Two Harrogate primary schools to install solar panels

Rossett Acre Primary School and Oatlands Junior School are to install solar panels on their roofs to generate renewable energy.

Plans were approved by North Yorkshire Council this week to install the technology under permitted development rules, which don’t require full planning applications.

Rossett Acre will see around 120 panels installed with a capacity to generate up to 50.90 kWp of renewable electricity.

Around 48 panels will be installed at Oatlands with a capacity to generate up to 20.40 kWp.

Schools have been particularly affected by the rise in energy bills with the National Education Union warning last year that children’s education could suffer as headteachers face extra cost pressures.

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From April, the government extended its energy support for schools by a further 12 months but it only applies to those paying the highest gas and electricity rates.

Both Oatlands and Rossett Acre are part of the Red Kite Learning Trust. Its estates manager Samantha Shuttleworth wrote in planning documents about both applications:

”It is considered that the proposed solar panels would be complementary to the character of the building.

”The visual appearance of the solar panels on the roofed area is considered appropriate for the school building, thereby enhancing the visionary appearance of the site as an up-to-date centre for learning, creating responsible citizens for tomorrow’s world with an appreciation for their surroundings and a duty of care for the environment.

”It is considered that the panels could have a positive impact on the character of the building and no overall detrimental impact on the surrounding area.”

Crime commissioner Zoe Metcalfe under pressure following critical report

North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe is facing pressure to step down following further criticism that the police are failing to protect vulnerable children.

Ms Metcalfe’s role includes scrutinising the performance of North Yorkshire Police.

But leading North Yorkshire councillors have voiced dismay over the lack of progress Ms Metcalfe has brought about in the force over the last year.

It comes after His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services highlighted continuing concerns over child protection.

A HMICFRS report this week found evidence-gathering delays and a lack of knowledge about online abuse inquiries were reducing North Yorkshire Police’s ability to safeguard children.

Following a re-inspection of the force in December, the watchdog revealed police officers had not forensically examined digital devices connected to a suspected child rape six months after they were submitted.

In response, the commissioner, who is tasked with holding the force to account, said both her and her team had been “regularly assured that all concerns would be tackled head on and improvements made at a significant pace”,only to find “12 months later, the force is not in the position I expected them to be in”.

She said:

“Not enough has been done and there is simply no excuse – North Yorkshire Police have let the public and the most vulnerable in our society down.

“I know that it is my responsibility to increase the accountability of and pressure on the chief constable, to demand answers and not accept anything other than immediate and significant improvement.”

Within hours of the report being published Ms Metcalfe struck a determined tone as she held a public online meeting with senior officers, including chief constable Lisa Winward, where she questioned them over the progress made over 10 recommendations.

The meeting heard the force fully accepted the criticisms and was investing in officers’ training and in control room staff, the recruitment of specialist child protection workers, and cutting the time it takes to examine digital devices to less than 72 hours.

The force said it had spent £400,000 on reducing its digital forensics backlog and £1.17m on hiring specialist child protection staff, and was establishing dedicated safeguarding teams in each of the three regions it covers.

Call to resign

Once the elections for City of York Council are concluded the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime panel, which exists to hold the commissioner to account, will reconvene and consider holding an extraordinary meeting to question the commissioner.

The panel pushed Mrs Metcalfe’s predecessor, Philip Allott, to step down and heavily criticised the county’s first commissioner, Julia Mulligan, over her treatment of staff.

Ms Metcalfe has confirmed she is seeking to be the Conservative candidate for mayor of North Yorkshire and York, elections for which are due to take place in May next year. She has claimed to be “uniquely qualified” for the role.

Leader of the opposition on North Yorkshire Council, Cllr Bryn Griffiths said the Liberal Democrat group would be calling for Ms Metcalfe to resign at the next meeting of the authority.

North Yorkshire Council’s Labour group leader, Cllr Steve Shaw Wright said the commissioner had been in charge for “nothing but a series of calamitous reports”.

He said:

“She is doing very little. Police at the coal face are actually doing a brilliant job across North Yorkshire, but the ones who lead them need to get on with the job they are supposed to be doing.

“They have been short-staffed for a while, but that lays at the door of the Tory commissioner, who should have been banging doors down for a lot longer than this.

“‘Call me Zoe’ wants to be the Conservative candidate for the mayor of North Yorkshire and York, but I think she’s blown it.”

