Police say new drugs gang causing wave of violence in Harrogate

Police say a new county lines drugs gang is responsible for a recent wave of violence in Harrogate.

North Yorkshire Police said today it had seized a taser, drugs, cash and a mobile phone from the town’s streets since it set up a new unit to tackle the gang at the start of June. Nine people have been arrested.

They said the new county line is believed to originate from West Yorkshire and was trafficking drugs into Harrogate via the road network and public transport.

Detective Chief Inspector Fionna McEwan, who is leading Operation Roll, said:

“The increased level of violence that we have seen recently has been targeted towards individuals who are involved in drug-related criminality.

“Driving this gang out of Harrogate is now a key priority for us and although we have seen success so far, there is more to be done.”

The new gang is believed to be from West Yorkshire.

DCI McEwan said Harrogate remained “one of the safest places to live in the country” but urged members of the public to “help us by being vigilant and checking in on the younger and vulnerable people in our communities”.

Several specialist officers have been assigned to disrupt the new drugs line.

A police statement said:

“The team operate predominantly in plain clothes and unmarked vehicles. A police dog which is trained to detect drugs is also being deployed to work at transport hub in Harrogate to intercept the supply of drugs by train and bus.

Police drugs dos are being used as part of the investigation.

Recent arrests

North Yorkshire Police provided the following details of recent arrests,

Assault on Dragon Road, Harrogate – Thursday, June 8

A man in 20s who was assaulted on Dragon Road in Harrogate sustained a serious injury to his leg.

An 18-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing a wounding and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.

A second man, also aged 18, was arrested on suspicion of causing a wounding, possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, possession with intent to supply class A drugs, and possession of criminal property.

A third man, aged 52, was arrested on suspicion of processing criminal property and assisting an offender.

All three men were charged and remanded in custody to appear in court on York Crown Court on Monday, July 10.

(NYP Ref – 12230104602)

Police stop on Chelmsford Avenue, Harrogate on Friday, June 23

At 9pm officers from Operation Expedite were on routine patrol on Chelmsford Avenue when they identified three men suspected to be linked to county lines drug dealing. The three men spotted the officers and ran away. The team managed to detain two of the three men.

An 18-year-old man was in possession of a taser, 22 wraps of cocaine, £85 in cash and two mobile phones. He was arrested on suspicion of procession with intent to supply a class-A drug and possession of a weapon. He was charged and remanded in custody to appear at York Crown Court on Monday 31 July 2023.

A 19-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of a class A drug and possession of criminal property. He was interviewed and released on conditional bail while further enquiries are carried out.

Enquiries are continuing to locate the outstanding suspect.

(NYP Ref – 12230115980)

DCI Fionna McEwan is leading the police investigation.

Police search warrant on King Edward’s Drive on June 26

Officers acted on intelligence and executed a warrant at a property on King Edward’s Drive in Harrogate. When they entered the property, a man was seen dropping a mobile phone into a toilet.

A 29-year-old man and a 40-year-old man were both arrested for supplying cocaine and a modern slavery offence. A 35-year-old man was arrested for possession of a suspected class A drug and modern slavery.  They were all interviewed and bailed with conditions which prevent them from entering North Yorkshire.

(NYP Ref – 12230118198)

Assault on Bower Road on June 26

A man in his 30s was assaulted and received an injury to his face. A 41-year-old was arrested and later released. Enquiries are continuing.

(NYP Ref – 12230118424)

Police appeal for help spotting cuckooing

Cuckooing is the term given when drug dealers take over the home of a vulnerable person and use it at a base to sell and store drugs.  Cuckooing victims are often drug users themselves, or people who are vulnerable due to a mental or physical disability, their age or lifestyle.

Police said signs of cuckooing include:

Anyone with concerns about county lines can speak to their local police on 101 or call 999 in an emergency. If you’d rather stay anonymous you can call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Bar owner beats council in court to create ‘cool place’ on Cold Bath Road

A Harrogate bar owner will be raising a glass or two after successfully appealing alcohol licence restrictions that he says would have made trading from his Cold Bath Road premises “impossible”. 

Dave Swallow received a licence for his bar, AAA, in November, but it came with conditions.

Harrogate Borough Council said he had to build a barrier to separate his forecourt seating area from the pavement; he had to build a lobby as a sound-proofing measure; and he could only serve alcohol till 9pm. 

