Police have issued an urgent appeal to track down a wanted Harrogate man.

Darren Atkinson, aged 37, is believed to be evading arrest in connection with a serious assault on a woman.

Atkinson has been wanted since January 31 and is thought to still be in the Harrogate area.

However, police said checks are continuing to be made with other police forces including British Transport Police in case he is travelling by train or bus.

A North Yorkshire Police statement added:

“If you know where he is or you have seen a man matching Atkinson’s photograph, please contact North Yorkshire Police without delay.

“Please quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12230017168 when providing information.”

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A campaign to make travel to school safer in Harrogate has been reignited by a collision that left two teenagers in hospital.

The boys, both aged 15 and students at Rossett School, suffered serious injuries requiring multiple operations since the collision last Thursday morning.

A group of parents had already been asking for 20mph zones and safe crossing points around routes to school on Harlow Hill and now say the work is urgently needed before anyone else is hurt.

Dr Jenny Marks has spearheaded the campaign with fellow Harlow Hill resident Ruth Lily. They have spent more than two years putting together evidence and consulting with local people about potential changes to the roads around the area.

Their petition to create a ‘safe streets zone’ has more than 750 signatures.

Dr Marks said:

“We didn’t want to put an application in in isolation and it be unpleasant to the residents.

“So we went to the schools and sports centres and each of them had views on what should be outside their school.

“We created a map and presented that to the local residents’ association and made that the basis for the petition that’s running now. That’s what we have put into the application too.

“We’re doing as much as we can to get everybody’s ideas into one place.”

The pair have also joined forces with Oatlands residents Hazel Peacock and Vicki Evans, who have been working to get measures introduced around schools in their area too.

There are plans to set up schemes to reduce the volume of traffic around the infant and junior schools, including ‘park and stride’ using existing car parks in the area.

Oatlands Infant School. Photograph: Geograph, Derek Harper

All of the parents pointed out that, while primary school pupils often walk a short distance to school, they can be travelling much further when it comes to secondary education.

It is more common for secondary age children to walk to school alone, they said, so it was important for them to have acquired road safety skills from a younger age.

For that reason, they are pushing for a strategic approach across the whole area with coordinated measures in place – which, they also argued, would be more likely to be adhered to by motorists than a short stretch of 20mph zone that was never enforced, such as that on Pannal Ash Road.

Read more:

• Fundraising appeals set up for Rossett students injured in Harrogate crash
• Plan submitted for 20mph zones around five schools in Harrogate

The campaigners said they were frustrated by the lack of action on the issue since they began calling for change more than two years ago.

In November 2021, North Yorkshire County Council project engineer Paul Ryan wrote to Dr Marks to say the highways department was “considering a number of options and designs to implement traffic calming measures”, subject to funding.

However, he added:

New plans for 200 homes at the Harrogate’s former police training centre confirm that four sports pitches will be lost as part of the development.

The plans from Homes England and Countryside Properties include the conversion of several former training centre buildings into 16 homes and building 184 new properties.

Homes England, which is the government’s housing agency, already had permission to build 161 homes on the site but wanted to increase this by 23% to 200 homes by building on three planned football pitches and one cricket field.

To make up for the loss of sports facilities, it offered £595,000 towards Pannal Community Park on Leeds Road through a section 106 agreement that was backed by Sport England.

Harrogate Borough Council granted outline permission for the scheme to go ahead in December 2021.

Homes England appointed Countryside Properties in a £63m contract to build the homes and a reserved matters application has now been submitted for the scheme. This includes details such as landscaping, how the homes will look, and the site layout.

A planning statement says:

“Careful consideration has been given to the detailed design of the proposal to ensure that it creates a high-quality and distinctive development that establishes a strong sense of place and provides an attractive and comfortable place to live.”

Although there will no longer be football or cricket pitches there, the developer has included some open space at the south of the site for the public to use.

Detailed plans have now been submitted for the site

Thirty per cent of the homes will be affordable and they will be spread across the site.

The existing cast iron gates and stone gateposts located off the main driveway will be retained as an entrance feature to a new ‘village green’.

The main access will be created via a new priority junction on Yew Tree Lane. This will also provide the starting point for a new cycle route that will run the development.

The developer delivered leaflets about the application to 363 residents and businesses in the area before submission.

The former police site on Yew Tree Lane was used as a base to train more than 1,200 officers a year before it closed in 2011.

