Local Harrogate News & Views around the district - Page 296 of 1039

The Harrogate district business making a ‘once in a generation’ move

Relocating businesses is a common sight with some upscaling and others downsizing.

But, for one Harrogate district firm, moving the company which has been based in the same place for half a century to the other side of the A1(M) is a once in a generation decision.

Northern Energy has operated from its headquarters in Hampsthwaite for 70 years.

It was founded by Ralph Robinson in 1932 when it supplied milk and coal before moving to its current base in the 1950s where the company stared to distribute agricultural and commercial oil.

These days, the firm has ambitions to shift into the renewable gas trade.

However, to do that it needed a bigger base.

‘Once in a generational spend’

James Illingworth, Ralph’s great-grandson and director of sales at Northern Energy, said they identified Marton-cum-Grafton as its new home some three years ago.

For him, he describes the project to relocate as a decision made only once in a generation.

He said:

“This is a once in a generational spend, if you want to put it that way.

“We have been at our current site for 70 years. This is gearing up for the next 50 years really. I’m fourth generation.

“We want to keep it as a family business and it’s one of those big spends that we’ve got to make for the future.”

Work being carried out on the new Northern Energy site.

The new headquarters will be based off Limebar Lane on the A168 and is 15 miles from the current home.

The company bought the land from WA Pick and Sons farm and started work on phase one at the start of June.

As part of the plans, 10,000 square feet of office space, a vehicle depot, LPG and oil storage tanks and a new car park will be built.

Mr Illingworth said much of the driving force behind moving the family-firm was the need for space in order to grow the company in the coming years.

“The site that we are currently at [in Hampsthwaite], we have been there since the 50s. We have basically run out of space and it is not fit for purpose anymore.

“The gas storage is what we really need to take our business to the next level and we can’t put it there. That was the main driver for moving sites.”

The new site will be accessed via the A168, which runs parallel to the A1(M) near Boroughbridge.

Part of the reason for choosing the Limebar Lane site was to take advantage of the motorway system, says Mr Illingworth.

“The great thing about this new location is the access to the motorway, which will give us connectivity down to the refinery a lot better.

“It will reduce our journey times, which will mean we will get an extra shift in and extra load in from the refinery per day.

“It might not seem a lot, but we lose a lot of time going through Harrogate every day on Wetherby Road and Skipton Road. That time that we save will be really important from a logistics point of view.”

Completion of the first phase, which includes the 400,000 litres of gas storage and loading bays, is earmarked for completion in March 2024.

From there, the company hopes to construct the staff offices and begin trading more in renewable gas.

For Mr Illingworth, the site is the next step for Northern Energy in its evolution as a company.

“The site generally is more suited to the size of our business and for future growth.”

Tories on course to retain Harrogate and Knaresborough, says political forecaster

The Conservatives would retain Harrogate and Knaresborough while Labour could gain Selby and Ainsty if a general election were held tomorrow.

According to Electoral Calculus, a political forecasting company, Andrew Jones MP would win a fifth successive election in Harrogate.

Meanwhile, Labour would unseat the Tories in Selby and Ainsty, which includes areas of rural Harrogate, and Julian Smith, Skipton and Ripon MP, would retain his seat for the Conservatives but in a far closer contest.

Electoral Calculus uses past voting figures, polling trends and party support to predict the average outcome of seats in the House of Commons.

The chances of winning seats in Parliament has become particularly pertinent as a by-election looms in Selby and Ainsty next month and a general election is lined up for next year.

The Conservative campaign in Selby and Ainsty was thrown into disarray on Friday when its candidate, Michael Naughton, withdrew just days after being selected.

But with by-election fever mounting, we looked at the state of play locally according to Electoral Calculus.

Harrogate and Knaresborough

According to the political forecaster, Andrew Jones has a 67% chance of winning in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Mr Jones, who has already confirmed he will stand at the next election, currently has a majority of 9,675.

The website says the Liberal Democrats have a 20% chance of winning while Labour, which has yet to name a candidate, is rated 13%.

