Ilke Homes, the manufacturer of modular housing based at Flaxby, near Knaresborough, has filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator as a deadline to save hundreds of jobs approaches. 

The company has been looking for a buyer since running into financial difficulties it attributed to “volatile macro-economic conditions and issues with the planning system”, which had “complicate[d] fundraising and housing delivery”. 

The Stray Ferret understands the company has been offered to potential buyers for bids over £1, and some major house-builders have been approached.

Any bids for the business will need to be submitted before the end of this week, when the firm’s existing backers will decide the firm’s future. 

If no deal is forthcoming, the company could enter administration in 10 days.

Ilke Homes said it needed additional funding to fulfil a £1 billion order book and to protect jobs, adding that new investment was needed to build its pipeline of 4,200 new homes.

The company specialises in modular housing that is built in its factory and then put together on site in a process that saves time and costs, reduces carbon emissions, and is not weather-dependent.

Earlier this month, the company told most of the nearly 1,000 employees at its 250,000 sq ft factory not to come into work until further notice, although they have reportedly remained on full pay. 

Ilke Homes was established in 2017 and opened its Flaxby factory the following year. Since then, it has built up a client base that includes major institutional investors, housing associations, developers and local councils. 

In 2021, the company raised £60 million in investment, half via a loan from government agency Homes England and half from investors. 

A year later, it raised a record-breaking £100 million from new and existing shareholders, following successive years of triple-digit growth. 

Read more:

• Negotiations continue to find buyer for Knaresborough housebuilder
• Knaresborough housebuilder up for sale as operations paused
• Staff sent home as Knaresborough housebuilder seeks urgent investment

Harrogate Town AFC has announced the signing of goalkeeper Lewis Thomas on a one-year deal following his release from Premier League newcomers Burnley.

The 21-year-old will provide stiff competition alongside current goalkeepers Mark Oxley and transfer-listed Peter Jameson within the first-team ranks.

Thomas began his youth career with his local side Leicester before moving to Manchester City in 2016.

Having spent three seasons in the City academy, the stopper then made the move to Lancashire, signing for Burnley in 2019.

After featuring in match day squads, Thomas also enjoyed a brief loan spell with AFC Flyde during the 20/21 season.

After securing his fifth signing of the summer, Town boss Simon Weaver said:

“He’s a huge lad, so walking down the tunnel we’ve got another big unit in there, we think he’ll fit in really well with our goalkeeping department.

“Phil Priestley importantly gave us the nod that he respected the lad and thought he was very coachable and likeable, as well as having all the ingredients to do really well with his career.”

The goalkeeper takes up the number 13 jersey.

Read more: 

• Two girls arrested after trespassing on Harrogate rail tracks
• Harrogate bar to permanently keep covered outdoor area

A free yoga event will be held in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens this evening to mark the summer solstice.

Today is the longest day of the year, with the sun not due to set until 9.42pm in Harrogate.

To mark the occasion, Ebru Evrim, who owns a yoga and pilates studio on James Street in Harrogate, will lead people through 108 sun salutations, which are moves to greet the sun.

The event is open to everyone who brings a mat, and people can take part in as much or as little as they like. Instructors will be on hand to show beginners through modified variations.

It is free but pre-booking is required.

The company’s website says there will be “beautiful calming music in a stunning natural, peaceful setting”, adding:

“It is a truly powerful evening of connection – with self, with others, and with nature and the sun.”

Read more:

• Accident reignites safety concerns near Harrogate schools
• Where to see Open Gardens in the Harrogate district

A nursing home on the outskirts of Harrogate has achieved the top food hygiene rating after a major refurbishment of its kitchen.

Bilton Hall Nursing Home on Bilton Hall Drive was given a rating of just one out of five after an inspection in March, but has now achieved the top rating of five after a revisit.

Tracey Turner, interim manager at the home, owned by We Care Group, said the improved rating was down to the hard work of the kitchen staff.

She told the Stray Ferret:

“I’ve been here for four weeks. I came in as a new manager, had a look around and decided the kitchen should be a priority. In the last three weeks, we’ve turned it around.

“The company have invested in new flooring and new equipment. That kitchen team really, really worked and it has paid off. It’s so much better.”

The original low-scoring report found “poor levels of cleanliness” and said there was a lack of food safety systems and monitoring.

Both the inspector and the home’s former manager said some of the problems were linked to the use of agency workers, after it had struggled to recruit permanent staff for the kitchen.

Ms Turner said those problems had now been resolved and the restoration of the full five-star rating was a reflection of the effectiveness of their work.

A new permanent manager is set to take up the post in the next few weeks, she added.

Meanwhile, other areas of the historic building are also being refurbished, she said, to ensure it offers the best possible living accommodation to its 52 residents.

The latest food hygiene inspection and rating had been celebrated by staff and residents alike, Ms Turner said.

She added:

“[A poor rating] quickly gives the place a bad reputation, which it doesn’t really deserve.

