An Italian restaurant owned by Gino D’Acampo will close this month after more than four years in Harrogate.

Gino D’Acampo My Restaurant on Parliament Street is one of five of the celebrity chef’s restaurants to close.

After opening the business in 2017 Mr D’Acampo claimed it was the only “proper Italian” in Harrogate.

His comments sparked a furious backlash at the time from a number of Harrogate’s Italian restaurant owners.

The closures follow the news from the start of the year that his My Pasta Bar chain entered liquidation amid problems with coronavirus.

Piccolino will take on the former Gino D’Acampo My Restaurant in Harrogate, which will reopen after a rebrand on Monday, January 24.

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A spokesperson for Piccolino, which is part of the Individual Restaurants group along with Gino D’Acampo My Restaurant, said:

“This former Gino D’Acampo My Restaurant will become part of the Piccolino family of restaurants on January 24.

“We are thrilled to announce that we will soon be opening a brand new Piccolino restaurant in Harrogate.

“We can’t wait to welcome you through our doors of Harrogate’s brand new Piccolino.”

Harrogate Borough Council has this week submitted a plan to build a pet crematorium at Stonefall Cemetery.

It follows the lead of councils in North East Lincolnshire and Barnsley, which have already opened or started work on pet crematoriums.

Harrogate council currently charges £36 to collect dead pets from people’s homes.

Currently, the closest pet crematoriums are in either Thirsk or Skipton.

The crematorium at Harrogate would be built inside a converted shipping container.

The plans also include converting a storage building at Stonefall into a “goodbye room”, where owners can say their final farewells to their pets before they are cremated.

A decision on the proposal will be made at a later date.

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Harrogate MP Andrew Jones has told a constituent that “lawmakers can’t be lawbreakers” after Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitted attending a party during the first coronavirus lockdown.

In the letter to a constituent, who shared the contents with the Stray Ferret but did not want to be named, Mr Jones said he had received a lot of letters and emails about the issue.

The Stray Ferret has asked Mr Jones multiple times for his response to reports of the Downing Street parties since the story broke in December. He has never responded.

The Conservative backbencher called in Parliament for Sue Gray to complete her investigation and share the results as soon as possible. But this is the first time he has criticised Boris Johnson’s handling of the matter.

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He said in his letter:

“I followed coronavirus restrictions. I take the maxim ‘lawmakers can’t be lawbreakers’ seriously.

“Like most I could not see my family, I could not meet with colleagues and I most certainly could not socialise with friends.

“My office team were all working from home and there was no mixing between us at all during work, let alone after work with alcohol.

“It is therefore frustrating to have been put in a position of waiting for the Prime Minister to account for exactly what occurred.”

Mr Jones said he could not understand “why it took so long and was so difficult to answer the direct question: ‘Were you at an event on such-and-such a date?'”

However, he said he felt the Prime Minister’s statement on the May 20 party was “clear”. But, he goes on to add:

“His [The Prime Minister’s] apology was necessary and welcome, but I do not think this closes the matter. There are many more questions, some as a consequence of his statement.

“In respect of the investigation announced by the Prime Minister in December, if this finds wrongdoing, and the police find that these actions were criminal, then consequences must flow from that.”

Mr Jones also added that he has discussed the matter with the party whips and the chair of the government’s backbench committee, also known as the 1922 Committee.

Police have arrested five people, including a 12-year-old boy, in connection with a spate of burglaries in Harrogate.

North Yorkshire Police revealed how officers have seen a sharp rise in burglaries in the town. The force said many of the properties targeted were insecure.

Officers believe the incidents are linked and have arrested a 12-year-old boy, two 15-year-old boys, a 16-year-old boy and an 18-year-old woman in the last four days.

Since the start of the year there have been burglaries on Butterbur Way, Hartwith Drive, Gentian Glade, Saltergate Drive, Woodfield Road, Pennywort Grove, Tewit Well Road, Kenilworth Avenue, Strawberry Dale Avenue, Carlton Road, West End Avenue, St Anthans Walks and Hutton Gate.

