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. See below for details on how to contribute.

Don’t blame dog mess on long grass

May I respectfully suggest that long grass is not the reason for dog fouling. It is due to irresponsible dog owners breaking the law.

Nigel Heptinstall, Darley

Rossett School is fantastic!

So often the press around schools and education is negative. I just thought I’d like to highlight the fantastic reception my daughter has had at Rossett School since she started there in September 2020.

Written off by her previous school as not academic, she came to the school quite depressed about life. Life at Rossett has utterly changed her into a hard-working girl with an array of options ahead of her.

This is a remarkable turnaround and the school should be applauded for taking in a pupil who had such a low opinion of herself and turned it around inside an academic year. The teaching has been fantastic during a very challenging time for educators and pupils alike. Thank you, Rossett!

Nick Bentley, Harrogate

These bins are a menace

Read more:

• Big blue bins create ‘eyesore’ in Harrogate’s premier shopping area
• Harrogate’s Commercial Street to host dog-friendly day

Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.

The Rotary Club of Harrogate has celebrated its centenary by planting a colourful flowerbed in the Valley Gardens.

Coronavirus has meant the club has been forced to cancel and postpone its much bigger events this year.

March 22 had been set as the date for a sold-out centenary concert at the Royal Hall.

Lockdown restrictions meant this couldn’t go through, but they encouraged ticket holders to donate the refunded money to the upkeep of the Royal Hall.

The members dressed in 1920s clothing and even hired a 1920s Rolls Royce as a nod to the Rotary Club’s origins when they met for the dedication ceremony earlier this week.

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Since 1921, The Rotary Club of Harrogate has raised money for hundreds of causes, from tackling environmental issues to providing affordable accommodation.

Stephen Ellis, district governor for Rotary District 1040, the Mayor and Mayoress, and Rotary Club of Harrogate president John Fordyce

A spokesperson for the club said:

“Great plans to celebrate our centenary have been cancelled or suspended but the Rotary Club of Harrogate did manage to persuade Harrogate Borough Council to dedicate a flowerbed in the town’s famous Valley Gardens.

“The club has always paid a great deal of attention to the environment, having planted many thousands of trees, crocuses and daffodils in the area.

“Outgoing president Alistair Ratcliffe has worked tirelessly to ensure that the centenary bed does credit to the achievements of the club, particularly in what must have been one of the most challenging years for every club president.”

The incoming president John Fordyce hosted the event with the Mayor of Harrogate district, Trevor Chapman.

Campaigner and activist Lindis Percy estimates she’s been arrested around 500 times at protests against overseas US bases in the UK – most recently last week at RAF Menwith Hill for obstructing the public highway.

After an almost 18-month break due to covid, the 79-year-old joined a weekly protest at the base that is on the outskirts of Harrogate and is organised by the Menwith Hill Accountability Campaign. It began in 2000 and was set up by the Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases.

Built in the 1950s, Menwith Hill is the United States’ largest overseas surveillance base. Giant radomes, or ‘golf balls’, are a distinctive feature of the site.

In a recent planning application to expand the base, the UK Ministry of Defence, which owns the site, described Menwith Hill as an “integral part” of the United States’ worldwide defence communications network. It also said it provides intelligence and security support for the US and its allies.

However, Ms Percy, who lives near the base, is troubled by what she believes goes on there.

A 2016 investigation published by The Intercept that included documents from whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed Menwith Hill has been involved in controversial drone bombing campaigns in Yemen.

Ms Percy said:

“I say this with no pride or pleasure. There have been so many attempts to stop what I do – by the US authorities and the Ministry of Defence police.

“The MOD tried to bring an ASBO against me! They failed.”

Read more:

• Upset and anger at plans to remove MP’s memorial tree at Menwith Hill
• Weekly Menwith Hill protests to resume tonight

Campaigning

Ms Percy had a career as a nurse and midwife for the NHS and has been a campaigner against overseas military bases for decades.

She first became active at the Greenham Common protests in the early 1980s where protesters fought against nuclear weapons being held at an RAF base in Berkshire.