“It just goes to show in a couple of weeks how, as a team, you can pull it together. That’s what care is about. It’s wonderful.”

Read more:

• Managers appointed at Harrogate care home after ‘requires improvement’ rating
• New plans submitted to create 12 flats in former Harrogate care home

Staff well-being and culture have rapidly risen up the priority list for many employers.  At the next Stray Ferret Business Club  we’ll hear from award winning employer, LCF Law, on how organisations can ensure their teams are productive and happy. 

The lunch event is lunch at Manahatta, on June 29th at 12.30pm. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A new business group for women in leadership roles is to be set up in Harrogate. The aim of the Female Advisory Board (aka F.A.B) is to help executives from non-competing organisations come together and problem solve collectively.

The group is the brain-child of Samantha Addy who says she has big ambitions for the women who have been ‘hand-picked’ to attend- not only to help female entrepreneurs but also to help them invest and support women and girls in the arena but find funding difficult or don’t know where to start. The first meeting is a Rudding Park next Wednesday.

Samantha’s said her mission is to empower female trailblazers:

“Why is that so important?  Because research has shown that women generate higher returns for society, are more likely to address social needs and according to Harvard Business Review – women score higher than men in key skills such as leadership, problem-solving and innovation.

“There are so many possibilities and I want to connect these brilliant leaders with other brilliant leaders using Napoleon Hill’s “Mastermind Principle”.

“I’m so excited to launch F.A.B. in Harrogate – there has been such a lovely response to my invitation, even those unable to attend – there is definitely a demand for a more niche community like this and the possibilities it’s going to bring.”

Read More:

• Council ‘not considering’ sale of Harrogate Convention Centre
• Business Breakfast: Yorkshire and Humber see growth in foreign investment

Harrogate luxury linen store Woods has announced a return to stocking the Italian linen firm, Pratesi.

Established in 1895, Woods is one of the town’s oldest businesses. In recent years it has expanded into Woods Fine Linens and William Woods Interior Design.

William Woods CEO at Woods Fine Linens said:

Searches for missing Starbeck woman Sophie Lambert are continuing this evening, as her disappearance goes into a fifth night.

There has been no update from North Yorkshire Police since yesterday, but officers are still out around Nidd Gorge.

The area has been the focus for the search since the weekend, conducted by North Yorkshire Police officers alongside mountain and underwater rescue crews.

Members of the public are also covering as much ground as possible to try to find the 22-year-old.

Sophie’s family has also asked the community to get involved in the search and has invited people to meet at Conyngham Hall car park at 6pm today. From there, people will go out in groups to continue searching into the evening.

Those helping with the efforts have been posting the routes they have taken in a Facebook group dedicated to the search for Sophie, which now has more than 1,600 members.

Anyone who sees Sophie is urged to call 999 and speak to North Yorkshire Police, quoting reference 12230110845.

Meanwhile, posters have been put up across Harrogate and Knaresborough asking people to look for her.

Mountain rescue organisations have also been involved in the search

Sophie left home around 6.50pm on Friday evening and was seen 15 minutes later on CCTV, but has not been seen since.

However, police revealed yesterday that her mobile phone, bank card and top had been found by a member of the public near the river at Nidd Gorge in Bilton on Saturday morning.

At a press conference in the area yesterday afternoon, critical incident inspector Graham Waller said:

“We are very concerned for Sophie’s welfare.

“It’s totally out of character for her to be away from home for this long.

“At the moment we don’t have any suggestion she has come to harm but we are keeping an open mind.”

An appeal video was posted by North Yorkshire Police yesterday evening

Read more:

• Posters go up as search for missing Sophie continues
• Search for missing Sophie Lambert finds her mobile phone

A road accident this afternoon has reignited safety concerns for children walking to school in Harrogate.

A red Fiesta mounted the pavement on Yew Tree Lane — the same street where 15-year-old Rossett School students Fraser and Reuben were taken to hospital with serious injuries following a collision with a vehicle in February.

No further details of today’s incident are known — the Stray Ferret has asked North Yorkshire Police to provide some information.

But the sight of a car on the pavement prompted the father of one of the teenagers who was injured in February to get in touch to say it reinforced the need for safer roads around schools.

He said:

“A lot of people are campaigning for a 20 mph speed limit on roads near schools.

“The issue feels very close to home when I see something like this so near to where my son’s accident took place.”

The Yew Tree Lane area is particularly busy because it caters for children attending three secondary schools — Ashville College, Harrogate Grammar School and Rossett School – as well as primary schools, nurseries and pre-schools.

But the parent said 20 mph “should be the limit outside all schools”, including small village primary schools.

A petition calling for a 20 mph limit to be imposed on streets across the south of Harrogate was handed to North Yorkshire Council last month.

Hazel Peacock, who delivered the petition on behalf of the campaigning parents, said the limit would “change people’s attitudes in regard to comfort around walking, cycling and mobility users”.

