Review: Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival celebrates its 20th year

Lauren Crisp is a book editor, writer and keen follower of arts and culture. Born and raised in Harrogate, Lauren recently moved back to North Yorkshire after a stint in London, where she regularly reviewed theatre – everything from big West End shows to small fringe productions. She is now eager to explore the culture on offer in and around her home town.  You can contact Lauren on laurencrispwriter@gmail.com 

2023’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival got off to a killer start on Thursday with the announcement of the winner of the Crime Novel of the Year, awarded to M.W. Craven for The Botanist, the latest in his Washington Poe series.

But this was just the start of a truly arresting line-up: a celebration of all things murder and mayhem (fictional, of course) and one of the biggest crime-writing festivals there is, now in its twentieth year. The Old Swan, its halls and gardens once walked by Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime herself, was ready and raring to play host to the “Glastonbury of Crime”.

Whether author, agent, publisher, blogger, reader or author, every visitor had one thing in common, and that was books. For four whole days, the festival hustles and bustles with people from far and wide who love books, want to talk about them, hear about them and meet the minds behind them. There was a tangible buzz about the place; a camaraderie and shared excitement among the reported 17,000 ticketholders.

Even the A-List of the crime-writing world gets right into the mix, mingling with their readers. You might, as I did, run into Val McDermid in the corridor, or spy Richard Osman browsing the shelves of the Waterstone pop-up. I heard excited word of Richard Armitage, actor and now debut author, charming guests at Saturday’s author dinner. I was lucky enough to chat to Shari Lapena, writer of the smash hit The Couple Next Door, and to hear about her latest penning, Everyone Here is Lying.

It was great to see some local authors on the panels, too. A.A. Dhand, writer of the Bradford-based DI Harry Virdee series (with a TV adaptation in the works) spoke of his hometown’s influence on his writing. Yorkshire-born debut author Heather Darwent got a golden ticket to the much-coveted New Blood panel (a choice of the year’s best debuts) to share her book, The Things We Do to Our Friends.

Talking of new blood: this is also very much a festival for the new kids on the block – the debut authors for whom this is an exciting new adventure, and the aspiring writers, who must truly be in their element, surrounded by stars of the crime-fiction world, sharing their processes and secrets to success. It’s a crash course in the process of writing crime fiction, from those authors who plan methodically with spreadsheets and pie charts, to those who simply invent as they go, with no apparent idea of where their writing will take them. It’s enough to make anyone want to (try to) write a novel.

I met audience members who had travelled from the other side of the world, and locals who’ve visited since the festival’s infancy, recalling its much smaller scale when it first began. Today, the festival’s programme is mammoth, set to appeal across the fanbase of the myriad of sub-genres found in crime fiction, from detective novels to domestic noir to police procedurals and everything in between. With interviews, panel discussions, book signings, incident rooms, meet and greets and more, there is such a constant stream of entertainment that even those not into crime writing would likely still find themselves engaged and inspired (but of course, a love of crime, intrigue and bloody murder is encouraged).

2023’s big names included the inimitable Ann Cleeves (who received the Outstanding Contribution Award), Jeffrey Deaver (on his whopping 42nd novel), Lee and Andrew Child (the now-collaborators on the multi-million selling Jack Reacher novels), and Lucy Worsley (whose recent biography of Agatha Christie throws new light on the Queen of Crime’s time in Harrogate).  I also enjoyed Lisa Jewell and Ruth Ware in conversation, the Murder Most Joyful panel (creators of so-called ‘cosy’ crime, who, with their gallows humour, were just as amusing a bunch in person as on paper) and the Never-Ending Golden Age discussion, which delved into the enduring appeal and influence of Agatha Christie and her peers.

If you love crime fiction and want to get up close and personal with the masterminds, this is the festival for you. My first visit was an open and shut case: it was criminally good.

Tomorrow we will be publishing Lauren reviews one of the highlights of this year’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival – a talk by well known TV historian Lucy Worsley on Agatha Christie. 

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Harrogate district sees rise in demand for solar panels

Demand for solar panels in the Harrogate area has almost doubled in the last year as homeowners look to reduce their energy bills while helping to tackle climate change.

