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Christmas tree festivals 2022: guide to events taking place in the Harrogate district

Christmas is edging closer and there are plenty of festivities taking place over the next couple of weeks.

Among them are a growing number of churches hosting Christmas tree festivals around the Harrogate district.

If you fancy seeing some inspiring, creative decorations, check out our list below of some of the festivals taking place across the district.

Know of another that’s not on our list? Email the details to us now.

St James’s Church Boroughbridge

Boroughbridge launched the district’s festivals last weekend with some spectacular efforts.

Visitors cast their votes and overwhelmingly selected Kirby Hill WI’s jam jar tree as their favourite (pictures below). The Post Office was in second place and Spar came third.

In the children’s competition, Boroughbridge Scouts came out on top, followed by Roecliffe Primary School and Boroughbridge Junior School Early Years.

The festival concluded with a carol service on Sunday.

St John’s Church, Knaresborough

The St John’s Christmas Tree Festival returns for another year.

The Knaresborough Christmas tree festival takes place every year: 70 Christmas trees are decorated by local groups and are displayed in the St John’s Church in the heart of Knaresborough.

It started last weekend and is running up until the December 23.

As well as the Christmas tree competition there is live music and festive mulled wine refreshments.

There will be live music every Saturday of the festival:

Saturday, December 10
Saturday, December 17

Admission to the festival is free, but donations to the church and their chosen charity are welcomed.

The event takes place at Vicarage Lane, Knaresborough HG5 9AE.

St John’s Church, Bilton

The Christmas tree festival in Bilton got up and running last weekend and continues throughout the month.

It features 20 trees created by community groups, many themed by the teams behind them.

The church is open from 9am to 1pm, Monday to Thursday each week, for visitors to see the trees. They are also on show at services until the end of December.

Entry is free and everyone is welcome at the Bilton Lane church.

St Andrew’s Church, Blubberhouses

Another Christmas tree festival with an amazing variety of trees, a creative and festive event for everyone.

The festival is open this weekend, Saturday, December 10 and Sunday, December 11, from 11am to 4pm.

On Sunday, The 4 – a musical quartet will be singing Christmas music and carols.

There will also be wreaths and Christmas crafts for sale.

Enjoy a festive atmosphere with mulled wine and refreshments.

Admission to this event is free and it is taking place at Shepherd Hill Road, Blubberhouses, Otley, LS21 2NU.

Boroughbridge Christmas Tree Festival

St Peter’s Church, Harrogate

St Peter’s Church Christmas Tree Festival returns for its 18th year.

The festival is running from December 10 to 17 and organisers hope to make this year “bigger and brighter than ever”.

The opening times are 8am to 5.15pm.

Charities, local schools, shops, and businesses have been invited to decorate a Christmas tree or wreath, decorations can either be Christmas themed or reflect their organisation.

This gives the decorators an opportunity to tell the community about their activities and achievements and brings the whole community together for some festive fun at the end of the year.

Attendees will vote for their favourite Christmas tree, and the winner will be announced at their 9.30am service on December 18.

The trees each have their own frame with details of who the tree is sponsored by and the name or theme of the tree.

It takes place at St Peter’s Church, Cambridge Road, Harrogate HG1 1PB.

Laptop and cash stolen from Harrogate community group while it helped others

A thief has stolen a laptop and cash from food waste community group Resurrected Bites.

The culprit took the items from the organisation’s give as you can cafe at West Park United Reformed Church in Harrogate on Wednesday while volunteers were helping people in need.

Resurrected Bites works with local businesses and suppliers to divert food from landfill and converts it into meals in its cafes in Harrogate and Knaresborough. It also operates a community groceries scheme.

Michelle Hayes, founder and director of Resurrected Bites, said:

“We are gutted and hope the person will do the right thing and return what they took.”

Ms Hayes said no personal data had been compromised but added the incident had been a “wake-up call”:

“It was an opportunistic thief at lunchtime. We will have to be a lot more vigilant on security going forward.

“We are a naturally trusting group of people and it’s very sad that someone would steal from us.”

The Stray Ferret is running a Christmas appeal to raise money for Resurrected Bites, after it issued a plea for funding to keep its services alive.

The target was originally £5,000, which was achieved in days, and has since been raised to £20,000. The current total is £12,800. You can donate here.