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Police released the above list in the hope that anyone with information or CCTV footage will come forward. Anyone who can help with the investigation should quote reference 12220008323.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said:

“Before you go to bed tonight, please take a few minutes to secure doors and windows to your property, including garages, sheds and outbuildings.

“Also remove all valuables from your car or van and lock it. Move keys away from the door and windows where they can be seen and potentially accessed.

“If possible, secure your vehicles in a garage or behind a gate.”

An extra 350 children in Harrogate district secondary schools have become eligible for free school meals since the coronavirus pandemic began, figures reveal.

A total of 1,143 children were eligible in October 2021, compared with 796 in January 2020.

This means almost 1 in 10 children in the district are now eligible for free school meals. The national average is around 2 in 10.

The Stray Ferret obtained the figures from a freedom of information request to North Yorkshire County Council, the education authority for the district.

To qualify for free school meals a parent must apply to the council with evidence that they are receiving a benefit, such as child tax credit, income support or universal credit.

The issue of free school meals was highlighted following a campaign by Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford.

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Speaking at last week’s Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee, Helen Ingle, health improvement manager at NYCC, said the council was trying to encourage parents of key stage 1 age children to take up free school meals.

If a child is in reception, year one or year two they are automatically entitled to a free school meal.

Ms Ingle also said schools in the district had reported an increase in obesity since the pandemic began.

She said:

“[Covid] has had a massive impact on levels of overweight and obesity, we’re doing a lot of work around that. Schools are very concerned about healthy eating levels in schools and have noticed a change in children’s weight and eatings habits since covid.”

Cancelled shows and a huge roof renovation have made the last 18 months “very difficult” for Harrogate Theatres but the chair says it is going into 2022 “cautiously optimistic”.

Knaresborough-born Deborah Larwood, who has been visiting the theatre for years, worked in the arts sector for over a decade before she took a seat on the board four years ago. She then became chair in December 2019.

Harrogate Theatres is a charity that hosts events at Harrogate Theatre, Royal Hall and Harrogate Convention Centre.

Its biggest challenge during the pandemic has been generating enough income to cover costs whilst being unable to get on stage.

It has held online workshops, socially distanced theatre and launched its HT Together fundraising campaign.

Ms Larwood said initiatives like these and grants from the likes of Arts Council England have been crucial to the theatre’s survival and allowed it to plan for upcoming events.

Cinderella ends today

The biggest event for the theatre each year is its annual pantomime. As Cinderella comes to a close today, after running since November, Ms Larwood said she was pleased with its success although it is unclear how well tickets sold compared with previous years. She said:

“People’s habits have changed during the pandemic and some of our usual audience members still aren’t comfortable in the auditorium. We still had huge success in terms of ticket sales, but it was different especially with some schools choosing to cancel their trip.

“When we lost the panto in 2020 it was a significant worry because we rely so heavily on that revenue we earn.”

Some of the cast of this year’s pantomime, Cinderella. Photograph: Karl Andre

She added tickets for this year’s pantomime, Aladdin, are already selling with a number of schools also choosing to book.

Roof completion date still set for March 

One of the biggest projects undertaken in the last 12 months has been the roof renovation. The project has been managed by Harrogate Borough Council, which owns the building.

Work began in May last year and with multiple setbacks due to covid and building materials it is now due to be completed by March.

Ms Larwood said workers on site were “determined” to stick to that date.

The theatre roof during works in June 2021.

The board has been trying to recruit new trustees. Last year, Ms Larwood, said multiple trustees came to the end of their tenure, which gave the opportunity to bring in new people and expertise.

She said:

“The pandemic allowed us to refocus and its exciting to hear from new people who are equally as passionate as us about the arts.”

So far the charity has added Fiona Hunt to its board but plans to speak to more potential new trustees after panto season.

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‘Necessary evil’ to make people redundant 

During the pandemic the theatre made staff redundant in an attempt to remain open. Ms Larwood said it was a “necessary evil”.

