A Harrogate man who exposed himself to a petrol station cashier then performed a lewd act in front of her has been spared jail.

James Bryant, 38, parked at a Harrogate filling station and waited until the last car had left the forecourt before walking into the shop and baring himself in front of the woman.

CCTV footage showed Bryant “smiling” during the incident, prosecutor Rob Stephenson told York Crown Court.

The woman called police, who located Bryant about a fortnight later and found a machete, hunting knife and a lock knife inside his boot during a search of his vehicle.

The court heard that Bryant, a heavy cannabis user, had effectively been living out of his car after losing money in cryptocurrency and failing to land a job after moving from Cambridge to Harrogate.

‘Afraid for her life’

Mr Stephenson said the incident at the petrol station occurred just before 7pm on February 27 last year, when Bryant waited “for about one minute” for the forecourt to clear before homing in on the lone female shop worker.

The incident lasted about half a minute as the shocked and “distressed” victim told Bryant to get out.

“The defendant can be seen briefly smiling at (the named victim) before walking out and driving away,” said Mr Stephenson.

Police enquiries revealed that Bryant had driven into another filling station just before the incident but left immediately because it was busy.

They identified Bryant from CCTV footage and he was arrested about two weeks after the incident when an officer spotted his vehicle in Harrogate.

During a search of his car, police found the three knives in the boot surrounded by household items belonging to Bryant.

He said he had been driving around with the knives inside his car since moving home two months previously.

The victim said she was “afraid for her life” and initially frightened to return to work.

“She now locks the shop door in the evening and only allows people in if she feels confident in her safety,” added Mr Stephenson.

Lost £50,000 on cryptocurrency

Bryant, of Sunnybank, Shaw Mills, ultimately admitted outraging public decency and possessing the knives. He appeared for sentence on Monday.

The court heard that Bryant had a previous conviction for flashing from 2016 when he was convicted of indecent exposure at Bournemouth Crown Court. He had one other conviction for cannabis possession.

Aisha Wadoodi, for Bryant, said her client hadn’t been given proper rehabilitation since his last conviction.

She said that Bryant had mental health problems largely “of his own making” due to his “heavy use” of cannabis and “itinerant” lifestyle.

“He moved from Cambridge to Harrogate and thought there (would be) employment (but) there wasn’t,” she added.

She said character references from family members “spoke of a completely different side to him” and that Bryant had suffered a “series of misfortunes” in his life — including the loss of more than £50,000 in crypto currency – which had “triggered” his behaviour. He was now claiming Universal Credit.

Cannabis warning

Judge Sean Morris told Bryant:

“You clearly have a problem and it’s a major problem. It’s probably self-induced from the use of cannabis, which people do not realise can trigger major problems very easily, and the sooner people realise that this isn’t a pleasant little recreational drug, the better.”

Bryant was given a nine-month prison sentence suspended for two years so he could get help for his mental health problems.

The judge also accepted there were no “sinister” motives behind the machete discovered in Bryant’s car, where he kept “all his worldly possessions”.

Bryant was also ordered to complete a 40-day rehabilitation programme and a 90-day sex-offending prevention course.

Two men have been arrested as part of a major police investigation into the supply of drugs from Bradford into Harrogate.

It brings the total number of arrests under Operation Jackal, the name give to the initiative, to 19.

North Yorkshire Police revealed today officers from its organised crime unit and West Yorkshire Police arrested the men aged 26 and 23 in Bradford on Wednesday.

A police statement said:

“Both men were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A drugs, human trafficking under the Modern Slavery Act and money laundering.

“Officers also seized a number of mobile phones and sim cards as part of their enquiries. The two men have been released on conditional bail while further enquiries are carried out.”

The arrests follow 11 made in Harrogate and six in Bradford in February as part of Operation Jackal.

Read more:

• Almost 90 arrests in three years as police tackle county lines drug crime
• Police drugs bust near Harrogate’s Valley Gardens

North Yorkshire Police has also taken civil action to take down three phone lines operating between Bradford and Harrogate, which were believed to be part of county lines drug dealing.

The force successfully obtained three drug dealing telecommunications restriction orders, which allowed officers to take over a phone line and give them powers to disconnect it on a specified date and time.