A Harrogate woman has taken command of a Royal New Zealand Navy ship.

Yvonne Gray is a former student of Bilton Grange Primary School and Harrogate Granby High School.

She moved to the pacific with her wife Sharon 2012 after falling in love with the country following a camper van holiday.

She initially trained as a teacher, but joined the Royal Navy and then moved onto the Royal New Zealand Navy.

As the Commanding Officer of the RNZN’s Mine Counter Measures Team she participated in activities all over the world, and her role in maritime evaluation has seen her help ‘work up’ ships and crews to peak efficiency.

She said her eyes lit up at the thought of taking command of HMNZS Manawanui, which entered service with the Royal New Zealand Navy three years ago.

Commander Gray said:

“Sure, for a lot of warfare officers, that’s the pinnacle of their career to get to ‘drive’ a ship. I prefer to think of my career as a ridgeline, sometimes the view is good and sometimes it is better.

“When I’ve really enjoyed a job it’s because I’ve made a difference, where things are a little bit better than they were before. With Manawanui, it’s not just about the command. This is an opportunity to take a ship still in its infancy and further the capability of that ship, and influence and help those who carry our Navy into the future.”

The vessel HMNZS Manawanui is based at Devonport Naval Base in Auckland. Manawanui is Māori for ‘steadfast’ or ‘big heart’.

The ship is the first Commander Gray has taken charge of in her career.

Commander Gray took charge the ship this week.

The Royal New Zealand Navy’s dive, hydrographic and salvage vessel HMNZS Manawanui at sea.

She joined the Royal Navy in 1993 as a warfare officer and signed an eight-year commission.

“The idea was at the end of eight years you got £23,000. I was really into cooking at the time and I thought do eight years, get £23,000, open my own restaurant.”

But several years in, she knew the Navy life was for her.

“I was really enjoying myself. I could see it was an organisation where I fitted well.”

Reduction in Harrogate fire engines to begin next year

The reduction in the number of fire engines crewed overnight in Harrogate looks set to be implemented next year.

Zoë Metcalfe, the Conservative North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, today published her blueprint on how fire resources will be deployed over the next three years.

Her Risk and Resource Model includes greater investment on fire prevention and rural on-call stations. But full-time urban fire stations in Harrogate and Scarborough will see the number of appliances staffed between 10pm and 9am reduced from two to one.

They will, however, get two emergency rescue fire engines at other times, when most fires occur, rather than the current one emergency vehicle and one less well equipped tactical response vehicle.

The nighttime reduction has been criticised by unions and councillors for putting lives at risk.

But today’s report, which was published after a 12-week summer consultation, provides some consolation. It says:

“We will adjust the night staffing proposals at Harrogate and Scarborough to provide added resilience by adding an additional firefighter.”

‘Low number of incidents’

The report reveals the county’s fire and rescue service received £38.2 million funding 2022/23, of which £23.4 millions came from council taxpayers.

Two-thirds of fire stations are on-call stations where firefighters respond to a pager from home or from their work. Ripon, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Masham, Lofthouse and Summerbridge have on-call stations in the Harrogate district, although Ripon has a full-time crew during the day.

Fire station locations in North Yorkshire. Pic: North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner

The report says:

“Because many people do not live and work in the same community anymore, many of our on-call stations struggle to have enough firefighters available to respond, especially during the day when demand is highest.”

It also says “many of our fire engines attend a relatively low number of incidents”. In the year to March, 31 2022, firefighters attended 7,594 incidents, of which 1,742 were fires, 2,485 incidents classed as ‘special services’ and 3,367 false alarms.

‘Reduce the need for an emergency response’

The report says the “increased focus on prevention aims to address and reduce risk and the need for an emergency response”.

The joint foreword by Ms Metcalfe and chief fire officer Jonathan Dyson says:

“We are a predominantly rural service where most of our stations are crewed by on-call firefighters. It is increasingly challenging to recruit and retain staff to keep our rural fire engines available to respond to emergencies. We intend to modernise and invest in our on-call service model to ensure it is sustainable and fit for the future and ultimately improve fire engine availability.

The report says the consultation revealed more support in favour of the proposals than against, but adds:

“The extent of disagreement was greater for proposed changes to the provision of response resource (Huntington, Harrogate and Scarborough).”

Harrogate army instructor faces court martial over sex charges

An instructor at Harrogate’s Army Foundation College is to appear before a court martial next month accused of sexual offences.