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A Harrogate retiree is appealing for a rapid injection of funds to buy an ambulance that he will drive to earthquake-hit parts of Turkey. 

John Shackleton, 84, has funded, bought and stocked 34 ambulances over the last three decades, and delivered them to 22 countries – as well as three fire engines and two minibuses. 

Now he wants to buy another, but the only obstacle is money. He said:

“I was going to deliver the next ambulance to Moldova, but then the earthquake struck, so Turkey it is. So I’ve already raised £12,000 by chopping down trees and selling the logs, and I already have a garageful of medical supplies.  

“I just need to quickly raise £6,000 to £8,000 more to buy the ambulance and we can go. It’s not complicated – it’s very simple. I could set off tomorrow if I had the cash.” 

The Kahramanmaraş earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria on Monday, razing buildings across a wide area and trapping thousands in the rubble. The latest estimate is that at least 12,000 people have been killed. Teams of rescuers have flown in from many countries, but their efforts are being hampered by cold weather.

Mr Shackleton said:

“You can rest assured that when it all calms down, the ‘big boys’ will pull out, but our ambulance will still be there, doing its work.”

Mr Shackleton is currently waiting to find out from the Turkish Embassy if the Red Crescent charity will accept a right-hand-drive vehicle. If not, he will fly to Amsterdam, buy a left-hand-drive ambulance at auction – which he has done many times before – bring it to Harrogate to stock it, and drive it south. 

Mr Shackleton was first moved to do humanitarian work when he saw news reports revealing the conditions in Romanian orphanages following the opening of its borders in 1990. He and a band of volunteers went there and installed flushing toilets and showers. 

He said:

“There were thousands of youngsters in appalling conditions. It still haunts me.

“That was over 30 years ago, and now in 2023 there’ll be a lot of injured people in the earthquake zone who will need to be transported. 

“I get the same feeling now that I did back then – it’s a compulsion to help. I’m fit and I’ve got the means to do it – so I have to. It’s very basic.” 

Read more:

• Harrogate’s John Shackleton selling firewood to fund 48th ambulance
• Harrogate’s John Shackleton hoping to deliver ambulance to Ukraine
• Harrogate couple’s dramatic escape from earthquake-hit Turkish city

The leadership of North Yorkshire County Council has rejected calls to label fracking as “inappropriate”.

The council’s Conservative-led executive said it would not support Liberal Democrat and Green motions to declare hydraulic fracturing as inappropriate in the county, despite the council having declared a climate emergency and pushing forward plans to reduce carbon.

While the authority’s leaders have pointed towards Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reimposing the government’s ban on fracking which was last year lifted by Liz Truss, opposition councillors have claimed the moratorium could be ended again.

The recommendation to a full meeting of the authority later this month comes three years after Third Energy announced it would not use planning consent for the hydraulic fracturing of rock to extract gas in Ryedale which the council’s planning committee granted it, triggering a huge and sustained outcry.

The planning decision in 2016 lead to hundreds of thousands of pounds of North Yorkshire taxpayers money being spent on policing protests outside the Kirby Misperton site.

A meeting of the executive heard opposition members implore the authority to show leadership over climate change policies and agree that fracking, which was “the most polluting fossil fuel extraction” was incompatible with its ambition to be part of the country’s first carbon negative region.

Green councillor Arnold Warneken, who represents Ouseburn, said the motions simply looked to reinforce the council’s policies over fracking.

He said: 

“In this case we are not discussing the rights and wrongs of what we allow in our county, we are talking about saving our very existence.

“If we are going to ask all those third parties who are the major contributors to carbon emissions in this county to take us seriously, we can send strong messages out to tell them that we believe fracking is inappropriate.”

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However, the authority’s top legal officer, Barry Khan, advised the executive that approving the motion could leave councillors open to accusations of pre-determining potential hydraulic fracturing planning applications, which in turn could undermine the council’s ability to decide on schemes.

He said the Localism Act stated councillors could not be accused of pre-determining a proposal solely on the basis of something they had previously stated and while some other councils may have taken “a more liberal view” of the legislation he believed a cautionary approach was right.

Mr Khan said approving the motion would create “an element of risk” that was unnecessary given that the council had already set out its positions in its Minerals and Waste Plan.

Cllr Simon Myers, whose executive portfolio includes planning, said those pushing the motions risked having decisions taken out of the hands of locally elected councillors and given to government inspectors instead.

