Pinewoods group prepares for new Rotary Wood battle

Pinewoods Conservation Group is rallying support once again to prevent Harrogate Spring Water from expanding its bottling plant into Rotary Wood.

The water company, which is now owned by multinational firm Danone, was granted outline planning permission in 2017 to expand into Rotary Wood in the Pinewoods.

Danone recently bid to vary the terms of this by increasing the size of the bottling plant into the woodlands. Harrogate’s planning committee rejected this in January after almost 400 people objected.

Many objectors were jubilant at the outcome but the original outline permission in 2017 still applies.

Pinewoods Conservation Group now suspects it will be brought back to the council’s planning committee before May and warns that, if approved, will result in “massive ecological loss”.

Although it has outline permission, Danone would need to go through a second stage of the application process, known as reserved matters, to ratify details such as the appearance of the bottling plant and the felling of trees in Rotary Wood.

Read more:

A document prepared on behalf of Danone last year said the reserved matters application “is committed to retaining where possible as many trees on-site and relocating others”.

It adds that additional trees will be planted within Rotary Wood to replace those that would be lost.

A spokesman for Pinewoods Conservation Group, however, described the application as a “massive backwards step” from the one that was refused in January. He added:

“There is no offer of any compensatory land. That is a massive backwards step from the previous rejected application.

“If approved, this would result in a massive ecological loss for Harrogate and the Pinewoods. As such we are encouraging our members and supporters to formally object to this application as soon as possible.”

Harrogate Spring Water declined to comment.

Long Lands Common set to open to public this summer

The committee behind the scheme to buy Long Lands Common has said it hopes to open the site to public access this summer.

The Long Lands Common appeal raised £375,000 to purchase 30 acres of land near Nidderdale Greenway and protect it from development. About 3,000 people bought shares in the land.

Shareholders were due to take ownership of the land yesterday but a delay in legal proceedings means this has been put back until the end of the month.

Despite this, Long Lands Common Ltd, the community benefit society overseeing the project, still expects to welcome visitors this summer, when lockdown restrictions ease.

An access track near the green bridge on the Nidderdale Greenway will be used by visitors. The current access point on Bogs Lane will be restricted to disabled people and maintenance and emergency vehicles.

No permanent paths will be laid this year — the committee has said it wants people to get used to the land and give their opinions before implementing changes.

Read more:

Chris Kitson, secretary of Long Lands Common Ltd, said the delay in shareholders taking ownership was “not a drastic setback”, adding:

“We need to make sure all these agreements are in place to make sure we do what we say we will.

“We are extremely pleased with the way things are going. The first aim is to get safe access so people can enjoy the area by the end of spring.”

The future of Long Lands Common, once earmarked for a relief road, finally looks secure for wildlife.

It is first and foremost a nature reserve but the goal is for the public to enjoy it too.

Ideas for the land include a duck pond but shareholders are invited to submit their own proposals.

Harrogate jumpers raise £10,000 for homeless people

A Harrogate clothing store has raised thousands of pounds to help homeless people by selling charity jumpers.

Sara Shaw, who owns womenswear shop Violet on Cheltenham Mount, created the “HGTE” brand and regularly updates the range with new colours and styles.

The shop donates £10 from each sale to the Harrogate Homeless Project, which has benefited to the tune of more than £10,000 so far.

The local charity uses the money for accommodation costs and to help homeless people get back on their feet.

Read more:

Not only has the clothing range raised funds but it has also sparked other charitable activities, such as bike rides.

It all started as a one-off for Christmas in 2016 but Sara told the Stray Ferret that sales have recently started to ramp up:

“We are now selling lots of the jumpers. It is just word of mouth really because people like the quality of the product.

“I also genuinely love it if I am driving into work and I let some people cross the road and they have got one of these jumpers on.

“We also give £10 from the sale of each sweatshirt which is a lot of money to give to charity, so people really feel they are making a difference.”

The sweatshirts cost £60 and the hoodies cost £75. They are unisex and only available to purchase from the Violet store in Harrogate.

Harrogate district continues to buck UK unemployment trend

The Harrogate district continues to buck the trend as the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits falls slightly, according to latest figures.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics for January show 3,460 people were claiming out-of-work benefits — 3.7% of the population.

The number is down from 3,540 in December.

This is in contrast to the UK figure of 6.2% of the population claiming support.

Read more:

Financial support for those out of work include Universal Credit and Job Seekers’ Allowance.

Figures in the district have remained stable throughout the pandemic, which suggests the government furlough scheme has protected many staff from redundancy.

Professor Jamie Morgan, of Leeds Business School at Leeds Beckett University, said the impact on the figures of furlough ending will depend on people having jobs to return to.

He added it would also depend on whether employers were in a position to maintain staff and also have customers returning.

Professor Morgan said:

“The effect though, is also likely to depend on who are the main sources of local business demand – especially in hospitality –  what fraction are tourists and from where?