He told the Stray Ferret: 

“I couldn’t comply with those conditions as well as the building regulations and the fire regulations all at the same time. It was just physically impossible.” 

So he took North Yorkshire Council, which assumed all Harrogate Borough Council’s functions on April 1, to court – and won. He no longer has to build the barrier or the lobby, and may now serve alcohol from 12 noon till 11pm, as is the norm for bars and pubs in England. 

He said: 

“I’m elated. The waiting is over, the amalgamation of work and stress has lifted and I’ve cleared that hurdle. 

“Now I’ve got a long list of things to do to make sure I comply with the remaining licence conditions, but that’s fine – all bars have to do that. The main thing is, we’re serving now!” 

AAA, pronounced triple-A, is a bar that also sells vinyl records and merchandise from another of Dave’s ventures, clothing brand Audio Architect Apparel. He said he wanted to create “a nice, cool place where people can come to listen to good music on a good sound system, drinking good drinks”. 

He added:

“We’re getting in more vinyl by the week, and we’ll soon be serving breakfast, lunch and sociable, picky stuff in the evenings, such as charcuterie and cheeseboards.

“We’re taking on more staff and we’ll be having an opening party on July 14. After months of waiting, this court victory means we can finally move ahead with our plans.” 

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Harrogate student complains after university dispute leaves her with ungraded degree

A Harrogate student has complained to one of the UK’s most prestigious universities after discovering her degree cannot be given a classification.

After studying for four years at Edinburgh University, Issy Murray found out that she would have to graduate with an ungraded degree.

This was due to an ongoing marking boycott by the University and College Union (UCU), which led to most of her work being left unmarked.

The boycott, which started in April, is part of a long-running standoff between the UCU and the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) over staff pay and working conditions.

Across 145 UK universities, students like Issy have been caught in the crossfire, with around a third having their grades delayed. As a result, thousands are facing complications with applications to jobs and postgraduate courses.

Issy hopes to become a doctor and has applied to a competitive postgraduate medicine course, but thinks her chances of getting a place could be slim with an ungraded degree.

She told the Stray Ferret that the university has provided her with very little support. The most she has received was a letter confirming her attendance and, what she considered a somewhat insincere, late apology.

Issy’s mother, Sue Murray commented:

“The letter they’ve been supplied with isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. It is very vague and Edinburgh Uni takes no responsibility for anything”

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The former Harrogate Grammar student has been particularly unlucky. As well as the ongoing boycott, her time at university has been badly disrupted by multiple UCU strikes and covid.

Issy feels she has been continually let down by university management and strongly believes students should be compensated for their “huge investments”.

Her mother added:

“As it stands these poor (many young) people have nothing to show for their best part of the £40k debt they’ve incurred.

“They don’t know when; how or if their work is ever going to be marked as the university cannot confirm by when it will be assessed or by whom”

The Harrogate family have appealed to the university’s management team and Vice-Chancellor but with little success. They have also reached out to the Department of Education and their local MP, Andrew Jones, for help.

Issy said:

“We had a blind trust that we would get our degrees. No one expected this to happen”

“It’s not right and not fair so we are making a fuss, not just sitting back and taking it”

She still plans to attend her graduation ceremony this month to celebrate her time at university with friends and family.

However, without a classification for her degree, Issy said the event would be “bittersweet”.

 

Business Breakfast: Harrogate property company launches holiday and student lets

The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting is a breakfast event on Thursday, 27 July at Banyan in Harrogate between 8-10am. 

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A Harrogate property company has launched two new brands and appointed a property director.

Artium Group, which is based on Cheltenham Crescent, has hired Andrew Maxwell to oversee the launch of its new subsidiaries Allure Holiday Lettings and Alteza Student Accommodation.

Allure will operate as a a holiday lettings specialist with a portfolio of 30 properties within the Harrogate district.

Alteza will be a develop and operate purpose-built student accommodation in cities across the north of England including Durham, Leeds, Newcastle and York.

Mr Maxwell said:

“I am delighted to have joined Artium Group and am excited about this opportunity to help build the property management division alongside a talented and highly skilled team.”

Thomas Shotton, director and co-owner of Artium Group, added: 

“We have ambitious growth plans across the business and Andrew’s experience and expertise will be invaluable as we work together to achieve these.”

York and North Yorkshire LEP launches skills programme

York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership has launched a new skills programme.

Called Skills Bootcamps, the schemes are designed to help existing businesses develop their own workforces.

