Poet laureate Simon Armitage has been commissioned to write a poem inspired by Brimham Rocks and the surrounding moorland.

The poem, called Balancing Act, will be carved in stone and placed on the moor.

Brimham Rocks is an outcrop of millstone grit rocks formed 325 million years ago near Pateley Bridge. The site, owned by the National Trust, was designated a site of special scientific interest in 1958.

Mr Armitage, who was born in Huddersfield, was appointed poet laureate in 2019. A former geography student at Portsmouth Polytechnic, his work often focuses on northern landscapes.

He appeared at arts festival Feva in Knaresborough and at Ripon Poetry Festival in 2021.

A National Trust representative is due to give a presentation about the poem at Pateley Bridge Town Council tonight.

A trust spokesperson said the poem will “create a permanent artwork and place for reflection” and will be debuted at an official launch on June 22.

Further details are expected next week.

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Harrogate’s Valley Gardens has unveiled a new flower bed to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its twinning with the town of Barrie in Canada.

The beds will be made up of 3,750 flowers, primarily petunias and begonias in a variety of colours.

The unveiling will coincide with Barrie Day, a holiday celebrated across Canada.

Sir Robert Barrie, the town’s namesake, was married to Julia Wharton Ingilby of Ripley Castle. Both are buried in the family vault at All Saints’ church in Ripley. Barrie was a naval officer instrumental in keeping Canada from joining America in 1812.

Former mayor of Harrogate and trustee of Harrogate international partnerships, Michael Newby,  who is set to visit Barrie, said:

“I am delighted to be going to Barrie to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our relationship, having been the mayor who signed the twinning agreement on behalf of Harrogate.”

Part of the New Zealand flower bed section, as Harrogate is also twinned with Wellington the capital.

 Read more: 

• Valley Gardens ceremony to mark Harrogate’s 70 years of links with New Zealand
• New canopy and benches installed in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens

It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. Our next networking event is lunch at Manahatta, on June 29th at 12.30pm.

Don’t miss out on this chance to network with businesses from across the Harrogate district. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

Harrogate based IDR Law has announced a £3.25 million growth capital investment from BGF – one of the largest growth capital investors in the UK.

IDR Law is the only UK law firm to specialise solely in the resolution of contentious wills, probate and trust disputes. The majority of the firm’s work is generated by referrals.

The firm’s IDR Network (IDRN) launched last year provides members with an online referral and support space for contentious issues, along with extensive training,  general resources and commentaries.

The deal will allow IDR Law to invest in talent and legal tech, as well as expanding its office network to the Midlands, North East and London.

Martin Holdsworth, founder and CEO of IDR Law, said:

“By its nature, our work is very emotive, so it’s crucial for us to deliver the best possible service to referrers and clients, which is reflected in our exceptional client and referrer NPS scores. We have identified opportunities for significant growth, but we will only take on cases where we genuinely believe we can help someone reach their goals. BGF understood what we are looking to achieve and that it’s essential we continue to do this in the right way.

“Our business is built on strong foundations because of our focus on our people and culture.  From day one, we were set up to work remotely so we could offer our lawyers the opportunity to work flexibly with paid overtime and a healthy balance between work and home. Because of this, we’ve been able to attract the best talent with a 20-strong team based across the UK with 90% of our workforce made up of women. It’s also the most productive and engaged team I’ve experienced working with.”

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New Executive Chef at Swinton Park

Ruth Hansom has been appointed Executive Chef at Swinton Park Hotel near Masham.

Ruth who has worked at The Ritz, The Ledbury and L’Enclume said her aim is to ensure Swinton achieves five star status in the next 12-18 months.

She said:

“I am thrilled to be joining the team on the at Swinton Estate as Executive Chef.  I am excited to showcase the best of Yorkshire’s produce, from the Estate’s own walled garden to the surrounding farms and producers.”

Ruth has redesigned the restaurant kitchens with between 50% and 80% of the food served in the hotel’s Samuel’s restaurant sourced from the Switnon estate.

Dame Susan Cunliffe-Lister, owner of Swinton, said

“We are delighted to welcome Ruth to Swinton Estate as our new executive chef.

“Her vision and enthusiasm for both the food and the process of delivering it – from kitchen design to creating a happy and fulfilled catering team, really stand out.  We are sure she’ll be a huge asset to all of the dining experiences we offer at the Swinton Estate.”

Ruth Hansom, Executive Chef, Swinton Park

A Harrogate police officer has been sacked after misleading North Yorkshire Police during its vetting process.

Christopher Hudson faced four allegations at a misconduct hearing in Northallerton last week.

Mr Hudson was alleged to have acted dishonestly, including failing to declare he was friends with a convicted criminal and failing to notify the force he had been involved in a criminal investigation in 2006.

Lisa Winward, chief constable at North Yorkshire Police, said the misconduct had the potential to seriously affect the “the trust and the confidence in the service”.

Misleading the force

The 32-year-old, who had previously been suspended following an allegation of sexual assault in Harrogate for which he was later acquitted, had first applied to North Yorkshire Police in November 2017.