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The North Yorkshire Council Independent group leader said the latest criticism showed there was no legitimate reason by commissioners should exist.

Cllr Stuart Parsons said increasing “scrutiny” by calling for the police to provide evidence of progress would only take more police officers off their day-to-day jobs. He said:

“What is the point of a police, fire and crime commissioner if she can’t ensure the force is doing what it is meant to?

“Instead of believing everything she has been fed she should have been investigating what was really going on and then calling them to account.”

Sharp rise in overseas nurses recruited at Harrogate hospital

The number of nurses recruited from overseas to work at Harrogate District Hospital has jumped from fewer than five in 2017 to 31 last year, figures show.

Harrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust, like many health trusts across the country, has increasingly relied on overseas workers to plug the gap left by UK-based nurses leaving the profession.

Recruitment within the NHS has been highlighted recently by the striking nurses’ union the Royal College of Nursing. It has said low pay and working conditions are leading to a “mass exodus” of young nurses from hospitals.

A report published by the royal college in February found that between 2018 and 2022, nearly 43,000 people aged 21 to 50 left the Nursing and Midwifery Council register.

Figures on overseas nurses at Harrogate hospital. Data: Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A freedom of information request submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service found that 31 nurses were recruited from overseas last year, which is almost three times higher than the figure for 2021.

The figures also show 10 doctors were recruited last year from abroad.

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Since 2017, the trust has recruited nurses from India, Nigeria, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and the USA but a trust spokesperson said the number makes up a small number of its total workforce.

The social care sector has also looked to employ more overseas workers to help ease a well-documented staffing crisis, with North Yorkshire Council recently bringing in over 30 care professionals from South Africa and Zimbabwe.

A Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said:

“Recruitment from outside of the UK is an important part of the workforce supply strategy of NHS organisations, including HDFT. Recruiting internationally enhances our workforce with different skills, experience, expertise and perspectives.

“Whilst the majority of our workforce are employed from within the UK, we have an active programme of recruiting nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals from overseas, which complements our national recruitment activity as well as supporting the development of a multicultural workforce more representative of the people we serve.

“To ensure ethical recruitment, we do this work in collaboration with other NHS organisations. For instance, we are in partnership with the Kerala Government in India for nursing and allied health professional recruitment via the West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership.

“Staff members who have been recruited from overseas have stayed in Harrogate to continue their careers in the NHS and are a valued part of our workforce, and we will continue to recruit internationally in the future.

“Whilst overseas recruitment has grown over the last few years in a number of areas, it still remains a small part of our recruitment activity.

“We value every member of our workforce and the important role they play in providing a health care service that we can all be proud of.”

Tree that crushed Porsche on Harrogate street is felled

A large tree that damaged a Porsche in Harrogate during recent storms has been felled.

Zenya Dunn, who lives on Granby Road, told the Stray Ferret her partner Michael woke to find his car beneath a large splintered branch during February’s Storm Otto.

Speaking back then, she said it was the second time the Porsche had been struck by falling branches from the tree.

Ms Dunn added her Range Rover, parked nearby, and the house front window had narrowly escaped being damaged by the tree during storms. She said the couple had alerted the council to the danger numerous times.

Zenya Dunn, standing next to her partner's Michael's Porsche this morning.

Zenya Dunn, standing next to her partner’s Porsche in the aftermath of Storm Otto. 

North Yorkshire Council has now pruned the tree to little more than a stump.

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Jon Clubb, acting head of parks and environmental services at the council, said:

“Storm Otto caused considerable disruption to parts of North Yorkshire in February. Our parks and grounds maintenance team acted swiftly to remove a large branch on Granby Road which had fallen during the storm.

“Unfortunately, damage to the tree was so severe that it needed removing and the work was recently carried out. We will be carrying out replacement plantings this winter in line with our trees and woodland policy.

North Yorkshire County Council's highways teams arrived to deal with the tree this morning.

The splintered branch being removed in February. 

Business Breakfast: Knaresborough energy company appoints finance officer

It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. Our next networking event is after-work drinks at Manahatta, on May 25th at 5:30.

Don’t miss out on this chance to network with businesses from across the Harrogate district. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A Knaresborough green energy company has appointed a new chief financial officer.

