‘I hope we’ve made a difference’ says Harrogate charity founder awarded MBE

Founding and leading a specialist dementia charity has led a Harrogate woman to be made an MBE in the King’s New Year Honours.

Jill Quinn set up Burton Leonard-based Dementia Forward in spring 2012 and it has expanded rapidly in the intervening years.

She was notified of her award, made in recognition of services to people with dementia, three weeks ago. She said:

“I only told my children and my husband. It was tricky to keep it a secret at work.

“To be really honest, I thought it was a hoax. It came by email and there was a spelling mistake in it. My husband didn’t want me to get too excited.”

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Ms Quinn said the last year has brought some significant achievements for Dementia Forward, which was given the Queen’s Award for Volunteering as well as The King’s Fund Impact Award.

She and the rest of the team have more plans for the coming year, too. She said:

“I’m trying to be a local charity but we’re punching above our weight. we want to share our success wider than where we deliver our services.

“I think we are on to something. We’re managing to make a difference.

“Dementia is complicated and far-reaching for families. We’ve got a lot to do still, but I hope we’ve made a difference in North Yorkshire.

“Our biggest push now is for young onset dementia – that’s people diagnosed under the age of 65. People are treated the same whether they are 40 or 90 and that isn’t right.

“For the first time, we’re sticking our heads outside North Yorkshire. We’re saying we think our model is working really well and joining up with other people to try and get these things noticed.”

While there are plans in place for the charity from the new year, the next few days will be for family celebrations.

Ms Quinn only told her father about her award two days ago, knowing how pleased and proud he would be. She added:

“It’s hard to explain how it feels. It’s lovely.”

Leading education pair in Harrogate now have matching royal honours

There cannot be many families in the UK with two members whose work has been recognised by the monarch.

There may be none, so far, with two certificates signed by two different monarchs.

That rare privilege will belong to Richard Sheriff and his wife Janet, who have both now been made OBEs in recognition of their services to education.

Mr Sheriff, CEO of the Red Kite Learning Trust (RKLT) – a family of 13 schools including Harrogate Grammar School, where he was formerly head – has been included in the King’s first New Year Honours list.

He said:

“I was surprised and really delighted. I’m not one of those people that’s cynical about these things – it’s an absolute privilege.”

Though Mr Sheriff shared the news with his wife, he had not told their two sons until last night, as the list was about to be published.

A quiet toast at home with family was the planned celebration, before his schools reopen on Tuesday and normal work resumes.

However, he said, his new status has given him a change in attitude:

“You feel even more so you need to do something for it, make it look like you’re worth it. There’s a moral pressure there.

“There’s an element of embarrassment. I know so many people who are deserving of awards.

“Our chair of trustees Chris Tulley and all the trustees – they give up their time for nothing to help young people in our schools. The classroom teachers and teaching assistants, and the young people.

“The greatest thing in my job is bumping into kids I’ve taught and they tell you what they’ve been doing – and they’ve really done well. It’s just fantastic.”

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Mr Sheriff, who is the first person to have been president of the Association of School and College Leaders twice, said being able to give his time to the organisation and to other groups he has been a part of was a reflection of the support of the team around him throughout his career.

He described leading the RKLT as a privilege, bringing together people with “the same ethics and professional generosity” to ensure they delivered the best possible education.

He said:

“I’m an advocate for teaching and our profession. Anything that can put a positive light on a service that’s often seen in a dim light – a positive story about education.

“Working with young people is just brilliant and I don’t regret for a second 30-odd years of service to education.”

Awaiting a date for his investiture, Mr Sheriff reflected on attending Windsor Castle with his wife as she was awarded her honour by Princess Anne.

Mrs Sheriff – a headteacher at Prince Henry’s Grammar School in Otley who was made an OBE two years ago – now has her certificate on display at home.

Mr Sheriff  said:

“I took in my wife’s certificate and at the top of it, it’s signed in her own hand, ‘Elizabeth’. I looked and thought, ‘that’s a piece of history’.

“It’s absolutely wonderful. I was a huge admirer of the public service of the Queen. To have that in her own hand is very special.

“Now, alongside it, might be one signed ‘Charles’.  That’s something to pass down to our sons and then perhaps to our grandchildren. It’s quite special.

