Councillors said today they had “major concerns” about plans to reduce the number of night time fire engines in Harrogate to one.

North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe defended her plans at a special meeting of North Yorkshire County Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee.

Ms Metcalfe, a Conservative, told the Liberal Democrat-controlled committee she would still consider a shake-up of Harrogate’s night time fire service even if she had “millions in reserves”.

Ms Metcalfe told the meeting the plans “were not cuts” but the right thing to do. She said:

“If they were cuts, they would have happened yesterday. We do have a balanced budget until 2026. Let’s be very clear on that.

“If I had millions of pounds worth in the bank of reserves, I would still be doing this. I would still be going out on consultation, because it is absolutely right that we identify our risk and where our risk is in the county and York and then put the right resources to cover that risk.”

Ms Metcalfe added that no fire stations were closing and no whole time firefighters were losing their jobs.

Her three-year plan for the fire service includes proposals on staff shift patterns, the number of fire engines operating at night and putting a greater emphasis on fire prevention.

Harrogate and Scarborough currently both have an emergency fire engine and a tactical response fire engine operating 24 hours a day.

Ms Metcalfe’s model proposes both stations have two emergency response vehicles during the day but only one at night. They would lose their tactical response engines altogether.

‘Race to the bottom’

Paul James, chair of the Fire Brigades Union in North Yorkshire, said the plan would leave Harrogate fire station in a “race to the bottom” on response times.

Mr James told the meeting the changes amounted to cuts and that Harrogate was an area of high risk due to its density.

He added that a cut in funding nationally “has dovetailed” with slow response times locally and criticised the lack of a response standard from the service.

Paul James, chair of the North Yorkshire Fire Brigades Union branch, at today’s meeting.

Mr James said:

“Harrogate still requires two appliances during the night to cover serious fires, if positive outcomes are to be achieved.

“Under these proposals during the night time hours Ripon, Tadcaster, Malton, Northallerton and Selby will all have more fire engines than Harrogate.”

He added:

“We feel that the continuing avoidance of declaring a standard [response time] is the avoidance of transparency and accountability.

“These proposals will see Harrogate enter the response time race to the bottom that much of the rest of the county competes in.”

Dave Winspear, director of transformation at North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, denied there was a “race to the bottom” on response times for Harrogate.

Read more:

• Fire Brigades Union ‘seriously concerned’ over cuts to Harrogate service
• Harrogate firefighter brands plans to rely on one fire engine ‘farcical’
• Harrogate fire station changes won’t increase risk to life, says commissioner

Meanwhile, some councillors were critical of the proposals.

Cllr Robert Windass, a Conservative representing Boroughbridge who was a fire fighter in Leeds for 30 years, said he did not feel the figures on night time fires “were right”.

He added:

“I did 30 years in Leeds and the most fatalities and the most people we had to rescue was during the hours of night.

“Not during the day, we did get them, but the majority was at night time when people were asleep and when something went wrong such as children playing with matches and things like that.

“So I won’t dispute your figures, but I don’t think they are right.”

As part of its response to the plans, the committee agreed to express major concerns over night cover but welcomed investment in prevention work.

You can find out more about the proposed changes and take part in the consultation here.

A village school with just 45 pupils has been praised for turning around its fortunes in the four years since its last Ofsted inspection.

Admiral Long Church of England Primary School has been rated ‘good’ after inspectors visited last month and found its leaders were “ambitious” and had put an “effective” curriculum in place.

The school in Burnt Yates was founded on the site of the former village primary school, which was closed in 2018 after Ofsted said it had inadequate safeguarding.

Bishop Thornton Primary School, which was rated ‘requires improvement’, then moved to the site. Its executive headteacher, Victoria Kirkman, took over in September 2021 and also oversees Birstwith Primary School, as well as being interim executive leader of the Ripley, Beckwithshaw and Kettlesing federation of schools.

In their latest report, Ofsted inspectors said:

“Admiral Long Church of England Primary School does not just focus on academic outcomes. Pupils experience a range of sporting and cultural events to enhance their learning.

“Leaders want their pupils to grow into well-rounded young people, ready to take their place in the world. The school curriculum, enrichment experiences and the wider opportunities on offer have been designed to achieve this.”

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The report highlighted the overwhelmingly positive response of parents to the school, saying they were “full of praise” for staff and leaders and were proud to say their children attended the school.

Inspectors found reading was a high priority in the school, from pupils just beginning to learn letter sounds to those who had fallen behind receiving extra support.

They said the curriculum was well-planned overall, encouraging pupils to make links between different subject areas. While the maths curriculum was ambitious and “coherently sequenced”, inspectors said it could be broken down into smaller steps to help the youngest children in the early stages of number recall.

