The Harrogate Bus Company has placed orders worth £21 million for 39 new buses and to equip its Starbeck depot to convert its entire Harrogate fleet to fully electric power.

Funding for the bid includes £7.8 million secured by North Yorkshire Council from the government’s zero emission bus regional areas scheme.

Ministers set-up the scheme to help local authorities outside London introduce zero-emission buses.

The Harrogate Bus Company, whose services include the 36 that runs between Ripon, Harrogate and Leeds, is owned by French firm Transdev.

Transdev has already trialled several types of all-electric buses on three routes in and around Harrogate, and on its shuttle route linking Bradford and Keighley.

Transdev orders, which it revealed today, call for:

• 20 new Mercedes-Benz E-Citaro all-electric single deck buses, to be used on the urban route 1 between Harrogate and Knaresborough, route 7 linking Harrogate, Wetherby and Leeds, and rural route 24 between Harrogate and Pateley Bridge.
• 19 new Alexander Dennis Enviro 400EV fully electric double deck buses, to relaunch flagship route, The 36 linking Ripon, Harrogate and Leeds. These will be among the first of this new British-built design to enter service.

One of eight current Harrogate Electrics-branded single deck vehicles, seen at Harrogate Bus Station.

Henri Rohard, managing director of Transdev, described the news as “an important evolution in the quality and sustainability of our network in and around our home town of Harrogate”.

Mr Rohard added:

“All our bus fleet will be renewed in the process, giving our Harrogate Bus Company the most modern and passenger oriented network.

“In combination with our existing eight Harrogate Electrics-branded Volvo 7900E electric buses, the first of their kind in Britain, 47 fully-electric vehicles are now expected to be in service in spring 2024.

“Higher power output delivered by today’s new generation batteries means each bus can go further between charge-ups – and to make sure we provide a reliable service, our buses will also have top-up charges at Harrogate Bus Station, as they will travel further in a day than the maximum range achievable by fully electric buses.”

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The Starbeck depot will be upgraded.

Roads minister Richard Holden said:

“It’s fantastic to see Transdev turn its Harrogate fleet to fully electric by ordering 39 new electric buses.

“We’ve awarded £330 million of dedicated funding for zero emission buses in England excluding London, as we continue in our quest to decarbonise transport and reach net zero by 2050.”

Conservative-controlled North Yorkshire Council was among 12 local authorities to submit a successful bid for government funding.

Cllr Keane Duncan, the council’s executive member for highways and transport, said:

“It’s great news for passengers and an important step towards achieving our climate aims.”

WARNING: The following report contains details which some people may find upsetting.

Harrogate knife victim Seb Mitchell was stabbed to death after a row over a broken mirror, a court has heard.

The incident occurred at a house in Harrogate where the two teenagers became embroiled in a row, a jury at Leeds Crown Court was told yesterday.

The boy accused of Seb’s murder, who can’t be named for legal reasons, stabbed Seb in the chest with a kitchen knife which led to a fatal loss of blood and cardiac arrest.

He appeared for the first day of his trial, expected to last six-to-seven-days, yesterday after pleading not guilty to murder. 

Three teenagers who witnessed the horrific incident in the early hours of February 19 this year went to Seb’s aid and called police and an ambulance as he lay barely conscious on a sofa.

Prosecutor Peter Moulson KC said a broken mirror and pane of glass in the kitchen appeared to be the “catalyst” for the fatal stabbing after the boys started arguing and scuffling. 

When police arrived, Seb, who was 17, was unresponsive and falling deeper into unconsciousness. Officers found blood stains in the kitchen, living room and a settee, and a red stain on one of the knives from the kitchen block. 

Seb was taken to Harrogate District Hospital by ambulance, but his condition was so critical he was transferred to Leeds General Infirmary where he underwent emergency surgery and was placed in a medically induced coma.

Despite the best efforts of doctors, he died two days later.

Police launched a murder investigation and spoke to two girls and a teenage boy who were at the house that night where drinks had been consumed.