Rooftop solar panels that harness the power of the sun to generate renewable energy have been around for decades but with record-high energy bills they are becoming an increasingly common sight in our towns and villages.

Before installing solar panels, a developer or homeowner must first get permission from North Yorkshire Council.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service compared the number of solar-related planning applications in the first half of 2022 with 2023, in the former Harrogate district area, and found it had jumped from 27 to 57.

Experts have put the rise in popularity for solar panels down to high energy costs brought on by the war in Ukraine, which has pushed up wholesale prices.

According to the Office for National Statistics, gas and electricity prices rose by 36.2% and 17.3% in the year to June 2023. It said energy prices have been one of the largest contributors to high inflation since April 2022.

As well as reducing bills, solar panels are one way individual households can reduce carbon emissions. The Committee for Climate Change says the technology will be crucial if the UK is to meet its 2050 net zero target.

The UK experienced a heatwave in June which saw 9.3% of the country’s energy generated by solar, but the figure is likely to be lower for July due to the largely wet and overcast conditions.

Tim Larner, vice chair policy advocacy at Zero Carbon Harrogate, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:

“Zero Carbon Harrogate is delighted to note the increase in the number of planning applications with solar panels included and we congratulate those developers who are taking a sustainable and long-term approach.

“Not only does it make financial sense to include roof-mounted solar panels in all new developments, it’s also a practical response to the climate emergency.”

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It is not only homeowners who have been installing solar panels, schools including Oatlands Junior School, Harrogate Grammar School, Coppice Valley Primary School and Rossett Acre Primary School will install hundreds on their rooftops.

There has also been small-scale solar applications from farmers, with plans approved to add solar panels on top of agricultural barns in Burnt Yates, Beckwithshaw and Felliscliffe.

Mr Larner added:

“We need to be taking every opportunity to make our homes, schools, hospitals and offices more sustainable in all aspects of their construction.”

Trial scheme will ban school run cars from Harrogate street

A road outside a busy junior school in Harrogate will be closed to traffic at peak times from September.

Beechwood Grove is set to be part of a School Streets pilot project, preventing parents from using it to access Oatlands Junior School at the beginning and end of the school day.

The measures will see school traffic banned from the road between 8.30am and 9am, and from 3pm to 3.45pm, on weekdays during term time.

Residents, school staff, blue badge holders, official school transport and emergency services will be exempt from the closure.

Meanwhile, parents are being encouraged to bring their children to school on foot, or by bicycle or scooter. Those who need to drive are asked to use the ‘park and stride’ scheme, parking at Hornbeam Park railway station, M&S Simply Food on Leeds Road, or St Mark’s Church, and walking the rest of the way.

North Yorkshire Council said it is proceeding with the experimental traffic regulation order for a period of up to 18 months after receiving an “overall positive response” to an informal consultation it ran in May and June.

In a letter to parents, senior traffic management officer Andrew Clare said the proposal would be formally advertised now, before coming into effect on Wednesday, September 6 – the first day of the new term at Oatlands, which has capacity for 360 pupils.

He added:

“We are seeking volunteers to help steward the scheme at school start and finish times.

“Volunteers are crucial to the schemes (sic) success to manage the traffic management, inform motorists of the restrictions, offering information and guidance, for example, highlighting the location of the park and stride locations.”

Earlier this year, a pupil at Oatlands Junior School was injured when a car mounted a pavement outside the school gates.

A more serious collision on Yew Tree Lane in February left two 15-year-old Rossett schoolboys with serious injuries requiring extensive hospital treatment.

As a result, a campaign to introduce 20mph limits and other restrictions on roads around Oatlands, Pannal Ash and Rossett gathered momentum.

Road safety Meeting attendees St Aidan's Keane DuncanA road safety meeting between headteachers, councillors and campaigners

Headteachers of all the local primary and secondary schools met several times, along with councillors, highways officers and parents, to discuss road safety.

A petition of more than 1,000 signatures was presented to North Yorkshire Council and the proposal was debated by both the Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee, and the council’s executive.

Cllr Keane Duncan, who is responsible for highways across the county, has said a review is now being completed to decide what measures are needed to make journeys to school safer.

