Local Harrogate News & Views around the district - Page 521 of 1165

Cyclist seriously injured in collision with van near Weeton

Police are appealing for witnesses to a collision near Weeton in which a cyclist was seriously injured.

It occurred on the A658 Harrogate Road between Weeton railway station and Pool Bridge on Monday, January 30, between 5.50pm and 6.15pm.

A North Yorkshire Police statement today said:

“It involved a van and a bicycle, which collided near to Riffa Business Park, resulting in serious injury to the cyclist.

“Anyone who witnessed the incident, or may have relevant dashcam of the collision or the van or bike involved, is asked to contact TC174 David Minto of North Yorkshire Police Road Policing Group.

“Please either dial 101, or email david.minto@northyorkshire.police.uk, quoting reference number NYP-30012023-0380.”

Graveleys fish and chip shop to reopen in Harrogate tomorrow

One of Harrogate most famous names, Graveleys, is to make a comeback tomorrow.

The fish and chip restaurant and takeaway was a feature of Cheltenham Parade for decades until it was sold in 2019.

New owners Catch Seafood spent £250,000 refurbishing the property and introduced a champagne and oyster bar as well as cocktails.

But all five Catch restaurants ceased trading last year when the company went into administration, paving the way for Simon Pilkington, the son of former Graveleys owner Robert, to buy back the building.

The takeaway will reopen tomorrow at 11am.

The takeaway will open at 11am tomorrow and the restaurant is due to open in the next few weeks. A final date has not been confirmed.

Sarah Knox, manager of Graveleys, said the venue would be going “back to basics”, adding:

“The focus will be on fish and chips. We just want to get back to basics and serve quality products.

“We will listen to what customers tell us and adjust our menu accordingly. Come in and see us!”

Ms Knox, who has worked all her life in hospitality and was previously employed by Catch, said the new venture had come about quickly and she had spent the last week preparing for the reopening. New staff are wanted.

The takeaway will be open from 11am to 2.30pm and 4.30pm to 8pm from Tuesday to Saturday. It will be closed on Sundays and Mondays.

Person airlifted to hospital after serious crash near Harrogate

A person has been airlifted to hospital after a serious crash on the A59 Skipton Road near Harrogate this morning.

Police and firefighters have been at the scene along with paramedics following a two-vehicle collision between The Nelson Inn and the farm shop crossroads.

The incident caused long tailbacks to New Park roundabout in Harrogate, with police diverting traffic onto Otley Road towards Penny Pot Lane and Beckwithshaw.

Harrogate Fire Station posted on social media:

“This morning, Harrogate crew attended a two-vehicle road traffic collision on the A59. One transported to Leeds hospital via air ambulance.”

North Yorkshire Police tweeted about the incident at 9.24am.

https://twitter.com/NYorksPolice/status/1622888981460357120

Police find missing woman from Harrogate

Police in Harrogate have located a woman missing from home since last night.

Issuing an appeal early this morning, North Yorkshire Police said she was believed to be driving around the Harrogate area.

The force has since confirmed the missing woman has been found and thanks those who shared the appeal.

Council appoints contractor to design £49m Harrogate Convention Centre revamp

Harrogate Borough Council has appointed a contractor to draw up designs and “cost certainty” for its £49 million Harrogate Convention Centre revamp.

The authority has commissioned Hertfordshire company BAM Construction Limited to provide it with technical designs for the project at a cost of £3.3 million.

The convention centre is currently owned by Harrogate Borough Council, which will hand over ownership of the venue on April 1 to North Yorkshire Council.

Senior borough council officials have previously warned the venue could lose up to £250 million over the next 40 years unless the redevelopment is carried out.

However, there is no guarantee the upgrade will go ahead.

Following the appointment of a contractor, a spokesperson for the council said:

“Under the YORbuild3 Major Works framework, we have appointed BAM – a leading construction, facilities management and property developer with offices in Leeds – to provide the design and delivery for the refurbishment and redevelopment of Harrogate Convention Centre (Phase 1) to RIBA Stage 4.

“The value of this early contractor involvement contract is £3.3million and will provide us with the technical design information and cost certainty required to take us to the next stage of the proposed multi-million investment project.”

Amid the transition to the new council on April 1, the borough council required consent from North Yorkshire County Council to appoint BAM Construction.

The county council told the Stray Ferret it had consented to the award of the contract for technical designs, but any approval for construction would be made at a later date.

Gary Fielding, director for strategic resources at the council, said:

“We have given consent for the first stage of the contract to carry out extensive improvements to the Harrogate Convention Centre.

“This initial stage of the contract is intended to lead to detailed designs for the project.

