Plans resubmitted for Starbeck micropub

Plans to open a micropub in Starbeck are back on the table.

IT consultant Kevin Jones has resubmitted the proposal for the High Street after previous plans fell through.

Mr Jones abandoned a prior attempt to get permission to open a pub at 67d High Street after the landlord offered the space to a different tenant.

At the time, he criticised Harrogate Borough Council for taking six months to consider the plan.

However, Mr Jones has now resubmitted the plan for next door at 67b High Street — which he intends to rename The Office Ale House.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“I wanted to open a place where people who are wandering home after work can call in.

“It will be dog friendly as well. It is about getting pubs back to what they used to be years ago.”

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Mr Jones, who lived in Starbeck but has moved to Knaresborough, said he hoped to open the pub in March, if planning is approved.

The pub would included seating for between 15 to 20 people.

It would serve local ales, lagers and have a rotating cask ale on sale. It would be open between 12pm and 8pm during the week.

Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

Harrogate’s special care baby unit receives donated toys

The special care baby unit at Harrogate District Hospital has received a consignment of toys in time for Christmas.

Harrogate Convention Centre donated dolls and a toy kitchen, which were donated by exhibitors at the Harrogate International Nursery Fair it hosted this year.

The convention centre has helped event organisers and exhibitors to donate toys, food and other event supplies and display samples to local schools, hospitals, homeless people and charities over the years.

Sally Baxter, unit sister at the special care baby unit, which cares for sick and preterm infants, said:

“It means so much to the families who have a baby on the unit that also have young siblings.

“The toys will really help make our parents’ experience on the unit so much better in what is a very stressful time for them. Thank you once again, it makes such a difference.”

HCC Toy Donation Harrogate District Hospital

The donated toy kitchen

 This year’s Harrogate International Nursery Fair took up an additional hall at the convention centre. It attracted 140 exhibitors and visitors from over 15 countries.

Event organiser Adrian Sneyd said:

“Harrogate has been home to our nursery trade show annually for over five decades with around 4,000 participants enjoying the town’s hospitality each year.

“We are delighted that our exhibitors have donated toys for the benefit of local families and their babies.”

Paula Lorimer, director of the convention centre, said:

“As a member of the community and especially in this festive season in the midst of the cost of living crisis, we are delighted to do what we can to help make sure those in need can benefit from the event industry.”

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Man jailed for lewd act near children’s play area in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens

Warning: this article contains details some people may find upsetting.

A sexual predator has been jailed for over two years for performing a lewd act near the children’s play area in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens.

Kevin Payne, 67, was under a strict court order not to go anywhere near children’s play parks following previous convictions for child-sex offences.

But on June 12 he parked his car outside Valley Gardens and made his way to a wooded area near a children’s play area, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Brooke Morrison said a passer-by spotted Payne performing a lewd act in woods overlooking the play park.

Payne was “startled” by the passer-by, who spotted him through a gap in a hedge and shouted over to him as Payne ran away.

Ms Morrison added:

“The passer-by gave chase and (as) he followed Payne, he took a number of pictures of him before apprehending him and keeping him there until police arrived.”

Payne was arrested and admitted breaching a sexual-harm prevention order, which prohibited him from going within 100 metres of any recreational area where there may be children present.

However, he denied a separate charge of outraging public decency by behaving in an indecent manner, namely performing a lewd act.

The play area in Valley Gardens.

Payne, from Bradford, was due to face trial today but admitted the offence at the last minute.

Ms Morrison said Payne committed the offences in Harrogate while under investigation for downloading indecent sexual imagery online.

He was arrested for those offences in December last year after police monitoring officers paid him a routine visit to check he was complying with the sexual-harm prevention order following a previous jail sentence for child-sex offences.

Payne handed over his mobile phone on which police found internet searches for sexual images of children and an indecent photo of a child rated Category A – the worst kind. They also found six images of extreme pornography, namely bestiality.

Payne admitted making an indecent image of a child and possessing six extreme-pornographic images following his arrest and was recalled to prison to serve the remainder of a six-month jail sentence imposed in June last year for making indecent images of children.

He was released from prison in January this year and went on to commit the offences at Valley Gardens in June.

40 years of crime

The Crown proceeded to sentence on all matters today as the prosecution outlined Payne’s 40-year criminal history, which comprised 51 previous offences including many for indecently exposing himself in front of young girls and making indecent images of children.

His rap sheet also included voyeurism, kerb-crawling, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, serious violence, harassment, public disorder, and breaching court orders.