The murder suspect, from Harrogate, was brought in for questioning but refused to answer police questions during three separate interviews. He also refused to provide blood and urine samples.

However, he did provide a prepared, legally assisted statement claiming initially that the stabbing was in self-defence and that Seb was the aggressor.

Grabbed knife during argument

The two girls told police that the defendant grabbed a knife from the kitchen and confronted Seb with it during the argument which led to scuffling.

One of the girls said the defendant pushed her away before grabbing the knife and “pointing it at Seb”.

She said:

“We were all trying to hold [the defendant] back.”

She said he seemed “fixated with the [victim]” and that the defendant told Seb: “I’m going to wet you up.”

Mr Moulson said the expression “wet you up” was “London slang” for a stabbing. 

Leeds Crown Court

She said she heard the defendant repeatedly saying to the victim: “I’m gonna kill you.”

She saw Seb and the defendant “on the floor, in the corner of the kitchen, with glass smashed around them”.

They ended up “face to face” while the others tried to pull them apart, but the teenager wielding the knife was “still not listening” and was pushing her away.

She said he pointed the knife towards Seb’s stomach. She tried to grab the knife from the defendant, but he told her: “Don’t touch my f****** knife.”

The two boys were still shouting at each other as the fight spilled over into the living room, but then Seb fell silent and was laid out, grasping his chest which was bleeding.

‘Fell on the knife’

The girl called 999 and was told by the teenage defendant to tell the ambulance operator that Seb had fallen onto the knife on the floor and that it was an accident. The two other teenage witnesses went along with this because they thought the defendant “could kill them” too. 

The girl, who was “too scared to say what actually happened”, told the call-handler: 

“Please be quick. He’s dying. Please. He’s 17. He’s going. He’s just about [breathing] but he’s going.”

In the 999 call – an audio recording of which was played to the jury – the defendant could be heard telling the girl to tell the operator that Seb “fell on the knife”.

Screaming, groans and desperate shouts of “Please, help” could be heard in the background.

The girl told the call-handler: 

“He fell on the floor. There was a knife on the floor. We all had a drink. We need an ambulance. He’s bleeding seriously. He’s not responding.”

A male voice can then be heard saying:

“We need [an ambulance] now or he’s gonna die. He’s unconscious; he’s not responding in the slightest. He’s breathing but he’s not there.”

The girl later told police that Seb was backing away from the defendant who was “getting a bit closer” with the knife and “getting louder and louder”. 

She said the defendant was acting “like he wanted to hurt all of us in there”, which was “very scary”.

The other girl said she saw the defendant “making jabbing motions” with the blade before stabbing Seb. 

She added:

“We were all trying to stop it.

“We were like, ‘You can’t do this, you can’t do this, it’s not worth it’.”

She said the defendant was “waving the knife around, putting the knife to [Seb’s] stomach, jabbing [the blade]”.

“That’s when I looked away and when I walked round the corner there was like a silence… with [the defendant] saying, ‘I’m going to wet you up, it doesn’t take much to put it in you.”

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She then heard her male friend shouting: “You actually just stabbed him.” 

She said Seb was “really drunk”.

The defendant and another teenager were giving Seb chest compressions in an attempt to revive him.

When police arrived, the defendant told them:

“It was me. I was scared. Really sorry. Everyone here are witnesses. I promise I was just trying to defend myself. You can arrest me. This wasn’t meant to happen.”

Mr Moulson said this was a key part of the prosecution evidence as the boy was no longer saying the victim fell on the knife and claiming it was an accident.

The male teenage witness told police that Seb, a black belt in karate who also played football, was the aggressor initially and that the stabbing was an accident. 

He said he saw the two boys wrestling in the kitchen following an argument about the broken glass and then the defendant grabbed a knife and told Seb he would “poke him”.

‘Didn’t intend to kill’

The defendant, who admitted manslaughter at a previous hearing, accepts that he deliberately stabbed Seb but denies murder. He claims he didn’t intend to kill or do really serious harm to the teenager. 