“However, a further decision will need to be taken as to whether the scheme progresses to the other stages of the contract.”

Funding struggles

The move comes shortly after the borough council was dealt a blow in its efforts to fund the project.

Last month, the government rejected the authority’s bid of £20 million from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ flagship levelling up fund.

Cllr Richard Cooper, leader of the council, said he was “disappointed” and “slightly surprised” at the decision.

Meanwhile, Richard Flinton, who will be chief executive of North Yorkshire Council, has refused to commit to the £49 million redevelopment.

Speaking at a Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce meeting in January, he said the conference and events venue needed to be vibrant and relevant in the face of competition from a new venue in Leeds rather than “an enormous drain on public finances”.

Business Breakfast: Harrogate firm raises £12,000 for social mobility charities

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

A Harrogate business has raised more than £12,000 for charity as part of a youth initiative.

Mare Nostrum Group, which is based on East Parade, raised the money for two charities, Speakers Trust and Career Ready.

The fundraising came as part of its Youth Upskill Initiative, which helps disadvantaged young people in the UK gain the confidence and skills to assist their progress in education, work, and life.

The initiative, launched in 2022, saw the company walking over 20 million steps to raise funds for the charities – taking part in the Leeds 10k and Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge.

In total, Mare Nostrum raised £12,230 for the causes.

The company said on its website:

“Both charities do invaluable work to empower young people and give them the foundations they need to pursue fruitful careers—something which is very important to Mare Nostrum Group.”

Harrogate chamber meeting to focus on health and wellbeing

A Harrogate business group is set to focus on health and wellbeing at its next meeting.

Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce is hosting the event at The Old Swan Hotel on Monday, February 13, from 5.30pm.

Speakers will include representatives from Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate, White Rose Beauty College, the Vicar of St Peter’s Church, and the founder of financial wellbeing company, AurumGold.

During the informal networking session, which takes place between 5.30pm and 6.15pm, members and visitors will be able to experience a relaxing massage at the hands of students from White Rose Beauty College.

David Simister, Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive, said:

“Mental Health and Wellbeing is such an important focus for businesses in terms of productivity and staff morale, that we are dedicating our February meeting to educating, support and guidance on this crucial subject.

“Our impressive mix of speakers come from a range of different organisations, and each will explain what they are doing to help support staff, clients and customers; from addressing money anxiety among employees, providing mental health first aid training, to giving vital services to those with mental health problems brought about by drug and alcohol abuse.

“Representatives from mental health charity, MIND, will also give a short talk on their work in the Harrogate District.”

Members and visitors are asked to register their attendance in advance via the Chamber’s new website here.

Tesco supermarket in Harrogate set to be approved next week

Harrogate looks set to get a Tesco supermarket after a long-running saga dating back more than a decade.

The store will be built on the site of the former gasworks, off Skipton Road, and include a petrol station and 209 car parking spaces. It is expected to create about 100 jobs.

Harrogate Borough Council ‘s planning committee has been recommended to approve the plans next week, despite “significant concerns” about the impact on the nearby Co-op in Jennyfields and neighbouring shops.

In her report recommending approval, case officer Kate Broadbank says there is “real potential for the proposed Tesco store to have a significant adverse impact upon the Co-op store and the wider performance of the Jennyfield local centre”.

The report adds the cumulative impact of a new Tesco on the Co-op could be as high as -22.4% and the Co-op “acts as a key anchor to the local centre, including its wider post office offer”.

The local centre in Jennyfields

Tesco will therefore be asked to sign an agreement to use “reasonable endeavours” to open a Tesco Express at Jennyfields local centre if the Co-op closes within five years of Tesco opening and will operate this for at least five years.

Ms Broadbank’s report adds:

“A post office and pharmacy would also be required. An additional clause has also been added that requires an independent expert to determine matters should dispute arise between Tesco and the council, as to whether the replacement store can be provided.”

New footpath and cycle lane

The report says no environmental impact assessment will be necessary for the brownfield site project even though trees will be felled on the north side of Skipton Road to accommodate the creation of a new roundabout at the site entrance, where the A61 Ripon Road and A59 Skipton Road meet at New Park.

The site of the former gasworks

North Yorkshire County Council plans to widen Oak Beck Bridge in a scheme that could see six months of roadworks in the area.

The report adds:

“A continuous footpath will be provided along the northern edge of the roundabout with additional uncontrolled pedestrian refuge island crossings on the site access and the eastern arm of Skipton Road.

“A new segregated cycle lane will be provided along the south of Skipton Road from the access to the bridleway further along Skipton Road. These works will be secured by condition and a Section 106 agreement.”