The college, on Penny Pot Lane, provides 23-week and 49-week basic training courses to junior soldiers aged 16 to 18.

It was rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted last year but has been dogged by allegations of misconduct.

A British Army spokesman said:

“We are aware of a number of alleged incidents, some of which are historical, at Army Foundation College Harrogate. These are being investigated.

“Those who are guilty of wrongdoing will be held accountable for their actions. It would be inappropriate to comment further.”

The Telegraph reported this week the instructor is charged with more than 20 offences, including at least five counts of alleged sexual assaults of 16-year-old girls.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told the newspaper the government was drawing up plans to ensure army instructors who have sex with their students faced criminal prosecutions.

Police support Starbeck BT ‘street hub’ despite drugs concerns

North Yorkshire Police has backed the installation of a BT ‘street hub’ in Starbeck despite concerns they can encourage drug dealing.

BT has applied to Harrogate Borough Council to remove the existing phone box and set up a hub on High Street outside Starbeck Post Office. The telecommunications company plans to install seven of the hubs across Harrogate.

The hubs, which are being installed across the country, provide free phone calls and Wi-Fi, rapid charging points and touch screen tablets that can be used to access services.

BT describes them as ‘reinventing phone boxes for the digital age’. But in a letter to the council, Richard Ball, designing out crime officer at North Yorkshire Police, said the force was aware the street hubs could be used for anti-social behaviour, such as drug dealing.

However, Mr Ball said he felt the issue was addressed by BT as the company could block any phone number used for such crimes.

He said:

“I am aware this type of installation has caused anti-social behaviour issues in other parts of the country.

“For example, the free call to mobile service has been used to facilitate drug dealing. However, BT have produced a comprehensive anti-social behaviour management plan.”

Mr Ball added that the force would support the street hub and would be interested in “utilising the community messaging facility that the street hub can provide”.

BT has also applied to install three free-standing units with screens on both sides on Cambridge Street outside the former Smiggle shop, on Oxford Street outside Marks and Spencer, and on Station Parade in front of the Cotswold Company.

The applications reveal Harrogate Borough Council’s planning department has already expressed concern about the proposals, saying they would be viewed as “street clutter” .

However, BT argued the hubs were largely used to replace older infrastructure and would deliver a valuable service.

Council defends bid to create doomed investment zones in Harrogate district

The leader of North Yorkshire County Council has defended its decision to support the government’s doomed investment zones.

The council submitted expressions of interest to create 11 zones, including three in the Harrogate district at junction 47 of the A1 near Knaresborough, business park Potter Space Ripon at junction 50 of the A1 and Harrogate Convention Centre.

The zones, which were a key policy under former Prime Minister Liz Truss’ administration, were supposed to benefit from tax incentives and liberalised planning regulations.

But some environmental groups expressed concerns about their potential impact on nature and the landscape.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in his autumn statement the scheme would be focused towards research and the council’s proposals would no longer be taken forward.

Cllr Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, said the authority remained “committed” to economic growth in the county despite the decision.

He said:

“We understood when making our submission that the investment zones proposal was at a very early stage and that there were no guarantees.

“However, we are committed to seeking opportunities to support sustainable growth whenever possible, so we believed there was value in presenting an expression of interest relating to suitable sites around North Yorkshire. These sites were selected following discussions with colleagues in district and borough councils.

“All the sites put forward for consideration are locations that have already been earmarked for commercial development to support business growth and job creation. While the proposed benefits of investment zones may have been attractive to new businesses, we will continue to work with our partners to support economic growth across the county.

“In Harrogate, the convention centre is the subject of a bid to the government’s Levelling-Up Fund. We hope to learn the outcome of this bid shortly.”

Business Breakfast: Harrogate branding agency appoints technical director

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal.

Today is the final Business Breakfast of 2022. It will return in the New Year.

A Harrogate branding agency has appointed a new technical director.

Dan Martin has joined Impression Studio, which is based on Albert Street, after spending two years at creative agency Jaywing.

Mr Martin has 20 years of experience in a range of industries including electronics, HR, education, and a variety of web agencies.

On joining Impression, he said:

“I’m just so excited to have this opportunity.

“I know I have skills and experience that will benefit Impression but it’s also a chance for me to take the next step in my career and test myself at a new level.

