Man jailed for carrying hammer in Harrogate town centre

A 38-year-old man has been jailed after carrying a hammer in public in Harrogate town centre.

Graham McMillan, of no fixed address, appeared before York Magistrates Court on Tuesday (August 30) charged with carrying an offensive weapon without lawful excuse.

McMillan was arrested by police outside Clintons card shop on Cambridge Street on Sunday, August 28.

Officers were responding to reports of a man carrying a hammer in the town centre and swearing at people on Oxford Street.

At the hearing on Tuesday, McMillan was sentenced to 42 weeks in prison. He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £187.

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The court said it imposed the sentence as the offence was serious and McMillan had breached a suspended sentence previously imposed on him.

Magistrates said they took into account the defendant’s guilty plea when handing down the punishment.

Harrogate hospital officials ‘confident’ A&E streaming can tackle waiting times

Hospital bosses in Harrogate have said they are confident a new streaming service will help tackle waiting times in A&E.

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust revealed in June that it was to spend £900,000 setting up a service to assess patients at its emergency department.

As part of the plan, those who have a less serious illness or injury will be transferred to another part of the hospital which will have its own designated clinical practitioners.

Officials have now confirmed that the streaming service will be in full operation seven days a week from November this year.

Hospital bosses have so far been running the service four days a week when staff are available.

While there are no formal figures on how many patients the service has seen in that time, the hospital estimates that up to 50 people a day can be triaged through streaming.

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Currently, between 130 and 150 patients attend the hospital’s emergency department daily.

The Stray Ferret asked the hospital whether it was confident that the measure will help to cut down waiting times at A&E.

A spokesperson for Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said:

“The streaming model will have a significant impact on waiting times in the ED [emergency department] – ensuring those walk in patients are seen promptly and allowing the sickest patients to have the focus of senior clinicians.”

Waiting time targets

Latest figures show that Harrogate District Hospital had 5,663 attendances to its emergency department in July 2022.

The national standard for emergency department waiting times is to admit, transfer or discharge 95% of patients within four hours.

According to NHS England figures, 71% of patients were seen within that timeframe at Harrogate hospital.

The move to create an A&E streaming service comes as other hospital trusts across the UK have introduced similar measures.

In 2018, United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust spent £500,000 on expanding Boston Pilgrim Hospital’s emergency unit in order to introduce a streaming service.

At the time, ULHT said it felt there were too many patients attending the emergency department who could be seen by a general practitioner instead.

Plan to open Betfred bookmakers in Harrogate town centre

Plans have been submitted to convert a former charity shop into a Betfred bookmakers in Harrogate town centre.

Done Brothers (Cash Betting) Ltd, which trades as Betfred, has applied to Harrogate Borough Council to open the bookies on Cambridge Road.

The proposal would see the former YMCA charity shop, which sits next to Greggs, converted into a bookmakers. The unit was also previously occupied by Thomas Cook.

The developer said in its plans that the opening of Betfred would help bring the unit back into use and “provide additional staff employment”.

It said:

“Betfred do not currently operate a bookmakers in central Harrogate, Betfred require additional premises to meet demand from the local residents. 

“The proposal therefore seeks a new opening of Betfred’s existing bookmaker businesses within Harrogate and would result in new options for bookmakers’ business within the town centre.”

The developer added:

“The introduction of Betfred’s businesses within the town centre will grow a local business, providing additional staff employment and bring a vacant unit back into use within Harrogate which supports economic growth principles in national and local planning policy.”

Betfred currently operates a bookmakers on King’s Road in Harrogate.

Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the plan for Cambridge Road at a later date.

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Harrogate Town make four transfer deadline day signings

Harrogate Town made four new additions to their squad on transfer deadline day last night.

Town confirmed the signings of strikers Danny Grant from Huddersfield Town on loan and Dior Angus from Wrexham on a permanent deal.

Grant, who signed for the Terriers from League of Ireland Premier Division side Bohemians, will join up with Huddersfield teammates Jaheim Headley, Josh Austerfield and Matty Daly.

He will wear the number nine shirt at town.

Sam Folarin, who signed from Middlesborough for Harrogate Town.

Sam Folarin, who signed for Harrogate Town from Middlesborough.