In 2003 she scaled the gates of Buckingham Palace during a state visit from then-US President George W Bush at the height of the Iraq War.

She has won several cases at the High Court in London over the right to protest and was defended by current Labour leader Keir Starmer during his days as a human rights lawyer.

She said:

“Why do I continue? I think it’s so important to speak out when knowing that something is wrong.”

American flag

Her latest arrest happened at Menwith Hill on June 22. She said she held stood in the road “for a few seconds” holding an upside-down American flag, with the message “whistleblowers urgently needed”.

She was arrested for obstructing the highway by Ministry of Defence police, who manage security at the site.

Ms Percy said she accepted that some Americans do find her version of the flag offensive, but defended her right to protest.

In 2001, with Keir Starmer as her council, she won a high court case over the right to deface the American flag.

She added:

“There is a balance between the right to protest and the right for people to go about their normal business.”

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson told the Stray Ferret:

“The MOD can confirm a member of the public was arrested on 22 June outside the main entrance to RAF Menwith Hill base by the Ministry of Defence Police. The individual was taken to Harrogate Police Station, reported for the offence of obstructing the highway and subsequently released.”

A Harrogate man has walked 8,000km around the town playing the mobile game Pokémon Go — the same distance it would take to walk from Harrogate to New Delhi in India.

The game was launched in 2016 and players use their phones to “catch” different monsters called Pokémon, such as the yellow and furry Pikachu.

A mobile app shows a live street map in real-time, and players rush to different locations where they can catch Pokemon and have digital battles with them at Pokemon “gyms”.

Rob Nixon, who works in retail, has pounded the pavements of Harrogate for the past five years and has caught 150,000 different Pokémon.

The 33-year-old said:

“It’s a fun way to get out. There’s always somewhere to go. It keeps me entertained.”

“After five years it’s part of my life. It’s hard not to imagine playing.”

Harrogate town centre on the game. Station Parade is the road on the bottom right.

Lockdown lifeline

Rob is one of the top players in the town and said his happiest hunting ground is around the Pinewoods and Harlow Carr Gardens, where he said it is rich pickings for rare Pokémon including Mewtwo and Dragonite.

The game has also been a lifeline during the covid lockdowns when he’s been able to use the app to get out and about for his daily exercise.

He’s seen some unusual things during his time playing the game, too. He was out late at night collecting Pokémon near Valley Gardens when a young man collapsed after a suspected seizure. He was unconscious but Rob, fortunately, had his phone on him to call an ambulance.

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He said there is a big community of players in Harrogate where other users get together to battle a particularly strong Pokémon, usually outside a local landmark such as Harrogate Theatre.

Rob’s stats

It can get competitive, though, and he recalls how tempers flared with one “hardcore” local player.

“He was very territorial. A new gym spawned in Jennyfields and he would always go there.

“It got quite heated. We steer away from each other now. It seems silly in retrospect. It’s all in the past now.”

Many of the players are adults who have nostalgia for the Pokémon cards craze of the late 1990s. Rob remembers trading them during his time at Harrogate Grammar School.

To keep the game interesting, it evolves and adds new challenges and Pokémon to catch. Rob sees no reason why he can’t walk another 8,000km, as long as he has a charge.

He added:

“If my phone dies, I’m like – well, that sucks!”

Two titans of contemporary art, Peter King and Peter Wileman, are showing a collection of works in a joint exhibition at Walker Galleries starting this weekend.

The paintings draw on natural landscapes and still life, and while the artists’ approaches vary in degrees of abstraction, each piece is striking. All the art displayed will be on sale and priced individually.

A spokesperson for the Walker Galleries in Harrogate said:

“We felt that the two artists complimented one another. Both artists concentrate on traditional landscape subjects but give them a slightly abstract ‘edge’.

“Both of the artists are already well established at Walker Galleries and there has already been a lot of interest from regular and new clients.”

Peter King: ‘Winter Light, Arran’ £2,800

Contemporary Scottish artist Peter King takes inspiration from the light and landscape of his homeland, evoking nature through texture and free paint.

