Panto legend Tim Stedman will return to Harrogate for the 23rd time this Christmas.

Harrogate Theatre announced today Mr Stedman will play Idle Jack in Dick Whittington.

The production will run from November 22 to January 14. Tickets are already on sale.

Mr Stedman’s first appearance at the Victorian theatre on Oxford Street was in Sleeping Beauty in 2000. Since then he has become a huge favourite.

A Harrogate Theatre spokesperson said:

“Stay tuned as we release more information on the cast and creative team throughout the year.”

The spokesperson added this year’s production would be “packed with sparkle, silliness, and side-splitting jokes”.

You can book online here or via the box office on 01423502116.

Read more:

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The Dales Bus summer service will begin its season this weekend.

The bus company provides access into and around the Yorkshire Dales on a not-for-profit basis.

It operates on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays throughout summer until October.

The 74 service from York Railway Station, which goes through Knaresborough and Harrogate and onto Ilkley, Bolton Abbey, Burnsall and Grassington, starts on Saturday.

Another Saturday route, the 59, will help people travel from Harrogate to Blubberhouses, Bolton Bridge and Skipton.

The 875 will depart from York every Sunday and Bank Holiday, starting this Easter weekend.

This year, an additional Sunday and bank holiday service – the 876 – will run from York to Leeds, Otley, Ilkley and Grassington, with onward connections to Upper Wharfedale and Hawes.

The national £2 single bus fare cap, which has been extended until June 30, will apply to Dales Bus services.

Find more information on services and timetables here.

A man has been seriously injured in a crash in a village on the edge of the Harrogate district.

North Yorkshire Police has appealed for information about the collision on the B6161 Leathley Lane near Leathley on Sunday (April 2).

It happened at around midday and involved a red motorcycle and green agricultural tractor.

The motorcyclist was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

A police statement added:

“Officers are asking anyone who saw the collision, or the vehicles involved prior to the collision – or has relevant dashcam footage – to get in touch.

“Please call North Yorkshire Police on 101, quoting reference 12230058477.”

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A shared office space in Harrogate has issued an urgent plea for help after an injured pigeon was found in the building this morning.

Staff at Community House on East Parade discovered the young bird hiding behind a box in reception this morning.

They turned a cardboard box into a makeshift home and are attempting to keep it alive while help is found.

Karen Weaver, strategic lead at Harrogate and District Community Action, which is based in the building and has responsibility for it, said:

“We’re keeping it hydrated but it’s not keen to eat so far.  So if any one can offer it a good home and more expert knowledge than we have here we’d love to hear from them ASAP.”

Staff at Community House, which has 30 serviced offices, believe the pigeon was dislodged when the building’s gutters were cleaned yesterday.

https://twitter.com/KarenWeaver2020/status/1643572483977629696

They think the bird is too young to fly and contacted animal welfare charity the RSPCA but it was unable to help.

Ms Weaver said:

“We need someone to give it some TLC, help it feed and drink, hopefully survive and thrive and then fly off.

“We’ve got interest from the teenage daughter of one of our team  but mum would be happy for it to be rehomed elsewhere if we can find someone willing this afternoon.

“We get lots of requests for help here at Community House but we’ve not had one from a homeless bird before!”

Community House reception can be contacted on 01423503700.

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High Birstwith artist Clare Granger has become the first High Sheriff of North Yorkshire to be appointed by King Charles III.

Ms Granger succeeded James Lambert at a ceremony at York Crown Court this week in the presence of the deputy lieutenant, Philip Ingham, Lady Justice King and Sean Morris, the Recorder of York.

High sheriffs represent the monarch in matters relating to law and order whereas lord-lieutenants are the sovereign’s personal and military representatives.

Ms Granger will seek to raise awareness of the value of the arts in the areas of mental health and the criminal justice system.

In her declaration speech, she said:

“We are all aware how many people are suffering with their mental health particularly following the pandemic. The arts have a huge role to play in helping people to find a way of coping.”

Clare Granger (left) and Lady Justice King

Ms Granger qualified as a solicitor and worked in York before changing career to become a professional artist. She trained in Florence and has been represented by a London gallery for 20 years.

She is also a school governor, a champion of IDAS, the domestic violence charity and a patron of Henshaws, a charity which supports people with disabilities.

She said:

“I am deeply honoured to have been appointed to this role and I look forward enormously to meeting, thanking and supporting, where I can, the judiciary, those who work in the emergency services and the wonderful volunteers who are working so hard in our county.”

Main photo shows (left to right), Simon Hickey, Edward Granger, Mark Granger, Clare Granger, Lady Justice King, Philip Ingham,  James Lambert, Peter Worth and Sean Morris, Recorder of York

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A man has been found guilty of attempted murder in Beckwithshaw.

The accused, who is in his 40s, denied attempting to murder both children, one of whom had his throat slit, on June 20 last year.

A jury at Leeds Crown Court returned a guilty verdict this morning.

The man was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on June 16.

The trial heard prosecuting barrister Robert Stevenson say the man slit the boy’s throat with a 10-inch serrated knife during the incident in June last year.

He told the boy “this needs to happen”, the court heard.

Neither of the children can be named for legal reasons. 

The defence told the court that the man had paranoia and deteriorating mental health.

He initially admitted wounding the boy with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and attempting to cause the girl serious harm but denied two counts of attempted murder.

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A ping pong parlour has returned to Harrogate’s Victoria Shopping Centre.