The enterprise partnership has pledged to meet 90% of costs for employers enrolling staff on the programmes.

The Skills Bootcamps offer a range of courses in areas such as cyber security, game design, programming, forestry, rail engineering and care.

Courses will be led by organisations such as Learning Curve Group, City of York Council, Calderdale Council, Coders Guild, Corecom Technology Academy and Northern Regeneration CIC.

Peter Emery, chair of York & North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership skills and employability board, said: 

“Skills Bootcamps offer a great way for learners to progress their careers and for employers to gain additional expertise. 

“This latest menu of courses offers an exciting range of opportunities and can be tailored to a company’s actual needs thus making them a very attractive option to many SMEs and micro-businesses.”

For more information on the courses, visit the Skills Bootcamp website here.

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Harrogate survives mass cull of train station ticket offices

Harrogate has been spared in today’s announcement that hundreds of train station ticket offices in England will close.

The Rail Delivery Group, the industry body which represents train companies, proposed the closures of almost 1,000 ticket offices, saying it would move staff to “more face-to-face support for customers”.

Northern plans to shut 131 ticket offices — but Harrogate, plus others including Blackburn, Blackpool, Leeds and Skipton, will remain open on amended hours.

Harrogate ticket office will be open from 6am until 6pm Monday to Saturday, as opposed to its current hours of 6.15am until 7pm, and from 9am until 5pm on Sundays.

Tricia Williams, chief operating officer at Northern, said the “traditional ticket office is no longer required at most staffed Northern stations” as only one on six journeys were paid for through a ticket office.

She added:

“We need to modernise to meet the changing needs of our customers and we are seeking views from the public on these proposals.”

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Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said the decision to retain Harrogate ticket office “will be welcome news to passengers who value the ability to buy tickets face-to-face”. He added:

“Rail companies are looking at this as the numbers of people purchasing tickets in person has plummeted with the rise of online booking and user-friendly electronic terminals at stations.  All the plans are subject to consultation.”

Consultation on today’s recommendations runs from today until July 28. You can have your say here.

Brian Dunsby, of the Harrogate Line Supporters Group, said:

“The closure of ticket offices is inevitable.

“It’s the way the world is going, but Harrogate has largely been spared.”

Of the stations between York and Leeds on the Harrogate line, Horsforth is earmarked by Northern to have its ticket office closed.

Knaresborough train station rail

Knaresborough Train Station

Other stations, such as Knaresborough, do not have offices and instead have machines for passengers to buy tickets.

The decision to close ticket offices elsewhere in the country was condemned by trade unions.

Mick Lynch, general secretary at the RMT, described it as “a savage attack on railway workers, their families and the travelling public”, adding:

“Travellers will be forced to rely on apps and remote mobile teams to be available to assist them rather than having trained staff on stations.

“This is catastrophic for elderly, disabled and vulnerable passengers trying to access the rail network.”

 

Andrew Jones calls for apology after Lib Dem rival wrongly says Harrogate ticket office closing

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has called on his Liberal Democrat rival to apologise for wrongly claiming Harrogate train station ticket office was due to close.

Rail operator Northern said this morning it planed to shut 131 ticket offices — but Harrogate’s would be one of 18 to remain open. It is part of a nationwide cull of hundreds of ticket offices.

Some four hours after the news was announced, Tom Gordon, the Lib Dem prospective parliamentary candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough, published a press release titled ‘Lib Dems call on rail bosses to save Harrogate ticket office’.

It said the “the closure of the ticket office at Harrogate station will lock so many people out of being able to access tickets and travel by train” and urged the government and rail leaders to “think again”.

Not closing: Harrogate train station ticket office.

An hour later Harrogate and Knaresborough Lib Dems issued an ‘updated press release’ in which Mr Gordon called for “reassurances on the future of Harrogate ticket office”.

His initial press release prompted Mr Jones to say:

“Harrogate ticket office is remaining open.  It doesn’t need saving.  It was never threatened with closure.

“Assuming they didn’t know the facts, although this may just be political scaremongering, all the Liberal Democrats had to do was read the Stray Ferret, any other local news outlet or my Community News website and they would have known the actual situation.

“The news had been up on those sites for hours before they issued their erroneous press release.  An apology to the customers and staff who have been worried by this false claim would seem to be an appropriate thing to do.”