The figures come as Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat candidate for the seat, this week called for an election in light of three Conservative MPs resigning last weekend.

The predictions for Harrogate and Knaresborough, according to Electoral Calculus.

However, under an election scenario, the Lib Dems would pick up 28% of the vote – which is down on their 2019 figure of 35.6%.

Meanwhile, Mr Jones’ share would drop from 52.6% to 37%.

However, the increase in share of Labour from 9.6% to 24% suggests a split in the vote which paves the way for the Tories to retain the constituency.

Selby and Ainsty

The chances of the Conservatives holding onto Selby and Ainsty in the upcoming by-election look tight, according to Electoral Calculus.

Voters will head to the polls on July 20 after the resignation of Nigel Adams MP last weekend.

Labour announced 26-year-old Keir Mather will fight the by-election for the party.

Michael Naughton was picked to succeed Mr Adams for the Conservatives but withdrew on Friday and a replacement has yet to be named.

The Green Party has chosen Arnold Warneken, who represents Ouseburn on North Yorkshire Council, as its prospective parliamentary candidate.

The predictions for Selby and Ainsty, according to Electoral Calculus.

Electoral Calculus has the contest as a two-horse race, with Labour a 55% chance of winning and the Conservatives 45%.

Such a result would be dramatic given that Mr Adams, who was a former Foreign Office minister, had a majority of 20,137.

Under such a scenario, Labour would increase its vote share from 24.6% at the last election to 39.8%.

Meanwhile, the Tories would fall from 60.3% to 37.9%.

Skipton and Ripon

A similarly tight contest can be found in Skipton and Ripon.

Julian Smith, the former Northern Ireland secretary, currently holds the seat for the Conservatives with a majority of 23,694.

He’s predicted to have a 55% chance of retaining the seat for the party.

The predictions for Skipton and Ripon, according to Electoral Calculus.

Meanwhile, Labour has a 44% chance.

Despite a predicted drop in vote share from 59.5% to 37.5%, Mr Smith would be safe.

The figures, however, also forecast a hike in Labour’s share from 19.1% at the last election to 35.5%.

Police issue urgent appeal to find missing Harrogate woman

North Yorkshire Police has issued an urgent appealing for help finding a missing woman from Harrogate.

Sophie Rebecca Lambert, 22, was reported missing from her home in Starbeck at 10.10pm last night.

Sophie was last seen by her family at 7.20pm before she left the house.

A police statement this afternoon said:

“Concerns are growing for her welfare and extensive police searches are currently taking place in the Nidd Gorge area with assistance from search and rescue.”

Sophie went missing last night.

Sophie is described as white, aged in her early 20s, with long dark brown hair that is possibly plaited or wavy.

She has a distinctive scar on her forehead which is likely to be noticeable.

It is unknown what clothing she has on, but her family said she tends to wear jogging bottoms.

Police urged anyone who has seen a woman matching Sophie’s description or photograph to call North Yorkshire Police immediately on 999 quoting reference 12230110845.

Girlguiding group on track to hit £1.7 million target for new premises

A local Girlguiding group is on track to reach its £1.7 million goal to fund the renovations of its new centre.

North Yorkshire West Girlguiding has raised and spent nearly £1.2 million since the fundraising began in 2019, when the old site was demolished. Since then, fundraising efforts have included cake stalls, virtual balloon races, and live performances.

The Birk Crag Centre, on Cornwall Road in Harrogate, will be home to Harrogate’s Girlguiding division, but will be accessible to all groups in the North Yorkshire West area – including Ripon, Boroughbridge, Skipton, and Settle.

The space will host Guide sleepovers, as well as overnight stays for Brownie and Rainbow groups, and will also offer residential training for volunteers.

Outdoor and camping equipment will also be stored at the premises, as well as a uniform and badge shop.

Caroline Bentham, Guide guider and assistant county commissioner, said:

“One of the most important parts of Guiding is giving girls the chance to have a sleepover away from home that is affordable.

“Guiders are all volunteers and give their time for free, this means we can keep the costs down.

“There is nothing better than seeing a nervous young lady arrive at a sleepover and watch her come into her own, even if it is as the noisy one after lights out!”

