This year’s Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal is for Resurrected Bites in Harrogate and Knaresborough.  Please read Vicky’s story about the charity below and give generously to support local people who are struggling this Christmas.  They need your help. 

This Christmas, there are local people – colleagues, neighbours, friends – young, elderly and working age people — who will not be able to put food on their tables. 

There is help at hand from local organisation Resurrected Bites – but it’s facing a tough time too. 

Just weeks ago, it warned it faced an uncertain future: its own costs are rising, the amount being donated had dropped, and more and more people are looking for help. 

That’s why, from now until Christmas, the Stray Ferret is calling on everyone to give their support to this vital local organisation to help us secure its future. 

All donations go directly to Resurrected Bites and will be generously match-funded by Harrogate firm Techbuyer, up to the value of £5,000. 

Over the next four weeks, I’ll bring you stories that show just how important the work of Resurrected Bites is. Please read them, share them, and donate whatever you can.

The story of Resurrected Bites

“Harrogate is a really difficult place to be poor.

“There’s this perception that it’s all rosy, but that’s not the case for a lot of people.”

It was this realisation that prompted Michelle Hayes to do something to make a difference across the Harrogate district. 

The former research scientist founded a food waste café as part of her role as mission and outreach worker, employed by St Mark’s Church but covering the whole of Harrogate. 

Resurrected Bites began life in 2018 in the foyer of the church on Leeds Road, using food from supermarkets and some local hospitality businesses which would otherwise be thrown away. There was nothing wrong with the food, other than perhaps passing its ‘best before’ guidance date – but it would have ended up in a bin. 

She was inspired by the Real Junk Food Project in Leeds, founded by Adam Smith. Not only was it reducing food waste, it was making a significant difference to people. Michelle said: 

“It literally saved a guy’s life. He had lost his job and had no money, and he couldn’t see a way forward. He was contemplating ending his own life. 

“He walked past the café, went in and got a meal, and ended up becoming a volunteer. It saved his life.” 

The Harrogate café proved to be a success. Not only did it reduce food waste across the Harrogate area, it provided hot meals on a pay-as-you-feel basis to local people, and offered an opportunity to soclialise too. 

Michelle turned it into a community interest company, meaning it is run for the benefit of the community and its income is used to continue this work. 

Expansion

In 2020, Resurrected Bites began to expand, with a second café at Gracious Street Methodist Church in Knaresborough launching in January, followed by a third at West Park United Reformed Church, in early March. 

Then, of course, everything changed. 

The arrival of covid meant the cafes all had to close immediately, but Michelle and the small team of volunteers knew there was still a role for them. They began distributing food parcels to the many local people who suddenly found themselves out of work and short on money. 

Just a fraction of the food donated to Resurrected Bites every week during covid lockdowns

At the height of covid, they were intercepting three tonnes of food waste every week and ensuring it reached people who would otherwise not have enough to eat. 

Michelle said: 

“I realised the scale of food poverty in the area. It was shocking. 

“I knew then that once we stopped doing the deliveries, we still had to have a mechanism to get things to people who really needed it.” 

Community groceries

While restrictions were still in place, Michelle began working on the next stage of the project: community groceries. 

Using the same principle as the cafés of taking food that was still perfectly edible but would not be sold commercially, they were designed to help households who could not afford enough food. 

The community groceries allow people to choose their own food from the shelves. Members pay a small fee – £3 for a household up to three, £6 for four or more people – and for that can select a set number of fresh, frozen and packaged goods, as well as toiletries and household products. 

Two groceries opened in autumn 2021, at Gracious Street and New Park Community Hub. Demand has grown enormously in the year since, as their reputation has spread. 

The number of customers at the cafés has also risen and there are plans in place to open a third, in Killinghall, in the new year. Michelle said:

“When I set up the cafes, the community groceries weren’t even on my radar.

“Resurrected Bites has been a lot more successful than I had anticipated. It is meeting a lot of need in our community.”

It’s clear the cafés and groceries are badly needed. With the cost of living crisis hitting and recession looming, that need is only likely to grow. 

It already costs £7,500 every month to deliver those vital services. Please donate to the Stray Ferret’s Christmas appeal to ensure Resurrected Bites can continue supporting people who badly need it in 2023 and beyond.

Nobody in the Harrogate district should go hungry this Christmas. 

Whatever you can donate will help local people to feed themselves – and prevent food waste too. 

Just £10 can pay for a family’s weekly shopping in the community grocery. Click here to contribute now. 

