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’

Hundreds of posters have gone up around Harrogate and Knaresborough in the search for missing Sophie Lambert.

Four nights have now passed since Sophie, 22, was last seen at her home in Starbeck.

The police search is focusing on the area near the river at Bilton in Nidd Gorge after a member of the public found Sophie’s mobile phone, bank card and jumper there on Saturday morning.

Sophie was last seen on Friday night.

A Facebook group to co-ordinate the search has been set up and already has over 1,000 members. You can visit it here.

Knaresborough printers Sid Horner and Son printed 1,000 posters yesterday showing a photo of Sophie and urging people to report any sightings.

Inspector Graham Waller, the critical incident inspector based at Harrogate, said yesterday there had been “no positive sightings” of Sophie since she vanished and nothing has emerged overnight.

Numerous groups took part in searches along the river and around the Bilton area last night and are continuing to do so this morning.

North Yorkshire Police has said in a statement:

“Sophie is described as white, 5ft 3in, aged in her early 20s, slim build, with long dark brown hair that is possibly plaited or wavy.

“She has a distinctive scar on her forehead which is likely to be noticeable.

“It is unknown what clothing she has on, but her family said she tends to wear jogging bottoms and has dark green Adidas trainers with a white sole.

“If you have seen a woman matching Sophie’s description or photograph, please call North Yorkshire Police immediately on 999 quoting reference 12230110845.”

Read more:

• Search for missing Sophie Lambert finds her mobile phone
• CCTV footage released in search for missing Sophie

Two girls have been arrested for trespassing on the railway at Harrogate Station and racially abusing a member of staff.

British Transport Police confirmed officers attended the station at 8pm on Monday, May 15, to reports of two teenagers on the track.

The girls, aged 14 and 16, were arrested on suspicion of trespassing and racially abusing a member of staff.

A British Transport Police spokesperson told the Stray Ferret that an investigation into the incident is ongoing.

In response to the incident, Tony Baxter, regional director for Northern, said:

“Last month, two females climbed a security fence from a car park adjoining the railway at Harrogate station and trespassed on the tracks.

“During our attempts to remove the women from what is a very dangerous environment, they gave verbal abuse and made racist remarks towards a member of Northern staff.

“This kind of behaviour is totally unacceptable and the matter was referred to British Transport Police.”

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• New parking charges at Nidderdale Showground branded ‘unfair’
• Call for speed bumps on Pateley Bridge High Street
• Harrogate rail line ‘close to capacity’, says report

The incident has raised questions about safety after Northern was reported to be planning to remove staff from the ticket gate at the station.

Andrew Whitworth, vice-chairman of the Harrogate Line Supporters Group, said:

“I think the point about the safety benefit of an extra pair of eyes on what is the busiest platform is a very good additional argument for keeping staff there.

“It is of course a busy exit – used by people living on that side of town, by car park users and people who use it as a drop off point (eg taxis are often called there, especially as it’s the main platform for London trains).

“Meanwhile Northern said they were setting barriers to reject any ticket which had been bought with a railcard so that the railcard could be checked – to then remove staff from the barriers would create a lot of inconvenience.

“Northern have argued that closing ticket offices would lead to more staff available to help customers on the platforms – this proposal suggests that they are intent on removing staff everywhere.”

Northern has not commented on the reports that it is considering removing staff from barriers. It also did not respond to questions about the safety implications of removing ticket staff after the incident on May 15.

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.

Yorkshire and the Humber attracted fifty one foreign investment projects last year, up from a total of 40 in 2021, according to consultancy firm Ernst & Young.

EY’s ‘attractiveness survey’ showed the region was the UK’s sixth-best performing. Its share of UK FDI projects increased to 5.5% from 4.0%, despite the UK seeing a 6% fall in project numbers.

The survey analyses the attractiveness of a particular region or country as an investment destination. It is designed to help businesses make investment decisions and governments remove barriers to growth.

The region’s strong performance was driven by growth in key sectors, including machinery and equipment, utility supply, and health and social work. sales and business services, manufacturing and logistics.

Stephen Church, EY’s North Market Leader, said:

“Amid a strong year for the North on FDI, Yorkshire and the Humber’s results stand out as exceptional. After a few years of falling project numbers, it’s very encouraging to see the region deliver a significant increase in projects and a strong performance on investment attractiveness relative to the rest of the UK. A positive performance on FDI-supported jobs in 2022 suggests Yorkshire has been able to do well not just on project volume, but on project value too.

“With sustainability and climate change high on investors’ agendas, clean technology is an increasingly important investment focus, providing the UK with the opportunity to play to its regional strengths. Expertise in manufacturing and utilities – key sectors here in Yorkshire – will be crucial to any efforts by the UK to establish itself as a place where clean technology is not just deployed, but also developed and built too.”

Read More: 

• The Harrogate district business making a ‘once in a generation’ move
• Business Breakfast: Swinton Estate launches wild swimming lake

Vida Court, the third care home of Harrogate-based specialist dementia care provider Vida Healthcare, has been rated as Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

All of Vida’s three specialist care homes have now been awarded an Outstanding rating.