Mrs Bentham explained the “pandemic affected us like many other charities” and claims the delay in raising the money is due to “jobs priced at £20,000 now cost us £60,000”. The Girlguiding group has also applied for various grants to help raise the money.

Around a further £500,000 is required to complete all building work and renovations.

The next fundraising event will take place at Studley Royal. The Ripon Girlguiding division will hold a sponsored walk, during which they will push a 5ft cable drum around the grounds to represent the £6,000 required for electrical cabling at the new building.

The walk will take place on June, 19 and 20.

To find out more about sponsorship of events or to help the fundraising efforts, visit the Birk Crag Centre website.

Starbeck stages its community day

Starbeck Community Day took place today to raise money for the annual Christmas lights appeal.

The free event, at Harrogate Railway AFC on Station View, included a range of stalls as well as a drinks bar.

There were also donkey rides and live performances from groups including Starbeck Dancing for Wellbeing.

The day also saw the crowning of the annual Starbeck community king and queen. The honours went to Ted Carman, 9, and Celeste Reid, 9.

(from left) Last year’s queen Kya-Mae Goodwin, 11 new queen Celeste Reid and new king Ted Carman.

It is one of four events held each year to raise funds for Starbeck Christmas Lights Appeal.

There is also an Easter fun day, a craft fair and nearly new sale and a Christmas fayre.

Organiser Chrissie Holmes said:

“We have to raise £8,000 a year to keep the lights going. They really brighten up Starbeck and the children love to see them walking to and from school on dark nights.”

Visitors could learn about the plans for Knaresborough Forest Park.

School creates new mosaics with help from Harrogate charity

Four new mosaics have been installed outside a school in Harrogate thanks to a partnership with a local charity.

Artizan‘s members have created the mosaics to highlight Oatlands Junior School‘s values of equality and diversity, curiosity, and safety.

They have been placed around the school, with a fourth mosaic outside the arts studio designed to inspire imagination, creativity and exploration.

The four artworks were created children from the school and members of Artizan together, which benefitted both groups.

Hannah Alderson, the school’s art and design technology lead, said:

“This incredible project gave differently able mosaic artists the opportunity to become the trainer; showing children how to mosaic, which of course is a powerful situation for them both to experience.

“[It was] empowering for members of Artizan and a transformation of attitude for the children, seeing people with disabilities in a different light as confident and creative skilled artists.”

For more information about how Artizan can work with local schools, email Liz Cluderay.

Harrogate sixth formers ‘twin’ toilet with Malawi school

A toilet in a Harrogate school has been twinned with one in Malawi thanks to an international project.

Rosset School sixth form has raised enough money to build a toilet block in a school in the African country, with support from Soroptimist International of Harrogate and District.

The toilet twinning scheme aims to increase access to safe facilities around the world, delivering better sanitation and improved quality of life. At Rossett, £240 was raised to sponsor the toilet block in Malawi.

Roger Keyworth, head of sixth form at the school, said:

“We would like to thank Harrogate & District Soroptimists for supporting our students with this initiative and for their partnership with our students and the wider sixth form throughout the year. I am very pleased that we were able to raise some money for this great cause.”

Sandra Frier, on behalf of Soroptimist International of Harrogate, said:

“We are delighted to have worked in partnership with Rossett School on the Sharing our Skills project and to have had the opportunity to work with the students throughout the year, supporting them to raise funds for Toilet Twinning.”

Local democracy in North Yorkshire ‘destroyed’ by devolution, says peer

Devolution in North Yorkshire has made local government an “incoherent mess” and “destroyed” democracy, a Liberal Democrat peer has claimed.

Harrogate Borough Council was one of seven district authorities, along with North Yorkshire County Council, abolished on March 31 to pave the way for the new North Yorkshire Council.

The single-tier system has vastly reduced the number of councillors in North Yorkshire from almost 400 to 90.

A combined authority for York and North Yorkshire is due to be created next year, led by an elected mayor, as part of the UK government’s devolution agenda.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire said in a speech in the House of Lords on Thursday the structure of local government across England was now “an incoherent mess” and accused the government of “imposing mayors on places that did not want them”.