Read more:

• Food waste organisation Resurrected Bites warns it could close
• Volunteer sets up artisan market in Knaresborough to support food waste charity

Harrogate Borough Council chief executive Wallace Sampson is in line for a £101,274 redundancy package when the local authority is abolished at the end of March.

Mr Sampson looks set to receive a contractual redundancy payment of £71,633 plus £29,641 for a 12-week notice period he will not have to work.

Harrogate Borough Council is one of seven district councils which, along with North Yorkshire County Council, will cease to exist on April 1, when the new North Yorkshire Council takes over.

Harrogate Borough Council’s council’s chief officer employment committee has been recommended to approve the settlement when it meets next week.

A report to the committee says Mr Sampson, who joined the council in 2008 and is a member of the Association of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers union, will be “effectively stranded” by the council’s abolition.

It says he is contractually entitled to be paid for his notice period, but there will be no role for him to perform due to the council’s abolition.

The report also says lawyers Browne Jacobson have advised Mr Sampson is entitled to be transferred under TUPE regulations and to dismiss him before March 31 would “inevitably lead to an automatically unfair dismissal claim causing unnecessary conflict, impact on senior officer time and a waste of public funds as explained in the appended business case”.

Read more:

• Harrogate council refuses to say if chief executive will get payout package
• Questions raised as Harrogate Royal Baths loses £2.5m in value

It is therefore recommended Mr Sampson be paid in lieu for his 12-week notice period:

The report says:

“In short, the proposal in the report recognises this and is a practical and pragmatic solution.”

All the district council leaders in North Yorkshire will lose their jobs at the end of March, in a move that it is claimed will save about £1m a year.

Richard Flinton, the current chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council, will become chief executive of North Yorkshire Council on a salary of between £180,000 and £197,000

The report says:

“The proposed settlement is considered to represent value for money by ensuring that the chief executive remains in office and engaged to enable the council to continue to deliver its services until 31 March 2023; that there is a smooth transition to the new authority; and contractual and statutory payments to the chief executive are paid to him as a result of the termination of his employment on the grounds of redundancy.”

The Salvation Army headquarters in Ripon is attempting to deal with a ‘tsunami of need’ as its Christmas appeal faces its most difficult challenge in 30 years.

Pat Clark, a leader at the Lead Lane church, told the Stray Ferret:

“With the cost-of-living crisis biting hard and people struggling to pay their increased energy, food, mortgage and rent bills, the call for assistance across the Harrogate district is growing by the day.

“This has been our most challenging year since we started the annual appeal in 1992 and at present we are attempting to keep up with the calls for assistance, but are dealing with a tsunami of need.”

Last year, with goods donated from Ripon Cathedral, churches across the district, businesses and individuals, 250 bags of tinned and packaged food items, including sweet and savoury goods and Christmas treats such as cake, mince pies and chocolates, were provided for families in financial difficulty.

In addition, 150 bags containing brand-new donated toys and presents for children and adults, were distributed and these, like the food bags, were given to recipients recommended by health and other community-based agencies acting as a link between the Salvation Army and the families.

Alison Hewitt, Salvation Army corps assistant at Lead Lane, said:

“The calls for help this Christmas are already proving greater than in previous years and we are seeking donations of food items such as tinned vegetables and meat, tinned and packaged soups, pasta, cereal, coffee, tea and long-life milk.

“We have already prepared 170 food bags ready for distribution, but still have some way to go and we hope that the community can assist us once more by making donations of both goods and gifts that will go to families who need a helping hand.”

Donations can be dropped off at the church on Lead Lane between 10am and 2pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays up until December 21. More details are available by calling 01765 692 657.

The value of Harrogate Royal Baths has fallen by £2.5m since it was acquired as a commercial investment by North Yorkshire County Council in 2018.

A council report reveals the Grade II listed building, built in the 1890s, was valued at £7m in March this year, compared with £9.5m when the local authority bought it. The council paid £9m but was prepared to pay £10m.

The report also reveals the Baths had only generated a 1.82% return on investment by September 30, which marked the end of the second quarter of the financial year.

The depreciation of the asset, along with the low rate of return on investment, has sparked fresh questions about the council’s decision to buy the Baths and its ability to manage commercial assets.

Last year Conservative county councillor Richard Musgrave said he was “absolutely speechless” to learn the council had paid £9m, adding “the performance looks very, very poor” and describing it as a “trophy investment”.

