Five arrests after thieves hit Harrogate building sites

Police have arrested five people after thieves targeted building sites in the Harrogate district.

Officers travelled to South Yorkshire to make the arrests and seize property this morning after a string of thefts between March and November.

The thieves stole newly-installed boilers as well as machinery and tools.

In North Yorkshire alone, criminals struck at abound 40 housing developments when the homes were close to completion. A number of the developments were in the Harrogate district although precise details are not known.

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Detective Inspector Chris Stone, of North Yorkshire Police, said:

“These incidents clearly involved high-value, organised crime, and had a significant impact.

“Not only businesses within North Yorkshire, but house buyers due to move in to their new properties.

“Significant resources have been deployed into this investigation, leading to today’s arrests.

“We are actively pursuing further lines of enquiry, and will continue to robustly investigate these offences.”

The police arrested a man in his 40s from Doncaster and three men in their 30s from Barnsley on suspicion of conspiracy to commit burglary and transferring criminal property.

Officers also arrested a woman in her 20s from Barnsley on suspicion of conspiracy to commit burglary

All remain in custody at this time while the police conduct the investigation.

Plans for pet crematorium in Harrogate district

There are new plans to build a pet crematorium in the Harrogate district.

Harrogate Borough Council is behind the proposal, which are currently in the “development stages”.

It came to light in a council meeting on parks and environmental service fees and charges yesterday.

The document said there were plans for a new service in 2021/22:

“The fee for removal of deceased domestic pets is proposed for withdrawal, pending introduction of a new Pet Crematorium Service.”

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

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

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

The Stray Ferret asked Harrogate Borough Council about its plans and were told:

“It is still in the development stages, we’ll have further information in the coming months.”

Council fee rises in Harrogate district

The meeting also covered some other fee rises that Harrogate Borough Council is planning to bring in for the financial year 2021/22.

It will now cost £25 for the council to clear bulky household items after an increase of £6.75.

The tennis hourly rate will increase from £8.90 to £10 to “reflect investment” in the facilities. The fee for bowls will also increase to £4 per hour.

Market traders will not see an increase in their fees and charges next year  “in recognition of the difficult trading conditions” caused by coronavirus.

It comes after some traders have been unhappy with increased rent charges this year and asked for reductions.

Upgrades for three Harrogate district schools

A major extension to Harrogate secondary school has been built, whilst two primary schools have been granted planning permission this week to expand.

Harrogate Grammar School has completed work on a £1.75m extension to connect its 1930s old building to a 1960s design block. It includes three classrooms on the first floor and a large atrium below, which forms a new student entrance.

The secondary school exceeded its planned student admission number of 260 to 285 over the past five years so needed the extra classroom space.

The expansion means the school can increase the number of places available to 290.

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Spofforth C of E Primary School will build a 227 square metre classroom extension, after being granted planning by North Yorkshire County Council yesterday.

A “dilapidated” 180 square metre prefabricated building which the school has used since the 1970s will be demolished to make way for the new building. It will include classrooms for reception and key stage one, as well as two glazed canopies.

Rossett Acre Primary School has been given the green light this week by Harrogate Borough Council to build a new hard court multi-use sports pitch.

Children will be able to play five-a-side football, basketball and netball on the court, and offer opportunities for sport when the school’s playing field is unusable due to bad weather

Free courses for furloughed and unemployed in Harrogate

Harrogate College is offering 50 free courses to people who have been made redundant, are unemployed or on furlough.

The college, which is based at Hornbeam Park, announced the move yesterday to help the district’s economic recovery.

Topics include media marketing, accounting, interior design and counselling. Courses begin in January.

The college said the courses had been chosen in line with local employer demands and would boost job prospects.

Figures published yesterday showed the number of people claiming out of work benefits in the Harrogate district in November was 3,625. This was a slight rise on the previous month’s figure of 3,595.

Danny Wild, principal at Harrogate College, said:

“We appreciate how challenging this year has been for many. We’re dedicated to supporting people to up-skill and re-skill, enabling them to progress in current jobs or return to work following the increase in furlough job losses across the district.

“We hope to give those who have been most affected an opportunity to take control of their future and work towards something to be proud of.”

The courses will be held online and face-to-face with some of the students going into college to use its facilities. The college has said all sessions will be run in line with covid guidelines.

To find out more about the courses on offer, click here.

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Lonely this Christmas? Harrogate group urges older people to join

A Harrogate community group has issued a plea to older people who are feeling lonely to get involved with its activities.

The Harrogate University of the Third Age, which has about 1,000 members, helps people over 50 pursue activities and develop new interests.

Anyone over the age of 50 and no longer in full-time work is able to join.

Although covid has prevented its usual monthly meetings taking place face-to-face, members are still meeting online.

They hope to do so twice a month from January before actual coffee mornings and summer outings, like the one pictured above, return as soon as possible.

Christmas can be an isolating time for some people, especially older people, so the group is urging people not to hesitate to get in touch.

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Alison Harris, the publicity officer at Harrogate U3A, said:

“Many people, especially older people, can feel very lonely at Christmas, but loneliness is not just for Christmas.

“If you are feeling socially isolated maybe Harrrogate U3A has something to offer you. We are a self-help charitable organisation run by and for its members.”

The subscription price is £12 per year. More details are available on the Harrogate U3A website.

Burglars leap fence and climb ladder in Harrogate house break-in

Burglars jumped over a garden fence then climbed a ladder to break into the upstairs of a home in Harrogate.

North Yorkshire Police today appealed for information about the incident, which happened in Woods Court, Harrogate at about 6.15pm on December 1.