“I do appreciate it, I do feel very humbled by it, and I want to honour the honour by doing good with the time I’ve got to do it.”

Five Harrogate district recipients on King’s first honours list

Years of dedication in their fields have brought recognition for people from the Harrogate district.

The first New Year Honours List published in the reign of King Charles III features five residents from the area, each for different reasons.

Richard Sheriff, CEO of the Red Kite Learning Trust (RKLT), has been made an OBE for services to education.

The former headteacher was made head of the trust in 2018 after 11 years at Harrogate Grammar School.

RKLT now comprises 13 primary and secondary schools, including the grammar school. It became one of the first teaching school hubs in the country, while Mr Sheriff was the first person to serve two terms as president of the Association of School and College Leaders.

He remains chairman of the ASCL’s trust leaders advisory board as well as a member of the national STEM advisory board and a trustee of the professional teaching institute.

There are three recipients of MBEs in the Harrogate district.

Cyclist Lizzie Deignan, who grew up in Otley and now calls Harrogate home, appears on the list after many years of achievements.

Lizzie Deignan

Photograph: Trek Segafredo

She represented Team GB at two Olympic Games, winning silver in the women’s road race in London in 2012. She has triumphed in the women’s Tour de France and the UCI Women’s Road World Cup on two occasions each, and in other races including Paris-Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders and the Tour de Yorkshire.

The 34-year-old is now back in training after having her second child in September, and is expected to be racing for Trek-Segafredo again in 2023.

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Knaresborough resident Julia Skelton has been recognised for her services to charity and to the community in Bradford, through her role as executive director of Mind the Gap.

The theatre company offers training courses and live performance for people with learning disabilities and autism.

Dementia Forward CEO Jill Quinn has also been made an MBE, in recognition of her services to people with dementia across the Harrogate district.

She founded the charity in April 2012, supporting people with dementia and those caring for them. It has gone on to expand across North Yorkshire, offering an advice line, specialist dementia nursing services, and community events and groups for people with dementia and their families and carers.

The BEM has been awarded to Killinghall resident Anne Holdsworth, chair of the parish council and long-standing active volunteer in the community.

As well as almost 50 years on Killinghall Parish Council, Mrs Holdsworth has served on the village hall committee, as a governor at Killinghall Primary School, and as a member of the health authority. She has also represented the parish council at borough and county councils.

 

Want to know more about our local recipients of the King’s New Year Honours? Keep an eye on the Stray Ferret’s website and social media for in-depth stories and interviews tomorrow.

MPs Watch: River Nidd water quality and Northern Ireland

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

In December, Harrogate’s MP met with ministers over the future of River Nidd’s water quality. Meanwhile, Ripon MP Julian Smith focused much of his tweets this month on matters in Northern Ireland.

We asked Harrogate & Knaresborough MP, Andrew Jones, Ripon MP Julian Smith, and Selby and Ainsty MP Nigel Adams if they would like to highlight anything in particular, but we did not receive a response from any of them.

Here is what we know after analysing their online presence.

Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough.

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

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Julian Smith, MP for Ripon and Skipton.

Julian Smith, MP for Ripon and Skipton.

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

Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty which includes rural Harrogate.

Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty which includes rural Harrogate.

In rural south Harrogate, he is what we found on Mr Adams:

Man in custody after assault reported in Harrogate

A man has been arrested on suspicion of assault after an incident in Harrogate last night.

Officers were called to a property in Devonshire Place where they arrested the man, who remains in custody today, according to North Yorkshire Police.

An ambulance was also called and a witness reported seeing a man in handcuffs being led away from the scene around 9pm.

The Stray Ferret understands officers have today been back in the area speaking to residents about the incident.

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No.12: End of an era as Harrogate’s last nightclub closes

In the last article of our series on the 12 stories in the Harrogate district that shaped 2022, we look back at the story of the closure of Harrogate’s last night club – the Viper Rooms.

For generations of young people growing up in Harrogate, nightclubs have been an essential part of weekend life.

The likes of Carringtons, Jimmy’s and Josephines are still talked about fondly by people of a certain age. So it’s hard to believe not a single nightclub remains.

The last one, Viper Rooms, closed on December 9 — and the end was swift and brutal.

North Yorkshire County Council, which owns the site on Parliament Street, sent in bailiffs to repossess the building and change the locks just hours before the club was due to welcome Friday night revellers.

