An inquest will investigate how a 16-year-old Harrogate schoolboy, who was exploited by county lines drug dealers and struggled with mental health issues, died in a homeless hostel for adults.

Benjamin Nelson-Roux, a student at St Aidan’s Church of England High School, died in Harrogate on April 8 2020. His body was found by his mother, Kate.

The North Yorkshire Coroner’s Office held a second pre-inquest review in Northallerton today to review the evidence ahead of a full inquest.

Read more:

• Hearing begins into death of Harrogate schoolboy Benjamin Nelson-Roux, 16
• Ripon girl’s suicide not linked to acne drug, inquest concludes

Jon Heath, senior coroner for North Yorkshire, listened to submissions from lawyers acting on behalf of the family as well as the various agencies involved in the case. Mr Heath said:

“In the full inquest I must consider the risk to Benjamin and the responsibility Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council had for him.

“He was placed in this hostel because it was staffed 24 hours a day. The hostel is for adults. Benjamin was 16-years-old. He was deemed to be ‘at significant risk of death’ just two days before he died.”

Mr Heath revealed that he would call 23 witnesses at the full inquest, which is due to be heard over 12 days on a date to be determined before July.

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has appointed Sarah Armstrong as the new chair of its board.

Current chair Angela Schofield announced she is retiring having been in the role since November 2017.

Ms Armstrong, a former director of operations at Healthwatch and chief executive of York Centre for Voluntary Service, will take up the role from April 1.

She is also a non-executive director at Harrogate Integrated Facilities, a wholly-owned subsidiary company of the hospital trust that looks after its estate.

Ms Armstrong said: 

“I am delighted to be appointed chair of HDFT. Being a non-executive director over the last few years has enabled me to understand the work that the trust does, and the difference it makes. I feel extremely proud to be part of HDFT and very much look forward to undertaking this new role.”

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Steve Russell, chief executive of HDFT, said: 

“Sarah’s vast knowledge and experience has been invaluable since she joined the trust’s three years ago and I am looking forward to working with her in her new role.

“The energy and enthusiasm she brings is infectious and her inquisitive, challenging nature keeps us on our toes and ensures we are always striving to provide the best possible healthcare for our community.”

Harrogate Borough Council is set to bring forward part of its redevelopment of the town’s convention centre over fears it may lose £475,000 in bookings.

A report due before the council’s cabinet next week will recommend setting aside £2.8 million from its reserves to accelerate creating “breakout rooms” in studio 2.

Paula Lorimer, director of the convention centre, said previously that bringing the studio part of the project forward needed to be a priority as it would be a “game changer”.

The work to studio 2 will include the creation of seminar rooms to cater for up to 1,200 people. Currently, the studio only caters for 570 delegates, which can deter some organisations from booking.

The work for studio 2 is now expected to be considered as a standalone project, while approval for the wider first phase of the project is likely to return before councillors at a later date.

The report to councillors says:

“If the studio 2 package is not ready by April 2023, the potential negative impact on the HCC order book would be significant.

“It is highly likely that the contracted events for the period 2023/24 would be lost, as without studio 2 these conferences would exceed the current breakout capacity of the venue.”

£12.9m hit to local economy

The council estimates that if the acceleration of studio 2 is not approved then the authority faces a loss in income of £475,000 and an associated economic impact on the district as a whole of £12.9 million.

This is because events for the convention centre are often booked 18 months in advance.

Read more:

• No final decision on HCC investment until 2022, says council
• Harrogate Convention Centre boss warns big events ‘at risk’ unless £47m refurbishment is accelerated

Ms Lorimer told a cabinet meeting in December 2021 that there was a “strong case” to bring the studio project forward.

She said:

“We are lucky to have one of the largest and most gorgeous auditoriums in the country with just over 1,900 seats, but we only have breakout space for 570 people.

“These larger conference rooms that we are hoping to have in studio 2 will mean we will attract much larger conferences.

“We therefore believe there is a very strong case to accelerate this part of the project.”

The remainder of the project has yet to receive a final go-ahead from councillors and could cost up to £47 million over three phases if approved.

Other plans as part of the project could involve three exhibition halls being demolished to make way for a new 5,000 sq m hall and a refurbished auditorium.

Around £20 million would be needed to complete a first phase of redevelopment, with another phase later.

Speculation has been mounting on social media after a photographer snapped pictures of a film crew in action at Crimple Valley viaduct yesterday.

