

Mr Shackleton anticipates the journey will take anywhere from one week to 10 days to complete. The team will stay in Georgia for about two days before hitchhiking to the nearest international airport to return home.

He said:

“I chop and sell firewood to raise money to buy the ambulances.

“I have one ready to go in Amsterdam – which the co-drivers would also join me in picking up before embarking on the journey – but I have to confirm my passengers before I can collect it.

“It’s a process that takes a couple of days as I set up beds for the co-drivers and areas to carry the food and medical within the ambulance.”

Mr Shackleton began his humanitarian work after seeing news reports revealing the poor conditions of Romanian orphanages following the borders opening in 1990. He was joined by a team of volunteers to install flushing toilets and showers at the orphanage. He said:

“I imagine it will be my last journey — it’s hard to raise the money. But I said my recent few trips would each be my last and that didn’t end up being the case, so it’s a bit of a pinch of salt situation!

“However, I have just been given an order to quit the garage I am using to store my logs, and without somewhere to store the logs I will have to stop selling and that is my main income for the next ambulance.

“I know storage is very hard to find, but it’s worth a try if anyone reading has an empty garage to help me store my logs.”

Mr Shackleton is hoping to leave for Georgia in the next two weeks and is urgently encouraging those that are interested in joining him on the journey to get in touch.

People can register their interest by emailing johnshackleton@aidtoeasterneurope.co.uk or calling 01423 871255.

Click here to find out more about John Shackleton’s previous trips.

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Luke Armstrong returns to Harrogate after transfer rejected

The English Football League has rejected Harrogate Town striker Luke Armstrong’s transfer to Wrexham.

Armstrong, 27, was due to complete a move to the League Two side after a deadline day deal.

However, the EFL said in a statement that Wrexham had failed to submit paperwork on time.

It said:

“The registration of Luke Armstrong from Harrogate to Wrexham has been rejected on the basis of the paperwork not being submitted by the necessary deadline.”

Armstrong, who has scored 31 goals in 106 appearances for Town, will now return to Harrogate.

Cow in Valley Gardens was ‘reunited with owner’, say police

It’s the mystery that has been hanging over Harrogate for a week: how did a cow get into Valley Gardens — and was it reunited with its herd?

The story of the cow wandering towards the Magnesia Well Tea Room last Saturday morning is one of our best-read this week.

It has provoked numerous head scratching because Valley Gardens is nowhere near grazing cattle. It has even inspired a poem, which we’ve published below.

Dog walker Lucy Emma Renshaw-Martin spotted the bovine beast when she was taking her usual morning stroll.

The cow heads to the tea room.

 

Police dealing with the incident.

Lucy, who sent us these photos, still has no idea how the cow got there or what happened to it. She left as the police were struggling to deal with the loose cow.

The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire Police last weekend for details of the incident. The force finally replied today with a one-line statement saying only that ‘the cow was reunited with its owner’ — leaving the mystery only partially solved.

Poem about the cow

Carole Keegan, a member of Harrogate Writers’ Circle, compiled this imaginative poem about the cow’s sojourn to Valley Gardens.

“I want to break free” sang the Friesian cow

Not to the abattoir just right now.

Aha! A hole in the fence, looks big enough for me

Plenty of Flora and Fauna and of course the magnesia well for a cup of tea

 

It’s strange to be here without the herd

A few pics and police but nobody’s saying a word

Everyone’s looking at me but not even a MOO

Perhaps I should pop over and shout BOO!

 

It’s a mystery how I got here, buts it’s been such fun

I do love Patrica Hodge as Miranda’s mum!

AND an added boost I can manure the roses and plants

Maybe to the onlookers it will be pants.

 

I’ve looked all over and don’t know how I will be taken away

Oh the memories of such a glorious day

Gosh,I know I will put a daisy in my mouth, with a pout

Join the Magic Roundabout….hey Zebedee

Please wait for me!

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