This year’s Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal is for Resurrected Bites in Harrogate and Knaresborough. Today, Vicky finds out how a series of life events left one woman unable to afford food.

Please give generously to support local people who are struggling this Christmas. They need your help. 

“I feel guilty every time I go to Resurrected Bites. I keep saying I shouldn’t be here. I work full-time for the NHS. But it’s a life-saver.” 

Lara Rundle is a single mum to four grown-up children. 

For the last three years, she has lived in Burton Leonard, having moved up from the south-east following the death of her father. 

It was the first in a string of events that left her struggling to cover all her outgoings – even before she tried to buy food. 

“I had lost my dad and he was helping me pay my mortgage. Even a rabbit hutch in the south-east is mad money.  

“When he passed, he said to me and my brother that he had left the money to clear our mortgages. We found out after that his partner had accidentally lost the will and she took everything.  

“My house was on the point of being repossessed and I had a breakdown.  

“I had only been in Harrogate twice in my life and had a midlife crisis and said I was moving to Yorkshire.” 

With some savings in the bank and a small, fixed-rate mortgage, Lara had enough money to get by. However, a reaction to the covid vaccination left her leaving hospital treatment and unable to work for some time.  

As she recovered, Lara received some devastating news: 

“The second of my four children was in a car accident in Sussex. She broke her back in two places.  

“Her friend was killed, and another friend was in intensive care.” 

Read more:

• Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal: How high standards help to feed hungry families
• Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal: ‘We had good jobs but we were still struggling’

Lara spent many months travelling up and down the country to visit her daughter, eating into her dwindling savings. 

She began to look into ways to cut her costs and find some money. 

“I’ve got this big, flash car that I can’t afford, but because it keeps breaking down, the garage won’t take it back. It’s in negative equity. If it wasn’t for that, I would probably be OK. 

“I’ve got equity in the house – I’ve got a very small mortgage, but the building society won’t let me release any equity because they said I don’t earn enough to repay it.” 

Lara had been in receipt of some benefits, but that changed when her youngest daughter went away to university. She was given an annual pay rise of £90 a month, which meant she was no longer entitled to the £180 a month she had been receiving in Universal Credit. 

At £90 a month worse off than before, she then received a letter saying her council tax was going to increase because the valuations office believed her house should be in a higher band. 

Lara simply didn’t know what to do. 

Shelves full of products at Resurrected Bites’ community grocery

She was helped by her GP practice, which put her in touch with Resurrected Bites.

She became a customer of the community grocery at Gracious Street in Knaresborough, paying £3 for a shop worth many times that amount. She said:

“When my kids were small, I was on my own with four kids and we did have to use a foodbank.  

“Now they’re grown up, I never thought I would be in this situation again. 

“I had never heard of Resurrected BItes before.  

“You feel you are paying something, so it’s not a hand-out. It’s fresh fruit and vegetables. They’re the kind of things I can’t afford to buy.

“If I go to the supermarket, the only thing I have to buy is cheese and butter, sometimes meat. There’s stuff there I could never have afforded to buy even if I wasn’t in this situation.” 

With her daughter well on the road to recovery and the support of Resurrected Bites when she needs it, as well as welcoming neighbours in her new home, Lara feels much more positive about the future. 

She said: 

“It has made such a massive difference. I know I don’t have to worry.

“If you have an extra fiver you put it on your account so you don’t have to worry about paying next time.

“I just can’t thank them enough. They’re angels. The service is a life-saver.”

Nobody in the Harrogate district should go hungry this Christmas. 

It costs £300 to run the community grocery for one day. Please help to keep it open for everyone who relies on it. 

Click here to contribute now. 

A Harrogate man is donating money raised from his garden display to the Philippines.

Paul Ivison, of Mayfield Terrace, decorates his garden with themed displays at different points in the year.

Mr. Ivison, who has lived in the area for 15 years, told the Stray Ferret it takes him about three hours to put together the display.