Long-term closures in 2020 and 2021 meant a big loss in revenue. Ms Larwood said despite the grants, cuts had to be made.

However, the charity hopes to start recruiting again this year. She said:

“We had terrible levels of redundancies but we had to make sure we made it through the other side. Recruitment will begin in earnest, but it’s all about striking a balance. We need people but we live in a time of rapid change and hiring too quickly is a big investment to lose.

“Our core team has been amazing throughout, doing the job of a team normally two or three times its size. It’s now time for us to bring in new people as we move into a busy year.”

Stray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

New Tesco would be ‘horrendous’ for nearby residents

Proud to be Harrogate, not London

I note that a new fitness studio wants it to bring ‘a London feel’ to Harrogate and recall that the restaurants associated with The Everyman Cinema was also intended to be ‘London-centric’, whatever that means.

Can someone enlighten me regarding this strange desire to be like London when Harrogate, and indeed Yorkshire as a whole, has so much distinctive to offer? It seems to me that this desire to be like London is a strange business proposition. Of course I wish all the local businesses concerned well, despite my feelings about their PR.

Tim Hurren, Harrogate

Speed limits should be reduced

I read your article about North Yorkshire County Council refusing a blanket introduction of a 20mph speed limit in built-up areas.

The council’s executive member for access, Cllr Don Mackenzie, said the county’s roads were becoming safer and safer, and 20mph zones should only be created on a case-by-case basis.

I have tried for years to get the speed limits reduced. I believe Councillor Mackenzie does not listen to anyone — where does he get his information from on safer roads? Cars around Harrogate are now more powerful and speeding is paramount throughout the town and on country roads. When is someone going to challenge this man and when will he listen?

Mike Fisher, Cornwall Road, Harrogate

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The chief executive of Harrogate Borough Council has told business leaders he believes the district can be the main economic driver for the whole of North Yorkshire under major changes coming to local government.

Speaking at a Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce meeting, Wallace Sampson said the district had to be a top priority for a new council which will take over control of North Yorkshire from April 2023 when the current two-tier system is abolished.

He said “the clock is now ticking” ahead of this date and that Harrogate council officers were involved in all parts of the planning process for areas including tourism, business support and a new economic strategy.

Mr Sampson said: 

“We don’t want to be passing bystanders in this process and are ensuring that the Harrogate district remains an investment priority.

“We are very strongly of the view that there are huge opportunities for the district to be the economic driver for the whole of North Yorkshire and this needs to be recognised by the new authority.”

The forthcoming changes will mark the biggest shake-up to local government in almost 50 years and see the seven district and borough councils – including Harrogate – replaced with a new unitary authority to be named North Yorkshire Council.

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It is all linked to a devolution deal with government which could lead to decision-making powers and billions of pounds in funding coming under the control of a new North Yorkshire and York mayor, similar to those in power in Manchester and Liverpool.

Mr Sampson said while Harrogate Borough Council was disappointed that its bid for two new North Yorkshire councils split on an east/west basis was rejected last June, devolution was now the “prize” Harrogate is fighting for.

He said: 

“We put a lot of effort into the proposal of an east/west bid, but there is no point in crying over spilt milk and we just need to get on with it.

“One of the precursors for being able to secure a devolution deal in the same way that many areas across the country have was to go through local government reorganisation.

“We thought the prize of devolution was worth that – and we are talking about significant sums of money.

“Over a 30-year period across North Yorkshire and York this has a value of around £2.5 billion, and there will be a further £25 million a year that could be invested according to what we choose.

“If it means going through reorganisation to achieve this, then it has to be in the best economic interest of the Harrogate district and wider North Yorkshire and York areas.”

Harrogate Borough Council offices at Knapping Mount.

At Monday’s meeting, Mr Sampson and Harrogate Borough Council leader Richard Cooper were quizzed by businesses over the next steps of reorganisation, including what happens to key services such as planning, and public buildings including the council’s new Civic Centre.

