A world where everyone’s life must end at the age of 90 is the setting for a Harrogate author’s first novel, due to be published next month. 

The action in Deathday, by Colin Philpott, takes place in England in 2045, where euthanasia is not just legal but compulsory, and where severe economic depression in the wake of “the Great Pandemic” and Brexit, a collapse in the care system and inter-generational conflict have changed attitudes to death and old age.  

Those people who still accept the law, plan for “Deathday parties”, while “evaders” try to escape abroad and “remainders” – people already over 90 who were spared at the time the law came in – live in colonies in rundown seaside resorts.

Meanwhile, the young King plots with politicians opposed to the laws which are enforced by the sinister National Age Regulation Authority. 

The novel, which is published by Fisher King Publishing, is set in several different parts of England, including Yorkshire, Northumberland, Greater Manchester, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and London, and includes scenes in Harrogate locations such as Brimham Rocks, the Royal Hall, and the Army Foundation College. 

Colin Philpott, who lives in Bishop Monkton, said:

“I was inspired to write this novel after witnessing the differing end-of-life experiences of members of my own family, and also my experience as a volunteer with a food delivery and befriending charity.

“I am not advocating compulsory euthanasia, but I do believe society needs to create a higher quality of life in old age and radically rethink our approach to end-of-life care.”  

Deathday is Colin Philpott’s first work of fiction. He has previously written three books about 20th-century history: A Place in History, which includes the stories of places in Britain touched by news events; Relics of the Reich, which examines how Germany has dealt with the buildings left by the Nazis; and Secret Wartime Britain, about hidden places in Britain that helped the war effort in the Second World War.  

Colin worked for the BBC for 25 years as a journalist and senior executive. Later he was director of the National Media Museum in Bradford. 

Rick Armstrong, managing director of Fisher King Publishing, said:

“We’re delighted to be publishing Colin Philpott’s debut novel. When I first read the manuscript, it was clear that the basis of the narrative is highly thought-provoking, tackling very pressing contemporary issues in an interesting and clever way.” 

Deathday will be published on April 24 and will be available in print and digital versions worldwide.

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Harrogate Grammar School has appointed a new student leadership team.

Tess Eastaugh and Zach Southworth have been appointed head students of the Student Leadership Team, while Hannah Barclay, Sam Featherstone, Alice Lashua, Theo Levine, Adam Mir and Amy Robson have all been appointed as deputies.

The head students have a wide remit to represent over 2000 students, to chair the senate and report back to the senior leaders in the school. 

Meanwhile, the deputies run the school council across the year groups.

The whole team will support school events, whilst also promoting the recruitment of new students and meeting with other Head Students from across the Red Kite Learning Trust. 

Ben Twitchin, director of the school’s sixth form, said:

“Candidates wrote a letter of application and then recorded a short piece to camera, which was played to whole school for all students to cast their vote. 

“Successful students then presented to the school’s Senate, and from the final eight students were interviewed to become part of our Student Leadership Team, with Tess and Zach as our Head Students and the other six as a key team of Deputies.”

Zach Southworth, head student, said:

“Being appointed Head Student is the culmination of a dream for me as I was inspired by a previous Head Student when I joined year 7 in 2017. I now have the responsibility, with the rest of the team, to work with all the staff, and students to continue to enhance the experience of students at our school.”

Neil Renton, headteacher at the grammar school, added:

“We are fortunate to have such a strong group of student leaders at our school”

“This team will build on the fantastic work of our previous student leaders who have made such a positive contribution to school life.

“We know that they will be positive role models and fine ambassadors for our school within the wider community.”

Pictured above: Front left to right: Zach Southworth and Tess Eastaugh Middle left to right: Adam Mir, Amy Robson, Alice Lashua and Hannah Barclay Back left to right: Theo Levine and Sam Featherstone.

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There is no shortage of concern about the state of the River Nidd, as a busy public meeting in Knaresborough demonstrated this week.

About 70 people turned up at Gracious Street Methodist Church on Tuesday to listen to academics, anglers, environmentalists and politicians and to find out how they could get involved in the attempt to achieve bathing water status.

Just two rivers in England — the Wharfe in Ilkley and Wolvercote Mill Stream in Oxfordshire — currently have bathing water status, which obliges the Environment Agency to put plans in place to monitor and protect the water.

Nidd Action Group has been set up to coordinate the initiative.