The Stray Ferret asked Mr Gordon for a response to Mr Jones’ comments and whether he would issue an apology but had not received a response by the time of publication.

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Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Show is a sell-out

For the third year in a row, the Great Yorkshire Show has sold out.

This year 140,000 people are expected to visit the 250-acre showground next week.

Traditionally, the Harrogate-based event was three days long. However, in 2021, it was extended to four days to help spread out crowds to meet covid safety regulations.

During the pandemic, capacity was also limited to 35,000 visitors a day and tickets were sold exclusively in advance on the show’s main website.

The event’s organisers decided to keep the changes for this year’s show following feedback that visitors found the experience more enjoyable when the showground was less crowded.

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The Great Yorkshire Show is run by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society and is one of the largest agricultural shows in the UK, generating millions of pounds each year for the local economy.

Some of the main attractions include the Cock ‘O The North show jumping competition and several stunt-riding performances by Lorenzo the ‘flying Frenchman’.

TV presenter Adam Henson, MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, and The Duke of Gloucester are some of the many special guests invited to attend.

A free shuttle bus service from Harrogate bus station to the showground will be available to attendees throughout the four-day event.

Second-hand tickets will be available to purchase on the show’s official ticket reseller site, Ticket-Swap.

Scrapping household waste charges will cost taxpayers £889,000, says council

North Yorkshire Council has said a government policy change designed to reduce fly-tipping has left it £889,000 out of pocket, forcing it to look for new ways of saving money. 

Last month, Environment Minister Rebecca Pow announced households would no longer have to pay to get rid of DIY waste at household waste recycling centres, such as those at Penny Pot Lane and Wetherby Road in Harrogate and Dallamires Crescent in Ripon.

DIY waste will now be treated the same as household waste, saving tip visitors up to £10 per sack of rubble or sheet of plasterboard. The change, which enjoys widespread public support and was lobbied for by organisations including the National Farmers’ Union, is due to come into effect later this year.

But North Yorkshire Council, which is one of the third of English local authorities that still charge for household DIY waste, told the Stray Ferret there was little evidence the move would reduce fly-tipping, although it could mean cuts elsewhere. 

Cllr Greg White, North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for waste, said: 

“We introduced charges for residents to dispose of soil, rubble and plasterboard at our household waste recycling centres in 2014 following a consultation in which residents stated they would rather pay a fee at sites than have to seek an alternative such as hiring a skip. 

“This was implemented to preserve other services, many of which the council must legally provide. The abolition of charging means that many taxpayers will have to meet the costs of those few undertaking home improvements. 

“We care passionately about minimising fly-tipping, but do not believe that the proposed changes will result in a significant decrease. We are not aware of any research that has found a link between charging for waste at household waste recycling centres and increased fly-tipping, which suggests that the removal of charges may not reduce fly-tipping levels. It’s important to remember that there is a large percentage of fly-tipped waste that can be disposed of for free at our household waste recycling centres. 

“As a result of this change, we forecast that we will incur disposal costs of £586,000 and lose income of £303,000, creating a cost pressure of £889,000 which will force the council to look for savings elsewhere.” 

 

Fly tipping at Priest Lane in Ripon.

Fly tipping at Priest Lane in Ripon.

Local authorities across England deal with well over a million fly-tipping incidents annually, according to government data, and it is estimated that fly-tipping and waste crime cost the economy £924m per year.

In an effort to tackle the issue, the government has consulted on reforming the waste carrier, broker, dealer regime and on introducing mandatory digital waste tracking. It is also developing a fly-tipping toolkit with the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to help spread best practice among local authorities. 

Jacob Hayler, executive director of the Environmental Services Association, the trade body representing the UK’s waste management industry, said: 

“We welcome any measures that make it easier for householders to dispose of waste correctly and responsibly at their local household waste recycling centres, which in turn reduces the chance of it falling into the hands of criminals or being fly-tipped. 

“The government clarified the law in 2015 that local taxpayers should not be charged for disposing of household waste at civic amenity sites – scrapping backdoor ‘tip taxes’. It has also repeatedly stated that councils should not be charging for such DIY household waste disposal either.” 

Incidents of fly-tipping can be reported to North Yorkshire Council via its website. 

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Long Lands Common names wood after Harrogate conservationist

A newly planted woodland at Long Lands Common has been named after Harrogate conservationist Keith Wilkinson.

Mr Wilkinson founded Bilton Conservation Group and has played a key role in protecting local green belt land.

