This article is sponsored by Myrings.

How do you choose the right estate agent for your property?

Selling your home is one of the biggest decisions you will make – and whatever your reasons for doing so, you want to be sure it’s in the best possible hands.

Equally, if you have a property to rent out, you need to be confident your agent will work with you to find the right tenant and get the best price for your investment.

When you start looking for an agent, chances are you’ll be seeking a firm that’s established and reliable. Its fees will be a consideration and the way it responds to your initial enquiry will also play a part in your choice.

But even then, can you be confident the estate agent will deliver the best service and get the results you need?

Best Estate Agent Guide

Luckily, there are ways to make your choice based on independent research. One of these is the Best Estate Agent Guide – which now features Harrogate estate agency Myrings.

The guide lists the top agents across the country and is designed to be an independent resource for sellers and landlords to find the best sales and lettings agencies in their area.

Director Gemma Myring said:

“We are delighted to have been included in the Best Estate Agent Guide 2023. Agents cannot enter or pay for this award – the assessment is industry-wide and only those that meet the very highest standards are included. We are thrilled to have been recognised as among the best in the country.”

Myrings is a family-led firm with a wealth of experience in the property market.

From all its team members living in the Harrogate district to supporting local sports teams, including Harrogate Town, Myrings is invested in the community, and has also recently launched a new relationship supporting Martin House Children’s Hospice.

Its directors and staff are on hand to guide you through the process of selling or letting your home and ensure you achieve your goals, whether that’s achieving the best price, delivering in a quick time frame, or finding the perfect new home for your family.

To find out more, visit the Myrings website. You can call the sales department on 01423 566400, or contact the lettings team on 01423  569007.

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. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.

This first letter relates to this week’s news that the Harrogate Convention Centre will no longer host the 15-day  International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival  after the organisers claimed costs had doubled.  The director of the HCC then responded saying the loss of the festival would a limited economic impact. 

Dear Editor,

We think it is fair to say that figures – and in particular, the costs of “in-kind” services can be interpreted in many different ways.     

Fallacy somewhere,  I fancy! (Ruddigore, W S Gilbert)

We are delighted that CEO Paula Lorimer feels that the town will not miss the Festival.

Still, we know that our thousands of visitors will certainly miss the beautiful Royal Hall, the outstanding hotels, and the fabulous restaurants and facilities.  And so will we!

It’s an unjust world, and virtue is triumphant only in theatrical performances (The Mikado, W S Gilbert)

However, it’s not all doom and gloom.  We are bringing a fantastic New Year Gala Concert to The Royal Hall on January 7, 2023, and we promise there’s no discount in sight!  The outstanding National Festival Orchestra and international opera stars will perform all those wonderful favourites.

It will be a great way to celebrate the New Year.

You can book your tickets at www.gsfestivals.org or by phone on 01422 323252.

We look forward to seeing everyone there.

 Life’s a pudding full of plums (The Gondoliers, W S Gilbert)

Bernard Lockett, The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival.

Too much rubbish in the Harrogate district

The council in their wisdom have welcomed with open arms developers to bury the countryside in acre after acre of new homes.

Now surprise, surprise, these new residents are actually creating lots of rubbish and recycling.

The council now reveal they do not have enough bin operatives or vehicles to remove said rubbish etc. More stores etc are creating industrial amounts of waste. Once again, not enough staff to remove it. I am led to believe that not much of the recycling is actually dealt with as it should be.

I suspect when the new council takes over this situation is likely to deteriorate.

William B Thompson, Harrogate 

Read More:

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The Crown Hotel in Boroughbridge has completed the first phase of a major refurbishment.

The project has seen a coffee bar added to the historic 38-room hotel and the ground floor given a totally fresh look.

The Coaching Inn Group bought the hotel in February after its parent company, RedCat Pub Company, purchased it from Best Western for an undisclosed fee.

Kevin Charity, chief executive of the Coaching Inn Group, attended a Boroughbridge and District Chamber of Trade event on Monday to talk about the project.

The Crown Hotel

Mr Charity said the previous management team had done a great job looking after the Grade II listed coaching house, whose spa and leisure facilities include a swimming pool, but it had been “time for a change”. He said:

“We wanted to improve the decor, bring the standard of food up and create a coffee shop.”

The Coaching Inn Group, which owns 32 hotels, including the Golden Fleece Hotel in Thirsk, the Talbot Hotel in Malton and the King’s Head in Richmond, has so far invested £720,000 on the Boroughbridge hotel.

Mr Charity told the Stray Ferret the company, which employs 1,400 staff, planned to redecorate the outside and introduce new signage in spring and longer-term planned to refurbish the leisure facilities and the function room.

Read more:

• Boroughbridge postmaster recalls being saved after cardiac arrest
• ‘Good’ rating from Ofsted for Boroughbridge school

The restaurant

The bar

Organisations have agreed to work together to achieve designated bathing water status on the River Nidd at Knaresborough.

Longstanding concerns about water quality were heightened in summer when people and dogs fell ill after entering the Nidd.

If the bathing water bid is successful, the Environment Agency would be obliged to put plans in place to monitor and protect the water.

Not a single waterway in North Yorkshire currently has bathing water status but the River Wharfe in Ilkley has achieved it.

Knaresborough has been chosen because of the amount of  recreational river users it attracts, but if the campaign succeeds the rest of the Nidd would also benefit from the measures introduced.

Anglers, the Environment Agency, Yorkshire Water, Nidderdale AONB, Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust, Leeds University, councillors and Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, are among those involved after a meeting this month.

They must demonstrate the river attracts a large number of bathers and has support for such a move. Landowners must also support applications for privately owned sites.

Shan Oakes

Shan Oakes, a Green Party councillor in Knaresborough chairing the group, said the government was not setting high enough water quality standards and action was necessary. Ms Oakes, who is also on Knaresborough Town Council, added:

“It’s not going to be a quick fix. We need to consult with a lot of groups.”

Read more:

• Meeting called to hear concerns about state of River Nidd
• UK’s largest weir removal project begins on River Nidd at Scotton

Last week Hannah Gostlow, a Liberal Democrat who represents Knaresborough East on North Yorkshire County Council, agreed to chair a cross-party sub-group of the council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee that will examine the issue. She said:

“We are well placed to achieve this but we need the support of the community and the town council.”

Knaresborough lido, which is particularly popular with recreational river users, will probably be the focus of the campaign. Cllr Gostlow said:

“The river plays a big part in the local economy but people are getting ill so we need to do something.”

She added she hoped the campaign might succeed by summer 2024.

Action by anglers

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.”

Read More:

• History of Ripon Spa Baths captured as venue prepares for new lease of life
• Fountains Abbey tops survey of UK’s best historic attractions

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.

Read more:

• £1.2bn Knaresborough incinerator has never met recycling targets

• £740,000 awarded as part of Knaresborough incinerator fund

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:

• Harrogate district planning rules could be ‘radically streamlined’
• 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.

Read more:

• Police start two-week speeding crackdown in Harrogate district
• Harrogate’s 200-year-old ‘little temple’ could be sold to make way for Station Gateway

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.

Read more:

• ‘Harrogate firefighters being used as guinea pigs’, says union
• Harrogate district businesses ask police for help tackling anti-social behaviour

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.