The prosecution now has to prove that he intended to kill or cause Seb really serious harm to prove murder.

Mohammed Nawaz KC, for the defendant, said:

“We do not say he acted in self-defence. We accept it was not responsible or proportionate for [the defendant] to pick up a knife in response to what was going on.”

He added, however, that it was the defence’s contention that it was not a deliberate stabbing with intent to kill Seb or cause him really serious harm. 

A paramedic who arrived at the scene at about 12.20am said that Seb’s clothes were covered in blood. He was laid on a sofa with a 3cm-long puncture wound to his chest.

The trial continues. 

Harrogate’s Rachel Daly could be set to make another major tournament final as England’s Lionesses play in a World Cup semi-final today.

Daly and her teammates face host nation Australia in Sydney for a place to play Spain in the final on Sunday.

England sit four places above the Australians, known as the Matildas, in the world rankings.

However, Australia will be backed by a bumper home crowd and have built momentum throughout the tournament.

The 81,000 capacity Stadium Australia in Sydney is expected to be sold out.

Daly, who has started all but one game of England’s matches so far, could feature on the left hand side of midfield again.

The former Killinghall Nomads star helped the Lionesses reach the semi-final in a 2-1 win over Colombia on Saturday.

England, who have reached the last two Women’s World Cup semi-finals, will be hoping to make it one step closer to a second major trophy after clinching the Euros at Wembley last year.

England kick off against Australia at 11am today live on BBC One.

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The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting is an after work drinks event on Thursday, August 31 at The West Park Hotel in Harrogate between 5-7pm. 

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 manufacturing firm has promoted a long-term employee to its board of directors.

Belzona Polymerics Ltd, which is based on Claro Road, has appointed Charli Walton to the board after 12 years of service.

Ms Walton joined the company, which is a global designer and manufacturer of industrial repair and protection materials, in its marketing team back in 2011.

Now, she becomes the first female member of the Belzona board.

Mrs Walton said: 

“It is a great honour to be appointed to the board of directors. I would like to thank Belzona for giving me this incredible opportunity, as well as for the extensive investment made into my training and development in preparation for my new role.”

Barry Nisill, chief executive of Belzona, added:

“During Charli’s career with Belzona, she has developed an extensive knowledge which, teamed with her boundless enthusiasm, has seen her become an important member of the Belzona leadership team.

“On behalf of everyone at Belzona, I would like to congratulate Charli and wish her every success for the future.”

Knaresborough building society celebrates first anniversary with grant award

A building society in Knaresborough has celebrated its first birthday by offering a £3,000 grant to Henshaws Arts and Crafts Centre.

Newcastle Building Society opened its doors in the town’s library last summer.

As part of its anniversary, it has offered a grant to Henshaws from the Newcastle Building Society Community Fund.

The funding will help to purchase iPads and art makers, which will be used to support people living with disabilities and visual impairments.

Heather Pearman, manager of Newcastle Building Society’s Knaresborough branch, said: 

“Since opening our Knaresborough branch we’ve developed a strong relationship with Henshaws.

“Colleagues have lent their time to volunteer with the charity at some of its largest annual fundraising events, including Henshaws Bed Fest, with further plans to support the charity later into the year.”

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The sales manager of BMW dealership near Harrogate was unfairly dismissed after selling a car against money laundering guidance, a tribunal has found.

James Dent was employed as head of sales at Stratstone BMW in Pannal until last September, when he was dismissed without notice from his job.

It followed the sale of a vehicle on September 1, which a tribunal in Leeds heard was one of the busiest trading days of the year, when new registrations were released.

A report from the tribunal, published yesterday, found Mr Dent had been asked not to hand over a new car to a customer on the “red list”, which indicated a third party was paying for the vehicle.

The list had been compiled after the company was contacted by police the previous day in relation to another buyer who was involved in criminal activity.