Hazel Peacock, one of the parents behind the campaign, said news of the School Streets scheme on Beechwood Grove was welcome. She added:

“Together the school, campaigners and other stakeholders including councillors John Mann and Pat Marsh have been working with NYC to create a safer environment at school start and finish times.

“We are delighted the School Street pilot will begin in September at the start of the new school term and hope it will deliver positive benefits such as safer, cleaner environments around the school and can encourage more active travel.”

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Harewood Bridge to be closed for four weeks from this week

Harewood Bridge near Harrogate will be closed on Wednesday for four weeks.

The bridge will close at 7am on July 26 until 6am on August 24 for essential maintenance work to be carried out.

The grade-II listed structure carries the A61 Harrogate Road over the River Wharfe and is a busy route between Harrogate and Leeds.

Leeds City Council is set to close the bridge in order for waterproofing, resurfacing and footpath repair works to be carried out.

The footway across the bridge will remain open to pedestrians and cyclists throughout the work.

Advanced signs for the closure will be in place before the bridge is shut.

Cllr Helen Hayden, the council’s executive member for infrastructure and climate, said previously:

“Harewood Bridge is a strategic vehicle crossing used by thousands of people each day and therefore to close it requires careful planning. By carrying out the repair works during the school summer holidays we can hopefully limit the disruption with expected lower traffic levels.”

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A diversion route will be in place during the work from Otley Road, Arthington Lane, Main Street, Pool Bridge, Harrogate Road, Swindon Lane and onto Harrogate Road. 

The same route will be in place in the opposite direction.

Business Breakfast: Harrogate legal firm achieves top industry ranking

There’s not long to go until the Stray Ferret Business Club’s breakfast event on Thursday, 27 July at Banyan in Harrogate between 8-10am.

The Business Club provides monthly opportunities to network, make new connections and hear local success stories. Get your tickets now by clicking or tapping here.

A Harrogate legal firm has been recognised by a leading industry guide for the seventh year running.

Raworths’ trust, wills and states team has been ranked Band 1 by the Chambers High Net Worth Guide 2023.

The team is the only firm ranked Band 1 for the region of York, Hull, and surrounding area, while also ranked in the National Leaders category outside London.

Raworths has one one of the largest private client teams in Yorkshire after hiring five new recruits this year.

The firm’s head of trusts, wills and estates, Rachel Tunnicliffe, said:

“It is fantastic to have Raworths’ private client offering achieve the top ranking in this globally recognised industry guide for the 7th year running.

“The strategic growth of the TWE team over the last few years has attracted partners from leading national and international firms, enabling us to offer exceptional levels of service to our client portfolio.”

 The guide described the team as having “great knowledge and project management, then drive that knowledge into action.”

Find more information on the team here.

Celebrity body-builder to promote Harrogate store 

A cast member of the BBC’s reboot of Gladiators is due to host a meet and greet at a Harrogate store.

Fitness fanatics will be able to meet bodybuilder, Jamie Christian-Johal, nicknamed ‘The Giant’, at Harrogate supplement store, Go Herbs.

At 6ft 5 inches Mr Christian-Johal is one of the tallest professional bodybuilders in the world .

Go Herbs, located on Station Parade, is run by the team behind Power Body Nutrition – a health, fitness, and nutritional supplement distributor.

The shop stocks MUTANT products, which are promoted by the bodybuilder, and include supplements used to significantly increase strength and muscle mass.

Power Body sales manager, Joe Taylor-Ferguson, said:

“We are thrilled to announce that we will be hosting the incredible bodybuilder, Jamie ‘The Giant’, renowned not only for his awe-inspiring strength but also for his remarkable journey as an athlete in-store as a part of our MUTANT promotional day for residents.

“We couldn’t be more excited for Jamie’s visit, and it is a great opportunity for the Harrogate fitness community to witness first-hand the extraordinary power and determination that defines the MUTANT Athletes and sample some of their fantastic products.”

The event will take place on Saturday July 29, from 11am – 2pm.

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Harrogate village bridge to close to pedestrians and cyclists tomorrow

A Harrogate village bridge is to fully close tomorrow for five weeks of repair work costing £60,000.