Harmony Energy, which is based at Conyngham Hall Business Centre, has hired Rob Scott to the position.

Mr Scott, who lives in Boroughbridge, previously worked at Key Group, as well as AA and Saga.

He will be tasked with overseeing finance, IT and human resources at Harmony Energy.

Peter Kavanagh, Harmony Energy’s chief executive and co-founder, said: 

“I am delighted to welcome Rob to the business. 

“He brings with him a wealth of experience and will provide the strategic guidance, insight and leadership we need as we continue to grow, not only in the UK, but overseas as well.”

Mr Scott said:

“Harmony Energy presents an exciting challenge for me, as it’s a business that I believe has the ambition and drive for growth.

“It has a fantastic team led by an exceptional management team who collectively are committed to delivering excellence in the global renewable energy sector.

“The company has achieved great success to date, and I look forward to adding to that as we build on what has already been accomplished.”

Harrogate business group meeting to focus on tourism

A Harrogate business group’s next monthly meeting will focus on tourism in the town.

Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce is holding the event, which will include its annual general meeting, on Monday, May 15.

The meeting will include a presentation from Helen Suckling, destination events manager at Destination Harrogate, about the organisation’s strategy for 2022 to 2025.

The event, which is being held at Windsor House on Cornwall Road, will include a networking session and refreshments for guests.

For more information and to register attendance, visit the EventBrite page here.

Guests can arrive at 5.30pm and the meeting will start at 6.15pm.

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Jobs lost as Harrogate firm restructures

An IT firm has laid off 16 staff in Harrogate.

Techbuyer, which refurbishes IT equipment, said in a statement today the job losses were part of a restructuring.

The company, which was founded by Kevin Towers in Harrogate in 2005, is based on Hornbeam Park and operates sites in the United States, Germany, France, Australia and New Zealand.

Chief executive Mr Towers said:

“These decisions have been really hard to make, they have not been taken lightly and have come in the face of market pressures since January. Many other IT businesses, large and small, UK based and global, have had to restructure since then.

“Myself and the management team have explored every angle to avoid this unfortunate situation, but have been left with no alternative but to restructure, including these staff reductions, in order to protect the business moving forwards.”

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The Stray Ferret was alerted to the news by a whistleblower, who criticised the way the company handled the news last week.

Mr Towers said the company had focused heavily on rewarding staff over 18 years, adding:

“As we’ve grown, we have shared our success with very generous companywide bonuses, cost of living crisis bonuses, consistent pay increases, community and charitable donations and more. Unfortunately, during this challenging time, we have had to make some very difficult choices as well.

“I thank everyone for all their hard work at Techbuyer, it is appreciated.  To stress the point, decisions like this would not be taken unless absolutely necessary and I wish all those affected all the best for the future.”

Techbuyer, which employs 203 of its 297 global workforce in Harrogate, works with partners, including manufacturers such as HPE, Dell and Lenovo, to promote the environmental, cost and performance benefits of refurbished enterprise IT hardware.

According to its website, it configures over 5,000 servers every year and erases data from more than 12,000 hard drives every month in the UK.

Harrogate man jailed for ‘sexualised’ online chats with young girls

A Harrogate man has been jailed for over three years after his debauched online chats with young girls led him into a trap set by police.

Benjamin Shutt, 30, “cruised” the internet in search of easy targets and found them on social media apps installed on his phone, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor David Hewitt said police forensic officers downloaded no less than 816 pages of chats which “began innocently and soon became sexualised”.

Shutt, who told one girl she “needed a sugar daddy”, used the KIK messenger app to contact the first under-age child, who told him she was 14 years old.

Mr Hewitt said there were about 220 messages sent between Shutt, of Grove Park View, and the teenager between April 20 and May 16, 2020.

Shutt sent her a picture of his private parts, which he followed up with a request for her to “send me more please, baby”.

Mr Hewitt added:

“He asked for some photos of her body in the bath.”

He told the girl he wanted to have sex with her “so badly” and then they talked about meeting up. 

The girl agreed to meet, but Shutt told her they “probably couldn’t” because he was twice her age.

There were further sexual conversations in which Shutt talked about “the various things he would like to do to her”.

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After the girl sent him a very intimate picture of herself upon request, Shutt asked her if she had photos of herself when she was younger.

He then sent her a link via the KIK app to videos of him performing a sexual act on himself and urged her to watch them. 