He added:

“I find what has happened recently in North Yorkshire the most appalling, and when I heard someone assure me that no councillor in North Yorkshire would need more than two hours to drive from the ward they represent to council meetings, it showed me just how far we have gone.

“Decent places such as Harrogate, Scarborough, Richmond and Craven, which had working district authorities and which represented real places, have been dismantled and they are now trying to set up very large town councils for them.

“We have the prospect of a mayor, somehow, for North Yorkshire and, incidentally, one for East Yorkshire. That is the effective destruction of local government and I really do not understand the rationale for it.”

He contrasted the situation with Fenland District Council, where councillors represented far fewer people, and therefore had more time to deal with their issues.

Lord Saltaire said:

“After the next election, a reform of the way in which the governance of England is conducted at all levels is a vital part of what any new government must be. If we want to regain trust in politics and re-engage some of our citizens more, that is part of how we do it.

“Let us all recognise that we face a situation of deep popular disengagement and disillusionment with the democratic politics we have in this country.”

Old system ‘confusing and expensive’

Carl Les

Carl Les, the Conservative leader of North Yorkshire Council, described the old two-tier system as “confusing, inefficient and expensive”. He added:

“Over half of the country is governed by unitary local government now. Where Lord Saltaire lives has been unitary for years.

“Yes, we no longer have 390 local councillors. Some might say that’s a good thing.”

Cllr Les said the council’s plans for “double devolution”, whereby powers would be handed down to local level, would ensure it was “not only the largest geographic council in the country but also the most local as well”.

Knaresborough’s king of the bed race celebrates win number 12

For most people, the Great Knaresborough Bed Race is all about fun and supporting good causes.

But for some, it’s also a highly competitive 2.4-mile mad dash across town and river while pushing a bed.

The elite teams train hard for the glory of arriving back at Conyngham House first and it’s doubtful whether anyone has had more success in the event’s 57-year history than Chris Miller, 41, who led the GH Brooks team to victory in 13 minutes and five seconds last week.

It was Chris’ 12^th success in the race since he first took part in 2003, making him the Novak Djokovic of the bed race. He chalked up nine wins with Harrogate Harriers before having a break and landing three more with GH Brooks.

The GH Brooks team leading with Chris (left)

The GH Brooks team is on a four-race winning streak. Its reserve team even managed third, with Ripon Runners second in the men’s race and first in the women’s.

GH Brooks is a builders’ merchants in Harrogate and although the name conjures up images of guys in high vis jackets with jeans hanging down their backsides beating a load of runners, the truth is more prosaic.

They are the Harlem Globetrotters of the bed race — local running superstars hand-picked for the event thanks to the support of GH Brooks owner Andy Broadwith. Chris confesses:

“We are a team of ringers. We are all mates who race for local clubs.”

Chris represents Wharfedale Harriers, others run for Harrogate Harriers and Leeds City Athletic Club. But nothing on the track or fell compares with the bedlam of bed race, where tens of thousands of people line the midsummer streets.

Running for Wharfedale

He says:

“It’s just mad. When you come by the World’s End pub you are just hit by this wall of noise.”

Elite local runners are queueing up to be part of the GH Brooks success story but Chris, who by day is a scientist, is understandably reluctant to break up a winning team. John Young, with six race wins, is another major part of the success.

Don’t even think of applying if you can’t manage a five-minute mile — and not many can. To maintain that pace while pushing a bed up winding, undulating streets and swimming across the Nidd is extraordinary.

“You have to be a competitive standard because you’re only as fast as your slowest runner. You’ve got to be prepared to be hurt and then hurt again.

“Experience helps but it’s down to having six runners who are all of a similar standard.”

This year’s time was six seconds slower than last year, when GH Brooks became the first to dip below 13 minutes.

But Chris says it was the “hottest and hardest” bed race he’s done.