The 209 parking spaces will include four click and collect spaces, six electric vehicle charging spaces, 12 blue badge spaces and nine parent and child spaces. Two motorcycle spaces and 24 cycle spaces are also provided.

£50,000 for bus services

North Yorkshire County Council has requested a contribution from Tesco for improvements to bus stops on Skipton Road and Ripon Road. Ms Broadbank’s report adds:

“North Yorkshire County Council wish to provide a new bus service in the Killinghall area as part of the bus service contribution from the housing development on Penny Pot Lane and these additional improvements would add value to the new service and help encourage sustainable travel by bus to reach the new store.

“A contribution of £50,000 (£10,000 per bus stop) is requested to help fund this service and will help provide new extended shelters with information boards, seating and where necessary raised kerbs to each carriageway.”

The report also says discussions have taken place between the applicant and Northern Gas Networks about “potential interaction” between the proposed petrol station and an existing Northern Gas Networks high pressure gas transmission pipeline located beneath the site.

It says the risk of interaction is “acceptably low”.

The site is highlighted on a planning document.

Majority opposed to scheme

The council received 82 representations about the scheme. Just 24 were supportive and 57 objected, mainly on the grounds of amenity, traffic, environmental and drainage impacts.

Ms Broadbank has recommended the project be approved subject to conditions being met. The Conservative-controlled planning committee will decide whether to accept her recommendation when it meets on Tuesday next week. The meeting will be broadcast live on the council’s YouTube page.

It will be the penultimate meeting of the planning committee before Harrogate Borough Council is abolished at the end of next month.

Ms Broadbank’s report concludes:

“In summary, the development is acceptable in principle and meets the requirements of the sequential and retail impact tests with appropriate mitigation.

“The scheme uses previously developed land and is in a sustainable location within the development limits of Harrogate.

“The design and landscaping of the buildings are appropriate for this site and impacts with regards to the residential amenity, environmental impact and highways are acceptable.

“The development will create jobs and provide social, environmental and economic benefits to the local area.

“The scheme is in accordance with the development plan policies as a whole and represents sustainable development as required by the National Planning Policy Framework.”

Tesco first secured planning permission on the site in 2012 but revived its plans in December 2021.

Harrogate ambulance striker: ‘Nobody wants to wait three hours to offload patients’

Ambulance workers and nurses formed picket lines within metres of each other in Harrogate today as part of the biggest-ever day of NHS strikes in England.

Members of the Royal College of Nursing began two days of industrial action outside Harrogate District Hospital on Lancaster Park Road.

A two-minute walk away, members of the GMB union were huddled around a fire at Harrogate Ambulance Station for a one-day strike due to take place from 6am to midday and from 6pm to midnight.

Unison ambulance workers are due to strike on Friday.

Nurses strike Harrogate District Hospital

The hospital picket line today

Laura Faulkener, an ambulance practitioner and GMB rep, told the Stray Ferret patients were more likely to get an ambulance today than on non-strike days because of the measures put in place to respond to the most serious incidents.

Asked why the GMB was striking, Ms Faulkner said:

“There’s been a lot of focus on pay but it’s about conditions, above all.

“None of us want to wait seven hours in a corridor with patients while they wait to be seen.”

She said the situation was particularly bad at York Hospital but paramedics could still be left looking after patients in the back of ambulances for three or hour hours at Harrogate District Hospital while they waited to be treated.

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said in a statement key services continued to operate during the strike and nobody should be put off seeking urgent or emergency care. It added:

“Patients should continue to attend appointments as planned unless contacted to reschedule.”

RCN staff will be taking part in industrial action today (6 February) and tomorrow (7 February). This will impact our services at HDFT. Unless it’s a life-threatening injury/severe illness contact NHS111 https://t.co/h6tkZbXSie #nhsstrikes https://t.co/sUdV7rONPD

— Harrogate NHS FT (@HarrogateNHSFT) February 6, 2023

Harrogate cannabis gardener jailed after £250,000 farm found

A Vietnamese cannabis gardener has been jailed after police found him ensconced in a huge drug factory surrounded by hundreds of marijuana plants worth nearly a quarter of a million pounds.

Manh Nguyen, 18, was arrested at the house in West Lea Avenue, Harrogate, where he had been tending 460 plants inside a sophisticated cannabis factory equipped with irrigation and temperature systems, York Crown Court heard.

Nguyen, of no fixed address, was charged with being concerned in the production of a Class B drug but denied the allegation, claiming he had been trafficked to the UK to work as a cannabis gardener and was a victim of modern slavery.

The teenager was due to face trial today but entered a last-minute guilty plea to the charge, notwithstanding the fact the authorities had found he had been trafficked and was working effectively as a modern slave.

