A former soldier has pledged to walk over 100km to raise funds for a local charity – without ever straying too far from home.  

James Bryceson, who lives in Norwood in the Washburn Valley, intends to walk around Fewston and Swinsty reservoirs – which lie just a mile away – 10 times in a row, in an epic 104km trek that he hopes will take just 20 hours. 

He is tackling the epic trek, which he has called The Reservoir Slog, to raise money for Harrogate Homeless Project, and has set £1,000 as his fundraising target. 

James, who spent 13 years in the Army, 10 of them in the Military Police, said: 

“I’d been out of the Army for a while and wanted to do something to get fit. I thought 100km in a day would be a good goal to set. 

“There couldn’t be a better charity to support. This is a local walk, and I’m hoping it will benefit people locally.” 

James, who now works as a recruitment consultant, has spent the last six months preparing for the walk by lifting weights and doing daily circuits of the reservoirs. 

He plans to set off on the round walk at 8am on Sunday, June 25 and keep the water on his right – heading clockwise – for the duration. He will be accompanied at various stages by family and friends, but is urging wellwishers to join him for as much or as little of the challenge as they like. He said: 

“You can come along for one lap, two laps or more. The night part will be hardest, as I’ll be quite tired by then. So if anyone can join me for that bit, that’d be great – they can keep me awake!” 

He is also looking for sponsorship, and is asking interested local businesses to get in touch. People wanting to support James’s trek for Harrogate Homeless Project can make a donation online via JustGiving, at The Reservoir Slog. 

Read more:

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• 10K run set to be held in aid of Harrogate Homeless Project
• Swinsty and Fewston parking charges to include ‘season ticket’

A Knaresborough voluntary group has bought four plots of farmland totalling 61 acres to turn into a community green space and nature reserve.

Renaissance Knaresborough launched a fundraising campaign in December to acquire privately-owned land between Knaresborough and Starbeck.

The land between Beryl Burton Cycle Way and the A59 Harrogate Road is not currently accessible to the public and there were fears it could one day be used for development.

The campaign aimed to prevent that by reinstating part of the ancient Knaresborough forest, with the land owned by individual shareholders and open to the public for recreation and conservation.

The campaign received £160,000 of pledges from individuals and organisations and a £410,000 donation from the George A Moore Foundation in Leeds. George Moore, a successful businessman who died in 2016, was born and raised in Knaresborough.

An interest-free philanthropic loan by We Have The Power, an organisation set up by impact investor Julia Davies to empower community groups to improve local biodiversity and tackle the climate crisis, enabled a bid to be submitted to the land agents.

However, the campaigners now need to raise about £300,000 to pay back the loan. They hope to raise the sum within six months.

Liz Baxandall, chair of Renaissance Knaresborough, said:

“The combination of the loan, substantial donations and community pledges have enabled Renaissance Knaresborough to realise its dream of protecting the greenbelt and delivering such a wonderful legacy project.

“Julia’s last-minute loan enabled us to secure all the land, a goal we had thought was unrealisable.

“We are so very grateful for all the amazing support we are receiving to protect over 60 acres of beautiful greenbelt countryside between our towns.”

Campaigners celebrate the land purchase

The campaign is similar to the successful Long Lands Common initiative that raised £375,000 to buy 30 acres of land near Nidderdale Greenway.

Fears over green belt

Ms Baxandall said there were major concerns about the amount of building going on and the protection of green belt land.

Knaresborough Forest Park, she said, would “involve all ages working together to create a really special haven for nature and humans”, adding:

“We will pay off the philanthropic loan with the money people are pledging so please keep those pledges coming in.

“Pledges to buy community shares send a very clear message that Knaresborough Forest Park is hugely important to people. Over 900 people have already pledged. We cannot thank you all enough.”

Read more:

• Campaign to create Knaresborough Forest Park issues urgent plea for support
• £405,000 campaign to restore public access to 41 acres of the old Knaresborough Forest

The fields were once the eastern end of the ancient Royal Forest of Knaresborough. The land adjoins Long Lands Common at one end and drops down towards the River Nidd at the other.

George Eglese, a director of Knaresborough Forest Park, said:

“The land is already home to many species of flora and fauna with magnificent old hedges, streams, wetlands, and grasslands.