Angus, who scored seven goals in 41 games for Wrexham, joins Town after narrowly missing out on promotion to EFL League Two last season.

Meanwhile, Exeter City winger Josh Coley also joined on loan and 21-year-old Sam Folarin completed Town’s deadline day business and signed from Middlesbrough on a permanent deal.

Coley will wear number 10 at Town, while Folarin will be given the number 12 shirt.

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Man charged after Land Rover stolen from Harrogate driveway

Police have recovered a stolen Land Rover which had been taken from a driveway in Harrogate and charged a 21-year-old man.

The owner alerted North Yorkshire Police yesterday morning after finding the vehicle had been taken overnight.

The two-in-one burglary had seen the keys taken from the house before the offender made off with the Land Rover.

Officers tracked down the vehicle and, while checking local CCTV, saw the suspect trying the door handle on another home.

The 21-year-old suspect, also from Harrogate, was arrested and charged with burglary, attempted burglary, and theft of a motor vehicle.

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Harrogate woman sentenced for assaulting three police officers

An 18-year-old has been sentenced in court for assaulting three police officers in Harrogate.

Emily Harris-Jones, of Beech Street in Starbeck, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court and was charged with assaulting two emergency workers on July 9, 2022.

She assaulted one police constable on the street before beating the same officer at Harrogate Police Station.

Harris-Jones also assaulted another named officer at the station on the same date.

She was also charged with the same offence against a police officer at Dragon Service Station, Skipton Road, on June 29 this year.

The court found all four offences were aggravated by being committed against emergency workers carrying out their duties.

Magistrates sentenced her to 10 weeks in prison for each count, to be served concurrently, suspended for 18 months. She was ordered to undergo treatment for alcohol dependency.

The court also imposed compensation totalling £200, a victim surcharge of £154 and £170 in court costs.

Magistrates said they took into account Harris-Jones’ guilty plea when imposing the sentence.

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Fire service availability ‘incredibly concerning’ says North Yorkshire commissioner

North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoë Metcalfe has called issues with fire crew availability in the county “incredibly concerning”.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s fire engine availability was classed as being at a “critical” level for 10% of the time during May this year.

That status refers to the service having fewer than 32 staffed engines and other appliances available across North Yorkshire.

The fire service said that “ongoing challenges” were affecting firefighter availability in the county.

The statistics were presented during the monthly public accountability meeting chaired by the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

After the high in May, the period of time spent at the critical level decreased to 4% in June.

Ms Metcalfe said that the situation reaffirmed the need for the fire service’s risk and resource model consultation.

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The consultation, which closed last month, proposed upgrading Harrogate’s 24-hour tactical response vehicle to a full fire engine, but only during the day.

Harrogate Fire Station is currently one of only of five in North Yorkshire to have staff on a 24-hour basis.

Elsewhere in North Yorkshire, the commissioner proposed moving some stations from full-time operation to being ‘on-call’.

That is where firefighters principally work in other jobs but respond to incidents when needed.

Ms Metcalfe said:

“That’s why… the fire service invests in the on-call model and that the service uses its resources in the very best way in the future.”

Zoe Metcalfe, North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

Zoe Metcalfe, North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

“Our availability is inverted to our demand”

The fire service’s director of assurance, area manager James Manning, told the meeting that the current method of employing staff on-call had led to some issues.

He said:

“Our availability is inverted to our demand.”

The data showed that fire crew availability was higher in the evenings and overnight but lower during the daytime when fewer firefighters were able to be on-call.

Roughly around double the number of incidents happen in the daytime compared to overnight.

Mr Manning added that May also saw “slightly higher than normal” levels of leave and sickness but that the service was working on becoming more flexible in its staffing arrangements.

Drone shots reveal progression of new Knaresborough Road Lidl

Drone shots of the new Lidl on Knaresborough Road reveal work is progressing ahead of opening later this year.

They were sent to us by Stray Ferret reader Darren Leeming and show that the supermarket looks almost complete from the outside, with solar panels also installed on the roof.

It will be the first Lidl to open in Harrogate, following the branch in Knaresborough.

The multi-million-pound building includes a 1,263 square metre sales area, an in-store bakery, customer toilets and 94 parking spaces.

