Ripon firm Econ Engineering is launching its first electric gritter at a trade show in Harrogate today.

The Electric Quick Change Body has a demountable bodywork, which enables the vehicle to switch from gritting to tipping in 15 minutes.

Econ’s research and development team worked with Volvo Trucks UK & Ireland and truck dealer Crossroads to create the prototype, which is built on a 19-tonne Volvo FE Electric 4×2 chassis.

Jonathan Lupton, managing director at Econ, which is the UK’s leading manufacturer of winter maintenance and highways vehicles, said:

“We have spent a long time developing the new E-QCB, undertaking comprehensive redesigns and trialling it, to ensure that we can offer a fully electric solution for our customers that can be used all-year round.

“The vehicle operates best in urban environments, where daily mileage is typically less than some longer distance motorways or rural routes.

“As it is easy to switch body types with this model, customers can benefit from operating the vehicle all year-round.”

Econ supplies gritters to many local authorities, which are increasingly demanding green vehicles to meet zero-emission targets.

The gritter will be unveiled today on the Econ stand at the two-day winter highway maintenance conference Cold Comfort 2023 at Harrogate Convention Centre.

Christian Coolsaet, managing director of Volvo Trucks UK & Ireland, said:

“Every part of the transport sector needs to have its sights set on achieving net zero, and gritting and snowploughing is no exception.

“The team at Econ has developed an exceptional new product with our FE Electric chassis at its heart; this is going to allow gritter fleets to reap the benefits of operating cleaner, quieter and more efficient trucks.”

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It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. Our next networking event is after-work drinks at Manahatta, on May 25th at 5:30.

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 Masham brewery has secured listings at 240 Asda stores for one of its popular beers.

T&R Theakston confirmed the deal with the supermarket giant to sell cans of its Old Peculiar pale ale.

The agreement will also see 140 Asda stores nationwide sell cans of Theakston Best Bitter.

The news comes as the brewery says it has seen a rise in demand for its beers.

Simon Theakston, joint managing director of T&R Theakston, said: 

“These two new listings are evidence of the continued strength of our portfolio. Theakston Old Peculier has continued to capture the attention of the country’s discerning drinkers, and we’re delighted that it is becoming more widely available as a result this growing partnership with Asda.

“Additionally, to see the increased off-trade success of Theakston Best Bitter speaks to a consumer preference for high-quality, handcrafted beers such as our own.”

Harrogate mobile company targets improved performance

A Harrogate telecommunications company is targeting improved performance amid a drop in revenue last year.

Mobile Tornado, which is based at Cardale Park, saw its reported turnover drop 12% from £2.59m in 2021 to £2.28 for the year ended December 31, 2022.

According to the company’s annual report, which was published in April, the loss of a customer in Canada accounted for 20% of total revenue and 10% of recurring revenues in the prior year comparative figures.

However, the firm said it now intends to improve its performance.

The company recently signed a deal with Leeds Bradford Airport, which will see it provide push-to-talk over cellular equipment for the airport’s workforce.

Jeremy Fenn, chairman of Mobile Tornado, said: 

“The board is fully committed to maintaining the technical advantages that have been established, at the same time driving a much deeper and wider business development operation.

“The outreach campaign that has been running since the start of the year has already generated a good flow of new partner and customer opportunities, many of them in new geographic markets. We believe that this momentum can be accelerated significantly if we can successfully deploy our solution into a public safety organisation.

“Our teams worked hard on multiple trials during the last 15 months and we are hopeful that we will very shortly see a successful conclusion with full platform deployment. This would represent a significant commercial breakthrough, and we are confident will lead to a material uplift in financial performance as we push towards profitability in 2023.”

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A Harrogate florist has won gold at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London.

Helen James Flowers was one of three gold medallists in the floristry and floral design awards category.

The florist, which has a shop on Station Parade, was selected for its lamppost design ‘On the verge’, which was inspired by recent planting projects on areas of wasteland.

Helen Pannitt, of Helen James Flowers, with her prize-winning blooms.

It shows how mini wildlife havens can be created to counteract the impact of human life on the environment.

The display contains hundreds of water filled test tubes attached to a hand made trellis, and the base materials were arranged on metal pin-holders — a process that took many hours.

The result was a colourful and seasonal display incorporating flowers such as eremurus, dahlias and ranunculus.

Helen James Flowers’ shop is closed until May 30 due to the team being at Chelsea.