The tribunal was told a third-party funder was also seen as a risk for re-sale – when another garage which sells the car on at an inflated price. If the Harrogate dealership was found to have sold in these circumstances, it could lose its franchise with BMW and Mini, the hearing was told.

After an investigation, Mr Dent was told by Stratstone’s national franchise director for BMW and Mini, Anthony Partington, in a letter dated September 16, that he had been dismissed.

In the tribunal report, Judge Knowles wrote:

“The letter is effectively dismissal for decisions which place the respondent at risk of being knowingly involved with money laundering and also knowingly selling to resellers, exposing the franchise to possible penalties and his inability to follow a simple instruction from his regional director.”

The court heard Mr Dent had argued he was following a similar sale he had witnessed, when the regional sales director had effectively sold a car to a third party against company policy.

However, the tribunal found there were some differences between the two cases, including that the third party paying for the car was present during the transaction, though someone else collected the keys.

In his case, Mr Dent had not sought approval from a senior director before handing over the keys to someone when a third party, who was not present, was paying for the car.

‘Grave mistake’

Judge Knowles wrote:

“The claimant did not underestimate that he had done something seriously wrong. He described it as a wrong judgment on something that was high priority. He acknowledged that he overlooked the fact that they were not delivering the car to the paying customer.

“The claimant’s concluding comments were ‘I’d like to make it plain that I have not set out to deliberately contravene the company’s policy or risk myself or the company. I have made a grave mistake… but I’ve had a busy stressful day and I’ve made a poor judgement in the heat of the moment’.

“The claimant explained some circumstances in mitigation, that he had been busy that day, and that he had dealt with an extremely aggressive customer earlier who had been unhappy with the cleanliness of his new vehicle. He says his mind was elsewhere.”

The judge found there was no dispute between Mr Dent or his employer over whether the transaction had taken place on September 1.

However, what was disputed was the way in which the investigation was carried out.

Mr Partington’s letter made reference to other matters coming to light which showed “huge potential risk” to Stratstone, a trading name of Pendragon PLC.

Judge Knowles found these other matters had not been shared with Mr Dent during the disciplinary process and were not detailed in the dismissal letter.

‘Conscious decision’

In the letter, Mr Partington concluded:

“Finally, I can clearly see in the hearing, and throughout the relationship I have had with you, that the decisions made here are very unlikely to have been made for personal gain, or to knowingly de-fraud or compromise the business.

“Your attitude and approach has always proved to be professional and your commitment to the business is clear.”

Yet when Mr Dent appealed the decision and was unsuccessful, he was found to have “made a conscious decision to not follow clear instruction from your leader, and allowed the business to be put at risk by acting above your authority”.

The tribunal report also found the investigation into the regional sales director’s transaction, cited by Mr Dent as another example of a similar sale, had not been fully investigated.

Leeds Employment Tribunal at City Exchange in Leeds City Centre

Mr Dent said the real reason for his dismissal was because of the risk to the Harrogate garage of being known to have sold cars that were being paid for by third parties.

However, in response Stratstone BMW told the tribunal Mr Dent had been fully aware of the risk of releasing the car to the man in question, having helped to identify potential suspect transactions for that day.

The company said Mr Dent “acted contrary to clear management instructions” not to release the car, and accepted doing so warranted “some level of disciplinary action”, even dismissal.

Judge Knowles agreed that Mr Dent had handed the car over in contravention of the instructions he had been given.

Yet the report also found there was no evidence this was “deliberate” and that this had only been suggested following his appeal rather than as part of the disciplinary process.

It also found the “wider issues” had only been mentioned after the appeal, in the letter confirming Mr Dent’s dismissal, and no such issues had been put to him.

‘Hurdles to be cleared’

Concluding, Judge Knowles said that while the process of the dismissal had been unfair, Mr Dent’s actions meant he had been “wholly to blame for his dismissal”.

The judge therefore found Mr Dent had been unfairly dismissed, but had not been wrongly dismissed, and was not due any compensation in lieu of notice.

