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.”

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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.

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 hotel company which runs three hotels in the Harrogate district has been listed in a Sunday Times workplace guide.

The Inn Collection Group has been recognised as one of the best places to work in the national guide for 2023.

The firm, which operates the Harrogate Inn, Knaresborough Inn and Ripon Inn, was included alongside organisations such as the Alzheimer’s Society Bella Italia, and Octopus Energy.

The inns were previously known as the St George Hotel, the Dower House and Ripon Spa Hotel.

Local companies CloudNine and LCF Law were also recognised.

Liz Robertson, people director at the Inn Collection Group, said:

“We’re delighted that our people are enjoying their time with ICG and that we have been officially recognised as a great place to work as a result.

“Supporting our teams is incredibly important for us, be that with our exciting development programmes, our Inn Safe Hands initiative or even just our excellent benefits package.

“Making people happy is what we are about and that extends to our own too.”

Ripon retailers organise bank holiday buskers

Retailers in Ripon have organised for buskers to perform in the city centre this coming bank holiday weekend.

Organised by Ripon Business Improvement District and independent businesses, performers will be situated around the streets to draw in more people to the centre on Monday, May 29.

Visitors will be invited to follow a route around the city, taking in Kirkgate, North Street and Westgate.  

Little Bird Artisan Market will be on the marketplace.  From there, visitors can find maps showing the streets where buskers will perform and where shops are hosting fun activities and special offers.

Busking is throughout the city all afternoon, with music from Ripon and visiting guests from Teeside, York and Leeds. 

For more information on the event, visit the Ripon BID website here.

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A Harrogate man has been jailed for six months after he tried to get his ex-partner to drop assault charges against him.

Daniel Berisha, 33, contacted the victim through a third party demanding she withdrew the complaint she had made to police, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Michael Cahill said Berisha and the named victim started a relationship when she came to live in the UK in 2019.

She moved into his then home in Pendragon Way, Harrogate, but by the summer of 2020 the relationship began to break down due to Berisha’s cocaine use.

On November 4 last year, an argument broke out as Berisha pestered her for money to buy drugs. 

The victim refused to give him the £80 but Berisha “followed her around the house, saying: “Give me the money’”.

Berisha told her that if she didn’t give him the money, he would personally transfer the cash from her account into his.

Mr Cahill said:

“He pushed her a few times (and) she fell to the floor.”

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She managed to push Berisha away, but he grabbed her phone and began using it. Knowing that he knew the passcode for her account, she transferred the money into his account and locked the door. Berisha by this stage had moved out of the house. 

The following day, in the early hours of the morning, Berisha bombarded her with text messages telling her he had “nowhere to go”.

She blocked him on WhatsApp and blocked his calls, but then received over 20 calls from an unknown number. 

Shortly after the phone calls, Berisha, who was high on cocaine, got into the house. The victim “screamed for help” and warned him she would call police. 

Furious, Berisha shoved her and put his hand over her mouth to stop her screaming. He then took her phone and told her not to call police. 

The victim, who worked in the care industry, eventually managed to call police when Berisha went downstairs. When officers arrived, they found the victim with scratches to her hand and grazes on the bridge of her nose. 

Berisha was arrested and bailed pending further enquiries. In the meantime, police requested a domestic-violence protection order from magistrates to stop Berisha pestering the victim. The order was granted.

However, on November 12, a week after the second assault, Berisha sent messages to a named third party asking her to tell the victim to drop the charges.

Furthermore, he told the victim through the intermediary that he had a “video of the (victim) at work” and would send it to her employer if she didn’t withdraw her complaint, warning her that she would “never get a job in the UK again”.

Berisha told her through the third party that the video was of “(the victim) with a male she cared for”.

However, the victim, whose work record was impeccable and knowing she had “nothing to hide”, knew that Berisha was bluffing and refused to drop the charges. 

‘I’ve lost everything’

Berisha, lately of Redfern Mews, Harrogate, was charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice and two counts of assault. He ultimately admitted the offences and appeared for sentence today.

In a statement read out in court, the victim, who had since moved out of the area, said she had moved to the UK for a fresh start after a previous abusive relationship. 

The mother-of-two said she had “endured a nightmare” at the hands of Berisha who had initially helped her settle into her adoptive country.

She added:

“I later found out this was too good to be true.

“I’ve lost everything, all my belongings, so he could get money for his drug use.”

Defence barrister Ismael Uddin said that despite the “unsavoury” episode, Berisha was a hard-working man whose employers thought highly of him.

Judge Sean Morris told Berisha: 

“Trying to get (victims) not to turn up in court strikes at the very heart of the criminal justice system and civilised society.

“If these kinds of offences don’t (attract) custodial sentences, then they will become rife. As a matter of policy and as a matter of making sure others are deterred (from trying to pervert the course of justice), only an immediate prison sentence is appropriate.”

Berisha received a six-month jail sentence and was given a five-year restraining order banning him from contacting the victim and going to her home or workplace. 

A Green councillor has called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Harrogate agent to apologise for sending a “misleading and distressing” letter to voters.

Sam Gibbs is the Conservative councillor for Valley Gardens and Central Harrogate on North Yorkshire Council. He is also the political agent for Richmond — the seat held by Mr Sunak.

The Mirror revealed voters in Stockton-on-Tees received letters in the run-up to this month’s local elections with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council‘s name and address at the top alongside the words ‘your council tax bill 2023 is up 38% since 2016’.

Labour is the largest party on the council.

Some of the wording was in red to appear similar to a final payment demand. But it was actually a Conservative campaign leaflet produced at Richmond constituency office.

The bottom of the letter says ‘this is not a bill and no payment is required’.

The Mirror wrote:

“Sam Gibbs was responsible for the scam leaflet that scared people into thinking they owed money.”

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Arnold Warneken, a Green councillor who represents Ouseburn on North Yorkshire Council, described the letter as “misleading and distressing”. Cllr Warneken said:

“It makes people think they owe money. Without doubt, it’s made to appear like an official document.

“The people of Stockton-on-Tees are due an apology for this misleading leaflet. It’s disgraceful behaviour by the Conservatives.”

Cllr Pat Marsh, who represents Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone on North Yorkshire Council and is leader of the Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrats, said it was “outrageous behaviour from the Conservatives”. She added:

“Sending out literature which would have been very frightening for many is so, so wrong. You have to ask the question ‘why?’

“To frighten people into voting against the opposition councillors on Stockton council in this way is totally unacceptable and should be investigated.”

The Stray Ferret contacted Cllr Gibbs and the Conservative Party but has not had a response.