Executive headteacher Victoria Kirkman

Ms Kirkman said:

“Since September, the school has gone on an incredible journey of rapid school improvement and I am delighted this hard work has been recognised, especially with regards to the safeguarding of its pupils.

“Although our school was recognised for its achievements in relation to the curriculum and academic outcomes, I am most proud of the recognition, post-pandemic, for the pastoral care and enrichment experiences we give to our pupils.”

Early years

The report found the school’s early years provision required improvement, particularly in outdoor learning, saying:

“Children in the early years enjoy learning in a welcoming and attractive space indoors that prioritises all areas of learning, including physical development and communication and language.

“However, this is not the case outdoors. Consequently, children are unable to enjoy extending their play and learning outside. There is a lack of activities and resources for them to use.

“The space does not support the delivery of the early years curriculum. Leaders know this area requires development and have plans in place for this.”

Inspectors also recommended improvements to the SEND provision, giving more support to pupils to ensure they reached targets set for them.

Chair of governors Jane Connor said:

“The governors are immensely proud of the achievement of the leadership team and all staff and children at Admiral Long School…

“We are particularly proud of the school’s focus on developing well-rounded young people, through a curriculum developed in the best interests of pupils, enrichment experiences and wider opportunities.”

A Harrogate man has been banned from keeping animals for five years after being found guilty of cruelty.

Robbie Nelson, 24, neglected a Mastiff called Rocco and a Lurcher called Smudge at a house on High Street, Harrogate, in March last year.

The case was brought by animal charity the RSPCA.

Nelson failed to turn up in court to respond to the charges on December 17 last year and was found guilty in his absence.

Police issued a warrant for his arrest on the same day and eventually arrested him in June.

He was then remanded on bail for pre-sentence reports to be prepared.

Nelson, of Woodfield View, Harrogate, appeared before North Yorkshire Magistrates Court in York on Tuesday for sentencing.

Magistrates disqualified him from owning or being left in charge of any animal for five years.

He was also ordered to pay £200 costs and a £95 surcharge to fund victim services, and was given a community order to undertake rehabilitation activity.

The RSPCA will decide what to do with Rocco and Smudge.

This story is sponsored by Harrogate BID.

It may seem strange that an organisation dedicated to promoting Harrogate town centre is campaigning to increase its crime levels. 

However, Harrogate BID knows what it is doing and there is method behind its madness. 

BID manager Matthew Chapman said: 

“The statistics showed that the number of crimes is very low in the town centre. 

“While on the face of it this seems like good news, the stats just didn’t match up with what we were hearing from BID members. 

“Shop owners and staff were telling us they were regularly seeing relatively minor crime, but the police figures just didn’t reflect this.” 

Mr Chapman and the team at the BID decided to investigate further.  

The kind of crimes being seen by retailers included anti-social behaviour, often linked to drinking, and what’s termed ‘professional begging’ – people who are not truly homeless and who often don’t live in Harrogate coming into town to take advantage of what they see as a lucrative opportunity to collect money from the public. 

Often, said Mr Chapman, those people went on to use the money to buy drinks and, later in the day, they would commit crimes such as shoplifting. 

Yet the BID investigation found town centre workers often didn’t report the problems they witnessed. 

“People told us they were calling 101 to tell the police and were waiting on hold for half an hour or longer, before they eventually gave up. 

“After a few occasions like that, many said they no longer bothered to report the low-level cases because they just didn’t have the time.  

“Some of the bigger chain shops also let shoplifting go – they have instructions from head office that they don’t need to report every instance. 

“The police statistics aren’t reflecting the reality of the town centre because the control room just isn’t getting to hear about it.” 

As a result, the BID has launched a campaign to encourage people to report every instance of crime they see across the town centre. 

Recognising employees’ time is valuable, the BID has highlighted the fact that crime can be reported via the 101 page on the North Yorkshire Police website. 

It takes just five minutes, said Mr Chapman, and will generate a crime number and add the incident to the official police log. 

He said: 

“We’ve been told the best way to get the police to respond to things is to increase the numbers of crimes.  

“Officers say they can’t do anything if nobody has reported a problem. Every avenue we went down, it always came back to needing more reports. 

“They are an evidence-based organisation that works with data. The more crimes they see are being committed, the more resource they will put into an area. 

“So we’re asking everyone to report every crime they see, no matter how minor it may be. In six months’ time, we’ll go back to the police and see how the numbers are looking.” 

Mr Chapman said the BID hopes the result will be a significant increase in the crime statistics for the town centre – which in turn will encourage more police resources to be directed towards it. 

He added: 

“We recognise Harrogate is far from one of the worst places in the world, but it’s not immune from the problems every other town and city centre has.

“We want to make sure we stay on top of these relatively minor issues so they don’t become worse and they don’t detract from all the things that make Harrogate a great place to live, work and visit.”

To report a crime to North Yorkshire Police, visit the dedicated reporting section of its website.