Shutt targeted another young girl on the Whisper app in December 2020. He asked how old she was and when she initially told him she was 12, the messages continued regardless.

He asked her if she “enjoyed” the conversations and urged her to send him an intimate photo.

The girl later told him that her real age was 14, to which Shutt replied: “That’s fine with me.”

He said he wanted to have sex with her and “advised” her on how to perform a sexual act on herself. He then sent the girl an image of himself performing a lewd act.

Police trap

On Valentine’s Day 2021, Shutt ran out of luck when the 12-year-old ‘girl’ with whom he thought he was chatting turned out to be an undercover police officer posing as a teenager who posted a message on Whisper asking: “Why are boys so rubbish?”

Mr Hewitt said:

“The defendant replied and invited her to engage in private chat.”

The chats moved to another online platform and lasted about five weeks to the end of March 2021.

Mr Hewitt said:

“He told her that she needed a sugar daddy and explained what this was.”

Shutt asked the ‘girl’ if she had ever performed a sexual act on herself and offered her an “instruction” on how to do so. He then urged her to carry out the act.

Police raided on his home in Harrogate in April 2021 and found him in his bedroom. They seized his mobile phone.

Forensic analysis showed there were seven category C indecent images of children on Shutt’s phone. Mr Hewitt said there was also evidence to suggest Shutt had been chatting with other children, although this didn’t lead to further charges.

Shutt was charged with two counts of attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity, two counts of attempted sexual communication with a child, one count of attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act and one count of possessing indecent images of children. 

He admitted all the offences and appeared for sentence today.

‘Corrupting young girls’

Defence barrister Andrew Stranex said Shutt had endured a traumatic childhood and had been chatting with the girls during the coronavirus lockdown.

He added that Shutt was an “isolated and marginalised” figure with few friends and that his offending had had a “massive” impact on his family.

Judge Sean Morris told Shutt: 

“You pleaded guilty to a whole series of offences which involved you cruising the internet looking for young girls to corrupt. 

“There were two real victims before you were caught by an undercover officer patrolling the internet. 

“As far as you were aware, that was (an underage) girl. You were obviously sexually aroused by young teenage girls.” 

Shutt was jailed for three years and five months and placed on the sex offenders register for life. 

He was also given an eight-year sexual-harm prevention order mainly to curb his internet activities. 

Harrogate town centre shop to close due to low footfall

A Harrogate shop is to close down after two-and-a-half years in business, citing tough trading conditions. 

Foxy Vintage & Interiors, which is on the corner of Commercial Street and Cheltenham Mount, opened in 2020 selling vintage furniture and retro collectables. It quickly made a mark for itself, winning the Harrogate At Christmas shop window competition in 2021. 

But covid and the soaring cost of living have combined to starve the town centre of much of the trade it used to enjoy. 

Photo of the exterior of Foxy Vintage & Interiors in Harrogate, with 'Closing Down Sale' signs in the window.

The shop is offering up to 50% off everything until stock is sold.

Owner Alex Clarke told The Stray Ferret: 

“It’s mainly down to the economy. We just haven’t been seeing the footfall – even since before Christmas. It’s really sad to go. We’ve got a lot of lovely customers who love coming in. It’s a real shame for them, because there aren’t that many small independent shops doing what we do. 

“We haven’t gone bust – we could have gone on trading. But you just don’t know what next year’s going to bring.” 

The shop will remain open while the stock is sold, with discounts of 50% on all vintage items and up to 50% on the rest. Ms Clarke said she hoped to be able to sell everything by the end of the month. 

She added: 

“One thing that’s really important to stress is that people need to support their local indies as much as they can. They don’t have to spend much – every little bit helps.” 

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North Yorkshire electric vehicle charging network ‘not fit for purpose’

The leader of the opposition on North Yorkshire Council has wished the authority “good luck” in establishing a comprehensive network of electric vehicle charging points after hearing the local electricity grid was “not fit for purpose”.

A meeting of the council’s executive was told the authority was so concerned about it impeding the establishment of the required 3,000 publicly available EV charging points by 2030 that the council was investigating using solar and hydro-electric solutions to provide power in some places.

Setting out a strategy to rapidly expand EV charging points, Cllr Keane Duncan, the authority’s executive member for highways and transportation, said the council was determined rural areas should not “fall behind”.