Viper Rooms

Repossession notices on door.

Viper Rooms, owned by Paul Kinsey, did not hold back in a social media post announcing the club’s demise after 15 years. It said:

“Having tried for nearly three years to negotiate a new lease with our landlord in good faith and after spending £350,000 refurbishing the club in 2019 they have taken possession of the site, hijacking the process and causing 30 team members to be laid off and causing the cancellation of all the pre-booked Christmas parties.”

Paul Kinsey

Gary Fielding, corporate director for strategic resources at the council, responded by saying it was “protecting the best interests of North Yorkshire’s taxpayers”.

Mr Fielding added:

“We have tried hard to understand the difficulties all our tenants have experienced as a result of the covid pandemic and to offer them our support. This has, in turn, had an impact on our own finances.

“Residents and businesses here rightly expect us to ensure that every effort is made to protect public money and we have a duty to do just that.

“While we do not want to comment on individual cases, we must be fair and consistent and act in the best interests of the public who we serve.”

Viper Rooms is no more.

The closure of the Viper Rooms means two of the four commercial units in the Royal Baths, which North Yorkshire County Council bought off Harrogate Borough Council for £9 million in 2018, are now empty.

The  JD Wetherspoon pub and the Royal Baths Chinese Restaurant continue to trade. Mr Fielding said the Viper Rooms site had already generated “significant interest from potential tenants” and a “new agreement for the final one is in the final stages of negotiations”.

So what about Harrogate’s nightclub scene? In its social media post announcing Viper Rooms’ closure, the owners said they would release a “new venue announcement soon”.

But with so many pubs and bars staying open late these says, nightclubs no longer mean as much to many young people.

Have they become an inevitable victim of social trends, or is Harrogate’s nightclub scene set for a revival? The next year should provide some answers.

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Knaresborough Christmas tree fundraiser expands after huge demand

A charity project organised by young farmers in Knaresborough has proved so popular, it has been expanded before it has even started.

Knaresborough Young Farmers Club planned to visit villages around the area next Saturday, January 7, to pick up trees in exchange for a £5 donation to mental health charity Mind.

Demand for the collection has already been so high that the collection has been extended to include Knaresborough and Harrogate by arrangement.

A tractor and trailer will be taken through each village, with club members on foot. They will call at each house where a tree has been left out to organise the donation to the Just Giving page or by bank transfer.

Households also have the option of taking their tree to Manse Lane in Knaresborough between 9am and 3.30pm for a £3 donation.

Club chairman Katy Addyman said:

“Our club is well known for our annual tractor run, but since that was set up we’ve had an increase in junior members aged 10 to 16 and they now create the vast majority of the club.

“We wanted to arrange something where all of our members can get involved in some way and help raise money for a great cause.

“This wouldn’t be possible without Andway Healthcare, who are allowing us to use their car park on Manse lane, and Travis Perkins for providing us with a chipper, and our very generous club leaders who have put the time and effort in behind the scenes.”

The villages on the collection route are: Brearton, Coneythorpe, Farnham, Ferrensby, Flaxby, Follifoot, Goldsborough, Kirkby Overblow, Kirk Deighton, Lingerfield, Little Ribston, Nidd, North Deighton, Ripley, Scotton, and Spofforth.

Anyone in Knaresborough or Harrogate who wants to arrange a collection can complete the online formor call Katy on 07443 650033.

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No.11: Investigations reveal council payments – and a secret Twitter account

In this article, which is part of a series on the 12 stories in the Harrogate district that shaped 2022, we look back at the significant news broken by the Stray Ferret as part of our commitment to hold those in control of public money to account.

Throughout 2022, the Stray Ferret has continued to report on stories affecting readers across the Harrogate district.

From revealing the latest planning applications for major developments to recording cases going through local courts, we have ensured matters of public record are shared with our readers.

Among our most-read stories this year was the live blog delivering the results from the elections to the new North Yorkshire Council. It was a significant day for the Harrogate district, with the Conservatives’ hold on power slipping in favour of the Liberal Democrats, who won 10 seats in the area to the Tories’ nine, along with one Green and an independent.

Across the county, the Conservatives’ majority slipped to just four, having previously secured 76% of the vote at the last county-wide election.