Credit: Darren Leeming

The new store will be open from 8am to 10pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sunday.

The German-owned company is currently on a recruitment drive for the new store. A Lidl spokesperson said:

“We are delighted to confirm that construction of our new Lidl store on Knaresborough Road, Harrogate, is well under way.

“The store is due to open this autumn and we are currently hiring for open vacancies, so would encourage anyone interested to visit our careers website.

“We look forward to sharing more information with the local community closer to the time.”

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Travellers expected to move on from Stray this week

Harrogate Borough Council says it expects a group of Travellers will move on from the Stray “in the next couple of days” after it obtained a court order.

An encampment appeared on a section of the parkland between Oatlands Drive and Stray Rein towards the end of August.

Several vehicles are there and the council has provided bins for them to use.

Many Gypsies and Travellers travel the country staying at different places in order to earn a living. In most cases, it has been a way of life for generations.

But the law states that if they camp on private land, the landowner can obtain an order through a county court to remove them. The Stray is managed by Harrogate Borough Council.

A HBC spokesperson said:

“We had a court hearing [yesterday] for a possession order so anticipate they will move on in the next couple of days.”

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Council faces calls to hold in-person Maltkiln consultation events

Harrogate Borough Council has been criticised because it plans to promote its latest Maltkin consultation through social media and video, rather than at in-person events in Green Hammerton, Kirk Hammerton and Cattal.

A draft development plan document (DPD) has been drawn up by officers at HBC that includes a vision for how the 3,000-home settlement called Maltkiln will eventually look. The developer Oakgate Group would build the homes.

It is the biggest housing scheme in HBC’s Local Plan, which sets out where development can take place until 2034, and it is likely to change the face of the three small villages off the A59.

No exhibitions

The draft DPD is set to go before councillors at a meeting on September 21.

If approved, a six-week public consultation on the document will take place, beginning on October 6.

However, an email from a senior planning manager to councillors and stakeholders, seen by the Stray Ferret, says the consultation will only be promoted through social media, posters and an ‘explanatory video’ that sets out what the DPD is.

The email says:

“Please note that we are not holding a public exhibition as we feel that the explanatory video will have a broader reach and be more appropriate given the nature of the content of the DPD.

“During more detailed master planning, when visual options are being presented and design codes discussed, then public exhibitions may be more appropriate.”

Cllr Alex Smith, of Kirk Hammerton Parish Council, said he felt this was unsatisfactory, particularly for residents who struggle to navigate the council’s website.

He said:

“By deciding not to exhibit in the affected villages, HBC are excluding those residents who are unable to navigate the depths of the consultation site, something which is challenging, even for experienced users.

“Council leader Richard Cooper went out of his way to promise residents that the consultation would be genuine and inclusive, but this feels like neither.”

The layout for Maltkiln, which is centred around Cattal Station

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Cllr Smith compared the proposals to develop Maltkiln with Harrogate’s Station Gateway, which has seen several rounds of in-person public consultations organised by North Yorkshire County Council. He added:

“You only have to compare what’s happening with the Station Gateway, which, even on its third consultation, is getting three days of public exhibitions. 

“For the ‘New Settlement’ – a much more significant development – the council have managed to switch preferred options, chosen the site, and even named it, without so much as setting foot in one of the local village halls.

“Some consultations are more genuine and inclusive than others, it would seem.”

In response, a HBC spokesperson said:

“This is the latest consultation regarding the new settlement in the Hammerton/Cattal area of Harrogate district, known as Maltkiln. And follows a number of earlier stages of consultation and engagement that have helped shape the Development Plan Document (DPD), which we are now consulting on.

“The DPD is a sizeable policy framework that will allow us to manage how the new settlement is developed moving forward, and due to its nature, it is more appropriate to host an online consultation to ensure all information and documents – of which there are many – are easy to view and digest.

“To ensure the public is made aware of this consultation we will be producing a video, FAQ document, issuing press release(s), social media posts, a Residents’ News article, as well as informing the community liaison group and printing leaflets and posters to raise awareness of the consultation.

“During more detailed master planning, when visual options are being presented and designs discussed, public exhibitions may be more appropriate.”