Drone shots reveal restoration of Harrogate’s Plumpton Rocks

Drone shots taken of Plumpton Rocks over the weekend reveal the newly restored site is looking better than ever.

The Grade II* listed visitor attraction reopened on Saturday after being closed to visitors for almost three years.

The site fell into disrepair towards the end of the last century before Historic England added it to the “Heritage at Risk Register” in 2012.

Since then Historic England has worked with the current owners and spent more than £400,000.

Plumpton Rocks closed again in October 2019 to do further work on the dam and bring it up to standard for the Reservoirs Act 1975, but covid further delayed the works.

Much of the work has been to restore the lake back to how it looked in the 18th century.

Credit – Darren Leeming

The owner of the site, Robert de Plumpton Hunter, told the Stray Ferret that he used artwork created by one of the most famous ever English painters to inspire the restoration.

Turner painted a watercolour of Plumpton Rocks in 1797 and more sketches of the site are stored at the Tate in London, which were used to inspire the refurbishment.

Mr Hunter said:

“You really got a feel of what the landscape looked like 200 years ago, and we were able to use those sketches to aid the restoration. If Turner turned up now he would absolutely recognise the landscape, that is special.”

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New headteacher for Harrogate primary school

Hookstone Chase Primary School in Harrogate is set to welcome a new headteacher this term.

Joe Cooper joins from All Saints’ Primary School in Ilkley where he spent three years as deputy headteacher.

Mr Cooper settled in Harrogate in 2005 from London. He has since developed his career in North Yorkshire, with short periods teaching in New Zealand and as a music specialist.

Mr Cooper said:

“It is a great privilege to have been asked to lead Hookstone Chase Primary School.  We have a proud history as an inclusive school for all children – with space for everyone to grow and develop their knowledge, skills and abilities.

“Straight away this term we will be opening a brand new outdoor play and learning area for our youngest children who are just joining us. We are a school that is investing in the future.”

Joe Cooper

Mr Cooper shares a ukulele lesson with pupils. Pic: John Furlong

Hookstone Chase is part of the Northern Star Academies Trust, which includes four other Harrogate schools, as well as schools in Skipton and Keighley.

Its other Harrogate schools are Harrogate High School, New Park Primary Academy School, Starbeck Primary Academy and Willow Tree Community Primary School.

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Craig Goold, chair of Hookstone Chase’s local governing body, said:

“Joe has hit the ground running.  It’s going to be a busy year ahead.  Joe has a huge amount of energy and drive. We are definitely a school that is going places in 2023.”

Jenn Plews, chief executive at Northern Star Academies Trust, said:

“It is great to have Joe on board. Joe has really embraced our trust’s deep commitment to sustainability, the environment and outdoor learning. He is just the kind of creative leader that schools need to bring education to life”.

 

North Yorkshire Police progress on stalking ‘positive’ but needs more detectives

North Yorkshire Police are better at dealing with stalking cases than they were a year ago, according to the force’s head of safeguarding.

However, Detective Superintendent Fiona Wynne was concerned that the size of the team currently dealing with the issue was “impacting investigations of stalking”.

The team is currently made up of one detective and two stalking support officers.

North Yorkshire Police said 2.3 million people experience stalking in the UK in a calendar year. The average case lasts for 15 months.

Det Supt Wynne made the assessment while reviewing the force’s 2022 stalking audit at the monthly accountability meeting chaired by Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoë Metcalfe.

Ms Metcalfe secured £100,000 from the government for the force to carry out the review.

Compared to the 2021, there were “positive increases seen in almost all areas” of how stalking complaints were dealt with in the force control room.

Call handlers were reported to be better at identifying incidents of stalking and knowing how to respond to complainants.

Issues remained, though, with how stalking was logged on the police’s computer systems.

The lack of specialist detectives also meant some low- and medium-level cases could not be dealt with by the stalking team.

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

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

“Additional suppressed demand”

North Yorkshire Police predicted that the number of stalking cases would continue to increase.

Part of this was expected to be to victims coming forward detailing historical stalking incidents.

Det Supt Wynne said:

“14% of those [stalking and stalking-related] offences [in 2021] were… historical offences, non-recent offences of stalking. That basically means that there is an additional suppressed demand which we may see unfolding as the years go on.”

Det Supt Wynne also pointed to the fact that more stalking was now being done using digital technology.

