Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan earlier this month, four families have been resettled in Harrogate through the government’s Vulnerable Persons and Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme.

Our story on Harrogate Borough Council pledging to house refugees fleeing the country provoked a big reaction on social media, both positive and negative, and we wanted to answer some of the questions raised in the responses.

Refugees are people fleeing armed conflicts or persecution and are protected in international law.

An asylum seeker is someone who claims to be a refugee but whose claim hasn’t been evaluated.

We put several questions to Belinda Goode, chair of Harrogate District of Sanctuary, a charity that supports refugees and asylum seekers in the Harrogate district.

Who is coming to Harrogate?

These are Afghan families and their arrival was planned. They knew Nato forces were withdrawing and there was a deal with the Taliban in 2020. They are interpreters who worked for the British Army and their families who were in a vulnerable situation in Afghanistan. They’ve been here a couple of weeks self-isolating in hotels then arrived in Harrogate.

Do refugees jump the social housing queue?

There are a very small number of people coming through the resettlement scheme and they will be given accommodation [in council housing]. North Yorkshire County Council approached Harrogate Borough Council for that.

Housing is sourced and they are supported by the Refugee Council who makes sure they have access to the healthcare that we take for granted. We support them with this.

In the last five years, we’ve not had 20 families and not all of them live in local authority accommodation.

If they don’t come through this planned resettlement scheme they won’t be entitled to social housing. They will be placed in private rental accommodation but it’s usually substandard.

Can refugees work — and do they want to?

Yes, they’ve been given the right to remain here and contribute to society.

Often people come here with great skills but can’t find work. I met a woman who was an engineer in Iran. She couldn’t work and she found it incredibly frustrating and odd that she couldn’t pay her taxes and contribute. She’s doing a course to eventually become a doctor. It’s not that people don’t want to work, they want opportunity.

Read more:

• Ripon and Nidderdale are ready to support Afghan refugees
• Harrogate council pledges to resettle Afghan refugees under new government scheme

Are asylum seekers coming to the UK illegally?

One of the biggest issues is people understanding that asylum seekers are not illegal. It is a legal right to seek asylum. There’s no such thing as a bogus or illegal asylum seeker. 

Asylum seekers are experiencing the same struggles as refugees, but an asylum seeker flees the country on their own and not through an organised resettlement process. They have to apply for asylum once they get here.

Does Harrogate have the space to house refugees and asylum seekers?

We’re not in the top 10 countries that take Syrian refugees. It’s countries like Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Germany, Iraq and Egypt.

The idea that people will always come to England through other countries isn’t factual. Often they will stay in nearby countries.

It’s easy to find these statistics if you look in the right places. We take a very small proportion of refugees. We see the boats coming over and the media use words like “hoards” and “flooded” but in Syria, the statistics are scary. Five million people live without direct access to water. These are often children who are desperate. 

Is Harrogate a ‘welcoming, tolerant and diverse’ place, as suggested by the council leader?

That is aspirational but people’s hearts have been wrung out by the scenes in Afghanistan and at Kabul airport. The majority of people have that humanitarian pull to ask what can we do to help.

There are another group of people who will never change their minds, equally you’ll never change my mind about the situation. 

Our culture in Harrogate is not multi-ethnic and in that sense, it’s more of a challenge. It’s not a big city where naturally there are people from all sorts of races but I’ve seen some wonderful kindness in Harrogate.

There have been some issues [with racism], but that’s not just Harrogate it’s everywhere.

The refugees bring a huge richness of culture with them. What I’ve learned about Syrian food and culture is brilliant. And how welcoming a culture it is. You’re always offered food and these are people that don’t have a lot.

If you visit a refugee family, leave plenty of time, you’re not going to get away with a quick cuppa like you would in the UK. They enjoy life and they want to share it.

With tonnes of tomatoes, reams of runner beans and buckets filled with flowers growing on an incredible allotment plot – this father and son team in Bilton are able to supply some of the top shops in town.