Speaking about the latest figures, Cllr Stuart Parsons, leader of the council’s Independent group, said local authorities should aim for investment returns of between five and 10 per cent and although times were hard the 1.82% figure was not acceptable. He added:

“The main problem is local authorities should not really own these properties because they don’t know what they are doing.

“I just don’t think there’s enough commercial nouse in the local authority to be running these sites.”

Figures contained on p134 of the council report.

Cllr Parsons said the new North Yorkshire Council, which comes into existence in April, should “hire proper commercial people” to run key assets like the Baths and the loss-making Harrogate Convention Centre, which he said had been “a millstone around Harrogate Borough Council‘s neck for a long time” and in danger of becoming a “white elephant”.

He added:

“This should be the last chance. Give commercial people a couple of years to turn them around and if they can’t, the council should think about disposal. There has to be a proper policy.”

‘Severely impacted by covid’

Asked about the latest figures, North Yorkshire County Council’s corporate director for strategic resources, Gary Fielding, said:

“This particular investment was an opportunity to invest not only for a direct financial return but also in our locality. To the end of the last financial year, returns have been in excess of our standard treasury investments. The issues experienced have been the result of a global pandemic and more recently other issues beyond UK borders.

“Investments are made for the longer term — balancing risks that can reasonably be foreseen and having sufficient cash flow and reserves to deal with shorter term shocks.

“As we move towards a new unitary council from April 1, 2023, we will see the freehold of Harrogate baths pass to the new council. Whilst the investment from North Yorkshire County Council will cease at this point, the ongoing relationships with tenants will continue.”

Read more:

• Harrogate’s Royal Baths: the council’s under-performing ‘trophy investment’
• Council accused of ‘trophy investment’ for £9m purchase of Harrogate’s Royal Baths

Mr Fielding indicated the council would take a tougher line on commercial tenants to maximise income.

“The hospitality sector has been severely impacted by the covid pandemic and the council has done all it reasonably can to support its tenants through these difficult times for the benefit of the local economy and taxpayers generally.

“We work with our tenants to understand their circumstances in order to maximise the income into the council. However, it is not the council’s responsibility to support tenants indefinitely, and if businesses are not sustainable then we work with tenants to bring tenancies to a close.

“We have seen improvement over the last six months which is encouraging. However, with the ongoing cost of living crisis, the hospitality sector may unfortunately experience further pressures.”

A car was turned into a fireball on the A59 near Flaxby today.

Knaresborough firefighters were summoned at 8.55am to the main road, which is close to the A1.

Knaresborough Fire Station said in a Facebook post:

“The police were already on scene providing scene safety. The fire was extinguished by two breathing apparatus wearers using two hose reel Jets.”

No further details are available.

Firefighters tackle the blaze. Pic: Knaresborough Fire Station

The car afterwards, Pic Knaresborough Fire Station

It was the first of two serious incidents in the Harrogate district today.

At 3.58pm, firefighters from Harrogate and Knaresborough responded to reports of a kitchen fire at a home on Rowan Close, Harrogate.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident log says:

“The female occupant was out of the property on arrival of crews.

“Two hose reel jets and four breathing apparatus were used to extinguish the fire and a positive pressure ventilation fan was used to ventilate the property.”

Read more:

• Harrogate firefighters tackle car fire and three-vehicle collision
• Flaxby Park appeals decision to refuse 350 ‘eco lodges’ near A1

Residents in Skelton-on-Ure are aiming to raise £250,000 to buy their village pub, which has been shut for three years.

The Black Lion, on Skelton Lane close to Newby Hall, between Boroughbridge and Ripon, was bought in December 2019 by Admiral Taverns.

However since then it has stood derelict, leaving locals questioning its future.

The pub was put up for sale in June after its owners said it did not have a “long-term sustainable future”.

Admiral Taverns, which owns 1,600 pubs across the UK, said selling was the only option.

However, a group of residents are now calling on people to pledge to buy a share in the pub in order to raise funds to buy and revitalise it.

Sandy Delf, one of the residents involved in the Black Lion Community Hub and Pub, said:

“The ultimate aim is to open up a welcoming community pub and hub for the village and wider community.”

Read more:

• Much-loved Skelton on Ure pub up for sale
• Skelton on Ure residents plead with owners to save ‘eyesore’ pub

The group, which has received support from rural community charity the Plunkett Foundation, aims to raise £250,000 in order to access government match funding as part of the community ownership fund.