The Crown proceeded straight to sentence knowing that any jail sentence would be negated by the amount of time Nguyen had spent on remand.

Prosecutor Brooke Morrison said police discovered the bumper cannabis harvest on August 11 last year after raiding the property in Harrogate.

She added:

“They found inside a total of 460 cannabis plants spread across the rooms of the house.

“The defendant was the only person present at the property. The cannabis grow is estimated to be worth up to £210,000.

“There was a significant amount of equipment recovered including an irrigation system and temperature controls.

“(Nguyen) was found sleeping on a mattress in the front room. It is essentially accepted that he was a gardener given instructions over the phone to water the plants on a daily basis.

“He was seen by neighbours outside the property but only as far as the front of the garden.”

She said it was “clear that (Nguyen) was performing a limited role” in the drug enterprise and that he didn’t see a penny of the profits.

Ms Morrison added:

“Clearly, he was a vulnerable young adult and there has been a finding by the (authorities) that he has been trafficked.”

Defence barrister Harry Crowson said Nguyen had come to the UK after being trafficked from Vietnam. He quickly found himself being in debt to his criminal bosses and “taking instructions for a period of time”.

He said that at one stage Nguyen escaped from his criminal bosses and was given social housing, but the criminal gang found him and “brought him back to this same life”.

He said Nguyen’s captors had given him instructions to keep the front garden tidy by cutting the grass, but only gave him a pair of scissors with which to do so.

Mr Crowson said neighbours saw Nguyen performing the pathetic task “either under instruction to keep the grass tidy or because he was in the property with nothing else to occupy his time”.

Mr Crowson added:

“He is very young and came to this country for a better life.”

He said that Nguyen had been on custodial remand since August last year and had already served the equivalent of a one-year-jail sentence.

Used as a ‘modern slave’

Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, addressed Nguyen through a Vietnamese interpreter and told the teenager:

“It’s quite clear you have been used or (you were) what is termed these days a modern slave.

“You were living on a mattress (and) there is nothing to suggest you (made) any money whatsoever from this criminality.

“It’s a common story that people are hoodwinked into thinking they can get work and they are abused in this way.”

He said that had Nguyen played a “leading role…in this cannabis factory”, he would have given him “as long a sentence as I possibly could”, but that wasn’t the case.

Nguyen received an eight-month jail sentence, but he had already served the equivalent period on remand.

However, the judge warned him:

“Whether you are released from custody will be a matter for the Home Office.”

The court heard that the authorities were looking into Nguyen’s possible deportation.

Rossett headteacher resigns amid major reorganisation

Rossett School in Harrogate has announced the resignation of its headteacher.

Helen Woodcock had been headteacher since September 2014 but had been on leave since Christmas. An Ofsted report published in January this year said the school “required improvement”.

The developments were announced in a letter to parents from chair of governors John Hesketh, who said acting headteacher Pete Saunders will take over for the rest of the academic year.

The school has also stated its intention to join the Red Kite Learning Trust, a multi-academy trust that includes Harrogate Grammar School.

Thanking Ms Woodcock for her contribution to the school, Mr Saunders said:

“I am proud to be leading Rossett during this time of change as we work towards our aim of providing the very best education and excellent outcomes for all our students.”

Mr Saunders added that the school was excited about its plans to join the Red Kite Learning Trust — Rossett School was one of the founder members of the Red Kite Alliance nearly 14 years ago, which was the starting point for the trust.

Mr Saunders said:

“We look forward to being part of such a strong family of schools to share our resources and expertise, and create fantastic opportunities for our students and our staff. We have no doubt that this will be a great match for both our school and the trust that will support us to achieve the excellence we strive for.”

Acting headteacher Pete Saunders

Mr Saunders will be supported in his role by Richard Sheriff and Matthew West from the Red Kite Learning Trust.

Mr Sheriff is a National Leader of Education and chief executive of the RKLT, and Mr West is an Ofsted inspector and principal of Temple Moor High School in Leeds.

The letter to parents included a statement from Ms Woodcock in which she described Rossett as “a very special place”.

She said:

“It is a truly inclusive comprehensive school which supports all students to realise their potential, regardless of their background or the challenges in the personal lives.

“I have been privileged over the years to lead a committed and professional body of staff who have worked tirelessly to ensure that each and every student receives the highest quality of teaching and support through some of the most challenging years we have seen in education nationally.”

Mr Hesketh added: “This is only the start of our journey to being recognised as a truly outstanding school.”

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Funding struggles

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Harrogate chamber meeting to focus on health and wellbeing

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New footpath and cycle lane

£50,000 for bus services

Majority opposed to scheme

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Used as a ‘modern slave’

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