He completed a vetting application on February 27, 2018.

However, the hearing, which was overseen by chief constable Lisa Winward, found Mr Hudson had been dishonest and misleading during the process.

He failed to declare he was associated with convicted criminal Richard Calvert, who he had visited on seven separate occasions at HMP Wealstun near Wetherby between June 2012 and October 2014.

Calvert was jailed for six years for robbery in April 2012.

Mr Hudson, who is from Huddersfield but had been based in Harrogate, had claimed Calvert was “purely someone whom I know by name from my youth”.

However, the hearing found he had visited him on multiple occasions and was arrested alongside him for arson.

It also found that Mr Hudson had called Calvert to wish him happy birthday during an 18-minute phone call.

The hearing found Mr Hudson failed to supply the correct information about being arrested for arson and criminal damage in 2006.

Read more:

• Police sack Harrogate officer convicted of sexual assault
• Police appeal after dog kills lamb in Harrogate district field
• Harrogate police officer given suspended sentence for sex assault

In a previous application for a PCSO role to West Yorkshire Police in 2016, Mr Hudson said he had been arrested at the age of 14 for “playing football on private property” and was later released.

Officers at the force then confirmed he was arrested for both criminal damage and arson in 2006 after speaking to Mr Hudson.

A year later in his application to North Yorkshire Police, he only declared that he gave a statement to West Yorkshire Police over “an arson in my neighbourhood”. He failed to declare his arrest for criminal damage and arson.

Meanwhile, the hearing found he also failed to declare he had four siblings. Instead, he named one “half sister” during the application.

Mr Hudson  also failed to declare he had two county court judgements against him. In his application, he only declared one.

Dishonest behaviour could be repeated

Chief constable Lisa Winward

In her decision notice, chief constable Winward said the force had “no confidence” Mr Hudson’s dishonest behaviour would not be repeated.

She said:

“There is no confidence that the officer’s dishonest behaviour would not be repeated in the future given the multiple opportunities during this investigation for him to offer a truthful explanation for his actions. Indeed, he appears to have continued to embellish events into further untruths.

“Therefore, the only sanction appropriate in this case is dismissal without notice and the officer will be placed on the barred list.”

Ms Winward added:

“I also bear in mind that the misconduct of a single officer can tarnish the reputation of a force and the service as a whole and undermine the trust and confidence that members of the public have in North Yorkshire Police. 

“I bear in mind that should the public feel that improper behaviour on the part of police officers is left unchecked and they are not held accountable for it in a suitable manner, then public confidence in the police, and North Yorkshire Police in particular, will be eroded.”

Mr Hudson was dismissed from the force without notice.

Star of Lethal Weapon movies, Danny Glover, enjoyed a meal at a Harrogate restaurant this weekend.

Staff at Efes Bar and Grill took a selfie with Hollywood actor when he ate there on Sunday.

Efes is a family-run Mediterranean restaurant that opened very recently on May 19 and has seen 5 star reviews on Google.

The actor was in town for Yorkshire Comic-Con where fans could get photos and signatures. He appeared alongside John Cleese and Gabriel Luna to fill out the star studded line up.

Glover is most famous for his portrayal of Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon franchise. He has also starred in The Colour Purple and Predator 2. He is also known for his political activism, strongly opposing the Bush administration in America. In 2016 he received the Cuban medal of friendship.

Read More:

• Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet visits Nidderdale pub for dinner
• New Mediterranean restaurant opens in Harrogate

A Harrogate butchers is supporting a £70,000 bid to raise money for a friend’s potentially life-saving medical treatment.

Country Butchers, on Leeds Road, is running the appeal in aid of Mick Wood, who has been diagnosed with chlyothorax — a rare condition where lymph formed in the digestive system accumulates in the chest cavity.

Mick underwent an operation in September last year but his symptoms have worsened and his wife Marion is now raising funds for private treatment abroad.

Marion said in a fundraiser post her husband has lost 32kg in the last year and was malnourished due to his illness.

She added the condition was “potentially life-threatening” but treatment abroad offered hope. She said:

“He has been tested for cancers and cirrhosis with nothing found.

“The consultant that is treating him has said that there is not a lot more that can be done for him here because they lack the knowledge to deal with such a rare and complex case.”

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• CrossFit Harrogate prepares for charity challenge
• Harrogate to host new fundraising walk to fight dementia

A GoFundMe fundraiser has so far raised more than £5,000,

As part of the appeal, Country Butchers has launched a raffle with tickets priced £5 each to win a family Christmas dinner worth £150.

The butchers said it set up the raffle to help get Mick “back to his good old self”.

All funds raised from the campaign will go towards Mick’s appeal.

For more information on the raffle, visit the Country Butchers Facebook page. You can also donate on Marion’s GoFundMe page.

Celebrities and cosplay fans were in Harrogate at the weekend for the two-day Comic Con Yorkshire.