The authority’s opposition leader Cllr Bryn Griffiths highlighted how neighbouring East Riding of Yorkshire Council, which also has significant amounts of its jurisdiction under oil and gas exploration licences, had recently passed a similar policy opposing fracking.

The Liberal Democrat said councils had set out their belief that fracking was environmentally-damaging without raising issues over pre-determination.

Green councillor Andy Brown added it was quite reasonable for a councillor to take a political position on fracking as well as sit on a planning committee and consider evidence about whether the proposal would be environmentally damaging.

Thousands of homes and businesses in Harrogate have just been connected to full fibre-enabled broadband services

Fibre optic company CityFibre said yesterday it had made homes in reach of its network in Bilton, Woodlands, Rossett Green, Pannal, Valley Gardens and New Park ‘ready for service’, which means people can choose to connect to full fibre-enabled broadband services.

CityFibre is investing £46 million on upgrading connectivity Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon.

The rollout is due to be completed in Harrogate this year and will mean almost every home and business locally will have access to full fibre services from a range of internet service providers. The rollout is also now progressing into new areas in Ripon.

Kim Johnston, CityFibre area manager said:

“Our rollout to date has helped transform Harrogate and Ripon’s digital capabilities for both residents and businesses, making them some of the best-connected towns in Britain. We have almost finished in Harrogate and just have a small amount left to do along Otley Road.

“Digital infrastructure has become the cornerstone of modern day-life, and the people we have spoken to say they are already reaping the benefits of lightning fast and more reliable broadband.”

Unlike copper-based fibre broadband services, full fibre networks use 100% fibre optic infrastructure to carry data at lightning speed from the home to the point of connection.

This gives users consistently faster speeds for upload and download and near limitless bandwidth.

Construction is being delivered by Makehappen Group on behalf of CityFibre.

Read more:

• Full Fibre broadband is coming to Harrogate, what does this mean?
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The Stray Ferret Business Awards, sponsored by Prosperis, will be held on March 9 at the Pavilions of Harrogate. Early bird tickets are available until February 9. The event will celebrate success and business excellence across the Harrogate district. It’s a night not to be missed! There’ll be a fabulous prize draw for all attending and Richard Flinton, the incoming Chief Executive of North Yorkshire Council, is guest speaker. 

A Harrogate business owner is to donate proceeds from her book to a North Yorkshire charity.

Sarah Jones, founder of Full Circle Funerals on Skipton Road, is set to hand funds raised from her funeral self-help book Funerals Your Way to the Two Ridings Community Foundation.

Two Ridings supports charities and community groups in Harrogate and throughout North and East Yorkshire.

Ms Jones, a long-time supporter of the charity, said:

“Our funeral services have a natural role within the communities where they are based and I have always been extremely proud of the way the whole team embraces this, whether through fundraising, volunteering, partnerships or supporting events.

“By donating our 2023 book proceeds to Two Ridings Community Foundation we can help them to support lots of different hard working organisations that are meeting a need in their own communities.”

Two Ridings Community Foundation CEO Jan Garrill said: 

“We are honoured to be chosen as the recipient of this year’s book sale proceeds and incredibly grateful for the ongoing support we receive from Sarah and her team.

“The money will mean we can help even more grassroots charities and community groups to continue their vital work.”

Knaresborough marketing agency expands international clients

A Knaresborough public relations and marketing firm has secured a new international client.

Allott and Associates, specialises in industry sectors including manufacturing, packaging, technology and logistics, announced the account amid an expansion of its team in 2022.

The company has secured Maltese firm Jekson Vision as a new client and has been tasked with expanding its reach into the UK market.

The agency also won its first accounts in Canada and Japan last year, along with further expansion into the US, Europe, Asia and Australia from its Yorkshire-based head office.

Philip Allott, director of Allott and Associates, said:

“The covid lockdowns caused us to take a more creative approach to pitching and tendering processes.

“Like many businesses we made the best use of Microsoft Teams and, as this has now very much become the norm around the globe, making international connections has become easier than ever for us – and it’s easier than ever for prospective clients to connect with us too.”

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Graveleys fish and chip shop in Harrogate served its first customers in more than 1,000 days today.

Owner Simon Pilkington was in town to oversee the reopening of the Harrogate institution, which appeared to have gone for good when it was sold in November 2019.