He said:

“I started doing this three years ago to put smiles on people’s faces and to spread some joy.”

Last year, his garden had 12 trees but this year he has 18 trees in his display.

Mr. Ivison tries to stay sustainable when creating his display, sourcing his Christmas trees from Freecycle and Freegle which are both charity organisations that aim to increase reuse and reduce landfill with a service where people can give away things that would have been thrown away.

Paul Ivison will be reusing the trees through the organisations Freegle and Freecycle

In December 2021, he started fundraising by selling toys to raise money for family homes that were destroyed by typhoon Rai that hit the Philippines last year.

He raised £700 which was used to make repairs.

This year, he will be sending any money raised to a Catholic priest, who will distribute it to those he can help after another typhoon hit the North of the country on November 23.

Read more:

• Harrogate man says ‘outrageous, camp and wild’ garden saved his life
• Harrogate’s ‘Toytropolis’ garden bringing smiles to children’s faces

Mr. Ivison said the people of Harrogate enjoy his garden:

“Lots of positive reaction with people coming up to me and saying it brightens up their mood and their kids always look forward to seeing it.”

Mr. Ivison has more than 200 toys on display and for sale with more being added every day.

The Christmas display will be up until January 9. Donations can be made here.

A burst water main has left homes without water and affected businesses in Harrogate this morning.

Yorkshire Water said it was working to repair the fault on Wetherby Road at 5.30am.

⚠️#WetherbyRoad #HG3 ⚠️
Apologies to customers experiencing low pressure or no water due to a burst water main, we will restore supplies as soon as possible. Thank you – Sam pic.twitter.com/ym1zhsszCE

— Yorkshire Water Help (@YWHelp) December 17, 2022

Farm shop Fodder posted on social media that it was unable to open its cafe this morning because of a lack of running water.

Its shop remains open as normal, with eight days to go before Christmas.

A Yorkshire Water spokesman said:

“We are currently dealing with a high number of burst pipes in the region due to the weather conditions. We are aware of the burst on Wetherby Road and will be attending to complete repairs as soon as possible. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

Read more:

• Harrogate district worst in county for drink driving
• New crossing on Harrogate’s Wetherby Road to be installed next year

Yorkshire Water also said this morning it was readying its leakage detection and repair teams for an increase in bursts and leaks caused by an expected thaw.

It urged homeowners to take measures to prevent damage.

Homes are particularly at risk if they have exposed water pipes on the outside of the house or an outdoor tap, which are vulnerable to the cold weather.  The spokesman said:

“One way to prevent a frozen pipe is to wrap them in foam insulation to protect them from the cold weather, which is also known as lagging.”

Also this morning, Harrogate Town confirmed its fixture this afternoon at Doncaster Rovers has been called off because of a frozen pitch.

The Harrogate district has had more drink and drug driving arrests in the last week than anywhere else in North Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire Police said today 32 people had been arrested in the last seven days of the campaign — a big increase on 18 in the first week.

Of the 32, 10 were from the Harrogate district. The next highest is York with seven, followed by Scarborough with six, Hambleton with four, Ryedale with three and Craven and Richmondshire with one each.

The campaign started on December 1 and has now seen 50 arrests in total at the halfway stage. Of the 50 arrests, 38 were men and 12 were women.

The highest reading was from a 46-year-old woman in Northallerton who was four time over the legal limit.

Superintendent Emma Aldred, head of specialist operations at North Yorkshire Police, said:

“It’s alarming to see that we have arrested 50 people in just over two weeks for drink or drug driving in North Yorkshire.

“The message is clear; we will not tolerate drink and drug drivers on North Yorkshire’s roads”.

Emmerdale actor Mark Charnock, who plays Marlon Dingle, launched this year’s campaign when he participated in a mock road traffic collision.

Read more:

• Police plea to call out drink drivers amid increasing Harrogate district incidents
• Amazon driver on Snapchat jailed for causing death of Ripon biker

A solicitor who rammed his car into his wife’s home in Harrogate and subjected her to “mental torture” has been jailed for breaching a restraining order designed to protect her.

