A family of ducks have made themselves at home waddling through the corridors of a Ripley primary school.

The mother duck and her four ducklings were first spotted by staff at Ripley Endowed C of E Primary School earlier this week.

The animal family is thought to have nested in the school garden over half-term.

The staff expected them to have made their way down to the river but instead they have made themselves at home; wandering the corridors and hanging out in the playground.

The children have enjoyed getting to know their new classmates. Photograph: Ripley Endowed Primary School, Facebook

Mrs Walker, key stage one teacher, said:

“They clearly feel very at home here. They are totally un-phased having to share the playground and gardens with the children, they have even been venturing into the classrooms and today shared snack time in the sun with our pre-school children.”

The children have been learning about ducks since they arrived and four has become the youngest class’s number of the week.

The school is not unfamiliar to sharing its space with other birds. A family of Swallows regularly return to nest above a classroom door.

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The primary school’s classes are already named after bird species such as Swallows and Starlings. But thanks to their newest members the school’s new pre-school class will go by the name ‘Ducklings’.

Back in April, the school opened its pre-school following the closure of the nearby nursery, Smarties.

Harrogate residents fighting plans for a Starbucks drive-thru are getting ready to do battle next week when a second appeal into the rejected proposals gets underway.

A government planning inspector will on Tuesday open a hearing into the controversial plans for the former 1st Dental surgery on Wetherby Road.

The plans have already been refused three times over concerns about highway safety, air quality and the impact of nearby residents.

Retail firm Euro Garages is behind the scheme and will feel it now has its best chance yet of winning approval after Harrogate Borough Council last month withdrew an objection and chose not to contest the appeal, instead leaving it in the hands of residents.

Headed up by ward councillor Pat Marsh, locals are now preparing to take their fight to the June 15 hearing, which is expected to return a decision before the end of the month.

Cllr Marsh said:

“We are so committed to making sure the right decision is made by the inspector. This is a site that has been refused all the way down the line, including a decision from a previous inspector, so our case must have some validity.

“What we are talking about is a business which would only attract more cars to an already busy area. The name drive-thru is a good clue and it will mean cars upon cars upon cars.

“The developers will have all kinds of legal people to try to knock us down. We are not legal people, we are just normal residents who appreciate where they live and want to stop this inappropriate development in an inappropriate area.

“Residents have made a really strong case to fight this appeal and I will be there right behind them.”

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After the plans were first refused by the council in 2017, a key moment came a year later when a first appeal was dismissed by an inspector on the grounds that the site would cause “unacceptable” harm to nearby residents.

Euro Garages then submitted a revised scheme after what they said was “very careful consideration” of the inspector’s ruling, with a reduction in the size of the proposed building and relocated parking.

These latest plans were still rejected by the council in 2019, and are what will be up for debate at next week’s appeal.

‘Angry and upset’

The reason for the council not wanting to contest is because it previously made a recommendation in support of the plans, which it believes would have hindered an argument against.

It also said it was unable to find lawyers willing to fight the appeal for them.

Cllr Pat Marsh, who is also leader of the opposition Liberal Democrat party, said she was “angered” by this decision but vowed to fight on.

She said: 

“I still feel angry and upset because when we previously voted for refusal, and even though it was contrary to officer recommendation, we had sound planning reasons.

“At the time, a legal officer for the council never stood up to question this. Clearly what we had done was seen to be acceptable and we thought the council were on our side.”

A council spokesman previously said not contesting the appeal “hasn’t been an easy decision to make” but was “the best way forward in this instance.”

They said: 

“In this case, the officer recommendation of approval was overturned by the planning committee and permission was refused, which has led to an appeal by the applicant.

“Following this recommendation, along with feedback from relevant consultees and comments made by an independent inspector – who considered a previous appeal at the site for a similar proposal – we believe the most sensible and cost-effective approach would be to not defend the appeal.”

Shop vacancy rates across Harrogate district have fallen over the last year, according to latest borough council data.

The figures for March 2021 show most areas saw a decrease in the number of vacant units on the same time last year.

Boroughbridge was among the best performing with just 1.5% of shops in the town empty – a drop from 6.1% on March last year.

According to the council’s data, just one out of 64 shops were vacant in the town.

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Meanwhile, Harrogate town saw the number of empty units fall from 9.5% in March 2020 to 7.3% in the same period this year.

However, figures for the Harrogate suburbs increased from 3.9% to 4.4%.

Pateley Bridge’s rate stayed the same, while Ripon fell to 6.6% and Masham dropped by 2.2% to 11.1%.

Overall the district has 83 out of 1,211 units sat empty, according to the data.

In a post on his news site, Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, said:

“These have been difficult times and we are still not through them. Retail and hospitality are going to face ongoing challenges but these figures are positive and an improving position on much of the last few years.

“While the Harrogate town centre vacancy rate is at its lowest since June 2015 this is somewhat masked by the fact that a few really large units in prominent positions are empty which smaller units are generally being occupied.

