Local Harrogate News & Views around the district - Page 421 of 1176

Business Breakfast: LCF Law gives insight into award-winning employee wellbeing programme

The Stray Ferret Business Club’s next meeting is a 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. Tickets will be available later this week.

At the most recent Stray Ferret Business Club lunch, LCF Law spoke about the firm’s approach to staff wellbeing.

The Yorkshire-based legal firm which employs 170 people was recognised by the Sunday Times as one of the best places to work in the UK.

Rebecca Gosling, HR Lead for LCF Law, gave a presentation on how the company achieved an “excellent” ranking in welfare.

LCF scored 86% and above in all pillars of the wellbeing survey, including spiritual and emotional wellbeing, physical wellbeing, and financial wellbeing – 18% above the industry average.

All staff members have 24/7 access to helplines, specialist training on career progression, frequent group activities and even recognition portals in which colleagues can thank and praise one another.

Rebecca said:

“Companies don’t have to throw loads of money at staff wellbeing to be successful.

“I don’t think we would retain staff if we ever went backwards in terms of staff welfare – which we never will, anyway.”

Paul Atkins of Leisure Park Internet Solutions

Holiday home WIFI specialist in Harrogate becomes employee-owned

Harrogate-based Leisure Park Internet Solutions has recently become an employee-owned business after 10 years of trading.

The company provides WIFI services to over 100 holiday parks throughout the UK and has developed its own “direct to van” solution to provide faster broadband for holidaymakers.

In a deal backed by a SME loan from Mercia Asset Management, founder, Paul Atkins, has transferred his shares into an Employee Ownership Trust which will own the business on behalf of 15 team members. Mr Atkins will continue his role as Managing Director for the foreseeable future.

The company has almost doubled its turnover in the two years to March 2023.

Mr Atkins said:

“I’m proud of the progress that the business has achieved to date and look forward to leading its expansion in the years to come.

“However, as we celebrate our tenth anniversary, I also felt I needed to consider its long-term future. Employee ownership seemed to be the most appropriate option while at the same time recognising the commitment of our team.”

Harrogate Theatre holds auditions for panto dancers

Harrogate Theatre is holding auditions for chorus dancers to take part in this year’s pantomime.

Dick Whittington starts on November 22 and lasts until January 14. The theatre is looking for 12 dancers aged 13 to 17 to be part of the action.

Choreographer David Lee is holding auditions on Saturday, July 15 from 1.30pm to 4pm at St Peter’s Church Hall for young people of all gender identities.

Rehearsals take place from October 23 to November 13 and include some Saturday mornings. Technical and dress rehearsals from November 13 to 21 November will require time off school.

A theatre statement said:

“Being part of the Harrogate Theatre pantomime company is a wonderful experience and lots of fun, but it does require a serious commitment from you and your family.

“Our three dancer teams will take part in performances over the festive season. Whilst we are unable to offer any payment to pantomime dancers this is an excellent opportunity to be part of a professional performing company and learn about the commitment and skill required to be a performer.”

Further information is available here.

Stray Views: How long before there is an apology for Station Gateway?

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.

So, Sheffield City Council is sorry that its residents were “misrepresented as unrepresentative and primarily concerned with their own streets” (Sheffield Council issues apology over tree-felling scandal, The Guardian, 20 June).

How long, I wonder, before Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire Council apologise for ignoring the representations from Harrogate residents and business community for going ahead with the Station Gateway Project and its anticipated devastation of our beautiful spa town.

Val Michie, Low Harrogate

Trees on Empress roundabout a hazard

I’m writing a letter regarding the greenery in the middle of the Empress roundabout. How on earth are drivers supposed to see what’s coming from across the Stray with a full leaved tree (or is it two trees) blocking their view.

From experience when I was a driver, I know just how difficult and dangerous trying to get across the roundabout can be. Have the council gone mad?