The takeaway is currently open five days a week and Mr Pilkington said he hoped the restaurant would return in about three weeks, but certainly by Easter, which he said was the trade’s busiest time of year. He said:

“It’s great to be back. My dad would have been elated today to see this if he was still alive.

“Being here has reminded me of all the good times, such as the Great Yorkshire Show week, when we were always absolutely rammed.”

Mr Pilkington said his family had no intention of selling Graveleys until Catch Seafood made an offer.

When Catch went into liquidation last year, the opportunity to return to the same site on Cheltenham Parade proved too tempting for him and his brother Andrew, who own other restaurants elsewhere.

Manager Sarah Knox holds a portion of chips.

Mr Pilkington reiterated the pledge made by manager Sarah Knox yesterday to go “back to basics”, adding:

“We will focus on providing quality fish and chips and then add some seafood delights depending on the feedback.

“Every day is a learning day. We will listen to what customers tell us and go with what they want.”

The takeaway menu includes fish and chips — either cod or haddock — for £9. The takeaway also sells a range of other fish and seafood, including squid, plus other chip shop basics, such as battered sausages and chicken nuggets.

One of today’s first customers

Read more:

• Graveley’s fish and chip shop to reopen in Harrogate tomorrow
• Harrogate’s former Graveley’s fish and chip restaurant closes

Destination Harrogate could face financial cuts or be swallowed up by a county-wide body, councillors have been told.

The Harrogate district’s destination management organisation was launched by Harrogate Borough Council last year.

It has four streams aimed at promoting tourism, hosting events, bringing in investment and supporting culture and was launched amid concerns the authority had a fragmented approach to tourism and marketing.

Its campaigns have focused on promoting the district as a health and wellbeing destination to capitalise on Harrogate’s spa town heritage.

But with the council ceasing to exist from April 1, to be replaced by the new unitary authority North Yorkshire Council, Liberal Democrat councillor for Hookstone, Pat Marsh, asked senior figures at the authority what will happen to the organisation.

At a meeting this week, Cllr Marsh said:

“I’m looking at other authorities that are joining together and I can’t see a destination management organisation other than our own.”

Paula Lorimer, Harrogate Convention Centre’s director, said that following an independent review commissioned by the government into destination management organisations, it would likely mean that only destination management organisations from cities or large regions will be able to receive funding from central government, which would exclude Destination Harrogate.

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Ms Lorimer suggested Harrogate would have to amalgamate into a wider, yet-to-be created North Yorkshire destination management organisation to qualify for the funding.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed last month that Harrogate Borough Council spent £2,224,000 on Destination Harrogate in its first year operating — almost a million pounds more than budgeted.

Borough council chief executive Wallace Sampson told councillors that the new authority could look to “identify savings” with Destination Harrogate after it is handed control of the organisation.

He added:

“[Destination Harrogate] is a discretionary service and against the background of a challenging financial environment for the new council, every discretionary service will be subject to financial scrutiny.”

Mr Sampson warned of the possible pitfalls of Destination Harrogate being merged into a county-wide tourism body, which he suggested could dilute the focus on individual places.

He said:

“From a Harrogate point of view we have Destination Harrogate that has a really strong focus on place branding and marketing and that helps to attract visitors. 

“The key question will be — can you retain the focus on individual places in North Yorkshire?  It’s something the new council will have to grapple with.”

An online fundraising appeal set up in aid of two teenagers injured in a crash in Harrogate has passed its £5,000 target.

The 15-year-old boys, Reuben and Fraser, were taken to hospital when a van collided with a wall on Yew Tree Lane last Thursday (February 2).

Lorraine Mitchell, a friend of both teenagers’ parents, set up a GoFundMe page following the crash in an effort to raise money for the families “to be with their son to support the rehabilitation process”.

Since then, the fundraiser has reached £5,325 and is continuing to attract pledges.

Ms Mitchell said:

“We were all shocked and incredibly saddened by the crash and know this support will be gratefully received by both families.”

The boys, both pupils at Rossett School, were walking along Yew Tree Lane at the time of the incident and were left with serious injuries.

Another fundraising appeal for the boys, set up by Julie Mills, has so far generated £1,654 — close to its £2,000 target.

It means almost £7,000 has now been pledged in total.

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• Two drivers interviewed over collision with teens on Yew Tree Lane
• Man taken to hospital after empty overturned car discovered in Harrogate