Investigations

Next year, Harrogate Borough Council will be no more as a new unitary authority comes into effect on April 1, but in its final days, it is still being held to account by our journalists.

This autumn, we revealed the results of a two-year investigation into the identity of the person behind an anonymous Twitter account.

As @ChippyGlory, parking enforcement manager Steve Rogers had been posting abusive, misogynistic and obscene messages. He targeted high-profile people, including the then-Prime Minister’s wife, Carrie Johnson, as well as local individuals.

Among his victims was Cllr Matthew Webber, who said he was offended by what Mr Rogers had posted about him and would be contacting the chief executive about the way the council had been brought into disrepute by the tweets.

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Mr Rogers apologised, and resigned later that week, though not before another row began.

After Liberal Democrat leader Pat Marsh called publicly for Mr Rogers to be dismissed, Conservative council leader Richard Cooper sent an email to all councillors calling for an apology – from Cllr Webber, for following Twitter accounts which were insulting towards Cllr Cooper.

Cllr Cooper wrote:

“Clearly if, as you state, Mr Rogers’ actions on his Twitter account bring the council into disrepute then the same could apply to your actions in following accounts clearly and specifically designed to insult and degrade me.

“I hope you will considering apologising and stop following those accounts and any others that I haven’t spotted that seek to demean, ridicule and insult local politicians.”

The council leader also copied the email to Mr Rogers, “for transparency’s sake”, and to chief executive Wallace Sampson.

Cllr Richard Cooper, leader of Harrogate Borough Council, and Wallace Sampson, chief executive of the council.Cllr Richard Cooper and Wallace Sampson

Mr Sampson was then forced to issue an instruction to all councillors to remain silent on the issue. He told them:

“Any further public comment or communication regarding this matter must cease with immediate effect, as such actions could be prejudicial to ensuring a fair and transparent process as the investigation takes its course.”

Contracts

This year, the Stray Ferret also reported on major contracts awarded by both Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council.

In January, a request under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that HBC had paid Bristol-based travel blogger Heather Cowper £700 plus VAT to promote its Christmas offerings.

Gemma Rio, the head of the council’s tourism marketing body Destination Harrogate, defended the spend, saying:

“Social media advertising and the use of influencers to increase brand awareness looks like it will continue to be one of the most beneficial marketing tools.

“We’re keen to continue using it to showcase what the Harrogate district has to offer and stand out amongst competitor destinations.”

However, the project led to a further clash between councillors and the chief executive after Cllr Matthew Webber publicly criticised what he saw as an “appalling waste of money”. Mr Sampson said Cllr Webber’s comment had caused “a great deal of hurt” to council staff.

Harrogate Spring Water

After a two-year fight, the Stray Ferret finally obtained details of how much income Harrogate Borough Council receives from Harrogate Spring Water.

As well as its £13,000 ground rent per annum, the authority receives a percentage of annual turnover from the business – but it had refused to reveal how much this amounted to after requests from this website.

An appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office led to the authority being told to reconsider its decision – and the numbers were finally revealed.

Since 2017, HBC has received almost £500,000 from Harrogate Spring Water.

Harrogate Spring Water plant

Harrogate Spring Water, Harlow Moor Road in Harrogate.

Meanwhile, a further request under the Freedom of Information Act showed that HBC had told the water company it would consider selling Rotary Wood – the piece of land controversially earmarked for expansion of the bottling plant.

And in October, we revealed that Harrogate Spring Water had been given permission to test water in a borehole at HBC’s Harlow Hill nursery, which is currently allocated for a new housing development.

The company said the results “weren’t what [it was] looking for” but it continued to try to understand the local groundwater in more detail.

The latest plans to expand the bottling plant were said to be being “finalised” in September but have not yet been submitted to the council.

In Ripon, an £85,000 contract looking at the renewal of the city centre was paused in August, more than a year after it was announced.

Bauman Lyons Architects had been commissioned in February 2021 to draw up plans to create a vision for the city, which would help it to win funding for infrastructure, planning and community projects.

However, the one-year deadline for the project was missed and, in August, HBC’s director of economy and culture Trevor Watson admitted he did not know when it would be finished. He said it was the council’s “intention” that it would conclude before HBC is abolished in April 2023.

Kex Gill

Meanwhile, at NYCC, a contract worth more than £50m was awarded to Irish firm John Sisk & Son (Holdings) Ltd for work on the rerouting of the A59 at Kex Gill.