Will they finally act to take away the trees in the centre if and when (God forbid) someone is seriously hurt in an accident simply because they couldn’t see what was coming from all sides of the roundabout? It is simply ludicrous?

Carole Nowell, Harrogate

Local government a mess long before devolution

Sir,
Lord Wallace of Saltaire claims that devolution in North Yorkshire has made local government an incoherent mess and destroyed local democracy. His words must have a hollow ring in towns and villages which were placed under Harrogate’s thumb in the last local government reorganisation dreamt up by some genius in Whitehall fifty years ago.
Where was local democracy when Harrogate’s recent Town Plan re-designated parts of the supposedly sacrosanct Green Belt between Harrogate and Knaresborough to accommodate illicit Traveller sites despite massive opposition from the people of Calcutt and close environs ?
Where is the coherence in the massive house building around Knaresborough, and indeed Harrogate itself, with no expansion of amenities other than the odd supermarket and the corresponding increase in commuter traffic being dumped onto already congested roads ?
As for the fantasy of Maltkiln, a sustainable village, it is the environmentally damaging creation of yet more commuting built around an antiquated railway and an inadequate main road and opens the way to further destruction of North Yorkshire’s green and pleasant land.
How can North Yorkshire do worse ? Heaven help us if it can.

Pete Dennis, Knaresborough

Fourth of July protest to take place at RAF Menwith Hill

Campaigners will hold an Independence from America demonstration at RAF Menwith Hill on Tuesday.

Menwith Hill Accountability Campaign and Yorkshire CND have timed the event to coincide with the Fourth of July — American Independence Day.

The groups believe the American spy base poses a significant risk to local people because its surveillance work makes it a military target.

The demonstration aims to increase awareness of US operations at the base and ensure activities take place in accordance with UK and international law.

RAF Menwith Hill. Photo credit – Wikimedia.

Running from 5pm to 8pm, speakers include Peter Burt of Drone Wars UK, Prof Fiona Macauley from Bradford Peace Studies and Prof David Webb from Yorkshire CND.

There will also be a steel band, performance poet and a choir.

This year’s gathering will not occur outside the main gate as usual. Instead if will take place at Kettlesing lay-by on the A59 as the area around the main gate will be closed for upgrades and expansions.

Harrogate head coach hoping to turn around rugby club’s fortunes

From Japan to New Zealand, Sam Fox’s love affair with rugby union has taken him around the world.

As early as he can remember, he recalls being taken to his local rugby club in Cornwall with his dad where he would kick balls into the river.

These days, he’s tasked with leading Harrogate Rugby Club as head coach.

While most sportsmen tend to swap the pitch for the touchline after retirement, Sam had his eye on coaching well before his last kick of a rugby ball.

He hopes his ambition for improving players and Harrogate as a whole will bear fruit in the coming years.

Taking rugby abroad

Sam grew up in Cornwall and has been playing rugby since he was three-years-old.

The love for rugby was bred from an early age. His dad was an ex-England schoolboys player and his mum a big supporter of the sport.

At 16, he went to college in Truro and started playing for Exeter Chiefs RUFC where he spent his formative years in the academy.

His most memorable experience was spending time in New Zealand after a stint in Japan, where he played in a world championships.

Sam played for Wellington Lions under-19s alongside guys who would go onto elite rugby.

However, it was the developmental side that caught Sam’s eye and led him onto a career path in coaching.

“It was amazing. In the UK, you’re coached and taught in a very similar way the whole way through. To see how differently it’s done in Japan and then New Zealand, you can see why they are one of the best teams in the world in the way they go about their coaching.

“It being their national sport out there, every kid has a ball in their hand from the second they’re born. Whereas here it’s football.

“It was really interesting to see and probably what pushed me down that route of coaching and wanting to explore different coaching methods and how to improve players.”

The standard of rugby at Wellington was high.