The police statement said:

“These valuable, protected and often branded phone lines allow out-of-town heroin and cocaine dealers to send mass text messages advertising their drugs for sale and when and where they can be picked up.

“Taking them out means no adverts, no sales and no profit for drug dealers.”

Eighteen suspects remain under investigation. One has been released with no further action taken. The investigation continues.

This article is sponsored by A-Plan

The opening of A-Plan Insurance’s first ever Yorkshire branch in Harrogate could not have come at a better time. As the coronavirus pandemic leaves many feeling isolated, A-Plan’s personable approach and support for the local community is heartening.

As a broker, A-Plan provides a tailored service with high standards of personal care to its clients, ensuring that policies are properly explained and meet your specific home or car insurance needs.

No transactions are done online, so whether you’re able to attend the new Princes Street branch in person (which is fully covid-secure and open during this lockdown), or prefer to speak to an advisor over the phone, you are guaranteed a personal service.

Despite being a national firm, A-Plan’s service is refreshingly local. All of the staff live in the area, so have the knowledge of local streets, properties and risk areas to ensure your quote is personal to you – and not just based off an internet search.

A-Plan Harrogate was opened by the Deputy Mayor of Harrogate, Councillor Zoe Metcalfe

Branch Manager Chris is Ripon born and bred, and after two decades working for A-Plan elsewhere, has returned to God’s Own County.

Chris said:

“I am excited to be coming back to my Yorkshire roots and bringing the A-Plan experience to the north of the country.

Harrogate’s a vibrant town for both business and pleasure and I can’t wait to introduce my young family to everything the town has to offer.”

All of the advisers at Harrogate’s A-Plan branch are fully qualified with a CII (Certificate in Insurance); they work and build relationships with over 30 insurance providers at a time, but as they aren’t paid commission you get impartial advice and the very best price for your individual needs.

Buying insurance has become an impersonal experience; price comparison websites expect you to do all the work, and you can’t always be completely sure that the cover meets your specific needs. If your home, vehicle or other item is out of the ordinary it can be very hard to be sure you’ve bought the right product for your requirements.

Read More: 

• 20 Harrogate district charities awarded £415,000
• Huge bears brighten up Ripon for Christmas

Unlike some call centre systems, there are no time-targets for A-Plan staff, and they genuinely care about you. Branch manager Chris once arranged for a staff member to make a two-hour round trip to deliver documents to a customer without access to a printer, and makes it his personal mission to ensure every client receives the first-class service they deserve.

That person-centred approach carries over into A-Plan’s support of the local community. Chris and the team have launched a scheme in support of Saint Michael’s hospice, where a £50 donation is activated if you mention the charity when taking out a new car, van or home insurance policy, providing much needed support to the Harrogate based charity. The branch is also supporting the Harrogate Theatre Emergency Appeal and has sponsored 2 seats for when this valued venue reopens to the community.

To speak to A-Plan Harrogate about your insurance needs, you can call the local branch on 01423 647235 or visit them at 10 Princes Street, Harrogate, HG1 1NH.

Twenty voluntary organisations in the Harrogate district have shared £415,000 from the government’s Coronavirus Community Support Fund.

The fund enables small and medium sized not-for-profit organisations to help vulnerable groups during the pandemic.

A total of 8,250 organisations shared £200 million nationally.

The largest local beneficiaries were Community Catalysts, a social enterprise in Harrogate that helps people run community businesses, which received £69,000 and the Knaresborough community arts charity Orb, which was awarded £65,000.

Other major beneficiaries included Yorkshire Yoga & Therapy Centre in Knaresborough and Harrogate’s Wesley Centre, which received £48,990 and £37,500 respectively.

Read more:

• Harrogate district braced for ‘huge rise’ in winter fuel poverty
• Charity Corner: research in memory of brave and funny Frank

In a statement on his website, Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said:

“Over the last decade since I became the MP for our area I have seen first-hand the valuable work many of the organisations do.

“I am delighted that they are benefiting from the support fund and continuing the fantastic work they do.”

