£41,000 given to 14 community groups in Harrogate district

A total of £40,688 has been given to 14 community groups and charities by The Local Fund for the Harrogate District.  

The grants of up to £3,000 each will fund activities for young people and older people, sports clubs, mental health and wellbeing groups, and help people affected by the cost of living crisis.  

Some of the projects funded by the grant include:  

The fund is a joint initiative between Harrogate Borough Council, Harrogate & District Community Action, and Two Ridings Community Foundation, with donations from the Harry Bolland Trust Fund, The Local Lotto and businesses and individuals.  

Two Ridings Community Fund has found that many community groups are still struggling after the pandemic with funding, turnover of key staff, poor mental health, and the cost of living crisis.  

Jan Garrill, chief executive of Two Ridings Community Foundation, which administers the funding, said: 

“We are delighted that 14 small community groups benefit, because we know they make a huge impact on the wellbeing of local people all over the district.” 

Councillor Sam Gibbs, who is a panel member for The Local Fund, added:   

“The work these numerous organisations and charities do makes such a huge difference so I’d like to thank everyone involved in providing this on-going support.”

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The Local Fund has been running in Harrogate since 2017, and last year it donated over £80,000 to 29 different community groups in the district.  

This year, the groups receiving funding are:  

Harrogate council to award £40,000 pet crematorium contract

Harrogate Borough Council is set to award a £40,000 contract to create a pet crematorium at Stonefall Cemetery.

The crematorium will be built inside a converted shipping container at the crematorium on Wetherby Road.

The contract would cover the purchase and installation of a cremator, as well as five years maintenance.

Councillors backed plans for the district’s first pet crematorium in March 2022.

Stephen Hemsworth, bereavement services manager at the council, said at the time it was likely to cost about £50 for a rabbit to be cremated and over £200 for a dog.

The contract, which is being advertised on a government procurement website, is expected to start in June this year.

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It says:

“This contract includes the purchase of a pet cremator and container in which the cremator will be housed and operated, including delivery, installation, training and periodic maintenance.

“The anticipated contract value is £40,000.00 for the purchase, delivery, siting and installation of the containerised pet cremator including five years maintenance from the date of installation.”

The move to set up a pet crematorium follows in the footsteps of councils in North East Lincolnshire and Barnsley, which have built similar facilities.

The Harrogate facility will include a “goodbye room” in a converted garage where owners can say final farewells to their pets.

Harrogate teen guilty of stealing four Canada Goose coats

An 18-year-old man from Harrogate has been fined for stealing four Canada Goose coats, worth £2,040.  

William Davey, who appeared at Harrogate Magistrates Court, denied the theft.  

But at Monday’s hearing he was found guilty of stealing the coats from a flat on Swan Road in Harrogate on September 4 last year.

Davey, of Malden Road was sentenced to 125 hours of community service.

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He will also ordered to pay £680 compensation, a surcharge of £95 to fund victim services and costs of £620 to the Crown Prosecution Service. 

Davey was also charged with driving an uninsured vehicle that he was not authorised to drive on Leyland Road, Harrogate, on February 1 last year.

He pleaded not guilty to these charges, and the cases were adjourned until September 5.

Cuts to Harrogate fire crews would ‘put money before lives’, says ex-firefighter

A former firefighter and now councillor has hit out at proposals to cut the number of night-time fire engines in Harrogate to just one.

Independent councillor Sid Hawke, who worked as a retained firefighter for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service in Ripon, said the plans would “put money before lives”.

Harrogate fire station currently has two fire engines operating 24 hours a day, but this could be reduced to just one at night under the proposals out to consultation.

Last night both appliances were summoned to fires in commercial bins in Harrogate town centre — this will not be possible if the proposals go ahead.

North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoë Metcalfe is asking residents for their views on the plans as part of county-wide proposals, which she said would save over £1.5 million a year – yet she insisted they are not cost-cutting measures.

Cllr Hawke, an Independent member of Harrogate Borough Council and newly-elected mayor of Ripon, said:

“You can’t put money before lives.

“It’s a big town is Harrogate. If there were two shouts at one go, what would the fire station do?

“They could call in support, but that would be from Boroughbridge, Thirsk or anywhere, and somebody could lose their life in that time.”