“There is some expectation that from the summer there will be a spike in activity in the hospitality sector – as people start to use some of the savings they have been forced to make and a sense of relief sets in.”

However, he added that the effect on the numbers will also depend on what, if any, public health restrictions are placed on businesses later this year.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to outline his budget tomorrow, which is expected to include a £5 billion fund to help retailers and the hospitality sector reopen.

Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning and welcome to our traffic and travel service, which is designed to keep the Harrogate district moving.

Whether you travel by car, bus or train we will keep an eye out for any possible disruption to your journey. All brought to you by The HACS Group.

It’s Connor again back on the travel desk from 6.30am. Spotted an accident or a road closure? Send your updates to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

If traffic is moving well or it’s at a standstill then we will let you know with our updates every 15 minutes.

Full update – 9am

Thanks again everyone for checking out the Stray Ferret’s traffic and travel service today. I am now heading over to the newsdesk but will be back again from 6.30am tomorrow.

Roads

Trains

Buses

Full update – 8.45am

Roads

Trains

Buses

Full update – 8.30am

Roads

Trains

Buses

Full update – 8.15am

Roads

Trains

Buses

Full update – 8am

Roads

Trains

Buses

Full update – 7.45am

Roads

Trains

Buses

Full update – 7.30am

Roads

Trains

Buses

Full update – 7.15am

Roads

Trains

Buses

Full update – 7am

Roads

Trains

Buses

Full update – 6.45am

Roads

Trains

Buses

Full update – 6.30am

Roads

Trains

Buses

 

Ripley Castle awarded £343,000 to repair garden buildings

Historic England has awarded a grant of £343,000 to Ripley Castle to carry out a series of much-needed repairs of its garden buildings.

The money will go towards to repairs of the Grade II listed orangery and a number of adjoining buildings in the grounds of the 15th century country house.

The Fire Engine House, pavillions and bothies, shelters, will also be repaired.

This group of garden buildings are thought to have been designed in around 1785 by York-born architect William Belwood for Sir John Ingilby.

It is hoped, once completed, the works will ensure the buildings are removed from Historic England’s heritage at risk register. Owners say this will secure the buildings for future generations.

The castle owners have said specialist craftsmen and contractors will be used to complete the works. Once repaired, the buildings will be used for educational and leisure activities.

Sir Thomas Ingilby, owner of Ripley Castle, said:

‘‘The restoration of these buildings will be a big step forward in the ambitious programme to restore the walled gardens at Ripley Castle to their former glory.

We are enormously grateful to Historic England for their help and support for this project, which will, when completed, help a lot of people to overcome the financial and mental trauma of the Covid-19 pandemic’’

Read more:

Giles Proctor from Historic England said:

“These handsome historic garden buildings form the centrepiece of Ripley Castle’s beautiful grounds. Their restoration will improve the experience of the tens of thousands of people who visit every year, as well as provide educational and leisure opportunities.”

Firefighters rescue Parka-wearing climber from Almscliffe Crag

Firefighters rescued a climber who got stuck up Almscliffe Crag on Saturday.

Crews from Knaresborough attended the incident on Crag Lane, North Rigton in the afternoon.

They used a ladder to help the Parka-wearing climber back to safety.

Almscliffe Crag, which is made of Millstone Grit, is a popular landmark for climbers and walkers.

A spokesperson for Knaresborough Fire Station said the person was not injured but had “a little bit of hurt pride”.

One comment on the fire station’s Facebook post accused the unnamed climber of “irresponsible behaviour” during a lockdown.

North Yorkshire Police has frequently warned people not to travel for exercise during lockdown.

Read more:

But Paul Metheringham, Knaresborough watch station manager for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, told the Stray Ferret:

“The young man was local to the area so he was not breaking any coronavirus restrictions.

“He thought he would climb up with his friend and realised that he had got himself stuck at about five metres up.

“Luckily no injuries, just a little bit of hurt pride and hopefully a lesson learned.”

 

Great Yorkshire Show set to go ahead in July

The organisers of the Great Yorkshire Show announced today this year’s event will go ahead in Harrogate.

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society said last week’s government roadmap out of lockdown paved the way for it to plan to stage the three-day show from July 13 to 15.

This will be the 162nd show, which showcases farming, food and the countryside at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

The 2019 event attracted over 135,000 visitors. Last year’s was cancelled due to covid.

If the roadmap stays on track large events should be able to go ahead by the end of June.

YAS said in a statement it was looking into ways to hold the show safely and that further updates, including ticket sales, would be out on its website and social media.

Charles Mills, honorary show director of the Great Yorkshire Show said:

“Following the publication of the government’s roadmap we are pleased to confirm that we are planning to hold the Great Yorkshire Show on 13-15 July 2021.