James McKay, a Knaresborough resident and manager of the Water-Wiser centre at the University of Leeds, told the Stray Ferret at last week’s meeting Nidd sampling had begun and the campaign had the funds and expertise to achieve its goal.

Mr McKay said the group needed to demonstrate enough people used the river recreationally for the campaign to be successful.

James McKay speaking at the meeting

He said the process of achieving bathing water status wasn’t easy but “it’s the only thing we can do to make a real difference to water companies”.

Mr McKay said water companies were obliged in 2023 to update their water resource management plans for the next five years and the goal was to achieve bathing water status by then. He added:

“If we succeed it won’t have an immediate effect. The first thing that would happen is Yorkshire Water would have to do its own sampling. But over the next couple of years it could start to make a big difference.”

Untreated sewage

Although Knaresborough Lido is the focus of the campaign, if bathing water status is achieved it would bring improvements to the upper reaches of the 56-mile Nidd, including around Pateley Bridge, which flow into the Lido.

Alan Paterson addressing the meeting 

Alan Paterson, of Nidd Action Group, told the meeting the three main causes of river pollution were sewage, agricultural contaminants and urban run-off. He said the first two were the main issues affecting the Nidd.

In 2021, Yorkshire Water pumped untreated sewage from 81 locations into the River Nidd 2,552 times – for 18,346 hours, or 764 days.

Mr Paterson said Yorkshire Water’s plans to clean-up the Nidd were “good but would take far too long” and bathing water status would oblige it to act sooner.

Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has led on the campaign to achieve bathing water status and has been looking for volunteers to undertake surveys before he can submit an application. He has also raised the matter in Parliament.

Mr Jones wasn’t at the meeting but Stephen Culpin, a member of his office, was. Mr Culpin said afterwards the intention was to finalise and submit the application by the end of October.

Mr Jones (left) with Frank Maguire, the owner of Knareborough Lido.

The government’s record on sewage discharge has been fiercely debated. Mr Paterson said declining funding to key regulators such as the Environment Agency suggested ministers did not take the issue that seriously but he added that although the action group was “entirely apolitical”, Mr Jones deserved praise for his efforts.

“If he gets some brownie points then fair play to him because we need that bathing water status to improve the quality of water Yorkshire Water is discharging. I’d be deliriously happy if my MP, Julian Smith (the Conservative for Skipton and Ripon) got involved but he hasn’t.”

Mr Paterson added “rivers should be safe and clean to play and bathe in — it’s a right, not a privilege” and people attending the meeting were encouraged to volunteer by undertaking roles such as counting river users.

Wild swimming

Numerous groups attended the meeting but some river users, such as wild swimmers and kayakers, weren’t and some felt the campaign still needed joining-up more.

But the turnout and enthusiasm generated widespread optimism that people might soon be able to swim in the Nidd without a high risk of falling ill, as happened last summer.

Tuesday’s meeting at Gracious Street Methodist Church

Shan Oakes, a Knaresborough town councillor and member of Harrogate and District Green Party said:

“It was a hugely successful event and I feel confident that more like it will follow, bringing the community together to try to stop the pollution and bring back life to our lovely river.”

Yorkshire Water ‘keen to work in partnership’

Two days after the meeting, councillors on North Yorkshire County Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee questioned a representative of Yorkshire Water as the issue of bathing water status was aired again.

Monika Slater, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Bilton Grange and New Park, told the meeting Leeds University researchers were now taking Nidd samples monthly and this would increase to fortnightly in May.

But she added the samples had so far discovered the harmful bacteria E. coli was at “concerningly high” levels.

Bilton Conservation Society is also sampling at Oak Beck, which empties in the Nidd at Bilton.

Sarah Robinson, from the corporate affairs team at Yorkshire Water, told the meeting:

“There are lots of influences on bathing water quality. It isn’t just about our assets — in some ways that would be easier because we could control that. “

The big issue for the Nidd, Ms Robinson added, was going to be agriculture, such as chemical run-off caused by farmers’ sprays. Dogs running in water also had “a massive impact”, she added. But she said the company was “very keen to work in partnership” to address problems.

The next six months will determine whether the good intentions, and the disparate interests, can be harnessed to achieve real change for the Nidd.

A new council is set to take over in the Harrogate district in three weeks’ time.

Both Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council will make way for North Yorkshire Council on April 1.

Under the new council, how taxi drivers operate and how they are licensed will change.

In this article, we will explain how taxis are currently licensed and what will change from April this year.

Who currently licences taxis?

Currently, Harrogate Borough Council licences taxi drivers within the district.