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Cllr Hawke left the fire service around 10 years ago and said it does not receive the financial support it needs to respond to emergencies quickly. He has called on Ms Metcalfe, a Conservative, to scrap the proposals and instead increase the number of fire engines and staff.

Cllr Hawke said: 

“I don’t care how much could be saved – there is money in budgets elsewhere to be dug into without putting lives at risk.

“I think we need more firefighters – I really do.”

Fire service ‘has changed’

The proposals are detailed within a document which sets out how the fire service will deploy staff and equipment over the next three years.

The Risk and Resource Model has been drawn up based on “extensive risk assessments” looking at the likelihood and severity of emergencies including fires, road traffic collisions and water related incidents.

The document is out to consultation until August 14 and Ms Metcalfe said it reflected a changing role for the fire service.

Ms Metcalfe, who is also a Harrogate borough councillor, said there is higher demand for services during daytime hours in Harrogate and that fire-related incidents now make up a small proportion of what the fire service does.

She said: 

“The role of a fire and rescue service has changed and continues to change, with only 26% of our incidents last year relating to a fire emergency.

“We want to ensure we are addressing our current and future challenges and that we have the capacity to prevent and protect to stop incidents happening in the first place and prevent harm before it can take place, while also having the capacity to respond to emergencies when they do take place.

“We are confident these proposals would do that.”

Harrogate district given toilet twinning status by national charity

Harrogate has become the first district in the UK to achieve toilet twinning status thanks to a group of campaigners.

Soroptimist International of Harrogate and District arranged for the title to be given by national charity Tearfund’s Toilet Twinning project.

It aims to provide safe toilet facilities, along with education about sanitation, for people in developing countries by encouraging people in the UK to sponsor a toilet in Asia, Africa or the Americas.

The Harrogate district has now twinned with 36 individual toilets and a block of four toilets in low income countries, equating to £2,400 donated by local schools and businesses, Harrogate Borough Council and the Soroptimists themselves.

The certificate was presented by the group’s president, Val Hills, and Toilet Twinning project leader Sue Williams, to outgoing Mayor and Mayoress of the Harrogate district, Cllr Trevor Chapman and his wife Jen.

Ms Hills said:

“We are delighted to achieve toilet twinning status for the Harrogate district which, we believe, is the first district to be given the award in the country.”

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Two teenagers arrested after six deliberate bin fires in Harrogate

Two teenagers have been arrested following six deliberate bin fires in Harrogate town centre last night.

Fire crews were called to multiple blazes involving commercial bins behind retail units, which tied up the service for two hours.

Both fire engines attended — something that won’t be possible if proposed cuts to overnight services go ahead.

Crews were called at 8.17pm last night to reports of a fire on Cambridge Street in the town centre.

Firefighters said the blaze was started deliberately by youths.

The fire was put out using hose reel jets and crews left the incident with North Yorkshire Police.

A statement from Harrogate fire station on its Facebook page said:

“Both Harrogate fire appliances were tied up for two hours last night in Harrogate.

“Crews dealt with six separate large commercial bin fires at the back of retail premises which potentially could have spread to buildings.

“Police were notified and multiple arrests took place. These unnecessary fires tie up our resources taking us away from us other incidents.”

North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Zoe Metcalfe, is currently considering plans to reduce the number of appliances at Harrogate Fire Station to one at night.

This morning, North Yorkshire Police confirmed two boys, aged 17 and 14, were arrested on suspicion of arson. They have since been released under investigation.

A statement from the force added:

“Police are requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.

“Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should contact North Yorkshire Police on 101 and quote reference number 12220090536.”

Harrogate firefighters have dealt with a spate of bin fires in Harrogate town centre this week.

On Wednesday, they responded to reports of a bin fire on Bower Street under the railway track at 8.11pm. The cause is unknown.

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Crews responded to deliberate blazes on both Cambridge Street and Oxford Street on Monday evening.

The fire on Oxford Street was started in a bin close to commercial buildings.

A spokesman for Harrogate fire station said they believed the fires were deliberately started by the same people and have informed the police.

Fire ravages former dairy in Harrogate district

A log burning stove is believed to have caused a fire at a former dairy building in the Harrogate district.

Firefighters from Harrogate and Knaresborough were called to the building at North Rigton at 4.45pm yesterday.

