A new archive dating back nearly 700 years is being made available for residents in the district to research the history of their homes.

North Yorkshire’s county record office said the number of queries it receives about researching house history are second only to those about family history.

As a result, the office is staging an exhibition and online guide that will show people the resources available locally to help them dig into their properties’ past.

Items spanning nearly 700 years, from the early 1300s to the 1970s, will be on display, including historic maps, architectural drawings, old photographs and property deeds.

Some of the items relate to the construction of the Park Place flats on the Stray, and Knaresborough’s High Street and Fisher Gardens in Briggate.

Margaret Boustead, head of archives and record management, said:

“Everybody’s home is unique and each house will have its own story to tell.

“This exhibition is not about country houses or elite residences, it is about everyday homes and what people might be able to find out about them.”

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NYCC’s executive member responsible for the county record office, Cllr Greg White, said:

“Researching house history can tell us so much about the past and the places that we call home. It can also help us learn about the people who lived there and strengthen our connection with our past and where we live.

“Our county record office holds a wonderful range of resources that you can use to start your journey of discovery.”

The exhibition, at the county record office in Malpas Road, Northallerton, runs until Tuesday, January 31 – except between December 24 and January 2.

It is open Tuesday to Friday from 9.30am to 4pm. Admission is free and there is no need to book.

There will also be drop-in sessions on Monday, October 31, from 1.30pm to 4.30pm and Wednesday, November 9, from 4pm to 6pm, when archivists will be on hand to answer questions .

The online guide can be found at www.nycroblog.com/house-history.

The £1.2 billion Allerton Park waste recovery plant continues to be dogged by mixed performance more than four years after being launched.

The waste recovery plant and incinerator between Knaresborough and Boroughbridge takes 220,000 tonnes of waste collected by councils in York and North Yorkshire and 50,000 tonnes of business waste annually,

A performance report has revealed it is significantly exceeding its target for diverting waste from landfill, achieving almost 90%.

However, it is recycling and composting just over one per cent of the waste, against a target of 5%.

North Yorkshire and City of York councils awarded a contract to private company AmeyCespa to create the facility in 2014 following a high-profile battle with residents of villages surrounding the plant, such as Marton-cum-Grafton.

Last year councillors raised concerns over the plant’s recycling performance after it emerged it had never met its recycling targets, leading the councils to levy £653,000 in performance deductions for the first three years of its operations.

An officer’s report to a meeting of the county council’s transport, economy and environment scrutiny committee next Thursday shows the plant’s recycling performance has marginally worsened during the last year.

The report states issues with the mechanical treatment equipment meant sometimes the plant had to be run in by-pass mode, which meant recyclates were not extracted.

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The report states following maintenance works this year the mechanical treatment performance has significantly improved, with Amey forecasting recycling performance to rise to almost half the targeted proportion.

However, the amount of unplanned downtime at the energy from waste plant significantly improved this year, falling from 61 days to 29, which allowed more waste to be processed.

The report states the latest figures show the best year to date for landfill diversion and energy from waste.

The report concludes further opportunities are being explored with the councils, Amey and Yorwaste seek “to optimise the types of waste delivered to the plant” to secure continued performance improvements.

The county council’s executive member for open to business, Conservative councillor Derek Bastiman, said while the recycling target remained well below what was wanted, the lack of improvement this year had been largely due to unforeseen mechanical issues.

He said the energy from waste scheme had proven to be a good investment by the councils.

Ouseburn division Green Party councillor Arnold Wareneken said any profits from the scheme should be used to increase recycling rates.

He said:

“We need to recycle the money as well – it just needs a bit more investment. The problem I see is we are not collecting food waste separately or enough food waste from industry. 

“All local authorities are meant to be collecting food waste. 

“We have got to make it more easier for people to put compostable waste in wheelie bins.”

North Yorkshire County Council revealed today it has selected three possible sites in the Harrogate district to become investment zones.

The sites are: junction 47 of the A1; Potter Space Ripon, a business park at Junction 50 of the A1 and Harrogate Convention Centre.

The government has said the zones, which will receive liberalised planning laws and tax incentives for businesses, will support business and economic growth.

But they have been criticised by conservation organisations because of the potential impact on wildlife.

Last month, North Yorkshire County Council was named as one of 38 local authorities in talks with the government over creating investment zones.

Today, the county council named the 12 commercial sites it had identified for possible zones in North Yorkshire.