Richard Wade-Smith, 66, was spared jail in September after he admitted harassment causing fear of violence, damaging property and drink-driving.

That followed an unrelenting harassment campaign against his now-former partner which culminated in the incident on Boxing Day 2021 when Wade-Smith, who was drunk, rammed his Nissan Qashqai into his wife’s home in Slingsby Walk. 

On that occasion, Wade-Smith received a three-year community order with a rehabilitation programme and restraining order banning from contacting the victim or going anywhere near her property. 

It was hoped that a non-custodial sentence would enable him to “rebuild his life”, but within four days of it being imposed, he went to his wife’s house and knocked on the door.

Restraining order breach

Barrister Kelly Sherif, who was prosecuting at the initial sentence hearing, said it was about 8.15am on September 19 when Wade-Smith’s wife heard a knock at her door. Wade-Smith walked off but about two hours later he returned, knocked on her door again and called her name.

The named victim went to the door, but Wade-Smith, a former “high-powered” lawyer, walked off again.

A neighbour called police and Wade-Smith was arrested. He was charged with two counts of breaching a restraining order and remanded in custody. 

He admitted the offences and was due to be sentenced in October, but Judge Sean Morris adjourned the case to look into the possibility of new hostel accommodation as an alternative to jail.

York Crown Court.

Wade-Smith, of no fixed address, appeared for sentence at York Crown Court today.

The court heard that under the terms of the restraining order, Wade-Smith was supposed to go straight to Harrogate Borough Council’s offices to seek emergency accommodation following his release from custody in September.

However, Brooke Morrison, prosecuting at today’s adjourned sentence hearing, said there had been a delay in releasing him from custody which meant that when he was freed, the council offices had closed for the day and there was no room for him at any hostels in Harrogate.

He had slept rough on his first night of freedom and failed to get in touch with the council the following day, which meant that his request for hostel accommodation was turned down.

The lawyer slept in an expensive hotel for “one or two nights”, but then got drunk and ended up sleeping on the street.

He claimed that while sleeping rough he had been robbed of his credit cards and woke up in hospital. 

He said that with “nowhere else to go”, he headed for his former marital home. 

Too drunk to get out of car

Wade-Smith, who had worked for various law firms in Yorkshire and latterly ran his own legal service from Wedderburn House, was nearly twice the drink-drive limit when he rammed his car into his wife’s home on Boxing Day.

His wife was woken by a terrible “smashing” noise which she initially thought was an “explosion”. 

Wade-Smith was so drunk that police had to help him out of the car, which was damaged along with the front of the semi-detached home. 

The incident followed months of marital discord in which Wade-Smith falsely accused her of being unfaithful and forced her to flee the house.

Read more:

• Former solicitor breached restraining order in Harrogate
• Police stinger stops stolen Land Rover after high speed chase from Boroughbridge

Wade-Smith, a Cambridge law graduate, had been in a relationship with the victim for about 22 years, but in 2021 his behaviour changed after he started drinking again.

He would “disturb (his wife’s) sleep”, waking her in the middle of the night and demanding she “answer questions” of a personal nature, said the prosecution.

In November last year, she started receiving nasty messages on a “daily basis” from Wade-Smith. On one occasion inside the house, he told her: 

“If you don’t go now, I’ll kick you down the stairs.”

Wade-Smith was said to have been suffering from psychosis and “hypermania” after becoming bipolar in middle age. 

Defence barrister Ayman Khokar said that Wade-Smith “wasn’t in his senses” when he went back to the victim’s home and breached the order.

‘Re-triggered trauma’

Judge Morris, the Recorder of York, told Wade-Smith it was his “own fault” that he was now facing a jail sentence. 

He said although it was true that he had only knocked on his wife’s door, it had “re-triggered the whole trauma of the past and that is why it has caused this (victim) very serious distress”.

He added: 

“She is in a bad way because of you, and it is a form of mental torture.”