Cllr Cooper, who will stand down after 24 years of service in 2023, said he believed Harrogate should be the headquarters of the new North Yorkshire Council given its large population and central location.

He also said a Harrogate Town Council should be created, although this would be decided by the new council or a public vote.

Cllr Cooper added his main hope of reorganisation was that investments in areas such as Harrogate Convention Centre, Harrogate Homeless Project, Visit Harrogate and Harrogate Theatre would remain a priority in the future.

He said: 

“These are the organisations that make Harrogate the special place it is and they are also a lever in the tourism that supports our independent shops and hospitality trade.

“We need not to lose that and I’m quite certain the new authority will take this on board.”

Whether you are a fan or not, veganism is definitely having its moment.

A record number of people are expected to try to eat only plant-based foods this month as growing concern about the climate crisis heightens interest in the Veganuary movement.

More than half a million people signed up to take part in last year’s Veganuary, about a quarter of whom – 125,000 – were based in the UK. However, the campaign’s research suggests that potentially 10 times as many people participate and a significant number continue with plant-based diets beyond the end of the month.

Vegan options are certainly appearing on more and more menus across the district – with some offering a wide range of options and even separate menus.

However, there is currently only one dedicated vegan café in Harrogate – Nourish Plant Kitchen – and the launch of the town’s first vegan restaurant, Vertigo, has been delayed.

Nourish

Nourish, on Mayfield Grove, opened in August after owner, Hannah Postlethwaite, took over what was formerly the Option Ve cafe.

Aimed at meeting the demands of the town’s growing vegan population, the café serves homemade food, juices, smoothies and raw cakes that are exclusively vegan, as well as refined-sugar free.

Nourish Plant Kitchen, on Mayfield Grove.

Rebz Jack, a baker at the dog-friendly café, has been a vegan for more than five years, a decision she initially made after questioning why, as an animal lover, she was eating animals.

She said:

“At first it was animals. Then it was the health benefits of not eating meat and dairy. It ended up making sense and over the course of two weeks I just dropped it.

“The owner Hannah, who has been a vegan for three or four years, was a vegetarian for a while and then something just clicked.

“I have mostly felt the benefits from a health perspective. When you first go plant-based you can tell by how much weight drops off you. Movement is easier and my knees weren’t as seized up.”

More options

Rebz said it was easier than ever to be a vegan now, as there were so many food and drink options available, with even McDonald’s offering a plant-based burger, the McPlant, which she has tried – and enjoyed!

However, she prefers to cook and eat fresh food, rather than use alternatives, like soy for example, and this is very much the ethos of Nourish.

Bang bang salad and sweetcorn cakes at Nourish.

The chef, whose favourite dish on the menu is mushrooms, thyme cashew cream and truffle oil on toast, said:

“We make sure we offer a nice tasty vegan menu and make everything fresh ourselves. It’s all homemade and healthy and it’s all food that will benefit you.

“You don’t have to be vegan to enjoy it. I think it’s good to see it as nice food rather than just vegan food. There is no pressure to be vegan, if you want to get on board great, if not, then that’s alright too.”

And when it comes Veganuary, she’s a fan of anything that might encourage people to give veganism a go.

She added:

“There will always be some that just do it for the hype, but it’s a great thing for awareness more than anything.”

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The year of the vegan

Sarah Dickinson is a blogger from Harrogate, known as Sunshine Sarah, and regularly writes about veganism.

She said:

“I have been vegan for three years now and I basically used Veganuary, not once, but twice, to make the switch. 2019 was in my opinion the year of the vegan, it all started with the Greggs sausage roll and hasn’t stopped since.

“A lot of companies, brands, supermarkets and restaurants who brought something out for Veganuary 2019 have continued to expand their range and even make some of their bestsellers permanent because of the rise of consumer interest in these more plant-based options. Even people who have no interest in going vegan are eating or trying these new options, such is their popularity.

“Each January now it seems there’s a war between who can offer the best options to cash in on the vegan market. In my opinion this is great because it means there’s even more choice available, whereas previously options were limited everywhere you went.”