Those drivers who wish to operate a taxi in the borough must be licensed by the council.

Once they have a licence, they can drive their vehicle and operate anywhere in the district.

Similarly, the borough council is responsible for licensing wheelchair accessible cabs.

Who sets the fares?

As well as issuing licences, the borough council also sets the fares and fees for drivers.

The council reviews fares for taxis annually.

What will happen from April?

From April, the new North Yorkshire Council will implement a single taxi zone across the county.

The existing seven district councils, including Harrogate, currently have their own hackney carriage and private hire licensing policies. 

However, under the new policy, drivers will be able to operate in any area of North Yorkshire.

The plan has proved controversial with local cabbies, who described it as a “disaster”.

They argue that the move would lead to taxis crowding out busier areas and leave rural communities without a service.

What about fares?

The council is currently considering how to set fares for taxis under its single zone policy.

A proposal over fares for North Yorkshire cabs is expected to go before councillors on Tuesday (March 21).

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A Knaresborough man has been jailed for 12 weeks after admitting theft.

Frankie Gilmour, 33, of Nora Avenue, pleaded guilty to stealing a bag worth £99.99 from TK Maxx in Harrogate when he appeared at Harrogate Magistrates Court on Thursday.

The offence, on February 20, came while Gilmour was serving a suspended eight-week jail sentence issued two weeks earlier.

Magistrates imposed a four-week jail sentence as well as the eight weeks he was sentenced to previously.

Court documents said he was jailed because of his “flagrant disregard for court orders” and “because the offence was aggravated by the defendant’s record of previous offending”.

He was also fined £154.

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A young Harrogate man who made international news when he turned 21 has written an autobiography to mark his 30th birthday.

Cory McLeod has led an extraordinary life since he was born, from trekking through South America as an infant with his parents to partying with boxer David Haye in his 20s.

It was a project begun by his dad on the day of his birth that first brought Cory to international attention.

Ian McLeod decided to take a photograph of his son’s face every day for the first year, or perhaps up to the age of two or three. At the time in 1991, he planned to turn into a flick-book – but the project soon grew.

Mr McLeod would send the camera with Cory’s teachers on school trips to ensure he didn’t miss a day, and even travelled for an hour late at night to take a shot when Cory was staying at a friend’s house, before driving home again.

Former Oatlands and St Aidan’s student Cory said:

“It was a family art project for a couple of years, but it became his passion or addiction and he just kept going.

“In his mind, 18 or 21 seemed a good time to stop, but when we got that far, we thought, ‘let’s keep going’.”

In 2012, Cory turned the photos into a video which he uploaded to YouTube, showing his development each day for more than two decades.

It proved a hit: it has since been viewed more than six million times. As a result, Cory and Ian hit the headlines and appeared on TV and radio shows around the world.

In the decade since, his life has been even more eventful.

Moving to Dubai to work in events has brought him into contact with numerous celebrities, from Rihanna to Prince Harry – who, on one memorable night, asked Cory to stop offering him drinks and leave him alone.

A keen traveller, Cory has had many adventures, not all of them trouble-free. He has been held at gunpoint and met bandits during his travels, but always managed to take his daily photograph to keep the project going.

Last month, he published a new video, including images up to his 30th birthday.

His new autobiography, which he began writing during the covid lockdown when he was stuck in his apartment in Dubai, is called 30 Years: A Life Lived Every Day. It covers all his experiences up to the age of 30, in late 2021.

It took him more than two years to complete it, often writing for six or seven hours after work.

The daily photographs, documenting wherever he was in the world, proved a useful prompt in his writing.

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The photos are a kind of social history, from masked selfies during the covid pandemic to the shot of him holding a Blockbuster video from the late 1990s. His favourites are those that show his travels around the world, and special moments in his family life.

Yet taking them has not always been easy, he said.

“I went through a phase where I was constantly remembering at 10 or 11 at night. I’m trying to get out of the habit of doing that.

“Over the course of the whole thing, we’ve only forgotten a handful of times.”

Cory’s autobiography will be published in August and is available to pre-order now.

It is his second book, after he turned his blog about his journey to Everest base camp into a book. He said he now has the writing bug and hopes to use his degree in TV and film production to turn to script writing next.

That drive to create comes from his parents, who were also adventurous: they took him backpacking in South America when he was just one. Dad Ian has since begun a new photo-a-day project, taking him from 60 to the end of his life.