James Forster, a wildlife photographer, set out to capture the wildlife in Crimple Valley when he spotted some unusual activity on the viaduct.

Pictures he shared with the Stray Ferret show a limousine, film crews with cameras and boom microphones as well as three actors preparing for the shoot.

Read more:

• Harrogate council paid social media influencer £700 to promote town
• New Allertons hair salon to open on Harrogate’s Montpellier Street

It is unclear what film or TV show the film crew is working on. There has been much excitement in Leeds where Samuel L Jackson has been filming a new Marvel series for Disney Plus but he is not thought to have headed north to Harrogate.

Mr Forster’s images on Twitter provoked comments that ITV has been filming Emmerdale in the area.

The Stray Ferret asked ITV whether it was filming Emmerdale in Harrogate but the broadcaster said it was unable to comment at this time.

The 31-arch viaduct is one of the most photographed structures in the Harrogate district.

There are miles of tailbacks around Killinghall this morning, particularly for drivers heading southbound, on the fourth day of construction works.

Northern Powergrid is laying cable for an electric vehicle charger outside the new Tesco Express.

Three-way traffic lights have been installed at the junction with Otley Road. Buses and lorries are unable to turn in and out of Otley Road from Ripon Road.

The Stray Ferret has changed the way it offers Traffic and Travel alerts.

We will now notify you instantly through app notifications and flash tweets when there is an urgent alert. This could include heavy traffic, dangerous weather and long delays or cancellations of public transport.

The alerts are sponsored by The HACS Group.

Pharmall Country Store in Killinghall has urged dog owners not to bring their pets into the shop due to a mystery virus.

There have been widespread reports of vomiting and diarrhoea affecting dogs across Yorkshire, including in Harrogate, in recent weeks.

The shop on Otley Road, which sells pet food and animal supplies, posted on its Facebook page yesterday that it has made the decision to reduce the chance of the virus spreading.

It said:

Read more:

• Harrogate vet sees big rise in dogs with mystery illness

• Charity Corner: Masham charity on its ‘vocation’ to save dogs

The Harrogate Vet, on Leeds Road, told the Stray Ferret this month that its vets had seen a three-fold increase in dogs with gastroenteritis.

Sarah Woods, one of the vets at the practice, said:

“It is not unusual for viruses to spread but this is different in terms of the sheer number of unwell dogs we are treating — around a dozen a day.

“We do not want dog owners to panic or change anything they are doing.

“Dogs that have symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea just need to avoid popular areas to prevent the spread.”

Work on the first phase of the new Otley Road cycle lane in Harrogate is due to be completed this week.

North Yorkshire County Council blamed “severe weather” for delaying the completion of the initial section between Harlow Moor Road and Arthurs Avenue before Christmas.

Last week it said it would be completed by February 21 but in a further update this week it said it will be ready on Friday.

The Stray Ferret has been sent footage of a cyclist travelling downhill along the route towards Cold Bath Road last weekend.

Much of the route is shared with pedestrians, which was one of several points flagged up in a blog by Hedgehog Cycling, which says shared use is not appropriate on urban streets. Some businesses have expressed similar concerns.

The blog, which covers cycling in Yorkshire, also raises concerns about the width of the route in some sections, saying it measures 93cm in one area — below the 150cm minimum requirement.

But it hails the cycleway priority at side roads, such as Pannal Ash Drive and Hill Rise Close, as “the biggest improvement over previous North Yorkshire pavement cycling efforts”.

Another cycling group, Harrogate District Cycle Action, has urged people to hold judgement until the entire route is completed.

Read more:

• Don’t judge Otley Road cycle path until its complete, says campaign group
• ‘Severe weather’ delays Otley Road cycle path in Harrogate

What happens now?

Construction of the second phase, which will cover Harlow Moor Road to Beech Grove, is due to start in April. There is still no timescale for phase three.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire County Council said:

We are aiming to complete phase 1 by January 28, and we hope to start phase 2 in April 2022. Phase 3 relies on developer funding from the west of Harrogate urban extension.

“Plans are currently being worked on, which will then lead to more detailed planning, including a feasibility study.”

A cyclist sent in this video of the cycle lane to give others an idea of what to expect. What do you make of the layout?

Harrogate Borough Council paid a social media influencer from Bristol £700 to promote the town’s Christmas Fayre in a blog — which only received two likes on Facebook, including one from the council itself.

Heather on Her Travels is run by travel blogger Heather Cowper and is aimed at people over 50. Ms Cowper writes about her trips to different places in the UK and abroad with articles focused on “authentic travel with a little luxury”.