“There are panoramic views, taking in the town, the castle and St. John’s, which provide a fantastic opportunity to tell tale of ancient Knaresborough and the forest.

“The community has come together and achieved something to be incredibly proud of, something that will be there for many generations to come.”

Two men have been arrested after reports of cars being broken into in Harrogate.

The men, both from Bradford and aged in their 50s, were arrested in the early hours of this morning.

North Yorkshire Police acted after a resident in Bilton saw a man trying car door handles on their doorbell camera.

As a result, officers arrested two men on suspicion of vehicle interference and going equipped for theft.

Both are currently being questioned in custody.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a 34-year-old man was arrested and charged with theft from a vehicle following an incident on Yew Tree Lane on March 26.

He was due to appear before York Magistrates Court today.

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• Harrogate crime hotspot gets £6,000 railings to prevent loitering

David Simister, chief executive of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, is seriously ill in hospital.

The business organisation said on its website yesterday Mr Simister had suffered a “serious medical episode”.

It added:

“I am sure all our members, and friends in the wider business community of Harrogate will join us in wishing him and his family our thoughts and prayers for a positive outcome and want him to know that we will all be with him on his road to recovery.

“We are deeply saddened by the news and greatly miss David’s infectious enthusiasm and dedication.”

The message added the chamber’s management team led by president Sue Kramer and vice-presidents, Martin Mann, Sam Oakes and Jackie Snape would continue to support and represent chamber members.

Former journalist Mr Simister is well known in Harrogate. He co-founded the Harrogate communications firm Different PR and is a former councillor.

The Stray Ferret sends our best wishes to Mr Simister and hope for his speedy recovery.

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Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee last act yesterday was to approve a new council house in Huby.

The committee of councillors has met about once a month to decide on some of the largest and most controversial developments in the district.

But in its final meeting it was asked to approve a two-bedroom council home on the Kingsway estate in Huby.

When the council was formed in 1974 it owned 7,000 council houses across the Harrogate district but this has fallen to 3,800 since the Conservative government introduced the Right to Buy scheme in the 1980s.

There are currently 2,199 households registered on the waiting list for council homes.

The two-storey home in Huby will include solar panels and an air source heat pump to provide future residents with renewable energy.

Read more:

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• Confirmed: second phase of Harrogate’s Otley Road cycle route scrapped

Harrogate Borough Council housing officer Emily Shephard told councillors the authority still owns 80% of council homes on the Huby estate, which is next to Weeton train station.

Objector Susan Durrant told councillors the site would increase traffic in Huby and the empty grassland should be used by the community instead. 

She said:

“The highway is very difficult in that area for parking. You can only park on one side of the road. It’s hazardous. All the vehicles coming and going would create mayhem.

“The land could be used as common land for a play area for children. Why at this point in the day has it been decided to build upon there?”

The plans were approved by eight votes to four.

North Yorkshire Council will create new planning committees based on parliamentary constituency areas.

This means that from April 1, the Harrogate Borough Council area will be split into new committees for Harrogate and Knaresborough, Selby and Ainsty and Ripon and Skipton.

Not-for-profit care provider Harrogate Neighbours has opened a care home in Boroughbridge.

Heath Lodge Community Haven is a 31-bed home providing residential and dementia care.

The site was previously a North Yorkshire County Council-run care home called Springfield Garth.

Harrogate Neighbours acquired it as part of a swap agreement that saw the council take over the voluntary organisation’s former 28-bed Heath Lodge care home on Pannal Ash Road in Harrogate.

Harrogate Neighbours hopes its Boroughbridge home will eventually offer the same services as those provided at The Cuttings, its 55-flat development in Starbeck that includes domiciliary care as well as meals on wheels to older and vulnerable people living nearby.

It spent £500,000 refurbishing the York Road site with the help of Yorkshire interior design firm Design Tonic, which donated furniture and staff time to help create a warm and welcoming environment for residents, relatives and staff.

Design Tonic advised on colour palettes to create a calming and comfortable atmosphere and refurnished the ground floor bedrooms with fresh paint and new curtains and carpet. It also re-designed the entrance area using splashes of gold and built a feature reception desk.