As for the photographs – now selfies taken by Cory wherever he is in the world – he has no intention of stopping. He has his sights set on a lifetime of daily photos.

“I think it would be amazing – the first time you could see a full life, from birth to death.”

It started with a few mates from Knaresborough riding a dozen tractors around Tan Hill in 2012.

It is now one of the biggest annual events in the Harrogate district, involving almost 400 vehicles and thousands of well wishers along a 25-mile route.

How did the Knaresborough tractor run become such a beast?

Ramsgill sheep farmer Steve Brown, chairman of the tractor run committee, ponders the question a week after the event’s latest success, which saw 374 vehicles convoy around Harrogate, Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge last Sunday to raise more than £23,000 for Yorkshire Air Ambulance. He says:

“I think it’s a lot to do with the cause. If you work in a rural setting you don’t know when you might need an air ambulance. It’s a cause close to the heart.”

Advertising the cause. Pic: Rachael Fawcett Photography

That might explain why farmers and other rural workers get involved, but why do so many people line the route all around Nidderdale? Steven says:

“Where else can you see 400 tractors in a line? I think it’s that simplicity. Plus it keeps the kids occupied for a couple of hours and it doesn’t cost anything.”

Whatever the reasons, the tractor run has become as much a part of local life as the Great Yorkshire Show, the Knaresborough Bed Race and Harrogate pantomime.

How it started

A family photo of Mike Spink

The fun nature of the event belies its sad foundations.

Mike Spink, a member of Knaresborough Young Famers who took part in the early tractor runs, died in a road accident in 2017 after moving to New Zealand six months earlier. Steven recalls:

“Mike was a dairy farmer and a very big believer in the air ambulance. When he died we got together and thought ‘why don’t we make it a bigger event and raise money in his memory?'”.

So what until then had been a bit of fun on tractors around Tan Hill and Whitby each year suddenly became a more serious affair.

Credit: Rachael Fawcett Photography

Eighty tractors took part in the first event in memory of Mike and next year 134 lined-up. Soon the tractor run had outgrown Knaresborough and the start had to be moved to the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate to accommodate all the vehicles.

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This year’s total was 10 fewer than last year’s record 384 and Steven thinks the total has plateaued between 350 to 400. But the tractor run never fails to surprise.

Passing Knaresborough House. Credit: Rachael Fawcett Photography

Not all the surprises are pleasant. This year’s decision to introduce a free livestream, which enabled people to see where the first and last tractors were so they knew when the convoy would be passing, attracted scammers who cloned the tractor run website and urged people to give their bank details. One person lost £1,500 before the ruse was spotted.

There’s also the constant issue of safety, which has put such a big insurance risk on Knaresborough Young Farmers that the committee is increasingly running it as a standalone event. Steven says:

“I always think of the most idiotic thing that can happen and work back from that. We do the best we can —that’s all we can do. Fortunately we’ve never had a major incident but you can never be lackadaisical. Safety is paramount.”

The committee meets about 10 times a year to plan for the event, and its first get-together to discuss the 2024 gathering was due to take place yesterday.

Steven says a “colossal amount” of work goes into planning and trying to work out the best route. The template doesn’t change much but there are always minor improvements and things to consider. Last year the food ran out at lunchtime in Pateley Bridge.

These children brought their own tractor to watch the start at the showground.

But it all comes together gloriously each spring: excited children jump up and down and cheer and even gnarly old farmers get a tingle as they parade like rock stars down Pateley Bridge High Street or through Markington, tooting their horns to large crowds.

It’s seven hours of pure tractor power with a touch of theatre set against the glorious Nidderdale backdrop and there is nothing like it. Whether it’s the biggest tractor run is debatable but few would dispute it’s the best. Steven says:

“We are led to believe it’s the biggest tractor run in the country. Some have more tractors but they don’t do a run like ours, they just go a few miles down the road.”

You can still donate to the air ambulance on behalf of the tractor run here.

Passing through Hampsthwaite. Credit: Rachael Fawcett Photography

A senior highways officer at North Yorkshire County Council has been told to focus on delivering walking and cycling schemes in Harrogate following the scrapping of two high-profile projects in six months.

At a meeting of the Harrogate & Knaresborough area constituency committee in Harrogate today, North Yorkshire County Council highways officer Melisa Burnham gave a presentation to councillors that updated them on the current direction of active travel in the town.

Ms Burnham reaffirmed the reasons for scrapping the second phase of the Otley Road cycle path and said why it decided to not continue with the Beech Grove Low Traffic Neighbourhood after an 18-month pilot. She said both schemes had faced public opposition.