The total amount allocated to the project now stands at £68.8m along with an £11m contingency for bad weather and ground conditions – but work has been delayed until early 2023 and is expected to take more than two years.

Kex Gill

Also this year, a £5m contract was awarded to four national consultancy firms as part of the process of transferring to the new unitary authority.

KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, PA Consulting Ltd and Capita Business Service Ltd were all contracted to support the reorganisation – but the move came under fire from both independents and Liberal Democrats, who questioned why the expertise of council officers could not be used.

In November, NYCC commissioned London-based Steer-ED to draw up a strategy for economic growth in North Yorkshire, with a contract worth almost £90,000.

An Oxfordshire company was awarded £200,000 to oversee a review of junctions relating to house building in the west of Harrogate. NYCC selected RPS Consulting Services Ltd to oversee the work, part of the West Harrogate Infrastructure Delivery Strategy, building on the West Harrogate Parameters Plan.

And finally, this year the Stray Ferret continued to monitor the long saga of Harrogate Convention Centre and plans for its refurbishment to the tune of £49m.

Harrogate Convention Centre

The proposal was first publicised more than two years ago but devolution, changes to government policies and shifting goalposts for potential sources of funding have all played a part in its slow progress.

A steering group, consisting of officials from both HBC and NYCC, has been set up to decide how the centre should be run in future and how to fund investment.

The Stray Ferret will continue to report on the way public money is spent across the Harrogate district in what is set to be a year of significant change.

Developer reduces planned Kinglsey Drive scheme to 162 homes

A developer has reduced the size of a planned housing development on Kingsley Drive to 162 homes.

Persimmon Homes had initially lodged plans to Harrogate Borough Council for 181 homes in March this year.

However, the proposal was met with concern from council officials and 222 letters of objection from residents.

In documents submitted to the council, Persimmon said it has reduced the size in response to comments from the authority and “other third parties”.

It added that it had also enlarged garden plots, provided public open space and removed some housing designs.

In its amended plans, the developer said:

“The development proposals have again been amended to respond directly to the comments and matters raised following the submission of amended documentation in August 2022.

“The proposed amendments to the scheme will deliver a green space and landscape driven development, which will enhance pedestrian and cycling connectivity within the local area, and which will overall provide a very high standard of residential amenity for prospective residents.”

The amended layout of the Kingsley Drive scheme as submitted by Persimmon Homes.

The amended layout of the Kingsley Drive scheme as submitted by Persimmon Homes.

The move comes as housing officers at the borough council raised concern over the design of the some of the properties.

Meanwhile, residents in the area have held long concerns about the amount of housebuilding in the area and its affect on traffic, noise and loss of green space.

Gillian Hamilton, one of the residents who wrote to the council to object, said in a letter to the authority:

“Local residents have had years of disruption due to building houses in the area. Road closures, noise, constant digging up of pathways and roads to facilitate the various essential utilities.

“The green spaces are disappearing and this further proposal to build houses off Kingsley Drive will result in no more green space left.”

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Persimmon Homes odged the fresh plan after Harrogate Borough Council rejected a development for 217 homes on the site back in August.

The application would see a mixture of one, two, three and four bedroom properties built.

It is the third time that the developer has submitted a proposal at the location, which used to form part of Kingsley Farm.

Stray Ferret Business Awards: Does your business deserve the Best Independent Retailer award?

The Stray Ferret Business Awards 2023 are for businesses across all sectors in the Harrogate district.

Over the next few weeks we will reveal what our judging panel is looking for when it comes to each of the 10 categories.

Next up is the Best Independent Retailer Award, which is sponsored by the York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub.

This award recognises the work of independent retailers across the Harrogate district that have survived the pandemic and are now tackling a cost-of-living crisis.

These businesses are truly beating the odds to support customers and make the high street work for them.

Companies looking to enter for the Best Independent Retailer Award need to provide information on the challenges your business faced in 2022, what the business did to overcome those challenges and evidence the success the actions had on the sutainability of the business.

Does your business deserve to win the Best Independent Retailer Award at the Stray Ferret Business Awards? Entries close on January 16. It’s simple and quick, so enter today!

Click here or the banner below to enter for the Stray Ferret Business Awards, sponsored by Prosperis.