Sam was lucky enough to count Thomas and Peter Umaga-Jensen as teammates. Both are nephews of former All Blacks captain, Tana Umaga. He said:

“They were just a different level altogether.

“They are both playing Super Rugby now in New Zealand. What they can do with a ball, I have never seen anything like it.

“It was great. I was playing 10, they were at 12 and 13, and I’d just give them the ball and they would score.”

Returning home to study

Sam returned to England in 2017 and enrolled at Leeds Beckett University.

It was here that he started to embark on his ambition for improving players and started to study sports coaching alongside playing for Harrogate.

About three years ago, Sam says he accepted that he was not going to make it as a professional player.

“There were people that were just a lot quicker and a lot more skilful than me at that stage.

“Knowing that I wanted to be involved in rugby for the rest of my life, coaching was the next best thing that I could do.”

For Sam, coaching is a craft and something that can be explored beyond just teaching players how to play rugby.

There is academic theory behind it and the application of that theory when it comes to improving players.

But it’s also about relationships with people and those that work with you on a weekly basis.

“A lot of the advice that I’ve got is it is a lot about relationships.

“If you can form good relationships with your players and coaching staff then you are already one step ahead of everyone else.

“Maybe you would see in the 80s and 90s, when the game was starting to turn professional, it was very much a dictatorship where the coach says ‘this is what you’re going to do and you do it’. No questions asked.

“Whereas now there is a lot more back and forth. There is a lot more challenges of what you’re doing and making sure your practices are as good as they possibly can be.”

Sam Fox playing for Harrogate Rugby Club.

Alongside his colleague Aled Jones, Sam launched the academy at Harrogate.

From there, he was made head coach of the first team for the 2021/22 season.

Harrogate were promoted to the Northern Premier League during the season which was effected by the covid pandemic.

However, the last campaign saw Harrogate relegated after a 24-12 loss to Tynedale.

For Sam, his squad, which had an average age of 22, lacked the experience to see games out. However, he added there was a lot the team could take into next season.

“While I was pleased with a lot of the things that we did, ultimately we conceded too many points and lacked the experience to see out games where we were within the seven points range.”

Preparation for next season has started in earnest.

Promotion will be the aim, but for Sam it will also be about improving the players enough so that they can maintain themselves in the next division.

Improving players is a thread that runs through much of Sam’s philosophy.

From setting up the academy with Aled to drawing up a curriculum for the younger players, much of the emphasis is on creating a squad that starts at Harrogate and, hopefully, finishes there.

This is the fifth article in a series of Sporting Spotlight interviews. If you have any local sporting heroes who you think should be featured, contact calvin@thestrayferret.co.uk.

In numbers: Harrogate town council consultation response

Almost two-thirds of Harrogate residents who took part in the latest consultation have backed a Harrogate Town Council being set up next year.

Every household in what would become the Harrogate parish had the chance to take part in the consultation, which ran for nine weeks from March 2.

However there were only 1,698 responses to the consultation, which makes up 4.7% of eligble households.

We took a deeper look at the numbers to gauge how the public in Harrogate feels about more councillors and a new layer of local democracy being created.

‘We want a more local council’

There were 1,104 respondents (65.0%) who agreed with the recommendation to create a town council called Harrogate Town Council.

With repeated criticism of the new Northallerton-based North Yorkshire Council being too remote, there were 196 additional comments from people saying local representation and decision-making is needed in Harrogate.

Meanwhile, 36 respondents said a town council would be better equipped to look after Harrogate’s heritage and interests and would also be able to improve local services.

‘Waste of money’

Just a few months after the abolition of Harrogate Borough Council many questioned the need to set up a new council for the town.

There were 483 respondents (28%) who said they did not want one setting up.

It has not been confirmed what powers the new council would have but Harrogate households would be asked to pay between £40 and £60 on top of their council tax each year to pay for it.

This led to 215 respondents saying they were against the proposal because it would be a “waste of money”.