Sue Cawthray, chief executive of Harrogate Neighbours said:

“We can’t thank the wonderful team at Design Tonic enough. As a not-for-profit organisation, we rely on the generosity of local businesses.

“The staff, residents and relatives have all commented on how fantastic the entrance area looks – we’re so grateful for all their hard work.”

Read more:

• New plans submitted to create 12 flats in former Harrogate care home
• Government ‘refuses to consider’ compensating North Yorkshire for scrapped care pilot

Design Tonic founder Amanda Cook, said:

“Working with Harrogate Neighbours and seeing first-hand the impact the transformation has had on residents and staff is why we do what we do.

“We work with a number of local charities that we align ourselves with and it’s great to share our expertise and give something back – particularly when we know what a huge difference it makes.”

Heath Lodge Community Haven received a ‘Good’ rating in all areas following a recent Care Quality Commission visit.

Otley Road in Harrogate will be closed for five nights next month while remedial works are carried out to the cycle path.

The work follows a review of the project by North Yorkshire County Council and contractor WSP after its completion last February.

The company had been asked to carry out improvements, including carriageway resurfacing, but this was delayed until after CityFibre installed new fibre broadband infrastructure earlier this year.

Now, dates have been set for the remedial work.

Otley Road will be closed between Cold Bath Road and Harlow Moor Road every night from April 24 to 28, from 7pm to 3am.

The Stray Ferret asked the council for full details of the work to be carried out, but had not received a response by the time of publication.

The news of the planned works follows an announcement from the council that it was scrapping the second phase of the three-part cycle lane scheme.

The first phase, which saw shared and segregated cycle lanes installed on Otley Road between Cold Bath Road and Harlow Moor Road, has come under fire since its construction. As part of a joint project which also aimed to widen the junction between Otley Road and Harlow Moor Road, it cost more than £2.2m.

Pedestrians have said the shared paths do not feel safe, while cyclists said it did nothing to encourage more people to cycle.

Read more:

• Harrogate’s Otley Road to be dug up again
• Confirmed: second phase of Harrogate’s Otley Road cycle route scrapped

As a result, the council said it is reviewing plans for schemes to encourage active travel and would not be extending the cycle route to Beech Grove, as originally planned.

Speaking last month, the council’s executive member for transport, Cllr Keane Duncan, said:

“Our proposal to consider an alternative package of sustainable transport measures demonstrates how we are listening to public feedback. Halting construction of phase two allows us the opportunity to prepare new measures with local input and support.

“The constraints of Otley Road meant it was always going to be difficult to meet government cycle infrastructure design standards without infringing on the Stray, widening the road or removing trees.

“We consulted on a number of options, but these were not fully compliant and attracted criticism. Cyclists have expressed concerns that the proposed cycle way would not encourage more cycling due to its design, while pedestrians said they were concerned about their safety.

“Given the concerns, it is right that we think again and explore alternative measures to promote walking, cycling and use of public transport.”

A plan to convert a former Royal Air Force club in Harrogate into flats has been approved.

The club on East Parade occupied the building between 1966 and 2022 and served to support ex-RAF servicemen and servicewomen throughout the Harrogate district.

Its members were part of the RAF Association, a registered charity that provides welfare support to the family of RAF members nationally.

Now, Harrogate Borough Council has approved a proposal by Mr Aaron Dean to convert the club into four flats following its closure last year.

The club closed after over 50 years in June 2022 due to a dwindling membership locally.

A statement from the club chairman last summer said the club was no longer viable and when sold, the proceeds would be given to the RAF Association.

Read more:

• Royal Air Force club in Harrogate to close after 56 years
• Malcolm Neesam History: Harrogate’s thriving working men’s clubs
• Government rejects Harrogate working men’s club flats plan

A closing party was held at the club where people made donations to obtain some of its remaining military memorabilia.

Despite closing the club, the Harrogate district branch of RAFA is continuing with its charitable endeavours and remaining members will still attend annual events such as the Battle of Britain commemorative parade at Stonefall Cemetery and Remembrance Sunday parades.

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has spent £9 million on agency staff costs this year.

The figure covers staffing in areas such as nursing, dental and clinical support staff.