The attraction, which was set up by Harrogate Business Improvement District, will be open for seven days a week during retail hours.

It includes four table tennis tables and bats and balls are provided.

The BID is funding the free initiative as part of its mission to encourage people to visit town centre shops.

Matthew Chapman, Harrogate BID manager, said:

“This is ever popular with workers and students alike and evidentially brings people into town. It is open until mid-July before it will take a short break for the Harrogate Floral Summer of Celebrations’ immersive exhibition. It will then return and run through to the autumn.

“Table tennis is a great sport, and anyone can play it, no matter how young or how old. This parlour is for the public to use, free of charge. All we ask is that if there are a lot of people wanting to play, then please be sensible and don’t hog the tables too long. Give others a chance.”

The BID is encouraging people to come along and take part and there will be a monthly competition for those who ‘check in’ through a QR code to win a £50 Harrogate Gift Card.

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Harrogate BID is set to launch its campaign for a second term at a meeting of its members later this month.

The business improvement district, funded through a levy on business rates for commercial premises in the town centre, was first voted in in January 2019.

Its first five-year period will end at the beginning of next year – but its manager and board are hoping to win support for a business plan for another term.

Harrogate BID chairman Dan Siddle said:

“Harrogate is a key visitor destination and working with our members, BID ensures the town centre excels as a place for business, to shop, visit and enjoy.

“The work of the team over the past five years has been focused on the delivery of five key areas: marketing, promotions and events; access and car parking; safe, clean and welcoming; business plus; and evening and night-time economy.

“The new business plan will see these five areas re-focused on three all-encompassing objectives, with even greater scrutiny of the return on investment in relation to each one.”

The new business plan will be presented to BID members at the Majestic Hotel on Wednesday, April 26. As well as showcasing the draft business plan, it will be an opportunity for the BID to highlight its achievements since it was established.

Among those are events in the town centre designed to draw visitors in, such as a lego trail last summer and attractions over the Christmas period.

It has also carried out regular deep-cleaning of streets, and added floral and artistic installations to make the town centre more attractive to visitors and residents.

It has employed a street ranger and used hosts to welcome visitors to town and give directions, as well as sponsoring free parking and free bus travel on selected routes to boost footfall in the town centre.

The ballot for the BID will open on June 1 and members will be asked to cast their votes by June 28. The result will be announced the following day.

Mr Siddle added:

“I am confident that the offering of our new five-year business plan and streamlined objectives will see a positive vote for the BID – from which we look forward to continuing our work in support of our members to make Harrogate thrive long into the future.”

Any BID members wishing to attend the event at the Majestic on April 26, which runs from 5pm to 8pm, can sign up by emailing the BID.

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A training centre for the hair and beauty industry in Harrogate is set to be wound up after its director said she could no longer work in the “broken” education system.

Intuitions Ltd, previously based in Tower Street before moving to Station Parade, had been working with salons to train hairdressers for almost three decades.

However, Michelle Oliver said she closed the company in January after the Education and Skills Funding Agency reduced funding by 23%.

She said Intuitions had been heavily subsidising functional skills funding for a number of years, and the government had now removed funding for some areas of training including induction, initial assessments, and formal assessments of skills.

Ms Oliver added:

“Despite almost 30 years of trading, gaining a ‘good’ Ofsted result in July 2022 and an excellent relationship with our local employers, I no longer wanted to be part of what I feel is a broken education system with layer upon layer of meaningless bureaucracy that appears to have been put in place to prevent small independent training providers from succeeding.”

Intuitions had moved to Station Parade from Tower Street

The last Ofsted report praised Intuitions’ move to a salon-based approach, offering one-to-one and small group training. As part of this, the company had moved to an office in shared workspace Wizu on Station Parade.

However, Ms Oliver said the number of apprenticeships on offer with local salons had fallen since the covid pandemic, having an impact on the number of students training with Intuitions.

Ms Oliver is one of two remaining directors of Intuitions Ltd, having taken up the post in March 2000, alongside company secretary Berenika Wilkins. The company was founded in summer 1993 by John and Sheila Morton, who resigned as directors following Ms Oliver’s appointment.

She said former Intuitions employees had been given paid notice or made redundant and all had found jobs elsewhere.

Trainees and their employers, meanwhile, were supported to find other training providers.

A meeting of creditors has been called for April 11 at 10am, when liquidators are expected to be appointed.

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An alternative Easter window display is catching the eye of shoppers and passers-by in Harrogate.

Art collector Mark Hinchcliffe has curated the display at West Park Antiques, which hosts 40 independent traders on West Park.

Mr Hinchcliffe, who owns The Chapel on Grove Road, has created a window that combines taxidermy with Easter eggs.

A white peacock, a golden eagle and a black swan are among the star attractions.

Easter eggs and taxidermy

Mr Hinchcliffe, who is keen to shake-up Harrogate’s art and cultural scene, said the idea was to combine birds and eggs to promote the life-affirming Easter message in an original and less obvious way.

He said:

“It’s a left-field and Victorian gothic alternative to Bettys Easter window.”

West Park Antiques

Lisa Hawksworth, who owns West Park Antiques, said:

“We always do our own window theme and Mark approached us about doing something new. We’ve known him for years and know he’s creative.

“Mark has a great eye and knowledge of design and when you see what he has achieved at The Chapel, it was an easy decision to let him do it.”

The display is expected to remain in place until April 17.

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