The successful applicants were:

Community Catalysts £69,000
Orb £65,000
Yorkshire Yoga and Therapy Centre £48,990
Wesley Centre £37,500
Harrogate Mind £24,700
Open Country £24,212
Harrogate and District Community Action £23,346
Disability Action Yorkshire £21,893
Artizan International £19,465
Claro Enterprises £10,000
Resurrected Bites £10,000
Cliff House Community Support Services £10,000
Saint Michael’s Hospice £9,107
Boroughbridge and District Community Care £9,000
Autism Angels £8,500
Harrogate Samaritans £8,000
Vision Support Harrogate District £7,056
New Beginnings peer support group £4,332
Happy Wanderers Ambulance Association £3,200
Harrogate and Knaresborough Toy Library £1,307

Today, details of a sensitive housing development go to Harrogate Borough Council planning committee for approval.

The Vistry Partnership and Yorkshire Housing Ltd want to build 72 houses on a 2.8-hectare site on the edge of Spofforth, a conservation village, south of Harrogate.

Over 300 locals, Historic England, Natural England, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, the council’s principal ecologist, North Yorkshire’s highways, the Lead Local Flood Authority and Spofforth Parish Council all raised serious concerns.

They range from the adverse impact of development upon historic character and setting, regionally important green infrastructure, bio habitat-diversity, road safety, congestion, risk of flooding. subsidence and surface water drainage.

A village at risk

Spofforth is built on a ridge overlooking fields that have been farmed since the 8th century.

The village is listed in the Doomsday Book with a long and chequered past.

Locals are protective of over 30 Grade II listed heritage assets that are to be found in this beautiful village.

In 1978, this legacy was awarded conservation status in recognition of the village’s special character and distinctiveness of its setting, buildings and open spaces.

But Spofforth, like so many other rural settlements in the borough is facing rapid expansion under Harrogate Borough Council’s drive to meet housing targets.

The development 

In March 2019, Opus North (Spofforth) Ltd acquired outline planning permission on the ‘Massey Fold’ site in Spofforth.

The ‘indicative’  plans showed a luxury development with a series of ponds, substantial landscaping and trees.

Historic England, the council’s conservation officer, and the borough council’s Local Plan raised concerns that any development on the site would cause “significant harm” to the village’s unique character.

A previous application on the same site had been refused for that reason.

Historic England warned planners that that there must be ‘clear and convincing justification and that the public benefits of the proposal outweigh the harm’.

Planners claimed that ‘the benefit would come from the delivery of new homes’.

Later that year Opus North put the site up for sale. The Vistry Partnership (formerly Bovis) and Yorkshire Housing Association reached agreement to take the site forward to completion.

To overcome the various challenges the site presented, a new plan was drafted by the developers.

Natural England, the borough council’s principal ecologist, and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust had all originally advised planners that the development will have a long-term impact on the ecological functioning of the River Crimple Corridor.

The principal ecology officer reminded planners that the National Planning Policy Framework protected against a net loss of biodiversity and advised that the original plan should not be accepted by the local authority.

The plan was then adjusted to take in concerns but neither the principal ecologist nor Historic England have subsequently been consulted about the latest lay-out design, access and landscaping proposals going to committee today.

Harrogate Borough Council argues there is no requirement to re-consult as “the principle of development has been established”.

The parish council says that the most recent plans are so far removed from the original proposal a new, full application should be made.

Flood risk

Harrogate Borough Council is responsible for ensuring that the drainage on the site meets a myriad of conditions to protect the new homes and surrounding properties from flooding.

The fields are known to have flooded since medieval times.

Locals sent photographs to planners showing the river inches away from breaching Spofforth’s flood defences during Boxing Day floods in 2015.

Boxing Day flooding around Spofforth in 2015 taken by resident John Chiltern and submitted to planners

In a public consultation in August 2017, residents expressed the concerns:

“Building on a flood plain should not be allowed under any circumstances”

“A report needs to be made available with details of how the flooding can be dealt with”

“Flood plain—HUGE CONCERN”

More recently Marmaduke Heslop contacted planners saying:

‘I have lived at Crosper Farm all my life (63 years) and have been involved with farming the field in question for many years. It has always been subject to flooding to the top of the hedge at the far end of the field. The amount of hard landscaping involved in this development would cause more rainwater run-off into the Crimple which is already running at more than capacity. The river has flooded over the banks for 3 consecutive weekends in February this year (2020) ‘

Over the past three years, various versions of a drainage system for the development have been put forward to protect the site and surrounding properties from surface water and flooding.