Harrogate fire station said in a social media post last night:

“Crews extinguished the fire using breathing apparatus, hose reel jets, thermal imaging camera, Harrogate’s aerial ladder platform and Tadcaster’s Water Bowser.

“Fire was believed to be caused by a log burning stove.”

More pictures from the scene taken by Harrogate firefighters

North Rigton fire

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North Rigton fireNorth Rigton fire

Rural property firm opens office in Boroughbridge

Rural property firm GSC Grays has opened a new office in Boroughbridge.

The High Street branch, which opened on Monday, is the company’s ninth office to open in the past 10 years.

It now employs over 100 people, mainly in the north of England. Twenty-three are based at the Boroughbridge branch, five of whom have been newly recruited. 

A number of the farm and land management consultants are from the local area, and some members of staff grew up or live on farms.  

Managing director Guy Coggrave said:  

“This gives us exceptional expertise at a time when the farming industry is dealing with the impact of the Agricultural Transition Plan, the biggest change in agricultural policy in half a century.”

GSC Grays specialises in land and farming, estate agency, planning and development, and environment and sustainability.  

HSBC and Harrogate BID install third contactless donation point for Street Aid

A third contactless donation point for Street Aid has been installed by HSBC and Harrogate Business Improvement District in Harrogate town centre.  

The ‘tap terminal’ encourages people to make donations to Street Aid, which supports people in Harrogate who have experienced homelessness.  

The most recent donation point is in the Cambridge Street branch of HSBC, where donations from £3 to £20 can be made via a contactless payment.  

The new donation point in HSBC

Linda Lewis, senior network manager at HSBC, said:  

“It’s our pleasure to be part of this scheme and house the third Street Aid terminal.  

“Since its installation, I’ve seen a number of customers tapping it with either a card or a phone to make a donation.” 

The scheme was launched in October 2019, after research was conducted by Harrogate Borough Council, North Yorkshire Police, Harrogate Homeless Project and North Yorkshire Horizons.  

Since then, the charity has raised over £20,000 through online donations and the three donation points. 

The two other stations are in the Oxford Street M&S window and in Victoria shopping centre. 

Harrogate BID manager Matthew Chapman said:  

“We are delighted to throw our weight behind the Street Aid scheme, which helps those who are genuinely in need get back on their feet. 

“We want Harrogate to be known as a friendly, caring, welcoming town.” 

Money raised has been administered by Two Ridings Community Foundation to fund items for 28 individuals, ranging from fishing equipment, furniture, a gym membership, bikes and clothing.  

Pret a Manger set to open in Harrogate tomorrow

A new branch of Pret a Manger is set to open its doors in Harrogate tomorrow morning.

The sandwich and coffee shop on James Street will welcome customers from 7.30am, signs in the window reveal.

Rumours of the chain’s arrival began to circulate at the beginning of the year, as reported by the Stray Ferret.

It was not until April the company confirmed it would be opening in the unit formerly occupied by Messums Gallery.

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Meanwhile, Skipton Building Society has confirmed its new Cambridge Street branch will open tomorrow as well.

The company has moved from Princes Street to part of the building previously occupied by Topshop and Topman, which has been split into smaller units.

Part of it is now a Sainsbury’s Local, and the remaining section of the building on the ground floor is still unoccupied, but an application has been made by Cosy Club for a licence to open a bar there.

Harrogate’s Old Courthouse could become townhouses

Plans have been lodged to convert the Old Courthouse in Harrogate town centre into three townhouses.

The building on Raglan Street was previously occupied by Stowe Family Law, which vacated the property for another site in town in February this year.

Proposals have now been tabled by Park Design Architects to convert the site from offices into two three-bedroom and one two-bedroom townhouse.

Six car parking spaces are also included in the plans.

The developer said in documents submitted to the council that the site was a “sustainable location” for new homes.

It said:

“Overall, the site is located within a highly sustainable area and will utilise existing car parking provision to serve the proposed use, with easy access to alternative means of transport other than the private car to support sustainable travel.”

Harrogate Borough Council will make a decision on the proposal at a later date.

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The original building was built in 1857 and was initially a police house for the town.

This was later demolished and replaced with a courthouse, which was used by justices of the borough until 1991.

Stowe Family Law moved into the property as tenants in 2004.