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A Harrogate councillor has outlined plans to open a train station at Claro Road.

Cllr Paul Haslam, a Conservative who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge on North Yorkshire Council, said the station would service up to 700 commuters daily and remove thousands of car journeys on Skipton Road each week.

Besides the environmental benefits, Cllr Haslam said it would also bring economic and social benefits to the relatively deprived Bilton and Woodfield area.

The train line at Bilton

He said the station, which would be situated somewhere near the iron bridge that links Claro and Bilton, should be accompanied by cycle storage and a small supermarket.

With the new North Yorkshire Council unlikely to be able to fund such a major scheme, Cllr Haslam suggested it could apply to the UK government for funding from a public transport decarbonisation programme or an economic development grant.

Cllr Paul Haslam

He likened it to the Harrogate Station Gateway, which is being funded with £10.6 million from a Department for Transport active travel scheme.

Cllr Haslam acknowledged the scheme was more of a “vision rather than a mapped out idea” but added:

“This simple intervention could bring massive benefits to the area both economic and wellbeing, improve local public transport, as well as do a great deal towards modal shift from car to train and reduce the volume of traffic especially on Skipton road and the A61 to Leeds.

“To me it’s a no-brainer. A lot of people who live in the Claro, Bilton and Woodfield area work in Leeds. Wouldn’t it make their lives better if they could get there by train?”

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He added the station would link to the Nidderdale greenway, which would encourage cycling and walking, boost the nearby business park and benefit two nearby schools — Harrogate High School and St Robert’s Catholic Primary School.

Cllr Haslam added:

“I have already approached a provider of supermarkets about putting a small supermarket alongside and they are keen – there are no shops on Claro Road so anyone living there has to travel onto Skipton Road to access a food shop.”

Cllr Haslam was appointed as North Yorkshire climate champion last week.

A Brazilian jiu-jitsu school in Harrogate has raised more than £4,000 for local suicide prevention charity The Jordan Legacy.

Gracie Barra Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Self Defence organised a fundraising day in memory of former student Alastair McKenzie, who took his life last year.

Those attending were invited to make donations to attend workshops by guest black belt instructors.

There was also a bake sale and a sale of second hand BJJ kit, and Steve Phillip, founder and director of The Jordan Legacy, gave a talk.

The event supported The Jordan Legacy because Alastair’s widow Tina has been working with the not-for-profit organisation, which aims to reduce suicides by providing support. It easily surpassed the £1,500 fundraising target.

Head instructor Lewis Matthews said the day aimed to bring people together and show the importance of having a team around you as well as raise money in memory of Alastair.

It is running a free women’s self-defence workshop on Sunday, June 25.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu combines grappling and ground work to control and restrain opponents, making it a perfect fit for self defence.

Registration for the two-hour workshop, which is expected to be followed by more similar events this year, is available here.

Hundreds of shoppers basked in the sun last weekend for the Harrogate Fashion Show.

The event, organised by Harrogate Business Improvement District with the Stray Ferret as media partner, saw retailers show off their latest collections.

Models took to the catwalk throughout the day outside Victoria Shopping Centre, which sponsored the event.

A seated area enabled fashionistas and passers-by to soak up the sun and see the latest styles.

The day was divided up into different fashion themes – the summer season, upcycling, wedding wear, Harrogate on the high street, activewear and children’s celebration.

Here are some pictures from Saturday’s event.

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Plans have been submitted to construct new buildings and roads at US spy base RAF Menwith Hill.

Menwith Hill, which is on the outskirts of Harrogate, is one of the United States’ largest overseas surveillance bases.

Its 37 giant radomes, or ‘golf balls’, are a distinctive feature of the 500-acre site, where much of the secretive activity takes place underground.

A request for an environmental impact assessment screening opinion, which comes before a full planning application, has been submitted to North Yorkshire Council to put up new structures on the northern side of the base.

No new radomes are planned but the project would see the construction of an administration building and another building for technical equipment.

Planning documents say the works would also involve putting in generators, air-cooled chillers, transformers and power distribution modules.

Access roads, a refuelling bay, footpaths, a small car park and a secure perimeter fence surrounding the facilities would also be built.

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Several new radomes have been built at the site in recent years and in 2022 plans were approved to build a new visitor centre, vehicle canopy and changes to the road junction on Menwith Hill Road.

RAF Menwith Hill was built in the 1950s and leased to the US during the height of the Cold War but it has continued to be used to support American military operations abroad including during the war on terror.