Stalkers were also reportedly using digital devices more often. This included using wireless connections to listen into people’s smart speakers and baby monitors.

The force is working with the personal safety charity the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, which provides help and advice on stalking.

Business Breakfast: Cloud Nine appoints new director in Australia

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

Harrogate-based Cloud Nine has appointed a new director as it eyes growth in Australia.

Seaneen Copeland – who began her career as a trainee hair stylist in her home city of Belfast – has joined the business as its new sales and marketing director for the country.

Before moving to Australia 10 years ago, Seaneen worked with a number of major brands in the hair and fashion industries, including Levi Strauss, Kookai Paris, Tommy Hilfiger, Zakks Hair Group N Ireland, GHD, Showpony, Salon Express and most recently Price Attack.

Since launching in Australia in 2011, the country has become increasingly important to Cloud Nine with 40% of is group revenue now coming from its Australian subsidiary.

Jo Fox, group sales and marketing director for Cloud Nine, said: 

“With her vast experience Seaneen is a perfect fit for Cloud Nine.

“Australia is a very important market for us, so it’s great that we recruited someone based in Australia who shares our ambition for growth in the Southern Hemisphere.

“And having worked with Seaneen previously, I know her passion and determination to succeed is incredible. She is a superb addition to the Cloud Nine team.”

New EnviroVent headquarters complete

A new headquarters for EnviroVent on Harrogate West Business Park has been completed.

Sutcliffe Construction Ltd, which was brought in to construct the building, confirmed that work is now complete on the new HQ.

The new building includes manufacturing space, warehousing, offices and training facilities.

EnviroVent opted for the new HQ, which includes air source heat pumps, solar panels, and a heat recovery system, in an effort to become net-zero carbon across the business by 2030.

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Stray Views: Knaresborough Cemetery deserves more care

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Knaresborough Cemetery deserves more care too

I see Mark Anthony Taylor (previous Stray Views) is unhappy with the way the grass is cut at Stonefall. You are lucky. We have had this for the past four years to my knowledge.

Knaresborough has seen even worse service with the grass cutting team regularly pulled off for six weeks at a time from cutting our cemetery grass. The response I got was they are letting it grow for biodiversity.

This was in the “new section” where it was thigh high in places. The team meanwhile were planting pretty flowers in Harrogate. Be grateful your grass is cut.

Jayne Jackson, Knaresborough

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Oak Beck land sale

I totally agree that this should never be sold – it provides a safe place for wildlife, play areas and walks.  

Harrogate Borough Council getting it wrong again.

Gillian Long, Harrogate

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

Former Grove Road headteacher creates calming meditation CD for children

The modern world can feel like a busy place for children, so a former headteacher of Grove Road Community Primary School has created a CD of non-religious meditations to help them live in the moment.

The health benefits of meditation for adults are well documented. It can relieve stress, lower blood pressure and alleviate depression.

But studies have also shown that teaching children how to meditate can help them become more secure and happy in themselves.

Nigel Steele was a popular headteacher of Grove Road from 1977 to 1994 before retiring.

In the 1980s and 90s, he saw how technology was beginning to have more influence in children’s lives, and not always for the better.

Fast forward to today, many parents are concerned about the amount of screen time that children are exposed to every day.

Mr Steele said:

“I noticed it as a head, children were beginning to be absorbed by something on a screen. It was having an effect on how their minds were developing. 

“‘You are what you eat’ is a very common expression, to do with our diet and the way our bodies develop. Another thing that isn’t quite as common, ‘all that you do begins in your mind’.”

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Mr Steele wrote 42 guided meditations that he would use in assembly each week at Grove Road, with the children sitting quietly and taking in simple concepts like peace, breathing and relaxation.

The meditations would include things the children could envisage in their minds such as autumn leaves, waterfalls or blades of grass.

Mr Steele said:

“It gave them a positive influence. We spent all this time developing children’s minds, it was amazing how influential in children’s minds, as we get more and more developed in technology.”

The teacher has fond memories of his time at Grove Road and said the meditations were one of the most rewarding things about his 17 years at the school. He added:

“I got quite a lot of feedback from children about how much better they felt when they had an assembly with a meditation, and how much better they felt when they went to bed at night. Their mind could escape into these situations and concepts.”

If you would like a copy of the CD which includes nine meditations and an accompanying booklet, you can email Howard Quinn at howard.quinn@dechen.org

One of the meditations is available to read below:

Fell rescuers assist in search for missing Harrogate woman

Police called in Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association (UWFRA) yesterday to help search for missing Judith Holliday from Harrogate.