The inspection highlighted the exceptional dementia care that is provided. Staff’s exceptional creativity when following best practice guidance was applauded. Person-centred care is prevalent throughout the service, and this includes how people wish to be cared for at the end of their lives and approaching difficult conversations.

Sharon Oldfield, Vida Court Home Manager at Vida Healthcare, said:

“We are extremely proud of the Vida Court team. It is a privilege to work with people who are so focused on enriching residents’ lives and providing the highest quality of care. We are delighted that our inclusive and open working environment, alongside the hard work and creativity of our team has been recognised by the CQC.

“We are committed to developing, promoting and implementing innovative methods of care to deliver an outstanding service to our residents”.

James Rycroft, Managing Director at Vida Healthcare, commented:

“The commitment of the team at Vida Court, highlighted in the inspection report, is what makes our service outstanding. Securing an Outstanding rating for all of our care homes is an incredible achievement, and really sets us apart from other care home operators in the UK. Our staff are our greatest asset and I would like to thank them all for their dedication. “

Vida Court has recently opened a specialist unit to support people living with Huntington’s disease.

Staff at Vida Court celebrate the homes CQC Outstanding status

A mobile phone, bank card and a top belonging to missing Sophie Lambert have been found, police said today.

The possessions were discovered by a member of the public on Saturday morning near the river at Nidd Gorge, which is the focus of the search for the 22-year-old from Starbeck.

North Yorkshire Police revealed the news at a media call today, at which they said a 30-strong search party consisting of police, mountain and underwater rescues had been combing the 500-metres area around where the items were found in Bilton.

Sophie Lambert

They added helicopters and dogs had also been employed in the operation.

Inspector Graham Waller, the critical incident inspector based at Harrogate, said there had been “no positive sightings” of Sophie in the 72 hours since she disappeared.

Insp Graham Waller pictured at the police search scene today.

He added the search would widen and continue “as long as necessary” during daylight hours if Sophie is not found. He 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.”

Asked what people could do to help, and whether they should take part in search parties, Insp Waller urged people to “remain vigilant” and contact the police if they had any information but said he would “discourage” members of the public taking part in search parties because of the “difficult terrain” in Nidd Gorge.

In today’s update, police said Sophie was last seen at home by her family at 6.50pm on Friday night and then captured shortly afterwards on CCTV camera at 7.06pm.

She was wearing dark trousers, a black top with a white adidas logo and dark shoes with a white sole. She had her hair tied back and was carrying a bottle with a pink lid.

Read more:

• CCTV footage released in search for missing Sophie
• New photo of missing Sophie as concerns grow for Harrogate woman

The Conservative Party has selected its new candidate for the forthcoming Selby and Ainsty by-election following the shock withdrawal last week of its previous nominee. 

Claire Holmes, a barrister and East Riding of Yorkshire councillor, will contest the seat in place of Michael Naughton, who quit the race due to an “unforeseen family medical emergency”. 

Speaking to the BBC, Ms Holmes said:

“I know right now people want an MP who’ll only focus on improving our local communities across Selby and Ainsty – not on political point-scoring in Westminster. 

“That means I will work with Rishi Sunak and the government on our five clear priorities: halving inflation, growing the economy, reducing debt, cutting hospital waiting lists and stopping the boats.” 

The by-election was triggered by the resignation of MP Nigel Adams, who was first elected in 2010 and has since held several ministerial posts under prime ministers Theresa May and Boris Johnson. He was nominated by Mr Johnson for a peerage, but did not make the final list. 

Mr Adams had already said he would not contest the seat at the next election, but stepped down immediately after former Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation in the wake of the cross-party Privileges Committee report into the Partygate scandal that he had misled Parliament. 

The by-election in Selby and Ainsty will be held on Thursday, July 20, the same day as the by-election in Mr Johnson’s Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency. 

The other candidates declared so far are: for the Green Party, Arnold Warneken, the councillor for Ouseburn on North Yorkshire Council; for the Labour Party, Keir Mather, a senior public affairs adviser for the Confederation of British Industry (CBI); and for the Yorkshire Party, Mike Jordan, whose defection from the Conservatives earlier this month lost the party its majority on North Yorkshire Council. 

The Liberal Democrats are due to announce their candidate this week, but are not expected to campaign heavily in the constituency ahead of the ballot, in order not to split the anti-Tory vote. In 2019 they only won 8.6% of the vote in the constituency, compared with Labour’s 24.6%. 

The Conservatives, however, won 60.3% of the vote, giving them a 20,137 majority, which means that Labour will need a huge swing of 18% to win, according to Sir John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde. 

Photo ID required to vote

In a statement, North Yorkshire Council said that anyone interested in becoming a candidate in the Selby and Ainsty by-election must submit a completed set of nomination forms before the deadline at 4pm this Friday (June 23).

Residents of the Selby and Ainsty constituency have until midnight on Tuesday, July 4, to register to vote and until 5pm on Wednesday, July 5, to apply for a postal vote. If someone is unable to vote in person or by post, they have until 5pm on Wednesday, July 12, to apply for a proxy vote.