Shares in the pub cost £250 each and are open to people and businesses to submit an expression of interest.

The Black Lion pictured prior to its closure.

Mrs Delf said the venture was “especially vital in the current and recent past economic climate”, adding:

“Rural communities have particularly suffered from isolation and mental health issues as services such as public transport have become ever more diminished.”

The pub was recently listed as an asset of community value by Harrogate Borough Council.

The listing means residents have more time to raise funds to buy the property.

For more information on how to pledge a share in the pub, visit the Black Lion Community Hub and Pub website here.

People are waiting for up to an hour for a 101 call to be answered, a senior North Yorkshire Police officer has said.

Mike Walker, assistant chief constable at the force, told a North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner public accountability meeting that the figure was “not acceptable”.

He said that the force had an average answer time of eight minutes and 47 seconds for October 2022 – four times the national standard.

The target for police force’s across the country is to answer 80% of non-emergency calls within two minutes.

ACC Walker said the long waiting times for 101 was the reason why the force’s abandonment rate was so high. This refers to the number of people giving up.

He said:

“On a daily basis we look at that from a chief officer team and I know there have been people waiting between half an hour and an hour on 101 on some days.

“It’s just not acceptable and this is why we have an abandonment rate of 20%. We should not be having more than 5% on 101.”

Read more:

• Police commissioner: 101 line deluged by ‘neighbours complaining about each other’
• Harrogate district people asked for views on police 101 and 999 calls

ACC Walker told the meeting that Humberside Police had agreed to carry out a peer review of the force’s call handling and help them improve.

He added that the police were keen to improve the call times and return the control room to an “outstanding” rating.

Zoe Metcalfe, Mike Walker and Mabs Hussain, deputy chief constable, at the public accountability meeting.

He said:

“We know how we need to achieve that.

“It’s a question of putting the right plans in place and having the relevant discussions and then, over the next 12 months, it’s a question of getting back to where we need to be by serving the public of North Yorkshire with an outstanding control room.

“That needs to be the aim.”

Zoe Metcalfe, the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, said the aim needed to be “a lot quicker than 12 months”, but added she accepted that “these things take time”.

The move comes as concerns over the length of time it takes to answer 101 calls has been a long-running concern across the county.

Ms Metcalfe’s predecessor, Philip Allott, was told by North Yorkshire county councillors last year that the non-emergency line was “not fit for purpose and it hasn’t been fit for purpose for the last eight years” and that “the phone just doesn’t get answered”.

The owners of Flaxby Park Golf Club have withdrawn an appeal over a decision to refuse plans for 350 eco lodges and a hotel on the site.

In March, Harrogate Borough Council rejected the proposal on the grounds that it would cause an “unacceptable” impact on the environment. The site is close to junction 47 on the A1(M).

Last month, Flaxby Park Ltd took the decision to the government’s Planning Inspectorate – which deals with planning disputes.

In documents submitted to the inspectorate, planning consultants Lichfields, which lodged the appeal on behalf of the developer, said the reasons for refusal were “unfounded”.

It said:

“The appellant will show that the council’s reasons for refusal are unfounded and that there are no technical issues arising from the proposed development, which cannot be addressed by appropriately worded conditions or Section 106 planning obligations.

“The appellant will therefore submit that planning permission should be granted for the development proposed by the appeal without delay.”

However, Flaxby Park Ltd has now withdrawn the appeal. A public inquiry into the case scheduled for January 31, 2023, has been cancelled.

An aerial computer generated image of the proposal. The A1(M) is to the east and the A59 is to the south.

The Stray Ferret approached both Flaxby Park Ltd and its agent Lichfields to ask why the company made the decision and if it still intends to propose a new scheme for the site.

But we did not receive a response by the time of publication.

The move raises questions over the future of the former Flaxby Golf Course site, which has been closed since 2014.

History of the site

In 2008 The Skelwith Group bought the site from farming family the Armstrongs for £7m. It published plans for a 300-bedroom five-star hotel on the site that it touted as the future “jewel in Yorkshire’s tourism crown”.

But the plans never materialised and in 2016 the company went out of business.

Flaxby Park Ltd, a company made up of businesswoman Ann Gloag and regeneration specialists Chris Musgrave and Trevor Cartner, bought the 260-acre golf course site from administrators in 2016.

Read more:

• Flaxby parish council calls for government to reject eco-homes
• Business park near Flaxby that could support 2,000 jobs approved

Its original proposal for the site was to build 2,750 homes and a rail link at Goldsborough. But these plans ended after the council chose the Cattal and Green Hammerton area as the site for a new settlement in the district instead.