In December last year, Ms Cowper, who has 8,000 followers on Twitter, 4,000 on Facebook and 17,000 on Instagram, published an article called “11 Fun Things To Do Over Harrogate – Our Winter Break”.

It named the council’s new Harrogate Christmas Fayre as the number 1 attraction.

The Stray Ferret discovered through a freedom of information request that the council, through its tourism body Visit Harrogate, paid Ms Cowper £700 + VAT for the article.

Its performance on social media raises questions over whether the fee represents value for money.

On Twitter, the article received just one retweet. It performed better on Facebook but still only won two likes, including one from Visit Harrogate.

One of the Instagram posts.

Several photos of the trip on Instagram fared better, receiving up to 50 likes.

Read more:

• Harrogate residents launch campaign against Tesco plan

• Harrogate Station Gateway could take a year longer to complete than expected

Other UK councils have used social media influencers to promote their area, including Edinburgh City Council. Edinburgh Live reported the authority paid £14,000 to Instagram influencers who praised the Scottish capital as a destination.

However, these posts were more successful, with one post about a bike tour around Edinburgh racking up almost 2,500 likes.

‘Attracts our target demographic’

Gemma Rio, head of Destination Harrogate, which controls Visit Harrogate, defended the £700 fee for Ms Cowper. Ms Rio said she produced “incredibly well-written content” that could help the council attract new visitors through social media:

“The digital landscape has changed significantly in the last few years with around 80% of adults (53 million) using social media daily, with the average user spending almost two hours on these platforms.

“Like many other destination management organisations – as well as most businesses – Destination Harrogate is keen to capitalise on this incredibly effective marketing tool to target specific audiences, especially around the tourism and travel sector.

“Heather Cowper was chosen as she regularly appears on the lists of top 100 travel blogs worldwide and has established herself as one of the best traveller bloggers. Regularly receiving thousands of views every month on her videos, photos, podcasts and blogs.

“Heather’s content is also incredibly well written – having spent many years sharing her own travel experiences and insights – and also attracts our target demographic.

“The joy of using social media as a marketing tool is that it is often more cost-effective and engaging than traditional advertising, as we can utilise photography and video as well as words. All adverts and promotions can also be evaluated extensively; whether that’s reach and engagement or driving traffic to our website, for example.

“We can also continue to adapt and tailor our approach to future campaigns, attract new visitors, as well as understand the behaviours of our target demographic to ensure a return on our investment.

“Social media advertising and the use of influencers to increase brand awareness looks like it will continue to be one of the most beneficial marketing tools. We’re keen to continue using it to showcase what the Harrogate district has to offer and stand out amongst competitor destinations.”

A new hair and beauty salon is set to open on Harrogate’s Montpellier Street next month.

Allertons, which currently has two salons in Leeds and one in Nottingham, will take over the space previously occupied by Lifestyle Lounge.

Founder Nicholas Nicola said he’d lived in north Leeds all his life and always hoped to open a salon in Harrogate because he believed his brand would be well suited to the town.

Mr Nicola said Allertons hoped to bring something “new and fresh” to Harrogate and plans to start welcoming clients by February 22.

The left shows how the shop will look once the re-fit is complete.

The quick conversion of the premises aims to encourage Lifestyle Lounge customers to move their appointments to Allertons.

Mr Nicola said he has invested about £100,000 in the re-fit. The studio will open just one of its three floors at first with four members of staff.

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• New bar and nightclub to open on Harrogate’s Parliament Street

He added the other two floors will open in the months ahead and the team will grow to 16 staff offering hair and beauty treatments. He said job opportunities were still available:

“We think it will be well received. We aren’t led by fashion but what the clients want from root tints to bright blue. Harrogate already has so many lovely salons and hopefully we can bring something different.”

A Harrogate man has received a community order after admitting carrying a baseball bat down Parliament Street and making unlawful threats of violence.

Dan Swift, 21, of Fewston Crescent, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court yesterday charged with threatening unlawful violence towards other persons which would cause fear for personal safety.

Swift was also charged with carrying a baseball bat on Parliament Street on September 26 last year without lawful authority or reasonable excuse.

He pleaded guilty to those charges.

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• Police case on missing Harrogate woman ‘remains open’
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The court imposed a community order, which included 100 hours of unpaid work to be undertaken over the next 12 months.

The court said Swift’s guilty plea was taken into account when imposing the sentence.