Wade-Smith was given a 10-month jail sentence, but he will only serve half of that, less the time he had already spent on remand, before being released on prison licence. 

The judge ordered that the restraining order would remain in place indefinitely.

This story is sponsored by Events by Cynosure.

Harrogate’s incredible Christmas offering is here to stay until the new year with plenty of festive fun to be had at the incredible Ferris wheel, ice rink, traditional carousel and more.

All of these showstopping attractions are new for Harrogate and will be here until January 3 – so now’s the time to get your skates on!

The giant, illuminated Ferris wheel is in a great location, right in the centre of town.

At its peak of 32-metres, the Ferris wheel offers spectacular views both in the day but also at night with the town centre dressed up for the festive season.

The giant wheel is a great way to experience the town from above.

There’s no need to book ahead for the Ferris wheel so just turn up when you’re ready to experience Harrogate from above.

A true fairground feeling

The fairground feeling at Crescent Gardens is not to be missed either, especially at night when the festoon lighting switches on.

With a traditional carousel, ice rink, fairground rides for children and an aprés ski bar for adults – there’s certainly something at Crescent Gardens for everyone.

The traditional carousel looks the part.

Sessions at the ice rink are 60 minutes, so there’s plenty of time to find your feet and make the most of the experience.

It’s perfect for families, dates, catching up with friends, Christmas parties with a twist or those wanting to learn with the skate school.

John Lowery, Director of Events by Cynosure, said:

“We have been very pleased with the attendance from all over the country this Christmas.

“We are looking forward to seeing more visit us before we close on January 3, 2023. We are even open on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day so there are plenty of chances to enjoy this magical experience.

“This is the first year of a three year contract and we already have some amazing plans for 2023 Christmas.”

Book ahead for the ice rink and secure your timeslot by clicking or tapping here.

A consultation over a planned £540 million devolution deal for North Yorkshire is set to end today.

In August, county council leaders agreed a proposed deal with ministers to devolve more powers, including an elected mayor, to North Yorkshire and York.

The deal would see £18 million-worth of funding each year devolved to the county over 30 years and pave the way for a mayor and combined authority in 2024.

A consultation was launched in October to seek views from the public, businesses and charity organisations.

The survey will close today.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, said: 

“We really need the public to come forward and give us their views on what is important to them and how devolution can benefit communities and businesses across York and North Yorkshire.

“The chance to secure these decision-making powers and millions of pounds in funding from the government is set to prove a life-changing opportunity for more than 800,000 people who live and work in York and North Yorkshire.

“Devolution will give local leaders the chance to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing people in York and North Yorkshire – whether that be providing more affordable housing, improving skills and education for better job opportunities, boosting transport infrastructure or tackling the climate crisis.”

You can have your say on the deal here.

What is in the deal?

As part of the devolution deal, a mayoral combined authority would be formed with a directly-elected mayor by May 2024.

It would mirror similar arrangements in the Tees Valley, where Conservative mayor Ben Houchen oversees the combined authority.

While the planned North Yorkshire deal brings £540 million worth of investment funding, it is lower than the original £750 million requested by local leaders.

Read More:

• Have devolution fears that Harrogate will be voiceless come true?
• Mayor for North Yorkshire agreed in £540m historic devolution deal
• North Yorkshire’s devolution deal: What’s in it and how will it work?

However, more power over skills and transport will be devolved.

It will see whoever is elected mayor and the new combined authority have control over the adult education budget and the ability to draw up its own transport strategy.

Control over bus franchising has also been granted to the county and the power to set up Mayoral Development Corporations, which have the power to buy land for housing or employment to regenerate a defined area.

North Yorkshire Police has urged Christmas revellers to “know your limits” as they prepare for one of their busiest nights of the year.

Today is known as Mad Friday because it is the last working Friday before Christmas and many people go out.

It is also one of the busiest nights for the emergency services as a result of alcohol-fuelled disruption.