The parish council says these are ‘ill-considered’.  The Lead Localised Flooding Authority(LFFA) consults and advises the council on surface water drainage. In a letter dated 16th October this year, they emphasised early advise and told  planners:

‘The submitted documents are limited and the Lead Localised Flood Authority recommends that the applicant provides further information before ANY planning permission is granted.’

The latest proposal involves raising the site level by 1.5 metres sloping towards the existing level at the foot of the flood defences and surrounding properties.

The parish council told planners:

‘Not only will this make the new development even more prominent which will impact on the views from surrounding properties, but it will have a significant effect on adjacent land with regards to flooding.’

A failing system

The council says:

“The proposed development would result in social benefits by contribution towards the district’s housing need, including affordable housing. The additional population from the development would also make a contribution towards maintaining and enhancing existing facilities in the village.”

But last month, the council received a letter from the parish council. It listed 18 policies contained within the Local Development Plan, the National Planning Policy Framework, and the Town and Country Planning Act, which the parish council considered were not well met by the scheme.

The council has acknowledged the concerns and attached an elaborate list of ‘conditions’  to any approval to mitigate the issues.

But it’s not enough for the parish council, which said:

“Although the applicants have prepared revised proposals, they have failed to address our basic concerns about density, numbers, levels, flooding, parking and sustainability. They claim to have achieved ‘a closer-knit urban grain’, which is what most parishioners are hoping to avoid, in our historic rural village.”

Today the planning department is recommending to the planning committee that the decision should be deferred to the chief planner, John Worthington to approve when all conditions are satisfied.

Harrogate Borough Council released a statement saying:

“It is considered that the scheme is in accordance with the provisions of the development. The details of the reserved matters, appearance, scale, layout and landscaping are acceptable, and approval can be supported.”

As a resident of Spofforth I contacted my local conservative MP, Nigel Adams, and outlined all the concerns raised in this report. His office has contacted me making it clear he is well aware of the issues:

 Nigel Adams MP has taken note of the salient points which have been raised and has asked the decision makers to take them into consideration when the application is decided.

An appropriate representation has been made to the Planning committee.

However it is important to understand that an MP has no formal part to play in deciding planning applications. However an MP can make representations in the same way as members of the public and this has been done in this case.

Nothing so far has allayed fears of flooding or convinced the locals that the proposed development offers the benefits the council claims it will have.

The Stray Ferret has been investigating the unprecedented amount of housing development in the district and examining the impact of Harrogate Borough Council’s failure to have a Local Development Plan up to March 2020. 

In a series of special reports each morning next week we will be asking: 

Building Boom or Housing Crisis– have the wrong homes been built in the wrong places at the wrong price? 

Schools in Harrogate and Knaresborough could be forced to lay-off teachers because of spiralling debts, a councillor has warned.

Cllr Geoff Webber, a Liberal Democrat who represents Harrogate Bilton and Nidd Gorge on North Yorkshire County Council, said schools may be forced to act after new figures showed debt increasing.

A council report published last week on schools in Harrogate and Knaresborough showed four schools are projected to have debts totalling £1.6 million by March 2021.

By March 2023, this is forecast to have risen to five schools with total debts of £1.6 million.

Cllr Webber told the Stray Ferret:

“The schools will start off with an overspend one year and will not be able to bring that debt back under control. It just spirals from there.

“When the schools are in debt the only way for them to save money is to make staff redundant. It’s usually the more experienced ones that go first.”

The financial situation is bleak across the county: 37 schools in North Yorkshire have total debt of £7.2 million.

This is expected to soar to 93 schools with total debt of £18.3 million by 2022/23. This would mean 40 per cent of schools in the county will be in debt.