The force is unsure whether one or two criminals were involved. It said in a statement:

“The suspect(s) are believed to have accessed the rear garden via jumping over the fence and used a single-section ladder to gain access to the upstairs of the property.

“They are also believed to have exited over the same garden fence to make their escape.

“We are requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.”

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Anyone with information can contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for Jonathan Cleary. You can also email Jonathan.cleary@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12200214547.

Florist wins Harrogate Christmas shop window competition

A florist has won this year’s Harrogate Christmas shop window competition.

It was hard fought with 27 shops taking part but Helen James Flowers, on Station Parade, took the top spot.

The competition aims to promote the town centre’s shops and encourage people to shop locally.

With shops pulling out all the stops it also gives Harrogate a festive boost.

As in previous years there are three separate categories for large, medium and small retailers.

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Mama Doreen’s Emporium was the winner in the large shops category, Helen James Flowers won the medium shops category, and Boho Chic, on West Parade, was the winner in the small shops category.

Graham Saunders, who organised the judging on behalf of the Rotary Club, said:

“We were delighted to be able to organise the competition again this year particularly with the problems for retailers brought about by the coronavirus lockdown.

“Harrogate is lucky to have so many independent shops who enjoy taking part in the competition.”

This year Harrogate BID partnered with the Rotary Club of Harrogate on the initiative. Each of the winners took home a Harrogate BID gift card.

Sara Ferguson, the Acting Chair of the BID, congratulated all the retailers for making the extra effort to decorate their window for Christmas and take part in the competition during this very difficult time.

“The retailers who took part in the competition have gone to great lengths to make their shop windows look fabulous, which in turn has given the town centre a real festive boost.”

Eight staff at Harrogate special needs school face Christmas redundancies

A special needs school in Harrogate is set to make eight members of staff redundant this Christmas after budget cuts.

The cuts have prompted fears that Springwell Harrogate, which was previously known as The Grove Academy, will offer a “dramatically reduced service” for pupils with emotional, behavioural and social difficulties.

The school, on Grove Road, became part of Wellspring Academy Trust in spring after previously being run by North Yorkshire County Council and Delta Academies Trust.

Demand for the additional support provided by the school is rising but the reduction in the budget, which it is believed has been halved, has prompted concerns from campaigners and councillors.

Alex Boyce, spokesperson for Save the Grove, which was set up two years ago amid fears the school might close, said it was a “tremendous relief” the school would stay open but added:

“From January it will only be able to offer a dramatically reduced service. Highly skilled staff with decades of experience will be lost and the curriculum will have to narrow.

“The crisis will have a significant knock-on effect for local mainstream schools. With insufficient funding to manage the complex needs of some students and a dire lack of alternative schools, like the Grove, their hands are tied.

“Many similar services across the county, which rely on funding from the special needs budget have suffered a similar fate.”

John Warren, outgoing headteacher of Springwell Harrogate, said:

“The whole system is buckling through years of chronic underfunding.

“The pandemic has shown the stark truth of just how many desperate families are out there needing help.

“I fear that some specialist provisions may fail in the next year or so because they are no longer financially viable, despite a time of national need for more community resources to support struggling children.”

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Philip Broadbank, a Liberal Democrat who represents Harrogate Starbeck on North Yorkshire County Council, said:

” I could not support the closure and restructuring of the Grove Academy and have concerns about the viability of the new Springwell Academy.

“My main concerns are the staffing levels as they are now considerably reduced.

Wellspring Academy Trust said in a statement that changes to funding occurred when the school was under the management of the previous trust. It added:

“There have been no reductions in funding since Springwell Harrogate became part of the Wellspring community. Any legacy budgeting challenges have been overcome and the school is now on a firm financial footing.

“We are all focused on the future, and determined to deliver the exceptional levels of education our pupils in Harrogate deserve.”

If you or your child have attended schools such as Springwell Harrogate and you would be happy to talk about your experiences. Please get in touch with us via email on contact@thestrayferret.co.uk 

Little Ale House to reopen by serving substantial meals

A Harrogate pub is set to reopen after finding a way to serve substantial meals with drinks.

The Little Ale House closed during the second national lockdown in November and did not reopen this month because tier two rules stated only pubs serving substantial meals could do so.

This meant wet-led pubs, which do not have kitchens to serve meals, stayed closed.

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But with little prospect of North Yorkshire moving to tier one anytime soon, the Little Ale House has decided to take action allowing it to reopen in the run-up to Christmas.

The independent micropub will offer a pie and peas warmer for visitors. It will serve pork pies and vegetarians pies.

Richard Park, co-owner at the Little Ale House, told the Stray Ferret:

“We are excited to open but this is not some golden goose. With restrictions on household mixing and drinks, sales will be reduced significantly.

“It will not be the same as before. But we cannot wait to move into tier one before we open, we have to keep our heads above water.”

 

Harrogate researcher finds two-thirds will take vaccine

A poll conducted by researchers in Harrogate has found that two-thirds of people will take the coronavirus vaccine when it becomes available.

The YourPoll survey found 67% said they would take the vaccine and 26% said they would not. The remaining seven per cent were undecided.

Of those who said no, 15% thought coronavirus was a hoax. The rest of the responses highlighted safety concerns and the need for further testing.

The snap poll of a random sample of 439 UK people was conducted in the three days prior to the first coronavirus vaccine on December 8.

Priority groups in the Harrogate district are expected to start receiving the jab this week, although details have not yet been confirmed.

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Neil Addley, managing director of YourPoll and its parent company Judge Service, said:

“There has been a lot of debate about whether people would be willing to take the new vaccine.

“Our poll was designed to show the true feelings of ordinary members of the public, rather than those who shout loudest on social and traditional media.

“It will be interesting to see whether those results are reflected in the real take-up numbers.”