Judith, who is 73, was last seen on Saturday, August 27, when she left her care home in Harrogate and walked to the bus station and Library Gardens.

After a further sighting the same day in North Rigton was confirmed by North Yorkshire Police on Friday, UWFRA was called yesterday to assist.

Posting on social media, UWFRA said:

“The team was tasked to search boundaries and features as much as possible within a 2km radius of her last known position and to aid NYP in search some of their predefined areas.

“All defined areas were completed as best as possible by 6.30pm, sadly without success, and the team stood down.”

There have been no further confirmed sightings of Judith since the Saturday she went missing, though her family told the Stray Ferret there had been suspected sightings reported throughout the week.

They urged the public to be vigilant for any sign of her this weekend when out and about.

Her niece Lucinda said Judith loved picnics in the countryside, with favourite spots including Fewston and Swinsty reservoirs and Almscliffe Crag.

Anyone who thinks they may have seen Judith is asked to call North Yorkshire Police on 101 and quote reference number 12220153505.

Any immediate sightings should be reported via 999.

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Former nurse who helped raise millions for Marie Curie remains passionate about charity after 25 years

Twenty-five years ago Christine Hamilton-Stewart MBE got a call from Marie Curie asking her if she would lead a fundraising drive to build a hospice in Bradford.

At the time, the former nurse was helping to care for her sister-in-law who was dying from liver cancer.

As a result, she gained knowledge of what was available in the palliative care sector, particularly to patients who wanted to die at home. Marie Curie was the main supplier of this service.

Mrs Hamilton-Stewart, who lives in South Stainley, between Harrogate and Ripon, told the Stray Ferret:

“The fact I had trained as a nurse and had experience of caring for end-of-life patients really meant that I could help, not only my sister-in-law, but various other family members.

“So Marie Curie was looking for someone to lead a capital appeal to build this hospice in Bradford, and I chaired that appeal.”

Raising £3.5 million

And Mrs Hamilton-Stewart was clearly the right person for the job, as she helped to raise an incredible £3.5 million in just 18 months.

She recalled:

“At the time it was a surprise to everybody, including me.”

Mrs Hamilton-Stewart is now a patron and vice-president of Marie Curie and continues to dedicate her time to raising vital funds for the charity.

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In 2011 she was awarded an MBE for her services to Marie Curie. The organisation is the largest charitable funder of research into better ways to care for and support people with terminal illness and their families.

‘We don’t prepare for death’

She said:

“I’m still here. I passionately believe that all patients and their families should have the best possible care and support at the end of their life.

“In this country, we all prepare beautifully for birth, but we don’t prepare for death.

“Patients and families who get the right support, I believe, are able to cope much better with very challenging situations. Having the capacity to volunteer for all these years has made me feel useful and I do what I can to help this fantastic organisation.”

Mrs Hamilton-Stewart praised the support of the community in Harrogate and North Yorkshire.

She said:

“We were the charity partner of the Grand Depart of the Tour de France and the recipient of Chris Blundell’s [chairman and co-founder of North Yorkshire-based Provenance Inns] charity clay day some years ago.

“The money from that enabled us to upgrade day care services, which are far-reaching.”

Marie Curie nurses in North Yorkshire are based at home, with the service for the whole region managed from the base of the Bradford Hospice.

There are currently eight registered nurses and 15 healthcare assistants in the county.

During the 2020/2021 period, there were 60 patients and 334 visits, equating to approximately 3,005 hours.

It costs £20,000 to hire a Marie Curie nurse for a year.

Fundraising is therefore vital in supporting these services.

‘It’s a fantastic organisation to support’

Mrs Hamilton-Stewart said:

“People are very supportive in Harrogate. We have two exciting events coming up in the town.

“The Yorkshire Brain Game will take place at the Harrogate Majestic Hotel on September 15 and there will also be a Last Night of the Proms concert at the Royal Hall on October 7, organised by the Harrogate support group.

“The pandemic devastated community fundraising, but we are so pleased to see our volunteers leap back into action. More are always welcome – to get involved, you can visit the Marie Curie website. It’s a fantastic organisation to support.”

After 25 years, Mrs Hamilton-Stewart said she has no intention of hanging up her fundraising hat just yet.