He was asked to unveil a new woodland sign on Saturday and to his surprise discovered it was named Wilkinson Wood.

The 1.62-hectare site consists of 740 trees that are a mixture of nine native broadleaf trees: sessile oak, English oak, wild cherry, bird cherry, common alder, aspen, field maple, hazel and goat willow.

The honour was bestowed at the third AGM of Long Lands Common, the community-owned woodland near Bilton created on land saved from the threat of a new road.

Keith Wilkinson at Oak Beck

Mr Wilkinson played a major role in that campaign as well as the project to open Nidderdale Greenway to walkers and cyclists. He was awarded an MBE in 2013.

He said:

“I opened my speech with the Greek proverb which says that a society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. I was then ready to unveil the plaque before continuing with my speech. My jaw dropped when I discovered my name was on it. What a wonderful surprise!

“We’ve also planted over 50,000 trees in Nidd Gorge, and these will all link up together with Wilkinson Wood like a mosaic, with wildlife passing freely down the corridors.

“This is such positive news in a time when wildlife is really struggling on a local and national level. We all need to play our part in helping to support nature, and I commend everyone involved and thank them for all their hard work in creating Wilkinson Wood. I feel very honoured indeed.”

Chris Kitson, secretary of Long Lands Common, introduced Mr Wilkinson to the 100 people looking on as “the man who has done more than anybody else we know to bang the drum for nature and conservation”.

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The AGM also saw Long Lands Common members elect new board members, agree a new organisational structure and formally begin its partnership with Knaresborough Forest Park.

Talking about the partnership, Mr Kitson said:

”It made perfect sense and it was the right thing to do, and completely in line with our objectives as a community benefit society — to protect the green belt and the green spaces between Harrogate and Knaresborough, and preserve them as a space for education and recreation for the people of our towns, now and for the future.”

Review: Oddsocks’ Much Ado About Nothing draws the picnicking crowds

Lauren Crisp is a book editor, writer and keen follower of arts and culture. Born and raised in Harrogate, Lauren recently moved back to North Yorkshire after a stint in London, where she regularly reviewed theatre – everything from big West End shows to small fringe productions. She is now eager to explore the culture on offer in and around her home town.  You can contact Lauren on laurencrispwriter@gmail.com 

 

From the moment I arrived at Harlow Carr on Tuesday evening, it was apparent that this was no ordinary event. I watched as theatregoers young and old descended in their droves, weighed down with picnic hampers, wrestling with folding tables and chairs and wearing enough layers to make you question whether they were planning on camping overnight. I wondered if I had accidentally happened upon Harrogate’s very own Glasto.

But these people knew something I didn’t: that the Oddsocks’ summer do is the place to be. The touring company has been around for years – 34, in fact – and for around 20 of those, has stopped off in Harrogate. Relaxing into my (rented) deck chair in the gardens, in full and beautiful bloom, I marvelled as, all around, the generations gathered in groups, freshly baked goods emerged from Tupperware and prosecco flowed into plastic flutes. Oddsocks’ Harrogate audience, it seems, is a seasoned one.

The Bard’s consummate comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, is Oddsocks’ 2023 summer piece and, in its suitably Shakespearean outdoor setting, is a production bursting with energy and humour, interspersed with musical ditties, gags galore, improvisation and audience participation, with a small but perfectly formed (and very silly) cast of people who undoubtedly enjoy what they do.

Oddsocks has, in its own words, an “irreverent style” in bringing Shakespeare to life and, amidst the slapstick humour and modern additions, there is both a respect and a cheeky disdain for the Bard and his oft tricky text that can, for the modern theatregoer, prove challenging to unravel.

The approach is one that works to make the production appeal across the generations: quirky and fresh, lacking condescension or the need for a knowledge of the First Folio.  “You don’t have a clue what I’m going on about, do you?”, joked one player, to an audience that clearly didn’t quite follow her drift – but far from feeling foolish, the crowd delighted in being made to feel part of it.

Perhaps not one for the serious Shakespeare-lovers; but, for those in search of a civilised summer evening’s entertainment spent with family and friends, this is just the ticket. I’ll be back next year, albeit wearing another layer or two, and having prepared the perfect picnic in advance.

Oddsocks’ Much Ado About Nothing at RHS Harlow Carr is on tonight and is part of the Harrogate International Festival. For more information on this evening’s performance and this summer’s events click here. 

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