Read more:

• Mum of boy seriously injured on school run in Harrogate issues plea for 20mph limit
• Child airlifted to hospital after collision outside school near Ripon

Planners have rejected a bid to build 20 homes and 12 glamping pods at the former Nidd Valley Saw Mills.

Wakefield-based Milner Homes submitted plans to redevelop the former mill alongside the River Nidd at Dacre Banks.

The mill was sold to the developer in 2020 after its former owner retired.

Milner Homes, planned to convert the mill into five homes, and build a further 15 two to four-bedrooms homes, as well as a dozen glamping pods.

It said the proposal, submitted last year, would “create a distinctive residential development which is sympathetically designed to respect the surrounding built and natural environment” and “promote sustainable tourism”.

But North Yorkshire Council refused the application this week.

The housing and glamping pod scheme as outlined for the Nidd Valley Saw Mills site.

Trevor Watson, assistant director of planning, listed nine reasons for refusal.

He said “no exceptional circumstances” for the scheme, which is outside the Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35 for development, had been demonstrated.

Other reasons included “a significant, adverse landscape and visual effect upon the landscape and scenic beauty of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty”,  “insufficient evidence that the continued use of the site for employment purposes is not feasible or viable” and flood concerns.

Mr Watson added:

“The proposed layout creates a scheme that is of poor quality, does not create a safe and accessible environment or reflect the principles of good, sustainable layout design.”

Hartwith cum Winsley Parish Council objected because the application was outside the local plan boundary and also because of highways and noise concerns.

Read more:

• Plan to convert former River Nidd mill into housing
• Nidderdale Showground to host Parkinson’s charity fundraiser

North Yorkshire Council has said it has no plans to sell Harrogate Convention Centre nor has not it received any offers of private investment for the ageing facility.

It comes as a decision day on a proposed £49m redevelopment moves nearer.

The new council inherited a plan to upgrade the facility from the now-abolished Harrogate Borough Council so it can better compete with rival convention centres in the north.

The convention centre opened in 1982 and its conferences and other events have provided a boost to the town’s bars, restaurants and hotels. However, it has struggled to make a profit.

It still remains unclear how North Yorkshire Council, which is looking to slash £70 million from its budget over the next three years, will pay for the redevelopment.

Harrogate Convention Centre.

A decision is planned later this summer. If approved, construction work could begin early next year.

North Yorkshire Council’s Conservative deputy leader, Cllr Gareth Dadd, said:

“Design work is progressing for the Harrogate Convention Centre redevelopment project and we are working towards a decision relating to the construction work early in 2024. We will continue to explore any external funding opportunities that arise in the future and in the interim.

“We have not received any offers of private investment nor have we been considering a sale.”

Economic impact of Harrogate Convention Centre

A council report published this year described the convention centre as the largest driver of economic impact in the district with many venues depending on the business through its conferences and exhibitions.

Using Visit Britain methodology, the report predicted the convention centre will boost the local economy by £31 million during 2022/23.

If the redevelopment goes ahead, it’s hoped the upgrade will increase the centre’s visitor numbers from 147,000 in 2020 to 192,000 in 2040, with profits of £29 million over a 40-year period.

In February, Harrogate Borough Council failed in its £20m Levelling Up Fund bid for the redevelopment but at the time, convention centre boss Paula Lorimer suggested the council would bid again for funding in its third round.

Ms Lorimer warned that Harrogate would “wither on the vine” if its convention centre ever closed.

Read more:

• Warning that Harrogate would ‘wither on the vine’ without convention centre
• Local Tories and Lib Dems urge new council to back £49m Harrogate Convention Centre upgrade

The two local Conservative MPs voted in support of a report last night that found Boris Johnson deliberately misled MPs over lockdown parties.

The Commons backed the report by 354 votes to seven — however 225 MPs either abstained or did not turn up to vote, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Andrew Jones, who represents Harrogate and Knaresborough, and Julian Smith, who represents Skipton and Ripon, were among the 118 Tories who supported the report by parliament’s Privileges Committee.

Mr Smith tweeted afterwards “upholding the rules of parliament is key to our democracy”.

Tonight I voted to support the cross party privileges committee report. Boris Johnson did a number of positive things as Prime Minister, but upholding the rules of parliament is key to our democracy https://t.co/YFJIsOs1zU

— Julian Smith MP (@JulianSmithUK) June 19, 2023

Mr Jones indicated his intentions last week when he said:

The cross-party committee’s report found Mr Johnson committed repeated offences when he said covid rules had been followed at No 10 at all times.

The Selby and Ainsty constituency, which covers part of the Harrogate district, does not currently have an MP following Nigel Adams’ resignation.

A by-election will take place on July 20.

Read more:

• Tories select replacement candidate for Selby and Ainsty by-election
• Yorkshire Party mayoral candidate quit after ‘chicken policy disagreement’