Read more:

• Woodfield school receives £28,500 to improve street safety
• Harrogate primary school’s plea: help our pupils who are isolating
• Harrogate restaurant serves first free school meals

Two primary schools, one secondary school and one special needs school are currently in debt in Harrogate and Knaresborough. The council paper does not name them.

The government has frozen education funding in recent years.

North Yorkshire misses out

The funding formula focuses on deprivation. So schools in more affluent areas like the Harrogate district tend to miss out.

The report says:

“North Yorkshire secondary schools are placed 133 out of 149 local authorities in terms of funding.

“On average, a school in North Yorkshire will receive £5,151 per pupil in 2020/21 compared to a national average of £5,496.

“Comparing the funding for a 1,500 pupil secondary school this equates to a difference in funding of £0.5m.”

Cllr Webber said the council should use its reserves to plug funding shortfalls if the government does not increase funding.

Cllr Patrick Mulligan, the Conservative executive member for education and skills at the council, who represents Airedale, told the Stray Ferret:

“I do sympathise with the schools. It has been difficult for them since the funding was frozen with austerity. This puts us in a difficult position.

“We have been lobbying MPs to ask for more school funding. We had a 3% rise in funding per pupil this year and hope that continues.”

A former care home in Harrogate is to be demolished to make way for 19 homes.

Harrogate Borough Council has granted North Yorkshire County Council, which ran the home, permission to demolish Woodfield House on Woodfield Square in Bilton.

The county council will build the new homes through its housing company, Brierley Homes.

The new development will include 11 two-bedroom, six three-bedroom and two four-bedroom homes.

The 28-bed care home was built in the 1970s but closed in 2018 because it was deemed no longer able to deliver the required standard of care.

Read more:

• Major Pannal Ash development could lose football pitch for more housing

• New housing in Harrogate district creates £98m infrastructure shortfall

A Harrogate Borough Council report said the derelict care home had become a hub for anti-social behaviour.

It said:

“It is now becoming an eye-sore for local residents and they are experiencing increasing anti-social behaviour. There appears to be local acceptance of the proposed scheme and a desire for the site to be re-developed quickly.”

Brierley Homes was established in 2017 by North Yorkshire County Council. All profits are used to support essential frontline council services in the county.

This will be the company’s second major project in the Harrogate district. It also plans to build 20 homes in Pateley Bridge.

Yorkshire Water it to close a footpath at Swinsty reservoir and introduce diversions over the next 18 months as part of £6m safety works.

The reservoir, in the Washburn Valley, is a popular location for families and dog walkers in the Harrogate district.

Work on the reservoir’s east bank spillway is due to start on Monday next week and be completed by summer 2022.

The project will divert excess water from the reservoir to Lindley Wood reservoir to protect the embankment from flood erosion.

Read more:

• Yorkshire Water’s affordable scheme for young farmers
• New water tech to cut greenhouse gases

Yorkshire Water said in a statement:

“As the route is on uneven and sometimes wet ground, it is not suitable for pushchairs or wheelchairs – walkers are advised to wear suitable footwear and keep dogs on leads.”

Mark Allsop, customer liaison advisor at Yorkshire Water, said:

“This ensures that the reservoir can continue to play its part in supplying drinking water to the homes of millions of customers in Yorkshire.

“The investment will reinforce the structure and protect the area in the face of extreme weather.”

The water company worked with local landowners and North Yorkshire County Council to map out the footpath diversion.

North Yorkshire Police is appealing for help to find wanted Harrogate man Daniel Prague.

The police issued the appeal yesterday to locate Mr Prague, 19, who is wanted on suspicion of burglary.

Last year he was jailed for a £1.3m burglary on a home in Weeton.

According to the police, Mr Prague has links to Harrogate, Knaresborough and Leeds.

If you have any information, you can help the police by calling 101 quoting ref: 12200200467. If you wish to remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111

Two women who say they have been ripped off by a builder from Harrogate have formed a Whatsapp group called “The Avenging Warriors” to try and get their money back.

They claim the group has six other members who have had similar experiences with James Moss, who they say owes thousands of pounds and has left a trail of ‘shoddy’ workmanship across Harrogate.