He was born in Glasgow in 1953 and studied art, specialising in drawing and painting, at the Glasgow Art School under the tutelage of David Donaldson RSA and Duncan Shanks RSA.

Walker Galleries described King’s style as “a range of motifs which he constantly returns to and reinterprets, focusing on aspects of changing moods of light, weather and season”.

Peter King: ‘Autumn Reflections, Arran’ £2,800

On the other hand, Walker Galleries called Peter Wileman‘s more abstract work “vigorous and full of drama”.

He was born in Middlesex in 1946 and has spent 40 years developing his bold, vigorous style to evoke atmosphere and explore the effect of light, winning many awards along the way.

Peter Wileman: ‘The Kiss of Dawn, Bamburgh’ £3,500

Wileman is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, the former president and a fellow of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, and a member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists and the East Anglian Group of Marine Artists.

The exhibition will be open between 10am and 5.30pm until July 10, and entry is free.

Peter Wileman: ‘Castle Nick, Hadrian’s Wall’ £5,850

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The Harrogate district has recorded a further 87 coronavirus cases today.

With cases climbing locally, the Harrogate district’s seven day infection rate is now at 218 per 100,000, which is higher than the England rate of 206 per 100,000.

According to Public Health England, the total number of cases in the district since last March stands at 8,702.

A total of 331 cases of the Delta variant have been confirmed in the Harrogate district, according to latest government figures.

The number represents cases up to June 30 – and is a 42% increase from the 233 that were reported for the seven days up to June 23.

Read more:

• Daring abseil at Harrogate hotel raises £16,000 for cat charity
• Council to host first full in-person meeting at Harrogate Convention Centre

Despite the high number of cases, Harrogate District Hospital is currently caring for just four coronavirus patients.

The hospital has not reported any coronavirus-related deaths since April 11. The covid death toll at the hospital remains at 179.

The high number of cases and relatively low number of coronavirus patients suggests the vaccine programme is working.

Around 70 volunteers took on a daring abseil down Harrogate’s Crowne Plaza Hotel today to raise money for Yorkshire Cat Rescue.

The event, which was delayed because of coronavirus, took place today between 10am and 4.30pm.

So far the abseil has raised more than £16,000 for the charity, which will use the money to rescue more cats, food, vet bills and shelter.

With so many people taking part and restrictions still in place, the fearless participants were spaced apart in groups of three.

It was a rather damp start to the morning but with little wind, the event could still go ahead.

Jo Beverley, one of the event organisers, told the Stray Ferret:

“It’s huge, that amount of money. Obviously with coronavirus we have been really hit hard in terms of getting cats out to new homes and fundraising.

“So it has been really, really difficult. This just means that we can help more. The more money we have coming in, the more cats we can help.

“This event has been a long time coming. We have had delays after delays but we are here and we are doing it, this is fabulous.”

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This isn’t the first daring exploit run by the charity; last year it held a ‘firewalk’ in Skipton where participants walked over burning coals.

Yorkshire Cat Rescue has been taking in unwanted cats and kittens and giving them homes for nearly 20 years. As an independent charity, it relies on fundraising to keep going.

Charlie Lovatt, who was dressed as Spiderman and the first to take on the challenge, told the Stray Ferret:

“If you are going to go down a building, you need to do it in style. It just felt necessary, I bought the Spiderman outfit for the occasion.

“It was alright, I have abseiled before. But it was quite high and it went really quick.”

Dan Howard, who has hosted pub quizzes for Yorkshire Cat Rescue over the last year was also roped in for the abseil. He told the Stray Ferret:

“It was really fun. The hardest thing was getting over the edge. Once you feel the rope has you it feels a bit more comfortable and you can have more fun with it.

“I started getting involved with the charity in the first lockdown. Through the quizzes alone we raised about £5,000.”

Harrogate Borough Council will hold its first full in-person meeting since the start of lockdown at the town’s convention centre.