She said the council is expecting an answer from the government tomorrow on whether they have been successful in funding bids for segregated cycle routes on Victoria Avenue in Harrogate and the section of Knaresborough Road between Mother Shipton’s Cave and Harrogate Golf Club.

She also said the results of a long-awaited study into improvements in the Oatlands Drive area will be published next month. In 2021, the council scrapped plans to make the road one-way following fierce opposition from local residents.

In 2019, the council undertook a major public consultation regarding congestion in Harrogate where over 15,000 people responded.

It showed there was an appetite for active travel as 77% of respondents said they would like better walking and cycling routes.

But since the survey, only the much-criticised first phase of the Otley Road cycle path has been delivered and still remains.

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This promoted Chris Aldred, Liberal Democrat councillor for High Harrogate & Kingsley, to suggest the people who said they wanted more active travel are being let down by the county council.

He said:

“We need to get our act together and to be faithful to the 15,000 respondents of that survey. It’s even more congested than in 2019 and we need to start doing things.

“Hopefully we’ll have some more money tomorrow. I’d like to see that Victoria Avenue scheme happen in the next 12 months as it sends out a message we’re actually serious about active travel.”

‘Thank you for seeing sense’

Sam Gibbs, Conserative councillor for Valley Gardens and Central Harrogate, thanked the county council for “seeing sense” on phase 2 of the Otley Road cycle path.

The unspent money that was earmarked for the cycle path will now be spent on an as-yet-unannounced scheme in the Otley Road area.

Cllr Gibbs said:

“Thank you for listening. It’s long been a criticism of the county council, perhaps unfairly, that they haven’t always listened. 

“Thank you for seeing sense on the Otley Road cycle way. I’m not against the idea of cycle ways but Otley Road just wasn’t working. I’m sure we can spend that money on something far better.”

He added:

“I hope we’ve learned the lessons from Otley Road and other things and going forward we can get an active travel scheme that does what it says on the tin and does not hinder those that are using it.”

Ms Burnham also revealed the county council has undertaken feasibility studies into reducing traffic on Leeds Road. She said design options are being developed and will be issued in the coming weeks.

This was welcomed by John Mann, councillor for Oatlands & Pannal.

 He said:

“Leeds Road is an exceedingly busy road with 27,000 vehicles a day. We get long queues at the Pannal and Marks and Spencer traffic lights and we get queues all the way back to Butterside Bar roundabout. Congestion is very severe along that road so any proposals to alleviate that would be much appreciated.”

Archie Gray has signed his first professional deal with Leeds United.

Gray, who turned 17 last Sunday, agreed the two-and-a-half year deal with the club until the summer of 2025.

The midfielder is yet to make his debut for the club, but was named as an unused substitute for the Whites five times in the Premier League last season.

Gray completed his GCSEs at St John Fisher Catholic High School in Harrogate last year.

He is also great-nephew of Leeds legend, and Kirkby Overblow resident, Eddie Gray.

In a statement following Gray’s signing, Leeds United said:

“Everyone at Leeds United would like to congratulate Archie on signing his first professional deal and we look forward to his future progress.”

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Two North Yorkshire Police officers have been dismissed after sending racist text messages between each other.

Detective constable Danielle Kirby and police constable James Mills were alleged to have breached the force’s standards of professional behaviour.

Both were dismissed following a gross misconduct hearing at the force’s headquarters in Northallerton.

The pair exchanged WhatsApp messages which were found to be racist between December 2018 and March 2019.

Mabs Hussain, deputy chief constable of North Yorkshire Police, said:

“The racist language and sentiments contained in the series of WhatsApp messages are repulsive.

“It has no place in society, let alone from people who have sworn an oath to uphold the highest standards of fairness, integrity and respect to all people.

“The evidence in this case was damning, and it is only right that the panel upheld the gross misconduct and the officers have been dismissed from North Yorkshire Police.”

Gerry Sydenham, who chaired the panel, said:

“The messages exchanged by former PC Mills and former DC Kirby contained appalling racist comments which were egregious in nature and content.

“The corrosive effect of such racist gross misconduct upon public confidence in policing cannot be understated.

“It is intolerable and devastating to the good work of other police officers who try daily to build the public’s trust and confidence in policing.

“Both officers undermined the public’s trust and the trust of their police force in themselves in a grave and shocking manner, causing very significant and potentially lasting damage to public confidence in policing.”

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