The county’s police force said in a statement it will be deploying extra officers in towns and city centres. The statement added more staff will be working to handle 999 and 101 calls:

“It’s expected that our force control room will receive a 30% increase in 999 and 101 calls compared with demand on an average Friday night.

Superintendent Fiona Willey, the silver commander for Friday’s policing operation, said:

“We understand that people want to let their hair down and we’re not here to spoil anyone’s fun. However, we have a job to do and that’s to keep people safe as well as maintain law and order.

“We’re well-rehearsed at dealing with what’s known as Mad Friday and have additional officers and staff in place to provide resilience.

“My plea to people who are heading out on Friday is to plan your night, think about your own safety and know your limits.”

Long-serving Liberal Democrat councillor Pat Marsh has been banned from becoming an honorary alderwoman of Harrogate Borough Council following a bitter row about standards in politics.

The borough council has the power to bestow the title of honorary alderman or honorary alderwomen to past members who have given over 15 years of good service to the authority.

With the impending abolition of the council on March 31 to make way for the new North Yorkshire unitary council it means a host of councillors can be considered for the award.

This includes Hookstone ward councillor Pat Marsh who was first elected 33 years ago and is the current leader of the Liberal Democrats on the authority.

However, earlier this year a council standards panel ruled that Cllr Marsh breached its code of conduct after she made comments to a resident, that were secretly recorded, about council leader Richard Cooper, council officers and Cllr Cooper’s employer, Conservative MP for Harrogate & Knaresborough Andrew Jones.

A report concluded that Cllr Marsh “had not treated others with respect” adding “there is a need for council to ensure that they do not undermine trust and confidence with ill-judged and inappropriate statements”. 

The panel asked Cllr Marsh to make a public apology.

But Cllr Marsh has refused to say sorry, citing her right to free speech and accusing the panel of not being fairly balanced because it was made up of two Conservative councillors and one Ripon Independent councillor.

‘Honour is key’

At a full meeting of councillors on Wednesday at the Civic Centre in Harrogate, Conservative council leader Richard Cooper proposed changing the council’s constitution to ban councillors from becoming an honorary alderman or alderwoman if they have breached the council’s code of conduct but have then refused to take any of the recommended actions such as apologise to members.

Without directly referring to Cllr Marsh’s case, Cllr Cooper said he himself had made an error this year but had corrected it at the next opportunity and had therefore resolved the matter before it was referred to the standards procedure.

He said:

“The word honour is key. We are conferring the highest lifetime honour on people that we can bestow, other than freedom of the borough. I know of no other organisation where you can breach the rules, refuse to accept the penalty, then be awarded lifetime membership.

“Honorary aldership is an honour that needs to be earned and not just a rubber-stamp for time served.”

Harrogate Borough Council offices at Knapping Mount.

Liberal Democrat councillor for Starbeck, Philip Broadbank, who as the longest-serving councillor of 44 years is also eligible to be nominated as an honorary alderman, reeled off a list Cllr Marsh’s achievements during her time as councillor, which included helping the council build the Hydro swimming pool in the late 1990s.

Cllr Broadbank suggested Cllr Cooper’s move to change the constitution was motivated by personal feelings towards Cllr Marsh.

He said:

“We all know who this notice of motion is aimed at. 

“We don’t need motions like this which are basically to get your own back on somebody, that’s what it’s about. 

“We need to show we’re bigger than that and can do better than that. We need to respectfully understand what people have done. That’s why they’re offered honorary aldermanships.”

‘A little bit incensed’

This prompted Conservative councillor for St Georges, Rebecca Burnett, to say she was “a little bit incensed” by Cllr Broadbank’s refusal to back the motion.

She said she had also fallen foul of the standards code in the past but had accepted the panel’s ruling and took its recommended action.

She said:

“We get things wrong, we’re human aren’t we? We’re not perfect and there’s a code of conduct there because it might be breached.”