“Mr Charming himself”– Gill’s story

Gill Lawrence works for a homeless charity and takes in vulnerable young people into at her home near to Wetherby Road whilst they get back on their feet. Last year, she decided she wanted a kitchen extension at her house to create more space for her guests. 

After advertising for a builder to do the work on the website MyBuilder.co.uk, she was contacted by James Moss, a tradesman based in Harrogate who said he would do the job for £13,000 plus VAT.  She told the Stray Ferret she thought this was a really good deal. 

Ms Lawrence described Moss was “Mr Charming himself”. After agreeing to the quote, work began in June last summer. 

Fast-forward six months to December 2019 and Ms Lawrence claims Moss left the kitchen half-finished whilst pocketing almost the total agreed quote.  

She says the problems with the kitchen were endless with the walls needing replastering, faulty electrics and plumbing, and a “wonky” window.  

How Ms Lawrence’s electrics were left by Mr Moss.

So far this year she has spent around £5,000 repairing the work — and it’s still unfinished. 

She said she feels very naïve for trusting Moss and that it’s had a big impact on her mental wellbeing. 

 “It’s soul-destroying. I don’t trust anyone anymore” 

Ms Lawrence subsequently wrote to Moss several times urging him to finish the job he had started, without reply. In March 2020 she took Moss to a small claims court, who ordered the builder to pay her £8,297 plus court costs.  

MyBuilder.co.uk told the Stray Ferret that Mr Moss’s account was banned in July 2019 after a complaint. 

A chequered business history 

According to Companies House, a government website that publishes information about businesses in the UK, he has been a director of 11 different building companies in the Harrogate district since 2012 with 8 of them now dissolved. 

A search on the website Trust Online also reveals that Moss currently has three county court judgements against his name, worth almost £8,000. 

However, a Companies House spokesperson told the Stray Ferret they have no powers to reject someone forming a new company unless they have been declared bankrupt. 

The name of the company which undertook Ms Lawrence’s kitchen extension was Yorkshire Outdoor Design. The company was dissolved in October 2019 whilst Moss was still working on Ms Lawrence’s kitchen extension.

Normally, Ms Lawrence would not be able to bring a civil case against a dissolved company but she managed to prove to the courts that there was no mention of Yorkshire Outdoor Design being a limited company in any of her correspondence with Moss, so she was able to sue him personally, even after the company folded. 

She has even hired a private investigator to find out where Mr Moss currently lives so she can send him letters about the money he owes her.

However, Ms Lawrence said she does not expect to ever see the money repaid to her. She has reported him to trading standards but said they have so far been “absolute rubbish”. 

North Yorkshire County Council trading standards told the Stray Ferret they would not comment on individual cases.

A 25-year guarantee — Vicky’s story

Vicky Cooke is a French teacher from Ilkley who needed a new roof on an extension at her home. After struggling to find a local builder who was available, she found a website for another one of Moss’s companies, DBL Yorkshire, in November 2019. 

Ms Cooke paid Moss £3,400 for the job, and he even offered a 25-year guarantee that the work would be built to last. 

But after apparently completing the job in December, it took just two months for the roof to start leaking. 

She said:

“There was no insulation, and it was obvious the roof was bad. It wasn’t properly fixed on. It was loose with big gaps in between the coping stones and water was getting in.” 

From being a “really nice bloke” when work began, Ms Cooke said Moss became “evasive and quite unpleasant”. 

After asking Moss to repair the leaking roof without reply, Ms Cooke took him to the small claims court who ruled in her favour, ordering Moss to pay £2,745, which he is now refusing to pay. 

She’s since spent around £1,000 repairing his poor work and says she now feels like an idiot for trusting Moss to do a good job. 

She said:

“Me and my husband feel quite stupid, angry and upset. I work properly for my money. I turn up to work and do what I’m paid for and I get my money. Then there are people like him who take that money from you.”  

Mr Moss’s response

Mr Moss told the Stray Ferret he disputes the allegations made by both women and confirmed that he does not intend to pay the money the courts have ordered him to pay.

He claimed he did not receive any correspondence from the small claims court regarding the civil cases. As a result, he was unable to defend himself at the court which is why they both ruled against him. He said he is now trying to fight both rulings.

He added he has now ceased trading as a builder.