The report also said:

“Worryingly the anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing policy and related security processes seem to have been treated by both [Mr Dent] and the [regional sales director] simply as hurdles to be cleared. This makes the policy somewhat of a false dawn.

“I suspect that this… will be an uncomfortable read for the board and its audit and risk sub-committee who have clearly sponsored and approved the policy.”

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North Yorkshire Council has approved plans for a new cafe on Harrogate’s Cambridge Street.

The proposal, which has been submitted by Doncaster-based Imyco Construction Ltd, will see the cafe created next to beauty and toiletries shop Bodycare in the town centre.

The allocated space is currently a staircase, which has been “mothballed”, according to planning documents.

The cafe would be situated on the ground floor and be accessed from Cambridge Street.

Further details on the cafe, including name and opening hours, have yet to be revealed.

Council officials have now given the go-ahead to the proposal.

The site is currently subject to plans for 14 new apartments above the planned cafe and Bodycare.

The proposal, which was approved in June 2020, will see the first floor of the building converted into accommodation.

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A year of more than 40 performances has seen a Harrogate ukulele group raise £4,500 for charity.  

The group is partnered with Saint Michael’s Hospice, and all donations and performance fees are given to the Harrogate-based charity. 

The Harrogate Spa Town Ukes was formed nearly 10 years ago by two members of the Bingley Ukulele club who wanted a group closer to home.  

Since then, it has gone from strength to strength.

Bob Mansfield, the group’s events coordinator, said:

“The club has increased steadily over the years with over 40 members now. Ages do vary, but it is fair to say that the majority are around, or over, retirement age. The gender mix is pretty well equal.” 

The group meets weekly on Wednesday evenings at Oatlands Social Club and includes many former guitarists.

Mr Mansfield said their sets are “not all George Formby classics”, instead being made up of vintage rock and pop music.  

The band has up to 20 players and regularly performs on Saturdays around Harrogate and the surrounding area. All performances are by volunteers with the aim of raising money for charity.   

When asked why they chose the ukulele over other instruments, Bob Mansfield referred to a comment made by one audience member, who said, “you can’t listen to the ukulele without smiling”.  

Further information about the group can be found on its website.

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A new cafe in Harrogate is set to have family at its heart – in more ways than one.

Brood Coffee House will open next month at the bottom of Commercial Street, in a unit previously occupied by Foxy Vintage and Interiors.

It is being converted by Hannah and Frank Pinder to offer space for children to play and enjoy classes, while parents can also enjoy a coffee or light lunch.

Hannah told the Stray Ferret:

“My husband’s passion is coffee. I’m more on the baby development side.

“I run multi-sensory and baby development classes all over the place. This gives me a bit more of a base.

“I’ll be doing a couple of days here, and then renting the space out to other class providers during the week.”

The ground floor coffee shop will be open from 8.30am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, and 9am to 1pm on Saturdays.

As well as café seating, it has toys for youngsters to play with – all selected by Hannah using her expertise.

Dark Woods will be supplying the coffee, pastries will be provided by Manna Bakery, and Hannah is currently speaking to cake suppliers to fill the counter with sweet treats.

Sandwiches will be made in-house by her mum, who has been part of the family effort to get the business ready to open.

Hannah’s dad – an artist and designer who runs classes for students at Henshaws in Knaresborough – came up with the name and branding, and has been hard at work on the DIY with Frank.

He has also designed some colouring sheets for young visitors to use at the tables.

Since setting up the cafe’s website and Instagram account, Hannah said she has been “inundated” with interest from people hoping to use the newly-converted basement to run classes and activities.

If they all sign up, she’s hoping to offer everything from baby yoga and drama classes to pre- and post-natal sessions and a breastfeeding café.

As a class leader herself, Hannah said she has experienced how hard it can be to find a high-quality venue.

“Running my classes in Leeds, I was done with the cold, horrible church halls and mums having to use nasty toilets with nowhere to change their babies.