“Knaresborough’s figures should improve even further when the long-term empty properties on the High Street come into use later this year. They were derelict until Harrogate council bought them and refurbished them.

“The Boroughbridge story is amazing and a tribute to this positive, community-oriented outlook. The town even featured on the BBC news described as ‘Boom town Boroughbridge’; quite an accolade.”

A home in Harrogate has got creative to deliver a unique warning about climate change.

Whoever lives in the house has hung eco-bunting across a hedge for all to see on Oatlands Drive, opposite St Aidan’s Church of England High School.

It includes messages such as “if the climate were a bank it would already have been saved” and “you know it’s bad when introverts are doing this”.

Caroline Linford who runs the Sustainably Harrogate blog and website, noticed the bunting.

Ms Linford praised it and said “activism comes in all shapes and forms”.

She added:

Our story yesterday about the Harrogate district being left to grow wild to improve biodiversity and attract bees, birds and insects provoked a huge amount of interest.

Harrogate Borough Council has left large swathes of green spaces untouched by mowers and strimmers.

Even the neat and orderly Stray has a different look to previous years.

It’s a thorny subject for the district, which prides itself on its well tended, floral appearance.

Almost 100 people commented on our Facebook page, and the vast majority gave the new approach the thumbs-up.

One person praised the wildflower “anarchy” on display.

“I love it! Wild flowers are never untidy – just a bit anarchic!!”

‘The wilder the better’

Another reader called Harrogate Borough Council “brave” for taking the new approach.

“The wilder the better for wildflowers, insects and other wildlife. Well done Harrogate Borough Council for taking such a brave approach and not bowing to the ‘tidy brigade’. Currently it’s only a tiny percentage of our green space but it’s a start!”

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Someone on our Twitter page said other parts of Harrogate were also looking better:

“It’s great – not just on The Stray but also in other places like along Wetherby Road near Woodlands. Looks great with the buttercups in flower.”

However, there were some dissenting voices. Several people accused the council of not cutting the grass to save money.

Another accused it of “hypocrisy” due to the scale of housebuilding in the district.

The Stray Ferret reported last year that green spaces the size of over 700 football pitches will be lost to housing.

“The crocuses and planted up flower beds also attract many bees and many insects but oh wait, the council are selling the horticulture nurseries on Harlow for yet more housing. 

“Total double standards but they they’ll cut maintenance costs and make money from developers.”

How wild is your neighbourhood? Send us pics and give us your views. Email us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk

Harrogate Town’s under-19 coach Paul Barker is asking young people and their families in the district to donate sports equipment to disadvantaged youngsters.

He’s collecting football boots, balls, and other sporting gear which will be sent to a new charity called Action For Sport, which was set up to improve sporting participation for young people living in poverty. Donations will mainly help people in Bradford but also in other parts of the UK.

Mr Barker has worked in sport all his life and said its impact can be profound on young people. However, poverty can be a barrier to entry, with some parents unable to afford the essentials.

He said:

“Without sport some youngsters could go down a different path, sport can change that.”

“The charity is about giving them access to play sport in cities and getting them off the street.

Mr Barker said he has a friend whose son plays for Leeds United’s youth team. He receives three new pairs of goalkeeper gloves each month, which he was going to send to the tip but instead donated them to the charity.

He said even a small donation could make a big difference:

“An old ball, boots or trainers and you’re off”.

To donate, email Mr Barker at pbjfc@live.com or contact him through his Twitter page. He said you can arrange a time to drop the equipment off at his house.

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It’s not the first time Mr Barker has launched a drive for football equipment for those in need.

Two years ago he collected over 400 pairs of football boots, which were donated to the Namutumba orphanage in Uganda.

The people of Harrogate rallied behind the appeal, which was a huge success and created some new Town fans in a different continent.

He added:

“There are young people wandering around Uganda now wearing Harrogate Town shirts!”

The founder of a Harrogate dog rescue charity has resigned after a disagreement with the trustees over kennel fees.

Moorview Rescue was set up by Joanne Brydon in 2009 and based at her farm in Bewerley. Over the years it’s housed hundreds of neglected and mis-treated dogs whilst they were found new owners.

The disagreement came because, alongside the charity, Ms Brydon also ran a kennel business where the charity paid for the rescued dogs to stay.

In recent weeks the trustees and Ms Brydon disagreed on the price the charity paid for kennel fees leading to Ms Brydon’s resignation.

She said:

“They have now decided to move to new premises. I’ve had no choice but to resign. I’ve changed the name but I will be keeping all the farm animals. They thought the rescue fees were too much, we had conflicting ideas.”

Ms Brydon has set up another business called the Moorview Sanctuary, caring for her rescued farm animals. She said she will continue to run the kennel business and only care for rescue dogs once she has raised the funds.

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The charity’s trustees now control of the charity and said they’re looking for new premises to house the dogs.

A charity spokesperson said:

“We decided to part ways as the cost was a challenge area and now everyone has gone their separate ways. Our aim is to continue helping animals and to continue doing the great work of this charity.”