North Yorkshire Council closed the grade two listed Hampsthwaite Bridge suddenly on June 2.

It quickly re-opened to pedestrians and cyclists but has remained closed to vehicles.

Now it is expected to be fully inaccessible until September.

The bridge, on Church Lane, has three arches spanning the River Nidd.

Councillor Keane Duncan, the Conservative executive member for highways and transport, said:

“On inspection of Hampsthwaite Bridge, our engineers found that the parapet has been pushed out over the edge of the bridge deck and this has damaged several of the corbels that support from beneath.

“These need to be repaired and 15 metres of the parapet taken down and rebuilt using hot mixed lime mortar.”

The bridge, which links Hampsthwaite with Clint, is popular with pedestrians, dog walkers, cyclists and runners.

Cllr Michael Harrison, a Conservative who represents Hampsthwaite on the council, said:

“We appreciate the disruption the closure is having on road users so please be assured that our engineers have been getting plans in motion to carry out the repairs as quickly as possible.

“We will keep the public updated on the works as they progress.”

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Stray Views: Role of Mayor is bureaucracy “gone mad”

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Can anyone tell me how any individual whatever political persuasion elected to this office can manage, in their day to day work, all the duties it entails? Highways, Education, Housing, and Police Fire and Crime Commissioner!

The announcement is that the Conservative candidate is also Executive Councillor for Highways, representative for Norton, and Deputy Editor for the Daily Star! All presumably at some fantastic rate of pay. It is bureaucracy gone mad.

Will he resign his position as Norton representative or does that exclude him from becoming Mayoral candidate? It is a complete mystery to me as how local government has gone to such a multi layered institution costing us all much more money and not really seeing results.

We need transparency of what they propose and what they actually achieve, not just a bunch of statistics which, let’s face it, anyone can manipulate.

Best of luck to whoever is finally elected, they will need it.

Sandra Theoblad, Ripon

Unimpressed with Yorkshire Agricultural Society

I would like to echo the comments of other local dog owners concerning the current fencing off of land by the YAS next to the showground. Having walked our dog twice daily through the fields, this is a huge disappointment and loss.

The YAS chairman talks of providing “kilometres of permissive paths” when the reality is a very short section from Hookstone Wood to the car park by the top showground gate.

There was no consultation or advance notification at all and it is a great shame to see the approach taken by YAS, which is particularly inconsiderate to local residents who put up with traffic chaos when big events are held.

Thoroughly unimpressed.

Catriona Cooke, Harrogate 

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Thank you for the music

What a feast of music we were treated to last Friday night.

Harrogate Theatre hosted the premiere performance by Mike Lovatt’s Brass Pack and a host of pieces made famous by Frank Sinatra.

Many of the charts had been given a new, scintillating arrangement by Colin Skinner, with instrumentals from an outstanding group of musicians, plus vocals from the peerless Matt Forde.

Thank you, Harrogate International Festival, for another world class event.

Barbara & Martin Coultas, and Pat Kerr, Harrogate
Free rehabilitation offered to chronic pain sufferers in Harrogate

A gym in Harrogate has offered a free programme to help people suffering from chronic pain.

The six-month programme is based at the Nuffield Health gym in Hornbeam Park.

The programme is funded by the Nuffield charity and is worth roughly £1000 for each participant. It was designed by GPs, physiotherapists, and emotional wellbeing clinicians across the UK.

The course is run three times per year and can accommodate up to 60 participants at each start.

It is open to anyone who has suffered from pain and stiffness around a joint, lower back and neck pain, arthritis, gout and other conditions for more than six months. Participants can be referred to the programme by their GPs or can complete an online self-referral form.

Rehabilitation specialist at Nuffield Harrogate Melanie Hook said:

“At the charity we recognise there’s a need to support people living with chronic joint pain, affecting more than 8.75 million people in the UK and has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The programme aims to empower and enable individuals with chronic joint pain to self-manage their condition and pain symptoms.”

For the first twelve weeks participants are expected to meet twice a week for a group workshop and an exercise session guided by joint pain experts.

Some of the exercises covered include joint strength training, flexibility training, yoga, and swimming. Full gym access is also provided for the entirety of the programme.