All councillors were due to come together at the authority’s Civic Centre headquarters on Wednesday, July 7, but the venue has been changed after the government delayed making the decision to end of all coronavirus restrictions until later this month.

A council spokesperson said the change was necessary because there is not enough room for all 39 councillors to socially distance within the council chamber.

The spokesperson said:

“Due to social distancing guidelines, the meeting of the council on 7 July will now be held at Studio 1, Harrogate Convention Centre.”

Meetings have been held online during the pandemic, but the government ordered all local authorities to hold them in-person from May.

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Wednesday’s meeting will be livestreamed on the council’s YouTube channel and members of the public can attend in person.

Up for discussion is a decision to remove a limit on the number of wheelchair accessible taxi licences despite concerns from cabbies that it will have a “devastating” impact on trade.

Councillors will also be asked to approve the permanent livestreaming of meetings, while Liberal Democrat councillors have tabled a motion asking for the creation of a Harrogate Town Council to be “strongly recommend” under plans for local government reorganisation.

Pay rises for some of the council’s most senior staff are also on the agenda.

The meeting will start at 5.30pm.

Police and council officers are attempting to close two more properties let by landlord John Willis.

North Yorkshire Police and Harrogate Borough Council have jointly applied to Leeds Magistrates Court for closure orders on 19 and 31 Avenue Grove, Starbeck.

The two organisations can apply to courts for closure orders if they have concerns about antisocial behaviour and criminal behaviour on premises.

The same authorities successfully applied for a three-month closure order on 38 Mayfield Grove, Harrogate, in March. This order expired last month.

All three properties are let by Mr Willis.

A joint statement today by the two authorities said:

“Following concerns about crime, drug use and anti-social behaviour at two multi-occupancy addresses – 19 and 31 Avenue Grove – Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire Police have applied for closure orders.

“Under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, a closure order prohibits access to a property for a specified period. Breach of an order is a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment and/or a fine.”

The application was due to be heard on Wednesday but the hearing was adjourned until July 14.

Until this date the two properties have been served with closure notices, which prohibit visitors.

Read more:

• Mayfield Grove: house at centre of crime concerns allowed to re-open
• Calls for ‘dangerous’ Starbeck junction to be improved

Dean Richardson, head of safer communities at Harrogate Borough Council, said:

“It is imperative that residents across the Harrogate district feel safe in their homes and community.

“If landlords fail to manage their properties properly, and there is sufficient evidence to support any reports, we will work with the police and partner agencies to explore all legislative options available and act accordingly.”

Inspector Nicola Colbourne of North Yorkshire Police said:

“This action once again demonstrates our commitment to ensuring Harrogate remains one of the safest towns to live in.

“By listening to residents and working with partners like Harrogate Borough Council, we can address concerns head-on while offering the appropriate support to any vulnerable people we encounter.”

Last month Constable Kelvin Troughton, of North Yorkshire Police, told the Stray Ferret there had been a “reduction of incidents” at 38 Mayfield Grove since the closure order was served.

A Harrogate councillor has seen his offer to rehome the exiled Peter the Peacock back in Bilton rejected by the RSPCA.

Conservative councillor for Old Bilton, Paul Haslam, owns a farm in the area that includes chickens, sheep and horses.

He stepped in following reports in the Stray Ferret this week that the animal charity took Peter in after an injury to his foot. It was believed he was sent to Lancashire.

Cllr Haslam told the Stray Ferret he felt he’d be able to give Peter a good home and he had even offered to buy some peahens to keep him company.

However, the RSPCA told him that his offer was too late.

It said that Peter was rehomed yesterday at an undisclosed location, which has other peacocks.

Although if the bird doesn’t settle at his new home, the RSPCA has promised to give Cllr Haslam a ring.

Cllr Haslam added:

“They tell me he’s in a very good home and that’s good news. He may just have gone to peacock paradise!”

Read More:

• Has Peter the Peacock left Bilton for good?
• ‘We want him home’: Bilton bids to bring back Peter the Peacock
• RSPCA dashes hopes of Peter the Peacock returning to Bilton