Read more:

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• Harrogate Convention Centre ‘could lose £250 million without investment’

Of the seven districts within the county, only Selby, where five sites have been identified, has more locations than the Harrogate district.

Carl Les

Carl Les, the Conservative leader of the county council, said:

“We are at a very early stage in the process, but this could be an exciting and welcome initiative that would enable us to work with the government to deliver benefits for the North Yorkshire economy.

“Following discussions with our district council colleagues, we are submitting an expression of interest. This identifies a number of sites across the county that we feel fit the criteria from government. We look forward to further negotiations with Government following our submission.”

Full list of sites in North Yorkshire

The sites identified in the expression of interest are:

• Hambleton: Dalton, at Junction 49 on the A1.
• Harrogate: Harrogate, at Junction 47 of the A1; Potter Space Ripon, at Junction 50 of the A1; Harrogate Convention Centre.
• Richmondshire: the area around A1 Junctions 52 and 53.
• Ryedale: Eden Camp East, Malton.
• Scarborough: Scarborough Business Park.
• Selby: Gascoigne Wood Rail Interchange, Olympia Park, and sites at Eggborough, Kellingley and Sherburn.

Cllr Les said:

“The sites we are putting forward for consideration are locations that have already been earmarked for commercial development to support business growth and job creation. The proposed benefits of investment zones could help to make these sites even more attractive to new businesses and accelerate development ambitions.

“We are fully aware of the need to minimise any environmental impacts, so all the sites we are putting forward have been selected in accordance with local planning and conservation policy. None are sensitive or protected sites.”

Proposed sites must meet the Government’s criteria to offer a significant economic opportunity, be ready to deliver quickly and align with the wider local strategy.

Once the government has received the expressions of interest from invited authorities, further criteria will influence site selection, including consideration of the overall geographic distribution of investment zones, the balance between residential and commercial, and urban and rural sites and the readiness to deliver.

The absence of police custody facilities in parts of North Yorkshire is taking teams of officers out of action for up to four hours at a time while they drive detainees around, a meeting has heard.

Members of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel have asked commissioner Zoe Metcalfe to provide a report amid concerns over the length of time it takes officers across the north of North Yorkshire to travel with those arrested to custody suites in Harrogate and Scarborough, due to the closure of cells in Richmond and Northallerton.

Custody suites are areas within police stations where people are taken when they are arrested.

The issue has been repeatedly raised as a concern by community leaders, particularly following outbreaks of antisocial behaviour as pandemic lockdown restrictions were eased.

Councillors had claimed the distances involved in arresting people is serving as a deterrent to functional policing in parts of the county.

Panel member Martin Walker, a former judge, told Ms Metcalfe he had received various reports that police officers were “not arresting people that perhaps they should” because of the length of time it was taking to travel to custody suites. He added:

“I can’t see there’s any other reason for doing it than saving money.”

The meeting heard the Northallerton custody suite had been closed since the town’s police station moved into the police and fire service’s headquarters at the former Rural Payments Agency offices.

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Conservative councillor Peter Wilkinson said the commissioner at the time, Julia Mulligan, had promised a report into the effectiveness of the closure and gave reassurances that Darlington and Northallerton police stations would be used for custody when required.

He said it had since emerged that the force was using Harrogate’s custody facilities, which took up to four hours’ of officers time. Cllr Wilkinson said:

“This is having a detrimental effect on response times in Hambleton.”

£15m savings

In response, Ms Metcalfe said when the decision to close Northallerton’s custody suite was made in 2017 the force estimated the average cost of building custody facilities was £15m.

She said she would monitor and review the situation with the chief constable, but the demand for custody facilities in the Northallerton area, similarly to Ripon, did not support a custody suite.

Mrs Metcalfe said the force had instead invested heavily in creating “voluntary interview suites” across the county.

She said a government inspection of the force’s custody system earlier had raised no concerns about the transporting of detainees to custody suites. Ms Metcalfe said:

“I do hope this provides members with some assurance that these arrangements have been based on extensive assessments and the recent inspection.”

“The public quite rightly expect the police to maximise its assets to use public money effectively.

“Offenders are only brought into custody when it is a necessity and proportionate to do so.”

Questions are being raised over the future of a partnership which sees North Yorkshire and Cornwall’s fire control rooms share emergency calls at peak times.

At more than 300 miles apart, the fire services joined forces in 2016 with each call centre able to dispatch crews in the two counties.