He had been given extended prison sentences in the past for child-sex offences as various judges deemed him a dangerous offender.

Defence barrister Derek Duffy said Payne “did not intend to be seen by anybody” in Valley Gardens when he carried out the lewd act.

He said Payne had rented accommodation in Bradford before being remanded in custody, but he had since lost that and intended to live with a friend in Harrogate upon his release from jail.

He added that Payne — formerly of Ling Park Avenue, Bingley, but currently of no fixed address — was a retired man who had lost all contact with his family and was a “rather despondent” figure.

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Judge Simon Hickey described Payne’s latest offences in Valley Gardens as “quite revolting” and told him:

“You are, worryingly, 67, and you are still committing offences of this nature. Fortunately, the children were not to see what you did.”

Payne was given a 27-month jail sentence but will only spend half of that behind bars before being released on prison licence.

He was ordered to sign on the sex-offenders’ register for 10 years and the judge ordered that the sexual-harm prevention order would remain in place.

Mr Hickey said the named witness who chased and detained Payne would be paid £150 from the public purse for his “very-public-spirited” actions.

High value jewellery stolen from Harrogate house

Police are appealing for information about a suspected burglary at a house in Harrogate in which jewellery and watches were stolen.

The incident happened on Park Avenue South at 7.23pm on Friday last week.

North Yorkshire Police today released CCTV images showing a man wearing a two-tone jacket or gilet and light-coloured trousers.

Officers say the suspect was carrying a white sack or pillowcase, believed to contain the stolen items, in Park Avenue South, Leeds Road and Harrogate town. 

They have not said how much the jewellery was worth but described it as “high value”.

A police statement added:

“Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should email ashley.atkins2@northyorkshire.police.uk. You can also call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for Ashley Atkins.

“If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

“Please quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12220218037 when providing details.”

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Viper Rooms: council issues statement after repossessing Harrogate nightclub

North Yorkshire County Council has said it acted in the “best interests” of taxpayers after it repossessed Harrogate’s Viper Rooms.

Bailiffs acting on behalf of the council entered the Parliament Street nightclub on Friday and changed the locks.

Notices pinned to the doors said any attempt to re-enter the premises would result in criminal or civil proceedings.

It prompted the club to announce on social media, hours before it was due to open, that it had closed with the loss of 30 jobs.

The venue, which was Harrogate’s last remaining nightclub, is part of the Royal Baths commercial investment portfolio acquired by the council for £9 million in 2018.

Viper Rooms

The club is part of the Royal Baths.

Gary Fielding, corporate director for strategic resources at the council, said in a statement to the Stray Ferret:

“We are unable to discuss details about specific cases that North Yorkshire County Council is involved in.

“However, we will pursue our policies that protect the best interests of North Yorkshire’s taxpayers, and will therefore act accordingly.”

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The council has been under pressure to generate better returns on the Baths.

It was described as an “underperforming trophy asset” by one councillor last year because of its low rate of investment returns.

Last month the council warned it would take a tougher line on tenants following further poor investment returns.

Mr Fielding said the council “has done all it reasonably can to support its tenants” through covid, adding:

“We work with our tenants to understand their circumstances in order to maximise the income into the council.

“However, it is not the council’s responsibility to support tenants indefinitely, and if businesses are not sustainable then we work with tenants to bring tenancies to a close.”

 

 

 

Candlelit Christmas service to remember Harrogate war dead

More than 1,000 servicemen who died in the two World Wars are to be honoured at a candlelit Christmas remembrance event in Harrogate. 

Members of the public are invited to join the event, which will be held at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) site at Stonefall Cemetery on Sunday, December 18 at 3.30pm.  

Visitors will be provided with battery-operated tealights to place on the graves of the fallen, which will be followed by a short service of remembrance. 

Stonefall is one of the largest CWGC sites in the North of England and holds 1,013 Commonwealth casualties, 988 of them airmen who died during the Second World War, when Bomber Command bases were established across Yorkshire. 

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Two thirds of these are Canadian – including two 17-year-olds – and there are also graves of servicemen from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the Caribbean. Many of them died in the military wing of Harrogate General Hospital. 

Local resident Benji Walker, who conceived and organised the event, said:

“I feel it’s as important today as it was at the time to recognise the sacrifice of those who gave everything to serve this country. The Candlelit Christmas Remembrance is a chance for the local community to gather to remember the sacrifice of the hundreds of CWGC casualties buried at Stonefall, many of them thousands of miles from home.”  