One person said they wanted to see the return of Harrogate Borough Council instead.

Size of new council

North Yorkshire Council has recommended that each of the proposed 10 wards in Harrogate be represented by two councillors per ward, with the exception of Saltergate which would have one councillor, taking the total number of councillors to 19.

This is just under half the number of councillors of Harrogate Borough Council, which had 40 but covered the whole Harrogate district including Ripon and Knaresborough.

The areas in Harrogate which would fall under the new town council.

When asked about the size of the new council, 956 respondents (56%) said they were happy with the size whereas 501 (30%) were not and 241 (14%) were not sure.

Of those who disagreed with the size, 52 people commented that one councillor per ward would be a better arrangement for the new council.

Demographics of consultation

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the highest numbers of responses come from people aged 50 to 64 and 65 to 74.

There were just 37 responses from people in their 20s and 98 from people in their 30s, raising questions about how engaged younger people are in the process to create a town council.

North Yorkshire Council has proposed that the elections to the new council be held on May 2 next year for a reduced terms of three years, with ordinary elections taking place in 2027 and every four years thereafter.

A final decision to create a town council has not been made yet and a full meeting of North Yorkshire Council will debate the proposals later this year.

MPs Watch: Nigel Adams resignation, Boris Johnson report and a by-election

Every month the Stray Ferret tries to find out what our local MPs have been up to in their constituencies and in the House of Commons.

In June, Nigel Adams, Selby and Ainsty MP, resigned with immediate effect. The move came after the resignation of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was later found to have deliberately misled parliament by the Privileges Committee.

Meanwhile, 13 candidates have put their names forward to contest the Selby and Ainsty by-election. Voters will go to the polls on Thursday, July 20.

We asked Ripon MP Julian Smith if he would like to highlight anything in particular, but did not receive a response.

Here is what we know after analysing their online presence.

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, here is what we found on Mr Jones:

Mr Jones attended the Harrogate Hospital Community Charity summer extravaganza on June 4.
On June 8, Mr Jones spoke in the House of Commons to ask how the government would promote open access railways.
On June 11, he attended the Army Foundation College Freedom Parade in Harrogate.
Mr Jones also took part in a community litter pick in Bilton as part of the Great Big Green Week on June 11.
Mr Jones also spoke in parliament to ask government what steps were being taken to support female entrepreneurs amid concern that the number of women starting businesses is below that of men.
Mr Jones voted in the House of Commons for the Privileges Committee report on June 19.
On June 22, Mr Jones weighed in on the debate over designating Harrogate’s Stray as common land. He there was “no positive reason for change”.
Mr Jones gave Harrogate Ladies College prefects a tour of the Houses of Parliament on June 28.

When we contacted Mr Jones for comment, his office sent a list of his engagements for June.

Among those included hosting a charity coffee morning for Henshaws, attending the bed race in Knaresborough and taking part in a Barclays Business roundtable event at the West Park Hotel.

He also attended a National Farmers Union event on June 6 and filmed a video for World Environment Day.

Mr Jones’ office pointed out that his engagements and activities could also be found on his Community News Website and his Facebook and Instagram feeds.

Julian Smith, MP for Ripon and Skipton.

In Ripon, here is what we found on Mr Smith:

On June 5, Mr Smith spoke in the House of Commons on the government building trust with the current inquiry into the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Smith voted in the House of Commons for the Privileges Committee report on June 19.
On June 24, Mr Smith joined the Conservative by-election campaign in Selby and Ainsty.
On June 28, Mr Smith attended a networking event with Ripon Business Improvement District where he heard concerns from local businesses.
Mr Smith met with the Dean of Ripon Cathedral in Westminster on June 28. Among the discussion was refurbishment plans at Ripon Cathedral.
Mr Smith updated his MPs constituency website 10 times throughout June.

New Harrogate muffin café reveals opening date

A new café chain is to open on Harrogate’s Cambridge Street later this month.