Voters attending the polling station for the by-election will need to bring photographic identification, such as a UK photocard driving licence, a passport, or concessionary travel passes, such as an older person’s bus pass or blue badge.

Anyone without an accepted form of ID should apply for a free voter authority certificate by 5pm on Wednesday, July 12.

Read more:

• Selby and Ainsty MP resigns with immediate effect
• Andrew Jones MP to vote for Privileges Committee recommendations
• Labour names candidate for local by-election

Two men have been jailed for their part in stealing newly-installed boilers and other equipment worth £143,000 from housing developments in the Harrogate district.

Shaun Andrew Finley, 34, of Goldthorpe, Barnsley, and Stephen William Case, 43, of Dunscroft, Doncaster, targeted boilers, furniture and other equipment belonging to building companies and contractors.

They struck at homes in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Killinghall, Kirk Hammerton and Dishforth.

Finley was jailed for five years and Case for four years and two months when they were sentenced at York Crown Court on Friday.

The court heard that between June 1 and December 15 in 2020 they targeted prestigious new build developments 22 times.

According to a North Yorkshire Police press release today, officers identified a pattern in the burglaries which involved the same method of breaking into the properties and removing the items.

The press release added:

“They specifically targeted houses that were ready for occupation. This caused considerable disruption and upset to the homebuyers and added cost and inconvenience to the developers.

“Through detailed analysis of CCTV and automatic number plater recognition data, the investigation team were able to place the vans and cars they were using – often driving in convoy – in and around the new build locations that they burgled.

“They also uncovered that Finley and Case were actively avoiding detection by registering, and insuring, their vehicles in the names of innocent members of the public. They also used cloned registration plates. This resulted in the arrest of two men who had nothing to do with the crimes, as well as numerous speeding tickets.”

Read more:

• Burglars jailed for stealing £6,000 worth of goods from Starbeck Co-op
• Jail for drug dealers caught outside Harrogate’s Valley Gardens

At the sentencing, Judge Sean Morris commended the work of detective sergeant Steve Peachman, the now retired detective sergeant Marcus Dawson, and analyst Libby Edison for the effective investigation which secured the convictions.

The Judge said they were “a credit to North Yorkshire Police and the people of North Yorkshire”.

DS Steve Peachman, from the force’s operation expedite unit, said:

“The outcome of our investigation shows that if you choose to embark on conspiracies with organised crime groups, you can expect lengthy custodial sentences.

“We proved that Finley and Case were principal participants in committing crime in North Yorkshire.

“They used a high degree of sophistication, but it was not enough to escape justice.”

A man died in a crash near Harewood Bridge that led to the closure of the A61 for more than 12 hours yesterday.

Police said today the man, who has not been named, was a taxi driver in his 40s.

He died at the scene of the crash, which occurred at about 1.20am yesterday morning on the A61 Harrogate Road at Dunkeswick. The road reopened at 3.20pm.

North Yorkshire Police is now appealing for witnesses to the collision, which involved a grey BMW and a black Peugeot taxi.

It said in a statement today:

“Sadly, the driver of the taxi, a man in his 40s died at the scene. His family have been informed and are receiving support form specially trained officers.

“The driver of the BMW, a man in his 20s remains in hospital.

“The stretch of road was closed until 3.20pm on Sunday afternoon to allow officers to investigate the scene.

Anyone who saw the collision or has dashcam footage is urged to dial 101, select option 2 and ask for Steve Hawkins.

Alternatively, you can email DC 55 Steve Hawkins on Steve.Hawkins@northyorkshire.police.uk

Quote reference number 12230111568 when passing information.

Read more:

• Police close A61 after serious collision south of Harrogate
• Harrogate bar to permanently keep covered outdoor area

District Bar in Harrogate is to keep its covered outdoor seating area constructed during covid.

The bar opened on Cold Bath Road in September 2019, just a few months before the town’s hospitality industry was turned on its head by covid.

Like many other bars and restaurants during the pandemic, District Bar was granted approval by the council to erect a semi-permanent metal structure on its patio to allow customers to sit outside.

Not only did the covered area allow customers to sit away from each other during covid restrictions, it also became a dry and warm space during the winter months and helped to block out noise from the bar onto the street.

Last week North Yorkshire Council approved a planning application to see the structure remain on the site for good.

The council has stipulated the area must close by 9pm when customers have to move inside.

How it previously looked

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• Million pound house draw comes to Harrogate

Planning documents submitted by the owner of District Bar said:

“Following a well received launch we were then, like the rest of the world, thrust into the unknown with covid and the challenges it brought.

“Like many other small local businesses, we struggled to exist and get through it. But we consider ourselves part of the local fabric and community, and to that end received tremendous support from local public.

“In 2020, since we couldn’t operate inside due to covid restrictions, we applied and received permission for a ‘semi-permanent’ structure to be erected on our patio connected to the bar.

“What we have found since its erection, is we disrupt our local community even less than we did before since noise is no longer an issue (prior we had people outside talking till 9pm) and as well as that an area where people still sceptical of covid and contagion can distance them selves from our main inside bar area.

“It has created a warm and cosy area for people to still keep safe distances.”