It has been hailed as a move to make services more effective as the geographic distance means they are less likely to be affected by major incidents at the same time.

But the partnership is now being brought into question after plans were revealed to close Cornwall’s call centre and merge it with others elsewhere in England.

Cornwall Council, which administers the service, said all options are being considered for the control room and that a final decision would be made next year.

However, it would not comment on what a potential closure could mean for the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

At a recent Cornwall Council meeting, the proposals were met with protests from dozens of firefighters after further criticism from the Fire Brigades Union, which said it is opposing the “ridiculous move” in the interests of public safety.

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The issue has also been raised by Chris Aldred, a Liberal Democrat who represents Harrogate Fairfax on Harrogate Borough Council. He was contacted by a member of staff at Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service who said the proposals have caused “huge upset and emotional strain”.

Councillor Aldred has since has called on North Yorkshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner to carry out a review into the “critical” service.

In a statement, Conservative commissioner Zoë Metcalfe said the agreement with Cornwall “remains in place with no change” and that she had been reassured that talks would be held about any potential change. She said:

“My chief fire officer, Jonathan Dyson, has provided assurance of the current and future resilience of our control room in North Yorkshire.

“Jonathan is in regular contact with the chief fire officer of Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service and the timescales for any decision and potential change to their control room allows North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service to explore future resilience opportunities.

“As such, there is no current impact on our control room’s ability to handle 999 calls and to effectively mobilise our fire engines to emergencies.”

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

Small businesses and start-ups in the Harrogate district that want to grow are being urged to sign up for a range of fully funded support under a programme launched by the York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub.

The hub, in partnership with Harrogate Borough Council, aims to stimulate economic development by helping businesses improve their competitiveness and productivity.

Available until March 2023,  the support includes mentoring and online and in-person seminars, around specialist topics such as HR, finance, sales and marketing, digital skills, and business planning.

The move follows the hub’s covid recovery-funded business support programme delivered last year.

Andrew Raby, manager of the hub, said:

“We know businesses of all types and sizes still face difficult challenges as they recover from the covid pandemic, and are battling issues including supply chain disruptions, further changes to the rules on imports and exports of goods to the EU, along with rising interest rates, inflation, and energy costs.

“We remain steadfast in supporting business in all sectors, whether a fledgling start-up or a growing business with premises and staff, in overcoming these prolonged tough trading times and set firm grounds to help businesses not just survive but thrive.”

Face-to-face events will be held at venues in Harrogate and will focus on rebuilding the economy across key sectors and inspiring growth, creativity, and innovation.

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Harrogate hospital chair and manager shortlisted for awards

The chair of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust and the trust’s business development, charity and volunteer manager have been shortlisted for a Helpforce Champions Award 2022, which recognises volunteering in the health and care sector.

Sarah Armstrong has been shortlisted for Health Leader Champion for Volunteering Award, whilst Sammy Lambert has been shortlisted in the Volunteer Manager of the Year category.

The awards are a chance to shine a light on those who give their time to help staff in the NHS and voluntary and community organisations, and support patients and their families and carers.

Mark Lever, chief executive of Helpforce, said:

“2020 and 2021 have seen the NHS and all our healthcare services face one of the biggest challenges in their history, and we have seen volunteers step up in their thousands to help.

“This year, we have received a record number of entries for the Helpforce Champions Awards with so many brilliant examples of innovation, great practice, commitment, and real passion for patient care and support for staff across the health and care sector in the UK.”

The trust’s chair, Sarah Armstrong, said:

“It is a real privilege to have been shortlisted for the Health Leader Champion for Volunteering Award. I am passionate about the value of volunteering and the unique contribution volunteers can make within health and care settings..

“Within my role of chair of HDFT I have many responsibilities, but working with our volunteers and helping to develop a successful volunteer programme for our Trust is certainly one of the most rewarding.”

Sammy Lambert said:

“I am delighted that I was nominated for the prestigious Volunteer Manager of the Year award by our amazing team of nearly 500 volunteers and staff who work so hard every day to make such an amazing difference for our patients and service users”

Chair of HDHFT Sarah Armstrong (L) and Sammy Lambert the Trust’s business development, charity and volunteer manager (R)

Winners will be announced on Helpforce’s website and social media channels on Monday 7th November.

North Yorkshire Police has arrested 27 people during a national week of action to tackle county lines drug dealing.

County lines involves drug dealers from larger cities dealing drugs in smaller towns, often exploiting vulnerable people in the process.