“I was happy in my previous role and could have stayed there forever, but this was just too good to miss and I’m really looking forward to seeing where we go together.”

Mr Martin will be tasked with overseeing all technical aspects of the work produced. At a strategic level he will be setting the direction of the agency in terms of the technologies used and the approach taken.

Charlie Hartley, managing director of Impression, said:

“Dan brings a wealth of experience delivering complex technical solutions for Enterprise level brands looking to innovate digitally.

“He’ll be implementing Headless CMS & React development solutions to position the agency as one of the leading web development agencies in the north of England.”

Boroughbridge company appoints new director

Boroughbridge-based firm Reed Boardall has appointed a new director.

Norman Hartley, who has been with the firm for 16 years, has been promoted to transport operations director.

Previously head of transport operations, Norman joined the business in 2006 and has progressed through various positions including operations shift manager and planning manager.

In his new role, Norman will be responsible for reviewing and developing processes to drive efficiency and achieve organisational growth.

Marcus Boardall, chief executive, said:

“Norman is a confident leader who has constantly demonstrated his ability to manage, motivate and develop teams to deliver operational excellence.

“He’s a fantastic example of one of our many long-serving colleagues who, through hard work and talent, has built a career with us. This latest promotion is well-deserved recognition of his commitment to the company and we believe he will make a valuable contribution in his new role.”

Harrogate company fined £170,000 after employee contracts blood infection at contaminated lake

A Harrogate company has been fined £170,000 after one of its employees contracted a blood infection working at a lake contaminated with sewage.

The man was working for Alder and Allan Ltd, which is based on Station Parade and employs 1,250 staff, during a clean-up operation at a lake near Churchbridge, Cannock, Staffordshire, in June 2019.

Alder and Allan, which was founded in 1926, specialises in environmental clean-ups on behalf of public and private sector companies.

The employee had been working at the lake for two weeks before contracting leptospirosis (Weil’s Disease) and became seriously ill.

Dead fish had to be cleaned out of the lake after it was contaminated with sewage when a nearby pipe burst.

‘Serious risk of ill health’

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive, which regulates workplace health and safety, found there was a serious risk of ill health to employees at the site as there were inadequate hygiene provisions in place to suitably guard against bacteriological and pathogen infection.

The man was left with a rash across his whole body meaning he had to limit contact with his family. His kidney and liver also had to be monitored. He was given antibiotics and did not make a full recovery for around four months.

It was also found that no on-site toilets were provided and workers were forced to use a local supermarket to wash and go to the toilet.

There was also a lack of supervision at the site, with the company also failing to conduct a suitable risk assessment and implement an appropriate system of work.

The company pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety Act 1974 and Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and were fined £126,100 and ordered to pay costs of £43,494.

HSE inspector Lyn Mizen said:

“This serious ill health matter could have been avoided if the clearly foreseeable risks and dangers had been appropriately controlled and managed, right from the outset.

“Portable welfare units can be easily sourced and are clearly needed for heavily contaminated work situations such as this.

“HSE will not hesitate to hold duty holders to account if they fall short of appropriate welfare standards.”

‘Significant efforts were made to address the risk’

Adler and Allan

A spokesperson for Adler and Alan Ltd said:

“We have received a judgement in a health and safety case, relating to an incident in 2019.

“Following work on a client site, an employee of Adler and Allan contracted leptospirosis.

“It was ruled that although significant efforts were made to address the risk, a short delay in getting a welfare van to site meant we did not meet the high standards we set ourselves on this occasion. We cooperated fully with the Health and Safety Executive following the event and undertook all required rectifying work.

“The health and safety of our people is one of our core values. We take this extremely seriously, continually investing in our SHEQ capability, ensuring that all relevant policies are in place and adhered to, the correct PPE is issued and used, and employees are provided with training that always meets or exceeds regulatory requirement.”

Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal: Making hearty meals from food waste

Like many people, Ian Booth’s job changed significantly when the covid pandemic began.

He had spent the previous year as manager of Resurrected Bites’ pay-as-you-feel café at St Mark’s Church.

In early 2020, along with the community interest company’s founder, Michelle Hayes, he had opened a new café at Gracious Street Methodist Church in Knaresborough and was in the process of launching another, at West Park United Reformed Church in Harrogate.