Harrogate vegan blogger Sarah Dickinson.

Sarah said vegan options in Harrogate were getting better, however there was always room for improvement.

Tasty

She listed Hustle & Co, Farmhouse and Nourish as her favourites for offering “tasty plant-based vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options”.

She said:

“There are always new options on their menus and the food is so tasty.

“Pizza Express also have good offerings, but is severely lacking in the dessert department. I would say it’s getting better in Harrogate but it could be amazing given the sheer number of restaurants and places to eat here.”

Vegan Instagrammer Chloe Wright, from Harrogate, whose account @HelloVeganChlo has more than 8,000 followers, said:

“I’ve been meat-free since I was four-years-old and vegan for about four years.

“I think Veganuary is a fantastic campaign and it’s a great way to ease people into a plant-based diet, or to show them that vegan food is delicious.

“I think the vegan offering in Harrogate has vastly improved in recent years, my favourites are Cardamom Black, Gron, Wagamama, Nourish Plant Kitchen, Betty’s, Paradise Tap & Taco, Rudding Park and The Pine Marten.”

A vegan burrito at Paradise Tap & Taco, Harrogate.

Creative push

Jo Hewson, from Harrogate, said Veganuary gives a push to restaurants, supermarkets and food and drink establishments to think creatively about vegan options, leading to more permanent options for vegans as a result.

She said:

“I look forward to it so much, because I know there will be new options for me to try each year.

“I love Nourish Plant Kitchen as our resident vegan cafe, Hustle & Co have some delicious options, Farmhouse is great for variety. Recently I’ve been to Cote Brasserie and they have really shaken up their menu and have some of the best vegan food I’ve ever had.

“When I first became vegan, my options for eating out were limited to chain restaurants like Zizzi or Pizza Express – with one really dull vegan item on the menu.

“But now I am so happy that independent restaurants and cafes are not only catering for us, but being really inventive, trying to offer more than one option, and coming up with really unique and interesting food.”

A marinated smoky soy-infused broccoli and homemade satay sauce goodness grains bowl at Hustle & Co.

Great vegan options

Jasmine Feingold, also from Harrogate, said she believed the town had some great vegan options, listing Farmhouse and Hustle & Co as her go-to places as she could also take her non-vegan friends.

She said:

“Also, it’s just so nice to be able to support local businesses that offer vegan such as Major Tom’s Social, which does such great vegan pizza, great coffee and of course great beer.”

Massive improvements

Rachel Knight, who grew up in Knaresborough but now lives in Harrogate, has been a vegan for four years and said the restaurants’ vegan options had massively improved in that time – particularly in the last two years.

She said:

“If I go out for tea in Knaresborough, I go to the Two Brothers Grill and Pizzeria or So! Bar. Two Brothers change everything to suit you and are really helpful about it.

“There aren’t really any places that are exclusively vegan, but most are happy to adapt recipes. It would be good if there were more places that offered a vegan-specific menu, rather than there being just one vegetarian option you can change to vegan.

“I think Veganuary is good as it gives people the opportunity to try it, without committing to going fully vegan. I was only going to try it for a month – I did it in February, rather than January – but I carried on.

“I have felt much better health-wise. If you eat a big vegan meal compared to a meat one you feel much less sluggish. I would definitely recommend it.”

83-year-old Harrogate legend John Shackleton has a twinkle in his eye when he considers one last trip delivering ambulances to Eastern Europe, something he’s done through his charity Aid to Eastern Europe for over 30 years.

“My daughters say ‘come on, think of everyone else’, but I’ve been kicking my heels for the last two-and-a-half years due to covid. I’m getting older and the years are going by quickly.

“I have enough money to go to Amsterdam to buy an ambulance and I’ll be in Georgia within a week or two, but do I take the chance? It’s a big decision. I really want to do it.”

If you’re not familiar with John’s work, he’s been delivering ambulances to hospices and hospitals in Eastern Europe since 1990. He started after seeing upsetting TV images of orphans in Romania following the death of dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu.