It’s been a constant problem in Harrogate and Ripon with gangs from West Yorkshire targeting the towns.

The national week of action, between October 3 and 9, was coordinated by the National County Lines Coordination Centre.

Harrogate Arrests 

On Monday, officers arrested a 33-year man in Harrogate who was suspected to be delivering drugs from his vehicle. He was found to be in possession of approximately £1,500 worth of cannabis and approximately £500 of cash.

On Friday, officers suspected that a drug deal had just been conducted in a vehicle in the Jennyfields area of Harrogate. One man was arrested, but the passenger managed to flee from the police. After a chase and extensive area search, officers successfully detained and arrested a 48-year-old man on suspicion of supplying a class-A drug – suspected to be heroin.

Later that night officers arrested a 31-year -old man from Manchester on Wetherby Road in Harrogate. He was suspected to be in the area dealing drugs. Officers conducted a search of the man and his vehicle and located approximately 30 individual packets of suspected cocaine.

Officers said across North Yorkshire it had arrested 27 people on suspicion of drugs offences. Two bladed weapons were recovered as well as over £5,000 in cash and £10,000 in what is suspected drugs. It also made 60 welfare visits to vulnerable people

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The force’s operation expedite team, which is responsible for tackling county lines, was on the streets stopping people and vehicles that are linked to the supply of drugs. The force said Harrogate’s Neighbourhood Policing Team as well as licensing officers from North Yorkshire County Council were also involved.

Specialist dogs were used to disrupt the supply of drugs linked to the night time economy in Harrogate and Ripon.

Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Simpson who supported the coordinated the week said:

“Although this is a fantastic set of results from the last seven days, it’s important to stress that this is very much business as usual for North Yorkshire Police.

“Out teams are out and about conducting warrants and intercepting the supply of drugs, week in week out.

“Drug use has serious implications on people’s health and impacts on the quality of life for communities.

“We will not tolerate the use of drugs in our county. I would urge anyone with information about drug dealing in their community to call us on 101, we treat every piece of information as important.”

Look out for the signs: 

Cuckooing is the term given when drug dealers take over the home of a vulnerable person and use it at a base to sell and store drugs, often using violence and intimidation to achieve this.

Cuckooing victims are often drug users themselves, or people who are vulnerable due to a mental or physical disability, their age or lifestyle, such as sex workers and single mothers.

Signs of cuckooing to look out for include

• Increased callers at a property at all times of the day or night
• Increase in cars pulling up for short periods of time
• Different accents at a property
• Antisocial behaviour at a property
• Not seeing the resident for long periods of time
• Drug-related rubbish – small plastic bags, syringes
• Windows covered or curtains closed for long periods
• Unexplained or untreated injuries

Children are groomed and exploited to deal drugs on behalf of organised criminals. These are the signs to look out for:

• Persistently going missing from school or home and / or being found out-of-area
• Unexplained money, clothes, or mobile phones
• Excessive receipt of texts / phone calls
• Relationships with controlling / older individuals or groups
• Leaving home / care without explanation
• Suspicion of physical assault / unexplained injuries
• Carrying weapons
• Significant decline in school results / performance
• Gang association or isolation from peers or social networks
• Self-harm or significant changes in emotional well-being
• Travelling long distances on public transport – is it term time? Should they be in school? Are they paying high cost fares with cash?

Police Advice:

Anyone with concerns about county lines is asked to speak to their local police on 101 or call 999 in an emergency.

If you’d rather stay anonymous you can call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

If you are a young person who is worried about being involved in county lines, or knows someone who is, you can speak to an adult and let them know how you feel.

You can also contact www.fearless.org who allow you to pass on information about crime anonymously.

You can also contact Childline on 0800 1111 – they are a private and confidential service where you can talk to counsellors about anything that is worrying you.

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A passing motorist saved the life of Boroughbridge postmaster Nigel Hamilton-Evans when he collapsed by the roadside.

Mr Hamilton-Evans, 57, was walking along Aldborough Gate in Boroughbridge when he suddenly collapsed in cardiac arrest.

The passer-by pulled over, called 999 and started cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Mr Hamilton-Evans said:

“He did CPR and kept me alive until the ambulance arrived.

“If he hadn’t been passing at that exact moment, I wouldn’t be here today. I am so lucky that he knew what to do.