The site is also used by UK intelligence agency GCHQ.

Leaked documents from whistleblower Edward Snowden identified Menwith Hill as providing the intelligence for a significant number of operations to “eliminate” targets in the Middle East.

The £11.2 million Harrogate Station Gateway is set to move another step closer next week — but a new report lays bare the financial risks of the scheme.

North Yorkshire Council will meet on Tuesday to discuss whether to submit a full business case to West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Karl Battersby, corporate director of environment at North Yorkshire Council, has recommended councillors agree to do so.

If they back his recommendation, a 300-metre stretch of Station Parade will be reduced to single lane traffic and James Street partly pedestrianised to encourage cycling and walking.

Station Square would undergo a major overhaul, with the ‘little temple’ outside Victoria Shopping Centre destroyed.

Station Square

Mr Battersby’s report to the council’s executive says the gateway would arrest town centre decline by increasing footfall, even though many businesses remain opposed.

There are also concerns about other aspects of the scheme, including congestion and parking, and some 2,000 people have signed an online petition opposing it.

Mr Battersby, however, suggests the gateway could be the start of a wider town centre redevelopment. His report says the project will “provide a central active travel ‘hub’ from which ‘spokes’ of further improvements can radiate”.

It adds:

“The project is anticipated to have an overall positive impact on the local economy and the attractiveness and accessibility of the town centre with no exceedances of the annual mean pollutant air quality objectives and a minimal increase in journey times and flows in the worst-case traffic modelling.

“The project therefore provides an overall good contribution to strategic objectives and good value for money.”

The key changes

Mr Battersby’s report to councillors outlines the main changes. They are:

Work is due to start in winter and the report acknowledges the scheme “could impact congestion in the short term before people switch to active and sustainable forms of transport”.

Businesses fear it could affect Christmas trade but the council is under pressure to spend most funding in the current financial year to comply with the terms of the scheme, which is one of three funded by West Yorkshire Combined Authority using Department for Transport funds.

Funding deadline ‘a significant risk’

Mr Battersby’s report warns that if the final cost exceeds budget, savings would be made by either reviewing the materials or “descoping” the project. It says:

“The current funding deadline of 31 March 2024 represents a significant risk to the council as the project is no longer deliverable within this timeframe.

“This risk will be reduced if agreement to extend the deadline is reached, however, the risk of delivery within the set deadline remains and any spend after the funding deadline would be at North Yorkshire Council risk.”

Cllr Keane Duncan in Harrogate

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

“The Harrogate scheme represents a landmark investment, aiming to rejuvenate the town centre, support businesses and encourage people to travel more sustainably.

“We have responded to councillors’ feedback by pledging to review the Odeon roundabout design prior to final submission and to consider key junctions outside of the scope of the gateway project — Ripon Road/King’s Road/Cheltenham Parade — to further limit congestion.

“The full business case submission would represent a huge step forward for the scheme, enabling us to stay on track to start work in winter 2023.”

Read more:

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Harrogate’s Victoria Avenue will be closed overnight for two nights this week as roadworks are carried out.

The road will be closed from 6pm until 11pm on Wednesday (May 24) and Thursday (May 25).

Parking bays on Victoria Avenue will also be suspended.

The move comes as North Yorkshire Council’s highways department is set to carry out work on the road.

It will see potholes filled on the street.

According to the council’s roadworks map, the authority will “renew 20 patches” as part of the work.

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An independent vets is set to open in Pannal after plans were approved.

Claro Hill Vets will be based at Thirkill Park, off Thirkill Drive.

The practice will open this autumn and employ two veterinarians and receptionists.

Laura Keyser, who has been a qualified vet for 15 years, is behind the new business which she says will be a “perfect location” for pet owners in Harrogate, Wetherby and north Leeds.

She told the Stray Ferret:

“I decided to open the business as I wanted to offer a real high standard of care and service.

“We are independent, so have none of the constraints of being corporate.”

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Claro Hill will initially be open to dogs and cats and offer a first opinion service, which includes vaccinations.

However, the practice will also offer a CT scanner and have visiting surgeons, ophthalmologists, and cardiologists.

Ms Keyser added:

“We will offer the middle ground between your GP vet and referral elsewhere, but also have the option of referral to a fantastic local hospital if required.”

 The move to open the business comes as North Yorkshire Council approved the proposal.

Work on the new vets, which will be based in two industrial units off Thrikill Drive, is expected to take three months.