“This will, of course, have to be reviewed regularly and is based on the assumption that the whole country successfully moves from the current lockdown to step 4 in the government’s roadmap on June 21.

“We will only go ahead with the show if we can do so safely for all concerned.”

Read more:

The 2020 Great Yorkshire Show was held virtually.

It was the first time the entire show had been cancelled since the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001.

The last two days in 2012 were cancelled due to flooding.

The Yorkshire Event Centre at the showground is currently being used as a vaccination centre. It is not clear what impact, if any, today’s announcement will have on this.

Harrogate primary school joins catholic academy trust

St Robert’s Primary School has today become the third school in the Harrogate district to join a catholic academy trust based in Leeds.

The primary school, on Ainsty Road in Harrogate, is now part of the Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust. 

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Harrogate and St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Knaresborough already belong to the trust, which now has 11 schools in north and west Yorkshire.

St Robert’s has 276 pupils, aged 5-11. Although many are catholic, it admits children of all faiths.

Headteacher Jill Collins said:

“The support and care we have been given over the last year shows how the trust will enable St Robert’s to continue providing an outstanding Catholic education to our children.”

The school was rated ‘outstanding’ in its latest Ofsted inspection. Chair of governors, Dr Matt Blackamore said:

“We are so pleased to be joining our fellow Catholic schools in the Bishop Wheeler Trust and we are looking forward to working closely with them to continue providing great education together.”

Read more:

Darren Beardsley, interim chief executive of the trust, said bringing another school into the trust helped to fulfil the vision of the Bishop of Leeds, the Right Reverend Marcus Stock, of a family of schools working together to share resources and raise education standards.

The trust is named after Bishop William Gordon Wheeler, who was Bishop of Leeds from 1966 to 1985.

It is one of five multi-academy trusts in the Diocese of Leeds. It plans to expand in the next few years to include 18 Catholic schools in the area.

Masked robber jailed for terrifying Harrogate couple

A masked robber who terrorised a woman and her elderly partner in their Harrogate home has been jailed for over four years.

Michael Palmer, 41, broke into the couple’s flat while the victim and her 60-year-old partner were asleep, York Crown Court heard.

The woman was woken by the sound of glass smashing and got out of bed to investigate. She was confronted in the hallway by two masked men who had broken in by smashing a pane of glass in the front door, said prosecutor Andrew Finlay.

The two men were wearing face coverings or balaclavas and one was wearing a camouflage jacket. They pushed the woman into the living room and demanded money.

One of them, thought to be Palmer’s cohort, told her to get down on the floor and demanded she tell them where she kept her money as he stood over her.

“She said she didn’t have any,” added Mr Finlay.

“The (unnamed male) continued to shout (at) her, standing over her.”

The intruders went looking around the flat and one of them went into the bedroom where the woman’s partner, who was ill, was laid in bed.

They came back into the living room where the woman had grabbed a phone to try to call for help.

Palmer, who was on hard drugs at the time, demanded the phone from the woman, but she refused to hand it over, whereupon the duo left the flat empty-handed.

Home-made balaclava

The woman, who had been living temporarily at her partner’s flat, called police and gave them a description of the two men.

After a search of the area, they found Palmer and his cohort as they were emerging from a local property and were about to get into a taxi. They were both arrested.

The property was searched where police found a bag containing a crowbar, gloves, a home-made balaclava and a black jacket, which had been worn by Palmer during the break-in. The balaclava had been made out of a sleeve with eyeholes cut into it, said Mr Finlay.

Read more:

Glass fragments from the balaclava and jacket were found to have come from the point of entry, namely the smashed door pane, and DNA evidence was found on the clothes in the bag.
The two victims, who were named in court, said they had been “extremely scared about what happened and what (the robbers) were going to do”.

The male victim said he had been having nightmares about the break-in. He and his partner were now very nervous when they went to bed and panicked “at every noise”.

‘Horrific offence of random violence’

Palmer, of Butler Road, Harrogate, refused to answer police questions following his arrest, but ultimately admitted attempted robbery, which occurred at about 3.30am on February 22, 2019.

The court heard that Palmer was a career criminal with over 100 offences to his name, including burglaries, violence, intimidating a witness, shoplifting, public disorder and damaging property.

Defence barrister Ian Hudson said Palmer was hooked on crack cocaine at the time and also had an alcohol problem.

Mr Recorder Preston condemned Palmer for a “horrific offence of random violence inflicted on completely innocent people (who) were not young”, adding:

“This was planned, this was violent in its execution and caring not one bit that these two people who had done nothing to you were left traumatised.”

Mr Preston told Palmer:

“The male (victim) was unwell and was confronted in his bedroom with one of you two (intruders). He’s been having nightmares.”

He criticised Palmer for his “appalling recorder of dishonesty and violence”.

Palmer was jailed for four years and seven months, of which he will serve half behind bars before being released on parole.