Winning with Harrogate Harriers

How long will he continue? A couple of years, he says, but admits bed race is addictive. He will send out the call after Christmas to see who wants to enter and doesn’t expect many refusals. He says:

“People say afterwards ‘I think this will be my last one’ but when it rolls round they want to do it again. There’s nothing like it.”

Honour for Harrogate’s fundraising traffic officer

Sergeant Paul Cording is delighted yet slightly baffled to have been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours list.

The roads policing officer, who is based in Harrogate, has received a British Empire Medal for services to policing.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“It’s a bit bonkers.

“I’m just doing my job and none of us in the emergency services do anything for recognition. We joined because we want to make a difference.”

He has known about the award for around a month, having received a letter “on His Majesty’s service”. Sgt Cording said:

“My wife was working at home and was on some sort of probably very important Teams call and I was just standing with this letter in my hand, shaking.”

After his wife ended the call, Sgt Cording said “it got a bit emotional” as he told her what the letter contained.

Until last night, she was the only person he had told about the award, for which he was nominated by the chief constable’s office.

Sgt Cording has been with North Yorkshire Police since the start of his career in 2001, moving into roads policing in 2010.

Leading a team of roads policing officers, he has become well-known for tweeting from the scene of collisions and sharing results from arrests.

He views that work as part of his role, saying:

“I do the easy bit and share results. I’m very lucky to have a lot of people following and supporting us on social media.

“It definitely humanises what we do and takes away that image of traffic cops hiding behind a bush with a speed camera.”

Sgt Cording and his team also feature regularly on Channel 5’s Traffic Cops, filmed across the region.

Agreeing to be on national TV was a step up from being on Twitter, but soon became second nature – and he believes has been another positive move in humanising the police. He said:

“I was a bit worried to start with, but it becomes normal. It’s a cliche, but you forget the cameras are there.

“There’s the odd person who will play up to the camera, but the majority of people, if they’ve done something wrong, the last thing they want to do is look an idiot on national telly. The majority behave as I would expect.”

Sgt Cording’s BEM is not just for his professional service to North Yorkshire Police, however.

It also recognises his charity work: the many challenges he has taken on to raise money for road safety organisations and other good causes.

He has completed the Marathon des Sables, the Great North Run, and other half-marathons over the last 15 years.

Earlier this year, Sgt Cording decided to cover 325km in just a week reflecting the 325 people killed or seriously injured on the roads of North Yorkshire in 2021.

It is the most recent in a string of fundraisers for charities including RoadPeace, Brake and Road Safety Talks, run by Lauren Doherty, who was left paralysed after being hit by a car while walking home when she was just a teenager.

She now shares her story with school children, emphasising the need to be careful at all times and describing the impact of her decision to cross a road at the wrong moment – not just on her, but on everyone around her.

Motivation

Lauren helped to put together the nomination for Sgt Cording’s BEM, along with other people he has worked closely with over recent years.

He says supporting charities like Lauren’s is a continuation of the work he and his team do every day:

“I get my drive from doing my bit for families at their lowest ebb. In this role, I’m not always dealing with drunken idiots. I get to see people who need support because their world has just fallen apart.

“That dovetails nicely into the charity side of things. We deal with the front end of the collision. These people whose lives have just been shattered need support going forward too.”

There are personal reasons for some of his fundraising as well.

Over the last five years, four officers in North Yorkshire Police have taken their own lives, including Mick “Aky” Atkinson. Sgt Cording has been a regular participant in the Tour de Aky cycle ride in his memory

Sgt Cording recognises the challenges police officers can have in dealing with some of the harrowing scenes they face at work.

For him, as well as raising money, exercise is a way to maintain good mental health, getting out into nature and taking time away from his day job and his social media account.

There will be no getting away from the many messages he’ll be receiving today though, after the honours list was published last night.

On shift from 7am, he’s expecting to be providing the cakes for the team to mark the occasion. A date at Buckingham Palace awaits in the coming weeks.

Until then, it’s business as usual.

‘Once in a generational spend’

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Harrogate and Knaresborough

Selby and Ainsty

Skipton and Ripon

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Old system ‘confusing and expensive’

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Motivation