Gary Sibson and his son James run Naturally Grown Farm from a plot and a half, the equivalent of a fifth of an acre, at a committee-run allotment just off Bachelor Gardens.

He started working with just half a plot 15 years ago as a way to bond with his children and teach them the skills his father taught him.

Gary Sibson is the man behind Naturally Grown Farm in Bilton.

Over the years he has taken on the neighbouring plots to get it to the size it is today. Gary has also changed the way he farms and what he produces over the years as he learns from those around him and from YouTube.

While running an allotment is a hobby for some these days, running Naturally Grown Farm is a full-time job for Gary.

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The farm supplies the likes of Fodder, Roots and Fruits and Regal Fruiterers as well as a dozen florists around the Harrogate area. Gary told the Stray Ferret over a cup of tea at his shed:

“Especially since coronavirus local shopping has become massive, Everyone seems to want to support local and buy local. So much so that it’s been difficult to keep up at times.

“Not only does local mean the produce does not have to travel far but here we try to keep everything plastic free and as environmentally-friendly as possible.

“We do alright. I have questioned myself a few times, it can be an uphill battle at times. My lad James would never let me pack it in. This place is like our home.

“But I was a builder for 35 years and this allotment was always my escape from the world. I would never let it go now, I am much happier now.”

A bountiful supply of salad leaves.

Naturally Grown Farm is now going so well that Gary is keen to take on a much bigger space to be able to keep up with the demand for his fruit, vegetables and flowers.

This year he has had a lot of requests from florists as weddings return. But it has meant that Gary has had to reduce the space he has to grow food.

So he is looking at taking on a field with 10 to 20 times the space he has now and employing an assistant to keep up with all of the work.

More pictures from this hidden gem farm:

He supplies plenty of florists.

Checking on the tomatoes.

The allotment is quite large.

This is part of the Stray Ferret’s ‘hidden gem’ series. We are trying to highlight small independent businesses. They need to be tucked away but growing in popularity with an eye-catching and unique product or approach. Send us an email with your nominations.

A Harrogate court has issued the former landlord of the Coach and Horses with a community order and extended the driving ban he has admitted breaching.

John Nelson, 65, who held the licence at the Coach and Horses for 33 years until last summer, appeared at Harrogate Justice Centre today.

He was appearing to hear his sentence. Nelson had already pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified and driving without insurance at a previous hearing.

North Yorkshire Police had stopped Nelson on Burn Bridge Lane in Burn Bridge on July 13. When they stopped him the officers test him for drugs. Nelson tested positive for cocaine.

However, the court heard how the officers were unable to take a blood test back at the police station so that was not taken into account in sentencing.

Read more:

• Court bans former Coach and Horses landlord from driving over drugs
• Coach and Horses in Harrogate gets green light to reopen

Nelson had been banned from driving for 18 months on May 7 after police pulled him over with cocaine in his system and Class A drugs in his jacket.

In defence for Nelson today, barrister Andrew Thompson, said:

“Mr Nelson has said his reason for driving the vehicle was that a friend of his had left medication in his car when they were in Harrogate.

“So he took the decision, which he accepts was wrong, to drive to Leeds. It appears that someone reported him to the police while he was in Leeds.

“The court is aware of the significant issues Mr Nelson has in his life, which may explain why these offences have occured.

“Mr Nelson is a retired publican who is well-known in the town. He feels he has let himself down again.”

In sentencing, the magistrates issued Nelson with a 12 month community order for breaching the driving ban. As part of that order he will need to do 25 rehabilitation days.

The court extended his driving ban to 26 months which comes into effect from today. Nelson will also have to pay a £364 fine.

What happened to the Coach and Horses?

Nelson is a well-known character in the Harrogate area. He used the profile of the Coach and Horses to help raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for local charities.

However, he lost his pub licence after police found customers drinking outside the Coach and Horses and not observing social distancing during the weekend of May 30, 2020.

Customers of the pub launched a petition to grant the licence to his daughter Samantha Nelson, which Harrogate Borough Council did in October last year.