However, he said the rural nature of North Yorkshire and electricity grid constraints meant the county faced a relatively greater challenge in preparing for the switch to electric vehicles than elsewhere.

Cllr Keane Duncan, executive councillor for highways at North Yorkshire County Council.

Cllr Keane Duncan

In addition, the relatively high proportion of properties in the county with no off-street parking – some 21% – would mean a greater demand for publicly available EV charging points than elsewhere.

The meeting heard while the council was developing on-street charging proposals it was focused on creating the publicly available EV charging points at “hub locations” where it would be convenient for residents and visitors to use them, rather than “tucked away in the corner of a car park”.

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Executive members were told with £3.4m of funding already secured to expand EV charging points, the council had obtained more money than any other local authority in the country for the programme.

The council is also optimistic about landing a further £5.1m of capital and £500,000 of revenue funding to deliver on its EV charging network aspirations, but the meeting was told the lack of power grid capacity would be a key factor in the council’s ability to create an EV charging network.

Paul Haslam, a Conservative who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge, warned the meeting the lack of availability on the power grid could “make a mess of our strategy if we’re not careful”.

The council’s climate change boss Cllr Greg White added: 

“It’s great that we are going to have all these charging points, but are we going to have an electrical supply to these charging points to make them work because the local electricity distribution network at the moment doesn’t seem like it’s going to be fit for purpose.”

Wishing the council “good luck” in overcoming the challenges, Cllr Bryn Griffiths, the Liberal Democrat group leader, said the authority had reached “a drop in the ocean of where we need to be” in securing EV charging infrastructure, before receiving reassurances that the authority would consider changing planning policies to increase charging opportunities.

electric vehicle chargepoints (1)

The authority’s chief executive, Richard Flinton, told the meeting how he and leaders of North Yorkshire businesses had held talks with Northern Powergrid officials and the National Infrastructure Commission last week to tell them the lack of grid connectivity was damaging businesses.

He said the council had been regularly lobbying the electricity infrastructure firm to develop capacity on the grid.

Mr Flinton added: 

“We are startlingly aware that when we move into post-2030 the requirement that cars are going to be non-fossil fuel that there could be an impact on North Yorkshire, and even the transition period before we move entirely to electric fuel vehicles could be problematic for North Yorkshire if we don’t get this right.

“We are in the hands of others, but we are working very hard to make those other parties understand that we in North Yorkshire are very concerned about this and require their engagement on our issues.”

Northern Powergrid is yet to respond to requests for comment.

Police sack Harrogate officer convicted of sexual assault

A Harrogate police officer convicted of sexual assault has been sacked.

Joseph McCabe, 27, was found guilty of one count of sexual assault and given a suspended sentence in March this year.

McCabe was given a six-month jail sentence suspended for two years. He was also placed on the sex-offenders register for seven years, fined £808 and given a three-year restraining order.

Following a misconduct hearing on Friday (April 28), North Yorkshire Police has now dismissed the 27-year-old without notice.

A decision notice published after the hearing, which was conducted by chief constable Lisa Winward, said:

“Having assessed the misconduct here as serious misconduct, which caused both direct harm to a victim that amounts to violence against women and girls, it is also an aggravating factor in respect of the seriousness of the allegations.

“It also has the potential to cause serious damage to the public confidence in the police and bearing in mind that the misconduct was so serious that it also amounted to an offence of sexual assault, in my judgment the only appropriate outcome is one of dismissal without notice.”

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McCabe was sentenced on March 31 at York Magistrates Court for sexually assaulting a woman at a Travelodge at Scotch Corner, where he was attending a wedding with a number of colleagues.

At the time, district judge Tan Ikram told McCabe he had given “no credible explanation as to why (the victim) would make up such a serious allegation”. 

Following the outcome of the hearing, deputy chief constable Mabs Hussain commended the victim for coming forward.

He described the 27-year-old’s actions as “disgraceful”.

Mr Hussain said:

“Our communities need to know that they can have complete trust in their police, and that we demand the highest level of integrity from our officers and staff.

“McCabe’s disgraceful actions fell far below that standard. I commend the victim for her courage in coming forward so we could take action. I also hope the case sends a clear message that there is no place for this behaviour in policing – and that we will secure justice against perpetrators, no matter who they are.”