Mr Walker, who has a son serving in the Yorkshire Regiment, will be using the event to raise money for the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation and Help for Heroes. Members of the public can sponsor a candle with the profits being split between Help for Heroes and the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation (CWGF).  

CWGC public engagement coordinator Elizabeth Smith said:

“We’re grateful to what Benji has inspired here, a chance for people from all over the world to pay their respects to the fallen at a unique site, and at a special time of year. This has now become an annual event and long may it continue.  

“The Air Force plot at Stonefall Cemetery is incredible and resembles the sites we care for overseas. At the end of the Second World War local people were encouraged to adopt the war graves of the Canadian servicemen and lay wreaths on behalf of their families at Christmas.”  

Those wishing to attend the service are advised to dress warmly, wear appropriate footwear, and bring torches. The meeting point is the war graves plot adjacent to Forest Lane. Parking is available in the cemetery car park off Forest Lane. 

Stray Views: Harrogate’s Wetherby Road crossing ‘poorly thought out’

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.

I walked or cycled along Slingsby Walk for several years on my way to and from work at Harrogate District Hospital. 

While it was sometimes difficult to cross Wetherby Road at that point, there is an existing crossing within about 100 meters. 

This is used by many people who are going to and from the hospital every day. The traffic is already often at a standstill in that area and it is pointless to have yet another crossing. 

This scheme seems poorly thought out, much like the pointless Beech Grove one.

Ralph Amsby, Harrogate

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Slow deterioration of Harrogate phone box

I have lived in Harrogate for three years and during this time l have watched the slow deterioration of the phone box at the top of Otley Road.

Whose responsibly is it? Other towns and villages take care of theirs. They have many uses such as free book donation, plants etc. if this phone box is not restored soon. It would be a shame to lose it.

Christine Weldon, Harrogate

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

Harrogate train station becomes mobility scooter-friendly

Rail company Northern has added Harrogate to its list of mobility scooter-friendly stations. 

It means staff will be on hand to help mobility scooter users, providing items such as ramps to access trains.

Northern said this week 38 new stations, including Harrogate, had become mobility scooter-friendly, bringing the total to more than 160 stations across 28 routes.  

Anyone travelling on a mobility scooter must first obtain a permit from Northern to ensure the model they use meets certain size and manoeuvrability specifications.

The scheme is free and registered passengers are given a personalised sticker that will placed on the pre-assessed vehicle. This will be accompanied by a card that can be carried by customers if they use scooters that don’t have a suitable place to display the sticker.

Mark Powles, customer and commercial director at Northern, said:

“We are committed to giving people with additional mobility needs the confidence to travel by rail. We want to support our customers whenever they need it.

“The mobility scooter scheme is an example of this commitment and we’ll be looking to deliver improved accessibility across our network as we roll out similar improvements at other stations in the future.”

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Northern recently banned all e-scooters, hoverboards and e-skateboards across its trains and stations in the north of England

However, electric wheelchairs and e-bikes are exempt from the ban – as are mobility scooters for those with access needs, as long as they are registered with the train operator’s mobility scooter permit scheme – which checks devices by a range of criteria to make sure they are safe to use on-board.

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with nearly 2,000 services a day to more than 500 stations across the north of England.

New foodbank planned for Jennyfields

A charity battling against food poverty is planning to set up a new foodbank in the Jennyfields area of Harrogate. 

Harrogate District Foodbank already runs foodbanks in Harrogate, Starbeck and Knaresborough and is now looking to open a fourth in response to an upsurge of demand. 

Alastair Pollard, trustee and warehouse volunteer at the charity, said:

“When people are referred to us by their doctor, church or Citizens Advice we hold minimal information about them, but one thing we do have is their postcode. That gives us an indication of where there is greatest need, and we’ve seen a lot of new referrals coming from the Jennyfields area.

“We’re currently looking for suitable premises and aim to open there sometime in the new year.”

He added:

“The cost-of-living crisis is a major problem for some people, with the price of food and utilities going through the roof. People are living week to week. They have to pay for electricity and gas, but then there’s sometimes no money left for food.

“At the start of 2022 we were feeding an average of 63 people per week, but in October 2022 we fed up to 93 people per week – about a 50% increase.”

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Research by Save the Children has found that more than one in three (37%) families on Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit will rely on charity food parcels this Christmas. 

Much of the food distributed by Harrogate District Foodbank comes from donations made by shoppers at supermarkets in the town. Each week the charity collects and distributes over 800 kilograms of food. So far this year, it has distributed 37 tonnes of food to people in need. Mr Pollard said:

“We are so grateful for those that help us. Some people simply purchase an extra tin of vegetables or custard on the supermarket run; others donate at harvest festival. One 60-year-old graciously asked his birthday party guests to donate money instead of buying presents and brought us several hundred pounds’ worth of food. 