“A few people stopped to offer their help and, while doing CPR is hard work, he said the adrenaline had kicked in by that stage and he wanted to carry on; he said he was determined not to let me die.”

The ambulance crew arrived and continued with the life-saving efforts.

Mr Hamilton-Evans was eventually taken to Harrogate District Hospital before being transferred to Leeds General Infirmary, where he had surgery to fit an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, a small device that sends electrical pulses to regulate abnormal heart rhythms.

Nigel Hamilton-Evans and wife Karen.

Mr Hamilton-Evans, who is married to Karen with one son, Rhys, later travelled to meet the man who saved him to say thank-you in person. He said:

“It was a very emotional meeting; this guy had saved my life, what can you say? I asked what I could do for him and his family to say thank-you. He said, ‘nothing, just to see you smile is enough’. He was so humble.”

“Then he said, ‘the one thing you could do is raise awareness of the importance of people learning CPR and defibrillators’, so that’s what I’m doing.”

Since his near-death experience last year, Mr Hamilton-Evans has raised £1,600 towards funding a community public access defibrillator, which will be located in Boroughbridge. He also plans to organise CPR training in the town.

He will be sharing his experiences with students who are learning CPR to mark Restart a Heart Day at Boroughbridge High School on Friday this week.

Restart a Heart Day

Mr Hamilton-Evans is one of many cardiac arrest survivors and their life-savers supporting Yorkshire Ambulance Service’s attempts to provide CPR training to more than 40,000 people to mark Restart a Heart Day.

Ambulance staff and volunteers will visit 136 secondary schools to teach the life-saving skill to tens of thousands of students.

Professional football clubs in Yorkshire are also urging members of the public to get hands-on as ambulance staff and volunteers visit stadiums throughout October to teach CPR to football fans. They will be at Harrogate Town’s home match against Hartlepool on Saturday.

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This year’s activity means that Yorkshire Ambulance Service staff and volunteers will smash the milestone of more than 200,000 people being taught CPR since the Restart a Heart campaign was launched in 2014. During this time bystander CPR rates in Yorkshire have increased from 40% to 75%.

Jason Carlyon, community engagement officer with Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said:

“Our message is simple – please be confident to intervene when someone has a cardiac arrest.

“Everyone in every community has a role to play in the chain of survival, whether it’s by calling 999, doing chest compressions, locating a defibrillator, retrieving it or by telling others what to do.

“We come across many patients who are alive today because someone started CPR when they collapsed – everyone deserves that chance.”

To mark this year’s Restart a Heart Day, Yorkshire Ambulance Service has launched two CPR training methods:

• A mobile CPR training kiosk – believed to be the first of its kind in the UK – which teaches CPR in just 90 seconds. Users watch a tutorial video and practise on a manikin which provides feedback about the effectiveness of the chest compressions.
• An immersive 360 CPR training video which can be viewed on a range of devices, including phones and virtual reality headsets, and sets out the scenario of a student coming across a stranger in cardiac arrest.

The main routes into Harrogate, such as Wetherby Road, Knaresborough Road and Skipton Road, appear to be flowing normally in the approach to rush hour.

Here is your Stray Ferret traffic update.

Roads

Drivers heading towards Wetherby should be aware of temporary traffic lights still in place on the A661 Harrogate Road near Spofforth.

The lights are in place while Northern Gas Networks carries out maintenance work and are now due to last until October 18.

Elsewhere in Harrogate, long-term work on Crescent Road means motorists are unable to turn left at the Parliament Street junction. Traffic coming the opposite way on Ripon Road is unable to turn right.

Montpellier Road remains closed until tomorrow as Northern Gas Networks carries out maintenance work.

Stop go boards are due to be in place on John Street today and tomorrow.

Roadworks on the Boroughbridge Road at Scriven are likely to cause delays for motorists travelling between Knaresborough and Boroughbridge.

Looking ahead, work is scheduled to begin on Monday to reconstruct the B6265 at Red Brae Bank, Bewerley, near Pateley Bridge, which suffered a landslip during storms in  February 2020.

The scheme requires the road to be closed from October 17 to December 9. A diversion will be in place via Pateley Bridge; the B6451 Dacre; Menwith Hill Road; Duck Street and Greenhow Hill village. Temporary traffic lights will be in place during the remainder of the work.

Trains and buses

Northern services between Harrogate and Knaresborough going to York and Leeds are scheduled to run as normal this morning.

The Harrogate Bus Company is not currently reporting any cancellations but you can get updates here.

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