That March, they found themselves intercepting four tons of food waste each week and distributing it to people who were struggling.

Volunteers collected surplus food from supermarkets five days a week instead of two, and hospitality businesses forced to close their doors emptied their kitchens into vans and car boots.

Ian said:

“I wasn’t really anything like aware of the food poverty issue in the Harrogate area – not the scale of it. I realised people were going to be struggling, but not to this extent.

“As we were anticipating all this food waste, my immediate thought was to provide food to people who were struggling. Michelle had the same idea.

“We tapped into a huge food poverty issue in the area. We didn’t want to abandon that when the pandemic ended.

“That’s when we thought about adopting the community grocery model.”

Meanwhile, in 2021, Ian was back in the kitchen at the cafés, drawing on skills he had developed while living and working as a pastor at a church in France with his family.

“I’ve always enjoyed cooking – I do lots of it and in big quantities. We have five kids and we did so many church events.

“Because we’ve got a large family and always lived on a fairly low income, it’s a case of ‘see what’s cheap and make the most of it’.”

That experience is ideally suited to the demands of running the cafés, which take their ingredients from the Resurrected Bites warehouse.

Anything that can’t be sold in the community groceries will find its way onto the menus: catering packs of rice or chopped tomatoes, bacon, couscous, chickpeas, beef, potatoes, carrots… In late summer, a huge volume of apples arrived each week as people found their trees were producing more than they could use at home.

Ian said:

“I enjoy the creative bit – it can be very challenging. My mind starts whirring instantly about menus.

“We try and produce five main courses, a soup, a couple of desserts.”

When I visit Gracious Street Methodist Church one Friday lunchtime, roast beef and vegetables are on the menu.

It is delicious: hearty and warming on a cold day, a reminder of classic home cooking. Ian has exacting standards, though, and is constrained by what has arrived at the warehouse:

“We would normally never do roast beef without Yorkshire puddings, but we didn’t have any eggs.”

The tables are packed. Single people, pairs of friends, young families – they all share the space and make cheerful conversation as they order and eat.

The Gracious Street café is the busier of the two, I’m told, no doubt because it runs on the same day the community grocery is open in another room at the church. Knaresborough itself is a popular place to be on a Friday morning and some of the customers tell me they call in to the café after doing their shopping.

The cafés are not just aimed at people on tight budgets who might struggle to afford to eat out elsewhere, though.

Ian said:

“Often, people don’t come because they think it’s just for people who are struggling. We’re absolutely dependent on people who can afford to give generously.

“At the same time, it’s great when people come who can’t afford to, knowing that someone who is struggling has had a good hot meal.”

Many benefits

Ian is a passionate environmentalist – one of the reasons for his involvement in a project that aims to cut food waste.

He has been surprised by the many other benefits people get from Resurrected Bites. Not only does it support people to feed themselves and their families with dignity by paying for their shops, it also helps people who might have been struggling in other ways.

“Quite a number of people have come in and volunteered who have said, ‘this has been so good for my mental health’. It’s the sort of thing I wouldn’t have thought of.

“We had one guy who was helping with cooking. He was a good cook. He has gone on to work for a local charity, cooking for them. It’s brilliant.

“They asked me for a reference for him and I was able to say I couldn’t think of anybody better suited to this job. He has got that kind of compassionate heart.

“It’s great to have that experience and go on to use it in such a positive way.”

Resurrected Bites has close ties to local charities and organisations. There isn’t much that can’t be used in its cafes or community groceries, but when there is, it’s redirected to someone who can make use of it.

Volunteers helped to reopen Resurrected Bites’ cafes after covid

Approaching retirement in a couple of years, Ian is looking to cut down his hours at the cafes over the coming months.

At the same time, a new café is being planned in Killinghall. It means new volunteers and a new café manager will be needed – and Ian can only reflect on what a privilege it will be for those involved:

“I always think one of the best things about my job is the people I work with.

“We’re totally reliant on volunteers. The sort of people that volunteer are nice people, kind and caring, thinking of others.

“I just feel so blessed to have so many nice people to work with.”

St James’s Church Boroughbridge

St John’s Church, Knaresborough

St John’s Church, Bilton

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‘Low number of incidents’

‘Reduce the need for an emergency response’

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Boroughbridge company appoints new director

‘Serious risk of ill health’

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‘Significant efforts were made to address the risk’

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Many benefits