Muffin Break is a franchised chain of cafés, with stores across the UK, serving sweet treats and coffee, as well as savoury breakfasts and light lunches.

News of the store, which will be housed in the former Hotter shoe shop, came to light after notices appeared in the window for a pavement licence application.

The notices were registered to FoodCO UK Franchising Ltd – trading as Muffin Break.

The franchise originated in Canada, but now hosts around 60 UK branches – the closest one being Bradford.

Muffin Break UK told the Stray Ferret:

“Fit out of the shop has begun.

“We have everything from flat breads to bagels, and everything is made fresh in store each morning.”

The Harrogate branch will be open from Monday, July 17.

From Harrogate to New York to the World Cup – Rachel Daly’s ‘whirlwind’ career

Before finding fame on England’s national team, Rachel Daly started out playing for a village club near Harrogate.

The Aston Villa Women striker began her career on the pitches of the Killinghall Nomads JFC, playing for the boys’ squad until she was 12.

Recounting her grassroots story on the official website for England Football, she said:

“No one could believe that I was a girl. I used to have really short hair and people would think I was a boy. I remember there was a local report on it as I was banging in hat-tricks and stuff at that age.

“I was the only girl playing for the boys’ team at that time, but there were never any issues because I’d been playing with all of the boys for years before that anyway.”

Eventually, the junior club formed a girls’ team, which Rachel joined soon after.

She was then invited to join the Leeds United Girls Centre for Excellence. Being a huge fan of the club, Rachel was overjoyed to have the chance to train there.

During her time at the centre, she attended Rossett School, where she found encouragement and support from her PE teacher Mike Sweetman.

She praised her former teacher and said:

“Once I got to high school, I met Mike Sweetman who played a really big role in my development

“He really believed in me, when I didn’t want to do PE with the girls playing netball, he’d let me play football with the boys.”

After she left Rossett, Rachel travelled to New York for a sports scholarship, where she played for her university team and was later drafted to play for Houston Dash.

She added:

“It was such a whirlwind, to go from Harrogate to a place like New York City for college.

“In the end, I was over there for nine years playing for what was a large chunk of my life before returning home last summer to join Aston Villa.”

The 31-year-old has now risen to the highest level of women’s football.

She was a key member of the Lioness squad that won the Euro 2022 Cup and on May 31 was chosen to represent England at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

She also won the 2022-2023 Women’s Super League golden boot, a prestigious award given to the top goal-scorer of the season.

The football star’s home town is immensely proud of her and in March the Killinghall Nomads honoured Rachel by opening a café named after her at the club.

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Glastonbury headliner to play DJ set in Harrogate store

A musician that headlined Glastonbury festival this year is due to DJ in a Harrogate store next week.

Alexis Taylor, lead vocalist of synthpop band Hot Chip, will perform at Owl, in Harrogate town centre. The intimate set in will launch Mr Taylor’s vegan boot collaboration with Wild Bunch shoes.

All proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Coppice Valley Primary School library fund.

Mr Taylor, who has been described as “one of the country’s most respected selectors”, will play music from his kaleidoscopic record collection.

Owl, a lifestyle and clothing store, wrote on its social media:

“We’re super excited for the launch night!

“It’s fair to say the event is a biggie.”

The Wild Bunch shoe collaboration – pic: Guy Bolongaro.

Hot Chip headlined the Woodsies stage at Glastonbury this year for their fourth appearance at the world’s largest festival.

The band reached the UK top 20 album chart in 2022 and has over 1.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify.

The event will take place on Thurday, July 6, from 7pm – 9.30pm.

Read more:

Holiday home WIFI specialist in Harrogate becomes employee-owned

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Trees on Empress roundabout a hazard

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Local government a mess long before devolution

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Taking rugby abroad

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Returning home to study

‘We want a more local council’

‘Waste of money’

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Size of new council

Demographics of consultation

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