She added:

“Having the capacity to work closely with fundraising teams and medical director Sarah Holmes, we have so many exciting plans to improve our services. I’m excited to push on with our efforts to keep the funding going.”

Fundraiser

The Marie Curie Brain Game is returning to Yorkshire for a fourth time on Thursday, January 26 and for the first time in Harrogate in the newly refurbished Majestic Hotel & Spa.

Guests will be treated to a drinks reception before enjoying a gourmet three-course dinner.

Mrs Hamilton-Stewart revealed that Downton Abbey actor Jim Carter will be the main host of the evening, with the food and drink category hosted by Leeds Michelin star Leeds chef, Michael O’Hare.

The celebrity-hosted quiz will run throughout the evening and guests will also have the opportunity to bid for exclusive lots in the live and silent auctions, and win prizes in the grand raffle.

This black-tie event invites companies from across Yorkshire to come and enjoy an evening of brain-teasing entertainment and battle it out in the ultimate corporate quiz to be crowned Yorkshire Brain Game champions.

To book one of the remaining tables, click here.

North Yorkshire yarn shops unite for ‘Yarnstravaganza’ trail

Independent craft shops in North Yorkshire are coming together to launch a yarn trail across the county to encourage people to buy local and get into knitting.

The North Yorkshire Yarn Trail is running between September 17 and 24.

Thirteen shops will be taking part, including Yarn etc and the White Rose Sewing Machine Co in Harrogate, Knitting Pretty in Knaresborough, and Masham’s Each One Unique.

The trail is happening as part of the UK Hand Knitting Association’s first ‘Yarnstravaganza’ where wool shops nationwide host special knitting-related events.

The shop owners hope it will encourage people to use local businesses and not buy their materials on the internet.

Fiona Burks, who owns Yarn etc. on Knaresborough Road, said:

“We’re trying to keep people offline. It’s a very tactile thing, buying wool. It’s the colour, it’s the feel, the texture. It’s an experience.”

People who want to take part can pick up a “yarn passport” at a participating shop. They then get a stamp for each one they visit.

Anyone who visits all 13 shops will be entered into a prize draw. The winner will receive a £100 voucher to spend in the participating wool shop of their choice.

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Map of the North Yorkshire yarn trail

The yarn trail will take in 13 shops across North Yorkshire (photo: North Yorkshire Yarn Trail)

Ms Burks also wanted to promote what she saw as the mental health benefits of knitting. She said:

“To knit or crochet, you need to spend time and process and there’s lots of repetition. It’s really quite a good and meditative thing.”

Along with Sharon King, who owns fellow participating shop Ewe and Yarn in Thirsk, the Yarn etc owner had the idea for a yarn trail a few years ago. However, the pandemic delayed their plans.

Both were inspired by trails they saw being run by wool shops in the United States. Ms Burks said:

“The ones in America are just huge. They cover big areas but they’re amazing… They have these wool shops and they’re huge. They have cafés in them – basically, they’re absolutely brilliant.”

New choir to offer therapy to people with Parkinson’s in Harrogate district

A new choir will offer a fun yet effective form of speech therapy for people with Parkinson’s in the Harrogate district.

It will be led by musician Rhiannon Gayle, supported by staff from speech therapy at Harrogate District Hospital.

Each session will offer gentle exercises and fun songs, as well as time to socialise, at the Green Hut on Harlow Avenue, Harrogate, each Monday afternoon.

Research has shown singing helps to improve breathing and voice control in people with Parkinson’s, and group singing is also known to improve mental health and wellbeing.

John Sheepy, chairman of the Harrogate and district branch of Parkinson’s UK, said he is keen to hear from more people with Parkinson’s who could benefit from the choir and the other activities on offer.

“We have 160 members in the branch, but the hospital have 750 people diagnosed with Parkinson’s on their records.

“We’re always trying to find the other mossing 600 – not from our own point of view, but from theirs, because Parkinson’s is a horrible thing to face without support.”

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As well as its monthly meetings, the Harrogate group offers numerous opportunities for members to stay active, from table tennis to crown green bowls, and even boxing.

It also organises talks from experts in fields relevant to Parkinson’s patients. On September 27, three leading speakers will look at advances in research, treatments and technology in a research projects discussion forum held by the branch.

The event takes place at the Masonic Lodge from 7pm, with a meal also available from 6pm at £10 per person.

For more information about the choir or other upcoming events, visit the Harrogate and district Parkinson’s website.