In October 2020, the developer challenged the council’s decision in the High Court but was unable to overturn it.

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal.

A free Harrogate business networking event is to be held at Cold Bath Brewery this Sunday, December 4.

Normally the Harrogate Social meets on the first friday of every month. It’s a space where around 50 local business owners get together  for a drink at a local independent bar and share news.

The Christmas event though is on a Sunday afternoon and this year the venue is Cold Bath Brewing on Kings Road.

The organisers, Liz Wild or Wild and Co Chartered Accountants and Martin Mann of Martin Mann- I.T. are asking participants to support the Harrogate Homeless Project.

For more information click here.

Read More:

• Business Breakfast: Prosperis to be main sponsor of Stray Ferret Business Awards 2023
• Guide to Christmas markets in the Harrogate district

Kempston-Parkes Chartered Surveyors in Harrogate are to sponsor the Inclusivity Award at the Stray Ferret Business Awards 2023.

The Inclusivity Award recognises a company that has demonstrated working practices with a proactive approach to inclusivity.

In total there are 10 Award categories for the Stray Ferret Business Awards 2023 which will be held on March 9 at the Pavilions of Harrogate.  The main event sponsor is Knaresborough based financial advisers and consultants, Prosperis. 

Andrew from Kempston-Parkes Chartered Surveyors said:

“Harrogate has many legends…..  Betty’s, Valley Gardens, The Blue’s Bar…. But, there is a new kid on the block, The Stray Ferret and we are proud to be working as a partner with them.

“The Stray Ferret has quickly become known as the place to find impartial, honest, local news, at Kempston-Parkes Chartered Surveyors we are pleased to be partnering with the Stray Ferret, after all our clients want impartial honest advice on their property purchase”

The event promises to be great occasion which recognises best practice and business excellence.

If your business has a good story to tell enter now . Entries close on January 13.

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.

I was in town this afternoon and witnessed 3 different takeaway drivers, easily identified by the large insulated food bags they carry, completely disregarding all traffic signs.

They regularly drive down pedestrian areas, park in disabled spaces and in double yellow lines.

I heard another couple remark about it. Where are the police or traffic wardens? The town was very busy this afternoon and these drivers are a danger waiting to happen.

John Franklin, Harrogate

Read More:

• Stray Views: Harrogate’s most deprived area needs a school
• Harrogate hospital pledges ‘minimal disruption’ as nurses strike looms

Ferreters may be interested to know that local Tory  MPs Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) and Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) voted recently in the Commons to jail for up to two years volunteers offering alternative help to women approaching abortion clinics. It is believed the pro-lifers have saved  hundreds of unborn children’s lives at the very doors of the clinics.

The MPs’ vote was widely criticised across the House of Lords.

Lib Dem peer Lord Beith said: “[I]  cannot support a clause which criminalises a person who ‘seeks to influence, provides information or expresses opinion’m.”

He added: “This is the most profound restriction on free speech I have ever seen in any UK legislation.”

Similar sentiments came from Lord Frost (Con), a former government minister and Brexit negotiator.

The peers were debating  the Second Reading of the Public Order Act, controversially amended by a Labour MP to impose throughout England exclusion zones banning  pro-life actions of any kind  within 150 yards of an abortion clinic.

Lord McAvoy (Lab), quoting the grateful personal testimony of a woman helped by volunteers outside a clinic, said: “If we make it illegal to hand out a leaflet with offers of housing or support, we embark on a slippery slope to bans on other leaflets with which we disagree.”

Baroness O’Loan (crossbencher), a former Police Ombudsman, warned the proposed blanket ban was unnecessary and could even be harmful.

Home Office Minister Lord Sharpe, closing the debate, described the clause as a disproportionate response to pro-life vigils outside abortion clinics and not human rights compliant.

Jones and Smith were supporters earlier this year of making pills by post abortions permanent. This was despite repeated assurances to constituents that the practice was a temporary expedient because of the Covid pandemic–and despite many doctors’ fears of the dangers of coercion of girls and women by boyfriends, partners and relatives.

Both also voted in the past against an explicit ban on sex-selective abortion and against independent abortion counselling. In their 12 years in Parliament, abortions have soared in England and Wales  from 196,109 in 2010  to last year’s record of 214,256.

Tony Flanagan, Kirkby Malzeard