Read more:

• Harrogate council chief executive set for £101,000 redundancy pay-out
• Questions raised as Harrogate Royal Baths loses £2.5m in value
• North Yorkshire leaders set up devolution decision making body

Cllr Marsh reiterated her reasons for not apologising, which included the political make-up of the panel.

She said: 

“Who are they going to find guilty, me or their leader? It wasn’t a balanced jury. I shouldn’t apologise for things that weren’t done correctly.”

Conservative councillor for Ripon Spa and former soldier, Mike Chambers, called on opposition councillors to stop “bickering and arguing”.

He said:

“This is about integrity and honour, something I myself hold dear having spent the whole of my life serving country and community. To those who think this motion is about having an axe to grind, I would suggest that you are wrong. 

“This is about safeguarding the honour of honorary aldermen of this borough.”

‘Maintaining standards’

Closing the debate, Cllr Cooper quoted sections of the independent report that concluded Cllr Marsh issued an “unwarranted personal attack on the integrity of councillors”.

He said the motion is about “maintaining standards and showing the public we are better than those we criticise in parliament”.

The motion passed by 18 votes to 10 with 4 abstentions. Member for Bishop Monkton and Newby, Nick Brown, was the only Conservative to vote against it.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service after the meeting, Cllr Marsh confirmed that she does not intend to apologise. 

She said she felt “sad” that this now means she will not be made an honorary alderwoman of the borough.

She said:

“It would have a wonderful experience to have been an honorary alderwoman of the place I love.”

Plans have been submitted to demolish the ‘little temple’ in Harrogate town centre to make way for the £11.2 million Station Gateway scheme.

North Yorkshire County Council has applied to remove the tempietto even though it is still assessing responses to the latest gateway consultation and has yet to make a final decision on whether the scheme will proceed.

The application says the removal of the tempietto and restoration of the site is expected to be carried out in April 2023. But a council spokesman told the Stray Ferret this date was “indicative”, adding it would only be removed as part of the gateway works.

A decision on whether to proceed with the gateway is not expected until late next year.

Classical design

The tempietto, which is inside Harrogate Conservation Area, was built between 1988 and 1992 as part of the redevelopment of the area to create the Victoria Shopping Centre.

Made of Jedburgh sandstone, its classical design was based on the work of 16th-century architect Andrea Palladio’s basilica at Vicenza in Italy.

The government-funded gateway scheme would see major changes to the public realm opposite the train station to make the gateway to Harrogate more attractive to visitors and more accessible to cyclists and pedestrians.

Read more:

• Transport chief still ‘committed’ to Harrogate Station Gateway, despite inflation fears
• £11.2m Harrogate Station Gateway scheme delayed for another year

It would also see part of Station Parade reduced to single lane traffic to accommodate cycle routes and James Street partly pedestrianised. Business groups and residents have voiced concerns about the impact on trade and traffic.

A planning document submitted as part of the council’s application says “the demolition of the tempietto would have a negligible impact on the significance of Harrogate Conservation Area”. It adds:

“Although of low historic significance, the tempietto offers some aesthetic contribution to the historic character and is sensitive to Harrogate Conservation Area in its use of materials.”

The planning document, which describes the little temple’s condition as ‘reasonably good’ also refers to a 2016 character appraisal of the area, which said:

“Unfortunately, apart from the paving of the area enclosed by the quadrant of Victoria Gardens, the opportunity to create an attractive, formal space was not taken and the area presents a very ‘bitty’ appearance with paths, low fences and hedges, and a thoroughly unscholarly tempietto.”

‘Bitty’ — how Victoria Gardens is described.

Emma Gibbens, principal conservation officer for place-shaping and economic growth said in a consultation comment on behalf of Harrogate Borough Council:

“If the removal of the structure was not part of a new public realm scheme, its loss would be regrettable in terms of loss of visual interest, but could not said to impact detrimentally on the historic environment.

“However, the removal is part of a scheme that will provide a new high quality public realm to this part of the conservation area and there is no objection to its removal in this situation.”