Ms Nelson said she would refurbish and reopen the pub but it remains closed.

The Harrogate district has recorded a further 74 coronavirus cases, according to the latest figures from Public Health England.

It means that the district is now at a seven-day case rate of 302 per 100,000. That is slightly below the North Yorkshire average of 314 and the England average of 325.

Harrogate District Hospital is currently treating 10 patients for coronavirus.

The hospital has not recorded any covid deaths in the last 24 hours, according to NHS England statistics. However, two people have recently died at the hospital after testing positive for coronavirus.

Those two deaths followed a four-month period at the hospital when it did not record any coronavirus deaths.

Read more:

• Harrogate hospital reports second coronavirus death in a week
• Covid hospitalisations increase in Harrogate district and across county

It means the death toll at the hospital from covid since March 2020 stands at 181.

A total of 124,062 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 112,151 have had a second dose.

Eighty-seven per cent of adults have had a first jab and 78 per cent have had two jabs.

Four families from Afghanistan have been resettled in the Harrogate district following the Taliban takeover of the country.

The Afghan workers and their families are those who qualify for the Government’s Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP). They all arrived this month.

The scheme is for people who have supported British efforts in Afghanistan, including working as interpreters for the UK’s armed forces.

In June, senior Harrogate borough councillors agreed to offer resettlement to 19 Afghans, which amounts to four families.

The families are receiving support to help them to integrate and live independently. This includes English lessons where required, school places and routes to employment that make use of the professional skills they bring.

Read More: 

• Could former MoD homes in Ripon be used to help Afghans?

• Harrogate council pledges to resettle Afghan refugees under new government scheme

North Yorkshire people have been thanked for their generous donations of goods for Afghan families arriving in the county.

Donations of clothes, toiletries and other items have flooded in – and charities now have more than they need. People who wish to are now being asked to show their support in other ways, as North Yorkshire County Council stressed that the families are being well catered for and the support they need is in place.

Cllr David Chance, North Yorkshire County Council executive member for stronger communities, said:

“We saw an outpouring of donations for the Afghan families, which is unsurprising from the people of North Yorkshire, and we thank them for that.

“We now have more donations than these families need. Fortunately, they are being well-catered for through tried and tested systems established over a number of years by the county council and partners, including district and borough councils, volunteer and community groups and the Refugee Council.

“If people still want to show their support, we would encourage them instead to make a financial donation to national charities involved in refugee resettlement.”

What happens next?

The government has also recently announced a wider Afghan refugee scheme – the Afghan citizens’ relocation scheme. This is aimed at providing protection for vulnerable people fleeing the Taliban.

A decision on a commitment to that scheme within North Yorkshire and the Harrogate district is yet to be made.

It comes as British military forces have entered the final stages of evacuating people from Kabul airport. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said around 800 to 1,100 eligible Afghans will be left behind in the country – but that they can be processed for the UK’s relocation scheme if they can get to another country. The ARAP scheme will remain open indefinitely.

Police in Harrogate have taken down a “county lines” phone line used to advertise drugs to local addicts.

Drug dealers in Leeds and Bradford used the line to advertise crack cocaine and cocaine for sale in Harrogate. It was known as the “Danny” line.

Phone lines like the “Danny” line allow out-of-town heroin and cocaine dealers to send mass text messages promoting their drugs for sale, and when and where they can be picked up.

When a mobile phone is seized from suspected drug dealers, numbers and associated contacts can be reactivated within hours. However, taking down the whole line and removing the number from circulation permanently means drug dealers can no longer advertise.

The line was taken down after officers applied to Newcastle County Court for a Drug Dealing Telecommunications Restriction Order (DDTRO) on Wednesday.

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• Ripon paedophile jailed a second time

• Travellers leave Ashville College without causing damage

County lines is where drug dealers from urban areas exploit vulnerable people, including children, and force them to deal drugs in smaller towns and cities.