The trust set a target to spend no more than £473,000 each month on agencies — the equivalent of a maximum of £5.7 million over the year.

However, according to board papers, the trust has spent £9.8 million on agency staff – £4.1 million more than its target spend for the year.

In January alone, the hospital spent more than £1 million on agency staff.

HDFT agency staff spending per month. Table: HDFT.

It comes as Alex Sobel, Labour MP for Leeds North West and the party’s shadow environment minister, described Harrogate hospital’s reliance on agencies as “a disgrace”.

He told the House of Commons last month that a constituent called Marjorie Dunn spent just over seven weeks at the hospital last year.

Mr Sobel said:

“In that time she saw NHS nurses leave the service and she was treated predominantly by agency staff — mistreated, I have to say, by agency staff. It is a disgrace.

“When she was eventually moved to a recovery hub run by Leeds City Council she got excellent treatment there.

“She had broken her pelvis and been told she would never walk again, but it was the council physiotherapist who got her up and walking again. Is it not right that we should be supporting local authorities such as Labour-run Leeds to get such facilities as well as the NHS?”

The Stray Ferret has approached Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust for comment.

A spokesperson said previously:

“We pride ourselves on providing the best possible standards of care for our patients, wherever that care may be being delivered. On the rare occasions when this has fallen below our expectations or those of our patients, we have procedures in place to identify this and ensure we continuously improve.

“Workforce challenges in the NHS are well documented. As a trust, we monitor recruitment, retention, turnover and staff wellbeing closely and have a bank of the trust’s own nursing staff, who are available to support where we have short- term absence. These staff are familiar with Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust and our standards of care.

“On occasion, we do need to use the services of agencies to support nursing gaps, however we expect all staff working at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust to provide the same standards of care for our patients, and we will address this if it is found not to be the case.”

Read more:

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• ‘Shocking’ lack of NHS dentists in Harrogate and Knaresborough raised in Parliament

It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. The third in our series of networking events in association with The Coach and Horses in Harrogate is a lunch event on March 30 from 12.30pm.

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-based financial advisory firm has hired three new employees as part of growth within its group.

Prosperis Ltd, which is based at St James Business Park, made the hires to meet demand from corporate clients locally and around the UK.

Corporate services associate Ben Morris has joined the firm at its Knaresborough head office, while Dominic Ferneyhough joins as an independent financial adviser at its Skipton office.

Meanwhile, Ryan Green joins as a trainee in Skipton.

Niall Gunn, managing director at Prosperis, said:

“Recruiting new staff is never easy but we are delighted to have secured the services of Dom, Ben and Ryan,

“We will look to add high quality staff to the team as we continue with our expansion plans this year.”

Knaresborough company to sponsor Harrogate 10k

A green energy company based in Knaresborough is to sponsor this year’s Harrogate 10k.

Harmony Energy announced this week it will sponsor the event, which is being held on Sunday, July 2, and organised by Harrogate Harriers.

Peter Kavanagh, Harmony Energy CEO, and Rachel Gregson, Harrogate Harriers’ communications officer

The annual race starts and finishes at Harrogate Sports and Fitness Centre on Hookstone Wood Road.

Peter Kavanagh, Harmony Energy chief executive, who along with five other Harmony employees ran last year’s 10k, said: 

“We are delighted to once again be partnering with Harrogate Harriers to sponsor this year’s Harrogate 10k.

“I was approached last year by one of the committee, who lives near me, asking if we would consider sponsoring the Harrogate 10k. I’ve always enjoyed running and the health benefits it brings so I welcomed the opportunity to support the event.

“Harmony Energy already sponsors the Brownlee Foundation, which sees thousands of children taking part in triathlons, and it is great being able to support another sporting event involving children and adults on our doorstep.”

Rachel Gregson, Harrogate Harriers’ communications officer, said: 

“Once again we are indebted to Harmony Energy for sponsoring the Harrogate 10k.

“Their funding allows us to not only stage the event, but to ensure it is properly marshalled, with first aiders and the necessary insurance in place.

“Last year nearly 500 runners took part in the event, and this year with covid fading into the distance we hope it will attract many more. It’s a really good course, takes in some beautiful scenery and is suitable for runners of all ages and abilities.”

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