“A couple of things started popping up that were really nice spaces, but there was nothing in Harrogate like that.

“I’m from a group of six girlfriends with children of similar age and we really struggled with where to go. You can meet at the Valley Gardens for an hour, but where can you go after that’s child-friendly and also a nice place?

“There’s such a lovely mum culture of people wanting to meet friends with children and hang out and do thing for the kids, but also for them.”

While the space will be used every week during term time for regular classes, Hannah is also hoping to run special events during the school holidays.

Her mum is already signed up to run storytime sessions, and there will be crafts and other activities on offer.

The studio is also going to be available for private bookings, mostly on Sundays, to host birthday parties, baby showers, christening celebrations and more.

Hannah and Frank will be test-running the space as a party venue for their own son, Reg, who turns two this month – and has also been in the shop daily checking out the toys in time for the planned launch events on Saturday, September 2.

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Harrogate District Hospital is set to review security arrangements at its emergency department.

Officials at the hospital commissioned T3 Security, which is based in Newcastle, to provide security officers overnight on a trial basis in May 2022.

The move came as staff reported receiving abuse and aggressive behaviour from patients and visitors.

At the time, Jonathan Coulter, chief executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said the trust made the decision reluctantly.

However, the trust is now set to review the measures despite describing the trial as “successful”.

A spokesperson for the trust said:

“The service aim has been to provide a visual deterrent to those who may seek to be violent and aggressive, and create a more secure environment for patients and staff.

“While the security trial has proven to be successful and helped reduce instances of violence and aggression, we now need to review the temporary arrangements and formalise the service in line with our longer term plans.

“A security service will be in place within the next week to ensure the continued safety of visitors to our emergency department and the staff who work within it.

“We will not tolerate violence, or physical or verbal aggression towards our staff or patients and abuse of any kind may lead to prosecution.”

Security staff were in place at the emergency department between 7pm and 7am.

The move came amid complaints that staff had been abused by patients and visitors when they were asked to wear face masks.

Speaking at a council meeting in November last year, Mr Coulter said it was “a bit of a shame” that the trust had been forced to appoint its own security officers.

He said:

“We were always reluctant to have our own security service on the hospital site because we felt we were a health service, not anything else. I know other trusts went much more quickly into having dedicated security personnel on site.

“We have in the last six months introduced, between 7pm and 7am overnight, our own security service, which is a bit of a shame that we’ve had to do that, but it was something that made the staff feel safer, particularly in the early hours with the emergency department where Harrogate has never had a problem before, but has had an increasing problem.

“I wouldn’t say it’s anything like we get lots of these incidents, it’s a handful of incidents but they don’t need to happen very often for it to be disturbing and for people to get concerned about it.”

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Community groups in the Harrogate district could win up to £3,000 in a new photography competition.

The competition, which has opened for entries, celebrates the work of voluntary organisations in North Yorkshire.

It is being run by Two Ridings Community Foundation, which coordinates charitable giving in North and East Yorkshire, in conjunction with Clare Granger, the Birstwith-based High Sheriff of North Yorkshire and professional artist.

The contest, which is open until September 5, seeks the best amateur photographs that capture the essence of community. There are two categories: our people and our place.

Bec Horner, communications manager at Two Ridings, said:

“We really want groups to show off the people of our region and what community means to them.

“They say a photo says a thousand words, and we want to see that! We know that community organisations in the region do such vital work for local people. We want them to capture the energy, the vibrancy and the magic that is happening all over.”

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A panel of six judges will shortlist the three most impactful photos in each category.

The shortlisted groups will be invited to a photography exhibition in October where final decisions will be made.

The first prize in each category is £3,000, second prize is £2,000 and third prize £1,000. These are unrestricted funds groups can use to fund anything they choose.

The photography exhibition will take place on October 25 at Allerton Castle, near Knaresborough, where the winning and highly commended photographs will be enlarged and displayed.

More information is available here.