The charity was unable to give further details on the new premises but said it would continue to care for neglected and mis-treated dogs.

Rossett Sports Centre in Harrogate is to begin repairing its 3G artificial football pitch after achieving its £10,000 fundraising target.

The appeal was launched last month after the pandemic affected finances and delayed the repairs.

The pitch is usually open to 1,000 people each week but covid meant this number was massively reduced.

But a successful crowdfunding campaign means work can begin.

In a statement on the fundraising page, the centre manager, Josh Lyon, said the total cost of the repairs is £160,000.

He added the pitch was set to reopen to the public later this month:

“A massive thank you for your support in helping us reach our £10,000 target. This money is going directly towards the 3G pitch replacement project. Works on the new pitch is imminently commencing and the new state of the art facility should be back open to the local community in late June.

“Your support is massively appreciated by Rossett and your local sporting community.”

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The current total is nearing £11,000. Mr Lyon has said any extra funding would go towards new goals.

The sports centre on Pannal Ash Road is run by Rossett School and is open to the public outside of school hours, seven days a week.

Its full-sized 3G pitch provides space for both five-a-side groups and full team matches.

Harrogate district residents may have noticed the town is looking different this year — as swathes of green spaces, including on the Stray, have been left alone by mowers and strimmers so nature can grow free.

‘Rewilding’ is one of the words of the moment, with councils across the country hoping to improve biodiversity and attract bees, birds and insects.

The new look in Harrogate has been welcomed by many, who see it as a sign that Harrogate Borough Council, which manages our parks and green spaces, is serious about improving biodiversity.

But others who cherish Harrogate’s long reputation for organised and elegant planting, believe it makes the town look untidy.

In the eye of the beholder

Shan Oakes from the Harrogate & District Green Party told the Stray Ferret that prim and proper Victorian-style floral displays can look old-fashioned.

In recent history, wildflower meadows have slipped into a dramatic decline as the species-rich grasslands are ploughed up for housing, farming and roads.

She said wildflowers will encourage pollinating bees as well as insects which can good food for birds.

“It’s excellent the council is thinking seriously about this from nature’s point of view.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It doesn’t have to be a mess.”

“One or two people might think it looks untidy and not respectful. But isn’t it more respectful to be kinder to nature?

“If bees go, we all go.”

‘Very unattractive’

Alison Freeman lives near the Stray but said rewilding makes the town look “untidy and unsightly”

She said she fears broken glass and bottles lurking in the undergrowth which she believes poses a safety risk.

“It’s very unattractive and it has the potential to be dangerous. Beer bottles could get dumped in the long grass.I t’s unusable and I can’t walk on it.

She criticised Harrogate Borough Council’s approach to grass cutting this year.

“Don’t they care about the town? They are driving Harrogate down.

“The whole verge by the West Park Stray looks like the council hasn’t bothered to look after it.

“Bees are important, we are not anti-bee. But I haven’t seen any bees on the buttercups by the Stray”.

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Judy D’Arcy Thompson from the Stray Defence Association took a more balanced approach to the issue.

She called rewilding “a very emotive subject with passions running high both for and against the wilding”.

She added:

“Our Stray is arguably Harrogate’s most important environmental asset and of tremendous benefit to the whole area. Throughout the past difficult months during the pandemic it has been an amazing green sanctuary for everyone to use.

“It is essential to strike a balance between the need for safeguarding and enhancing its ecological role alongside its open and free use by people.”

Great news for wildlife

As well as letting some areas grow free, Harrogate Borough Council recently planted 5,500 wildflower plugs on two areas of the Stray near Leeds Road and York Place. They were helped volunteers from Bilton Conservation Group.

A council spokesman said the new biodiversity areas will provide habitats and green corridors for some of the 1,500 species of insect pollinators across the district.

He added:

“Residents and visitors may have started to notice that some areas of the Harrogate district are being left to grow and not mown. 

“This is great news for wildlife as the longer grass and wildflowers will provide food and homes for pollinating insects, as well as supporting our aim of reducing our carbon footprint.

“As well as leaving specific areas to grow and encourage biodiversity, we have also planted – with the help of volunteers – more than 5,000 wildflower plugs on specific areas of the Stray in Harrogate.

“We’ll be keeping an eye on how things progress and will be providing regular updates on social media channels.”

Harrogate Borough Council have created a flower mural in the town centre to celebrate 100 years since the founding of the Soroptimist International women’s organisation.

Soroptimist International is an organisation aimed at empowering and improving the lives of women worldwide. It tackles issues such as domestic violence, child marriage and human trafficking.

The organisation has its’ own Harrogate and District branch which is reaching its 90th anniversary.

It consists of 37 members who work locally to support women’s refuges, food banks and other women’s causes.

In July of 2019 they held a Zoom conference for women in the organisation to speak to their ‘friendship links’ worldwide during lockdown.

The name ‘soroptimist’ comes from the Latin for ‘better sister’.

The mural can be found in Harrogate town centre on Montpelier Hill.

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