“Last week, a young dad was touched by a report on the TV news showing a little girl whose family couldn’t afford food. He said, ‘I can afford to help. I wouldn’t want someone like my daughter to suffer’.” 

Harrogate District Foodbank’s existing foodbanks are at Mowbray Community Church in Harrogate, Holy Trinity Church in Knaresborough, and Life Destiny Church on Starbeck High Street.  

The organisation is part of the Trussell Trust, which supports over 1,200 foodbank centres across the UK and has a mission to eradicate the need for foodbanks altogether. 

Readers wishing to support the work of Harrogate District Foodbank can donate money via its website, or food and non-food items, such as toiletries, at any one of the supermarket collection points, which include Waitrose, Morrisons, the Co-op and Sainsbury’s.

Who will make decisions on new homes in the Harrogate district in 2023?

A debate is brewing over who should decide on plans for new housing in the Harrogate district.

Currently, Harrogate Borough Council makes decisions on proposals for new homes and major developments.

But this will be taken out of the council’s hands in April 2023 when North Yorkshire Council takes over.

Some politicians argue that planning powers should be given to local areas.

But, for council bosses, it appears the matter is not so straight forward.

Local areas should make planning decisions

Ahead of the new council being formed, North Yorkshire County Council set up a working group to look at how planning matters should be decided.

The authority is set to approve measures to create its own Local Plan – but has yet to decide how planning decisions should be made.

For most councillors, they believe the area constituency committees should be in charge of such decisions affecting their own areas.

The committees are made up of county councillors from a local area, such as Harrogate and Knaresborough, and discuss matters relevant to that place.

New housing under construction at King Edwin Park in Harrogate.

New housing under construction at King Edwin Park in Harrogate.

Cllr Pat Marsh, the Liberal Democrat chair of Harrogate and Knaresborough area committee, pointed out that not handing powers to such committees would “erode accountability”.

She said:

“The devolution of decision making powers on planning is the right thing to do. How is a Councillor in Scarborough supposed to understand the impacts or issues of a particular development in Harrogate?

“In the new North Yorkshire Council structure Area Committees will be key, they should be given powers to direct local services and they should have budgets to make that happen. 

“Having one huge planning authority for the entire of North Yorkshire would be impractical, costly and would erode local accountability.”

The issue is particularly pertinent when it comes to major developments.

In Harrogate, decisions are still expected on a bottling plant at Harrogate Spring Water and a 3,000 home town between Knaresborough and Cattall called Maltkiln.

Major developments

Councillors believe that such decisions should be made at a local level.

However, in a county council report, officials suggested that a threshold should be set for applications to be made a county-wide committee.

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One of the suggestions was that decisions on applications for 500 houses or more would be taken by North Yorkshire Council.

Cllr Arnold Warneken, a Green Party county councillor who represents Ouseburn, said he had concerns over such a threshold.

He said that area committees should have input on major applications, whether they are made at a county level or not.

Cllr Warneken said:

“We got to have a situation where they [local committees] get some input.

“If they are always a consultee then they will have their say.

“I do not want to leave this down to chance, I want it written into the council’s strategy.”

‘Two models being considered’

Conservative Cllr Simon Myers,, North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for growth and housing, said two models are being considered for planning across the county.

He said the aim for the new authority was a “co-ordinated planning policy overseen by one over-arching authority”.

He said:

“This will help attract new enterprise and also bring in much-needed new homes to address the affordable housing issues which are seen across North Yorkshire, but especially in our rural and coastal communities. 

“We envisage several committees will make key planning decisions when the new council launches from April 1 next year. 

“There are currently two models which are being considered for the new North Yorkshire Council to ensure that planning policies are co-ordinated in the best possible manner and are addressing the needs of local communities. 

“The first option would see six planning committees introduced based on constituency areas, while the other proposal would see the six committees condensed into three. Both options with see a strategic committee dealing with major planning applications as well as decisions concerning waste and minerals. 

“A great deal of work has gone into making sure that planning decisions are made effectively with the advent of the new council, and I have chaired a group of members who have been looking at the issue. I would like to put on record that I am extremely grateful for all the work that has been undertaken by both members and officers.”

The county council’s executive will consider the options and make a decision when members meet on Tuesday next week (December 13). 

That decision will then go to a full council meeting in February when it will be discussed and ratified ahead of the launch of the new council.