Love Brownies has gone into liquidation but said that its Harrogate store, which is a franchise, will stay open.

The company said it had suffered  “unsustainable” losses and liquidators were appointed to its Ilkley headquarters at the end of last week.

Lee and Chantelle Teal set up Love Brownies in 2009 with the “ambition of baking the ultimate chocolate brownie and making people smile”. It went onto to win three gold stars from the Great Taste Awards in 2015 and expanded rapidly with a new bakery at Howgill.

In a statement included in correspondence sent to creditors it said:

“Whilst the expansion had led to increased revenues, the company has also been adversely affected by covid, significant increases in raw material costs and spiralling expansion costs. As a result of this, the company incurred significant losses of £359,095 in the 10-month period to May 2022 which were unsustainable.

“The impact of these losses on cashflow resulted in the directors seeking investment from a third party known to them who had expressed an interest in purchasing the company.

“Unfortunately, after a period of working with the private investor, a suitable offer was not received and ultimately the directors sought advice to place the company in liquidation.”

“Chantelle and I would like to thank everyone who has been with us through a very difficult time. Our plan now is to rebuild Love Brownies from the bottom up. The Harrogate store is fantastic. It’s still the original team, they do a great job for us and they will keep going.”

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Developers have withdrawn plans to convert Simpson House in Harrogate into flats.

Artium Group had submitted the proposal to Harrogate Borough Council to convert some of the offices off Clarence Drive.

It would have seen seven flats created at the vacant office block.

The developer had also planned to use the current 14 car parking spaces and create storage for seven bicycles.

However, the proposal has now been withdrawn.

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It comes as a council officer raised concern over the viability of the plan.

Alan Gilleard, the borough council’s arboricultural manager, raised concern that the change of use of the building would impact on neighbouring trees which are protected by a tree preservation order.

In response to the application, he said:

“Change of use to residential is highly problematic in arboricultural terms. I cannot recall the LPA supporting a residential application that includes allowing development into the canopy spread of large, maturing trees. 

“Planning by definition includes forecasting, predicting and foreseeing future conflicts and removing/reducing.

“Where this cannot be achieved can clash with the planning balance such that if the application were approved the challenges for the future outlined accordingly.”

Harrogate Civic Society said in a letter that it agreed with the council officer’s comments.

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

Newtons Solicitors is to move to larger premises in Ripon.

The Harrogate-based firm has nine offices across Yorkshire and the North East; it employs 90 staff and has an annual fee income of £6m.  It’s current Ripon office is based on Kirkgate.

Managing director Chris Newton told the Stray Ferret:

“An opportunity arose to purchase our own premises in Ripon. The Ripon office is very good for business.

“We saw a good new location in Market Square and seized the opportunity. It’s the old Yorkshire Bank office and needs a lot of refurbishment work. That work is underway and we hope to be in by November in time for Christmas. “

Six staff work at the current Kirkgate Ripon office. Mr Newton said he hoped that number would expand with the new premises.

The interior of the building on Market Square

Read More:

New charity store in Harrogate

The charity has secured the site of the former Porters store on Oxford Street as part of its plans to open shops on every high street in Yorkshire.

Yorkshire Cancer Research has been based in the spa town of Harrogate since 1978.

Funds raised at the shop will help fund research to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer in Yorkshire.

Juliet Glendinning, director of Yorkshire Cancer Research said:

“Harrogate has been home to Yorkshire Cancer Research for over four decades, and we have always felt very lucky to be an integral part of this beautiful town…

“With the opening of a new shop in the heart of the town, we look forward to becoming an even bigger part of the fabric of Harrogate.

“Our charity shops play a vital role in raising funds to support pioneering research, and the new store means we can offer volunteering and employment opportunities while contributing to the local high street.”

The new shop will be run by manager Kate Morris, who said:

“I am so excited about the opening of a Yorkshire Cancer Research shop in Harrogate. It is so great working for Yorkshire Cancer Research, knowing that we are playing a part in raising money to fund vital research and really having an impact on the lives of people with cancer, right here in Yorkshire.”

While the shop is being prepared for opening, good quality clothes, homewares, toys, books, small electrical and furniture can be dropped off at the charity’s donation centre at i2D Hornbeam Park Oval, Harrogate, HG2 8RB. The donation centre is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

Harrogate College has been awarded £16m of government funding to replace its main building on Hornbeam Park.

The college, which serves the Harrogate district, is one of five education institutions in Yorkshire to receive funding from the Department for Education’s Further Education Capital Transformation Fund.

The £1.5 billion fund was set up last year to upgrade further education colleges over the next five years.

It means the Harrogate district will get a new a purpose-built space for technical and vocational education.

The new energy-efficient building will include a workshop providing facilities aligned to industry needs. It will complement the college’s existing tech centre, which is home to its motor vehicle, electrical, joinery and welding workshops.