John Cleese led the line-up of comic, TV and film stars at Yorkshire Event Centre, which is situated at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

Comic Cons enable fans to meet their heroes and cosplay as their favourite characters.

They have been held around the world for years but this was the first such venture in Harrogate.

Here are some photos of the event.

Read more:

• Hope for tourism boost as John Cleese heads to Comic-Con in Harrogate
• The Harrogate charity that resurrects old bikes

All images by Tyler Parker

A Harrogate man has been handed a suspended prison sentence after magistrates told him they were giving him a chance to avoid getting into more trouble.

Aaron Peter Wilson, 44, of Russell Street, appeared at Harrogate Magistrates Court to be sentenced on 16 charges on Friday.

The offences were committed on six separate dates between July 2022 and March this year.

They included six counts of assaulting people by beating them and one of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause fear of violence.

There were also eight counts of criminal damage, all of which were committed on cars in Harrogate and Knaresborough. The value of the damage caused ranged from £11.85 to £510.

Prosecuting, Alison Whitely told magistrates the victims had often encountered Wilson in the street:

“These people are members of the public minding their own business who have been randomly picked on, either by their property being damaged or being assaulted.”

Ms Whiteley highlighted Wilson’s history, which included 26 previous offences.

She said some of the crimes he was being sentenced for on Friday were committed while he was subject to a community order for a separate offence.

Read more:

• Harrogate man jailed for perverting course of justice
• Knaresborough luxury car dealer faces 16 fraud charges

However, in defence, Martin Townend of Watson Woodhouse Solicitors told the court that most of the offences took place between July and September 2022, with just one incident in March 2023.

He said Wilson had been out of trouble since his last conviction in 2018, a period when he was “in a good state of health”.

He said:

“Mr Wilson has been diagnosed with PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder]. When he was younger, he did some voluntary work in Bosnia when the conflict was in force.

“He saw things in that country that have affected his mental health. When he has flashbacks, he drinks to make those flashbacks stop.”

Drinking problems

Mr Townend said all Wilson’s offending had occurred when he had been drinking. He often then made loud comments in public, such as accusing people of being drug dealers or paedophiles, causing strangers to object, which led him to lash out.

Since the last offence, Mr Townend said Wilson had found work through one local charity and was volunteering with another. He had also joined an organisation offering support with staying sober.

Mr Townend added:

“In the main, he is sticking to not drinking, because he realises the drink is the catalyst for this behaviour… he has started to look at himself, not really like what he has seen, and he has taken steps himself to do something about it.”

The magistrates were given a lengthy report to consider, including psychiatric assessments, before deciding how to sentence Wilson.

For all 16 offences, he was given a total prison sentence of 26 weeks, suspended for 18 months.

He was also ordered to wear an alcohol tag for 120 days, meaning if he drinks during that time he will be made to return to court if he drinks. He must also complete 30 days of rehabilitation activity.

Magistrates imposed a victim surcharge of £154, but did not award costs because of Wilson’s limited means. Nor did they award compensation, saying no invoices had been submitted to account for the value of the damage done to the cars.

Wilson was warned that some of the three magistrates had wanted to send him straight to prison. The suspended sentence, he was told, was a “very serious order” and if he got in any trouble during its term, or failed to comply with the other requirements, he would be jailed.

It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. Our next networking event is lunch at Manahatta, on June 29th at 12.30pm.

Don’t miss out on this chance to network with businesses from across the Harrogate district. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A sales manager is celebrating reaching a milestone 20 years working at a Harrogate district estate agents.

Alison Reilly has worked at the Pateley Bridge office of Dacre, Son & Hartley since 2003.

Since then, she has sold hundreds of properties throughout Nidderdale and is currently working on a £1.5m property which would be her most expensive to date.

Ms Reilly, who grew up and lives in Pateley Bridge, said:

“Over the years I have helped bring many amazing properties to the market, but the most memorable has to be The Temple at Glasshouses. 

“The tiny circular building with a pointed roof had planning consent to be converted into a one-bedroom holiday let. It was a stable at one point and sits beside the River Nidd, close to the weir on the footpath from Glasshouses to Pateley Bridge and it was unlike anything I had ever brought to the market before.”

Patrick McCutcheon, head of residential at Dacre, Son & Hartley, said: 

“Alison has her finger on the pulse of Pateley Bridge and is a real professional, who is dedicated to our business and our clients.”

Harrogate environmental firm appoints new director

A Harrogate environmental company has appointed a new director to the firm.

Adler and Allan, which is based off Station Parade, has announced Mike Williamson as managing director of its new water services division.

Mike Williamson, new director at Adler and Allan.

Mr Williamson joins the company from Severn Trent Services, the commercial arm of Severn Trent Plc, where he was managing director for four years.

On his new appointment, he said:

“I am delighted to be joining Adler and Allan at what feels like a critical moment.

“They have a rich history and are rightly respected as a premier provider of environmental services in certain sectors of the UK market. But they have also been transforming through acquisition over the last two years.

“We now have an exciting opportunity to bring all of this together to become the leading provider of environmental services across the water sector.”

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