Inspector Penny Taylor of North Yorkshire Police, said:

“These orders are a helpful disruption tactic to interrupt the flow of drugs. The orders allow us to take down the line and remove the phone number from circulation permanently, meaning it cannot ever be reactivated on another device, depriving the dealers of the key means to sell their drugs.

“Drug dealing and the associated exploitation of vulnerable people is a foremost priority for North Yorkshire Police and we will continue to target dealers who prey on the vulnerable and cause misery in our communities.”

The action is part of a wider Harrogate-based investigation into drugs supply known as Operation Network. Since August 2020, Operation Network has seen 18 people arrested.

A group of travellers who set up camp at Ashville College in Harrogate have now vacated the sports field without causing any damage.

The travellers parked up their caravans at the fee-paying school’s rugby pitch on Tuesday evening. A spokesman for the college said they were prepared to leave immediately for £5,000.

According to the spokesman, the group are on their way to a wedding in Ireland after attending the annual Appleby Horse Fair in Cumbria.

The school was concerned that if the group stayed for a prolonged period then it could have to delay the start of the new term on September 8.

Ashville College called the police and started the court process to evict them.

Read more:

• Travellers set up camp at Harrogate’s Ashville College – and demand £5,000 to leave
• ‘Significant hurdles’ could delay moves to evict Ashville College travellers

However, after less than two days the travellers hitched up their caravans and moved on. The college said they left of their own accord.

Groundskeeping staff at Ashville College then carried out an inspection of the field and found no damage.

So Ashville’s series of summer sports activities can now resume outdoors after the presence of travellers forced the school to take it inside.

A spokesman for Ashville College told the Stray Ferret this morning:

“We are pleased to report that after less than two days, the travellers that set up camp on our sports pitches have now vacated the grounds.

“Our groundskeeping staff have conducted a thorough inspection of the rugby fields and can confirm that there is no damage, and that they are safe for games to be resumed.”

CCTV will be installed on Bilton’s Iron Bridge to tackle anti-social behaviour and vandalism on a recently painted mural.

Conservative HBC and NYCC councillors for Bilton, Matt Scott and Paul Haslam, are behind the initiative which will be trialled for a month beginning in early September.

In March, a colourful mural featuring flowers and foxes was painted by artist Emma Garness to become a beacon of positivity in the area.

The mural has been well received by local residents but has been the subject of vandalism, despite being daubed with anti-graffiti paint.

The CCTV camera was recently used in Ripon to tackle anti-social behaviour. It has a wide-angle lens so can also capture nearby areas such as the garage block on Woodfield Close.

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Cllr Scott said:

“I am grateful to Paul, Cllr Tim Myatt on the other side of the bridge, Julia and Helen in Community Safety and our fantastic local PCSOs for their support with this.

“Paul and I take antisocial behaviour seriously and we will not let a minority of individuals spoil our wonderful community and make people feel unsafe.

“We have seen recently how residents’ own CCTV can help tackle this issue. I hope this camera will provide reassurance and also act as a deterrent.”

The annual Christmas concert at Harrogate’s Royal Hall featuring Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band will return in December following last year’s cancellation.

The Christmas Fantasy concert will once again see the famous brass band perform with chorus accompaniment from Harrogate Gilbert and Sullivan Society.

It is due to take place on December 18 with both a matinee and an evening show.

The show will consist of original songs from the band, Gilbert and Sullivan classics and some Christmas favourites.

Last year the show was cancelled for the first time since it was first performed over 30 years ago due to covid restrictions.

Carrie Brown, chair of the Harrogate G&S Society, said;

“We want it to be a very special relaunch given that it was cancelled last year. We’re lucky to have some very loyal people who have come to see us year on year and use it as a way to start off their Christmas.”

Read more

• You shall go to the Harrogate panto!
• Knaresborough Feva Festival gets underway

The Harrogate G&S society was formed in 1972 by enthusiasts for the Victorian theatrical duo.

Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band dates back to 1881 and has performed across the globe.

Tickets are due to go on sale in September with under-16s allowed entry for free.