An existing £4m budget will be used to pay for the demolition of the old college building.

A statement by the college today said the move will support priority growth sectors for Harrogate and North Yorkshire such as advanced manufacturing, low carbon construction, retrofit, sustainable energy and bioeconomy, health science and hospitality.

Danny Wild

Danny Wild, principal at Harrogate College, welcomed the funding and said it will go a long way in improving the college’s facilities.

“Being able to work towards having a net zero carbon building, alongside a learning environment that will help our students progress on to university or the workplace is central to our strategic priorities, and this funding will be central in supporting us to achieve this.

“The development will also help us deliver a wide range of T Level qualifications, which will not only close the skills gaps, but will reinforce the government’s nationwide plan to strengthen technical education and give it the credibility it deserves.

“This upgrade will strengthen the work we are doing with businesses in the district to deliver an employer-led curriculum, alongside supporting the council’s aims to prioritise and support ‘good growth’ in the district, and achieve a sustainable economy.”

As part of the project, there are also plans to install green electric based heating systems, as well as a soft landscaped social hub, which will improve biodiversity on site.

The government says the investment will ensure that colleges are “great places to learn and students have access to modern, fit-for-purpose facilities”.

Contactless donation points which raise money for projects to tackle homelessness could come to Knaresborough and Ripon under an expansion of the Harrogate Street Aid scheme.

Street Aid was the first project of its kind in Yorkshire when it launched in 2019 and it has since raised over £20,000.

Three tap terminals have opened in Harrogate town centre and now more could be introduced in Knaresborough and Ripon.

It is a joint project from North Yorkshire Police, Harrogate Homeless Project and Harrogate Borough Council, which is looking into possible new donation points.

Helen Richardson, community safety officer at the council, said the money raised so far was having a positive impact on tackling begging and rough sleeping, and that there was now an opportunity to expand.

She wrote in a report:

“The number of reported incidents of street sleepers and begging has reduced in the time Harrogate Street Aid has been in existence.

“Street Aid continues to give a focus for agencies to work together to support those street sleeping and begging, and a reduction has been visible – particularly with regard to anti-social behaviour in Harrogate town centre.

“There has been much positive feedback and we can continue to work together to support those on the street or with a history of street sleeping.”

Why it started

Street Aid was introduced after the number of people begging in Harrogate town centre increased and residents became concerned.

It was based on schemes in Cambridge and Norwich which saw similar problems on the streets.

Donations made through the tap terminals are not given directly to homeless people, but instead made available for things like training courses, gym memberships and work equipment.

To highlight the project’s success, the council previously shared stories of how the money has helped individuals.

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• Homelessness in Harrogate — what’s the best way to help?
• Harrogate College to undergo £16m transformation

One homeless man who was mugged and had his driving licence stolen was awarded a £350 grant to get his replacement licence and take a refresher forklift truck course to start his journey back into work.

Another individual who had a history of breaking into shops and substance misuse told probation officers that being able to access the local leisure centre would help him get in a better routine.

He was granted £500 for a leisure centre membership, training sessions and a voucher for equipment and clothing.

Three other homeless people were given £300 each for computer tablets to apply for jobs, maintain their benefits and stay in touch with family.

Councillor Mike Chambers, cabinet member for housing and safer communities at the council, previously said:

“Harrogate District Street Aid is about making a real change to people who find themselves on the street.

“Some people assume that giving a few pounds to a beggar is helping them.

“Sadly, in some instances it may actually keep them on the street.

“Through Harrogate District Street Aid, we can work with our partner organisations to make best use of the money that has been kindly donated, work with homeless people and make a real difference to their lives.”

KFC in Starbeck has tabled plans to expand its premises to offer more seating.

Under proposals submitted to Harrogate Borough Council, the fast-food chain would take over and convert the former Age UK shop next door to create more space for seating.

An area for 14 seats would be created and a new disabled and unisex toilet installed.

The conversion of the unit would also see a new main entrance built.

The current KFC is mainly used as a takeaway.

In documents submitted to the council, development consultants Pegasus Group, which has lodged the plan on behalf of KFC, said the proposal would mean the takeaway could operate as a restaurant.

It said:

“The proposal seeks to utilise it as a seating area directly associated with the existing KFC premises next door. The existing KFC is a Sui Generis takeaway use.

“The proposal will allow for a seating area to be introduced meaning that the existing KFC could operate more as a restaurant.”

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The proposal becomes the latest fast-food plan for Starbeck High Street.

A proposal to convert a former laundrette in the area was submitted to the council earlier this month.

The premises at 47 High Street had been a launderette since the 1980s before being used as an off licence and a clothes shop in recent years.

A new application by owner Mark Leicester could see it changed to a takeaway.