He’s since delivered 38 ambulances to an exhaustive list of countries, including Albania, Kazakstan, Armenia, Slovenia and Bulgaria.

To raise money to buy the vehicles, John chops down trees, cuts lawns, mends bicycles — anything to raise the £12,000 to £15,000 it costs to purchase an ambulance — which he usually buys from auction in Amsterdam.

John chopping down trees to raise money for an ambulance. Credit – The Ambulance Man (Facebook).

He said:

“I fly into Amsterdam but they sometimes take the stretcher out and make you pay extra. Invariably, when we tell them its a charity we get around that!

“We then bring it to Harrogate, fill it with medical supplies and find two co-drivers. We sleep in it, drive day and night, and deliver it right into the sticks, miles away from civilisation.

“We leave the ambulance, hitch hike to the nearest international airport, come back to Harrogate and do it all over again.”

Harrowing scenes

John is moved to tears when he describes the harrowing scenes of human suffering that he’s witnessed, but is comforted by the knowledge that he has helped people less fortunate than us in Harrogate.

Many of the countries he’s visited have been riddled with poverty after the fall of the Soviet Union.

In Ukraine. Credit – The Ambulance Man (Facebook).

He said:

“When I think back to some of the places I’ve been to it is very hard. I don’t dwell on it but sub-consciously it’s there.

“In the early days, we’d get to know the kids, there’s always one you’d get to know more who might smile a lot or give you a cuddle. You’d ask where he is, and they’d say, ‘oh, he died last night, he’s buried over there’.

“It was a building site and they’d take them out the back and bury them like a dog. They had nothing. You wouldn’t be human if it didn’t affect you.”

Show no fear

John has endured the trials and tribulations of the road and has clocked up tens of thousands of miles. He’s faced bribes, bandits and gunfire.

In Turkey, he said he expected to have to pay a bribe but the police wanted him to cough up the value of his ambulance, so he refused.

He and his co-drivers were thrown in an underground jail cell with a bucket for a toilet.

“They locked us up for 36 hours. I’d already given Turkey two ambulances after they had an earthquake! I was really annoyed they had the audacity to lock us up.”

John said his team was beginning to panic.

“You must show no fear. I got to the boss man, nose to nose, screaming at him, he eventually freed us. That was a little bit scary.”

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The right stuff

Driving through Russia, John was warned of bandits and not to stop during the night. He came across a roadblock with lights flashing so he had to think quickly.

“I thought, I won’t stop here. So I put the foot down and the blues and twos on.

“They jumped out of our way and fired at us. But they must have been firing in the air. A man that can’t hit an ambulance is not worth holding a gun!”

John in Poland. Credit – the Ambulance Man (Facebook).

John has had UK police officers, and his grandkids, as part of his crew, although not every co-driver that has signed up has joined with the right stuff.

He added:

“I advertised for a driver once on eBay. I said the highest bidder can come along. A professor from Cambridge University paid £700.

“But all he wanted do to when we drove through France was go to the vineyards and taste the wines. He got really ansty with me, I said ‘why did you volunteer? We’re humanitarian, this is not a holiday!'”

Helping others

When the Stray Ferret visited John at his house in Harrogate, he had his head under the bonnet putting a new engine in his kit car, which he first built over 50 years ago. He said by spring he’ll have it going again.

John has been a bomb disposable expert, mountaineer, greengrocer, a housing fixer upper and he ran an art studio. His rich life experience has given him a practical and positive outlook.

“I’ll have a go at most things. The Egyptians built the pyramids, if a man can do that, most of us can do anything if we put our minds to it. 

“Some people are hesitant when opportunities arrive. I invariably say give it a go, if you have the right mentality, you will succeed.”

Most of all, John is known for putting other people before himself, and as the Stray Ferret left his home, he told us he’s pencilled in September as a possible date to deliver his 39th ambulance to those who desperately need one in Eastern Europe.

To donate and help John buy a new ambulance, email johnshackleton@aidtoeasterneurope.co.uk