After this participants are moved to the next unsupervised phase where they can apply what they learnt in weeks 1-12 individually at the gym.

Those who have completed the programme have reported significant improvements to their pain levels and overall quality of life.

One participant said:

“I feel I have benefited enormously. I feel much stronger. I’m walking better. And my pain has reduced to the extent that I don’t need to take pain relief as much.”

Ms Hook added:

“Our program has been a huge success and since our start, we have had hundreds of participants go through the programme.

“Some stay on at the gym and others have gone away and kept up with their activity in other areas of their lives.”

To find out more click here.

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Taxpayers set to foot £140,000 bill for three Harrogate Town Council consultations

The combined cost of three public consultations about the creation of Harrogate Town Council is likely to be £140,000, a senior Conservative councillor has said.

This week at a full meeting of North Yorkshire Council, councillors debated proposals to create a town council for Harrogate.

The council would be similar to parish councils in Knaresborough and Ripon but as yet, it has not been confirmed what services it might deliver.

In a second public consultation held earlier this year, residents backed the creation of two councillor wards arranged by the current 10 North Yorkshire Council divisions. Saltergate would have had one councillor.

However, Conservative councillors said they didn’t want to proceed with this model and instead wanted to see single councillor wards based around the 19 former Harrogate Borough Council boundaries.

Councillors ultimately voted by 49 to 32 to back these plans with another public consultation now legally required. It means the new council is not likely to be formed before 2025 — a year later than originally planned.

During the debate, councillors raised concerns about the cost of holding another consultation.

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Later in the meeting, Liberal Democrat councillor for High Harrogate and Kingsley, Chris Aldred, asked the Conservative executive member for corporate services, David Chance, how much the previous two consultations had cost and how much it would cost to “yet again” go out to the public.

Cllr Chance said that £45,270 was spent on the first consultation and £46,486 on the second with the money spent on printing, postage costs and digital marketing.

He said if the council decides to proceed with a third consultation that would be similar in form the the previous two, it would cost another £48,000.

Although he added that “there are other ways of carrying out this consultation at a much lower cost” but did not give any specifics.

Rural homes in North Yorkshire could face years of poor broadband

Some rural homes in North Yorkshire could face years of poor broadband, a public meeting in Masham heard this week.

Cllr Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, who cited rural connectivity as a key issue during her successful campaign this year to represent Masham and Fountains as a Liberal Democrat on North Yorkshire Council, organised the meeting.

Representatives of NYnet, the North Yorkshire Council-owned company set up to increase digital connectivity in the county, said 895 premises in Masham and Fountains currently didn’t have access to super-fast broadband.

They said the third phase of Nynet’s Superfast North Yorkshire project, which is due to end in March next year, should reduce this number by 594, leaving 301 homes unable to get 30 Mbps — the speed required to be classed ‘superfast’.

Robert Ling, speaking at the meeting.

Robert Ling, director of transformation at the council, said superfast coverage across North Yorkshire was expected to be 97% by March.

Mr Ling said this represented significant progress “but this is cold comfort to people here who don’t have it”.

Project Gigabit, the £5 billion government programme to enable hard-to-reach communities to access lightning-fast gigabit-capable broadband, would reach more homes but Mr Ling admitted there was no timeframe on when all premises would be reached.

Many of the 40 people who attended the meeting at Masham Town Hall expressed frustration at the WiFi they received.

Masham Town Hall. Pic: David Dixon

One said it was a “dreadful service that’s not fit for purpose” and another commented that their WiFi frequently went down whenever it rained hard, making it difficult to run a business.

Mr Ling said because Project Gigabit was a government scheme, and this dependence on central government along with other factors such as cost made it difficult for NYnet to accurately predict what will happen after March next year,

NYnet chair Peter Scrope said the organisation would probably have to run its own project to help the hardest to reach homes.

NYnet chair Peter Scrope

Cllr Cunliffe-Lister said she hoped to arrange a follow-up meeting in March to discuss progress.

Afterwards, she told the Stray Ferret she would like to see the re-introduction of a government voucher scheme that enabled people to install their own gigabit-capable connections at reduced cost. She added:

“This is a matter of concern to many people and there is a great deal of doubt about what is being delivered and what the solutions are.”

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